Wound Care Clinic Receives Clinical Distinction and Patient Satisfaction Awards

wound care team

Biannual award acknowledges superior wound healing rates, excellence in patient satisfaction.

Manning Regional Healthcare Center is pleased to announce that the Wound Care Clinic is a dual recipient of RestorixHealth’s Clinical Distinction and Patient Satisfaction Awards. Recipients of these awards meet or exceed national quality benchmarks over a set period of time.

“The Wound Care Clinic is proud to be recognized again for not only its dedication to healing but also its dedication to patient satisfaction,” said Dr. Thang Luong, M.D. “We are proud to be a recipient of an award that recognizes the hard work and dedication of our staff.”

RestorixHealth’s Clinical Distinction award recognizes centers that have demonstrated success by meeting or exceeding patient safety goals along with a healing rate above 90%. The Patient Satisfaction award recognizes centers that have met or achieved a patient satisfaction score of 96% or higher. The MRHC Wound Care Clinic has now received this dual award three times in addition to a Center of Excellence award in 2019.

The Wound Care Clinic is dedicated to optimizing outcomes and preventing lower limb loss in patients with non-healing wounds. This approach to wound care is aggressive and comprehensive, coordinating traditional and advanced therapies and techniques that are proven to reduce healing time and improve healing rates.

Since non-healing wounds rarely result from a single cause, the Wound Care Clinic begins with a thorough evaluation and diagnostic testing to determine the underlying cause of the wound. A treatment plan is then developed to give patients the best chance for healing. Most treatments are covered by Medicare/Medicaid, HMOs, and other private insurance. wound care team

Manning’s clinic is staffed by Dr. Thang Luong, M.D., Kendra Tiefenthaler, RN, and supported by Elaine Macumber, RN. Integrating a team of wound care professionals optimizes patient care, while offering the most advanced healing options for hard-to-heal wounds.

The MRHC Wound Care Clinic is held every Thursday. For more information about treatment plans or to schedule an appointment, please call 712-655-8100.

About RestorixHealth

RestorixHealth, the nation’s leading wound care solutions company, develops and operates advanced wound healing centers and provides wound healing direct-care services, education, and advanced wound supplies nationwide. Forging strong relationships with their partners, RestorixHealth’s customized wound healing programs and solutions increase the access to care, lower or avoid direct care costs, reduce hospital admissions, improve outcomes, and increase patient and partner satisfaction. For more information, visit www.RestorixHealth.com.

Recovery Center Works to Prevent Overdose Deaths

overdose

In 2020, 91,799 people died from a drug overdose in the United States, increasing by 31% from the year prior, according to the CDC. And nearly 75% of those deaths involved opioids, making August 31st, Overdose Awareness Day, more important than ever.

“Overdose is something everyone should be aware of,” shared Recovery Center Director, Taya Vonnahme, MSN, RN, ARNP, tCADC. “Not only is overdose a concern in the addiction world but also in general practice. We see overdoses all the time for various reasons – alcohol, opiates, and drug related. Some are unintentional from prescription pain medications that were accidentally taken incorrectly.”

The Recovery Center at Manning Regional Healthcare Center is dedicated to raising awareness of drug overdose and helping prevent future deaths caused by an overdose.

“Everyone should educate themselves on the signs of a possible overdose and know what to do if it is suspected,” Vonnahme recommended.

Typical signs of an overdose can include one or several of the following:

  • Unconsciousness
  • Seizure
  • Severe headache
  • Chest pain
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Extremely paranoid, agitated, and/or confused
  • Snoring or gurgling

Seek emergency help by calling 911 if someone is exhibiting these symptoms. Prior to emergency personnel arriving, follow these steps:

  • Administer *Naloxone if available
  • Support breathing by ensuring their airway is clear and giving breaths
  • Monitor their response
  • Do not forcefully try to awake them
  • Don’t try to make them vomit

When help arrives, it is vital to provide as much information as possible about the overdose. Information such as what type of drug and how much was taken and how long ago it was taken can help save a life.

“One of the best things I have seen that can assist someone who has overdosed is Naloxone,” Vonnahme said. “It saves lives every day and anyone can learn how to use it. It is also available to anyone who may need it no matter the reason. If you know someone who uses any type of opiate, prescription, or recreational drug they should know about this and learn how to use it.”

*Naloxone is a non-addictive, life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. Given as a nasal spray, auto-injector, or injectable, naloxone can be purchased from most pharmacies without a prescription. If you or someone you know is at increased risk for opioid overdose, you should carry naloxone and keep it at home. People who are taking high-dose opioid medications (>50 morphine milligram equivalents per day) prescribed by a doctor and people who use opioids and benzodiazepines together should also carry naloxone, according to the CDC.

Opioid Education

To help educate about the dangers of substance abuse, MRHC will be hosting a variety of trainings in partnership with New Opportunities of Carroll in the upcoming weeks. The first training will be held on Monday, August 29th from 6-7pm in MRHC Conference Room 1. The first half hour will teach about common misused drugs, how drugs impact the body and brain, and the risk factors of a substance use disorder. The second half hour will focus on the “Stigma Associated with Substance Use Disorder”, in which participants will learn what stigma is, the consequences of stigma, and what you can do to change stigma.

The next training will take place on Monday, September 26th from 6-7pm. It will teach what an opioid is, types of opioids (licit and illicit), consequences of opioid misuse, and what resources are available to address opioid misuse in your community. Participants will also learn about the effects of opioid and stimulant polysubstance use on individuals, the intentional and unintentional reasons for polysubstance use, and the community level strategies to reduce the risks associated with polysubstance use.

Recovery Center Services

If you or someone you care about has problems with substance abuse, help is available. The sooner a person can get help, the better the long-term chance for recovery. If you feel that you need help or guidance, contact the Recovery Center at (712) 655-2300.

The Recovery Center is a 16-bed, co-ed chemical dependency facility located in Manning. Services include detoxification, residential treatment, outpatient treatment and consultations or evaluations. Recovery Center staff have adapted treatments to meet addiction issues, from alcoholism to meth to the abuse of prescription painkillers. For four decades, staff have helped clients take their first step toward healthy, drug and alcohol-free lifestyles. For more information, visit www.manningrecoverycenter.com.

Macumber Makes Career Strides at MRHC

Elaine Macumber

When Elaine Macumber and her husband, Jeremia, moved back to Manning, there weren’t any dental assistant jobs available in the Manning community. Having previously worked as a dental assistant, she was interested in continuing her career in the medical field without having to travel out of town, so she took a job at MRHC as a medical records/admissions staff for about a year until moving into materials management. One day, MRHC Chief Nursing Officer, Michelle Andersen, called Macumber and ultimately changed the trajectory of her career. Elaine Macumber

“I told Elaine, ‘I think you would make a great nurse and we’ll even pay for you to go to school’, and she did! She is not the only one. We try to mentor and help our employees with leadership development both externally and internally,” shared Andersen, RN, BSN.

Macumber went on to utilize the tuition program at MRHC to complete her LPN and RN education at Western Iowa Tech Community College.

“MRHC has provided me with a lot of career advancement,” Macumber said. “With the tuition assistance, the decision to go to school was easier on me. We didn’t have to worry about the financial obligation that school has with it, and I could focus on learning. Nursing school is a tough schedule anyways and with flexible hours at MRHC I was able to work full-time while in school and it really helped me get through. There are also a lot of great nurses at MRHC who helped me learn quickly.”

Macumber started her nursing career at MRHC working in ER/acute care before moving to the specialty clinic as a staff nurse. She took on additional training in the specialty clinic to be able to mix and administer chemotherapy and perform cardiac stress tests.

“The experience working in acute care and ER was great. I got to see a lot of good teamwork and you get to see a lot and learn from the house supervisors who guide you,” Macumber shared.

Now serving as the Specialty Clinic Manager, Macumber manages staffing and takes care of all specialty clinic provider needs. She will also continue as a clinical nurse in the specialty clinic performing infusions, assisting patients in consultations with the specialty doctors, and educating patients prior to surgical procedures.

“I really enjoy the specialty clinic,” Macumber said. “We have ten different clinics that we assist with, so every day is something different. I enjoy talking with the providers and learning as much as I can from them. I plan to work in the specialty clinic for a long time and we hope to expand our services when the need in the community presents.”

Not only does Macumber enjoy her role in the specialty clinic because of the variety of her work and the ability to continually learn something new, the people also make a big impact.

“I love the team environment here at MRHC, every employee has the patient’s interests at heart,” shared Macumber. “We work together to make our patients’ experience as pleasant as possible and still have fun while we do it.”

Specialty Clinic Services

The MRHC specialty clinic has several specialty doctors that see patients in Manning on a regular basis. Services include cardiology; dermatology; ear, nose, and throat (ENT); infusions; mental health; OB-GYN; orthopedics; pain clinic, podiatry; surgery; urology; and wound care. Visit www.mrhcia.com/events to learn more about the specialty area, the specialist or doctor(s) who provide the clinic, and what day they are available. For more information or to set up a consultation with any of the doctors, please call (712) 655-8100.

If you would like to join the MRHC team, visit www.mrhcia.com/careers or call (712) 655-2072 for more information on current job openings.