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CHS News Archives High School Junior Mikka Crabtree trains with Crittenden EMS Seventeen-year-old Mikka Crabtree has a passion for emergency medical care and she is feeding that passion by shadowing the professionals at Crittenden Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The Crittenden County High School junior is spending a portion of each week during the spring semester with EMS as part of a Vocational School training program. Mikka participated in the Vocational School's nursing program from August to December. While most of the students in Mikka's class are busy observing nurses in health care settings this spring, Mikka received permission to observe EMS professionals at work. Mikka's interest in emergency care is not easy to explain, although she said her father Mike has influenced her more than he probably realizes. Mike has been an active member of the local Rescue Squad since about 1991, and currently serves as assistant chief. It was his talk of successful runs and helping others that inspired his daughter. Not surprisingly, Mikka, with her parents' permission, joined the rescue squad in December of 2005 when she was 16 years old. "I think Dad was hesitant about me joining the squad because of the graphic nature of the job and what I might see," Mikka said. "But, I knew I could handle it." It was on an icy night in January 2006 that Mikka realized she wanted to do more than serve on the local rescue squad. The young rescuer recalls that night being her first major run - a serious car accident. "I remember wathcing people work the accident, and that is when I saw EMS come in - and I kne Mikka's vocational training has already prepared her for some of the basics such as taking vitals, spiking IV bags, and administering oxygen. However, the young rescuer's passion for health care is driving her to learn more. The youth is setting her sights on enrolling in Basic EMT classes, which she would be eligible to take during evenings this fall as a high school senior. Mikka's mother Cindy said most people Mikka's age do not know what they want to do, and it is exciting to see her daughter with a passion and already knowing what she wants. "Anything she wants to do, she does well," Cindy said of her daughter. "She gets so excited that we have to rein her back in sometimes," she added. For now, Mikka's education is most important and what the family is focused on, according to Mike. Cindy explained that she and Mike want Mikka to pursue her goals, and also want her to enjoy being a kid, especially during her senior year of high school. In addition to knowing she wants to complete basic Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training, Mikka also would like to pursue becoming a paramedic, and perhaps a flight medic, which would require even more extensive training. The young Crittenden Countian, as of now, also knows she wants to stay in this community. "Most of my friends want to go to college and start somewhere new, but I want to stay here," she said. "I want to be that someone that others can look up to some day." Local EMS Director Randy Free said Mikka is well on her way to achieving her goals. "Other young people should look at her as an inspiration to do what they want to do," he said. Free, who has talked with Mikka about becoming an EMT, described the student as bright, intelligent, and someone who absolutely loves what she does. The director said, "I think she will be able to handle this job well, and she is a pleasure to be around." Local paramedic Dawn Lamb said she has never seen a young person with such enthusiasm for this type of work. "Mention EMS and Mikka's face lights up," Lamb said. "When she is here with us we encourage her to keep her grades up and make sure she does her homework." "Many look at me and see my age and think I am immature and still a child," Mikka said, "but I've had to step into the role of an adult and I've seen things most teens won't see until later on, and I can handle it." Mikka explained that she has already had to face an emergency run that involved someone she knew. "You learn not to overreact, not to stress, and do what you're trained to do to help, and not let your emotions take over," she said. Mike agrees that the experiences with Crittenden EMS and the Rescue Squad have been positive for Mikka. He also noted that EMS and the hospital have been a good influence on his daughter. "Since she's started this program she has been more responsible as a young adult at home," he said, "and I am proud of what she has done." Mike added, "This has been a wonderful opportunity for her because she is so focused on what she wants to do. We worry about what she sees, but we have talked about it and she can handle it - she's prepared." Mikka agrees. "I'm ready to step into it," she said of her future EMT role. "I'm not there for the glory," she said, "and there's no money for what I'm doing right now. It's what I love and I have a passioin to do it. No doubt this is what I want to do." Getting Back in the Game: Hospital's physical therapy services help Cozart recover from knee injury The first basketball scrimmage of the summer did not turn out the way 16-year-old Breanna Cozart had hoped. What began as a warm-up game last June to prepare for the upcoming hoop season, ended with a knee injury that would halt her participation for several months. Cozart, the daughter of Heather and Stephon, described the pain from her torn ACL as instant and intense. However, the Crittenden County High School junior was determined to get back in the game as quickly as possible and looked to local rehabilitation and physical therapy services for help. Not only was the basketball season at stake, but Cozart is also active on the varsity volleyball and track teams. The injured Cozart underwent pre-therapy for one month at Crittenden Health Systems Rehabilitation Services prior to undergoing knee surgery. The surgical procedure was performed on July 12th by Dr. David Bealle of West Kentucky Orthopeadic Services in Hopkinsville. The next six months were devoted to more local physical therapy to improve the range of motion for her knee. Exercises included bending and stretching, and later included weights and special equipment. "They've really helped me," the basketball player said of the local rehab services. "At first I didn't know if I would be as strong as I was before (the injury), but my strength is back." Cozart said she chose the local rehabilitation services for the convenience and was supported by the friendly staff. "The people here were encouraging and they would tell me when I was doing really well," she said. When asked about the best part of her rehab experience she replied, "I like working out, so it felt good to be active again." Another plus for convenience, according to Cozart, was being able to see Dr. Bealle at Crittenden Health Systems for her follow-up appointments. Dr. Bealle began a clinic at the hospital about half-way through Cozart's therapy. The teenage athlete was discharged from therapy about three weeks ago, and has been fitted with a knee brace that will provide protection as she slowly eases back into basketball practice. Benny Johnson, Director of Rehabilitation Services, commented that Cozart's therapy came with a strict protocol laid out by Dr. Bealle. The type of injury experienced by Cozart is quite common among teenage athletes, according to Johnson. In fact, he said, therapy for these types of injuries require more extensive equipment. That is why a new stair stepper and elliptical were brought into the office in anticipation of treating more of this type of patient under Dr. Bealle's care. "Breanna has been an ideal patient," Johnson said, "and she has progressed according to the protocol." Ashley Cavanah, the physical therapist who worked with Cozart, said she was pleased with the young patient's progression to recovery. "Whenever we see a patient with an ACL tear, like Breanna, there's not much function, but we slowly begin to see an improvement in strength and range of motion as the swelling goes down," she said. Cozart said she did not know Crittenden Health Systems offered rehabilitation and physical therapy services until she needed them. Now that she knows the office is here, she will use the services again if needed, and would recommend them to others in the community. "People need to know we're here," Johnson said. "We can address almost any need the community has - with very few exceptions. We currently see patients from three to 92 years of age." These services include occupational and speech therapy, as well as work conditioning, general strengthening, pediatric care, and geriatric care in other facilities. Cozart's treatment and recovery is just one of the many success stories related to the professional care available at Crittenden Health Systems Rehabilitation Services. The rehab staff and Crittenden Health Systems extend best wishes to Breanna Cozart in her sports endeavors this season and those to come. Crittenden Health Systems Rehabilitation Services is located next door to the hospital. To schedule an appointment, call (270) 965-1013. EMS Director Randy Free Sets Goals for New Year
That's how Randy Free describes his first four months of transition as the new director of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for Crittenden Health Systems. Free was hired by CHS on August 15th to manage the staff of 23 paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), along with the day-to-day operations of the local ambulance service. The accommodating community and efficient staff have made his new job a great experience, according to Free. What about challenges? Well, Free said, there have been some, but the greatest has been reassuring the employees that everything is going to be okay with the changes that accompany new leadership. Free noted that while there have been no major changes, his management style is somewhat different than what has been experienced in the past. Free describes himself as "a people person" which summarizes his approach to managing Crittenden EMS. "I don't ask employees to do anything I wouldn't do myself," he said. With this philosophy in the forefront, it is no surprise that Free's favorite component of his job has been the camaraderie of the people. "I think it's important," the director said, "to be a friend as well as a boss." On the home-front, Free receives encouragement and support from his wife Tammie, as well as their children. They include three daughters, Chandy Shelbourne, Sarah, and Allyson; son Joey; and step-daughter Erica Smith. The EMS director is a graduate of Marshall County High School, West Kentucky Tech and Paducah Community College. Free frequently attends medical training sessions to keep up with required certifications, and encourages his staff to do the same. Education is important and a priority reflected in the goals set for the EMS staff. "I want the staff to get every bit of education they can," he said, "and each one of them needs to be certified so they can teach others." Additional departmental goals include upgrading equipment and pursuing the purchase of new ambulances to ensure patients have the most updated technology available for their care. "I think the people in this community and hospital deserve that," he said. Free added, "That's the reason we're here - for the people of Crittenden County - not for the money. We strive to make a difference." Crittenden EMS is located on the campus of Crittenden Health Systems and provides 24-hour Emergency and Ambulance Services to Crittenden and surrounding communities. Hospital service putting folks to sleep If you have trouble sleeping, your diagnosis will soon be as close as Crittenden Hospital. Crittenden Health Systems is adding a sleep lab to its list of general and specialized services. There are 84 types of sleep disorders, all resulting in disruptions in slumber and wakefulness affecting an estimated 40 million American adults, many of whom could be misdiagnosed as heart conditions. The healthcare organization's plans are to create a two-bed sleep lab outfitted similarly to hotel rooms. Conversion of the two rooms currently used for obstetrics will begin this month with the target date for the first sleep lab appointment set for August 2nd. Patients will enter the hospital in the evening - or in the morning if the patient works third shift - and be monitored by staff trained in sleep medicine. The hospital has contracted with Burke, Mayes and Associates of Nashville, which supplies a physician to read and interpret data faxed to Nashville from Crittenden Hospital. While at Crittenden Hospital's sleep lab, patients will be monitored visually and by telemetry. "The next day the technician will score those results and send them to the physician who scores them to determine whether there is a problem," said Hospital CEO Claudia Eisenmann. Common sleep disturbances include nighttime awakening, feeling tired even after a long rest, emotional or anxiety problems, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, excessive daytime fatigue, snoring or choking while asleep and the need for frequent daytime naps. The root of these problems can be determined through a sleep lab. Patients must be referred to the sleep lab by a physician who will treat problems diagnosed by the sleep medicine-trained physician in Nashville. "This will be the first time people can be treated locally," Eisenmann said. "We're excited, because there is no reason they should have to go somewhere else for this." "This is something that can significantly improve a patient's quality of life," said Doug Florkowski, Director of Ancillary Care. Caldwell County Hospital and Lourdes Hospital both have sleep labs. Eisenmann said a facility she worked for in Texas started its sleep lab with four beds, and within two months appointments required a six week wait. Since then, two additional beds have been added to the lab. Plans at Crittenden are to operate the lab three days a week for a total of six patients a week. Telemedicine comes to CHS! Some new technology is making its way into the Radiology department at Crittenden Health Systems. The final stages of installation for the PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems) have come to an end. The Radiology department has been going through some major changes to convert all modalities (General X-ray, Ultrasound, CT, Nuclear Medicine, and MRI) into a digital format that can be processed and viewed by computer.
Once images are captured and stored on special computer software, virtually any physician with Internet capabilities and rights granted by Crittenden Health Systems can view and manipulate images anytime, anywhere. R adiologists can send x-rays electronically to doctors or radiologists at other hospitals. This will drastically improve the quality of patient care by reducing the time it takes for physicians to receive the exams from our courier. These studies are stored and easily accessible at any time. If patient needs to take studies for follow up care with other practitioners then they no longer have to carry numerous sheets of x-ray film that can become very cumbersome, but will be given a CD containing all studies requested. Unlike film, CD’s do not have to be returned. A patient can now focus on their well being instead of trying to remember the many instructions given out when taking film from a facility. This also allows a tech to focus on other issues besides spending down time searching through hundreds of files for one x-ray jacket. The PACS system that Crittenden Health Systems has chosen is RayPax, which is a product of Samsung. David Yoo and Brian Lee, consultants with the Samsung Corporation in Korea, came to Marion to demonstrate some of the features of Crittenden Hospital's new teleradiology system. I t was purchased from Radiology Services, a distributor out of Evansville, Indiana. Keep watching the Crittenden Health Systems quarterly update in the Crittenden Press for news on MRI, which will be coming soon!!!! First aid reaches Amish Residents of Crittenden County's Amish community are better trained now to take care of one another in the event of a medical emergency. Twenty-two members of the Amish community recently received training in first-aid and CPR offered by Crittenden Health Systems. The all-male group was instructed in various first-aid techniques including splinting, bleeding control and CPR during a five-hour course in March. Emory Yoder, whose family operates Yoder Sawmill, says the course was more of a brush-up for him, but it was the first time others were trained in first aid. Employees at the sawmill had previous instruction from an OSHA safety engineer and learned basics of first aid and how to use a fire extiguisher. "There were a lot of good questions and answers and many things people had wondered about," Yoder said about the recent course offered by Crittenden Health Systems. Yoder, father of four between the ages of three and nine, found information concerning children and choking most helpful. "They were very receptive, very quick to learn and it was one of those good feelings you get every now and then," said EMS director Larry Granstaff, who coordinated the class. Instructors included Kelly Jenkins, director of nursing; Greg Peck, paramedic; and Laura Wood, a nurse for the Crittenden County School System. Transportation was provided by Marion Baptist Church. Those participating also viewed a video about the use of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) which are potentially life-saving devices used by First Responders throughout the county. "We showed them how the battery-operated devices work and explained how they can save lives," Granstaff said, noting those trained wanted to discuss with the community's elders the possibility of keeping an AED in a central location in the Amish community. Yoder doubts the community would be receptive to using a defibrillator because of its purpose re-starting the heart. "If someone's heart stops, that's up to God," Yoder said. Granstaff developed the class to train people to administer first-aid while EMS personnel are en route to an emergency. "We have responded on a lot of different occasions where kids are injured by hay rakes, during baby deliveries or when horses have trampled someone. Many times, we find them having no knowledge of what to do," Granstaff said. Fortunately, Yoder says, emergencies are rare for the 85 families in the Amish community. First responders from each of the county's fire departments are trained to administer first-aid and CPR and are often called to medical emergencies. Granstaff said they serve as the EMS' eyes, ears and hands until paramedics arrive on the scene. With only two EMS employees on staff round the clock, it is helpful to have trained First Responders to help move people, lift people, block traffic or direct ambulances in the right direction in rural settings, Granstaff said. First Responder training is offered every month. About 25 hours are required every year. Anyone interested in becoming a First Responder should contact the EMS office at 965-2770. Automated Dispensing Technology Arrives at Hospital In an age where medication safety is of increasing importance, Crittenden Health Systems has proactively implemented automated dispensing technology to assure that patients receive the medications they need when they need them. OmniCell dispensing cabinets have been installed in patient care areas at the hospital. These cabinets contain locked drawers of medications that are stocked by pharmacy and accessed by nursing staff to give to patients. The process goes something like this: an order is written by the physician and forwarded to pharmacy; pharmacy enters the order for medication into the patient’s profile or record, screening for drug allergies, drug-drug interactions, therapeutic duplications, and other contraindications; the patient’s profile is sent to the automated dispensing cabinet; the nurse accesses the patient information and is directed to the correct medication within the cabinet. For the most part, only the drawer which contains the appropriate medication can be accessed by the nurse for that particular patient. These built-in safeguards limit the possibility of errors. Per accrediting agency regulations, a pharmacist reviews all prescription or medication orders prior to administration unless a physician controls the ordering, preparation, and administration of the medication or in urgent situations when the resulting delay would harm the patient. Crittenden County Hospital has consistently had an extremely high accuracy rate, partially attributable to the individualized care given by its staff. Other features of the OmniCell include user recognition by bio-identification, accountability reporting, and automatic restocking lists. |
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w I would probably like EMS better," she said.
So far, so good.
PACS is the hottest selling technology for Radiology departments all over the country. It will have the greatest impact for small, rural Radiology departments, who constantly deal with the challenge of limited Radiologist accessibility. This system will eliminate the redundant work by technologists, inside a darkroom, processing patient exams onto film. Instead of utilizing film and chemicals to produce such diagnostic images, the x-ray will be captured onto a plate containing tiny computer sensors that can be scanned and interpreted to produce and display the images onto a computer monitor. 