Get ready to celebrate Hospital Week May 10-14!
The Associate Recognition committee has been meeting to discuss how we can celebrate the commitment of our associates while also following COVID-19 protocols. Planned activities include the following.
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Food Truck: We will follow the same schedule we used when the food truck visited all locations earlier in the year
- Ice cream bars
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Distribution of the annual gift to all associates
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Distribution of years of service awards to individuals reaching 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-, and 45-year milestones
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Trivia on the associates celebrating 25-45 years of service
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Poker Run: more details to come
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Special Associate Recognition editions of the E-Connection with brief bios and photos of all honorees
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A special video for the two associates who have served CHCS for 45 years!
We want to make this year special for all who have dedicated their careers to the success of Community HealthCare System! We will not be holding a banquet in May, but we are considering an outdoor event later in the summer.
Stay tuned to upcoming editions of the E-connection for more details about the week's events!
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Cheese model
Reminder: Each thing we do is another layer of protection. Both personal and shared responsibilities remain important!
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Vaccine flyer
CHCS has vaccine appointments available at all clinics for individuals age 18 and older.
We are advertising and promoting vaccine availability widely. Find more information by clicking the green button below, or download and share the flyer at right.
Thank you for your help in spreading the word!
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Tracy Ahlquist joins CHCS Board of Directors
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Community HealthCare System is pleased to announce that Tracy Ahlquist of rural Onaga has joined its Board of Directors.
Ahlquist retired from Jeffrey Energy Center in 2018 after a 37-year career in maintenance and control of plant electrical equipment. He recently returned to the plant as a temporary contract employee for a special project.
Ahlquist brings diverse skills and a commitment to community service to the board.
“I spent the first half of my career at Jeffrey carrying tools and performing the physical aspects of plant maintenance. I spent the last half as a front-line supervisor. I understand business operations from the perspective of both an hourly worker and as a member of a management team,” he said.
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'Giving ability:' Laurie Horgan
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Many associates do amazing things outside of their work at CHCS. Our occasional series of profiles to help us learn more about the great people who work here.
Laurie Horgan started working in Onaga Dietary in August 2020. (Laurie is pictured at left with her husband, Jason.) Her mother, Donna Bates, lives at Redbud Plaza Assisted Living. She is also an avid water skier and a volunteer with Warriors Adaptive Watersports. Lauri recently took time to answer some questions.
What is the adaptive ski program, and where is it located?
Warriors Adaptive Watersports, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides recreational watersports events for persons with physical or mental disabilities through the use of adaptive equipment and trained volunteers. We are a division of the Pomona Lake Ski Club, located 25 miles south of Topeka.
What sparked your interest in the program, and how long have you been involved?
My interest in waterskiing began, I’m sure, before birth. That was my family’s hobby. I’m told I skied on my own at 5, before that I stood on my Dad or sister’s skis. Being able to pass along the exhilaration of skimming across the water to people who might never have had that chance gives meaning to my life. I actually joined the club 3 years ago, but this is the first year that I have taken on the adaptive program. Everything is pretty new to me, which is scary, but there just isn’t any way I could possibly not do this.
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Delivering the WOW experience
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Dee Schell, Onaga Acute RN, sent the following note in appreciation of a colleague.
"Rebekah Rombeck [Onaga Acute RN] worked the weekend and delivered candy to the patients dressed as the Easter Bunny on Easter Sunday. She is such a great nurse! Missing her Easter with her kiddos was hard for her, and then she did this!"
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JoAnn Mott, Community HomeHealth, passed along a patient's appreciation.
Hazel Wyss was a patient from January 25 through March 10. She lives in Onaga and turned 100 while we were caring for her! Her goal was to get back to the Senior Center. Numerous people helped her to get well! To thank everyone, she wanted them to come and eat with her at the Senior Center.
Thank you to Rebekah and to our amazing HomeHealth crew for delivering the WOW experience to patients, and thanks to Dee and JoAnn for taking time to share.
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CHCS Spirit Squad: Madness, baseball, and jeans ... plus enter a new contest!
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March Madness winner
Mollie Hiltibrand, Onaga Surgery RN, is the winner of our CHCS Spirit Squad NCAA bracket challenge. She won her own hoop so she can keep those basketball skills sharp.
Mollie predicted the Baylor-Gonzaga final game AND the Baylor victory. Here are a few stats:
- 44 brackets were entered
- 7 people predicted Baylor vs. Gonzaga in the final game
- 23 people predicted that Gonzaga would win it all
- 6 people had Baylor winning the championship
Congratulations, Mollie!
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Baseball trivia winners
Thanks to all who took the Spirit Squad Baseball Trivia Quiz!
One person had a perfect score:
Nahtanha Smith from Onaga Acute! Congratulations, Nahtanha!
Honorable mentions go to Sarah Torres from Community HomeHealth and Nancy Davidson from Access Services, both of whom missed only one question.
One more memory: Ellie Hutfles Haverkamp's memory was lost in the electronic ether. So here's one more for the books! (Ellie is an OT assistant with Onaga Rehab.)
My dad passed his love for baseball on to us kids. In his generation growing up on a farm, there was always work to be done, so whenever they got a break, they'd grab a baseball and their gloves and play catch. He and his siblings still talk of the neighboring "town teams" and their rivalry (Kelly, Woodlawn, Oneida, Corning, etc.) and the big turnouts for local baseball games, as watching sports on tv was not an option back then. The first Major League Baseball game we attended back in the early 80s as a family was at KC. Our seats were in the nosebleed section, as we were closer to the top than the field! We kids were more interested in trying to peer over the edge of the wall looking out of the stadium than watching the "ants" on the field. I remember the Royals lost that day to the Cleveland Indians, but mom got a picture of the jumbotron showing George Brett's stats, as he was batting over .400 at that time.
Below are photos of Frankfort staff and a few Onaga baseball superfans from Opening Day!
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Jeans in April
We know everyone loves wearing jeans! The Spirit Squad is happy to announce that jeans on Fridays can continue through April. This will be the final month for jeans on Fridays, but look for some special opportunities after that.
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Haiku examples
Green epidemic
sweeps across newly burned grass.
Frogs hail spring's fresh day.
Irises emerge
from dagger-point leaves, marking
the path to summer.
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Enter our haiku contest
April 17 is National Haiku Poetry Day, so the Spirit Squad is sponsoring a haiku contest. CHCS associates love a little friendly competition!
A haiku is a three-line Japanese poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third. Pro-level haiku contain images from nature. The poems are quick and easy to write and can help you stop and notice your surroundings and build mindfulness. Examples are on the left. (Find more by clicking the National Haiku Poetry Day link above.)
Send as many haiku entries as you like to Jill Greene and Kelsey Edwards by 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 16. We'll share the best haiku in the April 22 edition of the E-Connection.
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Nurses succeed in virtual education
On April 1, four CHCS Acute nurses completed the first Virtual TNCC (Trauma Nurse Core Course) provided by Stormont Vail Medical Center. TNCC is mandatory for the Acute nurses -- especially for Onaga to maintain Level IV trauma designation.
Joely Jellison, Heather Hurla, Meranda Schmitz, and Rebekah Rombeck were signed up to attend courses in November and December of 2020. When COVID-19 struck, all of the courses were put on hold. The Emergency Nurses Association granted extensions for current certifications, but they were to run out soon. Trauma educators at Stormont Vail knew they provided a valued course for several surrounding hospitals. Their trauma department reached out to Onaga and Holton hospitals asking if they would want to participate in this intense 2-day training via Zoom. No one knew what it would look like to NOT be in a live format where you get to touch the equipment, interact with the instructors and learners, and receive feedback.
COVID-19 has caused us all to break out of the standard comfortable ways of getting things done and focus on meeting the immediate need. Based on the passing scores from our nurses for this course and their positive feedback, it was a very successful pilot. Kudos to Stormont for helping to meet our needs!
-- Nancy Willert, RN, Education Coordinator
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Walk Kansas update
CHCS has 17 teams and 83 participants in Walk Kansas! Thanks to everyone who is signed up and logging progess toward their team's goal!
Even if you aren't participating, you can take a look at the Walk Kansas weekly newsletters for healthful recipes, fitness tips, and more!
Participants, these newsletters are also available under the Resources tab of the logging website. Be sure to click the "See your map" button when you log to explore points of interest in Kansas and find out how far your team has journeyed on its path!
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Try yoga at April 17 Crossroads event
Onaga Historical Society is sponsoring a family fitness event on Saturday, April 17. Come and try a beginner yoga class at 9:00 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. at the Onaga Community Center. See flyer at left for details.
View more events offered as part of the "Crossroads: Change in Rural America" program.
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Welcome to CHCS!
We are happy to have the following associates joining us. Welcome to CHCS!
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Allyson Wingerter, C.N.A., St. Marys Manor
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Cole Child, Lead EVS/Maintenance, Eastridge
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Sara Wilhelm, Access Services
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Katie Dodd, Access Services
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Alexus Jenneret, C.N.A., Redbud
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Rhea Bertulfo, Medical Technologist, St. Marys Lab
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Chrisondra Sellers, Dietary Aide/Cook, Onaga
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Coffee Shop special
April 12-16
Galaxy Mocha
- Chocolate, caramel, and French vanilla
- 16 oz., $4
- Hot, cold, or frappe
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Coffee Shop prices
We try to keep Coffee and Gift Shop prices as low as possible, but the prices of coffee, syrups, and other supplies have increased.
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As of April 19, prices of specialty coffee drinks will increase by 25 cents each.
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Drip coffee prices will remain the same, as will prices on other non-coffee drinks (teas, smoothies, hot chocolate).
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The weekly special price will remain the same.
Thank you for your continued support!
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CHCS menus: Onaga and Eastridge
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Note: St. Marys menus are available each morning through the Activities chronicle
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Easter fun
Eastridge residents enjoyed an Easter tea complete with crafts and egg dyeing. St. Marys Manor residents and staff hosted the Easter Bunny and built Peep houses as part of their Easter celebrations. A selection of photos is below. For more, check out our Facebook page.
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Source: Peter Kuper, The New Yorker
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Did you miss your Connection?
Important information is relayed every week in the E-Connection. If you miss it in your email, an archive is available on our website. Visit the For Associates page, then click E-Connection Archive.
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Send items for the E-Connection or for sharing with our broader social media audience to sarahhancock@chcsks.org. Please send items by close of business on Tuesdays when possible. Ideas are welcome!
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