Progress 2019 | Health Care

Progress

2019

H E A LT H

C A R E

TEG

February 9 AND 10, 2019

V V V

HOSPITAL

PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING

FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895

WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM

V V V

ealing the

Medical staff enjoying upgrades to emergency department, express care

By Ryann Brooks

brooks@emporia.com

Newman Regional Health’s new emergency room officially opened to the public a little more than a month ago, and ER physicians, nurses and staff are already seeing benefits to overall patient care.

The $14.5 million expansion project

increased the overall size “We’re going to take route patients past the old entrance. The space boasts of the emergency room to great care of people.” 19 patient rooms arranged roughly 15,000 square feet. around a centralized nursThe new ER is still located DAMIAN O’KEEFE, at 1201 W. 12th Ave. and is Emergency Department Director ing station, giving providers a clear line of sight to accessible either by comall patient rooms. ing north up Elm Street Emergency Department directly into the new parking lot or by using the existing ER en- Director Damian O’Keefe said the new trance off of Oak Street, which will re- space allows the hospital to fully take ad-

vantage of advances in medical technology since the old ER was first built. Portable X-ray machines that were once a challenge to get into examination rooms can now be used with ease, while still allowing access to both sides of a bed.

“Trying to get those machines into some of the rooms was a little Please see NRH, Page 4

HOSPITAL OFFERS EDUCATION TO HELP, MANAGE DIABETES

UPDATED ER OPEN AT MORRIS COUNTY HOSPITAL

By Jessie Wagoner jessie@emporia.com

By Lydia Kautz

lydia@emporia.com

Diabetes is a key issue on the national health stage.

Newman Regional Health tries to be proactive in educating people about the problem both before it presents itself.

Clinical Dietician and Certified Dia- “Education’s betes Educator Wilma Malone does what the key.” she can to keep her patients informed, and Diabetes Educator and RN Kris AdWILMA ams strives to help care for those who MALONE, have developed the disease.

Certified According to statistics provided by Dietician and Certified Malone, diabetes has increased over the Diabetes past few years in Lyon County. About 7 Educator percent of the population had been diagnosed with some form of diabetes in 2017. At this point, the diagnosis rate is 10.4 percent.

Diagnoses have been rising across the United States as well, meaning what Malone and Adams do is as important as ever.

Across the nation, people are receiving diagnoses Please see Diabetes, Page 2 LYDIA KAUTZ/GAZETTE

Wilma Malone (left) and Kris Adams are diabetes educators at Newman Regional Health.

The opening of the newly-updated Emergency Department at Morris County Hospital has left Council Grove and the surrounding area with plenty to show off.

The new emergency department opened to the public on Feb. 1. The $3.5 million project was years in the making. Planning for the project began more than two years ago, though after breaking ground, the project moved swiftly.

“They had the ground breaking just days before I arrived,” CEO Kevin Leeper said.

Leeper assumed the role of CEO at Morris County Hospital just 10 short months ago. He jumped into the role wholeheartedly and is happy to see the project now completed. The new design of the emergency department will allow for more private and accessible treatment space to serve patients. “ The old emergency department was more of a ward setting and this is more private,” Leeper said.

“There is privacy and patients can enter the emergency department more directly.”

Please see Hospital, Page 3

Page 2

DIABETES From PAGE 1 younger and younger — in their 20s and 30s, which Adams said used to be rare.

Statistically, many diagnoses are Type 2.

But Newman Regional Health is working to stay on top of the problem by providing education.

For the past eight years, Malone and Adams have helped put on a free diabetes education fair, which is free to the public, each April.

“We offer a speaker and we also have different booths people can come and ask questions — exercise, nutrition, medications, complications,” Malone said.

Four years ago, she said, they began holding a support group, which is also free for community members. Anyone, including people who aren’t diabetic but who are curious, is invited to attend.

The group meets quarterly and has a special speaker at each meeting.

“Instead of just coming and meeting, we actually do a topic,” Malone said.

According to Adams, Newman Regional Health helps people who come in with high or low A1C to receive the services they need, even if the patient came in for something completely different.

“It flags our office so that we can consult, find out what’s going on, whether they have a diagnosis of diabetes or not,” she said. “If they don’t, then we get them started heading toward the program, getting education.”

A1C is the average of a person’s blood sugar over the past three months, Malone said, and indicates where a patient is at in terms of controlling their diabetes.

The hospital offers classes monthly. There’s a 5 — 8 p.m. evening class, a 9 a.m. — noon morning class and a 1 — 4 p.m. afternoon class, according to Malone.

“They’re two days a

V

V

V

THE GAZETTE, EMPORIA, KANSAS

V

the program to see results, she said.

“But we see it and it’s really encouraging,” Adams said.

It’s not possible to cure diabetes — once a person has it, they have it for life.

But it can be controlled.

“You can manage it,” Malone said “Improve it to reduce those risks of complications. Once that A1C reaches above 7 to 8 to 9 percent, once we start climbing above that, the complications are closer.”

According to Adams, complications can include vision disturbances, heart issues, kidney problems and foot problems.

“Catching those blood sugars and getting them down and managing your diabetes early is so important to managing the complications,” she said. “You can LYDIA KAUTZ/GAZETTE eliminate them or you can Props and diagrams are used to illustrate lessons set them back several years.” during classes and presentations on diabetes by Newman Regional Health offers prevention programs Newman Regional Health’s diabetes educators. The as well as management for prop in the foreground demonstrates what can happen those who are already sick. to people’s organs if they have diabetes.

Malone, per physician week, so it’s a six-hour total betics Newman Regional referral, can offer medical class,” Malone said.

Health serves who have “If you’re pre-diabetic, improved their outcomes or if you just have a family significantly through the member that’s diabetic — program. Some of these payou just want more informa- tients started out with high tion — anyone is welcome A1Cs and had them drop. to come to that support “When they come back group,” Adams said. for a three-month follow-up Newman R e g i o n a l after taking the class, their Health’s diabetic educators A1C from the time of the take part in Health Fest, an initiation of the initial aseducation event sponsored sessment have improved —

by Emporia State Universi- down like three points,” she ty, every year in October. said.

Malone also goes into the Diabetic patients somecommunity with her mes- times lose weight through sage. She has a number of the program as well. Accordprops and diagrams, which ing to Malone, the most she she takes with her when has seen a patient lose after she presents to community taking a class is about 40 to clubs and groups. Malone 50 pounds. does such presentations on “That’s not typical,” she request. said. “But we’ve had some Adams offers education that reduce their amount of in the community as well, insulin that they’ve needed doing talks about foot care to take or adjustments in and diabetes in general. their medications. Improved “We reach out to the com- blood pressures.” munity when they ask us,” “Some people have been Adams said. “We try to ac- taken off diabetic medicacommodate them.” tions completely,” Adams The diabetes education said. program has seen some sucThis isn’t always the case, cess in the community. but it’s possible with dediAccording to Malone, cation from patients. They there are a number of dia- have to apply themselves to

V

V

nutrition therapy. This, she said, deals with changes to diet and physical activity to help those at risk of diabetes.

“If they’re overweight, which is typical — if they lose 7 to 10 percent of their weight — we can reduce those risks of Type 2 diabetes,” she said.

This has to be done oneon-one. According to Adams, the hospital doesn’t offer a Medicare program for pre-diabetic patients.

At this time, she said, the hospital lacks the resources to provide such a program.

That’s not all Newman Regional Health offers diabetic patients. Malone and Adams have also begun to seek grants to help those in the community who have high deductibles or who have insurance that won’t cover diabetes education.

This could help decrease health costs for patients seeking Malone’s services and keep people out of the hospital in the long-term.

“Statistics-wise, if someone is diagnosed with dia-

February 9 and 10, 2019 betes — Type 2 diabetes — in the community and their doctor refers them and they come to the program and they participate in the entire program, the data shows, how successful they can be,” Adams said. “The more help they have the more successful they usually are. A lot of times, they’ll come to a referral and they’ll think, ‘okay, I got enough information, I’m gonna do it on my own.’ But what we find is, people that follow through with the entire class, generally, stay with it longer, they usually have better goal setting, and they usually have better results.”

According to Malone, they look at program outcomes closely. She said about 90 percent of their patients reach the goal of reducing their A1C by a small amount. Malone said she finds education and letting people know what’s going on in their bodies does more good than just telling them to avoid certain foods.

“Education’s the key,” she said.

February 9 and 10, 2019

V

V

V

THE GAZETTE, EMPORIA, KANSAS

JESSIE WAGONER/GAZETTE

The new labor and delivery suites at Morris County Hospital have already been used for several births. The two rooms are newly remodeled and updated with the newest technology.

HOSPITAL From PAGE 1 The new entrance to the emergency department is located on the opposite side of the hospital from what patients are accustomed too.

Signage is plentiful to direct community members to the new location. Once patients have entered the building, they will be greeted by a receptionist and enter the emergency department.

Due to the land-locked nature of the hospital, there is little opportunity for expansion. As a result, it was decided space should be repurpused in the existing structure to make way for an updated emergency department.

This led to moving and refreshing the labor and delivery suites.

The labor and delivery suites are large and filled with natural light. They have been updated to include the most up-to-date technology while still providing a relaxing and comforting environment. The relocation of the rooms al-

so allowed for the installation of a security system to ensure all newborns remain safe during their stay.

“We have already had several babies born in the new rooms,” Leeper said.

With the labor and delivery suites relocated, the space they had previously occupied was renovated for the new emergency department. There are now five patient rooms, including a trauma room designated for emergency care. The rooms are located immediately behind a 24/7 staffed nursing station.

The new emergency department will be using a new model of physician coverage calls for rotating one of their four physicians to dedicate a 24-hour shift to serve patients presenting in the emergency room.

The assigned doctor will not be onsite the entire 24 hours, unless demand dictates it, but will be within minutes of bedside should a patient arrive. The nursing staff will assess patient needs and check patients in as soon as they present.

Come early March, patients will also have another

option for care — ConvenientCare — which will provide treatment for non-emergent needs with a lower pricing model of care. ConvenientCare, will be available during limited hours on Saturday and Sunday and for a period of time in the evenings during the week after the local clinic has closed.

“The entry for ConvenientCare will be through the emergency department, but if following a nurse triage and assessment, the condition is not deemed to be an emergency, the patient will be offered a chance to see a doctor in a non-emergent designation, at a much lower price structure,” Leeper said.

Other exciting changes are coming soon at the hospital. Leeper said there are plans in the near future to open its recently accredited Sleep Center as well as a Pain Management Program, as an adjunct to the Surgery Department.

“People want to stay in their community for health care,” Leeper said. “All of these efforts are so we can serve our customers in the best way possible.”

V

V

V

Page 3

Page 4

NRH From PAGE 1 challenging,” O’Keefe said.

“If the X-ray tech was in there, then the lab couldn’t go in there at the same time.

Now, there’s enough room for everybody to where I know we have streamlined patient care. We’re able to — in all of the rooms — serve the patient from both sides of the bed. In the old ER, we were often limited to one side of the bed because the bed was up against the wall.”

O’Keefe said this has also improved comfort for family members who are in the room as well. While it was common for family to have to leave an examination room in order to make room for ER staff, now they are able to stay in the room comfortably. There’s even a private bathroom attached to most of the rooms, which also increases patient privacy.

“Everybody’s aware of walking through the hospital in a gown with your rear hanging out,” O’Keefe said. “All of the rooms have private bathrooms, so you don’t have to be wandering around the ER exposing yourself to the public. Privacy’s a big issue for sure, in that respect. We really appreciate the privacy aspect a great deal. The accommodations are great for staff and for visitors.”

O’Keefe said the centralized nursing station is also helping to streamline care by making it easier for health professionals to meet and collaborate over patient care.

“There’s privacy for staff so the public doesn’t pick up on conversations they shouldn’t hear,” he said.

“As professionals, doctors might say, ‘Have you got any ideas?’ or ‘Is there anything we’re missing?’ That’s actually good for patient care for that discussion to take place, and so it allows us to work collaboratively without compromising patient privacy.”

The expansion also in-

V

V

V

cludes a new ambulance bay with critical care rooms located immediately after that space. O’Keefe said patients can be transferred to those rooms quickly so that medical care can continue faster.

The rooms offer separate climate controls so providers can better tend to critical patients.

“The critical care rooms are actually bigger than our other patient rooms because, obviously, those are the kinds of cases that require multiple providers inside of the room,” he said.

“They’re built for that, and we can also individually get the temperature up to 81 degrees in the rooms, which is suggested for taking care of trauma patients.”

O’Keefe said the ability to increase the temperature for trauma patients is imperative when working to stabilize them. Warm fluids, blankets, a Bair Hugger convective temperature management system and overall room temperature lead to better patient outcomes.

For patients that might be a danger to themselves or others, there are ligature-free rooms available where sliding doors actually cover medical equipment.

This helps limit a patient’s ability to use equipment in a room to harm themselves or someone else.

“We just pull the garage door down and then the patient can’t hurt themselves,” O’Keefe said. “We have observation windows where we can give them privacy, where in the old ER, we would have to have somebody sitting outside of the room with the door open. It’s good for them and it’s good for us, and it’s good for other patients in the ER because unfortunately ... sometimes patients in a mental health crisis — they’re swearing loudly, they’re screaming, they’re doing all sorts of things and then you’ve got the kid with strep throat in the next room.”

Emergency Department Physician Dr. Roland Darey said that ability to control the environment has really allowed staff to uphold its high standards for patient

Welcome to the Neighborhood

THE GAZETTE, EMPORIA, KANSAS privacy in the emergency department.

“I think the privacy for the patients is a lot better,” he said. “Our more critical patients in the old ER were in bays where we had two beds divided by a curtain.

You could see what was going on, you could hear the conversations that were going on, and even if you weren’t in those rooms. If you were near those rooms you could peek in and see what was going on and you could hear what’s going on.

The way the patients are spread out now, it’s really significantly improved privacy in that respect. It’s also made it a lot more comfortable for patients and their families. I think that’s what the hospital was after.”

Darey said he has already seen more people taking advantage of Newman Express Care, which is now co-located with the ER. With patients choosing express care over the emergency room for lower urgency medical needs, they are hoping to see some decreases in treatment times.

For patients that choose the ER, or who come for care when express care is closed, there are “fast-track” rooms that can be used for things like strep throat or ear infections — where people need treatment but not necessarily a whole barrage of tests. O’Keefe said that just wasn’t possible in the old ER. “There are times we’ll get 60 patients in a day [in the ER] and in that small environment it made for some long waiting times, whereas now the public has access to express care,” O’Keefe said.

“We have a fast-track where we can take care of some of the lower acuity cases and it’s a reduced wait time.”

Both O’Keefe and Darey said they were grateful for the chance to bring better care to Emporia and the surrounding communities.

“We’re gonna strive to be good stewards of what we’ve been given and ask that the community be good stewards as well,” O’Keefe said. “We’re going to take great care of people.”

V

V

V

February 9 and 10, 2019

HOLIDAY RESORT’S MISSION: HELPING ELDERS WITH ATTENTIVE, RESPECTFUL AND TIMELY SERVICE. “I AM ABLE TO DO MANY THINGS FOR MYSELF BUT NURSING IS THERE IF I NEED THEM. THE STAFF ARE FRIENDLY AND PROFESSIONAL. TO ME THIS IS A FAMILY ATMOSPHERE.” -FLOYD N.

“ITS A NICE PLACE TO BE. THE HELP IS FRIENDLY, AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF ACTIVITIES TO KEEP US BUSY.” - LYNN J.

2700 W. 30th Avenue • Emporia, KS 66801 www.holidayresorts.net • 620-343-9285