Groundbreaking marks beginning of hospital project

New Statement for SCMC Patients

Eldorado, TX (May 16, 2011) – Schleicher County Medical Center and Schleicher County Family Clinic will begin sending patients upgraded statements that are easier to read and make it more convenient to pay for services rendered. The new system also helps create more efficient operations in the hospital and clinic.

“We’ve been working on getting these new statements set up for weeks. Everyone at the hospital and clinic is excited to see them go out to our patients,” says Mary Doran, Business Office Manager, adding, “We really believe the new statements will be easier for our patients to understand.”

Within the next few weeks, the new patient statements for the hospital and clinic will include the ability for patients to easily and conveniently pay on line or charge their payment to Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express, 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week. For those paying on-line, a user name and password is supplied on the front of each statement.

The business office has been working with eTactics, a business services company helping businesses streamline operations, to create a better process for creating statements. The hospital and eTactics have had several practice runs and are now prepared to send out the first of the statements. The business office staff expects everything to go well as they implement this new process. “Each time we send them a file to execute a round of statements, they send us a sample that must have our stamp of approval before the statements can actually be put in the mail to our patients,” says Doran.

Schleicher County Medical Center and Employees Celebrate Season and Long-Term Employees

Eldorado, TX (January 3, 2011) – The medical providers and staff of Schleicher County Medical Center gathered in December  to celebrate the holidays and recognize its long-term employees. “We thought with the spirit that surrounds the holidays, the Christmas party would be the perfect time to begin this recognition program. We have so many employees that have been with us for years and they deserve special recognition,” comments Sharon Dietz, Hospital Administrator, adding, “It’s the people inside these walls that really make us a hospital the community can be proud of and these employees with multiple years of service bring continuity to the process.”

Along with celebrating the holiday season with good food and friends, employees with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 plus years of service with the hospital were recognized. The employee with the most tenure is Martha Adame, CNA who has been with the hospital for 32 years.

As the employee with the most years of service at Schleicher Medical Center and the hospital’s pharmacy technician, Adame wouldn’t trade her years at the hospital for any other job. “I have always liked being around people and helping them. There isn’t a better place to do that than in a hospital,” she says.  Adame has worked in various positions during her tenure at the hospital but she does have a moment that stands out as the most memorable. “It was when I passed the pharmacy technician course. That was a big accomplishment for me.”

Schleicher County Medical Center employees honored for five to nine years of service are from left to right, Sharon Dietz, eight years; Helen Brame, R M, seven years; Mary Doran, seven years;  Stacy Jurecek, seven years, and Ramon Adame, nine years. Not Pictured are Aurelia Williams, RN, six years; Donna Ledbetter, seven years;  Monica McGee, RN, seven years; Dana Shriver, seven years, and Russell Meeks, LVN, five years.

Schleicher County Medical Center employees honored for 10 to 19 years of service are from left to right Mercedes Sanchez, NCT, 12 years; Jennie Wipff, 10 years;  Debbie Cruz, RN, 16 years;  Guadelupe Vasquez, 19 years, and Billie Jean Mendoza, LVN, 19 years. Not Pictured are Pearl Vinlove, RN, 11 years; Vicki Farmer, BSN, RN, 13 years, and Vera Bradshaw, 15 years.

New Lab Equipment Enhances Productivity to Better Serve Patients

Eldorado, TX (November 14, 2010) – Schleicher County Medical Center has enhanced its lab services to the community with the purchase of a Vitros 350 Chemistry Analyzer by Ortho Clinical Diagnostic, a Johnson & Johnson company.  “We’re very happy to have this new equipment because our old chemistry analyzer was outdated. With this new equipment patients will get their test results quicker,” says Sharon Deitz, Administrator of Schleicher County Medical Center. A chemistry analyzer is used to test the different types of body chemistry samples providers need to diagnose patients properly

The hospital received the Vitros 350 two weeks ago and Lab Director Polly Herring is ready to start using the new equipment after returning from Rochester, NY, and a five-day intensive training session paid for by the vendor. “My training involved learning about the Vitros 350 System and the different analyzer modules; the hardware and software features; gaining technical knowledge, and learning troubleshooting skills to support the system while becoming familiar with the MicroSlide dry slice technology and its processing center. We’ll be running both the previous system and the new Vitros 350 together for about two weeks to ensure everything is operating properly and all regulations for new instrument set up are being met,” says Herring.

Other features that will help the lab analyze chemistry samples at an even higher level of accuracy and more easily include the user-friendly feature of a touch screen, less maintenance as the new technology has fewer moving parts and the latest technological features. “Our old analyzer took 20 to 25 minutes to produce test results and the new Vitros 350 will take between 10 and 15 minutes,” explains Herring.

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Adame and Jurecek Earn Certified Status to Enhance Hospital Services

Eldorado, TX (November 8, 2010) – Schleicher County Medical Center is proud to announce that Martha Adame, the hospital’s pharmacy tech for the past 17 years, and Stacy Jurecek, Out Patient Admission Coordinator, have taken and passed certification classes that will allow them to better serve the community in their positions at the hospital. Adame passed the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination and is now a Certified Pharmacy Technician and Jurecek is now a Certified Activity Director for the hospital’s Swing Bed Unit.

“We are very happy for Martha and Stacy,” says Sharon Dietz, Hospital Administrator. “They are both very valuable and dedicated employees. When Martha found out she needed to go back to school to stay in her current pharmacy position, she didn’t hesitate and neither did Stacy when she discovered what our patients would have to give up if we didn’t have a certified activities director. That shows how dedicated they are to the hospital and our patients.”

For Martha who has worked for the hospital for 26 years in various positions, state regulations changed to require hospitals have a certified pharmacy technician on staff and this is what prompted Adame to return to school. “I’m really glad I went back because now I know even more about the medications the doctors prescribe to our patients while they are in the hospital. That makes me feel really good about the contribution I’m making in helping our patients get better,” says Adame. The only struggles Adame had in her class was during the first few sessions. “Getting the hang of algebra again was hard for me. I’ve been out of school a long time,” she said laughing.

Adame’s daily duties include ordering medications for the hospital pharmacy, hospital and emergency room supplies and any specialty equipment the doctors order for patients. During her career at the hospital, Adame has also worked as a Certified Nursing Aid (CNA) and a Certified Medication Aid (CMA). Working at the hospital is a family affair for the Adames. Martha’s son, Ramon has worked in the X-ray department for about 10 years.

When it became necessary to redistribute some job duties at the hospital, Jurecek learned that in order to help out in the Swing Bed Unit she would need to become a Certified Activities Director.  Having a certified activities director in the hospital helps keep patients active with things they would normally be doing at home such as reading, going outside and craft projects. “It’s important to keep the patients active because it helps with some of their rehabilitation orders, breaks up their day and gives them something to look forward to. The people who stay with us are amazing and interesting. I truly enjoy making their days better and putting a smile on their faces,” says Jurecek.

Schleicher County Medical Center and Family Clinic Celebrated for Community Commitment

Eldorado, TX (Sept. 27, 2010) – You never know how good they are until you need them and that’s when you really know they’re the very best the healthcare field has to offer – that would be the employees of Schleicher County Medical Center and Schleicher County Family Clinic.

The administration of the hospital and Preferred Management celebrated the outstanding staff at the hospital and clinic during its annual Employee Appreciation Day last week. The employees have a tradition of getting together and coming up with a theme for the day’s events. This year they chose a Tuscan theme that included an Italian-inspired breakfast and lunch menu. From flavored coffees and Biscotti to pasta shell with ricotta cheese and Tiramisu at lunch, head chef Stacy Jurecek led the effort in preparing the delicious meals. The day also included fun games and prizes for every employee with the grand prize of an i-Pad going to Leticia Porras, a receptionist at the clinic.

“We have a fantastic staff here that always goes above and beyond to make sure this community receives the best possible healthcare whether it’s on a routine basis at the clinic or during stays at the hospital,” says Sharon Dietz, Administrator for Schleicher County Medical Center.

During lunch, employees were recognized and thanked for their service to the community, hospital and clinic by Dietz and Andy Freeman, CEO of Preferred Management Corp. “This really is a quality staff and at Preferred Management it’s important to us that they be recognized for their efforts. There is a solid team of quality medical professionals and hospital and clinic staff here and it is important they know they are leaders in the community when it comes to healthcare,” comments Freeman.

Eldorado, TX (June 29, 2010) –  In an effort to better serve the community and deliver an even higher quality of healthcare, Schleicher County Medical Center staff and medical providers traveled to Austin recently to research the available options for implementing an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system. “We are moving forward enthusiastically on identifying a comprehensive EMR system that not only provides better clinical experiences for our patients but also meets the requirements of the President’s stimulus plan,” says Sharon Dietz, Hospital Administrator.

As part of the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus plan, hospitals and providers are required to install and implement an EMR system and use it in a “meaningful” matter by the year 2014. Those hospitals and doctors who choose not to implement an EMR system will be financially penalized beginning in 2015.

“It’s very important that we begin the process of talking with EMR vendors and find a software package that will work for the hospital and providers in a cohesive manner. That is why Preferred took two staff members and a provider to Austin to visit with a software vendor who might be able to help us,” comments Andy Freeman, CEO of Preferred Management.

He explained that Preferred Management has been researching the issue for several months with various vendors and felt it was important to include hospital staff and doctors in the decision making process of selecting a partner software vendor. “This was a very good trip for everyone because each staff member and medical provider was able to sit in the same room and better understand how the EMR system not only impacts their job and their patients but how it also interacts and impacts their fellow employee’s job,” added Freeman.

Although an EMR system offers several advantages to the hospital staff and medical providers such a system also benefits patients as well. “Most important to me as a Physician Assistant is that with an EMR system I’ll be able to spend more time with my patients instead of sifting through a paper based system.  All patient information will be up-to-date and vital statistics about the patient will be clearly and prominently displayed on the computer screen, including what medical activity has taken place in the patient’s life since I last saw him or her,” says Bobby Romatowski, P.A.

Additional benefits for patients include eliminating handwritten orders to save time in recording patient information since transcription of provider notes will no longer be necessary, automatic reminders for some health maintenance tests and procedures and more than one person being able to access a patient’s records at one time meaning while the nurse is taking vital signs and recording them the doctor can be reviewing a patient’s file at the same time. “These patient benefits not only result in a higher quality of care but it also allows us – medical  staff and providers – to  give back the gifts of health and time to our patients as we deliver healthcare in a more effective and efficient manner,” says Vicki Framer, R.N., Director of Nursing.

About Schleicher County Medical Center
Schleicher County Medical Center is dedicated to providing quality patient care with exceptional attention to clinical excellence, patient safety and a passion and commitment to assure the very best healthcare for those served. Caring for the community for more than 40 years, the hospital is a critical access hospital and rural health clinic offering healthcare services to Schleicher County and the surrounding areas. For more information, go to www.scmc.us or call (325) 853-2507.

About Preferred Management