Hospital News
From left — HVCH President LeeAnn Lucas-Helber, HVCH Registered Nurse Amber Kienzle listen as Ohio State Representative (D-91st district) Dan Dodd reads the proclamation. Photo by Gretchen Roberts/The Logan Daily News
State Representative Dan Dodd Visits HVCH
State Representative Dan Dodd was in Logan yesterday to announce that the Hocking Valley Community Hospital (HVCH) Skilled Nursing Facility received top honors in a 2007 resident satisfaction survey. Dodd read a proclamation during his brief visit to the hospital, and a portion of said, “HVCH is truly deserving of high praise, for throughout its history, this fine institution has attained a remarkable record of service to the area. On the 2007 resident satisfaction survey conducted for the Ohio Department of Aging, the facility received a score above the statewide average of 86.2 percent, setting an example worthy of emulation.
The satisfaction survey was completed by the residents, who judged the skilled nursing facility based on their own stay. Lucas-Helber thanked the residents who also attended the event for thinking so highly of their facility. “It really means a lot,” she noted.
Danielle Arnett, HVCH Employee Wellness Coordinator demonstrates strength training using inexpensive, resistance bands.
The recent Health Education discussion sponsored by Hocking Valley Community Hospital in cooperation with Scenic Hills Senior Center was presented by Danielle Arnett, Exercise Physiologist and HVCH Employee Wellness Coordinator. Danielle’s presentation featured “Exercise Tips for Seniors.” The demonstration included stretches and strength training using resistance bands.
The March education session will be presented by Chet Kaczor, Registered Pharmacist at Hocking Valley Community Hospital. Chet will be presenting an education on “The Effects of Aging on Seniors and their Medications”. The public as well as senior citizens are invited and encouraged to attend. The discussion will be Tuesday, March 18, 10:15 am. – 10:45 a.m. at the Scenic Hills Senior Center, 187 South Spring Street. For questions or further information, please contact HVCH Community Relations at 380-8336 or the Senior Center at 385-6581.
Pictured with the new infant warmer L-R, Alycia Vollmar, Director, Family Birth Center- HVCH, Vera Gable, Auxiliary Vice President, Jessica Davis, RN., Family Birth Center, Paula Fortner, RN., Family Birth Center, Norma Geiger, Auxiliary President, and Michelle Matheny, RN, Family Birth Center.
HVCH Auxiliary Makes $15,000 Donation to Purchase Infant Warmer
The Hocking Valley Community Hospital Auxiliary made a generous donation to Hocking Valley Community Hospital’s Family Birth Center for the purchase of an Infant Warmer.
The Infant Warmer, with its heat, oxygen and suction, is used to stabilize the newborn after delivery.
“We are forever indebted to this hardworking group of women” stated LeeAnn Lucas-Helber, HVCH President, “Every year they step up and donate more money than the year before. They make a difference in the lives of our patients everyday.”
Funds raised by the Auxiliary come from a variety of sources. In addition to the various twig groups, the Auxiliary itself sponsors events to raise money, including “Celebration of Lights”, uniform and jewelry sales.
In the past, the Auxiliary has purchased exercise equipment for the Cardiovascular Department, Food Warmers for the Nutrition Dept., beds, surgery and anesthesia equipment, and wheelchairs.
“I am extremely proud of our accomplishments during this past year,” stated Norma Geiger, Auxiliary President. “Our success would not have been possible without the on-going efforts of every Auxiliary member, HVCH employees and the continuous support of the community.”
Hocking Valley Community Hospital Names New Director of Laboratory Services
HVCH is pleased to announce Karen Krebs as the new Director of Laboratory Services. Karen’s background includes experience as a bench technologist at Ohio State University, as a Program Consultant/Lab Surveyor with the Ohio Department of Health, and as a supervisor at Fairfield Medical Center. Karen was presented the Ohio Department of Health Leadership Excellence Accountability and Partnership award while at the ODH, and was also a State of Ohio Employee of the Month.
“I am thrilled to be working in Hocking County and at HVCH. I have always felt that this area is one of the most beautiful in the state, and the people in the community and at HVCH have been very welcoming. The employees are dedicated healthcare professionals, and I am glad to join the HVCH team,” shared Krebs.
Karen is a graduate of Ohio University and participated in a post-graduate clinical internship at the Cleveland Clinic.
We are excited to have someone of Karen’s caliber join our team as she joins our excellent staff of laboratory employees.
Elly Crow Member of TWIG II & Dee McLain both members of the Four Seasons Garden Club are holding donated stuffed animals for hospital pediatric patients.
HVCH Receives Donations for Pediatric Patients
Pediatric patients visiting HVCH can be comforted by special toys and stuffed animals, due to the generosity of some special Hocking County groups, Four Seasons Garden Club, TWIG II and Trinity Lutheran Church.
“We are most grateful to these groups for their generosity, and most of all their care and concern for children who often find being in a hospital stressful. There is nothing better than giving a child something to cuddle when things seem scary.” stated Kathy Krumlauf, Director Community Relations. “A new toy is often a great distraction and comfort, and these donated toys are just delightful,” added Krumlauf.
The hospital staff distributed the stuffed animals to Outpatient Surgery Dept., Emergency Department and the Medical Surgical for pediatric patients.
Any group or business wishing to donate new toys or stuffed animals may call HVCH Community Relations at 380-8336, for more details. Due to infection control & respiratory concerns, it is important that all toys and stuffed animals be new when given to HVCH for distribution to their patients.
The HVCH Foundation Board members tour the Radiology Dept., and watch a demonstration of new imaging equipment, PACS.
from left, Jim Rogers, Foundation member, Brian Sampson, HVCH Director of Radiology, Jerry Johnson, Foundation member, Bob Lilley, Foundation Treasurer, and Jim St. Clair, Foundation Vice-President.
HVCH Foundation Donates Funds for PACS Unit
The Hocking Valley Community Hospital Foundation has pledged $300,000 for a new system that enhances patient care and streamline operations in the Radiology Department.
Synapse is a state- of- the- art radiology image and information network system that has dramatically streamlined hospital operations and enhanced patient care. Synapse is a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), that permits the ability to electronically view, transmit and store diagnostic images, such as those generated by MRI, CT, ultrasound and x-ray.
Once a diagnostic image has been “captured”, the PACS technology enables radiologists to immediately and securely call up that image on any networked PC and make a diagnosis within seconds. thus eliminating the lengthy wait time previously necessitated by film development and the need to hand-carry images through the hospital for delivery to the radiologist’s office. This efficiency is a benefit to patients who now experience shorter waiting times, receive a quicker diagnosis, and are on a faster path to necessary treatment. Physicians can all view these images through the hospital’s computers, and even view the image from their offices and homes. This technology provides a more efficient and timely method for physicians to continually receive updates on a patient’s health problems through digital imaging.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to assist the hospital as they make major improvements in technology for better patient care. We thank our donors for their gifts because their support and contributions makes this $300,000 pledge possible,” stated Joe Murtha, Foundation President.
The HVCH Foundation members give freely of their time and talent to assist in funding new equipment and expand services to improve the lives of countless people in our community.
L-R, Ted Gumer, VP of Business Development, HealthStream Research; LeeAnn Lucas-Helber, C.E.O., HVCH; and Kathy Krumlauf, Director, Community Relations, HVCH.
HVCH Receives Employee Satisfaction Award
Hocking Valley Community Hospital recently won the “Excellence Through Insight” national award given by HealthStream Research. This award for Overall Employee Satisfaction and Engagement recognizes hospitals that excel in their ability to gain insight into their patients, employees, physicians and community through research, using that information to build excellence within their organizations.
HealthStream is a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the healthcare industry. Through its research products, executives from approximately 1,100 healthcare facilities gain valuable insight about patient’s experiences, workforce challenges, physician relations, and community perceptions of their services. Participants learn how to create safer environments for patients, increase clinical competencies of their workforce, and facilitate the rapid transfer of the latest knowledge and technologies.
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Chris Audette, retiring Foundation board member, Kathy Krumlauf, Foundation Executive Director, and Rod Hedges, retiring Foundation board member.
Two retiring Hocking Valley Community Hospital Foundation board members, Chris Audette and Rod Hedges, were honored at a recent Foundation Board meeting. Both members have served on the board 6 years.
“Both have been committed and passionate in their service to Hocking Valley Community Hospital’s Foundation. They understand the vital role our hospital plays in a community, and they know the fundraising efforts of the Foundation assist the hospital in meeting its mission to provide the best of healthcare in a healing customer focused environment,” stated Kathy Krumlauf, Executive Director HVCH Foundation. “Chris and Rod have worked very hard behind the scenes and both diligently served on the Foundation’s Finance Committee and they will be missed.” added Krumlauf.
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Lutz Named Director of Surgical Services
Hocking Valley Community Hospital is pleased to announce the appointment of Tara Lutz, registered nurse, as the new Director of Surgical Services, which consists of the Outpatient Surgery, Surgery and the Central Sterile departments.
Lutz has been with Hocking Valley Community Hospital for 17 years. She started her employment as a receptionist at the front desk the summer she graduated from Logan High School and has been nurse aide, licensed practical nurse, and registered nurse. As a registered nurse, Lutz worked on the Medical Surgical Floor, and has experience as a charge nurse and nursing supervisor. Lutz then took on the roles of Patient Care Coordinator functioning as the Utilization Review nurse, Director of Admitting, and most recently she coordinates the Southeast Ohio Joint Center.
As Admitting Director, Lutz increased the Registration accuracy rate by more than 21% and decreased the scheduled outpatient no shows by 64%.
Lutz has served on various HVCH committees, including, Disaster Preparedness, Patient Education, Joint Commission, HIPAA and the Outpatient Business Council.
Lutz shared, “I am excited about being given the opportunity to assist in the development of the surgery department to meet the growing needs of our community. I look forward to learning and growing with the department as the Surgery Department offers many great services, such as, general surgery, endoscopy, urology, pain management, chemotherapy, wound care, obstetrics and gynecology and cataract services.”
Lutz obtained her nursing degree from Hocking College and she is currently attending Kaplan University to obtain her bachelor’s degree.
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2008 HVCH Foundation Auction and Golf Tournament
The 23rd Annual HVCH Foundation Auction will be held Friday, July 18th, 2008 at the Brass Ring Golf Club. The HVCH Foundation Golf Tournament, sponsored by Pepsi Cola of Athens, will be held Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at the Brass Ring Golf Club. For more information, please call (740)-380-8110.
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LeeAnn Lucas-Helber, HVCH Interim President, accepts the 2007 July Fire Starter Award from Quint Studer, CEO, Studer Group
L-R Stacey Gabriel, Director Emergency Department; Dave Crawford- Director Rehabilitation Services; Charlotte Blair- Executive Assistant; Missy Poling- Director Social Services; Dan Collard-Studer Group Head Coach, Julie Stuck,-VP Patient Services; LeeAnn Lucas Helber, Bob Schmidt- Director Human Resources; Quint Studer, Dr. John Ireton- Medical Director; Chase Wartenbe-Director Materials Management and Housekeeping; Vivian Vanbibber- Nursing Supervisor; Denise Kiamy- Director Nutrition and Food Services; Alycia Vollmar- Director Family Birth Center; Kathy Krumlauf-Director Foundation and Community Relations; and Judy Smith- Director Patient Accounts.
Fire Starter Award
Our journey began in early 2004 when, as a senior leadership team, we made a commitment to each other, our employees and physicians that we were ready to take our organization to the next level.
We used the Studer Group’s Nine Principles as our roadmap and the "Must Have’s" as our toolbox to move our organization’s performance forward. We engaged our leadership team through regular Leadership Development Institutes, focusing on the skills, tools and knowledge they needed to be better leaders. Our employee turnover was an indicator that we needed to improve our retention skills. Our patient satisfaction was inconsistent from month to month, so we focused on creating a much more consistent experience for all who came to HVCH seeking healthcare. Our finances were weaker than we wanted, so we knew we needed to raise the bar of performance by all managers within the organization.
Our results speak for themselves…across all Pillars! Our finances have improved dramatically, increasing our days cash on hand from 17 to 72, while decreasing our days in AR by 28%
Our patients tell us they’re more pleased than ever as our results are in the 88th percentile for outpatient and 53rd percentile for the Emergency Department and we have consistently been in the 90th percentile for inpatient care.
Our employees tell us HVCH is a better place to work, as evidenced by the dramatic decrease in turnover from 21% to 15% (21% to 8% for nurses, 55% to 3% for STNA’s and 53 to 6% for LPN’s. Our latest employee satisfaction results placed us in the 91st percentile.
We have maintained our market share in a competitive environment, and in the next state wide data base analysis we anticipate seeing an increase in our market share. We know we are hearing more of our patient’s stories and receiving wonderful thank you notes, and the talk in our small community is that there is something different about Hocking Valley Community Hospital.
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