News Around the State

GLMC finishes part of $22 million renovation project

 

Grenada Lake Medical Center has opened three of its newest units as part of a $22 million renovation project. The units, planned in collaboration with GLMC nurses and doctors, were meticulously designed to best meet the needs of our patients and the staff rendering their care.

Ambulatory Care Unit: Thoughtful Transport

Expanded from 11 beds to 18 beds, the Ambulatory Care Unit now has a new multipurpose treatment and procedure room with urodynamics (tests to diagnose and evaluate incontinence) and a pain clinic procedure room with a stateof- the-art fluoro-bed, which allows for patient treatment without the patient having to be transported to another department. In addition, all of the new patient stretchers have ultra-comfortable Tempur- Pedic® mattresses, which allow faster, easier transport to and from surgery as the patient remains on the same stretcher. Since the patient won’t be moved as much immediately after surgery, this also helps to eliminate unnecessary pain.

Critical Care Unit: High Standards of Patient Access

The newly constructed West Wing houses two units, one of which is the Critical Care Unit on the third floor. Expanded from five beds to nine beds, this unit was designed to be nursefriendly and patient-centered. Because of larger rooms with entry doors that come apart to better accommodate stretchers and patient care equipment, nurses and doctors can now access the patient from all sides. Another feature of the rooms is a state-of-the art, inflatable air mattress bed, which can be inflated or deflated to reposition patients, lessening discomfort and bruising. The nurses station, designed to allow viewing of all nine rooms from a central location, optimizes awareness of patients.

Women’s Pavilion: Well-Appointed Rooms

The other new unit on the West Wing, the Women’s Pavilion on the second floor, has expanded from 12 beds to 23 beds, with more to be added as construction continues. The spacious patient care rooms on this unit are twice as large as the old rooms and will serve postpartum recovery, as well as obstetrics and gynecological surgery patients. Special features in the new rooms include: built-in cabinets above the beds, which enclose the oxygen, suction, a nurse call monitor, light switches and a blood pressure machine; a built-in bed for the patient and a couch for visitors; and a long vanity, which houses a large dresser, a desk area and a sink for nurses. The spacious bathroom has a large, wheelchair-accessible shower with a built-in shower bench. While these units have always included comfortable accommodations, experienced nursing care and professional and caring staff, now these services have even better amenities. 

Construction continues at GLMC

Team from local firm, Harrell’s Metal Works, pictured left to right David Johnson, Randy Hodo and Lee Vining along with Danny Johnson of West Brothers construction, working on bridge construction.

Construction continues on Grenada Lake Medical Center's new bridge connector. This fly over bridge will connect the new patient tower to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of the existing hospital building.

Grenada Lake Medical Center completes Ambulatory Care Department expansion

Grenada Lake Medical Center recently announced that their Ambulatory Care Unit has expanded from an 11-bed to an 18-bed unit which enables the department to accommodate a greater patient load. This unit provides outpatient surgery and procedure cases that do not require an overnight hospital stay.

GLMC’s Ambulatory Care Unit has always included comfortable accommodations, professional caring staff, qualified and experienced nursing care, state-of-the-art equipment, and proficient coordination between Ambulatory Care and Surgery. These amenities are now even better.

Some of the changes are a new multipurpose treatment/procedure room with urodynamics, a pain clinic procedure room with a new state-of-the-art flouro-bed which will allow for patient treatment without the inconvenience of the patient having to be transported to another department. In addition, all of the new patient stretchers have ultra comfortable Tempur-Pedic® mattresses which will not only provide more comfort for our patients; but will also allow faster, easier transport to and from surgery.

The patient remains on the same stretcher while being transported, unlike the previous method where a stretcher was brought from surgery and the patient was moved from one stretcher to another and back again. “Since the patient will not be required to move immediately after their surgical procedure, then unnecessary pain can be avoided,” according to Surgery Director, Mike Cole, RN,

GLMC adds new CT scanner

(L to R) Dr. John Seibel, Cardiologist, Paula Rounsaville, R.N., Dr. Bart Bristow, Radiologist, Cheryl Osborn, CT technologist, Emily Myrick, CT technologist and Michael Chandler, R.N.

Grenada Lake Medical Center has just installed one of the most advanced diagnostic tools for helping physicians reach confident diagnoses to provide the best patient care. According to Dr. Bart Bristow, Radiologist, the new Light Speed® VCT XT configured system from GE Healthcare delivers high quality images of the entire body with improved resolution and up to 70% reduction in radiation exposure to the patient.

"The addition of the GE Light Speed VCT XT configured system complements and extends the range of quality diagnostic services that GLMC offers our residents of Grenada and surrounding counties," says Murray Dozier, Radiology Director. “The innovative design and quick-scanning provides sophisticated cross-section images of the body with more detail and speed than traditional scanners.” Actual scanning time can be as short as 1-5 seconds. Because it scans so quickly, it improves patient comfort, helps eliminate the closed in feeling often associated with CAT scans, and expands diagnostic emergency and vascular capabilities.

GLMC announces construction and renovation plans

Grenada Lake Medical Center announced the beginning this summer of an $18 million upgrade and a facelift. Major construction and renovation will begin following the design of local architectural firm, Jones-Zander LTD. The State Health Department has approved the project and construction should start in the summer of 2007

There will not be an increase in licensing capacity of patient beds. GLMC will still be a 156-bed community hospital, but floors will be added and current rooms reconfigured and enlarged. Some departments will increase in size.

A four-floor tower will be added to the north face of the hospital, with a major facelift of the front entrance. A two-floor tower will be added to the west side. An exciting and much-needed new feature will be a patient-only elevator tower allowing rapid transport of patients mainly from the Radiology and Emergency Room areas.

1st Floor Renovations: Food Service Operations will be upgraded with new kitchen and cafeteria spaces. Health Information’s space will enlarge. The Auxiliary Gift Shop relocates closer to the present main elevators, allowing Ambulatory Care to increase its capacity.

New West Tower:  OB/GYN will have a second Newborn Nursery. The new two-story tower, which will house patient rooms on the west end, provides an improved nine-bed ICU Unit to replace the current one. New patient rooms for the OB/GYN patients will also be located there.

New North Tower: The new four-story tower on the North side will provide improved patient accommodations with connections on each level to the existing hospital. Patient rooms on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors will be larger to accommodate new technology and give patient comfort and satisfaction. Each room will have a bathroom equipped with a handicap accessible toilet and bathing facility. More numerous, but smaller nursing units will allow nurses a better view and proximity to patients for whom they are caring. A new call system will improve nurse/patient communication as well.

GLMC gets HBO chamber

Grenada Lake Medical Center in Grenada recently added a hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) chamber for wound treatment. Because Mississippi has the highest per capita rate for diabetes in the U.S., the chamber is an important addition to The Center for Wound Care in Grenada.

Dettor named director of Grenada CIC

Tish Dettor of Batesville has joined the Mississippi State Hospital (MSH) Crisis Intervention Center in Grenada as the facility’s director.

Dettor, who served as a Mississippi Department of Health social worker in Panola and Yalobusha counties for 15 years, earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Mississippi, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern Mississippi.

The Grenada Crisis Intervention Center allows MSH to expand its services by providing short-term, acute psychiatric treatment to individuals in and around Grenada County.

“I am so excited about this opportunity,” Dettor said. “I am fortunate to work with such a wonderful group of individuals.” Dettor and her husband Dustin have two children, Holly 17, and Bailey 15.

Santa visits patients at Grenada's Crisis Intervention Center

A.J. Minga stepped out of his role as Grenada County supervisor and put on a red suit and a beard to deliver gifts to patients at Mississippi State Hospital’s Jack Gordon and Robert G. “Bunky” Huggins Crisis Intervention Center in Grenada. Minga presented each patient with a personalized gift bag on Dec. 21.

Santa Day is an annual event that began several years ago at Mississippi State Hospital’s Whitfield campus. The tradition spread to Grenada after the hospital opened the crisis intervention center in Cleveland last year.

People form all over the state donate gifts and volunteer their time to make sure each of the more than 1,100 people in Mississippi State Hospital’s care enjoy a merry Christmas.

“These Santa Day gifts were generously given to us from people all over Mississippi, including several whose homes were flooded or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina,” said James G. Chastain, MSH director. “It is humbling to see people who have lost so much care enough to give so much, to put their own needs and troubles aside to make sure our patients receive gifts for Christmas.”

Although December is the busiest month, the hospital accepts donations and encourage volunteer activities throughout the year. To learn more, contact the volunteer services office at (601) 351-8377.

Evans joins Crisis Intervention Center

Dr. Isham "Harrison" Evans of Oxford has joined the Mississippi State Hospital Crisis Intervention Center in Grenada as a consulting psychiatrist. Evans was previously employed at the Center for Healing and Wellness in Oxford and North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. He received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Evans joins staff at Grenada Crisis Intervention Center

Isham “Harrison” Evans, MD, of Grenada has joined the Mississippi State Hospital Crisis Intervention Center in Grenada as a consulting psychiatrist, announced James G. Chastain, Mississippi State Hospital director.

Evans was previously employed at the Center for Healing and Wellness in Oxford and North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. He received his B.S. in biological engineering from Mississippi State University and his M.D. from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Evans is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.