My Boone Health Spring 2015

vol: 5 issue: 2

“This feels like home.�

34 years of guidance as a Boone Hospital Center Trustee

Page 20: hospital provides highest possible level of care for stroke patients

Table Of Contents Page 10

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Boone Hospital Center’s mission is to improve the health of the people and communities we serve.

Jim Sinek President

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Ben Cornelius Communications and Marketing Manager

Jessica Park Marketing Coordinator Photos By

Dave Hoffmaster L.G. Patterson Contributing Writer

Jacob Luecke

5...................................................... A Note From Boone Hospital President Jim Sinek 6.....................................................................................................

myBoone Health Stories

8................................................................................................................ Hospital Headlines 10...................................................................................................... “This Feels Like Home.”

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Please submit comments or feedback to bcc1170@bjc.org

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Surgical Support

14.............................................................................................................Community Benefits 16........................................................................................................................ Hearing Again 18.......................................................................................................................

Band Exercises

or call 573.815.3392

19.................................................................................................. Recipe Corner: Smoothies

1600 East Broadway Columbia, MO 65201 573.815.8000

20............................................................................................................. All The Right Pieces

For a free subscription, call 573.815.3392 or visit myBooneHealth.com and click on the subscription link on the right side of the page.

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From Cavities To Cancer

Teacher Says “Don’t Put Off Screening”

28........................................................................................ Getting To Know A BHC Doctor 29.......................................................................................... Getting To Know A BHC Nurse 30......................................................................................... Breaking The Language Barrier BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER Spring 2015

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A Note From Jim

Bringing Boone Care Closer To Home

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ver the last eight months, Boone Medical Group has been diligently expanding our primary care network to provide convenient access to Boone Hospital Center and our high quality, compassionate care closer to

your home. Our new primary care clinics opening in Columbia, Mexico, Moberly, Glasgow and Boonville, and our South Campus opening this fall can be thought of as new entryways to Boone Hospital Center, and our medical staff and services, providing the same standard of care beyond our campus on East Broadway.

Primary care is critical for wellness, early detection of

Jim Sinek

health conditions, coordinated care, and a continuity of care

President Boone Hospital Center

and services for you and your family. Boone Hospital Center is committed to improving the health of the people and communities we serve. Providing high-quality primary care located closer to your home supports our mission and is just one more way Boone Hospital Center is responding to midMissouri’s preference for “Boone Care.”

We will keep you updated on additional entryways to Boone Hospital Center in the future; we have more plans to make the highest quality of care easily accessible to you and your family.

You can set up an appointment for you or a loved one with one of our primary care physicians by calling 573-815-6400 or toll free 800-872-9008.

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myBoone Health Stories Visit myBooneHealth.com To Read More — And Share Your Own Story

Sweet A.J. Brittany Pescaglia ­— Columbia, Mo.

A Positive, Healthy Experience Jen Gill — Shelbina, Mo.

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ur daughter Bella had her tonsils removed on Feb. 16. Even though my husband and I were quite nervous, Bella was completely at ease, thanks to the many friendly faces at Boone.

We knew she was in the best hands as Dr. Greg Campbell came to visit with us in the pre-op room! He joked and laughed with Bella as she was prepped for surgery. Dr. Tom Meyer, anesthesiologist, talked calmly to her, explaining exactly what was going to happen. He even brought a red wagon for her to ride to the operating room in! Following the procedure, Lauren Strand served as Bella’s nurse. She, too, took such a caring interest in Bella’s care, sharing her own tonsillectomy story and making sure Bella was comfortable. We are so blessed by these amazing individuals who took such great care of our daughter! They took a situation, which could have been extremely scary for a 7-year-old and made it a positive, healthy experience. Bella is now recovering wonderfully, thanks to these individuals. We are so grateful for these great staff members at Boone Hospital Center!

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Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

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y husband and I welcomed our second child into this world, a healthy little boy this time, on Dec. 3, 2014, at 7:08 p.m. Our sweet A.J. weighed 7 pounds 7.6 ounces and was 21 inches long. We had yet another wonderful experience with the Boone Family Birthplace. All of our nurses: Rebecca, Chanda, Kendra, and Christy were so wonderful — along with all of the other staff. They took such great care of us during our stay. And as always, Dr.Thies is hands down one of the most amazing doctors ever! She is such a loving and caring doctor and we couldn’t have asked for a better doctor to deliver both of our children. A.J’s big sister, Eliana, loves him so much along with the rest of us!”

Share your story myBooneHealth.com

Upcoming Boone Hospital Center Fairs Cancer Prevention Fair Saturday, April 18th 8am-noon on the first floor of Boone Hospital Center Outpatient Services Register for a skin cancer screening by calling 573.815.6400 or toll free 800.872.9008.

Stroke Fair May 2nd 9-11am in the Boone Hospital conference center

Diabetes Fair On March 14, Boone Hospital Center and Boone Medical Group sponsored a Diabetes Fair at Inside Columbia’s Culinary Adventures. Participants received a health screening including a A1C blood test, spoke with endocrinologists from Boone Medical Group and therapy and nutrition experts from Boone Hospital Center. They also learned and sampled some new healthy recipes.

Heart Fair Boone Hospital Center hosted its 15th annual Heart Fair. More than 400 community members received free health screenings, including a full cholesterol panel, BMI and blood pressure. The event is held in the conference center of the hospital every February.

The fair includes health screens, cooking demonstrations and information on stroke prevention and awareness.

Hello, Baby! Expo June 13th 8am-1pm at the Holiday Inn Expo Center There will be games, shopping and lots of education for new parents or parents-to-be.

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Hospital Headlines News From Boone Hospital Center

Boone Hospital and Missouri Heart Center Open Macon Clinic

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issouri Heart Center and Boone Hospital Center recently opened a 5,200-square-foot cardiology clinic located at 404 Providence Road in Macon, Mo. The Macon clinic offers a full range of cardiovascular testing capability, including cardiac and vascular ultrasound, ambulatory rhythm monitoring such as Holter and event monitors, implantable cardiac device rhythm management for pacemaker and defibrillator care, nuclear medicine imaging, and stress testing. Nine of Missouri Heart Center’s cardiologists provide full-time cardiology services out of the Macon clinic.

“If we can cut back on required travel time for our patients and make the process more convenient,

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Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

they will be more likely to schedule and keep their appointments. Hopefully, that results in better health,” says Jerry Kennett, MD of Missouri Heart Center.

“This clinic will help provide excellent cardiology care to the communities in and around the Macon area,” says Jim Sinek, Boone Hospital Center president. “Patients won’t have to drive to Columbia for noninvasive testing or follow-up care if their condition can be treated at a facility closer to home such as Samaritan Hospital, Pershing Hospital or Fitzgibbon Hospital. If required, Boone Hospital Center will be easily accessible for those patients requiring advanced cardiovascular care. With the physicians on staff at all of these hospitals, the transition of care is a smooth process.”

From left: Janelle Bond, patient care representative; Carrie Duncan, patient care representative; Afton Miller, RDCS, RVT, RT (R) director of Outreach Services; Lisa Anselmo, LPN; Jill HodgenWoodcock, RVT, RDCS, ARDMS, Cardiovascular Ultrasound; Brenda Wallace, medical assistant

The latest news boone.org

Boone Hospital Center Recognized For Top-Level Stroke Care

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oone Hospital Center has been labeled a top stroke center by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

After an extensive assessment, the department labeled Boone a “Level 1” stroke center, the highest possible ranking. This makes Boone one of only two hospitals in the mid-Missouri area to receive such an honor.

Because of this high ranking, regulations may require more stroke patients to be sent to Boone for treatment. These regulations were put in place by the state to insure stroke patients receive the best care possible.

Boone offers a full spectrum of services to treat those who

have suffered from a stroke including neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, an echo vascular lab, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, and home health services.

“Providing proper care for a stroke patient is a team effort,” says Mary Beck, vice president and chief nursing officer. “From the moment the patient enters the emergency department until the day that we send them home, we want to make sure that we provide the most compassionate care possible utilizing the most sophisticated treatment options available.”

Boone’s stroke services have also been honored by the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association.

Primary Care Growth Boone Medical Group has opened the doors on two new clinics in mid-Missouri.

Dr. Aaron Whiting will be practicing at Boone Medical Group – Boonville, located at 408 6th Street. The clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. To make an appointment, visit boone.org/ BooneMedicalGroup or call 844-7472050.

Marie Pourooshasb, NP, will be practicing at Boone Medical Group North, located at 900 Rain Forest Parkway, Suite B. The clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Friday.

This location serves as a walk-in only primary care clinic.

Dr. Aaron Whiting

Throughout 2015, Boone Medical Group will be opening locations in Mexico, Glasgow and Moberly.

Visit boone.org/BooneMedicalGroup to learn more.

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B a r b a r a W e av e r

‘‘This feels like home.’’

by Jessica Park

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hen I first walked into Boone Hospital, I will never forget thinking ‘This feels like home.’” says Barbara Weaver, chairman emeritus of Boone Hospital Center’s board of trustees.

Barbara had been a nurse for 13 years at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City before she and her husband, Bruce Weaver, DO, a cardiac anesthesiologist at St. Luke’s Hospital, came to Columbia in 1978. Dr. Weaver joined Boone County Hospital’s new open-heart surgery program.

In late 1980, when Ira Hubbell, MD, decided not to run again for his seat on the Boone County Hospital board of trustees, Dr. Weaver suggested that Barbara run for office.

“I said ‘I don’t know anything about running for office!’”

But after meeting with the board chairman, Jack Estes, to discuss the role and responsibilities of trustees, she knew her experiences at Children’s Mercy made her a good fit for the office, and began her campaign. In 1981, campaigning in Boone County was done on a smaller scale than today.

“The first time I ran, I held little coffees and made a brochure. Nobody else had a brochure, except for me — I didn’t know if I was supposed to have one!” she says, laughing.

Barbara was one of nine people vying for three open board seats. Not only did she get elected, becoming the first woman on the board of trustees, but according to the April 8, 1981 Columbia Daily Tribune, Barbara Weaver received the most votes of any board candidate that year, including elected incumbents Marvin “Bunky” Wright and Charles Gibbens.

Her fellow trustees immediately welcomed her. “They were very supportive in helping me navigate what I needed to learn,” she says.

Shortly into her first term of office, in September 1981, the board of trustees made a significant decision to change Boone County Hospital’s name to Boone Hospital Center, to better reflect the growth and reach of its services.

Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

Receiving the most votes of any candidate in the 1981 election, Barbara Weaver became the first woman on the board of trustees.

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“We were no longer providing services only to Boone County,” Barbara says. “And our equipment and services were more sophisticated than you’d expect in a county hospital. The openheart program really came into being and opened the opportunity to expand technology in this institution. It was really a very exciting time.”

In the early ‘80s, the hospital grew steadily, opening the Ann Street parking garage, acquiring its first CAT scanner and completing the helicopter pad, making it easier for Boone Hospital Center to provide health care to patients from all over mid-Missouri.

However, at the same time, the hospital’s administrative costs were rising due to inflation and accompanying increases in salaries and benefits, while occupancy decreased due to competition from other Columbia hospitals. Questions about increased costs drew attention and criticism while, elsewhere in Missouri, county hospitals struggled or closed their doors.

Beginning in 1985, the board of trustees carefully explored the hospital’s options for operations management over a period of nearly four years. After considering several approaches, the trustees voted in September 1987 to proceed with leasing the hospital facility and equipment to a group that would manage the hospital operations. After much discussion and negotiation, in May 1988, the board of trustees approved a 10-year lease with Christian Hospital in Saint Louis, which took effect on Sept. 1, 1988.

Under this new arrangement, Christian Hospital paid Boone County to lease the hospital facility while running the hospital operations and programs. The board of trustees would continue to make decisions to renew and oversee the lease, make purchases it deemed necessary for the hospital and keep control over the assets.

Even with the board’s studied and prudent approach, the decision to lease the hospital provoked considerable debate in the community, and it heated up again after Christian Hospital merged with Barnes and Jewish Hospitals in 1993.

“Probably the most difficult times for me, particularly as chairman, were the discussions about the lease,” Barbara says.

“But that first lease with Christian Hospital was the right thing to do. It was a big step toward our success.

During the first year of its lease with Christian Hospital, the board of trustees purchased 24 acres located on the north side of Broadway from Boone Hospital Center for future expansion. It also purchased an MRI scanner, making BHC the first county hospital in the nation to offer MRI imaging.

Barbara says that the lease benefitted patients in other ways: “One thing that we didn’t have when I became a trustee was a chaplain. As a county hospital, we didn’t feel we could pay to hire a chaplain. The hospital auxiliary provided funds for us to hire Dick Millspaugh. When we became a leased hospital, we were able to get his salary into the budget. I think it’s very significant that we’re able to provide our patients with spiritual care.”

In 1991, after Jack Estes departed from the board, Barbara 12

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was selected as board chairman. During that time, the board developed an expansion plan that would double the size of the hospital over the next 20 years, including the opening of the south patient tower in 2011. In 1996, the community celebrated its first 75 years with the completion of the hospital’s new campus north of Broadway.

“When we bought the land where the north campus is, that was a strategic move,” she says. “[Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer] Randy Morrow was very perceptive about properties that we needed to acquire and had good relationships with our neighbors and helped us negotiate.

The board also purchased land in south Columbia from Boone Hospital volunteer Cletus Baurichter. Barbara says, “He was also a close friend of mine, and he came to me and said, ‘You know, I sure would like to see the hospital have some of this land.”

The purchase was made long before that part of the city began to grow, Barbara explains, “At first, when we bought the land, there wasn’t any need. This was for the future — you have to think of what’s going to be needed 20 years from now.”

Thinking decades ahead is a must given the considerable planning that goes into building a new facility.

“With the new patient tower, for example, there were so many things that had to be done. The financing, the due diligence about researching needs, choosing the important players like the architect and contractor — all of these things take a long time.”

But patience is rewarded: “The Healing Garden probably took 10 years. Now it’s one of everybody’s favorite places. Everything takes a long time — sometimes you just have to plant the idea and then eventually, it happens!”

Despite Boone Hospital Center’s growth, Barbara says it still feels like home to her and many people in mid-Missouri.

Thinking decades ahead is a must given the considerable planning that goes into building a new facility.

“No matter where you go in the hospital, or who you talk to, there’s this feeling that people care.”

— Barbara Weaver

Top: BHC President Jim Sinek, Barabara Weaver and BJC Group President Sandra Van Trease; Above: Barbara with BHC Trustee Fred Parry

“We’ve been able to maintain our identity in a corporate world and I think that’s really important,” she says. “It’s the culture here.

No matter where you go in the hospital or who you talk to, there’s this feeling that people care and that, when you walk in here, you’re going to receive the very best care available. People still think of Boone Hospital Center as the county hospital — and it is!”

“When you think about it,” says Fred Parry, board of trustees chairman, “It’s an astonishing commitment to give more than 30 years of your life to an institution like Boone Hospital Center. To do it as a volunteer, though both good times and bad, makes the accomplishment even more impressive.”

Barbara Weaver’s service to Boone Hospital Center doesn’t stop there; she also sat on the Christian Health Services board of directors. After Christian Hospital merged to form BJC, the board of trustees renegotiated the lease to include a seat on the BJC board, where she represented Boone Hospital Center from 2001 to 2008.

Barbara served on the Missouri Hospital Association board of directors in the early 2000s and was honored with the Missouri Hospital Association Distinguished Service Award in 2004.

She encouraged the MHA to develop a Governance Excellence Certificate program for hospital board members, which was implemented in 2011.

She was also on the regional policy board of the American Hospital Association and attended meetings in Washington, D.C. She says, “As trustees, we have to be aware of what’s happening not only for the hospital and our community, but statewide and nationally.”

When asked why she decided not to run again, Barbara says, “I thought it was time. I think people know when it’s time to step back.

“It’s bittersweet,” she continues. “I think about the South Campus. I’m excited to see that land be used, but I’m not going to be there to be hands-on or have the opportunity to choose the landscaper, those kinds of things. It’s sort of like I’m leaving something half-done, but that’s OK. It’s going to be wonderful.”

Barbara is not retiring completely from public service.

She will serve on a county Community Health Advisory Council, which will help decide how Boone Hospital Center’s contributions to the county for health care that have been paid over the years — an amount totaling close to $3 million — will be allocated, based on need.

She also plans to stay involved with her church, do more traveling, finish two quilts in progress and, she adds, smiling, “Just hang with my friends.”

When asked what she sees in the future for Boone Hospital Center, Barbara says, “I think with our new strategic plan, once fully implemented, we will see the hospital continue to grow, not necessarily within the hospital walls but out in the community.

That’s where health care is going.”

Along with the South Campus, Barbara points to the new Missouri Heart Center clinic in Macon, an extension of the service her husband helped found in 1978, as an example of that outreach.

Looking at all that Boone Hospital Center has accomplished since 1981, Barbara credits the other trustees she’s had the privilege of serving with.

“We’ve done all right over the years,” she says, smiling at the understatement. “It’s not one person, but the whole board that really has made the difference. We may not always agree, and we don’t, and that’s OK! But we’re able to reach a consensus and always keep in mind what’s important — that our decisions benefit Boone Hospital and the people we serve.”

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Community Benefits Boone Hospital Center’s mission is to improve the health of the people and communities we serve, and that mission doesn’t stop outside the hospital walls. Community benefit describes our services and programs that go beyond traditional inpatient or outpatient care to address identified community health needs. Explore what our community benefit programs do:

Improve Access to Health Care Services When families struggle with paying bills for hospital services, our Patient Assistance program is here to work with patients to find the right payment solution.

Promote Health and Wellness Boone Hospital Center’s annual Heart Fair offers blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose screenings, plus education about stroke, heart disease and leading a healthy lifestyle, to hundreds of people every year.

Our Certified Application Counselors (CACs) help patients in need determine their qualifications and apply for federal or local health care assistance programs, including enrollment with programs in the health insurance marketplace.

365: 2014 Heart Fair attendees 457: 2015 Heart Fair attendees

851 patients

assisted by Boone Hospital CACs in 2014

For some patients, getting from their home to the hospital and back is difficult and can discourage them from seeking necessary health care.

We help patients with limited means cover appropriate transportation costs.

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patients or patient family members who received transportation assistance in 2014

We support clinics such as Family Health Center and regional health care organizations to make it easier for communities to provide immediate care to patients.

1 ambulance donated to Howard County 14

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Our Know Your Numbers mobile health unit is a community benefit on wheels, able to bring our free screenings, including skin cancer screenings, to any part of our 25-county service area. We frequently partner with community groups and county health departments.

1,220 miles

Covered by our Know Your Numbers mobile health unit in 2014

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community health screenings provided in our Know Your Numbers mobile health unit

Our community cancer screenings have saved lives — when our skin or lung cancer screenings reveal abnormal findings, patients receive immediate follow-up for further testing and treatment with a physician.

150

attendees at our first Cancer Prevention Fair

209

skin cancer screenings in 2014

462

lung cancer screenings in 2014

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lung cancer screenings patients referred immediately for follow-up care

Educate Current & Future Generations of Health Care Professionals

We know that quality health care will always be a need in our community and that health care is a rapidly changing field.

We provide internships, on-the-job training and job shadowing to students in nursing, physical therapy and other health care career programs.

251 students

provided with job shadowing

15 WELLAWARE interns in 2014

Boone Hospital Center knows that a healthy, safe community means healthier people.

Boone Hospital Center makes an annual contribution to Boone County, a portion of which is earmarked for health care programs.

$2.33 million contributed in 2014

We provide continuing education conferences with expert speakers that are open to physicians, nurses and other health care professionals from all over Missouri.

Experts from our staff visit area schools and community groups to present on a broad range of health care topics.

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Improve Social and Environmental Factors

community members trained in compression-only CPR in "Hands On Hearts" training sessions

Many of our patient care and administrative leaders serve as hospital representatives on community boards or advisory groups, to share their expertise and experience and to work together to address community health needs.

Boone Hospital Center participates in community-wide disaster preparedness and emergency response training with a coalition of other community organizations, including 6,400 staff hours dedicated to community emergency preparedness.

Our Kids on Track program motivates families to stay active together throughout the summer by completing a cumulative marathon. In 2014, a second Kids on Track program started in Centralia. This year, two more communities, Ashland and Macon, will run local Kids on Track programs.

Over 16,375 miles

completed by participants at our 2014 Kids on Track finale BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER Spring 2015

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Troy Scheidt, MD, places a hybrid cochlear implant in the ear of Carl Milhollin.

Hearing Again Groundbreaking Procedure Helps A Teacher Recover From Hearing Loss

F

or children who are learning to read, the English language is full of tough challenges. Many words contain tricky silent letters. Other letters are pronounced differently depending on the word, requiring students to learn context clues to get the right sound.

There are also homonyms — words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

And that’s just a few of the pitfalls.

So as her students practiced their reading, sounding out the words aloud, Carol Milhollin listened very closely.

As a reading specialist at Hallsville Intermediate School, Carol was assessing the skills of her young readers. It was critical that she listened to every word so she could determine how well the students were mastering our complex language.

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But as hard as Carol listened, she found she couldn’t always hear.

“I started not being able to hear the ’s’ and the ‘sh’ sounds,” Carol says.

The issue was even worse in a busy classroom setting, with common school day noises surrounding her.

“I couldn’t hear the student right in front of me because of all the background noise,” she says.

Carol, who lives in Moberly, was only about 40 at the time. However, she already had been coping with hearing loss for many years.

She first noticed it when she was finishing her master’s degree. She remembers listening to the lectures, but not picking up every word the professor was saying. She would borrow her friends’ notes to keep up.

Her friends would tease her that she was going deaf.

“It was just a big joke,” she says. “But it ended up not being very funny.”

Carol eventually saw a doctor about her hearing.

“When I was first tested, I just thought I had wax in my ears or something,” she says. “But when they looked in, they said, ‘Nope, they’re completely clean.’ And that was bad news.”

She was prescribed hearing aids, which offered only limited improvement. As her teaching career progressed, Carol’s hearing loss became more of a problem.

When she visited regular classrooms with many students, she was overwhelmed by the noise. She couldn’t tell which student was speaking to her. She couldn’t even hear the fire alarm when it went off.

Worst of all, in her quiet classroom, where she strived to teach small groups of struggling students to read, she was starting to lose faith in her ability to hear well enough to assess her students’ reading abilities.

With little else medically that could be done, Carol’s specialists, Audiologist Michelle Hopkins and Troy Scheidt, MD, at the Missouri Ear, Nose and Throat Center, determined that her hearing disability was severe enough that she would qualify for early retirement from teaching.

Watch Carol hear again at myboonehealth.com

“The diagnosis for her hearing loss is a sensorineural hearing loss,” says Dr. Scheidt.

“This is a hearing loss that occurs due to loss of function of the hair cells of the inner ear. The nerve still works but the inner ear hair cells that provide information to the nerve do not.”

Yet the decision to leave her career was not easy for Carol.

“I thought, well, maybe this is for the best,” she says. “But after I went on disability, I cried for about six months missing those kids. I still miss teaching reading.”

Outside the classroom, Carol continued to work with Hopkins and Dr. Scheidt to find any hearing solutions that might help her. While she was no longer teaching, her hearing loss continued to be a challenge.

She felt she was becoming less social.

“When I’d go to a restaurant, it would be very difficult to hear the other people in my party,” she says. “Hearing loss is a very isolating disease. Unless I am just one-onone talking to someone, then I am missing conversations.”

But this year, four years after she had to give up her career, Carol suddenly found new hope.

“My audiologist told me she had this new procedure and it was perfect for me,” Carol says.

The procedure was a cochlear implant for use with a hybrid cochlear implant processor — a cutting-edge hearing technology that only recently became available.

Carol underwent a series of tests that confirmed she would indeed benefit from the new hybrid cochlear implant indications. The device held the potential to restore some of the hearing she thought was gone forever.

“I just got teary because I never thought a procedure like this would become available,” she says. “It could change my life.”

On Feb. 18, Carol arrived at Boone Hospital Center for her surgery. Dr. Scheidt says he believes she is the first patient in mid-Missouri to receive a cochlear implant based on the new hybrid indications.

During the surgery, Dr. Scheidt opened up an area of Carol’s skull called the mastoid to access her middle ear, under her eardrum. He then placed the cochlear

Dr. Scheidt maps out the procedure before he begins.

A hybrid cochlear implant was used to treat Carol, a technology only recently released for use. implant under her skull and then inserted a microscopic electrode into Carol’s cochlea — a spiral-shaped structure that contains the hair cells of the inner ear and the nerve endings of the hearing nerve.

The procedure was a success. However, Carol had to wait two weeks as she healed before her new cochlear device could be switched on.

When the day finally arrived, and her new implant was switched on, Carol says it was an amazing, emotional experience.

“At first, I was in disbelief,” Carol says.

Prior to the procedure, Carol had read that patients at first can’t hear naturalsounding voices. Instead, people can sound like robots or chipmunks — a sensation that goes away as the device is adjusted over subsequent visits.

However, Carol’s initial experience was nothing like that.

“I couldn’t believe I was actually hearing normal sounding voices instead of robots or chipmunks as I had read about,” she

says. “So I wasn’t sure it was really turned on. I was elated and filled with such hope.

It was a very emotional day! I am very blessed.”

Over the next few days, she did indeed begin hearing robotic-sounding voices. But Carol understands this is part of the normal process as she works with her audiologist to tune the device over weeks and months.

“I know this is a gradual process and the full impact of the surgery will not be realized overnight,” Carol says. “I believe in Michelle Hopkins 100 percent. When she first brought this procedure to my attention, I never dreamed something like this would ever be available to help me, to help my family and change our lives.”

Carol and her husband, Jason, have three children — Taylor, 17, Sophia, 12, and Liam, 2 — none of whom suffer from hearing loss. However, Carol’s ability to hear her loved ones will add much to their life together.

She wants to go out to plays and concerts with her husband. She plans to teach at her son’s preschool. She wants to do more than just watch as her daughters graduate from eighth grade and high school next year.

“I hope to hear their names called as they accept their diplomas,” she says.

Dr. Scheidt says he expects Carol’s hearing will improve as the cochlear implant is adjusted.

“Restoring a sense such as hearing is a tremendously rewarding aspect of my job,” he says. “These patients frequently describe to me the life changing nature of having improved hearing that lets them go back to doing things they previously enjoyed socially in their lives.”

Now, Carol has new hopes for her future.

She says the decision to be among the first to receive a new cochlear implant for hybrid hearing was one of the most significant moments in her life.

“I hope it inspires others to reach out for help,” she says. “So many people live with hearing loss. It can make a person feel very isolated from the world. The hybrid cochlear implant could help so many people. I know it’s not going to be easy learning to hear again, but it’s going to be so worth it!” By Jacob Luecke BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER Spring 2015

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Band Exercises

Consider these tips for exercising with resistance bands:

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• •

•

Be sure to start by securing the band to a sturdy object. One method is tying it to a doorknob outside the room you are using and then close the door on the band. A simple double knot will work to secure the band.

All exercises should be performed slowly through the entire painfree range of motion for at least 5 seconds per repetition.

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Shoulder Horizontal Abduction

Stand holding an exercise band with both hands. Pull the band with both arms by tightening your shoulder blade muscles and bringing your elbows to your side.

Stand or sit. Hold an exercise band with both hands in front of you. Pull the band with both arms. Do not lift your shoulders.

Scapular retraction is an important exercise for promoting good posture and good shoulder mechanics. The scapula serves as the base of movement for the shoulder.

After performing two repetitions, stop and think about the difficulty of the exercise. The appropriate resistance for strengthening should feel “moderate” to “somewhat heavy.”

When working the muscles at this intensity, you should fatigue within 10-15 repetitions. Signs of fatigue include needing to move the band faster to build momentum, muscles shaking, feeling other muscles substitute to “help out.” If any of these occur, stop the exercise. Your muscles will regenerate and be stronger the next time you exercise them.

• The right frequency for strength •

Scapular Retraction

training is three days per week, with a day to rest in-between sessions.

A little soreness is the muscles exercised is common afterwards, but if you use caution and pay attention to the indicators of fatigue, you shouldn’t be too sore.

Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

Shoulder horizontal abduction strengthens the back muscles, rotator cuff and posterior deltoid. It’s a good exercise for improving posture and promoting good muscle balance in the shoulder because most of us use our stronger chest and anterior deltoid muscles more frequently than the smaller posterior and back muscles.

Shoulder Abduction Stand or sit with the hand of the arm to be exercised on your opposite hip. Hold on to a rubber exercise band. Pull the band up toward the opposite side.

This exercise strengthens nearly all the muscle groups in your arm and shoulder as you rotate and elevate the shoulder.

It is good for the rotator cuff, for building coordination in the arm and for improving range of motion and strength. To adjust to the difficulty of stabilizing the shoulder throughout the full range of motion, start with a lighter band.

Shoulder Adduction Stand with your arm out to the side.

Hold on to a rubber exercise band.

Pull the band in toward your side.

Shoulder adduction promotes stability in the shoulder joint. Take care to keep the shoulder and shoulder blade pulled downward. The shoulder joint is one of — if not the most — unstable joints in the entire body and relies more than any other joint on muscle strength to keep it appropriately positioned.

Recipe Corner

Shoulder External Rotation Stand keeping your upper arm close to the side and elbow at a right angle. Hold a rubber exercise band. Pull the band by turning your forearm outwards.

Shoulder external rotation strengthens the muscles of the rotator cuff. This is a good exercise to maintain and improve the health of these muscles and tendons and prevent tears. Avoid straightening your elbow or pulling your arm away from your body. If you find yourself doing this, use a lighter band or work within a smaller range of motion

berry green smoothie

1 1/2 cups frozen berries 1 cored apple 2 handfuls fresh greens 8-12 ounces water or unsweetened milk

strawberry banana smoothie Shoulder Extension Stand facing a rubber exercise band.

Bring the arm straight backward pulling the band.

Shoulder extension is good for strengthening the triceps and posterior shoulder muscles and, if engaged, the scapular retractors. This exercise promotes muscle balance in the arm and shoulder, at both the elbow and shoulder joints, and also promotes stability.

1 frozen banana 2 cups frozen strawberries 2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt (nonfat) Use water until desired thickness, approx. 1 cup Options for either recipe: - Add ground flax seed and/or half an avocado for healthy fats - Add protein powder and/or Greek yogurt for extra protein - Use plain instead of vanilla Greek yogurt and water instead of milk to save some carbs

All the Right

Pieces B y J acob L uecke

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Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

Boone’s Multidisciplinary Team Helps Save Centralia Woman From Stroke ach week, Sandra and David Eppinger get together with Sandra’s sister for a game of Scrabble. Competing in a game like Scrabble requires knowing thousands of words. Strong spelling and lexical creativity will also give you an edge.

Yet one day, as Sandra, 75, showered before her sister arrived for the game, all her words suddenly disappeared. However, that wasn’t the first thing she noticed.

“My left hand went dead,” she says. “It was just dead; it felt like wood. I knew then what was happening.”

Sandra was having a stroke.

With the left side of her body going limp, Sandra carefully got out of the shower and went to her bedroom where she called her husband for help. At least she tried to — the words weren’t coming out. Instead of talking, it was like she was spilling a bag of jumbled Scrabble tiles across the floor.

“My speech was totally garbled, my husband couldn’t understand what I was saying,” she says.

Luckily, her husband knew to call for help — 911. He also called Sandra’s sister to let her know the Scrabble game would have to be postponed.

Soon, an ambulance had reached the Eppingers’ Centralia home. Sandra was quickly on her way to Boone Hospital’s leading Stroke Center with a multidisciplinary team of highly trained staff and experienced physicians.

As a registered nurse who retired from Boone Hospital in 2002, Sandra was very familiar with what was happening to her and worried about how her stroke might alter her life. During her nursing career, she had cared for stroke patients before modern stroke treatments were available. She had seen firsthand how a stroke can immediately and permanently change a person’s abilities.

“I know what can happen,” she says.

While Sandra was being driven to the hospital, the Boone Hospital Stroke Center team was already preparing to care for her.

“This saves valuable time,” says Robert McEver, service line director for Boone Hospital’s Medical Neuroscience Specialties.

“During transport, we will call the neurologist and have them available either in person or by phone to assist with the management of the patient.”

The staff and physicians at the stroke center do everything possible to deliver the clot-busting drug tPA as fast as they can.

They know that every moment is critical during a stroke; nearly two million of the patient’s neurons die every minute the stroke is left untreated.

Before giving Sandra the tPA, the caregivers needed to do a CT scan to confirm her stroke was caused by a blood clot. They made sure the CT scanner was available and ready for Sandra as soon as she arrived. Her CT scan confirmed she was having a stroke.

“Sandra had a right temporal lobe stroke,” says Sandra’s neurologist, Dr. Allyn Sher, MD, with Neurology Incorporated. “Potentially, the stroke could have left her with severe weakness and neglect of the left side and partial visual loss. She received tPA rapidly and had minimal-tono functional loss when she left the hospital. The benefit of BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER Spring 2015

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going straight to CT is that it saves time. Time is brain. Every minute that treatment is delayed, cells die. Since this saves time, it increases the chance that a stroke patient will have a good outcome.”

Soon after she received the tPA, Sandra’s condition began to improve.

“By the time I left the Emergency Department, they could manage to understand what I was saying,” she says.

Sandra spent four days at Boone Hospital — two days in the Intensive Care Unit and two on the hospital’s Neurology unit. She says she was very impressed with Dr. Sher and the hospital’s staff.

“Everyone that came in was so cheerful and smiling,” she says.

She also enjoyed staying in the hospital’s expanded and renovated private rooms.

“It’s fantastic, it’s really nice,” she says.

During her stay, she had regular visits with the hospital’s inpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy staff members. However, her abilities came back so well that she did not need to continue with therapy outside the hospital.

Stroke team members say Sandra’s quick recognition of her stroke and her husband’s timely decision to call 911 played a key role in her positive outcome. They also say Boone Hospital’s stroke team enjoys collaborating together with a focus on doing everything possible to help their patients.

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Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

“Our stroke team is multidisciplinary,” says Donna Pond, coordinator of Boone Hospital Stroke Center. “The members of the team have expertise that is applicable to every stage of the stroke patient’s recovery. The team stays in communication throughout the stay, and all eyes are on the patient and meeting the best care practices.”

McEver agrees. “We have a great team,” he says. “Working together with the patient as the central focus helps bring the best care possible. Everyone knows their job, and they have the trust of the other caregivers.”

Today, Sandra is back to her normal routine, including her regular Scrabble games. However, that’s only one of her many activities, which include jewelry making, knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, gardening and volunteering at the Centralia Senior Citizen Center.

“We keep busy,” she says with a laugh.

She encourages everyone to become familiar with the common stroke symptoms and to call 911 as quickly as possible.

“The faster they can get there, the faster they can get the tPA, and the faster they can pull out of it,” she says.

Stroke team members say Sandra’s quick recognition of her stroke and her husband’s timely decision to call 911 played a key role in her positive outcome.

s e i t i v a C m Fro To Cancer

uU

very o c s i d a ecke kemi u u l e l b o o c t a by j lead n s a m m e l y b t o n r Tooth p for Boone Cou

ntil late 2013, John Johnson had lived a remarkably healthy life. Even as he neared 70 years old, his body remained in near-peak condition. John credited his health to a lifetime of hard work, martial arts, long bike rides and natural medicine practices. At the time, it seemed like his only weak spot was his upper set of teeth, which had become broken and infected.

"It runs in the family," John says. So, with a doctor’s advice, he decided to get all his upper teeth removed.

However, the procedure ended up revealing a much more dangerous problem.

It started while John recovered at the dentist’s office after having his teeth pulled. As he rested, his mouth wouldn’t stop bleeding. Before long, John became lightheaded.

John’s wife, Kim, could tell the situation was becoming serious. She asked for someone to call an ambulance.

“I was bleeding so bad, I ended up going to the floor and passing out in the dentist’s office,” John says.

Soon, John was being treated at the Boone Hospital Emergency Department where he would continue to lose blood.

He received multiple blood transfusions.

As they fought to keep John alive, clinicians searched for the problem that was causing John’s dangerous bleeding.

They tested John’s blood, discovering his blood counts were well off from normal.

The next morning, John remembers meeting with Uma Ramadoss, MD with 24

Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

Missouri Cancer Associates. That’s when John learned he had leukemia — it was a major shock.

“Before this, I had no indication that I had any problem,” John says.

John’s specific diagnosis was acute myeloid leukemia. Because this type cancer greatly alters the number of normal white blood cells in a person’s body, patients with John’s diagnosis are often more susceptible to infections — such as John’s teeth — and can bleed easily, among other symptoms.

“He probably had some problems with his teeth before leukemia started,” Dr. Ramadoss says. “However, leukemia probably made it worse.”

Because John’s dental problems helped uncover the cancer, Dr. Ramadoss calls them “a blessing in disguise.”

Treating acute myeloid leukemia requires chemotherapy. Some patients also receive stem cell transplants.

When Dr. Ramadoss discussed the treatment plan, John knew that chemo

would be difficult. At first, John chose to refuse treatment.

Dr. Ramadoss let John know that likely would be a fatal decision.

“If you do not treat acute leukemia, people die within a matter of a week or two,” Dr. Ramadoss says.

Then John thought ahead, remembering all the things he still wanted to do.

“I do benefits for critically ill children.

I put on a big show each April along with the Corvette Club to raise money for the Dream Factory,” he says. “I had to be there. I didn’t have time to die.”

While he still had concerns, John decided to let Dr. Ramadoss and the team at the Stewart Cancer Center try to save his life.

“I told him you can try chemo one time, you get one shot at it,” John says.

John ended up spending the next month and a half at Boone Hospital where he underwent chemotherapy and then spent time recovering.

It was a difficult and painful time, but John was determined to survive. He said his nurses did everything they could to make him comfortable.

“They were just absolutely wonderful.

I couldn’t have been in a better place than the Stewart Cancer Center, there’s just no question,” he says. “I know for a fact that if it wasn’t for Dr. Ramadoss and the staff there, I wouldn’t be here today.”

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While in the hospital, one of John’s nurses gave him a stuffed dog that looked like his dog, Litl’ Bit. The gesture helped John feel at home.

John’s Corvette room is dedicated to the Dream Factory children and their families, past and present, that have given him cars and trinkets in appreciation of his friendship.

John also felt comforted by the fact that his wife, Kim, was able to stay by his side in the hospital room. The rooms in the Stewart Cancer Center include pull out couches where a loved one can stay with the patient. John says his nurses cared for Kim and made sure she was comfortable as she stayed by her husband’s side.

However, one big part of John’s life was still missing — his rescued pit bull, Litl’ Bit. John has a very close bond with the dog.

Staff members informed John that Boone Hospital does allow well-behaved animal companions to come for prearranged visits as long as they have been bathed and their shots are up to date.

However, John decided the hospital environment might be too stressful for Litl’ Bit. So instead, one of John’s nurses gave 26

Spring 2015 BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER

him a stuffed dog that looked like Litl’ Bit. The gesture helped John feel at home.

“That stuffed dog stayed right there on my bed,” he says.

John also made an effort to stay active while in the hospital, walking around his hospital unit whenever he got a chance.

Dr. Ramadoss says John’s efforts to stay healthy — both before and after his cancer diagnosis — helped him greatly during his cancer fight.

“He was in very good health before he got leukemia; that was in his favor and definitely helped in his recovery,” Dr. Ramadoss says.

“During treatment, many people often get discouraged and stay in their rooms.

However, John nearly left footmarks on the medical floor from his walking.

He walked every little chance he got so he didn’t lose strength in his muscles.”

During his recovery, John was determined to leave the hospital and be home for Christmas. While that was an aggressive target, he made it — the chemo had sent his cancer into remission.

He remembers how he got the news.

His nurses gathered in his room, shared the good news and celebrated with him.

“I had tears in my eyes,” he says. “It takes special people to do what they do, and they’re not just doing it for a job. They are very sincere.”

He also had high praise for Dr. Ramadoss.

“He is an outstanding individual,” John says. “He knows what he’s talking about. He knows leukemia, but he also understands people and he will listen to you. He couldn’t have been any better.”

Dr. Ramadoss says helping people like John is what makes his job so rewarding.

“Anytime you get a successful story like John and you can help them to live longer by giving the treatment, then that’s what we are here for,” he says.

In honor of John’s recovery — he is in remission after spending some time in the hospital around the New Year — he received a special recognition last fall from the Missouri Tigers football team and Boone Hospital.

He was invited onto Faurot Field before the Nov. 28 game against Arkansas where he was named honorary captain of the game — which the Tigers won 21-14.

“I’m just a redneck country boy, so I’m honored,” John says. “I haven’t ever been in the limelight.”

Teacher Says “Don’t Put Off Screening” Boone Hospital GI Lab Provides High-Tech Colonoscopies with Compassion

K

athleen Metter knew when she turned 50 that she should schedule a routine colonoscopy. As a biology teacher at Hickman High School, where she teaches 10th graders, Kathleen wasn’t squeamish. “Nobody likes to talk about the colon, but it’s a part of us. But everybody’s busy and has to find the time for screening.”

At 52, Kathleen had her screening at Boone Hospital Center’s GI Lab. When she awoke, she was told that the screening revealed a polyp, an abnormal growth in the lining of the colon. It was cancerous and required surgery.

Fortunately, the cancer was detected early enough that it hadn’t spread. The polyp was surgically removed and required no chemotherapy or radiation.

“I keep thinking, if I’d had it done at 50, could I have avoided surgery completely?” Kathleen asks.

“It’s possible,” says GI Lab manager Lucy Shaffer, RN-CGRN. “Polyps grow slowly. They don’t present symptoms like pain or changes in bowel movements until they’ve advanced.”

Shaffer thinks people may put off a colonoscopy out of fear. “When I get together with friends or colleagues, the conversation often turns to colonoscopy. They have questions about the procedure.”

Shaffer, who’s been with Boone Hospital Center since 1991, is one of three nurses at Boone with gastroenterology nursing certification.

“Our expertise starts before the procedure,” she says.

Preparation for colonoscopy includes a clear liquid diet and bowel cleanse at home. Shaffer says this is essential for an effective screening.

After registering, patients receive a private room with its own state-of-the-art endoscopic equipment. The patient is put under safe, sustained sedation. The procedure is performed with the gastroenterologist, GI nurse and anesthetist present. A flexible instrument transfers images onto a high-definition screen that allows the care team to see polyps as small as a millimeter. Polyps may be removed during the procedure and are reviewed by a pathologist.

Upon waking, patients receive their results, images, follow-up instructions and when to schedule another screening. With a clear screening, the patient may be advised to return in 10 years.

“If cancer is discovered and requires surgical intervention, a colorectal surgeon can be involved right away,” Shaffer says.

Kathleen was scheduled for surgery with Walter Peters, MD, of Columbia Surgical Associates. She’d met Dr. Peters before and once watched him perform a surgery at Boone. When her gastroenterologist, Michele Diaz-Arias, MD, asked Kathleen if she had a preferred surgeon, she didn’t hesitate: “Dr. Peters is very highly respected by people who work here. I know I had a good surgeon.”

Because she had cancer, Kathleen is on a regular screening schedule. She stays positive about her screenings: “The best part is being able to eat afterwards. I always have my colonoscopies in the

morning. After every one, I go for breakfast at IHOP and have the multigrain pancakes.”

Over her career, Shaffer has seen considerable progress in patient outcomes due to increased screenings.

Last year, Boone Hospital Center performed more than 3,000 colonoscopies.

“Between our nurses, techs and physicians, we have a combined 150 years’ experience. We’re fortunate to have staff who are conscientious about the patient experience. Every step of the way, we have dedicated people.”

Colorectal cancers are the third most common cancer in the US in men and women. Age, smoking, and history of inflammatory bowel disease, polyps or abdominal radiation are risk factors. Those with a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps should ask their doctor about early screening.

“I tell everybody to do it at 50; don’t wait,” Kathleen says. “I tell my students to tell their parents to get tested. Find the time.”

By Jessica Park

“I keep thinking, if I’d had it done at 50, could I have avoided surgery completely?”

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getting to know a BHC Doctor

› leen al-sayyed, MD [ internal medicine ]

I grew up between Dhahran and West Bank, moved to Amman, Jordan for medical school, Tucson, Arizona for internal medicine residency, and then came to Columbia for my liver disease subspecialty. Columbia is a friendly place, and the Missouri River, natural lakes, four seasons and outdoor activities encouraged me to stay. When offered a job here, I happily accepted. I now practice at Boone Medical Group South as an internal medicine and liver disease specialist. I have a very warm, loving and caring family. My father has a Ph.D. in economics; my mom taught Arabic language briefly then chose to take care of us six kids. They raised us on principles of dignity, love, kindness and humanity.

Why did you get into the health care field? Being a good listener, I love to be

around people and share their concerns, which made me want a career that fulfills my passion and curiosity. My older siblings are all medical professionals, in four different specialties, which also influenced my decision and showed me how being a doctor is challenging and rewarding at the same time.

What interested you in your particular specialty? I initially

chose internal medicine because it’s a diverse specialty with complicated interconnections. I went into liver disease subspecialty because I see the liver as the maestro of the body’s orchestra. It’s amazing how it can serve you for a long time before it gives up. You learn to love your liver when you know it well!

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? When I give all I can of my

knowledge and effort to make patients feel better and see that grateful look in their eyes, it makes me happy and satisfied.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? When patients come with

their medical problems and share their most private issues, as a physician, I feel responsible to help with all that I can to make their life better.

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What has changed in your field since you started practicing?

In medicine, you are learning every day, and you learn the most from your patients. Moving from residency and fellowship to practicing medicine adds experience to the knowledge that you gained. I am now more than six months into practice, and I feel more comfortable seeing patients with different problems and arranging longterm plans of care.

What do you see changing in the next five to 10 years?

I see more awareness in the general population of different diseases and understanding a disease’s course to help them to manage better. I would like to see more patient education in preventative medicine.

On the medical side, I see more progress in research and treatments, like the novel curative treatments that have emerged for hepatitis C or the new approaches and medications to treat diabetes.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I like attending concerts and

plays. I also like outdoor photography, drawing, reading, walking through nature and visiting historical places.

What advice would you give to someone looking to become a doctor? No dream is impossible.

Honesty and hard work are the key to success. “When you want something with all your heart, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” -Paulo Coelho

What advice would you give to someone who is going to be a patient in a hospital for a period of time? Trust your physicians, be open

to them, discuss all your concerns, ask questions, listen to the doctor’s advice and be patient. Healing is a mutual responsibility between doctors and patients. Together, we can make it a smooth and successful experience.

getting to know a BHC nurse

Why did you get into the health care field? My mother was

instrumental in my choice of career — she always thought I would make a good nurse. When I was about 14, I was a candy striper.

That was my real introduction into health care. I volunteered at a hospital delivering mail, passing trays and water, doing clerical work and other tasks.

What interested you in your particular specialty? After

completing my degrees at SIUEdwardsville, I moved to the San Francisco Bay area where I learned more about advanced practice nursing. Kaiser Permanente employed many advanced practice nurses. After meeting with several of them, I knew I wanted to further my education. Initially, I wanted to become a nurse midwife. However, after considering my interest in people at all stages of life, family practice became more appealing.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? Helping

› barbara king, fnp [ Columbia Family Medical Group ] I’m originally from East Saint Louis, Illinois.

In 1979, I completed a nursing assistant class and worked on the medical unit at a hospital in Belleville, Illinois. After working as a nursing assistant for seven years, I completed my associate degree in nursing at Belleville in 1985, and in 1987, I finished my BSN and BSEd. at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. After 15 years of practice as an RN in a variety of settings, I completed my master’s degree in nursing at Mizzou in 2004.

people understand what helps them to stay healthy and what’s happening when they become ill. When people have a good understanding of, and participate in, their care, they become empowered to increase their wellbeing.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? Attempting

to fit patient information that gives a holistic picture of a person into the boxes of an electronic health record.

What has changed in your field since you started practicing?

Hospital stays are now much, much shorter. Technology and machinery are more common and complex.

On the other hand, patients have more access to their own medical information. The Internet has resulted in patients asking more questions and participating more

in decisions made regarding their health care.

What do you see changing in the next five to 10 years? I

see a continuance of the trend of shorter hospitalizations and outpatient treatment, and a surge of integrating Western and Eastern healing modalities in inpatient and outpatient care.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I enjoy

biking, hiking, kayaking, dancing, gardening, cooking and crocheting.

I’ve been practicing yoga for almost 40 years. I practiced as a licensed massage therapist for more than 20 years and am currently preparing to become a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner. I believe massage and energy work are wonderful tools for wellness and recovery.

I’m also part of a Middle Eastern fusion group, The Baraka Project, that a longtime friend and I started about a year ago. We play a few venues in Columbia. I play a doumbek, zils, frame drum and other percussion instruments.

What advice would you give to someone looking to become a nurse? I believe that people who

want to work in patient care must understand the reality of interacting with many different kinds of people, from many different walks of life, with many different backgrounds on a daily basis. Patience, compassion, understanding and a nonjudgmental attitude are as important for helping people maintain their health or recover from illness as the technical skills.

What advice would you give to someone who is going to be a patient in a hospital for a period of time? Be sure to have

an advocate who can oversee your care and help you understand your medications, tests, procedures and the course of your hospitalization.

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Learn more at boone.org/foundation

Breaking The Language Barrier Boone Hospital Foundation Provides New Technology For Quick Communication With Non-English Speaking Patients

I

t was a busy evening in Boone Hospital Center’s Emergency Department.

Registered nurse Callie Fenwick was preparing to end her shift when an elderly man arrived with his wife, who was having severe stomach pain. Fenwick thought this couple looked a bit more anxious and confused than others who find themselves in the ED. She soon realized why; they were Chinese immigrants and spoke almost no English. Admitting patients was often challenging, but it would be impossible without a translator.

“The couple spoke Cantonese, and I really didn’t have much hope of being able to get a translator here in a reasonable timeframe,” Fenwick says.

Fortunately, she remembered the new on-demand video remote interpreting system purchased by Boone Hospital Foundation. The software, by Stratus Video, allows caregivers to set up a live video link with a translator, available in more than 200 languages. The software allows the caregiver

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to choose the required language, then connects them with a person who can talk with the patient and the nurse in real time.

“I pulled out the iPad, and we had a great translator on the screen in 5 minutes.”

Fenwick was able to get the woman admitted and sent to Radiology for testing with no delays. She and other caregivers say the translation software really is improving care at the hospital.

“We also had a young woman who needed a sign language translator, and the interpreting software was equally helpful with that,” Fenwick says.

Beth Eidson, Emergency Department manager at Boone Hospital Center, says key features of the interpreting software make the patient communication process more efficient. The device is portable and readily available to staff. It can be used for group discussion among family members and has a large viewing screen.

“A picture is worth a thousand words.

Communication is verbal and nonverbal,”

Emergency Department Nurse Stephanie Colvin says accessing a video translator takes only a few minutes. In the past, it could take hours to find and bring a translator to the hospital.

Eidson says. “The translation software allows you to see body language and hand gestures that let the patients tell their stories.”

Boone Hospital Foundation purchased the iPad and software after nurses in the Emergency Department expressed the need for a more immediate way to communicate with non-English speaking patients.

Boone Hospital Foundation director Barb Danuser says this device is so popular that staff have requesting two more to use in other areas of the hospital.

“It’s very gratifying to see how the Foundation can meet a need like this in the hospital,” Danuser says. She adds that she is always eager to hear ideas from caregivers or anyone in the community on how to improve patient care and the health of people in mid-Missouri. By Kim Getzoff

News from the B O O N E H O S P I TA L F O U N D AT I O N

2014 Distribution of Funds Current Need 20% Stewart Cancer Center 39%

Supportive Care / BHHC / Spiritual Care

9% Community Benefit 13%

Caregiver Education 19%

2015 Calendar of Events March 23 & 24

Book Sale

May 5, 6 & 7

Jewelry Sale

May 11

Golf Tournament

July & August

Community Campaign

Sept. 9, 10 & 11

Book Sale

October

Jewelry Sale

November 14

Gala

>>> Save the Date <<<

12th Annual

boone hospital foundation

golf classic monday, may 11 @ the club at old hawthorne For more information: ✆ 573.815.2800 ✉ ymg1825@bjc.org

BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER Spring 2015

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Boone Hospital Center 1600 East Broadway Columbia, Mo 65201 573-815-8000

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Columbia, MO Permit 286