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Providing Safest Possible Environment
for Our Patients
One of our key goals is to provide the safest possible environment for our patients. Chris Clayton, who has been with Allen Memorial Hospital as Director of Pharmacy for 11 years, is going to help us intensify this effort as Patient Safety Officer. I appreciate his willingness to take on this additional role as he helps us look at further ways to reduce errors and unintended adverse outcomes. Chris will chair the Patient Safety Committee and lead activities related to safety assessments and development of safety strategies. He will continue to serve as Pharmacy Director.
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A number of you have asked about the status of our neurology/neurosurgery service line. As you know, Allen has two very talented neurologists in Dr. Hassani and Dr. Tafish. The early success of the program led us to engage locum tenens neurosurgical coverage in 2010. Locum tenens coverage, however, was not a viable long-term solution so moving into 2011, we are pleased to have Dr. Buchanan join the Allen Medical Staff. Dr. Buchanan is a high-quality neurosurgeon who will now provide service at Allen, take calls here one week per month, and continue to serve Covenant Medical Center as well. He will continue his clinic at his own office, and the Allen Neurology Center will continue operations in its current location.
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Remembering Dr. Welton
Colleagues and friends of Dr. Michael Welton paid tribute as they filled the W.D. Oetting Memorial Chapel at Allen Hospital early Thursday morning, January 20, with standing room only.
Dr. Welton’s friends and coworkers shared tears and laughter in his honor and were invited to write a note of gratitude for him in the chapel to be gathered next week and delivered to his mother. One of Dr. Welton’s surgical nurses offered a beautiful prayer of lament, and Staff Chaplains read scripture and gave everyone a blessing for peace. Truly Dr. Michael Welton’s presence will be long remembered and honored for the remarkable person he was in the life and family of Allen Hospital.
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Reminder from Allen Infection Control
We are seeing an uptick in seasonal illness among our staff. This includes both influenza and viral gastrointestinal illness.
Please follow these precautions:
- Stay home if you are ill
- Cover your cough
- Wash your hands frequently and vigorously for 15 seconds
- Use soap and water
- Use alcohol hand gel between patient contacts
2011 Patient Handbooks Arrive
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The 2011 Allen Hospital Patient Handbook have arrived and go into circulation next week. To see complete handbook, click here. The new, 32-page handbook will replace ring binders in patient rooms throughout the hospital. Inpatients will receive personal copies at admission and take them home at discharge. Please do not store used copies in patient rooms. They are designed to be used once and taken home.
The handbook consolidates a dozen pamphlets into one guide. The result is easier to use and less expensive to print. The handbook includes these sections:
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- Comfort and Convenience
- Your Hospital Team and Care
- Your Safety
- Speak Up
- Help Us Keep You Safe
- Help Us Avoid Mistakes in Surgery
- Five Things to Do to Avoid Infection
- Prevent Falls
- Food Service
- TV Channels
- Pain Management and Pain Scales
- Patient Rights and Responsibilities
- Advance Directives
- Going Home
- Payment Options and Insurance
- After You Return Home
- Allen Foundation and Volunteers
- Ask Me 3
- Condition H
We will continue to print individual copies of documents like Patient Rights and Responsibilities for outpatients, but inpatients will now find much of what they need in one place. We will produce a shorter version for outpatients, and we will print translations for our Hispanic and Bosnian patients. The handbook will be updated each January.
Our first press run is 2,000 copies to take us through March. We want to be sure the guide is useful in its current form before we print enough copies for the rest of 2011. If you have corrections or suggestions once you have used the handbooks, please email them to Jim Waterbury at waterbjb@ihs.org. The handbook includes only what patients want to know and need to know. Our goal is to keep it that way.
Please take a moment to thank Teri Ettelson, Sally Sherwood and Lois Bonefas when you see them. They put a lot of time and effort into this project. If the result looks smooth and straightforward, it’s only because they have worked hard behind the scenes to get all the individual documents organized into one coherent story. We hope you like the result.
To see complete handbook, click here.
2011 Allen Telephone Directory
The 2011 Allen Telephone Directory has been uploaded to the AllenNet home page. To view it, click here. New telephone books are in production, with delivery sometime during the first week in February.
Reminder, you can do a search in the telephone directory by using the "find"button.
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The Start! Heart Walk is scheduled for May 21, 2011 at George Wyth State Park, and we want YOU to help make it a success! For the past several years, Allen Health System has raised over $20,000 annually for the American Heart Association and we want to raise even more this year, so we need as many Allen teams as possible to help us!
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Team captain responsibilities include organizing a group of coworkers and friends to raise donations and to walk on May 21. Captains will be the point person we’ll communicate with and help organize individual team fundraisers (if you choose). Allen also hosts a couple large Heart Walk Fundraisers that captains can also help with to earn donations for their team. And we usually have a little friendly competition between teams to see who can raise the most!
If you are interested in being a team captain this year, please contact Angie Fuller at 235-3960 or fullerad@ihs.org. Allen always has a great turnout of teams and walkers – and it’s a lot of fun for a good cause!
Watch for more information soon on some fun events coming up to help raise money for the Heart Walk!
Communicating Effectively with Clients
An Introduction to Health Literacy for Nurses
For Nurses and other health care professionals involved in patient teaching and communication. Read more.
Answers listed below
Join the Allen College Chorus!
Rehearsals are Tuesday’s @ 5 pm at McBride Auditorium/Gerard Hall on the Allen College Campus.
Performances will be late April on a Tuesday evening and Commencement on May 6, 2011
Contact Kristin @ teigtk2@ihs.org or 2016 for more details.
A Patient's Thanks
I arrived at Allen Hospital at 6:30 a.m., about 30 minutes early. I registered at the desk near the former emergency entrance. I was given directions to the nurse’s station, and then I was assigned a bed prior to surgery.
The nurse who placed my IV skillfully fixed it so it would not move. I had experienced a problem at another hospital that resulted in an infection or burn to my vein, which required treatment. I was impressed with the skill and focus of the nurse when she immobilized the needle.
Sue B., the admission nurse, and the other nurses helping me were inspiring to observe. I was impressed with their spirit of caring for their patients. They seemed to enjoy their work. My anxiety was less because of the skills they exhibited.
This note was prompted by Sue W.’s note and follow up call. I had the opportunity to discuss my progress and to get her input. I certainly appreciated both the note with her phone number and her call. If I had developed a post surgical problem, the information she provided would have been crucial. It would be great if all post ambulatory patient discharges were followed up with a call.
I felt blessed to have access to a hospital with such gifted and caring staff as Sue W., Dr. Cak and the nurses in the surgical room.
I want to thank them for their kind attention to the repair of my hernia.
- Thomas Schoellen
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January issue of the Buzz
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TOMORROW IS MOVIE SATURDAY
Movie tickets are $2.50 ea., with maximum purchase of six. Movies will start approximately at 8:30 am and parents must accompany children.
Crossroads ONLY! You must show your Allen associate badge. |
Superbowl Quiz Answers
