In Roads
Inside information for the employees of Mercy Medical Center
March 28, 2014
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
SOCK it to VTE WINNERS Join Mercy’s Relay For Life Team Today! Mercy Medical Center is participating in an American Cancer Society Relay For Life for Merced and need 24 members to join the team. Every Relay For Life event is a time for family and friends to honor cancer survivors, remember those lost to this disease, and raise funds and awareness to help end cancer forever. If we join together, we will help the members of our community: •
Have the information and tools they need to avoid getting cancer or find the disease early, when it's easiest to treat
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Have a place to turn for help 24/7
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Benefit from the progress being made toward finding cancer's causes and cures
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Get access to life saving screenings and treatment
Will you join us?
Sign-up at www.relayforlife.org/ mercedca and look for our team name “Mercy Medical”, then select to join the team.
All participants that turned in a sock will receive a prize!
1st place Kathy L. Padilla Cancer Center
Mercy’s 2014 5K Stroke Awareness Run MAY 3, 2014 8:00AM
2nd place Debra Powell Lab
3rd place Nancy Hollingsworth Peer Review
Close runner ups! Dr. Vierra Sue Lockridge Baldish Sandhu Thank you for your participation! And don’t forget to tell people: “CHIL…I’m a CLOT blocker!” (Please stop by the Quality office for your prize and a picture with your sock) For any questions contact Edith Reyna @ 564-5010.
Register today at: http://www.supportmercymerced.org/ Events_And_Campaigns/5K
Employee of the Month February - 2014
Living Spirituality by Sister Lucille Carreau, DHS Asst. Director of Spiritual Services
Thought
Let honesty create space for connecting with others. Speaking your truth, whether to yourself or someone else, opens pathways to the heart. Remember the value of connecting with others. It is a support which helps keep away the feelings of loneliness and abandonment. It’s a way of saying, “I care.”
Practice
Jody Newton Home Care
Who can you reach out to today? Take time to allow another to reach out to you. Remember God says, “Come to Me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” He’s reaching out to you…will you accept…will you do likewise?
Jody arrived at her patient’s home for her pre-scheduled appointment. During the assessment, while everything was stable, she noticed that the patient was noticeably depressed. She had the patient call her social worker and reviewed that she had appointments with her PCP and her psychiatrist all within the week. On further questioning, the patient revealed that she had thoughts of being overwhelmed and had attempted suicide before with the same pills she currently had in her house. During this time, the physical therapist, Rob Hileman arrived. He went over to the patient’s daughter’s house in the same apartment complex to see if she was available to transport her mom to Marie Green, where Jody had called and determined that a bed was available. Jody also contacted the local PD, who arrived and arranged a quiet 5150 and transported the patient to inpatient Marie Green services. Jody stayed with the patient, providing safety and encouragement until other help arrived to ensure her safe transport. She models the care and ability to work in any situation that exemplifies home care.
Having trouble controlling the pain of a patient? by Brian Elmore Director of Pharmacy
If you have a patient with a pain score of 7 – 10 for 3 consecutive assessments, even with pain relief therapies given, consider calling the pharmacy. Pharmacy management will come review the patient and offer alternative therapies. They will work with the physician to get new orders or adjust current orders to provide better pain relief.
Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment Enters Last Week Millions of people have now signed up for health insurance using the exchanges, and just one week remains before the close of open enrollment. If people do not enroll by March 31, they won’t be able to get private health insurance inside the exchanges until the next open enrollment period starts. Please tell any uninsured patients that if they haven’t yet enrolled and want to, they should do so immediately. Continue to remind them that: •
Open enrollment for health insurance through the exchanges ends March 31 for individuals and families. Enrollment for Medicaid will continue year round.
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They cannot be denied insurance or charged more money because of their medical history.
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Subsidies are available that will help millions of individuals and families afford health insurance. Millions of additional people will qualify for Medicaid.
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Insurance is important so that they and their family can access the medical care they need, when they need it, at an affordable price. Beginning in 2014, they are required to have coverage or pay a penalty.
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Visit www.dignityhealth.org/enroll for information on how to sign up for coverage.
Journey to Knowledge Class Date: Tuesday, April 22nd Time: 8:00am-12:00pm Location: Mercy Outpatient Center 2740 M Street 209-564-4384
The 3rd and 6th Floors Celebrate Certified Nurses Day 2014 on March 19th Certified Nurses Day™ honors nurses worldwide who contribute to better patient outcomes through national board certification in their specialty. A registered nurse (RN) license allows nurses to practice. Certification affirms advanced knowledge, skill, and practice to meet the challenges of modern nursing. Every March 19, employers, certification boards, education facilities, and healthcare providers celebrate and publicly acknowledge nurses who care enough to earn and maintain the highest credentials in their specialty.
Keys to Sitter and Observational Care and Tips on Identifying Sepsis
Mercy would like to thank all our certified nurses for all that they do and all they strive to be for our patients!
Bulletin board in the ICU breakroom celebrating their certified nurses.
One in every four persons seeking healthcare services has at least one mental, neurological or behavioral disorder. This class will teach you different tools to assist you in working with a patient who has a neurological disorder. In the second portion of this class, we will take a look at the importance of understanding sepsis. According to the CDC, sepsis is one of the top 10 causes of death in the US. This class will help you in the early identification of sepsis and some of its treatments. For more information on the Journey to Knowledge Classes offered by Education, contact Jose Soto in Education at 564-4384. Bulletin board at the nurses station on the 6th Floor celebrating their certified nurses.