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HOSPITAL PRESENTS PANEL DISCUSSION ON FLU, MEDICATION RECONCILIATION AND STAPH INFECTIONS
Kerrville, TX –Much of the recent public discussions on healthcare quality have centered on the role healthcare providers – such as hospitals, physicians, nurses and other entities – play to ensure that America’s healthcare is the highest quality possible. But consumers of health care, such as patients, their families and employers, also play important roles in the pursuit and maintenance of healthcare quality.
In celebration of Quality Week, Oct. 16-20, Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital invites you to a community education seminar and panel discussion on three important issues relating to healthcare quality:
• The Flu – (Just about) Everything you ever wanted to know about the flu. Speaker – Susan Kaiser, LVN, SPMH Infection Control Nurse
• Staph Infections – You can get one anywhere. Speaker – Betsy Colvin, RN, SPMH Director of Quality/Risk Management
• Medication Reconciliation – How it can help prevent medication errors. Speaker – Jim Merrick, BS, PharmD, RPH, SPMH Pharmacy Supervisor/Clinical Coordinator.
Barbara Stehling, RN, SPMH JCAHO/Quality Coordinator, said that each fall questions about the types of flu circulating and the availability of vaccine increase. Stehling also indicated that many people erroneously assume that all staph infections are largely hospital associated.
“When we have had community education seminars on staph infections in the past, our attendees are surprised to find out how prevalent staph bacteria are and where these opportunistic super bugs can be found,” she said.
Medication errors are 100 percent preventable, Stehling said. Frequently, she stated, patients come to the emergency department and are unable to tell caregivers what medications they are taking.
“It not only takes critical time to track down a patient’s updated prescription records but also increases risk of caregivers unknowingly giving patients a medication that may negate the effects of their prescriptions,” she emphasized.
The seminar will be held Tuesday, October 17th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Peterson Regional Ambulatory Care Center on Cully Drive in Kerrville. The panel presentations will begin at 6:15pm. Refreshments will be provided, and door prizes will be awarded throughout the evening. Seating is limited, so please call 830-258-7468 to reserve your space.
For more information on other programs and services at SPMH, please call 830-258-7624.
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COMMUNITY FLU VACCINATION CLINIC SET FOR Oct. 19
KERRVILLE, TX – While the Hill Country waits for the return of cooler temperatures and other indications that fall is approaching, residents are also gearing up for the return of the season’s most unwelcome characteristic – the flu. Since there have already been reports of flu in the Houston area, it is a sure bet that sore throats, fevers and body aches are on their way to Kerrville.
The first line of defense against the flu is vaccination. On Oct. 19, Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital, the Department of State Health Services and HEB are sponsoring a community flu vaccination clinic to strengthen area resistance to this season’s strains of flu. The clinic will be held from 10am to 6:00pm at the Youth Exhibit Center (Ag barn) on Highway 27. Shots are $25.
Susan Kaiser, an SPMH infection control nurse, said that no flu vaccine shortages are expected. “This is good news for area residents,” she said. “No one has to show up early for fear of not getting a shot.”
Medicare will also cover the cost of vaccination for those who qualify, and HEB personnel will file for Part B participants, stated HEB pharmacy manager Susan Masters. “It’s critical for Medicare beneficiaries to bring their ‘PART B’ cards if they want us to file,” she said.
Masters also indicated that children under the age of 14 can be immunized if parents bring a physician’s prescription for the vaccination. A parent or legal guardian must be present for young people between the ages of 14 and 18 to receive an injection.
Flu season can start as early as October and can last into late spring. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people who get the flu will recover in one to two weeks. But some individuals will develop potentially serious complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections. The flu can also make chronic health problems worse. Although no vaccine shortages are expected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are making every effort to ensure that those individuals at greatest risk for complications receive vaccinations.
“People over the age of 65, those with chronic medical conditions and residents on long-term care facilities are on a priority list because they are at higher risk for complications,” said Elizabeth Leicht, a public health nurse with the Department of State Health Services. In addition, Leicht said, the CDC has placed healthcare professionals and at-home caregivers on the list. “These individuals take care of sick people,” Leicht said. “They need to be vaccinated in order to protect the people who rely on them.”
For more information on the community flu vaccination clinic, please call the Department of State Health Services at 830-896-5515 or visit the SPMH Web site at www.spmh.com.
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HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER CORPS SURPASSES 1,000 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE IN FIRST YEAR
KERRVILLE, TX – In 2005 a group of Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital employees wanted to harness the collective power of the hospital’s 700+ employees into a force focused solely on community service. The outcome was the SMPH Volunteer Corps, currently comprised of more than 100 hospital employees. In August, the Volunteer Corps chose the Doyle School Community Center as the major focus of their volunteer efforts over the next year.
“We chose the Doyle Center because of its historic significance, for the important function it provides to the community and for the many different volunteer opportunities available for our employees,” said Joseph Piszczor, SPMH administration resident and leader of the Volunteer Corps. “Concentrating our efforts on the Doyle Center will allow us to make a significant impact, both on the center and the people it serves.”
On Nov. 12, the Volunteer Corps tackled its first big project with the Doyle Center. By day’s end, more than 50 volunteers - mostly employees and a few employees’ relatives – had painted the exterior of the building, repaired gutters near the entrance of the building, replaced cracked and damaged siding, repaired a roof over the sandbox that has been converted into a covered picnic area, cleaned and re-finished the playground equipment, washed windows, and trimmed bushes. Corps members were tired but satisfied with their work.
Patrick Cass, executive director of the Doyle Center, praised the Volunteer Corps’ efforts. “The volunteers made a profound difference in the outward appearance of the Doyle Center,” he said. “Our board of directors, and the many adults and children who use the center, look forward to working with the SPMH Volunteer Corps on other important projects throughout the coming year.”
SPMH CEO Pat Murray encourages hospital employees to engage in community service. “Volunteering can be one of life’s most rewarding experiences,” said Murray. “I’m pleased that so many hospital employees have joined the Volunteer Corps, and I applaud their hard work on the first of many worthwhile projects.”
For more information on other SMPH programs and services, please call 830-258-7624 or visit our Web site at www.spmh.com.
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Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital has received the coveted Nurse-Friendly™ hospital designation
Texas Nurses Association, a state-wide membership organization of professional registered nurses, announced on Sept. 14 that Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital has received the coveted Nurse-Friendly™ hospital designation. Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital is one of only 31 Texas hospitals who, through application, rigorous review process and nurse survey confirmation, have achieved the distinction. Texas currently has 581 hospitals.
This three-year designation confirms that Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital has in its practices, policies and procedures the 12 essential elements of the ideal nursing practice environment – as defined by nurses and research – that allow nurses to practice safe, quality patient care and to pursue a level of professional development and career satisfaction that retains them in the profession.
“We are very proud to receive this prestigious designation,” said SPMH Chief Nursing Officer Anne O’Brien. “It is an honor that recognizes not only our superlative nurses but also the entire SPMH family of physicians, administration and staff.” O’Brien has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in business administration. One criterion of the Nurse-Friendly designation is that a hospital’s chief nursing officer has a master’s-level education or a commitment to achieve that education level.
Awarded only twice a year in the fall and spring, the designation identifies for nurses and patients those hospitals that are committed to providing an ideal nursing practice environment and that value nurses in their overall pursuit of providing safe, quality patient care. Some of the nurse-identified components that comprise the ideal practice environment include:
- Autonomy and control of practice where nurses are accountable for their own practice and coordinators of patient care.
- Strong nurse leadership that is supported by hospital administration.
- A facility with clear organizational procedures for dealing with workplace and patient concerns expressed by nurses.
- Safety of the work environment for both nurses and the patients for whom they advocate.
“We know through research data that a facility’s implementing the 12 Nurse-Friendly hospital criteria – which is the basis for determining designation – has a positive effect on nurse retention, satisfaction and the quality of patient care delivered,” explained Kathleen Light, EdD, RN, president of the Texas Nurses Association.
The Fall 2006 Nurse-Friendly designations were officially awarded at a special recognition
luncheon held during the 6th Annual Nursing Leadership Conference of the Texas Nurses
Association in Austin on September 14.
For more information on the Nurse-Friendly designation, please call 830-258-7342. For more information on other programs and services available through SPMH, please call 830-258-7624 or visit our Web site at www.spmh.com. |
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Media contact:
Director of Marketing & Community Relations
(830) 258-7628 |
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