HT
Healthy Times
4021 Avenue B Scottsbluff, NE 69361
A Regional West Publication l Fall 2021
Exceptional Healthcare. Our
focus is you!
Exceptional Customer Service Patients are Like Family to Reynolds When staff pharmacist Jeremy Reynolds, RP, PharmD, is filling an order at Community Pharmacy at Regional West, his vision is of a patient, rather than a prescription.
Exceptional Stories
To read Jeremy’s whole story, go to RWHS.org and search ‘exceptional customer service’ or scan the QR code.
Ferguson Focused On Service With his focus always on service, Regional West computer analyst Adam Ferguson knows the weight of his role in the Information Services Department. To read Adam’s whole story, go to RWHS.org and search ‘exceptional customer service’ or scan the QR code.
Multiple Surgery Options page 2
page 3
Home Care Role is Rewarding
From skilled surgeons and support staff to a robotic surgery system, Regional West offers patients multiple surgical options.
Surgery Options Typically outpatient procedures, minimal-sedation cases are performed at Scottsbluff Surgery Center, Regional West’s ambulatory surgical center (ASC). Located just west of the main hospital, the surgery center typically sees most of the gastrointestinal scopes and orthopaedic and arthroscopic surgeries. The main hospital operating room (OR) is generally used for more complex surgeries that usually require an inpatient stay, but may also be used for outpatient procedures, depending on the surgeon’s schedule and equipment needs. “The main OR is designed to see more of the big cases where you need products, you need equipment, and you most likely need an inpatient stay,” said Regional West Chief Medical Officer Matthew Bruner, MD, FACOG. Bradley Hertzler, MD, a general surgeon with Regional West Physicians Clinic-Surgery, Vascular Diagnostics, said Regional West surgeons have the capability to perform a wide range of operative interventions. Having local options available is important in a community hospital, Dr. Bruner said. “It’s life-saving in some situations,” he said. “If we didn’t have the capability that we do, there would absolutely be people who wouldn’t be here today. For the families who need us, it’s life-changing for them.” Jeffrey Holloway, MD, FACS, recently performed the 500th
As a college student, Jim Holscher, PT, knew he wanted to do something in the medical field where he could use his love of exercise and physical activity. While studying exercise physiology at the University of Nebraska, he also played wingback on the Cornhusker football team. In the team’s first week of practice for Holscher’s junior season in 1986, he planted his foot on the artificial turf and felt his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear. In those days,
procedure using the robotic da Vinci® Surgical System. The advantage of the da Vinci robot over a traditional laparoscopy, for example, is improved visualization and better instrument movement due to the delicate instrument articulation. Traditional laparoscopy is done with straight sticks with not as much ability to twist and turn, Dr. Bruner said. “With the robot, all of a sudden, I can move it with my wrists, and get around a corner,” he said. “It’s a magnified view with 3-D vision so I can better see the area. You’re able to get through complicated procedures more precisely and safely and with less risk of injury to bowel and to urologic structures.
“Putting the patient first is a staple of the Regional West culture.” Matthew Bruner l MD, FACOG
“It has really caught on with some general surgery cases, and has really caught on for some of the larger urologic cases,” he said. “The advantage with urologic cases is it can be nerve-sparing, whereas traditional open or laparoscopic surgery may not preserve some of the nerves because of the dissection. The robot allows that to happen, and that’s great.”
Dr. Hertzler said the functionality of the da Vinci robot is another tool on a surgeon’s belt. “It doesn’t replace the surgeon, but it’s that next level in technologic care,” he said. “It allows the surgeon to see things better. It allows them to work more easily, more precisely. It’s allows us to have different visualizations. It’s a piece of technology, but it’s the best piece of technology.”
Operating room improvements are always being considered, whether it be upgraded lighting or even an improved surgical bed. Changes in anesthesia equipment and the addition of a new neurosurgery room have helped Regional West surgeons and staff provide exceptional care for their patients. Dr. Bruner said putting the patient first is a staple of the Regional West culture. “That’s a culture all across Regional West – we’re here to take care of the population, and it shines in the OR,” he said.
“Physical therapy was kind of in the back of my mind anyway,” Holscher said. “When I went through a lot of physical therapy myself, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is something I want to do.’ That was the deciding factor, going through physical therapy myself.” To read Jim’s whole story, go to RWHS.org and search ‘exceptional customer service.’
It’s All About the Patient see in-depth how the body’s organs function, and the exam process allows her to develop a relationship with her patients.
The addition of the da Vinci robot is one way Regional West is keeping up with surgical innovation. “This hospital has really pushed itself to be on the forefront of technology,” Dr. Hertzler said. “Robotic surgery is the forefront of surgery.”
an ACL tear meant surgery, weeks on crutches, and a year of rehab.
It’s all about the patient for Chelsie Weidaman, R.T.(R)(N), a technologist in Regional West’s Nuclear Medicine Department. Weidaman’s commitment to compassion for her patients, cooperation with co-workers, and dedication to excellence in her job made her the 2020 Regional West recipient of The Caring Kind award, presented annually by the Nebraska Hospital Association. After beginning her radiology career in X-ray, working in diagnostic imaging, Weidaman chose to go back to school to add nuclear medicine to her resume. She said she loves that nuclear medicine provides the ability to
Over that time, Weidaman said listening to and supporting each patient is key. Doing so, she said, goes a long way toward helping a patient remain calm and easing their stress. By getting to know her patients, Weidaman can determine whether they just need someone to listen or if she can use some humor to lighten the mood.
“My dad taught me a long time ago that if you love your job, you don’t work a day in your life.” Chelsie Weidaman
“If you can laugh with a patient, make them feel like you’re here
to help, and you’re a team together, it really helps,” she said. Weidaman said she can honestly say that she loves her job, and it’s important to her to be able to say that every day. “My dad taught me a long time ago that if you love your job, you don’t work a day in your life,” she said. “It’s very true. When you wake up and you’re excited to go to work, it’s nice. It’s nice at the end of the day when your patients walk out and say, ‘Thank you so much for your help,’ and, ‘You were so kind.’ It makes you feel good. I like to help people.” A desire to help people, Weidaman said, is found in nearly every healthcare professional. “I feel like, honestly, anyone who works in the medical field loves to help people,” she said. “That’s not just in radiology; that’s nurses, doctors, CNAs, everybody. I think it’s a personal gratification of helping others, a selflessness.”