! !!!! ! ! ! ! ! Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System ! ! News Releases Summer 2010 !"#$%&'%()&)%HERT
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Spartanburg Regional’s Hospital Emergency Response Team recognized by County Council Team commended for efforts during May 1 disaster drill SPARTANBURG – A tornado hits the Upstate and a dam breaks near a local hospital. What happens next? Is there even a plan for this type of disaster? For Spartanburg Regional’s Hospital Emergency Response Team, there’s a plan for this exact scenario, which was put into practice during a recent disaster drill. During a recent meeting, the Spartanburg County Council recognized HERT for its efforts during this drill. Established in 2005 in reaction to the effects of Hurricane Katrina, HERT continues to function as a group of volunteers with extensive training in emergency management. Jeff Straub, HERT’s commanding officer and emergency manager for Spartanburg Regional Hospital, coordinated the team’s efforts during the Region IV Kentucky Twister National Disaster Medical Service exercise last month. The scenario for this exercise was a dam break near a hospital. HERT’s primary mission in this scenario would be safely transporting stable patients from the facility in danger to a safer hospital or care center nearby. “We’re there to regulate patient movement,” Straub said. “We’re with them from the time they leave the original facility, to when they are admitted to the emergency room at another hospital and eventually given a patient room.” The exercise also gave the HERT team the opportunity to utilize Spartanburg Regional’s new command center, a former conference room that has been transformed into a control room to be used in a disaster. The command center is equipped with multiple large flat-screen televisions and computers complete with cameras for video-conferencing needs. “Our command center is the best in the state, its got a lot of technology and is ready to be up and running whenever we need it,” Straub said. HERT is also responsible for the Upstate’s Mobile Medical Facility, a 50-bed station with running water, electricity and provisions to handle patient care. One of only six Mobile Medical Facilities in the state, the Upstate facility is housed at Spartanburg Regional Hospital and is maintained by HERT. The Upstate facility is the primary Mobile Medical Facility for Greenville, Spartanburg, Union, Cherokee and Pickens counties.
HERT is constantly preparing for emergencies but also gets to help out its community. Last year, when ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover television program built a house in South Carolina, HERT was the emergency medical response team on set. In August, HERT will take part in a medical mission program for low-income families in the Upstate. The two-day event will be held at the Palmetto Expo Center and HERT will be working with other volunteers to give medical and dental assistance to families in need. HERT consists of 70 clinical and non-clinical volunteers trained in all forms of emergency management and response. Straub attributes the success of the team to its hard-working volunteers. “What we do differently from other emergency response teams is that we go above and beyond the federal requirements,” Straub said. “Our volunteers are highly trained and want to contribute to something bigger than themselves. Our team members go the distance.” During a disaster the HERT volunteers would be assigned to one or more of the following teams: Decontamination Response team, Patient Reception team, Communications team, Critical Intervention team, Logistics team, Confined Space team and Community Education Outreach team. The Community Education Outreach team works throughout the year to help educate schools and businesses that are considered “soft targets” for disasters. “Emergency management training is needed in any large organization, it’s not something that will make money, but it will reduce risk,” Straub said. The HERT team is working to reduce risk at Spartanburg Regional everyday. HERT is there to make sure that during a crisis, the doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital can continue doing their job without disruption, according to Straub. “Our facility is only as strong as our employees, and with the hard work and training our volunteers go through, this organization will prevail in a time of crisis,” said Straub. HERT has already started to plan for its next exercise, a shooting in the hospital. The team members are learning how to respond in this situation and how to recognize the behaviors of suspicious individuals. HERT will be working with local law enforcement and SWAT teams for the November drill at Spartanburg Regional Hospital. For more information on HERT, please visit http://www.spartanburgregional.com/pages/hert.aspx, or contact Jeff Straub at jstraub@srhs.com. -###-
Spartanburg Regional Hospital recognizes Tracey Dawkins as Manager of the Year Dawkins honored for work as Regional Hospice program manager. Tracey Dawkins is spoiled by her job, and she’ll admit it. “It’s an ideal situation, I love my boss and I love the people I work with,” Dawkins said. It seems Spartanburg Regional’s Hospice is equally as spoiled to have Dawkins in its employ, as she was recently named Spartanburg Regional’s Manager of the Year. Dawkins has been working with Spartanburg Regional for the past 15 years, and after working as an Oncology nurse and team leader at Hospice, Dawkins was named Hospice Care’s program manager three years ago. As program manager, Dawkins keeps an eye on the day-to-day operations and problem solving of Hospice. Even though Dawkins doesn’t work as much with the patients, as program manager, she works closely with all 56 of hospice’s employees. “I make it a point everyday to interact with everyone I see, engaging them on personal issues I’m aware of or asking how things are going if I know that person is working on a particularly difficult case,” Dawkins said. “Tracey has a well deserved reputation of being fair and thoughtful and she treats every member of the Hospice staff with dignity and respect,” said David Church, vice-president of oncology and home care services. Dawkins attributes the successful work environment of Hospice to the common bond between the employees. “People choose specifically to work in this area of care and they all very much want to be here,” Dawkins said. “There is a common bond in the staff, of what draws us to work with patients and families facing end-of-life care needs.” Dawkins was taken by surprise when she was named as Manager of the Year. She was “tricked” by Church to come to the awards ceremony to support a co-worker and friend being recognized for her 25 years of work at Spartanburg Regional. “She is truly committed to the mission of Hospice and to all of her employees, patients and families,” Church said. Dawkins lives in Boiling Springs with her husband, Carroll, and has three sons. -###-
Spartanburg Regional Hospital recognizes Tammy Horton as Employee of the Year Horton honored for work as Oncology Case Manager, 26 years as Spartanburg Regional employee Every day, Tammy Horton comes to work and solves a puzzle. At least, that’s how she describes it. As case manager for the Oncology unit of Spartanburg Regional Hospital, it’s Horton’s job to assess the needs of each patient from when they walk through the doors to when they leave. “Case management is like solving a puzzle and the patients are the pieces of that puzzle,” Horton said. To solve the puzzle, Horton looks at each individual patient in the 30-bed unit, their current needs and the best options for that patient when they are discharged. Spartanburg Regional has recognized Horton’s hard work by naming her its Employee of the Year. As an Employee of the Month recipient, Horton knew she was being considered for the Employee of the Year honor. “I didn’t know if I was going to receive the award, but I was so nervous that I couldn’t relax the entire night,” Horton said. Angie Roberson, director of case management for Spartanburg Regional, said Horton is the perfect choice for the Employee of the Year. “She’s a true independent worker, and you always know she’s doing a great job and giving 100 percent,” Roberson said. “Tammy goes about her work quietly and doesn’t need constant accolades from her peers, she gets satisfaction just from being able to meet the needs of her patients and their families.” Horton began her career at Spartanburg Regional in 1986 as an Oncology nurse. After 16 years of nursing, Horton made the decision to move to case management. “My favorite thing about being a case manager is the daily patient and family contact I get to have, and being able to form a good rapport with them,” Horton said. Horton received her Associate Degree in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of South Carolina - Upstate. She lives in Chesnee with her husband of 19 years, Steve, and her son, Adam, 17. -###-
Four Spartanburg Regional residents earn top honors at research competition South Carolina Statewide Family Medicine Research Competition highlights resident achievements in research The FIFA World Cup wasn’t the only competition going on last weekend. While the USA/Slovenia game ended in a tie, the results of the South Carolina Statewide Family Medicine Research Competition showed a victory for the Spartanburg Family Medicine Residency program at Spartanburg Regional Hospital. The competition took place at the SC Academy of Family Physicians, June 18-19 in Litchfield Beach. Sweeping three out of the six awards, the Spartanburg program has a lot to be proud of. Competing against the eight other Family Medicine Residency programs in the state, awards are given out to residents conducting basic research and research made on quality improvement. According to Dr. Otis Baughman, director of medicine education at Spartanburg Regional, 16 research proposals from the 8 South Carolina Family Medicine Residency Programs were chosen and the resident were invited to present their research to a panel of judges with the competition witnessed by physicians from our state and across the country. Mark Dudley, DO won first place in the basic research division for his research, entitled “The Scope of Obesity, Defining Barriers to a Healthy Weight.” For the Quality Improvement division, Douglas Wiley, DO took the first place for his “Evaluation of Different Screening Frequencies in Detecting Early Childhood Anemia.” Jennifer Lane, MD and Katherine Roth, MD won second place for their “Increasing Compliance with the 2006 CDC Guidelines for HIV Testing.” “Our resident physicians each have personal pride and a strong drive to succeed,” said Baughman Dudley and Wiley are also both graduates of the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Roanoke, Va., which will soon open a campus in Spartanburg. All four of the prize winners are third year Family Medicine residents at Spartanburg Regional, and Dudley serves as one of the Chief Residents. “What really sets us apart from the other Family Medicine Research programs is that all of our staff members are practicing clinicians who only do research on the side, working after hours with their spare time to complete their projects,” Baughman said. After completing their residency this month, all four of the doctors will continue practicing in the Upstate. -###-