Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center - (Page 6)

By Somer overShon Response P atient-centered healthcare is a central value of Phelps County Regional Medical Center’s (PCRMC) mission to provide for its local communities. One area where PCRMC continues to focus on patient-centered care is through the hospital’s ambulance services. Recently, with a commitment to world-class patient care in mind, PCRMC added a fourth ambulance and crew to its existing fleet to maintain its dedication to high-quality service for its patients and area residents. Adding an ambulance and crew expands the reach of emergency care in Phelps County Addressing A need PCRMC Ambulance Director Ray Massey says that calls coming into the Phelps County ambulance base have doubled since he began working for the hospital in 2000. “We knew there was a need to add a fourth ambulance and crew based on the increasing Phelps County’s ambulance crew members include (from left) Chad Mathis, Grant Smith, Ryan Day, Ann Bruce and Cheryl Luttrell. call volume, number of transfers and mutual aid requests,” Massey says. A total of 103 calls came into the PCRMC ambulance service last year that the Phelps County crews were unable to respond to because of not having enough staffed ambulances. With only three ambulances and crews on call at that time, if a fourth call came in, one of the surrounding ambulance services—from St. James or from Pulaski, MariesOsage or Texas counties—would have to provide mutual aid response. “We appreciate the great working relationship we have with the surrounding ambulance districts,” Massey says. “But we wanted to be able to respond to the calls and transfers specifically initiated in our service area. We recognized that to be able to consistently respond to these calls and transfers we would need to add another ambulance and crew.” Once the fourth crew was added, the PCRMC ambulance service was equipped to respond to more calls and transfers, resulting in a significant difference, Massey says; for instance, PCRMC ambulance crews now complete 65 percent of all transfers from the hospital, up from 45 percent prior to the fourth crew. Members of PCRMC administration, including Ellis Hawkins, senior vice president and chief operating officer, also recognized the need for another ambulance and crew. “PCRMC always accepts patients regardless of their ability to pay,” he says, “and providing another ambulance and crew meant we were able to respond to the volume of calls coming into the Phelps County shed. A fourth crew also reinforced PCRMC’s commitment to provide patients with the best services and resources we have available.” 6 Vim & Vigor • W i n ter 2 012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center
Contents
Opening Thoughts
Auxiliary
Quality Care Never Goes Out of Style
Rapid Response
Because I Said So!
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
The Future Is Now
Everyday Hero
What Does 200 Calories Look Like?
Johnny Be Good
In the Driver’s Seat
We’ve Got Your Back
Bank on Your Health
Virtual Health
The Right Fit for Each Patient
Space-Age Science
Safe Haven
Foundation

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center