Regional West News - August 2023

August 2023

Fall is on the Horizon

A message from Regional West Interim CEO Mel McNea

I’d like to take a minute and reflect on the past eight months that I have been interim CEO at Regional West. Trying to beat an approaching snowstorm, I first arrived in Scottsbluff in the middle of a cold December night, and decided to immediately round on patient floors to greet employees and get a feel for the hospital. I’ve found that hospitals are very different on evenings and weekends than during the typical business day.

That evening and in the ensuing days, I enjoyed introducing myself to employees, and thanked them for their service. I said it then and will say it now: I’m excited to work with the people of Regional West as we navigate this time of cultural change. I’m passionate about making sure that rural communities have access to quality healthcare. That’s why I am here.

It has been a very busy eight months. We’ve seen a lot of change. Key areas we are focusing on include the patient experience and the quality of care given to our patients. Our Interdisciplinary team continues to meet daily to discuss patient care to make sure all teams are on the same page and concentrating on the same goal of helping our patients return to their daily lives.

Another area we are examining is how Regional West operates and allocates resources. According to the Nebraska Hospital Association, 55% of Nebraska hospitals are currently running in the red financially while facing increased labor and equipment costs. Regional West is no different, and is taking steps to operate as efficiently as possible and continue to serve our families, friends, and neighbors for years to come.

As we focus on the core services provided by Regional West, you’ll notice some changes in services offered throughout the region. One change is that Regional West no longer provides ambulance service through Regional West Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in some outlying communities. Instead, we are working to transition the service back to local communities and counties. Similarly, Regional West Physicians Clinic is closing the Family Medicine clinics in Sidney and Chappell, Nebraska, to focus more on services offered in Scottsbluff, Gering, and Morrill. Together with Regional West Garden County, we are discussing what our future partnership will look like as they explore new opportunities.

Strengthening our culture is an ongoing process. We are currently working with our Leadership team to address areas where we can improve the patient experience and employee satisfaction, continue to recruit quality healthcare providers and employees, and focus on providing exceptional customer service and care.

Part of my job is to help craft a culture focused on safety, quality, finances, and respect, while letting our employees know we support them and encourage their input. As an organization, we are changing and look forward to the future of Regional West. Thank you for coming on this journey with us!

DAISY Award Winner

We’re proud to celebrate July Ventura, RN, Regional West’s second quarter 2023 DAISY award winner! July is an international nurse and was nominated through Health Carousel, a healthcare talent management company. The DAISY award celebrates outstanding nurses who demonstrate a dedication to excellence through clinical expertise, compassionate care, and extraordinary service.

We’re thankful you’re on our team, July! If you’d like to nominate a Regional West Medical Center nurse for a DAISY award, follow the link to submit an electronic nomination: https://bit.ly/RegionalWestDAISY

Join us in welcoming these new physicians and

nurse practitioners to Regional West!

Bryant Carlson, MD

Family Medicine-Scottsbluff l 308-630-2100

Bryant Carlson, MD, is a family medicine resident through the University of Nebraska Medical Center Family Medicine Rural Training Track, Scottsbluff. Dr. Carlson earned a medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.

Hleb Davydzenkau, MD

Family Medicine-Scottsbluff l 308-630-2100

Hleb Davydzenkau, MD, is a family medicine resident through the University of Nebraska Medical Center Family Medicine Rural Training Track, Scottsbluff. Dr. Davydzenkau earned a medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean, St. Maarten.

Erin Holcomb, APRN-NP

Surgery, Vascular Diagnostics l 308-632-2872

Erin Holcomb, APRN-NP, sees patients at Regional West Physicians Clinic-Surgery, Vascular Diagnostics. The clinic provides comprehensive surgical services for the panhandle of Nebraska and eastern Wyoming and, as the state’s only Level II trauma center west of Kearney, provides emergency and trauma surgery services for an even larger area. Holcomb earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing. She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a family nurse practitioner.

Aubrey McLellan, FNP-C

Family Medicine-Scottsbluff l 308-630-2100

Aubrey McLellan, FNP-C, sees patients at Regional West Physicians Clinic-Family Medicine, Scottsbluff. Regional West’s Family Medicine providers care for every member of the family, including newborns, children, teens, adults, and seniors. McLellan earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing. She is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners as a family nurse practitioner.

Regional West Medical Center School of Radiologic Technology Recognizes Five Graduates

Five students were honored at Regional West Medical Center School of Radiologic Technology’s graduation ceremony Friday, Aug. 4, in Regional West’s Education Center.

The class of 2023 includes Shelby Bewley, Gering; Blake Dodd, Crawford; Jennifer Gorman, Sidney; Jacqueline Martinez, Minatare; and Emily Schmidt, Scottsbluff. The graduates will soon take the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists registration exam to become certified and registered radiographers.

Click here to read more!

Visiting Regional West

Visitors of all ages are welcome to Regional West Medical Center during normal visiting hours, which are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Visitors under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

The main hospital entrance is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can also enter through the Birth and Infant Care Center entrance on the facility’s north side during these hours.

If visiting the hospital after 5 p.m. or on the weekends, please use the Emergency Department entrance.

Thank you for choosing Regional West!

Regional West is proud to be nationally recognized by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for our commitment to providing research-based, high-quality stroke care with the Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus award. To learn more about this achievement, click here!

Director of Development

Jeannie McKerrigan l 308-630-2244

Regional West Foundation has kicked off our Grateful Patient program! This program provides patients and their families a way to show gratitude toward a physician, provider, nurse, employee, or department who played a special role in their care.

If you know someone at Regional West who has made your care special, we invite you to share your story and make a donation in his or her name. They will then be recognized by the Foundation.

Click here to view the donation information form. Or, call the Foundation at 308-630-1485 to make a donation in someone’s name.

Thirty-Fifth Annual Regional West Foundation Golf Scramble Winners Announced

For more than three decades, on the second Monday in July, more than 170 golfers, volunteers, and community sponsors gather at the Scotts Bluff Country Club for the annual Regional West Foundation Golf Scramble.

This year, the winning team was FNBO (First National Bank of Omaha) and included Dawne Wolfe, Jeff Wolfe, Kim Smith, and Mark Smith.

Regional West Foundation also dropped golf balls down the Scotts Bluff Country Club’s pool slide for the first Floating Golf Ball Race. Paul Mohr won the $1,000 first place ball, and William Bostic won the $500 second place ball. Paul Mohr also won the $250 third place ball.

Click here to read more!

308-630-1900

Community Pharmacy at Regional West is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and closed from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. over the lunch hour.

Thank you for choosing Community Pharmacy at Regional West. For questions or more information, please call Community Pharmacy at 308-630-1900.

Get In Touch

We want to hear from you!

Please let us know what topics you'd like to see in future issues of the newsletter. We want to hear your thoughts to help make Regional West exceptional. Click here to let us know what you think!

308-635-3711 l RWHS.org

4021 Avenue B

Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69361