CCMH News Releases

News Releases news

February is Healthy Heart Month

CCMH Radiology Manager Thanks Area Citizens

Hospital Creates $ 9,179,089 Impact on Local Economy

CCMH Acquires Omnicell System

Kathy Berens-Brownmiller to join Family Practice & Surgical Specialists

Dr. Steven Lapke Recently Named ER Medical Director

Local Volunteers Recognized During 25th Annual Awards Program

Alejandro Tobon M.D. Joins Outpatient service physicians
at C.C.M.H.

Crisis Drill Practiced by Local Officials

James Meyer, D.O has joined the outpatient service physicians at CCMH

Crawford County Memorial Hospital Press Release

James Meyer, D.O has recently joined the list of outpatient service physicians at Crawford County Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Meyer is Board Certified in Internal Medicine Pulmonology. Dr. Meyer will be traveling from the Trimark Physicians Group from Fort Dodge, IA. Dr. Meyer completed his Pulmonology Fellowship in 1994. Dr. Meyer graduated from Osteopathic Medicine of Kirksville College in 1998. Dr. Meyer will be at the Crawford County Memorial hospital the 3rd Monday of every month. To schedule an appointment to see Dr. James Meyer for your Pulmonology needs call 712-263-1608.

Crisis Drill Practiced by Local Officials

On Thursday, August 9th a group of local emergency management officials gathered to conduct a drill on how to deal with a county-wide crisis under the HEICS or otherwise known as Hospital Emergency Incident Command System. The practice drill that was conducted was in response to an Avian Influenza A (H5N1) outbreak in the state of Iowa which spread to Crawford County. Members from Crawford County Memorial Hospital, Crawford County Home Health and Hospice, Denison Fire Department, Crawford County BOS, Crawford County Environmental Health, Crawford County Board of Health, Denison Community Schools, and Crawford County’s Emergency Management Coordinator took part in the drill. During the simulated drill the group practiced on how to respond to large scale medical needs, media and public informational demands and public order during a societal shutdown.

HEICS was created under the National Incident Management System. The system was created to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. The United States Government established the command system to respond to disasters consistently through Federal, state, tribal and local governments.

Alejandro Tobon M.D. Joins Outpatient service physicians
at C.C.M.H.

Crawford County Memorial Hospital Press Release
November 8, 2007

Local Volunteers Recognized During 25th Annual Awards Program

Maxine Pithan and Lyle Fleshner of Denison received a Governor’s Volunteer Award from LT. Governor Patty Judge during a special ceremony held October 31st in Storm Lake.

The Governor’s Volunteer Award program was established in 1982 to honor and recognize volunteers for the commitment, service and time that they contribute to Iowa’s government agencies and nonprofit organizations. More than 600 volunteers were selected for awards in 2007. Volunteers may be nominated for an award in one the three categories: Individual, Group, or Length of Service.

Maxine Pithan and Lyle Fleshner were selected for the Group award by the state of Iowa’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP).

“All volunteers are helping to build One Iowa by freely giving their time and talents to serve the public good,” said Governor Culver. “Lt. Governor Judge and I are honored to have this opportunity to personally thank this year’s award recipients for donating their time in countless ways to improve communities across the state. And together, we are building an unlimited future for all.”

Iowa consistently ranks in the top 10 states in the nation for the percentage of adults (age 16 and above) engaged in volunteering. Recent studies show that volunteers in Iowa collectively contribute 99 million hours of service and have an economic impact of more than $1.78 billion annually.

The Governor’s Volunteer Award program is coordinated by the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and the Governor’s office. For more information, visit www.volunteeriowa.org or call 515/242-4764.

Crawford County Memorial Hospital Press Release

Dr. Steven Lapke Recently Named ER Medical Director

Crawford County Memorial Hospital has recently named Dr. Steven Lapke as the Emergency Department Medical Director. The Hospital’s ER currently averages about 400 visits per month. Dr. Lapke graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and completed a Family Practice residency at Clarkson Hospital in Omaha where he served as chief resident for one year. After working as an Emergency Room Physician Dr. Lapke began clinical practice and established a private family practice in Bellevue, Nebraska. He recently closed that to return working as an Emergency Room Physician. Dr. Lapke is board certified by the American Board of Family Practice and also a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Lapke was raised in the Dunlap community by his parents, Kenneth and Jenene Lapke. He and his wife, Jenni currently reside with their 5 children in Papillion, Nebraska.

Kathy Berens-Brownmiller to join Family Practice & Surgical Specialists

Crawford County Memorial Hospital Press Release

CCMH Acquires Omnicell System

Crawford County Memorial Hospital recently installed a state of the art automated medication dispensing system for managing medications in patient care areas of the hospital. Omnicell cabinets are located in the Emergency Room, Obstetrics and Medical-Surgical floor.

Medications for patients are stored in separate compartments that open automatically when properly accessed. Access into the Omnicell cabinet is limited to qualified personnel based on their licensure and certifications and is gained either by fingerprint recognition or passwords. When a particular medication is needed for a patient, a sequential process leads the nurse or other user to the correct medication. The process also gives safety prompts which help prevent medication errors.

“The safety of our patients has always been our first concern here at CCMH,” says Diane Arkfeld, Director of Nurses. “This new technology allows the staff to obtain medications in the patient care areas and assists us in meeting nationally recognized standards for patient safety and medication security.”

Reports generated by the system assist the pharmacy staff in restocking the dispensing cabinet, maintaining medication inventory, and monitoring each medication for its expiration date. One of the features of this system utilizes the technology of “Bar Coding”. The medications in the Pharmacy are bar coded to assist in medication error prevention. “Improving patient safety by reducing medications errors was our primary motivation for purchasing the Omnicell medication dispensing system,” said Marla Franck, RPh, Director of Pharmacy at CCMH. “Small rural hospitals do not have 24 hour in-house pharmacy staff. State laws require facilities to limit entry into the pharmacy by non-pharmacy personnel. This automated system provides secure medication storage in patient care areas and allows nursing staff to obtain needed medications for patients in a safe and timely manner.”

The Omnicell also assists in information management by recording the date, time, patient name, medication and the name of the hospital staff member using the system. Any discrepancies can be identified and corrected in a timely manner by using the information maintained in the system.

The staff at CCMH would like to thank the Governing Board for their support in obtaining this state of the art system for our facility and the safety of our patients.

Crawford County Memorial Hospital Press Release

Hospital Creates $ 9,179,089 Impact on Local Economy
One in Five Iowa Jobs Linked to Health Care, Study Shows

Crawford County Memorial Hospital generates 170 jobs that add $ 6,965,549 to not only Crawford County’s economy but to adjoining counties as well, according to the latest study by the Iowa Hospital Association. In addition, Crawford County Memorial Hospital employees by themselves spend approximately $ 2,089,759 on retail sales and contribute $ 104,488 in state sales tax revenue. The Iowa Hospital Association utilizes an employment and income multiplier model developed by the U.S. Forest Service to calculate the total impact upon a county/region’s economy. Using this model brings the total Hospital income impact to $9,179,089.

Mark Rinehardt, Administrator & CEO, states, “The economic impact of the health care sector upon the economy of Crawford County is substantial, and is projected to be $24,395,091 for the year 2008. The bottom line is that the health care sector not only contributes greatly to the medical health of the county, but also to the economic health of the county.”

The IHA study examined the jobs, income, retail sales and sales tax produced by hospitals and the rest of the state’s health care sector. The study was compiled from hospital-submitted data on the American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals and with software that other industries have used to determine their economic impact.

The study found that Iowa hospitals directly employ 71,446 people and create another 83,082 jobs outside the hospital care sector. As an income source, hospitals provide $3.2 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.5 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals.

In all, Iowa’s health care sector, which includes employed clinicians, long-term care services and assisted living centers, pharmacies and other medical and health services, directly and indirectly, provides 375,470 Iowa jobs, or more than one-fifth of the state’s total employment.

“Iowa hospitals are major employers and business partners throughout the state,” said Kirk Norris, IHA President/CEO. “As Iowa continues to look for opportunities to grow its economy and stabilize its population, a strong health care system, anchored by well-supported community hospitals, is essential.”

CCMH Radiology Manager, Kari Boyens thanks area citizens.

A letter of thanks from Radiology Manager, Kari Boyens

February is Healthy Heart Month

Cardiac Rehab has Been Part of a Patient’s Life 9 Years Voluntarily

Michael Shelp has been a voluntary patient in the Cardiac Rehab department at Crawford County Memorial Hospital for 9 years. Michael began coming to Cardiac Rehab shortly after his heart attack in 1999 when he was only 46. He decided to continue his Cardiac Rehab routine because of the support he has received from the nursing staff and other patients in Cardiac Rehab. Michael describes his time exercising at Cardiac Rehab as his “coffee club”.

In 1999 Michael was working at his local manufacturing job when he stated he just didn’t feel right. He said he didn’t feel any pain in any particular area but the “feeling” led him to his employer’s nurse’s office. Once the nurse looked at him he was taken directly to his doctor’s office where an ambulance was called. Shortly after arriving at the hospital he was loaded onto Life Flight where he recalled his last thought that all this “hoopla” wasn’t necessary. He woke up 10 days later in a Lincoln, Nebraska hospital.

Prior to his heart attack Michael felt he was more active than the average person. He was on his feet walking all day at work, and after work would spend a lot of time working outside scooping snow during winter months or mowing lawns during the warmer months. However he never officially exercised and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. Michael also had a family history of heart related issues. He had a brother that had died of a heart attack at the age of 46, another brother who had a heart attack before the age of 30 and another brother who had a stent put in. One other thing Michael had in common with these three siblings was that they all smoked. Their parents had smoked also.

Since his heart attack 9 years ago Michael has stopped smoking, given up large portions of French fries and has exercised routinely with other patients and nursing staff at Crawford County Memorial Hospital. Michael states, “I really enjoy my workouts at the Cardiac Rehab department. I drive 30 minutes to get here and while you work out it is like having a support team around you. We share our problems, stories and have an opportunity to ask questions to each other and the nursing staff which is really supportive and has helped me get through this.”

Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of Americans. One reason is undeniably a lack of commitment to a heart-healthy lifestyle. By stopping smoking, reducing your blood cholesterol, choosing good nutrition and becoming more active you can greatly reduce your chances of heart disease. Michael Shelp has been given a second chance. Will you be given a second chance?

For more information about Crawford County Memorial Hospital’s cardiac rehab program please call 712-263-1729, it might just be the support you need to get you on the right track to avoiding heart disease.