News from Kanabec Hospital

Cart Generously Donated

Several of Dorothy Schloesser’s children were available to present the family donation to Kanabec Hospital. Pictured are Dick Patterson , Sally Steiner, Ron Patterson, Kanabec Hospital nurse Cindy Teichroew, and Judy Ammerman.

The family of Dorothy Schloesser has generously donated a special, custom-made cart for use in the maternity wing at Kanabec Hospital. It is designed to hold necessary newborn equipment.

It was important to the family that the maternity area at Kanabec Hospital receive a donation in their mother’s name because she worked at Kanabec Hospital, primarily in the maternity area, for over 30 years. As her son, Ron Patterson, explained “Mom gave her all to the babies and their moms here at Kanabec Hospital. It was only fitting that something was placed here in her memory.”

Dorothy Schloesser in Kanabec Hospital’s maternity area, 1964.

Dorothy Schloesser’s children include Joan Ammerman, Judy Ammerman, Dick Patterson, Ron Patterson and Sally Steiner, all of Mora; Helen

Lemke of Long Prairie and Jerry Schloesser of Rhode Island.

Deceased children are Don Schloesser of Mora, Harold Schloesser of New Berlin, WI, and Ray Schloesser of Minneapolis.

Share-A-Bear Nets 600 Stuffed Animals

The Kanabec Hospital Youth Volunteer Share-A-Bear drive has resulted in approximately 600 new stuffed toy animals.

The toys are to be given to children to help them cope with frightening or traumatic events such as ER visits, medical tests, car crashes, domestic violence, etc. They have been distributed for use as follows: Greater Minnesota Credit Union Toys-For-Tots Drive, Kanabec County Children and Family Services, Kanabec Hospital’s Emergency Department, Kanabec Hospital’s Surgery Department and The Refuge.

Thank you to everyone who compassionately provided the new stuffed animals.

Rehabilitation Department Targets Obesity

Kanabec Hospital’s Rehabilitation Therapy department celebrated National Physical Therapy month in October. This year’s topic, as set by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), was the importance of physical activity and its role in preventing obesity.

Physical therapists play important roles in the fight against obesity. They help prevent obesity and maintain weight loss by developing fitness plans that promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability in people of all ages.

A physical therapist can balance the progression of an exercise program with the need for joint protection and safety during exercise. In addition, physical therapists are aware that overweight and obese individuals might have experienced past failures with exercise and can truly understand the difficulties they might encounter.

The therapy staff at Kanabec Hospital offer compassionate and skilled care to help restore movement, function and quality of life. A physician referral for physical therapy is appropriate for many health issues.

Physical therapists must successfully complete very specific educational and clinical programs. Kanabec Hospital is proud to provide a varied staff of Physical Therapists (PTs), Physical Therapist Assistants (PTAs) and support staff who possess a high dedication to serving patients in the Kanabec and Pine County areas.

Kanabec Hospital has nine experienced physical therapists including two who have earned their doctorate degrees in physical therapy and one with 20 years of experience.

Five PTAs provide service at the hospital. The Rehab Department’s support personnel include two rehab aides, two receptionists and two gym attendants.

In addition to physical therapy, Kanabec Hospital’s Rehabilitation Department offers cardiac rehab, occupational therapy and speech therapy.

Kanabec Hospital provides rehabilitation therapy in both the hospital location in Mora and in a satellite office in Pine City. The Mora office is at the junction of Highways 65 and 23, telephone 320-225-3356. The Pine City office is in the Pine City Health and Fitness building just north of Pine City on Highway 61 (just east of I-35), telephone 320-629-6310.

Rehab Services page >

We're tobacco free!

These signs are posted throughout

the hospital campus.

As a leader in healthcare, Kanabec Hospital has a duty to promote health and safety. In fact, our mission is “to support and improve the health of the communities we serve.”

With that in mind, the hospital provides a completely tobacco-free environment for its patients, visitors, employees and staff. The entire campus went tobacco-free on October 1, the same day Minnesota’s Freedom to Breathe Act went into effect.

This new effort toward improving the health and safety of our community members means there is no smoking or tobacco use on or in any Kanabec Hospital property. This includes all buildings, grounds, parking lots and vehicles.

As we see it, condoning tobacco use anywhere on your hospital properties sends the wrong message about a deadly product. Tobacco use is at odds with our mission to heal, especially when it is an entirely preventable cause of illness and death. The hospital has a responsibility to be proactive on this important public health issue.

Our intentions are to provide smoke-free air for all our patients, visitors and employees; to educate people on the dangers of tobacco use; and to help those who choose to quit smoking.

The statistics on death and disease from tobacco use are well publicized and almost no one can claim to not be aware of at least some of the health risks of smoking. However, I researched for detailed information and the most recent statistics available, primarily from two leading health authorities – the National Center for Disease Control and the Minnesota Department of Health.

In Minnesota and the United States, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, complications of pregnancy, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

More than 800,000 Minnesotans smoke and about one-third will die prematurely because of their addiction. Smoking causes approximately 17 percent of all Minnesota deaths each year. A conservative estimate is that 75 people in Kanabec Hospital’s primary service area will die this year due to tobacco use.

While many local residents will die prematurely of tobacco-related diseases, hundreds more will suffer pain and disability. For every person who dies of a smoking-related disease, 20 more people suffer with at least one serious illness from smoking. That means about 1,500 people in our local communities are suffering as a consequence of their tobacco use.

In addition, many of our nonsmoking family members, friends and co-workers will develop disease and die prematurely due to second-hand smoke exposure. There is no risk-free level of second-hand smoke exposure. Even brief exposure can be dangerous.

Nonsmokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke at home or work increase their risk for heart disease by 25 to 30% and their risk for cancer by 20 to 30%. In the United States, it is estimated that second-hand smoke exposure causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and up to 69,600 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers.

Second-hand smoke exposure causes respiratory symptoms in children and slows their lung growth. Second-hand smoke causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems and more frequent and severe asthma attacks in children.

Most second-hand smoke exposure occurs in homes and workplaces. With 300 employees and an anticipated 24,000 patient visits this year, Kanabec Hospital is in an enviable position to make a significant contribution toward reducing our communities’ exposure to the hazards of tobacco use.

Disease and death are enough reason for Kanabec Hospital to create a tobacco-free campus, however a third detrimental result of tobacco use needs to be mentioned. Smoking is responsible for substantial excess medical expenses that affect each and every taxpayer.

Rising health care costs place a burden on families, employees, business owners and taxpayers. As a community, we all pay the price for tobacco use and exposure. Working toward the elimination of major causes of preventable disease by reducing people’s exposure to tobacco helps Kanabec Hospital contribute toward controlling health care costs in America.

Now for the good news: a national report claims 70% of adult smokers say they want to quit completely. The most common reaction I have heard from our employees who smoke is that our new tobacco-free policy might help them quit. We applaud their decision and understand that some people may find this difficult, but help is everywhere.

Kanabec Hospital has had a smoking cessation program for some time now and that program is continually being developed and improved. Our program focuses on the individual and is based on supportive measures. For those employees who want to quit, we are providing extra help as we begin our tobacco-free status.

For many people, support groups and counseling programs are key components to success. People who use telephone counseling stop smoking at twice the rate of those who don't get this type of help.

Minnesota residents can take advantage of several free telephone-based cessation programs such as those by the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, and others.

Tobacco is highly addictive, so some people require more involved medical care in order to not smoke while a patient at Kanabec Hospital or quit smoking all together. Care can include nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine patches and gum are two examples) and medication (such as Zyban and Chantix). With or without these aids, always consult with your doctor before embarking on any quit smoking plan.

Support and understanding from friends, family, co-workers and doctors can make a huge difference in helping people to overcome a tobacco addiction. We at Kanabec Hospital are dedicated to supporting everyone who wishes to stop using tobacco. Information and advice is available at the hospital for patients, visitors and employees.

Kanabec Hospital is committed to improving the quality of the lives of our citizens. A tobacco-free campus helps create a healthier and more pleasant environment for everyone who enters the grounds. This is a positive change for all.

Triage Drill Improves Processes

Kanabec Hospital’s August 20 flu pandemic drill provided information that has already resulted in improved emergency triage processes in our community. Triage is a sorting process that enables healthcare professionals to quickly determine the best way to meet a patient’s needs while not overburdening the healthcare system.

Triage is important because in the event of an actual pandemic flu emergency (which would be determined by the governor) many people would be ill with the flu, however there would still be people with other medical needs such as maternity care, automobile injuries and heart attacks. Elective services at all hospitals would be shut down, enabling health professionals to be available for medical emergencies and the critically ill.

According to Dianne Saari, Director of Education, Kanabec Hospital’s drill helped its professionals learn how to be more efficient in the patient sorting process as well as how to better inform the public during an influx of people needing medical care.

“Although the drill was specific for the possibility of a flu pandemic,” she explained, “we discovered some ways to better manage a large volume of people, regardless of their health concern. These steps will be introduced into other emergency triage processes, too.”

An important component of this drill was the large number of community members who volunteered to act as patients. There were enough “patients” for the hospital to effectively test its emergency triage capacity. Fifty-six people were sorted in less than one hour, which surpassed the hospital’s goal by 12%.

In addition, the volunteers provided written evaluations. “Although hospital personnel provide evaluations, critiques from non-medical people are extremely valuable,” Saari said. “Patient perspectives can be very different from those in the medical profession and they are just as important and valuable.”

Components of the emergency triage drill included security measures and traffic controls. “We were extremely happy with the service provided by law enforcement,” said Saari. “The Kanabec County Sheriff Reserves took the drill very seriously and provided excellent traffic control and directing. It was wonderful to see Lowell Sedlacek there taking notes.” Sedlacek is from Kanabec County Emergency Management Services.

Conducting drills is just one of the ways in which Kanabec Hospital strives to always be prepared for any medical emergency that might occur in our community. This drill would not have been possible without the assistance of Kanabec County employees, Allina Clinic staff, the Kanabec County Sheriff's Department and the volunteer patients.

Kanabec Hospital and KBEK 95.5 FM joined forces to provide drawings for custom-made weather emergency kits during the Kanabec County and Pine County fairs.

In addition, Kanabec Hospital pharmacists were at the KBEK tent on each Friday to meet community members and answer pharmacy-related questions. Free pillboxes and handouts were available as well.

The weather emergency kits include an emergency multi-function AM/FM/weather band radio, bottled water, granola bars, trail mix, mini first aid kit, flashlight, tissues, wet wipes and 911 telephone stickers in a large, sturdy bag with enough room left for additional supplies. Five kits were provided for each fair.

Winners from the Kanabec County drawing are Carl Buchanan, Renee Motschenbacher, Marge Nelson, Kim Picha and Alice Sogn. Pine County fair winners are Sami Barstad, Heidi Benoit, Sandra Effertz, Tracy Holt and Carrie Stromberg.

Winners may pick up their prizes at Kanabec Hospital’s main desk. Kanabec Hospital is located at the junction of Highways 65 and 23 in Mora.

Listen to news, weather reports, disc jockey chats and “Songs from the Best Times in your Life” at KBEK by dialing to 95.5 FM. The station’s telephone number is 320-679-6955. Get more information at www.besttimes.com.

Kanabec Hospital has doubled the capacity of its hugely popular Safe Sitter® program through the addition of two more instructors. As a result, two classes were offered this summer providing 41 young people with the information and skills necessary to be safe babysitters.

The new specially trained instructors are Lynne Van Hale-Whiteford of Mora and Michelle Volk of Rush City. They supplement the two instructors who have been with the program since its adoption at Kanabec Hospital in 2005 -- Ronda Jannett and Julie Johnson, both of Mora.

Forty-one students from Braham, Brook Park, Mora, Ogilvie and Pine City graduated from the two summer courses held in Mora and Pine City.

“It is an absolute pleasure to be teaching these classes,” exclaimed Jannett, who is also Kanabec Hospital’s Youth Volunteer Coordinator. “All of our students have been bright and eager to learn. It’s wonderful to know we have so many wonderful young people in our community.”

Kanabec Hospital is the only local provider for the Safe Sitter® program and just one of five throughout Minnesota. To date, there have been a total of 9 classes with 175 graduates from Mora, Ogilvie, Pine City, Isle, Hinckley, Braham, Milaca and Onamia.

The medically accurate, hands-on class teaches girls and boys ages 11 to 13 how to be safe, nurturing babysitters. Safe Sitter® students learn how to respond appropriately to medical emergencies, how to keep themselves safe, when and how to call for help, and how to understand and deal with children of different ages. They also learn about the business aspect of babysitting. Safe Sitter®graduates are more confident and capable caregivers.

To successfully complete the program, students must pass a rigorous practical and written test to show they have mastered the key concepts and have the skills necessary to handle an emergency.

Kanabec Hospital’s next Safe Sitter®class is tentatively planned for October. Details will be made available early so students can pre-register. To get on a sign-up list, call Ronda Jannett at 320-225-3321.

Kanabec Hospital is proud to congratulate Shawn Johnson, a registered nurse, on recently earning Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) credentials.

Johnson’s achievement is a result of months of study and successfully passing a nationally-recognized examination administered by the Board of Certification for Emergency

“This is a very big deal!” exclaimed Dorothy Kohl, Kanabec Hospital’s Emergency Department manager. “It’s a tough process and not something just anybody attains. It is a real accomplishment.” Kohl should know she’s the only other nurse at Kanabec Hospital who has earned CEN credentials.

“Earning my CEN was hard and I’m still a little awed to have made it, said Johnson. “I couldn’t have done it without Dorothy’s help and encouragement.”

The CEN credential represents a commitment of the individual nurse, as well as the emergency department that supports CEN credentialing, to quality state-of-the-art emergency care. Emergency nursing incorporates a wide spectrum of patient care that requires highly specialized skills and extensive knowledge, as well as the unique ability to care for people of all ages that have illnesses or injuries ranging from the very minor to extremely critical.

This high level of expertise is especially important at a rural hospital where there are fewer nurses and thus a higher rate of encountering a wide variety of medical needs. CEN credentialing improves the quality of care for emergency patients.

Although nursing is very dynamic, and a nurse at Kanabec Hospital probably learns something new every day, CEN credentialing requires continuing education in order for the nurse to maintain the credential. 100 hours of education must be completed every four years, 80% of which must be clinical experience.

Johnson has been a registered nurse at Kanabec Hospital for 7 years. She has 13 years of medical experience.

Kohl has been with Kanabec Hospital for 33 years and has been a registered nurse for 42 years. She has been the Emergency Department Manager for 15 years.

Kanabec Hospital is constantly working to improve the quality of the care we deliver and share meaningful information about that care with you -- the residents and visitors of this area.

While many patient safety efforts are unique to Kanabec Hospital, they also happen through a variety of partnerships and forums, including the Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety, the Minnesota Hospital Association’s (MHA) Patient Safety Task Force, and Minnesota Hospital Quality Partnership.

Joining these efforts is part of the hospital’s commitment to “transparency” – an openness to share quality, price, patient safety and community benefit information. We believe you deserve to know what your healthcare costs and how good it is. This information should also be easy to access. That kind of information will allow patients to make more informed decisions about the most important aspect of life – their health.

Now, residents have access to price information on common procedures performed at Kanabec Hospital as well as other Minnesota hospitals thanks to the MHA's new Web site, Minnesota Hospital Price Check. This marks the first effort by hospitals to share price information to the public.

By visiting www.mnhospitalpricecheck.org, you can find hospital-specific price information on the 50 most common inpatient procedures and the 25 most common outpatient procedures.

At present, the figures listed are the hospital's prices to provide care for each listed diagnosis. Each price incorporates the costs associated with providing nursing care, high-technology medical equipment, supplies and other services necessary for providing care.

It’s important for consumers to remember these costs are not typically what a patient will pay out-of-pocket for a hospital visit. A discount may be applied to the price, based on negotiated rates with insurance companies or on the hospital's discount for the uninsured.

Variation in health-plan coverage and discounts often account for differences in patients' out-of-pocket costs. Also, the listed prices do not include charges by hospital physicians or specialists, who usually bill hospital patients separately. Realize, too, that variation in hospital prices can indicate differences in the cost of labor, real estate, etc. across different Minnesota regions and markets.

To determine out-of-pocket costs for an upcoming procedure, residents with health insurance should contact their insurance companies directly. Patients without health insurance who know ahead of time they will need hospital care should contact the Kanabec Hospital business office for a cost estimate.

Increased transparency is also apparent in a consumer-accessible report on healthcare quality and safety in Minnesota. The Minnesota Hospital Quality Report is available at www.mnhospitalquality.org. This website contains information on how frequently “best practices” were implemented by Minnesota hospitals for cases involving heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia.

It’s valuable to know that many of the practices being measured are hard for someone who isn’t a physician or nurse to understand. What’s important is that these are practices that are well accepted nationally as steps that should be taken in the care of the conditions. For example, some measures include whether a heart attack patient was given aspirin upon arrival at the hospital, or if a blood test was taken on a patient with pneumonia, or if a patient received an assessment of his or her heart function for heart failure. You can read more details on the site.

All hospitals have voluntarily reported their data to be posted on this site, which is updated every quarter. The site displays the data reported for the most recently available 12 months.

The commitment to make health-care quality and price information publicly available and accessible is complicated and time-consuming and is still in the early stage. The goal is to eventually have all information on quality, price, patient safety and community benefits integrated for consumers. When taken as a whole, the information will portray a more comprehensive picture of the hospital’s performance than any one element can provide.

Kanabec Hospital supports the goals of transparency – consumers should know in advance the costs for an entire episode of care, as well as the quality of their care and how safe they will be. To get there, we will continue to work internally and to collaborate with health care organizations across the state.

Kanabec Hospital’s Diabetes Education Nurse Coordinator, Ellen Ryan, has earned the highly valued status of Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE®).

Achieving the CDE credential demonstrates to patients and the hospital that Ryan possesses distinct and specialized knowledge, thereby promoting quality of care for patients with diabetes.

The certification is obtained through the successful completion of an examination through the National Certification Board for Diabetes Education (NCBDE). Candidates must meet rigorous credential and professional practice experience requirements to be eligible to take the test.

Ryan, a registered nurse, has been with Kanabec Hospital since 1995. She has been the Diabetes Education Nurse Coordinator for almost 5 years.

Kanabec Hospital offers prestigious American Diabetes Association (ADA) certified education and a free monthly diabetes support group. For more information, contact Ellen Ryan at 320-225-3641.

Working at Kanabec Hospital has become almost a tradition for one area family. Grandma Fran Kacon of Isle, and daughter Kris Kemp and granddaughter Katie Kemp of Mora are all active in the inner functions necessary for the patient-centered hospital to provide excellent care to area residents.

It all started 30 years ago when Fran was hired as the Environmental Services Manager (called Housekeeping back then), a position she has maintained. “I am a cleaning nut!’ Fran exclaimed. “I just love to clean and nowhere is cleanliness more important than in a hospital. It’s so rewarding to know I am contributing to our patients’ health.”

Fran manages a staff of 15 people with shifts encompassing every hour of every day and night. State requirements are a constant factor in her duties.

Her daughter, Kris Kemp, became an employee of Kanabec Hospital in 1998. Starting as a ward clerk, but with some nursing education in her background, Kris eventually went back to school and became a Registered Nurse (RN). She is now a nurse and works in Chemotherapy, Obstetrics and Emergency.

“With my mom working here, I grew up with the hospital as part of my life, but getting a job at Kanabec Hospital really convinced me to get that degree,” Kris explained. “Kanabec Hospital is a wonderful place to work, and now I am in the position that makes me the happiest.” It wasn’t an easy road, either. Kris and her husband Alan had two children, Katie and Will. Kris worked full-time and attended school part-time for four years. During that time, she also became pregnant and gave birth to their third child, Jack.

This year Kris’ oldest, Katie, aged 13, became a Kanabec Hospital Youth Volunteer. Like her mom, Katie has been very aware of Kanabec Hospital, so when she needed community service hours for her National Honor Society membership, the hospital immediately came to mind. “My mom and grandma always say good things about the hospital,” Katie said.

In addition to working at Kanabec Hospital together, the three make it a point to participate in the annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life conducted every June.

Family life is very important to the Kacon and Kemp family. They always schedule family activities and outings such as snowmobiling, hay rides and crafts. According to Fran, “Working together is a natural!” Kris and Katie smile in agreement.

In its continuing quest to provide community members with the highest quality of care, Kanabec Hospital has improved its Emergency Medical Services with a new ambulance.

The new rig features safety aspects that provide increased protections for patients, crew members and community members. A Tomar traffic signal device allows the ambulance crew to change traffic lights. By being able to switch traffic lights to the ambulance’s favor, the transportation of patients can be shortened. This is especially important when transferring critically ill patients to other facilities. According to Ambulance Service Manager Adam Stout, NREMT-P, a trip to the metro area can be shortened by 20 minutes or more.

Brighter exterior emergency lighting (L.E.D.s) make the ambulance highly visible to pedestrians and automobile traffic, reducing the likelihood that the rig may be involved in a traffic-related incident.

Incorporating a solid wall between the ambulance driver and the patient area keeps the driver safe from possible attack from violent patients. It also insures that an ambulance driver can focus all attention on driving safely and not be distracted by any commotion in the back.

In addition, the new ambulance is bigger, allowing the transport of more patients at one time. Up to three patients can be safely transported and cared for while in a prone position (laying on a stretcher or backboard). This is important where several people at one location may be injured, for example a car crash.

There are seatbelts in the back area for up to eight people – seven patients and one medic – if all are able to be in a sitting position. This would prove advantageous in the event of a local disaster with many people needing emergency medical care.

The increased space also provides room for additional medical supplies. Most of this space is dedicated to keeping a larger supply of emergency medical supplies in the ambulance in preparation for the possibility of multiple patients, but it also allows the rig to carry more oxygen, specialized trauma equipment and a Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine for those with special breathing needs.

A feature that contributes greatly to the comfort of patients is the heavy-duty suspension. This makes the ride smoother on rough roads and during cornering.

Kanabec Hospital maintains a fleet of three ambulances. The new ambulance replaces the oldest which was in need of repairs and no longer meets the hospital’s goal of providing the most advanced level of medical care possible. The 1994 ambulance has been transferred to the Kanabec County Sheriff’s Reserve Unit where it will be restored and retrofitted as a mobile command post. It will be used by the Sheriff’s Office and the Reserve Unit in search and rescue missions, disaster response and other remote activities.