If you run across it, look at it closely.   It actually promotes all 3 of our hospitals in Mendocino County.  There are several fine articles in this publication which talk about subjects such as diabetes care, obstetrics, orthopedic joint replacement surgery and even has an article about the telemedicine robots that are now in use at all 3 hospitals in our County.   All 3 hospitals realize that in order for the patient population of our entire county to achieve optimal health care, it is VERY IMPORTANT that all 3 hospitals survive.   All 3 hospitals provide excellent quality services and deserve the support of their local populations.  I am very proud to be a part of a hospital and medical community that supports the patronage of all our hospitals.  They are our competitors, but also our collaborators.   They are Mendocino Coast District Hospital, Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital and Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

Dr. Surber (left) and Linda Dutcher (right)

My heart goes out to all of the people of Haiti that have been devastated during the recent earthquakes and aftershocks.  I know that almost all of us wish, during times like this, that there was something that we could do to help.  That brings me to telling you all how proud I am to be associated with the staff that we have here at Mendocino Coast Hospital.  Shortly after the earthquake hit, I started to receive messages from staff members at our hospital inquiring if our hospital was aware of any way that they could contribute.  Then, there was perhaps the most exciting message of all.  Dr. Jennifer Surber, our newest Emergency Room doctor, announced that she had made arrangements to travel to Haiti to provide medical relief for the victims.  She got in touch with an organization called “Heart to Heart International.”  In addition to sending medical professionals to Haiti, they are also coordinating donations of supplies and hygiene kits. 

Their website is located at www.hearttoheart.org  in case anyone would like to know how you can contribute.  Last Friday we gathered up some supplies that Jennifer could take with her on her trip.  We had so many supplies that we will have to ship the rest.  Thank you Dr. Surber for making this trip.  You are making our hospital and our Country very proud!  If I receive any messages from Dr. Surber for the next 7 to 10 days while she is gone,  I will share them on this blog. ]]> http://www.mcdh.org/2010/01/haiti-relief/feed/ 0 http://www.mcdh.org/2010/01/power-outage-on-the-mendocino-coast/ http://www.mcdh.org/2010/01/power-outage-on-the-mendocino-coast/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:20:42 +0000 ray http://www.mcdh.org/?p=2288 One thing that I have learned from living on the Mendocino Coast is that we don’t need to spend a lot of time planning disaster drills.   Natural disasters seem to visit us regularly.  I have been here for 3 years and 3 months now.   Every single year we have had a power outage.   Not a power outage where our hospital is on emergency generator power for 10 minutes.   These are power outages where we are on emergency power from 10 to 24 hours.   Yesterday, January 19, 2010 we were without PG&E power from approximately 5:00 a.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m.  due to a severe rain storm that felled a forest tree that in turn knocked down a major power line that fed electrical power to the entire Mendocino Coast line.   Since we are conditioned for a power outage like this our hospital management team and staff spring into action immediately.   I could not be more proud of our entire team as they handled this emergency situation in a very professional and dedicated manner so that our patients would be inconvenienced as little as possible.  We were on emergency generator power for the entire time that the hospital did not have PG&E power.  Our plant maintenance department did an outstanding job of keeping the generator going despite the fact that a secondary generator failed early in the day causing us to have no generator power for either  our refrigerator or our 2 x-ray rooms.  Perishable goods were moved to a refrigerated unit offsite.  Thank you to Hopper’s Dairy.  2 surgeries were cancelled due to the lack of power.  MCDH operating room staff were in communication with the patients and rescheduled them for Wednesday, provided that we had electrical power.  The patients agreed on Tuesday to proceed on the assumption that we would have restored power and that their surgeries would go on as planned.  They agreed to prep for the surgeries and to wait until the last possible safe time (5 am this morning) to be informed if their surgery was actually going to happen or not.  Since we had power today, 7 surgeries were planned to be performed today to get caught up for yesterday.

 North Coast Family Health Center providers saw patients with flashlights since the NCFHC building does not have generator power.  All Cardiology and Diagnostic Imaging appointments were cancelled for Tuesday.  Rehab services was able to see patients without much disruption.  They do not need much electrical power to provide treatments and they did have minimal generator power in their department.  Oncology also stayed open during the day.

 Hats off to Roni McDermott, Gus Killion, Jeanna Cauckwell, Jeff Diehl, Linda Dutcher especially, but to our entire staff for doing an outstanding job during the power outage.

Proud Parents, Lynn and Chester with New Baby Boy

One of the milestone events of each year is the arrival of the Mendocino Coast “New  Year’s Baby.”   We can probably all identify with the old man (2009) departing and the arrival of 2010.   This year’s New Year’s Baby came to us with an interesting story.  Proud parents, Lynn Williams and Chester Maiava (pictured) delivered their brand new baby boy on January 9.  (Yes.  In rural areas sometimes the new years baby arrives a few days late).    A prenatal sonogram had predicted a 90% chance that the new baby was going to be a girl and the parents had decided to name her Alexa.   Well, to everyone’s surprise “Alexa” is actually a boy.   So Lynn and Chester will, most likely, be choosing a new name.   How about Alex?  Congratulations again to Lynn Williams and Chester Maiava and our MCDH New Year’s Baby for 2010! The family is also taking home a gift basket, compliments of the Obstetrics Department Nursing Staff at MCDH.

Mendocino Elementary School

On December 8, the holidays came early for second grade children at Mendocino Elementary School and Fort Bragg Elementary School.  On that day I had the pleasure to meeting the second graders and talking about the importance of good health and wellness.  Each second grader received a copy of the Wellness textbook entitled “Fish Breath.”  Fish Breath, written by Kelly Mather, is an excellent tool to teach young children the healthy habit of Diaphragmatic breathing.  Diaphragmatic breathing is generally considered a healthier and fuller way to ingest oxygen.  Each book was wrapped in colorful holiday wrapping paper.  This was followed by a series of floor exercises that Kelly Mather led for the children.  It was good for me to get down on the floor with the kids and join in the healthy exercising. 

I am so proud that our hospital is promoting health and wellness in our community, and taking it to the school children, as well.  The following day, on December 9, books were also delivered to the Montesori School and the Three Rivers Private School in our community.  If we are going to become healthier and more aware, as a Nation, it is important that we begin with the children. ]]> http://www.mcdh.org/2009/12/wellness-day-at-the-elementary-schools/feed/ 2 http://www.mcdh.org/2009/12/mcdh-employee-of-the-quarter/ http://www.mcdh.org/2009/12/mcdh-employee-of-the-quarter/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:35:52 +0000 ray http://www.mcdh.org/?p=2135

Linda Dutcher left and Marte Tubbs right

Congratulations to MCDH Employee of the Quarter, Marte Tubbs.  Marte works in the hospital’s Materials Management Department – among other departments.  What’s great about Marte is her attitude about work.  She is well known around our hospital for her willingness to learn many jobs.  In recent years, she has been a ward clerk, an administrative assistant for nursing, a medical records clerk in our Family Health Center.  She realizes that it makes her more valuable when she is able to perform multiple different jobs and do them all very well.  In baseball terms, she is a “utility player.”  She was recognized by her peers this month because, besides being a jack of all trades, she performs every job the same.  With a smile and a great attitude and a genuine desire to help anyone that needs help.  That includes patients, visitors and other employees.   She is also usually one of the first employees to volunteer for events such as the Annual Lighted Truck Parade, or our Annual Paul Bunyan Days parade.  Congratulations to Marte.  Our MCDH Employee of the Quarter!  You are very deserving of this honor.

Ray Grady, Member of the AHA Board and proud Ohio State Alumni

For the past 3 years it has been my honor and privilege to serve as a member of the 25-member Board of Trustees for the American Hospital Association.  I consider my time on the Board to be the most professionally stimulating and rewarding opportunity of my career.  I still can’t believe that an ordinary guy like me from a small town and a small hospital, had the chance to rub shoulders with many of the leaders in health care in our Country.  It has been a great honor.  I am particularly proud to have served on the Board under the outstanding leadership of Kevin Lofton, Bill Petasnik and Tom Priselac. Not to mention the opportunity to serve with Dick Davidson and current AHA President, Rich Umbdenstock.  I am most proud that I have been involved from the beginning of creating the American Hospital Association’s “Health for Life” platform. 

This has been our contribution to National Health Reform and it includes our input that reform is not just about coverage for all.  It’s also about wellness, technology, quality and cost.  I am very excited to see where the debate leads us.  I, for one, am very encouraged that we are finally having this National dialogue.  I feel like the time is right and all of the correct players are at the table.  It has been my honor to be a part of the set up work.  I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

Demonstration at recent Health Fair

On November 16 and 17 Mendocino Coast District Hospital underwent our eagerly awaited Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations survey.  The Joint Commission (TJC) is a National organization, created by the American Hospital Associaton, the American Medical Associationsent and the American College of Physicians nearly 60 years ago.  It surveys over 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States.  The Joint Commission’s number 1 priority is patient safety.  We were visited by 3 surveyors.  1 surveyor was dedicated to Life Safety Code compliance.  He was here for the first day only.  The other 2 surveyors included a Team Leader (who was a former critical access hospital CEO) and a Home Health surveyor.  They were here for 2 days. Our staff described this year’s survey as a very positive experience, in which surveyors collaborated with our staff to improve our patient care delivery systems.  A written report of the survey was received on November 24.  It documented that MCDH did very well during they survey and has relatively few corrective actions to take.  During the 2-day process, surveyors commented many times during the time that they were here of how many “best practices” they discovered here.  Some of the best practices included sample medication storage at NCFHC, our Guided Imagery CDs in surgery and our anti coagulation clinic to mention a few.  Our staff did a great job.  Susan Bivins, in particular, is to be commended for an excellent job of preparation.

It is very rare that one has the opportunity to experience a hospital accreditation survey and also meet the President of The Joint Commission in the same week.  I had that privilege last week.  After going through the survey process for 2 days in Fort Bragg, California on Monday and Tuesday, I attended an American Hospital Association Board of Directors meeting on Thursday and Friday in Chicago, IL.  Our first speaker on Thursday morning was Dr. Mark Chassin, President of The Joint Commission.  Dr. Chassin gave us an overview of recent changes made by TJC and demonstrated how accredited hospitals, on average, perform better on safety measures than when compared to all hospitals in the United States.  I was particularly struck by his comments on Joint Commission’s new Mission Statement and new emphasis on “evaluating and inspiring” hospital professionals during the survey process.  I was proud to be able to inform Dr. Chassin that his survey team that visited MCDH last week, truly did evaluate and inspire us.  I am also proud to be a part of a hospital that lives up to the Joint Commission standards.

Coffee and so much more

Last Thursday I started my day by doing something that I really enjoy doing.  That is holding a CEO Forum with our employees.  This is an opportunity for me to find out what’s on the mind of our staff, and likewise its a great opportunity for our employees to “hear straight from the horse’s mouth” on what’s currently happening. The idea is to head off any rumors early. We had a normal CEO Forum meeting with participation from many employees who were curious to know how the hospital’s finances are doing?  what’s up with all of the painting of the building?  And updates on our robotics program and our wellness program.

As I was leaving the meeting room, I wheeled the cart out with me and stopped by the nurses station to offer our nursing staff, coffee and scones (or were they really muffins?). It’s nice for me and nice for them, for me to get an opportunity to serve them. After all, they spend all day long serving our patients. Then something really special happened. As I was wheeling my cart back towards the kitchen I bumped into a man in our hallway who was walking the hallways.  

I couldn’t tell if he was a patient or a visitor since he was wearing civilian clothing and not a bathrobe.  But he had a big smile on his face and so I could not help myself but to offer him a cup of coffee too. He said “I would LOVE a cup of coffee.” So I was delighted to be able to pour him a cup too. But I have to admit, I was VERY embarrassed that I did not have enough coffee left for a full cup. I offered to go to the kitchen and get him a full cup but he said that he didn’t mind a partial cup. That would have been the end of this story, except later in the same day I had a visitor come to visit me in my office.

When I am informed that “a patient wants to meet with me,” I usually expect that its going to be a complaint. Not because we get a lot of complaints (actually we get very few complaints) but because it is usually the unsatisfied customer that we hear from. When the time came for me to meet with the patient, it turned out to be none other than my friend from this morning who was delighted to receive a cup of coffee. For the next 10 minutes, he made my day. He informed me that he has been in many, many hospitals during his time, but never one like this one. Everyone went out of their way to make him feel comfortable and there seemed to be a spirit of friendliness, warmth and mutual support that he had rarely experienced. He said that he would like to come back for a visit sometime and I heartily encouraged him to do so. I even told him that I would buy him a cup of coffee the next time that he comes by. It is days like this and encounters just like this that make me very thankful to be working here at Mendocino Coast District Hospital. My new friend said it, and I agree, we have the best hospital staff anywhere!