News Around the State

Tate joins Garden Park Medical Center

 

Julie Tate has been named Director of Business Development and Marketing for Garden Park Medical Center, located in Gulfport Mississippi, according to Tim McManus, CEO. The 130-bed hospital is part of the Delta Division of HCA Inc.

Julie comes to Garden Park from Humana Military Healthcare services a subsidiary of Humana Inc.  She has a strong managed care background that is accompanied by 14 years of nursing experience.  Her responsibilities at Garden Park include developing new lines of business for Garden Park Medical Center and heading up the Marketing aspects for the facility.
 
Tim McManus, CEO of Garden Park said, “Julie brings a wealth of healthcare knowledge and background with her to Garden Park.  Her progressive history in the healthcare arena includes frontline healthcare experience accompanied by extensive involvement in the healthcare administration and managed care arenas.  This addition enhances Garden Park in its mission and vision as the premier healthcare facility and provider on the Mississippi Gulf Coast”

Julie is a Registered Nurse with a BSN from William Carey University.  She additionally has her MPH with a focus in Healthcare Administration from University of Southern Mississippi.  Julie is actively involved in the community, serving on the Board of Directors for Red Cross and March of Dimes.  She also is involved in Waiting for A Cure breast cancer charity.  She is a graduate of the Chamber of Commerce’ Leadership Gulf Coast program as well.

HCA is one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services, which operates 163 hospitals and 105 freestanding surgery centers (including eight hospitals and eight freestanding surgery centers operated through equity method joint ventures) with approximately 180,000 employees. HCA's Delta Division operates hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi, including Tulane Medical Center, Tulane-Lakeside Hospital, Rapides Regional Medical Center (Alexandria), The Regional Medical Center of Acadiana and Women’s & Children’s Hospital, a Campus of The Regional Medical Center of Acadiana (Lafayette), Dauterive Hospital (New Iberia), Lakeview Regional Medical Center (Covington, Louisiana) and Garden Park Medical Center (Gulfport, Mississippi).

Daphne David named COO of Garden Park Medical Center

Daphne David has been named Chief Operating Officer for Garden Park Medical Center, located in Gulfport, Mississippi. The 130-bed hospital is part of the Delta Division of HCA Inc.

Daphne has held several positions at Garden Park over the past ten years, most recently as an Assistant Administrator. Her responsibilities include oversight of all Ancillary and Support services.

“Through her tenure at Garden Park, she has proven herself as an effective leader driving strong quality outcomes, developing incremental volume growth and implementing initiatives resulting in high patient satisfaction scores,” said McManus. “She has also established excellent working relationships with physicians, management and employees.”

Daphne earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in addition to two Master degrees from William Carey College in the areas of Industrial Psychology and Business Administration, respectively. Daphne is actively involved in the community, serving on the Board of Boys and Girls Club, Chamber of Commerce and a graduate of Leadership Gulf Coast. She is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Karen White Joins Garden Park Team

 

Garden Park Medical Center recently announced that Karen White has joined its management team as director of perioperative services.

White has an extensive background in nursing management for operative services and most recently served as the director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital Ambulatory Specialty Center in Houston, Texas where she coordinated the project planning design and implementation of the new ambulatory care facility. Prior to that position, she was the nursing director of Operative Services at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston. Her nursing experience also includes serving as nurse manager of vascular surgery, assistant head nurse for neonatal intensive care unit, staff nurse for pediatrics, and community health nurse at various hospitals in the Houston area.

White earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She later received her master of business administration/healthcare management from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.

She was twice named as a South-Central Region Finalist for the Nurse Week Excellence Award in Management in 2007 and 2008, and was awarded the Recipient of Nursing Celebration--Top 20 Nurses by the Texas Nursing Association in 2007. White also received the Women of Excellence Award from Federation of Houston Professional Women and the YMCA Minority Achiever Award in 2005.

White actively serves in the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) on the national, state and local levels and is a member of the Texas State Nurses Association and the Houston Organization of Nurses, serving in leadership capacities in both organizations. She is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

White’s responsibilities at Garden Park will include planning, directing, and managing the surgical, cystoscopy, and endoscopy suites, outpatient services, and central sterile processing departments.

“We are delighted to have Karen join our team,” said Judy Rhyne, chief nursing officer. “Her background and experience will be a great asset to Garden Park as we continue our focus on providing high quality care with exceptional customer service.”

Garden Park names Thelma Miner Volunteer of the Year

Thelma Miner was named Volunteer of the Year at the recent awards luncheon for the Garden Park Medical Center Auxiliary.

Thelma has been a staple in the gift shop for the past two years. In addition to her regular shift, she also volunteers to fill in for anyone as needed in the gift shop. Last year she decided that it would be worthwhile to open the gift shop on Saturdays and Sundays and has been coming in on weekends to “make some sales” as she likes to say. Thelma is always excited when she has a good sales day and knows that her efforts will help someone down the road. The volunteers regularly donate the proceeds from their gift shop to local organizations.

Unfortunately for Garden Park and the volunteers, Thelma moved to North Carolina at the end of May to live with her daughter. However, she already has a volunteer job lined up at a hospital in Murphy, North Carolina, where she will work in the gift shop. “I enjoyed every year I’ve worked at Garden Park,” Thelma said. “It really helped me get over the loss of my husband, and I love everyone I work with. I am going to miss Garden Park very much.”

Members of the Auxiliary echo Thelma’s sentiments and will have a tough time filling her shoes. They know, however, that the hospital in Murphy, North Carolina, will have a great asset on their hands when Thelma joins their ranks—and will likely have an increase in gift shop sales.

Volunteers Honored at Awards Luncheon

Thirty-eight members of the Garden Park Medical Auxiliary were honored at their annual awards luncheon on May 8 at Garden Park. Service awards were presented to the volunteers who worked a total of 9,100 hours from April 2007—March 2008.

The Volunteer of the Year award went to Thelma Miner, who works in the gift shop. The luncheon was catered by the hospital’s Food & Nutrition Department which did an outstanding job of creating a restaurant quality experience, said Julie Bosley, director of business development. She added that the volunteers raved about the food and the service, which was provided by the administrative staff of Regina Ramazani, CFO; Judy Rhyne, CNO; Daphne David, assistant administrator; and Krystyna Varnado, human resources director.

“Our volunteers are very valuable to us,” said Bosley, “so we wanted to make sure the experience was memorable.”

Bosley also said that the Volunteer of the Year award was bittersweet as the honoree plans to move to North Carolina at the end of May.

Miner, who has been a staple in the gift shop for the past two years, volunteers to fill in for anyone as needed in the gift shop, Bosley said. Last year she decided that it would be worthwhile to open the gift shop on Saturdays and Sundays and has been coming in on weekends to “make some sales” as she likes to say.

“I enjoyed every year I’ve worked at Garden Park,” Miner said. “It really helped me get over the loss of my husband, and I love everyone I work with. I am going to miss Garden Park very much.”

The Garden Park Auxiliary has been in existence for over 30 years, and its members provide valuable services to the hospital such as patient escort, information desk, surgery waiting room, and management of the gift shop. The volunteers use their proceeds from the gift shop to regularly donate to numerous organizations within the community such as The March of Dimes, The American Heart Association, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, St. Vincent de Paul, Multiple Sclerosis, Humane Society, and Feed My Sheep.

“It would be difficult for us if we had to provide staff to cover the services that they provide,” said Bosley. “Most importantly, though, their smiling faces and cheerful attitudes help patients and family members feel at ease. We are blessed to have such a wonderful group of volunteers.”

For information on volunteering at Garden Park Medical Center, please call 575-7110.

Garden Park Announces New Board Members

Dirk Barrient and Dave Dennis have recently been appointed to Garden Park Medical Center’s Board of Trustees. They will replace outgoing board members William Allison and Joseph Hull, DO.

Barrient is vice president and division manager with Coast Coca-Cola. He has been involved in a number of organizations including Leadership Gulf Coast Chair 2008-2009, president-elect of the Gulfport Rotary for 2008-2009, past district chair and board member of the Boy Scouts, board member of the Gulf Coast Business Council, and board member for Cruisin’ the Coast.

A native of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, Barrient is a graduate of Louisiana State University where he majored in business. He has been on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with Coca-Cola for the past nine years. He and his wife, Stacie, live in Biloxi.

Dennis is president of Specialty Contractors & Associates, Inc., a commercial and industrial subcontracting company which he co-owns with his wife, Jane. A native of Atmore, Alabama, Dennis is a graduate of Auburn University and has lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for over 30 years.

Dennis has been involved in a number of different organizations over the years. He is currently serving as Chairman of Leadership Mississippi, is a member of the Executive Committees of both the Mississippi Economic Council and the Gulf Coast Business Council, and is a member of the YMCA's Coast Metro Board. He previously served on the Federal Reserve Board in New Orleans where he served three full terms as chairman. He has also served as chairman of the Coast Chamber of Commerce, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Salute to Business and Industry, and chairman of Historical Preservation, Cultural Preservation and Museums for the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal. Dennis was named Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the Boy Scouts of America in 2006.

The new board members joined the Garden Park Board of Trustees in January and will serve an initial three-year term. Tim McManus, CEO of Garden Park, said he was very pleased with the addition of the new board members. “Both Dirk and Dave will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our board and will be a valuable resource as we develop our long-term growth strategy.”

Evans Joins Garden Park Medical Staff

Garden Park Medical Center recently announced that R. David Evans, MD, general and peripheral vascular surgery, has recently opened his practice in Gulfport and joined the hospital’s medical staff.

Dr. Evans came to the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Lakeland, Florida, where he has practiced for over 16 years. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and has been involved in a number of professional activities as well as co-author of numerous published articles, posters, and exhibits.

Dr. Evans received his medical degree from the University of South Alabama in Mobile. He completed his internship and residency in surgery at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. His fellowship in vascular surgery was completed at Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Evans also holds a master’s degree in public health as well as an MBA. His areas of interest include carotid, gallbladder, colorectal, breast, advanced laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery as well as wound care.

Dr. Evans is located at the Orange Grove Surgical Associates Clinic in Bayou Bernard Medical Office Building, 15190 Community Road Suite 250 in Gulfport.

Garden Park Medical Center Celebrates 35 Years of Service

October is a special month this year for Garden Park Medical Center as the hospital celebrates its 35th anniversary.

The first patient was admitted to the hospital by Dr. Jare Barkley, an internal medicine/general surgery practitioner on October 17, 1983. Earlier that month, the Mississippi Commission on Hospital Care issued a permit authorizing Garden Park Community Hospital to open for business. The hospital—developed and owned by a group of local investors—took three years to plan, finance and construct. Originally the facility was designed as a nursing home, but during construction the investors decided to open it as a 120-bed hospital.

The $3.5 million, 65,000 square-foot facility was described by the Daily Herald as an “ultra-modern structure…arranged in wings extending to the surgical suites, nurses’ stations, visitor gazebos, and a central focal point of an indoor restaurant set amid waterfall and tropical surroundings.” When the hospital opened, the restaurant services included waitresses, and the hospital also had a beauty salon on site. The nursing units featured four wings called Camellia, Magnolia, Azalea and Rose. The original entrance was located at 45th Avenue. The total equipment cost for the new building was nearly $1 million, according to an article in the Daily Herald, and included $150,000 worth of x-ray equipment “featuring televised pictures which the doctor can observe live.”

During that first year of service, 40 physicians joined the medical staff and over 220 persons were employed by the hospital. In 1978 a six-bed intensive care unit was added by converting existing rooms. In 1979, Brookwood Health Services, Inc. purchased the facility and operated it until AMI acquired it in 1981. The new owners quickly acquired additional acreage next to the existing facility and began expansion plans. Upon issuance of the Certificate of Need (CON) from the state, the hospital began construction on an addition to the facility which would nearly double the size of the building and add emergency room services. The addition was completed in 1985 with a new two-story section, new equipment and a new entrance off Broad Avenue.

The next several years brought many changes to Garden Park and to the healthcare industry as well. In 1989, thirty-six AMI hospitals spun off to form an employee-owned company called Epic Healthcare. Five years later in 1994, HealthTrust, Inc. bought all of the Epic holdings to form the second largest healthcare company in the country.

Less than a year later, HealthTrust was purchased by Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., the largest healthcare company in the nation. The company later dropped the name Columbia to become HCA, Hospital Corporation of America.

Over the past 35 years, the Garden Park has grown to meet the ever-changing needs of the community. In 1996, the hospital successfully obtained a CON to build a replacement facility on Community Road in the Orange Grove area. Detailed research indicated that the new location was the epicenter of growth for the community, and construction on the new facility began in 1998. Less than two years later, Garden Park Medical Center opened on May 23, 2000 with a modern, 130-bed, state-of-the-art facility that was twice the size of its previous building.

Since that time, Garden Park has continued to expand its services. The hospital is now focused on becoming the provider and employer of choice based on providing exceptional customer service and hiring employees who share the same values and believe in the hospital’s culture.

As part of its 35th anniversary celebration, Garden Park Medical Center will host a Fall Festival on Saturday, November 15, on the hospital grounds to raise money for their “Live United” campaign.

The event will be held from 1:00 pm to 6:00pm and will feature a variety of children’s activities including hay ride, space walk, dunking booth, fire truck rides, super slide, face painting, rock climbing, games and prizes, and food. In addition, special appearances will be made by Hook from the Seawolves, McGruff the Crime Dog, Chuck-E-Cheese, and Smokey the Bear. Admission is free and participants will be able to purchase tickets at the festival for the activities and food.

Adults over 18 years of age can receive free health assessments including blood pressure, cholesterol and bone density. Health information will also be available on a wide range of subjects, and health professionals will be available to answer questions.

Vendors are invited to participate as well and may rent booth space for $25-$40 depending upon the space size.

All proceeds will be used to support three critical priority areas on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: child and youth development, affordable housing, and mental health support. For information on the fall festival call 575-7000 or visit their website at www.gpmedical.com.  

Garden Park Medical Center Now Providing Digital Mammography

Garden Park has expanded its diagnostic imaging services with the addition of a new Selenia™ full field digital mammography system from Hologic®. Selenia incorporates revolutionary imaging technology that provides incredibly sharp images.

From the patient’s point of view, a digital mammogram is like traditional film screen mammography. Both use x-ray to generate images of the breast. However, instead of using film to capture and record the image, a digital mammogram uses a special detector to capture and convert x-ray energy into a digital image. The radiologist can view and manipulate the images on high-resolution computer monitors that enhance visualization of the structures within the breast tissue. They can also adjust brightness and contrast and zoom in on specific areas to help detect small calcifications, masses, and other changes that may be signs of early cancer.

Digital mammography offers a number of other practical advantages and patient conveniences. Because there is no waiting for film to be developed, it can significantly reduce the time patients spend in the mammography department as well as reduce the need for repeat exams due to under or over exposure. Digital images are easily stored and transferred electronically, eliminating the dependency on one set of original films which can be misfiled or lost in transit.

In conjunction with the digital mammography unit, Garden Park is also offering Computer-Aided Detection. CAD provides a “second read” of the mammogram by a computer. This assists the radiologist in making an accurate diagnosis, like spell check in word processing.

Garden Park Medical Center's mammography department brings these advantages to patients along with the use of specially designed pads for a softer-touch mammogram. This helps make the screening process more comfortable for women while still providing high resolution images. In addition, the mammography department has expanded its hours of service to better accommodate women’s schedules. Appointments are available 7:30am to 6:00pm, Monday—Friday, and 8:00am to 11:00am on Saturdays. Services are provided by certified mammography technologists Esther Turan, who has over 20 years experience and Linda Thomas who has over 26 years of experience.

Garden Park’s mammography department is accredited by the American College of Radiologists.

Rogers receives prestigious award for leadership in field of mental retardation

Gulfport resident Sandy A. Rogers, Ph.D., facility director, Specialized Treatment Facility (STF), was awarded the Paul D. Cotten Leadership Award at the 24th Annual Mental Health/Mental Retardation Conference in Philadelphia, Mississippi, December 1-2, 2005.

The Paul D. Cotten Leadership Award is presented to a Mississippian who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in the field of services for persons with mental retardation.

Employed by the Department of Mental Health since April 1985, Dr. Rogers has worked at South Mississippi Regional Center in Long Beach as well as North Mississippi State Hospital and North Mississippi Regional Center in Oxford. She joined the Specialized Treatment Facility in June, 2005. Her experience is extensive as she has worked in a variety of positions throughout her career.

She has a Bachelor’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University; and Master of Education and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Rogers is a graduate from the State Executive Management Institute and the Certified Public Managers Program. She holds a Nursing Home Administrator’s License and is a Licensed Educator. Through the Department of Mental Health, Dr. Rogers is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist, a Licensed Clinical Mental Retardation Therapist and a Licensed Mental Health/Mental Retardation Administrator.

She is a member of the American Association on Mental Retardation, Mississippi Society of Certified Public Managers and the Mississippi Association of Behavioral Healthcare Management.

The Specialized Treatment Facility provides residential care and habilitation services for up to 48 adolescent Mississippians (ages 13-21) who have come before youth court and have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

For more information about STF, visit www.stf.state.ms.us.