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Changes at ETMC cuts length of
ER stay
By Toni Garrard Clay
Special to Monitor
ATHENS–In the year and a half Holly Foxworth has worked
as director for emergency and trauma services at ETMC Athens, changes
have been made to provide faster and more efficient care in the
emergency department.
Those changes have helped reduce the average length of stay at the ER by
half an hour.
In September 2006, the average visit from arrival to full discharge
lasted 188 minutes.
As of September 2007, the average was 158 minutes and the median time
was 140 minutes.
From a patient’s viewpoint, one of the most notable changes is in the
waiting room, where there is no longer a registration desk.
“Now a patient will see a healthcare professional in the lobby,”
Foxworth said, who has added personnel to that area. “That person will
be triaged immediately by the nursing staff,” she added.
Once a patient’s condition is assessed, he is assigned one of three
color levels – green, yellow or red – which coordinate with being a
non-urgent patient (suffering a minor cut, for example); an urgent
patient (a broken bone) or an emergent patient (heart attack).
The color code helps streamline the care patients’ receive according to
need.
Along with the banishment of the registration desk, there is no longer a
separate express care area, which was previously run as a quasi-clinic
across the hall from the primary ER area. Instead, resources and
personnel were combined, and the results have been positive.
“We now have more caregivers to see more patients based on the level of
care they require,” Foxworth said.
“All the patient information is gathered at the bedside now,” explained
Sandy Shehee, team leader for ER registration. “We are more oriented
toward patient satisfaction.”
Part of that service includes providing cards on which the attending
physician’s name can be written, along with diagnosis, phone numbers,
medication and further instructions.
“The patients really like having the card because it helps them remember
whatever they need to about their visit,” Shehee said.
Since ER registration workers no longer stay behind a desk, they utilize
mobile workstations, with wireless laptops and scanners on wheeled
carts.
Guest services also teams up in the daytime with ETMC Athens Auxiliary
members who, whenever possible and appropriate, provide patients and
even family members with food and drinks.
“Everybody really seems to like that,” Shehee said.
“We also have tickets to be used to get a meal in the cafeteria or have
dietary bring food up if it’s around mealtime or if someone has had to
be here a long time,” Foxworth said.
Academic Rodeo scholarships offered
Special to The Monitor
TYLER–The East Texas State Fair has announced plans to award
scholarships in the secondary levels of its annual Academic Rodeo.
General manager John Sykes described the scholarship program as “an
exciting opportunity for secondary students as they prepare for college
or training after high school” and consistent with the organization’s
commitment to “promoting education and the spirit of competition.”
The competitive event for East Texas students, now in its 18th year,
will award six scholarships to students in grades six through eight in
amounts of $1,000, $750 or $500.
Five scholarships in amounts of $2,000, $1,500 or $1,000 will be awarded
to students in grades nine through 12.
To be eligible to apply for these scholarships, the students in each
level must be a current-year first, second, or third place winner in one
of the Academic Rodeo contests.
In addition, the winners will continue to receive the appropriate
medallion or ribbon for their placing in the contests.
Awards for students in kindergarten through fifth grade will continue to
include the appropriate medallion or ribbon and a cash award for each
winner.
The annual event held preliminary rounds in two contests in November and
will conclude activities in January and February.
Deadline for the scholarship applications is March 30, with announcement
of the recipients in May.
More than 70 public, private, and home schools have registered for the
event, which will see 2,000-plus students participating in the contests
during the run of Academic Rodeo.
For additional information about the scholarship programs, other awards,
or to view schedules of various events, consult the fair Web site,
www.etstatefair.com , or
contact Academic Rodeo Coordinator Deborah Newman at (903) 597-2501.
UPS Store, Marines Toys for Tots
provide Christmas toys
Special to the Monitor
GUN BARREL CITY–Again this year, The UPS Store in Gun Barrel City has
joined with the Marine Toys for Tots to provide hundreds of Christmas
toys to area children.
Toys will be distributed through the Family Resource Center.
“The Cedar Creek Lake community has been tremendously supportive of our
store since we opened four years ago,” store owner Ted Ingersoll, said.
“We believe we have an obligation to serve the entire community, and
this is a good example of our sincere commitment,” he added.
 Some
4,500 UPS stores across the country participate in the Marines Toys for
Tots program.
Monitor Photo/Barbara Gartman
The UPS Store in Gun Barrel City provides approximately $1,500 for toys
from the Marines Toys for Tots project. Pictured are (from left) UPS
staff Bonnie Boley, Melissa Kennedy holding a friend’s daughter Cloe,
local UPS Store owner Ted Ingersoll, Family Resource Center director
Toni Muirhead, Cathy Noss, Santa (Carla Hawk) and Mrs. Santa (Kim
Thompson).
The UPS Store in Gun Barrel City has received
contributions of more than $1,500 from its area customers to provide
toys to local kids.
“We learned the Marines were unable to make distribution of the toys
this far south of the DFW area.
“So, I arranged with Gen. Bill Gossel, head of the DFW program, to come
to the Metroplex warehouse myself to collect toys for distribution to
area children who otherwise might not have as merry a Christmas,”
Ingersoll explained.
Come Adopt
Us At
The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake |
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We are five beautiful Heeler mix
pups. We were brought here by animal control, so we have no
history. We are sweet little pups starting out in a new world.
We’ve been wormed and given our first shots. We are sweet babies
looking for our new forever homes. |
My name is Chloe. I am a
beautiful female kitten. I was brought to the Shelter by my
owners who were not able to keep me. I am a very playful kid
looking for my new forever home. |
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My name is Rebel. I am a
beautiful male Pit Bull mix pup. I am somewhere around four
months old. I am a sweet and playful puppy. I am such a
wonderful kid in need of a new wonderful home. |
My name is Chris. I am a male
Retriever mix pup. I was brought to the shelter by animal
control, so I have no history. I am a very sweet young man with
lots of energy. I have been given my first shots. I am a sweet
kid looking for my home. |
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Pictured are just a few
animals at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake in Seven
Points in dire need of a good home. Please call or stop by the
Humane Society today and rescue one of these forgotten animals.
The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake is located on 10220
County Road 2403 in
Seven Points. For more information, please call (903) 432-3422
after 11 a.m.
We are closed on Wednesday and Sunday.
For further information
visit our website at
petfinder.com |
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