MED Magazine December 2020 | The Year in Review by MED- (Midwest Medical Edition)

Four Ways to Build Trust with Patients

DECEMBER

Rapid City Corneal Surgeon Got His Start at the Eye Bank

VOL. 11 NO. 8

News Headlines from Around the Region 2020

THE YEAR IN

REVIEW

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VO LU M E 1 1 , N O. 8 ■ D E C E M B E R 2020

Inside This Issue

In a year dominated by COVID-19, our annual Year in Review is proof that there were other notable events and people worth talking about. ■ By Alex Strauss

PAGE

The YEAR in REVIEW

FROM US TO YOU

appy Holidays from all of us here at MED! As we wrap up what has been an extremely

challenging year for everyone in healthcare, we want to reiterate how proud we are to serve this medical community. We are continually awed by and grateful for the skill, dedication,

and

knowledge

the

outstanding providers and administrators here on the Northern Plains. We’ll be toasting all of you at our holiday tables this year! In this issue, we continue our long tradition of providing a summary of the year’s top stories. This year, not

CONTENTS

only does the “Year in Review” serve as a reminder that there actually

PAGE 6 | The Empathy Effect: Four Ways to Build Trust and Strengthen Relationships with Patients ■ By COPIC The provider-patient relationship is more critical than ever in this age of uncertainty. Here’s how to strengthen yours. PAGE 8 | THIS MONTH ONLINE SDAHO finds a unique way to thank healthcare workers, a new non-surgical weight loss tool in Sioux Falls, who really needs long-term care insurance, and tips for creating your financial plan.

PAGE 16 | News & Notes

A comprehensive roundup of recent medical community news headlines from across the region

were other noteworthy stories to tell in 2020, but it’s also an opportunity to revisit those you might not have had the time—or headspace—to

PAGE 20 | Coping with COVID

Here are some of the ways area healthcare systems are responding right now. PAGE 22 | Meet Dr. Colin Brown

Rapid City Corneal Surgeon Got His Start at Dakota Lions Sight & Health ■ By Alex Strauss

read earlier in the year. We also have the latest news headlines, a collection of articles you’ll only find on our website, and Rapid City’s newest corneal surgeon who got his start at Dakota Lions Sight and Health. Enjoy and we’ll see you next year! All the Best, —Steff and Alex

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Dr. Amanda Young, a family practice physician with Avera Medical Group Spencer (closest to camera), and Laura Manwarren, Spencer Hospital Emergency Services director.

TOGETHER. MED salutes the outstanding local healthcare professionals who work

tirelessly to preserve and protect the health of our communities every day.

THANK YOU

The Empathy Effect

4 Ways to Build Trust and Strengthen Relationships with Patients BY COPIC’S PATIENT SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

HE PROVIDER-PATIENT relationship is critical to quality care, especially now, in an age of heightened uncertainty. Communicating effectively is



OMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY C VIA PHONE AND DIGITAL CHANNELS

one of the most important skill sets any provider

When it comes to showing empathy and ensuring that

can have, and continuously improving your capacity

patients understand their health status and recom-

for relationship building will benefit you and your

mended treatments, video calls enable you to use eye

practice for years to come.

contact and read patients’ facial expressions. But what about when you’re limited to telehealth via phone or a text-only chat online?



“It’s an additional challenge because you can’t rely

CULTIVATE EMPATHY

on nonverbal cues,” says Dr. Varnell.

THROUGH EFFECTIVE IN-PERSON COMMUNICATION

probably need to ask more questions in order to assess

If you’re communicating via chat or phone, you’ll the situation, determine a course of action, and make

Empathy is the ability to show that you understand

sure your patient understands. Dr. Varnell emphasizes

or even share the feelings of another person. Showing

the importance of reflective listening when you com-

authentic empathy helps patients feel heard, under-

municate recommended treatment or procedures in

stood, and supported. Research has shown that

an online chat or phone setting.

communicating with empathy leads to higher patient

“You can say, ‘Okay, so this is what we recommend,

and provider satisfaction, improved adherence to treat-

and these are the risks—Why don’t you tell us what

ment plans, and better health outcomes.

you understood about that?’”

Foundational to empathy is the ability to see a situation from within the patient’s frame of reference, says Dr. Jeffrey Varnell, a general surgeon and physician risk manager with COPIC. “As doctors, for example, we know that infections can occur after surgery, but for a patient, that’s not routine at all and can be very scary,” he says.



SE A ROBUST INFORMED U CONSENT PROCESS —NOT JUST A FORM

Informed consent is much more than just a legal

Once you’re looking at a situation through your

imperative. “It’s a chance to improve communication

patient’s eyes, practice reflective listening. When you

and help patients get the most out of their medical

listen reflectively, it means you make eye contact while

care,” says Dr. Varnell.

your patients talk, show genuine interest in what they

For informed consent to be effective, you need a

say, listen without interrupting or interjecting, and

thorough communication process that accompanies

summarize what they said to make sure you under-

any relevant forms.

stand and validate their concerns.

“We distinguish between the process and the paper,” says Dr. Varnell. “The process is where you

MidwestMedicalEdition.com

ensure your patients understand and to increase their compliance in their treatment. It includes conversations, pamphlets, videos—anything that helps them understand.” When patients understand a recommended treatment and its indications, risks, benefits, alternatives, and the risk of not proceeding, they’re more likely to comply with treatment plans and experience improved outcomes. Dr. Varnell emphasizes the importance of having the informed consent conversation yourself as the treating provider and never delegating it, though other providers can supplement the process and documentation. Once you explain the risks and benefits of a treatment or procedure, make sure your patients understand what you’ve said, including the potential for any adverse outcomes.



AFTER AN ADVERSE OUTCOME, FOCUS ON THE PATIENT’S NEEDS

Transparency, honesty, and effective communication are all critical to maintaining strong relationships with patients—particularly after an adverse outcome. When results aren’t what you or the patient hoped for, empathetic communication and being there for the patient and their family become indispensable. Communication and resolution programs are designed to address the patient’s needs, protect the provider-patient relationship, and prevent lengthy legal action in the wake of an unexpected outcome. The goals are to be honest and open about what happened and offer patients and families the chance to ask questions and get answers. “Often lawsuits are an attempt to get information and resolution,” says Dr. Varnell. “People want to know what happened, and most of the time, they also want to know what you’re doing to prevent it from happening to others.” Contrary to popular belief, research shows that apologizing and taking responsibility does not increase the likelihood of legal action. It does increase the likelihood of resolution, understanding, and acceptance, though. All too often, providers avoid communicating with patients after an adverse outcome out of fear of recrimination or lawsuits. This reaction actually makes legal action more likely and makes patients feel ignored. ❖

December 2020

THIS MONTH ONLINE Highlighting content and opportunities available exclusively at MidwestMedicalEdition.com

COVID S HEROE JULIE MEYER

MANAGER OF INFECTIO PREVENT ION AT SANFORD

Sanford Julie Meyer, Infection Manager of been instruPrevention, has 9 ing COVID-1 mental in develop protocols in addition planning and ng and developi to surge planning ng PPE. s for conservi best practice call have been on She and her team preinfection for COVID-19-related Sioux 24/7 across the vention calls g to Sanford, Falls region. Accordin tirelessly rounding “Julie has been s ensure all question on the units to s and proper protocol are answered is a subject matter Julie . are followed n prevent ion expert in infectio staff, for keeping our which is vital visitors safe.” and patients,

only am I thinking covered. “So not having shop. I’m also about my own long meeting s with daily virtual , ambulatory care term care facilities says homes, etc,” clinics, funeral ic is not hospipandem “A Turbak. . community centered tal-centr ic, it’s and predict to trying You are always ent can’t be complac forecast. We going to happen.” and think it isn’t

JENNIFER BENDER

-19 pandemic As the COVID our region, began to impact are had to everyone in healthc and decisively. adapt quickly zations We invited organi to share some across the area Heroes’ of the many ’COVIDdo what up to d steppe who was needed.

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, PRAIRIE LAKES HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

of Marketing, PLHS Director is also the Public Jennifer Bender, n for the Watertow Information Officer memAlong with two Area Task Force. who department, bers of the police with Bender, PIOs as are also serving Facebook a community she launched ion hub as an informat page to serve commutes a daily live and coordina with a Bender worked nity update. daily summar ize the local group to da and launche briefing in Spanish In for social media. video PSA project g, Marketin of her role as Director icainternal commun Bender ran the and 9 protocol s tions on COVID-1 ad camtrong #PrairieS developed a the the staff and paign to inspire

a pandemic before. been through . We will have This is new territory now fact but right notes after the it. “ we are just living

SHANNON BRITT

INFECTION CONTROL NURSE, PRAIRIE RE LAKES HEALTHCA SYSTEM

PLHS infection Shannon control nurse infection control MONIC A Britt oversees es. During the EVERSON policies and procedur , RN, ER DIRECTOR started a weekly pandem ic, she PRAIRIE LAKES on infection newslet ter focused HEALTHCARE SYSTEM res. and procedu control policies PLHS ER Director directors to implehas had Britt works with Monica Everson s and educate ment new protocol to prepare her to pivot quickly daily email updates in staff and sends a possible surge . She is department for everyone informed keep included to has 9. This n cases of COVID-1 with the Watertow also involved how to manage instruct ing staff and helps coordifor Area Task Force who are asking the walking-well healthcare entities other nate with other cross-tra ining virus tests, prepared in some ER, in town. “I was to work in the K control clinical staff how what infection SHELLY TURBA it is ways. I knew and making sure OFFICER, gathering PPE CHIEF NURSING “But this has become was,” she says g the logistics managin growth and PRAIRIE LAKES handy, and personal has a professional job pretty much HEALTHCARE SYSTEM you go. of triage. “My been like ‘Here situation. It’s Prairie Lakes staff that what and fly!’” been to reassure CDC,” System Spread your wings in line with the Healthc are we’re doing is a policy Turbak overwho created CNO Shelly says Everson the “There re Branch of updates daily. sees the Healthca binder that she nd out central comma information city/cou nty is so much Task Watertown Area all of it is reliknown as the there and not re entities throughfeel like my Force. Healthca able. When I to wn area report has the out the Waterto staff is safe and tes with other ion, I feel her and she collabora latest informat sure for the needed, to make branches, as OK when I leave hospital supplies us have everything–from day. None of is workers– re healthca to daycare for MidwestMedicalEdi

ERIN SCARB

OROUGH

REGIONAL MEDICAL

our providers.”

JANNA ROSE PURCHASING DIRECTOR, HURON REGIONAL MEDICAL

COVID CARE THE INPATIENT AL TEAM, HURON REGION MEDICAL CENTER

ity.’”

Protecting Your Assets with Long Term Care Insurance

JASON BARNHARD

CENTER

Huron ng director for As the purchasi last Center for the Regional Medical tenaRose has been 25 years, Janna get sure HRMC can cious at making for community. need to prepare the supplies they 9 cases. “In the a surge in COVID-1 RA s and delays, RONY HERRE shortage face of many ions REYES out to connect AN & she’s reached FLOOR TECHNICI State the and ‘dogged’ HURON far and wide HOUSEKEEPER, get our fair share.,” we sure REGIONAL MEDICAL to make d “She’s develope CENTER HRMC told MED. plans upon backup celebrated backup plans Rony recently protectcareful about as a floor techand been very This one year working we do have. Regiona l Medical ing the supplies e nician at Huron personal protectiv 9 panthe COVID-1 includes not only supCenter. During from also cleaning asked to change equipment, but was . he demic, n -needed supplies as a floor technicia plies and regularly to get his regular duties and not afraid eping for several She’s bright she to provide houseke point with what campus Accordright to the staff areas of the hospital and new entire facility he took on these needs for our ing to HRMC, and noncomplaint care for COVID safely without to responsibilities .” attitude. “As things COVID patients and with a positive to flex again was asked changed, he it is ent and said, his work environm into me to keep coming important for rI working whereve the hospital and and for the patients, am needed – for our commun

Exclusive online articles

CENTER

HURON LAB DIRECTOR, Scarborough Medical Center, s at Huron Regional As lab director new testing protocol in developing by the horns” ugh helped develop “took the bull Health. Scarboro Department of COVID-19 with the State drive-through for the initial up processes county task force the plan and set she helped the ce bay. Later, s. Scarborough hospital’s ambulan s and processe protocol testing in the the same spot for the testing using an early hot implement off-site for Beadle County, initiative adequate supplies . “She took the advocated for an Abbott Analyzer one day of it’s the county procure and testing within virus, and helped has got the unit up seriously and technology and testing very to research the takes accurate diagnosis for told MED. “She quick and accurate arrival,” HRMC we can provide to make sure worked tirelessly

CRNA

LINDSEY MCCASKELL RN, ASSISTANT INPATIENT DIRECTOR

DESTINY FINN RN, OB COORDIN

ATOR

County When Beadle of saw its first cases COVID-19 in early

Long term care is one of those topics that is easy to put into

March, HRMC’s Care Inpatient COVID Team quickly their connected with the state elsewhere in counterparts to to develop a plan and the country of N95 extend the use conserve and for COVID patients rs, respirato care ICU, intubated in the needing to be areas on the and create isolation floors. This trio medical and OB the to map out how led the effort to operate, how COVID ward would ons, and medicati separate supplies one could support and how staff PPE and coming another in applying the ward. in and out of

the “someday” category. After all, if you are healthy and plan to stay that way, you may never need it, right? However, the facts suggest there is a good chance that you 7

June 2020

tion.com

will. Find out why the experts at Frontier Bank say it’s not just about paying for care.

Call for COVID Heroes! If anything positive has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the opportunity to bring into the spotlight the fine work of so many area healthcare professionals– both on the “front lines” of direct patient care and behind the scenes accommodating for rapidly-changing needs. In that spirit, we continue to welcome your nom-

Non-Surgical Weight Loss at Surgical Institute with Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty Insurance companies routinely cover the cost of weight loss surgery for people with a BMI over 40 or those with a BMI over 35 with comorbidities. Unfortunately, says board certified general surgeon Bradley Thaemert of Surgical Institute of South Dakota, those cutoffs exclude a number of high-risk individuals. But a new minimally invasive weight loss procedure could offer hope to these individuals.

SDAHO Offers Unique Way to Say ‘Thanks’ to Healthcare Workers Feeling exhausted? Depleted? This 2-minute video from the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations is sure to lift your spirits.

inations for “COVID Heroes”, anyone working in healthcare who has gone “above and beyond” in recent months. Send an email with a brief description (and photo, if available) to info@MidwestMedicalEdition.com. Please put “COVID Heroes” in the subject line.

Need some inspiration? Read about some of our other COVID Heroes on our website.

MidwestMedicalEdition.com

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MED’s popular website attracts thousands of medical professionals each month. Posting your open positions on our new job board is an economical way to get more

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STEPS TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL PLAN BRAD LUPKES likens going through life without a financial plan to taking a road trip without a map or GPS. “You wouldn’t just jump in your car and start driving and hope you got there eventually,” says Lupkes, a Wealth Advisor in the Wealth Management and Trust Department at Frontier Bank. “Chances are you would decide where you want to go and then sit down and plan your trip, choosing what route to take and where to stop along the way.” Lupkes says a good financial plan works the same way, starting with a clear picture of a person’s current financial life. “What that means on my end, is that we start gathering information,” says Lupkes, who has more than 17 years of experience developing financial plans for clients. “I ask a lot of questions about their financial situation, their assets and liabilities, how much they have saved for retirement and what they are currently doing.” Early in the planning process with his clients, Lupkes compiles this information

into a single page summary that acts as a starting point for a comprehensive, long-term plan. The next step is to decide on the financial destination, including any desired “stops” along the way. “This is where we start to identify some goals, such as ‘I want to retire at 65’, ‘I want to buy a lake home’, ‘I want to travel’ or ‘I want to spoil my grandkids,’” says Lupkes. He then helps clients prioritize these goals and map out a “route” —including timelines and savings and investment targets— that can help them get there. “After that, it is really just about making sure people stay on track with their plan,” says Lupkes. “Life events can happen that may change the goals, markets can change, etc. We feel that the financial plan should not be a one-time thing. The plan is constantly refined and updated on a yearly basis to keep our clients on track.” Read Lupkes’ advice on the best time to create a financial plan and how to choose an advisor in the full version of this article on our website.

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A YEAR dominated by COVID-19, it is easy to overlook the fact that there were other noteworthy events and people to talk about in 2020. Many of them graced these pages throughout the year and we are delighted to bring you this opportunity to revisit their stories (or, perhaps, see them for the first time) in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Year in Review.

BY ALEX STRAUSS

The YEAR

January/ February New Decade, New Name Rebrand Reflects Monumental Changes at Regional Health

n January, Rapid City-based Regional Health officially became Monument Health. The new name came with a new logo requiring millions of dollars of new signage

for its five hospitals, eight specialty and surgical centers, and 40+ clinics and service centers. It also coincided with a new affiliation with the Mayo Clinic Care Network. “There was a unanimous feeling that it was the right time to move forward with the new brand,” Monument Health CEO Paulette Davidson told MED. “We are different than we were even three years ago. We have recruited more than 200 physicians in the last few years, transitioned to an EMR system, and are making significant investments in all of our campuses, including a 270 million dollar project here in Rapid City.” “We have approached this thoughtfully because we want to be fiscally responsible,” added Robin Zebroski, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communication. “The money for new signs on the south side of that campus was already in the budget,” The Monument Health name was a nod to the history and legacy of the Black Hills and a reference to the health system’s commitment to stand firm, ready to weather future challenges. Davidson says the new alignment with Mayo Clinic will help them keep that commitment. “For [our physicians] to have that world-re-

March Reflections on Three Decades in South Dakota Medicine H. Thomas Hermann, MD

or 33 years, family physician H. Thomas Hermann, MD, cared for the elderly, delivered babies, took call in the ER, led community projects, and watched partners come and go. In March, we helped him celebrate his retirement from

Monument Health Sturgis Clinic by inviting him to share some of his hard-won insights. MED: You have long been active with the South Dakota State Medical Association. What do you see as some of the most positive changes in state medicine? HTH: Moving to Electronic Health Records was a major challenge and cost us productivity for a while, but it is a huge benefit to patients. We can now have so much information at our fingertips. Another positive thing I see is that a lot more things are handled by teams now, which is good for patient care. MED: Are there any trends that you find concerning? HTH: More and more physicians of my generation are retiring, so we are going to have shortages of primary care physicians, which will drive up costs. We need more graduate program support to encourage more doctors into primary care. MED: Thirty-three years is a long time to practice. Is there anything that has not changed in that time?

nowned clinical knowledge and expertise

HTH: I think what hasn’t changed is that we continue to try to do

available... not only improves their ability to

what is right for our patients, offering quality medical care. In

care for people but will improve our ability to

family medicine, we try to be good listeners and good advocates

retain well-trained physicians.” ❖

and to guide our patients in making good choices. ❖

in REVIEW

June Creating Unbreakable Bonds Steven J. Meyer, MD, Orthopaedic Surgeon

April/May Care Beyond Healing Amanda Sedlacek, DO Palliative Medicine Specialist

s a child, Amanda Sedlacek, DO, of Yankton Medical Clinic, spent time helping to care

his March, just as the attention of the world was turning to COVID-19, orthopaedic surgeon Steven J. Meyer, MD, of the CNOS Clinic in Dakota Dunes became the recipient of the 2020 American Academy

of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ Humanitarian Award. The award came just three months after his 51st medical mission trip to Tanzania as part of Siouxland Tanzania Educational Medical Ministries (STEMM), the nonprofit organization he founded in 1997. STEMM is dedicated to bringing medical care and educational opportunities to the East African nation. “When I went for the first time in 1996, they were

for her aging grandmother who passed away when she was in first grade.

“My family had to deal with some really hard

end-of-life issues and I remember watching how my grandmother changed as a person as she became ill,” remembers Sedlacek, whose mother was a nurse. The experience ultimately drew Dr. Sedlacek to internal medicine where she saw a chance to care for “the whole person and the whole body”, both in and out of the hospital. “After my first year of training, one of our program directors told me he thought I would enjoy hospice medicine,” she says. Within a month of working with hospice inpatients, Sedlacek’s mind was made up. Palliative and hospital medicine can include helping to manage symptoms such as pain, nausea, dyspnea, depression, anxiety, constipation, or diarrhea. But it can also extend to advanced care planning, lining up home services, providing medication review and recommendations and assisting with bereavement and psychosocial support. “I feel like it is the greatest blessing to take care of people at the end of life,” she says. “Dying is something people don’t talk about. It is a time of very raw human emotions. Not just grief and sadness, but also a lot of love. I feel fortunate that I

The YEAR

can help people go through this.” ❖

sterilizing instruments with a hot plate and a cast iron

environment. She believes that relationships

pot. I was operating with makeshift instruments and going

between nurses and physicians, nurses and admin-

to the hardware store to get screws to put in people,” Dr.

istrators, and nurses and other nurses or uncertified

Meyer told MED.

caregivers will be critical for navigating the

Eight years later, Meyer performed the country’s first hip replacement in that same hospital. Two years after that, he and his team also did the first knee replacement. “The STEMM mission opened up a new avenue of high level ortho surgery for the entire country,” he says. Today, orthopaedic surgery is just one aspect of STEMM. The organization also runs an orphanage and

uncharted waters of South Dakota’s healthcare future. “The bottom line is that you have to talk about and support your nurses, which includes making sure that they can feel safe” says Fischer-Clemens. “We have to demonstrate that we understand how important their role is to all of us. It is only becoming more so.” ❖

feeding programs, provides funding for education, and has built roads, buildings, and a birthing center. “This [Siouxland] is not necessarily where you would expect a phenomenal mission to be born,” says Meyer. “We are a different culture, a different color, and mostly blue collar. But people here have demonstrated a great heart for this mission.” ❖

July/August The Year of the Nurse Celebrating Nursing in the Time of COVID

wo hundred years after the birth of Florence Nightingale, the World Health Organization designated 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. But thanks to COVID-19, what was sup-

posed to have been a celebratory year all but slipped by without much celebration. The timing of Certified Nurses Day on March 19th was particularly unfortunate; that was the week most states began to see their first cases of coronavirus. “If there is anything good thing that has come out of COVID, it is an improved sense that nurses are so important and that physicians and nurses have to be a team,” says Deb Fischer-Clemens, President of the South Dakota Nurses Association and Director of the Avera Center for Public Policy. “I think more physicians are recognizing how important it is to have that nurse at the bedside assisting them every way they can.” Fisher-Clemens says the value of this mutual appreciation goes way beyond fostering a positive working

in REVIEW

September/October Better Breast Cancer Odds Through Better Detection Frederick “Joe” Severs, MD Breast Radiologist

ationwide, the breast cancer detection rate stands at about 4.7 per 1,000 mammograms. Among mammograms read by breast cancer specialists at Sanford, that figure is 45 percent higher, and

climbing. Frederick Severs, MD, a fellowship-trained breast radiologist and Medical Director of Breast Radiology at Edith Sanford Breast Center says the difference is fellowship training. “As breast radiologists, all we do is breast cancer, so our skills are very honed,” he says. Breast radiologists do an additional year of immersion in breast cancer after their general radiology training, resulting in 15 to 17 months of total breast cancer radiology training. In large university medical centers, most screening mammograms are read by fellowship-trained breast radiologists. But Severs says it is unusual for a city the size of Sioux Falls to offer this level of expertise. As the size of Sanford’s breast radiology team has grown, so have breast cancer detection rates. Sanford’s specialists are finding 30 to 35 percent more breast cancers than the general radiologists do and 25 percent more of the hardest-to-detect tumors under 1 cm.

November Envisioning the Future of Medical Education Timothy Ridgway, MD Dean of the Sanford School of Medicine

n September 1st, Sioux Falls gastroenterologist and USD Sanford School of Medicine graduate Tim Ridgway, MD, was named Vice President of Health Affairs and the medical school’s new

dean. We spoke with him after his first month on the job for the November issue. “I am not a person who said ‘I want to be a dean’ and applied to deanships around the country,” Dr.

“These are very unlikely to have spread to the rest of

Ridgway told MED. “But when this position came up, I

the body and they approach about 100 percent cure rate.

just knew that I wanted to be dean of this school because

So these are really the cancers that you want to be finding

the school gave a small town kid from Ravinia, South

for better outcomes,” says Severs.

Dakota the chance to pursue a dream.”

Thanks to two mobile mammography units, 31,000

Despite the challenges of providing high quality

women were screened through Edith Sanford Breast Center

medical education during a pandemic, Ridgway said

in 2019. Including mammograms, ultrasounds, MRIs, and

the year has been a learning experience for both the

procedures, there were more than 43,000 total studies. ❖

school and the students. Online classes have allowed the school to better utilize the expertise of teaching faculty from around the state. And moving to virtual staff meetings has improved participation. But Ridgway says the lessons are bigger than logistics. “If COVID has taught us anything, it is the value of a public health knowledge base,” he said. “We are seeing the need for experts in public health firsthand. The curriculum needs to evolve. Physicians today need to be more than just providers of healthcare. They also need to have the tools, knowledge and language to help direct how that healthcare is delivered so that this new generation can help shape future healthcare policy.” ❖

The YEAR in REVIEW 14

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W O R G , D A E LE V R E S D N A online e l p i t l u ffers m o g o far. n i g s t r u u b N , l USD y loca a t s o t u r yo BSN, o f o t s n N o i R t op online r u o t u tions. p o Check o P N dD MSN an December 2020

usd.edu/nursing

Happenings around the region

News & Notes

South Dakota | Southwest Minnesota | Northwest Iowa | Northeast Nebraska

AVERA Avera has again earned the highest level of recognition as a Level 10 organization in the 2020 Digital Health Most Wired Survey conducted by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). CHIME’s Most Wired list recognizes healthcare organizations that successfully use IT to improve patient safety and outcomes. This is the second year Avera has been named a Level 10 organization and the 21st time Avera has been honored on the Most Wired list. Avera was one of five health systems in the nation eligible for Level 10 status in 2020.

Rural Health Care, Inc., a Federally Qualified Health Center, began operating Access Health–Brookings in early November. Access Health–Brookings is a collaborative project with Avera Health, building upon existing collaborations in South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. The FQHC is leasing space in an existing Avera facility, incorporating existing providers and staff. This FQHC expansion increases access to a community health center for nearly 12,000 residents in the region.

The Avera Specialty Hospital at the Avera on Louise Health Campus in Sioux Falls recently celebrated its first year of treating patients on Sioux Falls’ southwest side. The five-story specialty hospital and connected three-story Avera Medical Group building, comprising 260,000 square feet, was the largest building project in Avera history. The hospital and connected medical building offer specialty care in orthopedics, gastroenterology, urogynecology, rheumatology and internal medicine. The first patients were seen there Oct. 29, 2019.

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Freeman Regional Health Service CEO/ Administrator Nick Brandner retired in November after serving in that capacity since January 2015. Brandner started his career as an RN in Orthopedics and Intensive Care at St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen. Since taking the top leadership position at FRHS, Brandner has steered initiatives that have grown FRHS into one of the premier rural hospitals in the region. FRHS is an Avera affiliate

MONUMENT Due to increasing community transmission of COVID-19 in western South Dakota, Monument Health returned to its no-visitor policy in early November. There are limited exceptions to allow a support person to accompany labor-and-delivery patients, patients under 18, patients with developmental disabilities, and cases where patient education assistance is needed. The new policy does not apply to clinics or to outpatient surgeries and procedures at hospitals.

By your side, and moving

FORWARD. Monument Health patients are still able to stay in touch with friends and family via electronic means such as Google Hangouts, Zoom, Jitsi Meet or Apple FaceTime. In many cases, Monument Health hospitals have iPads available for patients who don’t have their own devices. Family and friends can also send e-cards to their hospitalized loved one by visiting the Monument Health E-Cards web page. Cards are printed in the hospital and delivered with the patient’s meal.

SANFORD

We wake up every day to serve in the towns and places you call home. We’ve expanded our innovative care, expertise and access to always keep your patients moving. Because forward is the only direction we know.

REFER TO 605-217-2667, OPTION 7. CNOS.NET

SANFORD ABERDEEN Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center recently recognized RN Madison Jones with a DAISY Award for extraordinary nursing. In a nomination letter, a congestive heart failure patient wrote, “I’ve never had or met a nurse so caring and genuine.”

December 2020

• Happenings around the region

News & Notes

Happenings around the region

Sanford Health has signed a letter of intent to parter with Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare. The two not-for-profit organizations hope to sign a merger agreement in 2021 pending federal and state approvals. The combined organization will employ more than 89,000 people and operate 70 hospitals and 435 clinics. Marc Harrison, MD, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, will be president and CEO of the combined organization. Kelby Krabbenhoft, president and CEO of Sanford Health, will serve as president emeritus. Both organizations will continue to operate under their current names for the foreseeable future.

JAMES WUDEL

SPARKLING

F o r

t h e

h o l i d a y s

Sparkling wines are made in about every country that grows grapes. If it's from Italy, it's probably Prosecco If its from Spain it is more than likely Cava When it is produced in the USA it is sparkling wine If it is from the Champagne region in France it is true Champagne.

Cardiac surgeon James Wudel, MD, is joining Sanford Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery Clinic in Sioux Falls. Dr. Wudel earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and did his residency at Vanderbilt University Hospitals in Tennessee. He also completed fellowships at the University of California San Francisco and Cleveland Clinic. Wudel has extensive experience with surgical treatment of abnormalities of the heart and coronary arteries and has served as principal investigator in more than twenty clinical trials.

Wine Time On Main has one of the best Champagne lists

We will once again serve sparkling flights on New Years Eve. in Sioux Falls.

January 4th we will host a Champagne 301.

We will

feature all small grower producers from Champagne. An event we will be talking about for a long time.

SIOUXLAND St. Luke’s Imaging and Breast Screening has earned the “Breast Imaging Center of Excellence” award from the American College of Radiology’s Commission on Quality and Safety in Breast Imaging. The Center of Excellence designation recognizes the highest level of achievement in breast imaging through mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast

winetimeonmain.com

ultrasound, ultrasound guided biopsy, and breast MRI. 330

Sioux

Main

Ave

Falls,

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INDEPENDENTS ZACH SCHROER Zach Schroer, CNP, has joined Surgical Institute of South Dakota. Schroer earned his Doctor of Nursing Practice and his BS in Nursing from South Dakota State University. He is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and holds certifications with ACLS, BLS, PALS, TNCC, ENPC and NRP. Schroer will primarily practice in the acute surgical service at Avera McKennan Hospital.

BRETT HARTMANN Brett Hartmann has won the 2020 Pioneer Memorial Hospital & Health Services Employee of the Year award. Hartmann has been a Maintenance Assistant at Pioneer Memorial since 2007. He is described as “a team player, always willing to help back up in other departments”.

BECKY WEITBRECHT Prairie Lakes Healthcare System has hired Becky Weitbrecht as the new Critical Care Unit and Respiratory Therapy Director. Weitbrecht’s position oversees the unit that cares for critically ill hospital patients. Weitbrecht earned her RN at the University of South Dakota and holds a BS in Nursing from SDSU. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Nursing Leadership from Western Governors University. She has 15 years of nursing experience, most recently as Director of Emergency and Cardiovascular Services at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital.

Nearly 450 students are now enrolled in the newly-organized Department of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of South Dakota. The department combines several existing programs into one unified department that launched this fall. It is one of nine departments in the university’s School of Health Sciences. The new department brings together three levels of education, including an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in health sciences, a Master’s program in public health (MPH) and a PhD program in health science.

EMILY FEDDERS Emily Fedders, PA-C, has joined Pioneer Memorial Hospital & Health Services. Fedders earned her Master of Physician Assistant Studies at the University of South Dakota and her BS in Respiratory Care at Dakota State University. Since 2015 she has been working as a Registered Respiratory Therapist at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls and was a member of the Sanford AirMed Flight Team before returning to PA school. She is board certified with the American Academy of Physician Assistants and is certified in ACLS, PALS, and BLS. Fedders will see patients at the Centerville Medical Clinic.

December 2020

• Happenings around the region

News & Notes

Coping with COVID

he continued rise of COVID-19 cases in our region is prompting a variety of responses from area healthcare systems. Below are a few of the related articles that have crossed our desk in recent weeks.

RAPID CITY HOSPITAL BEGINS UTILIZING SURGE AREAS FOR NON-COVID-19 PATIONS With increasing COVID-19 infec-

IOWA PROVIDES FREE TESTING TO CLAY COUNTY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Food banks across the nation have

The State of Iowa recently made

experiencing stressed capacity. To

experienced a sharp rise in need and

rapid antigen testing available

accommodate more patients, Rapid

expenses since the onset of the

for preschool through 12th grade

City Hospital has been transferring

pandmeic. To help ease that burden,

students in public or private schools

some non-COVID-19 patients to the

to promote good health in the

in Clay County. Local schools, Clay

hospital’s surge area, bringing in

communities it serves, and to com-

County Public Health, Spencer

contract caregivers, and working

memorate United Nations World

Hospital, and Avera Medical Group

with other hospitals in the region

Food Day, Sanford Health donated

Spencer have worked together

to help them keep their patients

$3 million to area food banks. The

to develop a process to make this

closer to home.

donation is being split across eight

testing easily accessible and free

food banks in South Dakota, North

for students.

Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.

western South Dakota and a nursing shortage across the nation, Monument Health hospitals are

REHABILITATION PROVIDERS PARTNER IN KEY TELEHEALTH RESEARCH STUDY

AVERA OPENS ANOTHER COVID-19 TESTING SITE IN SIOUX FALLS

NEW MONUMENT HEALTH PROGRAM LETS PATIENTS SCHEDULE COVID-19 TESTS ONLINE

Avera temporarily leased the former

Symptomatic patients can now

Nebraska, have joined with two

Vern Eide location at Minnesota

go online to schedule drive-up

other leading rehabilitation provid-

Avenue and 23rd Street in Sioux

COVID-19 tests at Monument Health

ers to launch a research study on

Falls for an additional COVID-19

locations in Custer, Lead-Deadwood,

the use of telehealth for rehabilita-

drive-through collection testing site.

Rapid City, Spearfish or Sturgis.

tion in response to public health

The site allows for six cars at a time,

Until now, all patients had to sched-

crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

increasing the collection capacity

ule their tests by calling Monument

Without the ability to treat patients

and alleviating pressure from other

Health’s Nurse Triage Line, which

in person, the continuity of patient

Avera testing sites. People who need

has become increasingly busy in

care has been put at risk and change

a test must first contact their clinic

recent weeks. The new online option

is needed. The study will provide

by phone, go to Avera.org/covidho-

is for patients who do not need to

MED Magazine December 2020 | The Year in Review

Articles inside

Coping with COVID

The Empathy Effect