Home Care supervisor relishes chance to see patients

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 4/17/2010

When Pat Pearson was considering careers as a youngster, her dreams floated near water.

“I wanted to be a marine biologist, but I didn’t have the money to go to school on the coast,” she said.

Instead, she decided to tag along with a friend who was going to nursing school at Western Kentucky University. Earning a degree in nursing would provide job security if she needed it later, she thought. But once she got into the program and started practicing, she found she wanted later to become sooner.

“After I got into it, I liked it. I realized it was the right choice,” she said. “It was what I meant to do. I love taking care of people. It fit me.”

Pearson has been the clinical supervisor for The Medical Center Home Care for 11⁄2 years, but she has worked there for 19 years. Her duties include overseeing scheduling, reviewing charts for corrections and sending out reports. The program takes care of patients at their homes.

“I’m here for any problems there might be in the field. If the nurses have any problems, they call me,” she said. “I can go out to help them. I love patient care. Any chance I get to see patients, I’m out the door.”

After earning an associate’s degree in nursing, Pearson took her time finishing her bachelor’s degree at WKU.

“I had a small son and worked full time,” she said. “It took seven years to finish my bachelor’s degree.”

While attending school, Pearson worked in emergency rooms, first at Allen County War Memorial Hospital in Scottsville for about 14 years and then at Logan Memorial Hospital. She loved the variety of working in the ER.

“I thought it was the only place to be,” she said, laughing.

A rotation with Home Care, a part of her degree requirement, changed her mind.

“I never thought I’d like it. I went on a visit with a nurse, and I fell in love with it,” she said. “We went into people’s homes. They were so glad to see us. They welcomed us in and treated us like family. We weren’t doing anything major.”

The welcoming feeling from patients and their families hasn’t changed over the years.

“That’s how it is every time you go somewhere,” Pearson said. “They trust you to take care of them. The patients rely on you to do what’s right for them.”

After she graduated from WKU, there was an opening for a staff nurse at Home Care. She got the job and was staff nurse for 15 years before spending three years as an assessment nurse who handled patient admissions.

Pearson’s love of taking care of people runs in the family. Her daughter-in-law is a nurse, and her son, who made a career change, graduates from nursing school in May.

“They’re expecting their first child,” she said excitedly.

Now that she has her feet firmly planted in Home Care, Pearson says it is the only place she wants to be.

“You feel like you’re making a difference in somebody’s life,” she said. “It’s the best place to work.”

Copyright 2010 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Hospitality House work begins

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 4/16/2010

Representatives from Commonwealth Health Corp., its philanthropic division Commonwealth Health Foundation and The Medical Center broke ground on its “home away from home” for the families of seriously ill patients at The Medical Center and Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital.

“Hospitality House will be a home away from home where families can eat, sleep and recharge and still be near their loved ones. Three months ago we started a capital campaign,” said Doris Thomas, marketing and development vice president for Commonwealth Health Corp. “Our dream is becoming a reality. We’re looking forward in eight months to celebrating a ribbon cutting. We’re very fortunate to live in a community that is supportive to the people in need around us. We’re grateful for the continued support.”

Designed by Stengel-Hill Architecture and built by Scott, Murphy & Daniel, the 13,564-square-foot Hospitality House will be located on The Medical Center campus at High Street and Fifth Avenue. The building will include 12 private guest rooms and baths, a kitchen and dining room to accommodate multiple families, a prayer room, a community room with comfortable furnishings and a business center with computers and Internet access. There will be no charge to stay there, but guests who are able to make a donation for each night they stay will be encouraged to do so.

“The project is a wonderful thing,” said Mike Murphy of Scott, Murphy and Daniel, who is chairman of the capital campaign committee.

So far, CHF has raised $2.1 million in pledges and donations for the “Extending Home” public capital campaign, which will help build, furnish and staff Hospitality House. Nearly $1 million more is needed to establish an endowment to ensure ongoing operation.

“We’re flying on the wings of faith. We haven’t raised the (total amount) of money to do it, but we taking advantage of the good pricing in the construction industry,” he said. “We need to get to the $3 million mark, but we don’t need to stop there. We need to keep going. When everyone pitches in, it makes for light work.”

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said having The Medical Center here has been good for the community, and CHC really cares about the needs of the patients and their families.

“The Medical Center has become a real medical hub for southcentral Kentucky. It’s important for economic development and quality of life,” he said. “People are getting quality care right here. We have some of the finest physicians in the United States.”

— For more information, call the Commonwealth Health Foundation at 796-5543 or visit www.hospitalityhousebg.org

Copyright 2010 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Healthy Kids Club program focuses on physical activity, nutrition

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 4/03/2010

The children at the Boys & Girls Club sat huddled close together on the floor Wednesday, each with a leg stretched out.

“Switch legs, guys,” said Health and Wellness Center intern Maggie Roe as she put out a different leg, leaned into it and asked the children about a different stretch. “Does everybody know how to do the butterfly?”

The boys and girls, all ages 6 to 9, were participating in the Healthy Kids Club, a program of The Medical Center’s Health and Wellness Center that focuses on physical activity and healthy nutrition for children. The program usually costs $10, but the center teamed with the Boys & Girls Club to offer scholarships for the children. Roe teaches two separate classes – one with 19 children and the other with 34 – for about an hour twice a week.

“These are the essential years to develop those good habits of exercise and nutrition,” Community Wellness Manager Jenny Golden said. “We want to be able to teach good values at an early age.”

The children started the six-week program last month. For the first three weeks, they focused on exercise, including stretching, aerobics and strength training. During the last three weeks, they will learn about nutrition, including the food pyramid. They do challenges to get them interested in what they are learning and receive T-shirts at the end of the program.

“They’re so enthusiastic. They’re willing to learn,” Roe said. “They’re always curious about what we’re going to learn.”

Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Pam McIntyre said the program is going well.

“Obesity is a big issue in Kentucky and other states,” she said. “This is a good way to partner with another agency that will provide that education for us. We’re happy to be doing that.”

Since starting the Healthy Kids Club, some of the kids said they have taken what they have learned outside the classroom.

“I like to swim, run and play tag with my brother and sister,” 8-year-old Emme Chappell said. “(At Healthy Kids Club) I get to work out with my friends, and it’s fun to do with them.”

Myrycal Reed, 7, said she has learned to do push-ups and sit-ups, which are harder. Her favorite exercise is the toe touch.

“You can make your legs all the way straight,” she said as she demonstrated one. “You bend down like that.”

Madison Rather, 6, said she is used to exercising because she does cartwheels, backbends and flips in gymnastics, but also enjoys doing the exercises in the class.

“We’ve been doing this,” she said as she stretched her arms. “I used to do cheerleading, too.”

Roe said the children are usually eager to tell her about their healthy habits.

“They’ll say something like, ‘I exercised today. I did 17 laps around the gym,’ ” she said, laughing. “I love doing this. I hope they’ll learn skills they’ll keep throughout adulthood.”

Golden said organizers are happy Healthy Kids Club has been successful.

“We enjoy working with groups of children,” he said. “Any other group that is interested, we’d be happy to help provide the program.”

— For more information, call the Health and Wellness Center at 745-0942.

Copyright 2010 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Franklin Medical Pavilion celebrates grand opening: Officials also mark 10-year anniversary of hospital’s affiliation with CHC

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 4/02/2010

The Medical Center at Franklin celebrated two milestones Thursday with the grand opening of its new Franklin Medical Pavilion and the 10-year anniversary of when Commonwealth Health Corp. acquired the former Franklin-Simpson Memorial Hospital.

“The best thing that ever happened to the city of Franklin was The Medical Center coming here,” Franklin-Simpson Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Thurmond said. “It has been a wonderful partnership for the past 10 years.”

Franklin-Simpson Judge-Executive Jim Henderson agreed.

“There has been a reform of health care in Franklin over the last 10 years,” he said. “Millions of dollars have been invested in this place. It is a tremendous asset to our local economy, not only in the real dollars it produces for the economy itself but to the draw it is to the economic development of the community.”

Henderson was on the hospital board before CHC came on board. He said Franklin-Simpson Memorial Hospital was suffering because of a lack of experience in managing the hospital the way it needed to be managed. In fact, there were times when only one patient was in the entire hospital.

“We lost $600,000 the first year I was judge-executive in 1999. Our hospital was going to close,” he said. “You can’t sustain a business in that kind of market.”

The hospital is now often full, Henderson said.

“The transformation has been incredible in the facility. CHC has been providing health care for years in southcentral Kentucky,” he said. “They had the expertise to make the hospital succeed. CHC breathed new life into the hospital. The service is as good as you could ever ask for in a small rural community like Franklin.”

Having a first-rate hospital is critical to drawing businesses and industry, Henderson said.

“It’s almost like a domino effect. Companies look for health care options for their employees,” he said. “It’s an investment in the community.”

The new Medical Pavilion is a 17,633-square-foot, two-story medical office building connected to The Medical Center at Franklin’s 25-bed patient care wing. It houses several hospital services, including rehabilitation, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and laboratory, as well as three physician suites. Drs. Robert Wesley and Karuna Reddy have moved their practices there. The project started last summer and costs about $3.4 million.

The hospital also had a separate $5 million expansion and renovation project, which included construction of a new 25-bed patient care wing and renovations of the previous inpatient area that was completed in December 2007.

Franklin Mayor Herbert Williams said he is pleased by the hospital’s expansion.

“We need all the facilities we can get. Since (CHC) has taken over, we see a better facility here,” he said. “We are pleased with what we see going on here. It’s pretty much what a hospital needs to be.”

Clara Sumner, chief executive officer at The Medical Center at Franklin, said the growth couldn’t happen without the commitment of the staff and believes the growth shows commitment to the community.

“Franklin is a growing community, so we had to keep pace. We’re doing what is needed so people can get the best health care at home,” she said. “We want to continue to progress in the community and be an important part of the community.”

Copyright 2010 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Rehab goes digital: Medical Center at Scottsville uses Wii to improve mobility, coordination and balance

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 3/06/2010

Julianne Smith stared intently at the large-screen television, moving her body in sync with a tilted table on-screen.

The 15-year-old Scottsville girl was playing the Nintendo Wii game “Table Tilt,” which requires the player to get some video balls to go into a video hole in the video table.

“It’s awesome,” she said of the Wii. “When I work with it, I don’t want to get off of it.”

The teen wasn’t working on it solely for fun, though. It’s part of her therapy at The Medical Center at Scottsville, which has been using the gaming system for inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation therapy at the hospital and its Cal Turner Extended Care Pavilion for about six months.

“We’ve been using it more for our long-term care patients, but we’re also trying it with our outpatients,” said Lisa Cummings, rehabilitation manager at The Medical Center at Scottsville. “As it becomes easy, you can increase the difficulty just like with any other exercise.”

The hospital uses a variety of games from Wii Fit and Wii Sports.

“It depends on what we’re trying to achieve,” Cummings said. “(For example) to improve shoulder range of motion, we do a sport that requires that motion.”

In Julianne’s case, she is working to improve her balance, which can be off because of cerebral palsy.

“We focus on balance and core stability,” said Tracy Holland, a physical therapy assistant who works with Julianne. “We work two days a week with 15 minutes on the Wii at the end of treatment.”

In the three weeks that Julianne has been using the Wii, her balance and body awareness have improved, Holland said.

“If I let her, she’d do it the whole hour,” she said, smiling as she watched Julianne play a game that simulated her walking a tightrope.

Studies show that using Wii for physical therapy can help with different conditions, including cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and muscle and joint injuries, Cummings said.

“It helps with functional mobility, mood, coordination and visual and perception skills development. It can be used with patients of all ages,” she said. “It does not replace traditional therapy. We do a majority of traditional physical therapy treatment, and then we may do 15 minutes or so of the Wii.”

Cummings persuaded the hospital administration to purchase a Wii after she read about the benefits that have been seen in nursing home patients who used it.

“I thought it would be good mentally and physically. It’s something they can continue at home,” she said. “It’s fun to do and it benefits them. We hope to use it more.”

Julianne hopes to continue using it. She notices that her balance and walking have improved.

“I used to walk with a limp, and now I’m walking straight,” she said. “I used to walk on my toes, but I’m not walking on my toes now. I think Wii Fit is helping.”

Copyright 2010 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

The importance of heart health

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 2/13/2010

Clifton Hogue can’t forget the heart attack he had 21 years ago.

“I noticed a month before I had surgery that I was getting short of breath,” the Bowling Green man said. “There were days I could hardly get around, and then the next day I’d be in good shape.”

Then at 11 p.m. one night toward the end February of that year, his body felt very hot.

“I thought I was totally going to burn up,” he said. “I was hurting in my chest and down both arms.”

Hogue broke out in a cold sweat and went to cool himself on the patio in the winter air. His wife, Jewel, finally persuaded him to go to the hospital. Once there, the news he received was startling.

“They said I was just ready to have a massive heart attack. I had blockages,” he said. “I was scared. You hear about these things, but they don’t happen to you.”

Local cardiologists Dr. Beth Bryant and Dr. Mohammed Kazimuddin agree that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

“More people die of heart disease than of cancer,” Bryant said.

Risks of heart disease include family history, smoking, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, end-stage kidney disease and peripheral vascular disease. With the exception of family history, many factors can be controlled, which means knowing your numbers when it comes to things such as blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.

“Can you stop smoking? Can you take care of your diabetes? Can you take care of your cholesterol?” Kazimuddin said. “Prevention is a major issue. There’s an important goal of day-to-day management. What you can do, you should do.”

Prevention can include medication, diet, weight loss and exercise, Bryant said.

“The American College of Cardiology recommends 60 minutes of moderate activity every day of the week,” she said.

And heart disease can occur at any age, Bryant said.

“If a person is younger than 30, you have to think about other causes such as cocaine or methamphetamines,” she said.

Heart disease is most prevalent in men over age 45 who have at least two risk factors and women over age 55 who have at least three risk factors, Kazimuddin said. The signs include pressure-like chest pain radiating to the neck and arms, shortness of breath and sweating. Women may describe their symptoms differently.

“Women have an atypical description,” he said. “They may say, ‘I’m short of breath. I’m fatigued. I’m tired.’ ”

If someone is having a heart attack, it is important to act quickly, Kazimuddin said.

“It should be five minutes between feeling chest pains and calling the ambulance,” he said.

Hogue had triple bypass surgery 21 years ago and had a stent put in about six years ago. He said he has been doing well. To stay healthy, he goes to Cardiac Rehab at The Medical Center to exercise three days a week and is active at home. He also watches what he eats.

“I’m doing something all the time,” he said. “I keep the fried food and grease down to once every two or three weeks.”

The Hogues are active in The Medical Center’s Mended Hearts support group for people who have heart disease or who have had a heart procedure. The group meets at 7 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month at the hospital.

“I visit all the heart patients who come in and take them a heart pillow and literature. I try to see them before and after surgery,” he said. “I really enjoy meeting the people and talking to them.”

The couple also go to The Heart Institute at The Medical Center’s Heart Reunion, which brings together former patients and staff to celebrate their success in fighting heart disease. The next reunion will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Honorees should preregister by Feb. 19 by calling 796-3330. The event includes music, heart-healthy finger foods, door prizes and a presentation about updates in cardiac surgery.

“It started in the 1990s,” Don Johnson, cardiac nurse liaison with The Heart Institute, said of the reunion. “(Organizers) thought it would be a good idea to help not only the patients, but the staff to see patients after their surgeries and see how their lives have changed. They see how their work has paid off.”

Copyright 2010 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Holderfield ‘honored’ to be involved with foundation

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 2/06/2010

When Laura Holderfield goes to her job as Commonwealth Health Foundation executive director, she feels like she’s with family.

“I feel like when I’m coming to work, I’m coming home,” she said.

For four years she has been in charge of the philanthropic arm of Commonwealth Health Corp., the parent company of The Medical Center.

“Any fundraising that goes on for CHC or its entities comes through our office,” she said.

Since the foundation started in 2000, it has coordinated various campaigns, including the Charity Ball and the “Make the Season Bright” program, both of which are designed to raise awareness and financial support for the Commonwealth Free Clinic. The foundation recently kicked off the public capital campaign “Extending Home,” which will be used to help build, furnish and staff a 12,564-square-foot Hospitality House on The Medical Center campus. The building will be a home away from home for the family of seriously ill patients at The Medical Center and Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital.

“It’s the first capital campaign we have coordinated,” she said. “We’re offering people an opportunity for investment. We’re going to be able to see a building being constructed.”

Holderfield, a Bowling Green native and mother of two sons, didn’t set out to work in health care when she was thinking about a career. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University, respectively.

“My goal was to manage a business and to be in some large corporation to use the skills I learned in school,” she said.

Holderfield has been able to use what she learned in past jobs, which include working with United Way and St. Joseph Catholic School, and her current job. She manages the foundation and its activities and projects.

“We spent January closing out our fundraising year and planning for the next year,” she said. “It’s different every day.”

She has helped the foundation garner grants, including a nearly $25,000 grant from Kohl’s Cares for Kids, which is being used for safety items for parents in The Medical Center’s Newborn Care and Safety Class and to bring additional Newborn Care and Safety Classes to the community. One class is scheduled at the Housing Authority of Bowling Green later this month.

“It has been a goal for several years for the obstetrics department,” Holderfield said of the new class.

A $362,675.25 grant from the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation was used for new electric beds and a new nurse call system for Cal Turner Extended Care Pavilion in 2007.

“It was exciting because it was something that helped patients,” she said. “It gave them more independence.”

Holderfield said her favorite part of her career is that it combines the business side with getting to know other people.

“I love to get to know new people that I would never get to meet otherwise and being a part of an organization that has done so much for the community,” she said. “I feel blessed to be able to do what I do. I feel honored to be a part of it.”

Copyright 2010 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)