Chuck Bohlmann, IMH CEO, is pleased with the growth of Iroquois Memorial Hospital in 2014. “Under the leadership of the Board of Trustees, Iroquois Memorial Hospital made great strides in improving the access and additional services to the residents of the area in 2014,” said Bohlmann. The Iroquois Memorial Satellite Clinics have added additional providers and currently have thirteen providers in six clinics located in four area communities. In January another nurse practitioner will join the IMH Watseka Family Practice Clinic making the total number of providers at IMH and its clinics the largest number in recent history - all to provide increased access to healthcare needs of patients in the region. Physicians who joined us in 2014 included the return of Dr. Teresita Torres, Family Practice. Joining her was Dr. Tressa Taylor, General Surgery; Dr. Jun Kim, OB/GYN; and Dr. Michael “Bayo” Ajakaiye, Family Practice; Dr. Jennifer Ash, Vascular Surgeon began seeing patients in the IMH Specialty Clinic. Additionally Dr. Naran Dodia closed his practice in Gilman and joined the IMH Gilman Clinic staff. Dr. Philip Zumwalt’s clinic became an IMH Satellite Clinic with him still providing the same great care he has for the past thirty-five years. Nurse practitioners joining the staff were Shannon Haggard, Jennifer Schnell, Jessica Morales, and Jessica St. John. February saw several retirements. Drs. Pat & Ted DeVas retired after thirty-seven years in medicine. IMH Board of Trustees members Dennis Wittenborn and Maggie Martin retired off of the board. Both Dennis and Maggie made huge contributions to the growth of IMH over the years. Replacing them on the board were Doug Geiger and Rhonda Pence. The new IMH Milford Clinic opened its doors at the end of April. The reaction to the new patient focused clinic has been overwhelming. In July, the Iroquois Community Health & Social Services Center opened providing space for the WIC, Family Case Management, and Healthy Families Illinois programs to Iroquois County Residents. The MRI was upgraded is now able to perform procedures including abdominal scans. In August IMH launched the Hospitalist Program with Karen Keller, NP, joining the medical staff. The hospitalist program provides the best experience possible, ensuring that every patient receives consistent patient focused care from admission to discharge. Free education programs for the public included two joint replacement seminars, a sleep apnea program, two arterial disease programs with free screenings, an advance directives program and a community stroke awareness program. IMH certified instructors taught CPR to over two-hundred fifty individuals in numerous area businesses and organizations. Late in 2014, the Iroquois Resident Home received Five Star ratings from CMS (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services) for health inspections, quality measures, and a Five Star overall rating. The Iroquois Resident Home is the only area nursing home currently receiving a Five Star rating in all three areas. The Lavina Young Trust provided a $30,000 grant and the Griffin Trust a $26,000 grant towards a new Telestroke Program that we will be ready to launch in early 2015. With Telestroke an Endovascular Neurologist from the Presence Neuroscience Institute will be able to observe and diagnose an existing or a new patient at IMH exhibiting stroke symptoms. The year ended with a very positive report received from CMS verifying that IMH’s Hospital Condition Acquired rate (HCA) was very low. Those conditions include a group of reasonably preventable conditions, including infections that patients did not have upon admission and developed during the hospital stay.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 18:19:47 +0000