Get ready for Open Enrollment |
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It's Open Enrollment season!
During this period, associates can enroll in benefits including health insurance, flexible spending accounts, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, and other forms of insurance as well as sign up for Greater Giving or 2022 PTO Cash-In.
In-person enrollment dates around the system are as follows.
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Centralia: Monday, November 15, 1-3 p.m. and 4-6 p.m.
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Holton: Wednesday, November 17, 3-5 p.m.
- St. Marys
- Thursday, November 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Monday, November 22, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 5-7 p.m.
- Onaga
- Monday, November 29, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 5-7 p.m.
- Tuesday, November 30, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Associates will also be able to enroll online on their own.
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Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5-11 now authorized
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is authorizing COVID-19 enrolled vaccine providers to begin using the CDC recommendation for administration of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for all children ages 5-11. On Friday, Oct. 28, 2021, the FDA authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for administration to children 5 – 11 years of age under emergency use authorization. On Tuesday, Nov. 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice voted 14-0 to recommend “The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (2 doses, 10μg, IM) for children 5-11 years of age in the U.S. population under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization."
CHCS will be able to offer the vaccine in our clinics soon. If you are interested in having your child(ren) vaccinated, please call your clinic.
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Thank you to our school testing crew!
When USD 322 Onaga needed COVID-19 testing, several CHCS associates volunteered. Our clinical staff was being stretched to their limits, so we couldn't have done it without them!
- Manda Thompson
- Angie Sauvage
- Jade Olivera
- Sam Watkins
- Sara Wilhelm
- Stephanie Brey
- Kaylee (Wilson) LaMastus
- Jenna Fordham
Thank you to Alisa Skruch for helping coordinate the testing schedule for these volunteers.
The crew includes individuals from the Business Office, Registration, and Access Services, for example, who also have clinical experience. Now their secret is out! They performed 175 swabs while onsite at CHCS, and they continue to go to the school for testing if the need arises because of the number of students who need to be tested.
USD 322 families were very grateful that their students could stay in school, and it was fun to see students in the parking lot shouting to their classmate through car windows. Most of all, we saw another instance of CHCS associates living the mission to enrich the health and lives of the people we serve.
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Suzanne Booth, phlebotomist in the Onaga Lab, recently put her CPR skills to use by helping save the life of a 16-year-old high school football player.
At a recent Holton High School football game, a player from the opposing team collapsed during warmups. A Holton mom who is also a nurse practitioner from Holton Community Hospital ran to the field. When Booth realized she was starting compressions on the player, she ran to offer her help. The two women worked for 10 to 15 minutes before EMS arrived. They shocked him and restored a heartbeat, then later were told that the young man coded on the ambulance to Stormont in Topeka. He was in the ICU.
"The first thing I thought was, 'I just renewed my CPR with Nancy [Willert]!' I never would have imagined I would use it on the football field. It was so heartbreaking," Booth said.
Heartbreak turned to joy when Booth found out the player not only survived, but he was released and will go to Children's Mercy for cardiac and neurological tests. He is sporting a wearable defibrillator until the source of his cardiac arrest can be determined.
"EMS said we saved him because we started CPR so quickly," Booth said.
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Delivering the WOW experience |
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Onaga Specialty Clinic RN Theresa Dressman wrote the following about a recent experience a family member had with Onaga Registration.
"My 90-year-old mother-in-law has been ill for awhile, then started to feel better until last night, when she started declining. A phone call was made to her PCP by her daughter; she was told her mother could not get in today, but she could maybe be seen in Onaga. My mother-in-law lives 30 miles away. Kathy Teske took the call and was extremely kind to help get her seen and offered her a wheelchair. My sister-in-law (a nurse) ... [spoke] with Kathy. She let me know she greatly appreciated Kathy's kind, caring attitude. Kathy made a very frustrating situation much more acceptable and comforting to my elderly mother-in-law who is one of those women who would do anything to help another individual; in fact, she was one of the women who made many, many cloth masks in early COVID times for the hospital and clinics."
Thank you so much, Kathy, for delivering the WOW experience. And thanks to Theresa for sharing her family's thoughts.
Have you noticed an individual or a group at CHCS delivering the WOW experience? Send it to Sarah Hancock or call extension 5133.
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We now have a new pharmacist on staff. Meet Lauren Yancy, PharmD.
Lauren completed her undergraduate work at Texas A&M University and received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Texas Tech University. She then completed a post-graduate residency at Texas Health Resources Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
Lauren has a passion for pediatrics and has several years of experience in this area. Her most recent position was as a Clinical Staff Pharmacist at Maynard Children’s Hospital in Greenville, North Carolina. As a Critical Access Hospital, CHCS is responsible for the care of patients throughout their lifetime. Lauren’s experience with pediatrics will be invaluable to our care team and help us ensure the safety of a vulnerable population. With the addition of Lauren to the pharmacy team, CHCS can eliminate the need for daytime Remote Pharmacy Services and expand on the clinical pharmacy services that we provide.
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CHCS is pleased to announce two new physical therapists: Nathan Bailey in St. Marys and Nichole Miller in Frankfort/Centralia. |
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Nathan Bailey is a recent graduate of Wichita State University and holds a doctorate in physical therapy. He grew up in Olathe and attended Johnson County Community College while working as an athletic trainer. He then finished his undergraduate career at Kansas State University, where he studied kinesiology.
Bailey looks forward to working at CHCS because of the “patient-first” mentality and the variety of patients he will see. “I love that I am able to see patients in hospital, home, and outpatient settings,” he said.
Bailey likes meeting new people, researching new diagnoses, and keeping up with changes in the rehabilitation profession. He is particularly interested in helping patients who suffer from chronic pain. “It brings me joy seeing people recover when they thought they never would,” Bailey said.
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Nichole Miller is a native of the area, having grown up in Wetmore and Corning. She holds a bachelor of arts in exercise science from Ottawa University, where she played basketball for four years, and a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Saint Mary. Miller said she has come full circle because she was born at the Onaga Hospital and was a CHCS patient through childhood and adolescence.
“I know the amazing care CHCS provides because I have received it firsthand. I’m excited to be able to be a member of such a great organization and get to provide the standard of care that I received growing up,” Miller said.
Miller previously worked at Kansas City Orthopedic Institute, where she helped patients recover from total hip, knee, or shoulder replacements; ACL or labral repairs, and rotator cuff repairs. She particularly enjoys working with orthopedic outpatients of all ages who are struggling to perform daily activities. “I love to watch patients be able to get back to the daily and recreational activities that they love,” she said.
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Brandt participates in Crisis City training |
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Jeremy Brandt, PA-C, recently participated in Kansas Task Force Medical Team Training in Crisis City. Lillian Lockwood, MD, KSTF Medical Team Manager, and Brandt's Co-Clinical Advisor on the Northeast Kansas Healthcare Coalition, helped coordinate this training to reinforce medical skill sets for Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Medical Response.
One scenario replicated a collapsed university building 30 hours after a tornado. The K-9 Search Team indicated live human scent, and a Technical Search Specialist confirmed a trapped survivor with a camera. Rescuers were able to crawl to the void space, but the person was pinned by concrete too heavy to move. The person is complaining of significant abdominal pain in addition to pain over his entrapped thighs.
Learning opportunities included airway management, supraglottic, direct and video laryngoscopy, cricothyrotomy, needle decompression and chest tube insertion, facture management, hemorrhage control, trauma ultrasound, intraosseous insertion, and much more.
"Jeremy was the bomb! He jumped right in there," said Dr. Lockwood. "I was super-pleased when he mentioned to do a blood sweep on a scenario patient with arterial hemorrhage from a trapped arm that eventually needed upper extremity field amputation. The scenario was started with patient's area of injury being visually inaccessible, so the amount of bleeding was not visually apparent (until the instructor let them look). Great call on his part!"
Brandt appreciated the training. "I had a great time; it was familiar training but with a different setup and focus than hospital-based ATLS and Military Tactical Combat Casualty care. It was great to train with and listen to experienced USAR team members," he said.
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Reminder: Spirit Squad and the Mental Health Committee invite associates at all locations to do some good for others AND themselves with our "Fill the Cornucopia" activity.
The activity has two easy steps.
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Donate food: Bring nonperishable food items for local food banks to help others fill their cornucopias for the holidays. All locations will have a donation station and a manager who will coordinate taking donations to a food bank in your community.
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Pause to express your gratitude: At each location, you'll find a designated spot to post something you're grateful for. Do it when you drop off your donation, or do it every day. Do it during your break, or do it when you arrive at work for the day. Just do it! Then feel the benefits of gratitude.
The activity begins November 8 and concludes November 19. Questions? Email news@chcsks.org
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Last call for veterans!
Veterans Day is November 11, and CHCS wants to provide special recognition in the E-Connection for associates who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
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If you served, please let Jill Greene know via email or call her at extension 5030. Thank you!
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Free books for kids!
Attention, Pottawatomie and Riley County residents with kids!
Any child age 0-5 can enroll in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for FREE and receive a book each month. Take a look at the flyer at left (click to expand) and sign up! (Other counties may be added soon.)
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Important reminders
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Join the Mental Health Committee's Fall Stress Relief Walk TODAY. It's easy! Go for a short 5- to 10-minute stress relief walk during the workday, then return to some stress relief tips and a hot cider mix.
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Want to wear jeans on Fridays in November? Your form and $10 are due tomorrow! Download the form now. Find details in last week's E-Connection.
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Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, November 7. Don't forget to change your clocks by setting them back one hour!
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If you live in Pottawatomie County or work primarily in the county, please fill out our Community Health Needs Assessment Survey by November 22. Please encourage friends and family to do the same! (It won't take long--maybe 10 minutes, max!)
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November 8-12
Pecan Shortbread Latte
- Butter pecan and shortbread
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16 oz., $4
- Hot, cold, or frappe
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Want an additional discount? Bring your own cup and we'll bump your employee discount from 10% up to 15%. Effective immediately.
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Countdown to Christmas
At the CHCS Gift Shop, we wait until after Thanksgiving to go into full Christmas mode. This year, our Holiday Open House will be Tuesday, November 30. Mark your calendar!
For those craving a little taste of Christmas, stop by the shop and check out our Christmas Cart with some fun preview items!
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CHCS menu: Onaga and Eastridge |
St. Marys menus are available each morning through the Activities chronicle.
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Plenty of Halloween fun was on offer around the system last week. Photos below are from Centralia Clinic staff, Onaga staff and the Trick-or-Treat Trail, Westmoreland Clinic staff handing out treats at the Westmoreland Elementary Halloween Parade, the St. Marys Manor Halloween Party and trick-or-treating, and the Eastridge Halloween Party. Visit our Facebook page to find more!
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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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