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Another avenue of help for county residents is the Community Caring program. This program seeks to provide improved health care to low-income needy county residents by partnering with the hospital and local health care providers. Areas of care include physical care, hospital care, pharmacy, dental and vision services. Care is provided at a discounted fee and program participants make reduced payments consistent with their ability to pay. One final program to assist hospital and community patients is the Barrett Hospital & HealthCare Charity Committee. During the current fiscal year, the hospital donated $103,211 in charitable write-offs. The Community Caring program works closely with the Charity Committee to determine need and patient eligibility. As part of our on-going efforts to improve and enhance our services to our patients, we asked in our surveys how we were doing meeting your spiritual needs. Many of you indicated that we could be doing better. As a result, we contracted the Dillon Ministerial Association and asked for help in establishing a program. The new Barrett Hospital & HealthCare Volunteer Chaplain Program currently has seven official participants. The Chaplains are pastors and lay ministers from local churches. Their desire is to be a source of spiritual help to patients and their families during their hospital stays. Our Volunteer Chaplains are committed to respecting and providing for individual religious beliefs, ethnic values, and experiences, regardless of religious affiliation. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Jaws of Life: Community rallies for new rescue equipment, Winter 2002 An outpouring of community support helped the Ronan Volunteer Fire Department raise $60,000 in just seven months for the purchase of a Jaws of Life. The new tools, mounted on a stout one-ton crewcab, enable the VFD to swiftly extricate the motorist from crumpled vehicles. The department has already put the device to work twice the past month, pulling a woman out of her vehicle when it rolled into the barrow pit on Highway 93, and freeing a horse from a cattle guard. Major donors to the fund-raising effort were St. Luke Community Hospital, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the Jana Lynn Campbell/Anita Meyers Memorial Fund (named for two Polson girls killed by a drunk driver); each gave $5,000. Ronan Telephone Company supplied $2,500 and use of its phones for a telethon; the Tribal Housing Authority pitched in another $2,200; and Cenex Farm and Home Supply gave $1,000. Ronan Auto Body “gave us a really good deal on the truck,” says Assistant Chief Mark Clary. Other businesses which helped equip the vehicle include Ronan Power Products, Les Schwab Tires and TRM of Missoula. The remaining donations came from community organizations and individuals. “The generosity has just been kind of amazing,” says VFD Captain Dan Miller. “It’s sort of a small community attitude - everyone sticks together.” Ronan also rallied a few years ago to help the department purchase a $20,000 thermal-imaging camera used by firefighters when they enter burning buildings. “We were the first volunteer fire department in the state to have one,” notes Clary. The Jaws of Life was an easy sell to a community that lives near to and drives daily High way 93 - one of the busiest and most dangerous thoroughfares in the state. “Everybody knows someone who’s been in a car accident, or they fear a car accident,” says Clary. Nonetheless, many of the donations were “unlooked for and unsolicited,” says Miller. “People just wanted to help out.” Even the Missoula Rural Fire District sent $500. “They said people from their area were driving down this highway all the time.” For several years, the department has been accompanying the ambulance crew to major accidents. “We’re not just firefighters anymore,” says Clary. With 40 members in Ronan and Pablo, the department boasts one of the largest volunteer crews in the state. The Jaws of Life was already part of the rescue paraphernalia for the firefighters in Polson, St. Ignatius and Arlee. While Ronan could count on its neighboring fire departments to respond if they needed the tool, “the time factor was a big thing.” says Miller. “Volunteers have to get off their jobs, assemble enough people, and then get there.” Firefighters and rescue workers talk about “the golden hour” after an accident - that critical period of time when medical care can mean the difference between life and death. With the tool now in-house, “we save at least 10 minutes - 10 minutes that could save someone’s life,” says Miller. The Jaws of Life actually consists of four hydraulically-driven tools: the cutter, which pinches and cuts through metal; the spreader, often used to remove the dashboard or doors; the Maverick, a multipurpose tool which both cuts and separates metal; and a large piston-driven jack. “ It’s pretty easy to operate,” says Clary. Once firefighters learn which tools to use and where to direct the force, “it does all the work.” When the department purchased the tool, a manufacturer-certified trainer taught them the basics. Since then, firefighters have been cutting and ripping their way through salvage cars, donated by Ronan Auto Body. During training sessions, “we’ll run through three cars a night,” say Miller. Department members often sit in the car while their colleagues dismantle the vehicle around them. “It surprises you, the sounds a car makes when you’re tearing them apart,” says Miller. “It really gives you a whole different perspective.”
New mobile services offers rural doctors an ICU unit on wheels June 18, 2002 Montana’s big sky and long distances mean that critically ill or injured people often have a long way to go in a hurry. One way they travel is by air- helicopters for shorter distances and fixed-wing small air ambulances for farther. There’s another choice, a new one, born of a partnership between Community Medical Center in Missoula and Missoula Emergency Services, the ambulance company. It’s the Mobile Intensive Care Unit, over-the-road transport staffed with critical care experts. “ It literally is an intensive care unit on wheels,” said physician Greg Moore, medical director of Community’s emergency services and of the new mobile service. The mobile ICU is a specially assembled, 24-hour team of critical care nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technician, with respiratory therapists and doctors added if needed. The specialists, their equipment and needed medications can work in any of Missoula Emergency Services’ six Type III box ambulances. The new team will not be first responders. Instead, they’ll transport patients from one facility to another. For instance, a patient with a complex broken bone might arrive at a small rural hospital without an orthopedic surgeon. The physician who sees him might decide he needs to go to the nearest large hospital. He doesn’t need a Life Flight lift because he’s stable. The mobile ICU fills the gaps. “ We felt it was a service that was badly needed in western Montana,” Moore said. Within a 40-mile radius of Missoula, air and ground transport take about the same length of time, said Community Medical Center president Grant Winn. But, he said, ground transport is one-fourth to one-fifth the cost. Reimbursement by insurance is difficult for air transport, he said. About 80 percent of air transport claims to Medicare are turned down for reimbursement because their medical necessity is questioned. Sometimes even five minutes can make a difference for a patient. At more than 40 miles away, a physician responsible for the patient could decide that time is the most important factor and opt to save that five minutes with a helicopter. If not, the mobile ICU can respond in 10 minutes. “ I see this a complementary service to the helicopter,” Winn said. “We need to do what’s in the best interest of the patient, always. But cost is a factor.” And, Winn said, “This service will go anywhere. It’ll go to St. Pat’s, other hospitals.” The mobile ICU will also fill the need when bad weather prevents flight and when, in some circumstances, a patient is too large for helicopter transport, which can be a factor when patients top 350 pounds. The roomy box ambulance offers more room to work on patients, said emergency services clinical manager Lisa Lackner. “ There are some times when you want full-body access,” she said. “Sometimes that’s a little limited in the air.” Rural hospitals have responded well to the idea of the services, Moore said. While most have ambulances, most also can’t afford to send them long distances and don’t have the staff to spare. Many of them have limited pharmacy stock, especially in very expensive drugs used in some critical situations. The venture is a service of need only, Moore said, not of profit. Don Whalen, Missoula Emergency Services manager, said Medicare reimburses at rates 40 percent less than the cost of the service. Other states have used ground transport for about two decades, Moore said. During his medical residency in Columbus, Ohio, in 1980, his hospital had a mobile ICU. “ In other states, they’ve had this service for a long time,” he said. “It’s been around a while. It’s new to western Montana.”
Care Mobile in Action April 2002 A familiar red-haired clown grins from the outside of the 40-foot-long white van. Inside the smiling faces belong to a family nurse practitioner, two registered nurses, a dental hygienist and a professional driver. They were staffing the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile one cold cloudy afternoon at McKinley Elementary School. Call it “care to go.” The mobile clinic offers childhood immunizations, care for acute and chronic illness, treatment of minor injuries, dental cleaning, tooth sealant, fluoride rinses and - one day a week - a dentist to do the fillings and other tooth care. It’s all for children under 19. And it’s all free. Any child in need. Whenever the clinic is set up, it’s available and open for any child in need, care coordinator Joan Schaaf said. Sometimes more patients have been brought in by parents from other neighborhoods than have come from the school where the clinic is parked that day. The $350,000 clinic vehicle, part of a national fleet of care mobiles was donated by the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities. St. Vincent Healthcare outfitted the van as a combination medical and dental clinic, hired the staff and assumed responsibility for operating costs, which are being covered, in part, by a federal grant. Eighteen percent of Billings children have no health insurance. It’s those kids, the ones who have had trouble getting care, that the care mobile is driving to help. Steering toward regular care In less than two months, it has already logged more than 600 patients visits. “ We’re the stopgap right now,” said Lenette Kosovick, St. Vincent’s director of health access and care mobile manager. “We’re trying to get them to a medical home.” Children seen at the care mobile are referred to local pediatric or family practice clinics to establish a regular health-care link. The care mobile is working closely with the City-County Health Department’s family care advocate to help parents get regular health coverage for their children through Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program or other services. The needs are so great, one wonders how a single mobile clinic can make a dent in the problem. Kosovich has thought about that question and it reminds her of parable about a boy who walked along the beach throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean. A man saw the boy’s quest as hopeless and said to him: “There are thousands of starfish, you can’t save them all.” The boy picked up another starfish and tossed it into the sea. “I just saved that one,” he said. “ The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is saving children one at a time. We are thankful for each one spared the suffering of untreated disease and injury. The care mobile is a great asset to our community. We value health and children.”
Hospital Foundation Works to Buy 40 Defibrillators
May 1, 2002 The St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation is raising funds for laptop-sized portable devices called automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that will be used as a life saving measure for victims of cardiac arrest, the Helena group announced recently. The goal of the Hospital’s Legacy of Life Campaign is to raise $120,000 to purchase 40 AEDs that will distributed in County Sheriff vehicles, Great Divide Ski Area, Helena Regional Airport, State Capitol, and other public areas. In 2001, 97 heart attack victims were treated at St. Peter’s Hospital and admitted as inpatients. More than 600 people die in the United States every day from cardiac arrest, mostly because of an abnormal heart rhythm that causes the heart to stop beating, said the foundation. “ With no defibrillation, within four minutes of a heart attack a patient will not survive, no matter how good of cardiopulmonary resuscitation is provided,” stated Cardiologist Richard Paustian, M.D. “The ideal heart attack treatment is defibrillator quick response by trained personnel.” Since the likelihood of resuscitation after cardiac arrest decreases 7 to 10 percent every minute, defibrillation should occur within three to five minutes of collapse. The AED analyzes the heart’s rhythm and determines whether a shock through the chest wall to the heart is needed. Defibrillator pads are used when the heart stops beating properly and quivers uselessly. An electric shock can ring the heart back into a normal rhythm. It is easy to use and can be operated by almost anyone with basic training said a hospital spokesperson. Additionally, the Hospital Foundation has set a goal to raise $180,000 to fund vital Hospital Programs, including Lifeline, Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation services, and the Mandy Bell and Ludlow Charity Care funds that assist patients and their families. The mission of St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation is to support and represent the Hospital in providing current and future health care services for the community. The facility is a community-owned, nonprofit hospital that provides care to every single person who comes through the doors, regardless of insurance or personal finances.
Mission Matters March 2002 Here’s an update on St. Vincent’s Mission Fund and how it is touching others. Remember, these awards are made possible from interest earned on a portion of our set-aside operating reserves. These dollars can only be used for mission purposes (not for operations) and are targeted to care of the poor and vulnerable in our community. You may know, there is a huge need for affordable housing for low-income families in Billings. Thanks to our Mission Fund, St. Vincent Healthcare has been able to make a significant contribution to help address that need with different partners. One such project is a planned 106-unit housing development located near Orchard School called Chrysalis Acres Development. A St. Vincent Mission Fund award paid for the 20 acres of land where Community Leadership Development, Inc. will build 6-8 homes/duplexes a year over a 10-year period. This project is unique in that traditionally at-risk unemployed individuals will be employed and trained in construction, plumbing, and other skill trades while they build these affordable homes. This is a significant example of how the healing ministry of St. Vincent Healthcare’s is improving lives of some of the most vulnerable in out community.
If it’s Tuesday, this must be Polson As the coordinator for Northwest Healthcare (formally Kalispell Regional Medical Center)’s Community Training Center, Doreen Hannam is regularly on the go. Training Centers like ours provide American Heart Association courses in life support (BLS, ACLS, PALS, and FACTS) to the community. KRMC became an official AHA Community Training Center in 1998 and is responsible for the administration and quality assurance of AHA courses throughout the greater Flathead Valley. Just this month alone, Doreen has already been to Polson, Eureka, Libby, and Shelby, either to train Instructors or help teach community courses, The FACTS course is new and includes training in first aid, use of automatic external defibrillators, and CPR. KRMC’s Training Center reaches approximately 3,000 people yearly and involves 204 Instructors and 3 Training Sites. As the coordinator, Doreen is the primary contact for the AHA. She updates Instructors and Training Sites with the latest information from AHA, accepts the responsibility for the management of the Training Center, and maintains an adequate number of Instructors to meet the needs of the community. “I have been privileged to have this role since the Training Center began,” Doreen says with a smile. What a great contribution to our staff! For more information, contact Doreen in the Education Center.
Community Benefit At Barrett Hospital & HealthCare we believe good health under-grids the community’s foundation. Through a variety of services not usually associated with hospitals, we place information and professionals where they can do the most good, out in the community. Beaverhead County Public Health Department forms a cornerstone of our community programs. Through a contractual agreement with the Beaverhead County Commissioners, the hospital directs and oversees the Beaverhead County Public Health Department. Sue Hansen, BSN, RN serves as the program director and Pat Grantham, MD serves as the medical director. The public health program provides the community with adult and pediatric immunization clinics; communicable disease referral, epidemiology, and treatment follow-up; tuberculosis testing; social services referrals; school health screening; health promotion and disease prevention activities, and general public health education. The Beaverhead Family Planning Clinic (BFPC) constitutes a second cornerstone of our community programs. Two years ago the BFPC became the first new freestanding family planning clinic in the state in over 20 years. Pat Carrick, MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner and Pug Leavitt, BSN, RN offer reproductive health counseling and care to men and women. The federal Title X program allows care to be delivered via sliding scale charges based on client income. The state sponsored Women, Infant and Children nutrition program forms the third cornerstone of our community programs. Registered Dietician, Jill Polaski and WIC aide, Deborah Sorenson conduct weekly clinics in Dillon and monthly clinics in Sheridan. These clinics can be very busy, at times handling up to 35 families per day. A variety of smaller programs comprise the fourth cornerstone of our community programs. The BMH Medical Library, located in the basement of the Professional Services Building, provides public access to health related information. The state Tobacco Free grant provides staff and resources to accomplish tobacco abstinence education. The Thin and Win weight loss program affords a fun, team approach to sensible nutrition and weight management. Additionally, out staff participate in a variety of programs including influenza shot clinics, University of Montana Western Wellness Program, Wellness Walkers, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Diabetic Education, and occupational screenings at local industries such as Barrett Minerals. Finally, our new Community Occupational Health Program will provide annual screenings and prompt treatment for people employed in occupations with high risk for exposure to blood and body fluids such as police, fire, and ambulance staff.
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