Alva Review-Courier -

“Covid seems to be slowing down,” said Share Medical Center CEO Kandice Allen Tuesday. She told the Alva Hospital Authority that fewer people were showing up at the hospital to be tested for the virus. Allen said the slowdown is a welcome relief because they’ve had to pull staff from other departments and ask employees to work extra hours to cover the need.

As of Tuesday, the hospital was down to three inpatients with only one of those diagnosed with Covid-19. Between 40 and 50 hospital employees have been vaccinated. All of those who wanted the vaccine have received it. The hospital has also been accepted to distribute vaccine to the public once it becomes available to them. They do not have a timeline for that yet.

Allen then read this statement, “I want each of you to know I am super proud of our staff and how they have handled not only the increased volume of patients but the complexity of their care as well. They do not complain and somehow keep smiling through it all.

“They have broadened their knowledge base and learned to take care of some very sick patients that normally would have required ICU care in a metro hospital. Those beds are hard to come by and many times non-existent.

“With the help of Dr. Rader, Regina Wilson, Dr. Gulliford and Amanda Stauffer we have acquired new equipment and learned from the best to take care of these patients who could not be moved to other facilities. Not only are we caring for our community, but we are getting patients transferred in from all over the state due to bed capacity issues, even one patient transferred from Texas.

“Our nurses and providers have proven their skills and acquired confidence that they can handle Covid-19 patient care up to the patient needing to be put on a ventilator at which point we will transfer them as soon as possible as we do not have a respiratory therapist on site 24/7 to manage ventilator patients. Our patients get more immediate, one on one care here than in larger facilities.

“If you see any of our nursing staff, please let them know how much you appreciate them. They are on the front line fighting this pandemic day in and day out. They’re hot and tired, they can’t breathe under all of that protective equipment, but they do it, and they do it very well!”

New Staff

Allen mentioned the new staff hired at the hospital including Austin Durkee, maintenance; Amanda Stauffer, respiratory therapy; Haley Trout, Urgent Care LPN; Lillian Ingraham, nursing aide; Sarah Fallis, housekeeping; Laura Stratton, nursing RN; Karen Bence, office; and Tina Wessels, medical records.

Patient Care

During November there were 31 patients admitted to the hospital. The total number of patient days was 113. Two acute patients and one observation patient were transferred to a higher level of care.

In December, there were 36 acute patients admitted and eight observation patients. Total number of patient days in the hospital was 168. Four patients were transferred to a higher level of care.

During November 170 patients were seen in the emergency room with 31 of those patients admitted. Eleven patients were transferred from the ER to a higher level of care. Of the patients seen, 128 were discharged home.

There were four swing bed patients during November and five for December. Swing bed describes patients admitted in a transition phase to prepare to go home or to go to another facility.

During December there were 190 patients seen in the ER with 50 patients being admitted. Four patients were transferred to a higher level of care while 132 patients were discharged home..

Discharge planning continues to take place on admissions. Patient appointments are made for follow up with their primary care provider upon discharge if possible. Referrals for home health agencies or specialists are completed upon receiving an order.

Share Medical Clinics have been fairly busy. The Urgent Care has been overrun with Covid testing. Another provider and nurse have been moved into Urgent Care each day to assist with the increased volume.

TruBridge

“The TruBridge implementation continues to be a challenge,” said Allen. “Staff are super frustrated.”

She said that she and CFO Chris Lauderdale met with their account manager twice during January and will continue escalating issues until they get resolution.

TruBridge is the billing service the hospital contracted with to relieve the office staff of that task. However, implementation has been slow and bills are not going out in a timely way.