MRMC Earns "Century Club" Membership

LITTLE ROCK - Magnolia Regional Medical Center is one of 34 Arkansas hospitals to earn "Century Club" membership through its achievements to improve care and reduce preventable readmissions. Its work with the Arkansas Hospital Association's (AHA) Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) program is part of the largest HEN in the nation, led by the American Hospital Association's Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) with 31 states and more than 1500 hospitals participating. To earn membership in the Century Club, a facility must report outcome data in all 10 of the HEN's areas of focus or all that apply to their hospital - quite a feat!

The HEN's goal is to help hospitals improve quality of care in the following areas: adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated blood stream infections, injuries from falls and immobility, obstetrical adverse events, pressure ulcers, surgical site infections, venous thromboembolism, ventilator-associated pneumonia and preventable readmissions.

Through the HEN, the AHA makes available training, one-on-one technical assistance and peer-to-peer learning collaboratives to participating hospitals, as well as access to national resources, toolkits and cutting edge information.

The HEN project contract was awarded to HRET and 25 other organizations nationally by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to support their Partnership for Patients campaign. The project assists hospitals in adopting new practices that have the potential to reduce inpatient harm by 40 percent and preventable readmissions by 20 percent. There are 46 hospitals participating in the AHA HEN; several of the state's other hospitals participate through other HEN contractors.

"Arkansas hospitals have a solid commitment to delivering the best quality care possible," said Pam Brown, RN, BSN, CPHQ, vice president for quality and patient safety at the AHA. "But the dedication of the Century Club hospitals goes above and beyond. These facilities have taken on the challenge of achieving improvement in all 10 areas of focus and serve as an example to their peers."


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For more information:
Karen Weido
870-235-3212
kweido@magnoliarmc.org

Hospital Association Recognizes MRMC for Work in Statewide Collaborative

LITTLE ROCK - Magnolia Regional Medical Center is one of 46 hospitals participating in the Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) led by the Arkansas Hospital Association (AHA) in partnership with the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET).

The HEN project contract was awarded to HRET and other organizations nationally by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to support their Partnership for Patients campaign. The project assists hospitals in adopting new practices with the goal of reducing inpatient harm by 40 percent and preventable readmissions by 20 percent. A number of the state's other hospitals participate in HENs through other contractors.

Through the HRET HEN, the AHA offers specialized training, one-on-one technical assistance and peer-to-peer learning experiences to its participating hospitals. In addition, the AHA makes available access to national experts, toolkits, webinars and other resources to help hospitals stay on the cutting edge of quality improvement.

The project is broken into specific ares of work to improve quality of care in the following areas: adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated blood stream infections, injuries from falls and immobility, obstetrical adverse events, pressure ulcers, surgical site infections, venous thromboembolism, ventilator-assisted pneumonia and preventable readmissions.

"Arkansas hospitals have a solid commitment to delivering the best quality care possible," says Pam Brown, RN, BSN, CPHQ, vice president for quality and patient safety at the AHA. "It is a privilege to work with the 46 hospitals in our HEN as they improve quality of care and to see the dedication from all levels of staff, from the administrators, physicians and front-line staff to those in housekeeping and nutritional care as they implement the latest and most effective evidence-based programs."

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For more information:
Karen Weido
870-235-3212
kweido@magnoliarmc.org

Wave of Light Ceremony Planned

Each year on October 15, at 7pm in each time zone, families gather to remember the babies we have lost. Whether through pregnancy loss, infant loss, or the loss of a child, the memories of our babies forever have a place in our hearts.

Participants are invited to join us in this simple ceremony to light a candle in memory of our angels.  Parents, grandparents, and loved ones will be allowed the opportunity to mention those they light a candle for, or may participate silently.

Families may feel free to bring their own remembrance candle, but MRMC will provide candles for those that need them.  We will take approximately an hour to join those in our community as we remember our angels.

The MRMC Wave of Light Ceremony will take place in the MRMC Wellness park on the corner of Columbia and Jackson.


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For more information:
Karen Weido
870-235-3212
kweido@magnoliarmc.org

Employee of the Month: October

Gina Smith has been named the October Employee of the Month at Magnolia Regional Medical Center.

Gina works in the Materials Management department and has been at MRMC for one year.  When she is not working, she enjoys life as a wife and mom to three boys.


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For more information:
Karen Weido
870-235-3212
kweido@magnoliarmc.org

Strange Named Director Plant Operations

Gary Strange has been named Director of Plant Operations at Magnolia Regional Medical Center.  Strange succeeds Darrell Chatelain who retired in August.

Strange has been with MRMC for the past four years as a member of the Maintenance Department.

"We are very excited to see Gary step into the role of Director for the Plant Operations Department," said Margaret West, CEO of MRMC.  "Gary has worked hard the past four years and really knows the workings of the plant operations side of our facility. He will be an asset to our team."

Strange and his wife, Teresa, live in Stamps.  Gary has one daughter and one granddaughter, as well as a stepson.

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For more information:
Karen Weido
870-235-3212
kweido@magnoliarmc.org

Chatelain Retires From MRMC

Magnolia Regional Medical Center announces the retirement of Darrell Chatelain, Director of Plant Operations.  Chatelain has been with MRMC for 11 years.

"Darrell has been a huge asset to our facility over these past 11 years," said Margaret West, CEO of MRMC.  "He is very detailed orientated and we can always count on him to offer his assistance with any project we have going on."

Chatelain was instrumental in the planning and execution of the new facility.  He worked directly with the architecture firm during planning, and then with the construction team over the course of building the new building.

Darrell and his wife, Debbie, have six adult children between them, and nine grandchildren.  He says he is looking forward to hunting, fishing, traveling, working in the garden, and "whatever Debbie tells me to do!"


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For more information:
Karen Weido
870-235-3212
kweido@magnoliarmc.org

MRMC Weight Loss Challenge Winners

Magnolia Regional Medical Center employees recently completed a 21-week weight loss challenge.  The program was created as a part of the facility's employee wellness program.

The program kicked off on March 5 with over 80 employees signing up to participate.  Employees checked in on a bi-weekly basis for a weigh in and body fat calculation.

The program ended with approximately 65 employees and a total weight loss of over 400 lbs.

Winners were named in two categories for their success in the program.  For percentage of weight lost, the top prizes went to Judy McGee, Cori Willis and Alesha Miller.  For percentage of body fat lost, the winners were Diana Owens, Adriane Delaney and Sharon Meeler.

Winners included, (l to r) Diana Owens, Judy McGee, Alesha Miller and Cori Willis.  Not pictured are Adriane Delaney and Sharon Meeler

MRMC is utilizing the wellness program to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle among its employees through competitions and incentives.

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For more information:
Karen Weido
870-235-3212
kweido@magnoliarmc.org