Health
[search=Search] |Search[/search]
SoutheastHEALTH Center Auxiliary Installs New Officers for 2019.
January 31st 2019 by Dee Loflin
SoutheastHEALTH Center of Stoddard County Auxiliary recently installed their officers for 2019.
Right to left: President, Bonnie Harty; Vice President, Connie Hutchcraft; Treasurer, Melba Baker. Installing officer, Mary Norman. Recording Secretary, Christ Neuber was not present for the photo.
About SoutheastHEALTH
At SoutheastHEALTH, the region's premier healthcare system in southeast Missouri, our patients receive excellent care of the highest clinical quality, close to home. Within our network are more than 50 care locations in 12 communities, including hospitals, primary and specialty care clinics representing over 30 clinical specialties and extending care for patients in a four-state area. Learn more at SEhealth.org.
Last Updated on January 31st 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc15/SoutheastHEALTH-Center-Auxiliary-Installs-New-Officers-for-2019
Jones Named SoutheastHEALTH Center Auxilian of the Year.
January 31st 2019 by Dee Loflin
Ruby Jones was named SoutheastHEALTH Center of Stoddard County Auxilian of the Year.
Presenting her with her award is Bonnie Harty, President of the Auxiliary.
About SoutheastHEALTH
At SoutheastHEALTH, the region's premier healthcare system in southeast Missouri, our patients receive excellent care of the highest clinical quality, close to home. Within our network are more than 50 care locations in 12 communities, including hospitals, primary and specialty care clinics representing over 30 clinical specialties and extending care for patients in a four-state area. Learn more at SEhealth.org.
Last Updated on January 31st 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc14/Jones-Named-SoutheastHEALTH-Center-Auxilian-of-the-Year
Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County Marks Milestone: Fifty Years and Going Strong
January 28th 2019 by Dee Loflin
Dexter, Missouri - Back in the 1960s, Dexter residents had a choice. But it was not the choice they wanted to make. The community had no hospital, and that meant traveling to Poplar Bluff or Sikeston for hospital-related healthcare needs.
John William Ringer and a small group of other Stoddard County leaders recognized the need for a local hospital and the strengths it would bring to their growing community. Ringer, then a young lawyer, was eager to help make the prospect of a community hospital a reality.
It took determination and the will to keep trying in the face of setbacks, Ringer recalls. A bond issue to build a county, tax-supported hospital was put before county voters in the late 1950s. That failed. Next, the group settled on the pursuit of a hospital district in the county.
The hospital district was a two-step process. First, a vote to form the district and next, elect a board of directors. The vote to form the district was heavily supported by the Dexter Jaycees, of which Ringer was President, and passed. However, during the second step, the opposition was successful in electing a majority of the Directors, who refused to levy the tax necessary to build a Hospital.
Ringer’s recollections of the tenuous beginning of the hospital are crystal clear, both the good and the challenges faced. Among those challenges was the election of opponents to the board of directors of the Hospital District, a move that halted progress.
Deterred, but Determined
Determined as ever, Ringer and other proponents for the hospital formed a new group, proceeding with steps to establish a non-profit hospital for the community. From there, the momentum grew and the project, and, at last, wheels began to turn.
Ringer was elected chairman of the new committee. He recalls that the late Frank Schneider, a Dexter businessman, had friends in West Plains, Mo., who worked with that city’s community hospital. Ringer, Schneider and others traveled to West Plains, returning home with ideas and how to get them done. In the fall of 1964, the local group formed a non-profit corporation with nine members. That eventually expanded to 15 members and included representative from the nearby towns of Bloomfield, Essex and Bernie. Ringer was among those elected to the original Board, a position he held until 2008, a total of 44 years, 25 0f which were as President of the Board.
Up next: site selection. The group had its eye on a location along One Mile Road, at that time a narrow, gravel road with nothing on either side but open fields. After many discussions, Ringer and his team were able to convince the property owners, the Rainey family, to sell a portion of the land for the good of the community.
Twelve acres were needed for the project. It fell to Ringer and another original incorporator, Marshall Vowels, to measure it out. “We took a tape measure and walked through weeds as high as our chests, but we got it done.”
Please Donate. They Did.
That same, “get it done” attitude propelled the project into a new phase – raising money that would be matched by a federal government program known as the Hill-Burton Act. A community fund drive was planned, including hiring a professional fundraiser who came with a hefty price tag of $25,000. “We were operating out of our hip pocket,” he says. “We didn’t have enough money to pay the fundraiser, so we went to people in the community and asked them to each loan us $100 in good faith. We raised the $25,000 for the consultant, and most of the people who gave us a loan forgave it.”
The community fund drive produced large donors – some as much as $25,000 – and also brought in a lot of small pledges. “In all, about 2500 people and businesses donated. We collected 95 percent of the pledges – the community was truly behind this project,” he says.
As with most construction projects, what seemed to be enough funding turned out to not be so. Hospital supporters once again returned to donors, asking them to add another year to their original three-year pledge. Most were happy to do so, he adds.
An architectural firm from Kansas City, experienced in hospital construction, was architect for the project, with the construction bid going to Dexter’s own Brown Construction Company. During construction, “I was at the site almost every day. I’d go by every morning on the way to the office. I was honored to lay the first ceremonial brick.” His dream was becoming a reality.
Vice President Keynotes Dedication Ceremony
By August of 1968, it was time to dedicate the new hospital, to be known as Dexter Memorial Hospital. Thanks to political ties within the community, Vice President Hubert Humphrey made a visit to Dexter for the dedication ceremony. Ringer laughs when he recalls that it was Humphrey’s visit that got the dirt road beside the hospital paved. “We had not planned on having the One Mile Road paved. But because the vice president was coming, it was done. He drove in on pavement, not dirt and gravel.” Missouri Governor Warren Hearnes was also present and offered congratulatory remarks.
A large, flatbed trailer belonging to Hart Truck line which was owned by Gordon Hart, another of the original Board of Directors, served as the make-shift stage for the dedication, and a large crowd enthusiastically greeted Humphrey. “I had the privilege of taking the vice president through the hospital,” Ringer says. “He saw the hospital as a great example of federal and local cooperation. I remember him telling us that this is where our tax money is well spent – hometown people taking care of hometown people.”
By the late 1990s, the hospital had exhausted its savings and the difficult decision was made to lease hospital operations to an outside entity to ensure its viability. “We saved the hospital. It operated under that structure until we entered into our current partnership with SoutheastHEALTH in Cape Girardeau.
Ringer says that despite the “failures we had under our belt, it never entered my mind that we would not succeed in giving Dexter a hospital.” Like most Dexter residents, Ringer is personally grateful for the hospital’s existence. “My son was born there, I underwent surgery there, and I’ve visited the ER a number of times.”
Ringer would demur if it was said that the hospital is his legacy. But it is his legacy, and it’s one that has made Dexter a stronger, more vibrant community.
Last Updated on January 28th 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc06/Southeast-Health-Center-of-Stoddard-County-Marks-Milestone-Fifty-Years-and-Going-Strong
SoutheastHEALTH Welcomes Mariellena Sudak as New Chief Operating Officer
December 14th 2018 by Dee Loflin
SoutheastHEALTH has announced the appointment of Mariellena (Maria) Sudak, DHA, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, as Chief Operating Officer, effective today. She comes to Southeast with a wealth of experience as an accomplished visionary executive skilled in the creation of internal and external strategic alliances.
Sudak’s broad spectrum of experience includes more than 40 years of healthcare experience, including 20 years in leadership roles, most recently as Vice President with Palomar Health in San Diego CA, the largest public healthcare district in California, serving over 850 square miles with more than 500 licensed beds. At Palomar, Sudak facilitated working collaboratively with physicians, interdisciplinary partners and staff and developing strategies and goal setting for both long and short-range planning.
“With the challenges we face in healthcare, navigating disruption, consolidation and ongoing cost pressure, Sudak’s role is vital in assisting me in refining operations and integrating our goals into measurable outcomes,” said Ken Bateman, President and CEO of SoutheastHEALTH. “Sudak will be responsible for our organization’s operations and ensuring continued efficiencies in services that are designed to meet the needs of patients, physicians, public and staff.”
"SoutheastHEALTH’s strategy has never been more compelling,” said Maria Sudak. “I am incredibly energized to join the executive team and assist in leading the company to its next phase of innovation tied with operational excellence."
At Palomar, Sudak also served as Chief Nursing Officer, Director of Clinical Operations Improvement, Director of Clinical Transformation, along with other roles. Sudak holds a Doctorate of Health Administration from Medical University of South Carolina. Her professional affiliations include the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the American Nurses Association.
About SoutheastHEALTH
At SoutheastHEALTH, the region's premier healthcare system in southeast Missouri, our patients receive excellent care of the highest clinical quality, close to home. Within our network are more than 50 care locations in 12 communities, including hospitals, primary and specialty care clinics representing over 30 clinical specialties and extending care for patients in a four-state area. Learn more at SEhealth.org.
Last Updated on December 14th 2018 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vbob/SoutheastHEALTH-Welcomes-Mariellena-Sudak-as-New-Chief-Operating-Officer
SoutheastHEALTH Appoints Lori Merritt, RN, MSN,CFRN, as Emergency Services Director
December 06th 2018 by Dee Loflin
SoutheastHEALTH has announced the appointment of Lori Merritt, RN, MSN,CFRN, as Emergency Services Director at Southeast Hospital. She is a registered nurse with more than 17 years of experience in the Emergency Department setting, including six years of leadership experience and nine years of pre-hospital flight nurse experience.
Merritt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Science degree in Nursing Administration from Chamberlain University.
She worked as an Emergency Department nurse at Southeast prior to joining the Air Evac life team as a flight nurse and program director. Merritt most recently served as Emergency Services Manager at Southeast, overseeing its 25-bed Emergency Department with an average annual volume of over 37,000 patients. She served on a multi-disciplinary team that earned Missouri Time Critical Diagnosis System (TCD) designation for Southeast Hospital. This system brings together the 911 response system, ambulance services and hospitals in a new, integrated approach to help a greater number of Missourians survive and recover from stroke or heart attack.
In her new role, Merritt says she will continue to work with our staff to maintain our exceptional quality of care that area residents expect and deserve. Her key focus will be continued recruitment efforts of new and highly qualified clinical members to our Emergency services team. “I am excited about this opportunity and passionate about leading this team and continuing our efforts to exceed care and services expectations for patients and families in southeast Missouri.”
“Lori Merritt is the right choice to lead the Emergency Services team. Her collaborative leadership approach, experience and training in emergency care will position her for ongoing success,” said Matt Shoemaker, DO, Chief Medical Officer at SoutheastHEALTH.
Merritt’s professional affiliations include the Emergency Nurses Association. She is immediate past secretary of the Missouri State Council and current president-elect of the SEMO Chapter.
Last Updated on December 06th 2018 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vbms/SoutheastHEALTH-Appoints-Lori-Merritt-RN-MSNCFRN-as-Emergency-Services-Director
