Michelle Price Receives DAISY Award at MRHC

Michelle Price Receives DAISY Award

Caring. Passionate. Helpful. Patient. Kind. Genuine. Positive. Knowledgeable. A ray of sunshine. These are just a few of the words patients and co-workers use to describe Michelle Price, LPN, Recovery Center nurse at Manning Regional Healthcare Center. Michelle recently received the DAISY Award, recognizing her exceptional role as a nurse at MRHC.

Michelle’s excellent care as a nurse has never gone unnoticed – Recovery Center clients frequently share their praises about the great care she provides.

“I’ve never left her office feeling anything but happy and
thankful she is in the nursing field.”
“Michelle has made a huge impact in my recovery.”
“She makes sure we’re taken care of. She goes out of her way to make sure
we have what we need, and she truly cares.”
“You can tell she loves us and her job.”
“Michelle always has patients’ best interests in mind!”
“She listens very well and always follows through patients’ requests or needs.”

These testimonials, among many others, made Michelle the perfect recipient for the 2022 DAISY Award, a program that honors and celebrates the skillful and compassionate care nurses provide every day.

“The abundance of good reviews from clients, watching her positive attitude and good work ethic, and the times clients would be sad to see that she’s gone for a day (which is rare – but you can tell a difference) prove that it’s not the same without Michelle,” shared the Recovery Center staff. “She never leaves without making sure all the clients are taken care of and does what she can to make their stay the best as possible. She’s a huge asset!”

Michelle Price Receives DAISY Award

About the DAISY Award

The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award is an international recognition program established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of the autoimmune disease ITP in 1999.

During his hospitalization, the Barnes family deeply appreciated the care and compassion shown to Patrick and his entire family. When he died, they felt compelled to say “thank you” to nurses in a very public way. More than 2,500 health care facilities in 15 countries and 50 states now honor extraordinary nurses with The DAISY Award.

DAISY Award Honorees are recognized within their department, receive an award certificate, and are publicly recognized. Michelle was surprised with this award by her co-workers and family on May 9th.

Eligibility

All nurses who exemplify MRHC’s mission and values and demonstrate our vision daily are eligible to be nominated. DAISY Award honorees are nurses who provide compassionate and remarkable care while demonstrating clinical excellence. Anyone, including patients, patients’ family members, staff members, physicians, visitors, and volunteers, are welcome to nominate any nurse whom they believe is deserving of the award.

Recovery Center Shares Reasons to Stop Drinking

Brad MadsenBy Bradley Madsen, Recovery Clinical Coordinator

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), one in every four adults report they have engaged in binge drinking in the past month. And almost 100,000 Americans die from alcohol related causes each year. It’s likely that many people know someone who has been affected by alcohol abuse in some way, and while alcohol is legal and socially acceptable, it is not a safe option when abused.

If those facts alone aren’t compelling enough of an argument to quit drinking, here are several more statistics that may surprise you:

  1. 75% of esophageal cancers are attributable to chronic excessive alcohol use.
  2. 50% of cancers of the mouth, pharynx/larynx are associated with heavy drinking.
  3. Chronic alcohol consumption is associated with a 10% increase in women’s risk of breast cancer.
  4. Heavy, chronic drinking contributes to nearly 65% of all cases of pancreatitis.
  5. Among ER patients admitted for injuries, 47% tested positive for alcohol and 35% were overtly intoxicated. 75% of those intoxicated showed signs of chronic alcoholism.
  6. There are more deaths and disabilities each year in the United States from substance abuse than any other cause.
  7. As many as 35% of heavy drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis.
  8. Nearly 36% of primary liver cancer cases are linked to heavy chronic drinking.
  9. Alcoholics are ten times more likely to develop carcinoma than the general population.
  10. Accidents related to alcohol use are among the leading causes of preventable deaths for teenagers.
  11. In 2018, there were 10,511 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, totaling 29% of all traffic fatalities for the year. *Source: US Center for Disease Control.

Alcohol Awareness Month is a national public health awareness campaign sponsored by the National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) that takes place every April. It was developed to increase awareness and understanding of the causes and treatment of one of our nation’s top public health problems: alcoholism.

Unfortunately, of the 14.5 million Americans with a drug or alcohol use disorder, less than 10% receive formal treatment. If you or someone you care about has problems with alcohol (or other substances), help is available. The sooner a person can get help, the better the long-term chance for recovery. Alcoholism is a disease, not a moral failing, a choice, or weakness.

If you feel that you need help or guidance, reach out to your physician, or contact the Recovery Center at (712) 655-2300.

The Recovery Center at MRHC 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 the most pressing or newly emergent addiction issues, from alcoholism to the influx of meth to the abuse of prescription painkillers. For nearly four decades, staff have consistently helped clients take their first step toward healthy, drug and alcohol-free lifestyles.

Click here for more information about the Recovery Center.

Alcoholism Impacts Everyone

Addiction impacts everyone

Brad MadsenBy Bradley Madsen, Recovery Clinical Coordinator

You may think you are too strong, or somehow immune to alcoholism. After all, ‘things like alcoholism happen to OTHER people, it can’t happen to ME.’ But it can. Working in the addiction field, I’ve met hundreds of people who once believed that alcoholism could never happen to them, until it did.

‘But I’m different, I’m a successful/professional person.’ Alcoholism doesn’t care what you do for a living or how much money you have in the bank. It doesn’t care what race you are or how educated you are. If you have recent patterns of abusing alcohol, you are at risk. Take these statistics for example:

  • Lawyers: One in five attorneys struggle with drinking problems – twice the national rate.
  • Healthcare: About 4% of healthcare workers reported heavy alcohol consumption in the prior month. A 2014 study found that 15.3% of physicians struggled with alcohol abuse or dependence.
  • Construction: 16.5% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Hospitality/Food Service: 11.8% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Management: Roughly 9% of ‘white collar’ professionals in management positions reported heavy alcohol use in the past month.
  • Real Estate: 5% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Finance/Insurance: 7.4% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Education: 4.7% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Farming: Alcohol abuse among farmers is as high as 32% (over 3 in 10).

Addiction impacts everyone

I hope this illustrates the point that alcoholism truly does not discriminate.

Alcohol Awareness Month is a national public health awareness campaign sponsored by the National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) that takes place every April. It was developed to increase awareness and understanding of the causes and treatment of one of our nation’s top public health problems: alcoholism.

If you or someone you care about has problems with alcohol (or other substances), help is available. The sooner a person can get help, the better the long-term chance for recovery. Alcoholism is a disease, not a moral failing, a choice, or weakness. If you feel that you need help or guidance, reach out to your physician, or contact the Recovery Center at (712) 655-2300. Recovery is possible.

The Recovery Center at MRHC is a 16-bed, co-ed chemical dependency facility located in Manning. Services include detoxification, residential treatment, outpatient treatment and consultations or evaluations. For more information about the Recovery Center, visit www.manningrecoverycenter.com.

Vonnahme Thrives in a Career Close to Home at MRHC

Taya Vonnahme, Recovery Center Director at MRHC

Taya Vonnahme has always had extraordinary goals for her career in healthcare. What started out as working as an activity assistant at the Manning Plaza back in 2005, eventually led to her current role as the Director of the Recovery Center at Manning Regional Healthcare Center and several more credentials behind her name. Taya Vonnahme, Recovery Center Director at MRHC

“I knew I wanted to be in healthcare since I was young after watching the impact my family had on people in the community as healthcare providers,” shared Vonnahme, MSN, RN, ARNP, tCDAC.

After becoming a CNA and working at the Plaza throughout high school, Vonnahme received her LPN from Iowa Lakes Community College in 2009. After transitioning to MRHC full time as a discharge planning nurse in 2011, she continued to add jobs to her title until 2015 when she applied to go back to school for her RN. Once she graduated with her associate’s degree in nursing, she transitioned to a house supervisor at MRHC and eventually obtained her BSN from Walden University in 2018. Earlier this year, Vonnahme continued her education at Walden and earned her master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner.

“MRHC has been an amazing support in my financial ability to go to school,” Vonnahme said. “They helped pay for part of my associate’s degree and paid for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Their financial assistance made for less stress in my life as a full-time student, nurse and mom, among everything else in our busy lives.”

Vonnahme continued to advance in her career at MRHC throughout her education. She transitioned from her role as a house supervisor to the Director of the Recovery Center in October of 2020 and continues to work in the ER. Vonnahme provides all the medical care for recovery center clients, including inpatient and outpatient detox, history and physicals and any other medical needs, with the anticipation that she will become their primary care provider in the future.

“I have set my goal to have my DNP (doctorate in nursing practice), so I have enrolled in a doctorate program with a commitment from MRHC to pay my tuition there as well,” said Vonnahme.

Not only is she grateful for the opportunities and financial support that MRHC has given her, Vonnahme is also thankful to work for a healthcare organization close to home.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I have always made it clear that the reason I work in Manning is being able to take care of those I know,” Vonnahme said. “This community is where I was raised and I’ve been shown how important community support is. This [career] is how I can continue to support my community.”

Vonnahme also shares that she would not be where she is today without her co-workers or the positive team environment at MRHC.

“I work closely with our frontline staff here at MRHC, and we have an amazing team helping each other out from every situation that arises each day,” said Vonnahme.

The team environment at MRHC continues to build despite the many challenges that healthcare has faced in the past 18 months. Although these uncertain times in healthcare are everchanging, the senior leadership team believes that one way they can help motivate and inspire staff is to invest in them as people and in their careers.

“MRHC is supportive of staff who have a desire to grow within the organization,” shared MRHC CEO, Linn Block, RN, BSN, MHA. “Taya’s progress is truly a testament to her drive for learning and caring for those in her community. Taya is a valued employee who is truly thriving close to home.”

For a list of current openings or to apply at MRHC, go www.mrhcia.com or call (712) 655-2072 for more information.