Main street clinic opening date set for Nov. 4

Chief Executive Officer Dewane Pace told Haxtun Health board members about new psychiatry services offered on campus, reported the addition of new testing equipment in the laboratory and gave a tentative opening date for the new main street clinic in downtown Haxtun. The news of an opening this fall came during a July 22 Board of Directors meeting in the upstairs meeting room of the Extended Care Unit.

Pace said as of last week, Haxtun Health administration plans to open the main street clinic on Monday, Nov. 4. The CEO said construction should wrap up within the next month followed by logistical work of preparing for and moving existing clinical operations.

"To say it is a complicated is an understatement," Pace told board members. "Healthcare is heavily regulated and complicated. It's not as simple as just moving the stuff from one place to another."

Stakeholder meetings are underway, Pace added, saying that plans for how to operationalize a brand new, 10,000 square foot clinic on main street are underway.

Recently, Senator Michael Bennet visited the main street clinic construction site. The Senator said he was not aware of another facility in the state that includes a clinic, retail pharmacy and physical therapy all in one building.

"He was very impressed and would like to come back for the grand opening," said Pace.

To kick off his report at the most recent meeting, Pace gave the Board an overview of psychiatry services now offered on campus at Haxtun Health. Recently, Wendy Vandenbark, MD in Psychiatry, was granted medical staff privileges and patients can now see the doctor in a private exam room at Haxtun Health. The hospital, in partnership with Eagle Telemedicine, is offering telepsychiatry services to all residents in northeast Colorado.

"This innovative program utilizes technology to connect patients with a psychiatrist remotely, expanding access to much-needed mental health care," said Pace.

Through is new offering, patients can receive diagnoses, treatment plans, medication management and ongoing support for various mental health conditions at Haxtun Health Pace said. This eliminates travel barriers and provides greater flexibility for appoints.

"Telepsychiatry allows us to bring the best of psychiatric care directly to our community," Pace noted. "This is especially beneficial for those who may face challenges traveling for in-person appointments."

Pace added that Haxtun Health was able to secure a grant for state-of-the-art telemedicine equipment to bring psychiatry services to the Haxtun area.

Additionally, Pace reported the addition of a new analyzer for performing specialized coagulation testing in the laboratory at Haxtun Health. He said for patients that need to be on anticoagulant therapy, blood thinners like Coumadin or Heparin, it is critical that they have their blood monitored closely to make sure they have the right level of medication in their blood. Too much, Pace said, and a patient could bleed, and too little and there could be a clot.

This new analyzer performs testing for both Coumadin and Heparin anticoagulation therapy as well as a test called D-dimer. A D-dimer test measures the amount of D-dimer in your blood, a protein fragment that is produced when a blood clot dissolves. A doctor, according to Pace, might order a D-dimer test if you have symptoms of blood clotting problems such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or stroke.

"Having the ability to run this test quickly can literally save a life and certainly put a patient on a faster treatment pathway," Pace said. "This new analyzer was purchased through a grant."

In following along with lab news, Pace also announced that Haxtun Health's Employee of the Year Cindy Clark recently completed classes for phlebotomy and qualified to take the Certified Phlebotomy Technician exam, a three hour, in person written exam, which she passed. Clark is now qualified to take a position in the lab drawing blood, Pace said.

In the Chief Nursing Officer report, Lea White gave an update on several positions within her department. She said Kenzie Fleharty, Ambulance Director, is out on leave for nine weeks and in her place, Kelsey Garretson will serve as Interim Director.

White also said Stacey Higgins, RN, is set to start as a case manager in the acute care unit starting on Aug. 6. Additionally, the ECU nurse manager position was recently filled by Rajsha Sanchez.

Julia Biesemeier, Chief Community Relations Officer, told board members that the rehabilitation department is experiencing notable changes in appointments numbers, specifically from May to June. Biesemeier said the department tallied 423 appointments in June, a significant increase from 352 in May.

Physical therapy appointments, she said, increased from 299 in May to 312 in June. Occupational therapy appointments saw a rise from eight in May to 88 in June.

Overall, Biesemeier noted that the department saw an increase of 20 percent in total appointments from May to June.

"June's numbers were the highest we have ever recorded in the rehabilitation department," said Biesemeier. "As we continue to see growth in the department, we are looking at our staffing model to ensure we have the right balance of therapists to meet the increasing demand and provide high-quality care to our patients."