CEO cites several improvements at Medina Memorial/Orleans Community Health
Editor:
To the friends of Orleans Community Health, it has been a busy year since I last wrote to you and I have much to tell you about “what’s new” at OCH!
We are eagerly awaiting the start date for our Emergency Department (ED) and Lobby improvements. We expect to commence work in early fall.
Team Health joined OCH on Aug. 1 as the Emergency Department providers and already is receiving rave reviews for courteous, timely, expert patient care. So, if you need our services in the ED, you can count on the best of the best caring for you.
We also have a new Care Coordinator working in the Emergency Department to help patients find primary care physicians if they do not already have one and doing follow up phone calls to check on patients recently discharged. Mackenzie Smith is the new ED Nurse Manager and has done a great job in just a few months.
On Aug. 29, Dr. Ian Cole will be assuming his role as the Medical Director for the Comprehensive Rehabilitation (CMR) Unit and Transitional Care Unit. He will be joined by long time staff member, Tamara Chappius, as the CMR Admissions Coordinator.
Dr. Anthony DiBenedetto has returned to OCH and is seeing many patients in our surgical suite. We are so happy that he has returned!
We anticipate a new Certified Family Medicine Physician at Albion fulltime starting in October. We also added a new electronic health record that offers an upgraded, intuitive patient portal.
Our Navigator staff has been working hard to help our patients enroll in the New York State Health Insurance program and have already signed up hundreds of our community residents.
Our cafeteria has had some aesthetic improvements compliments of our own Facilities staff and thanks to the generous gift of the TWIGs group, providing new café chairs.
We have a new Ultrasound Unit with 4 dimensional sonographs, a new 64 slice CT scanner that offers minimal scan times with low dose, a new bone density unit that can scan the spine, hip, wrist, or entire body in less than five minutes. We are installing new Nuclear Medicine equipment by the end of September.
OCH has collaborated with community pharmacy partners at Rosenkrans Pharmacy and Middleport Family Health Center Pharmacy to help patients’ transition home with medications they need in easy to use packaging which assists adherence to often complicated regimens.
OCH Pharmacists are using cutting edge guidelines on Antibiotic Stewardship ensuring each patient receives the right antibiotic for the right infection for the needed duration as well as transitioning patients from intravenous medications to oral administration in collaboration with their physicians. Additionally, they have decreased inappropriate antibiotic usage in our nursing home by 6 percent since February.
Lake Plains Dialysis has gone through an extensive renovation and we look forward to patients and staff returning to a new and improved site!
For the first time, OCH hosted a joint training program with local law enforcement, fire and EMS to help ensure the safety of our patients and staff and develop new processes to aid in the collaboration with first responders.
Our nursing home has a new administrator – long-time employee Jenifer Maynard has accepted this new role. Staff on North Wing continues to provide an improved dining experience, “drive-in” movies, and a new electronic medical record to begin installation in October.
Thank you for your continued support of Orleans Community Health. We are honored that you allow us to care for you.
Sincerely,
Wendy Jacobson
Chief Executive Officer
