Southeast Health of Stoddard County has evacuated all inpatient units as well as the Emergency Department due to a tornado that passed through the Dexter area around 8:20 p.m. this evening. All patients and staff are safe with no report of injuries.
The system’s facilities and leadership teams are currently onsite assessing the facility for storm damages.
The hospital will remain closed until the structural assessment is complete. For updates and timeline for when Southeast will safely resume operations please check here for updates and or our online newsroom at SeHealth.org.
SoutheastHEALTH Health Briefs for July 2021
Starting Point Informational Meeting
Time to make a change for the better in your life? Starting Point, a medically-managed weight loss program, can give you the tools to make it happen. Learn more at an informational meeting at HealthPoint Fitness in Cape at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 8, or at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13. For more information, contact HealthPoint Nutrition Services at 573-986-4440.
Weight Management First Steps
Join us for this free, informative seminar as we discuss strategies for beginning the process of health improvement and weight management on Monday, July 12, at 6 p.m., and Thursday, July 29, at 2 p.m., at HealthPoint Plaza, 2126 Independence in Cape. Are you just beginning your fitness journey? Or perhaps picking back up where you left off? Learn how nutrition, physical activity and behavior modification can help you get going in the right direction. Class size is limited. Register online at SEhealth.org/Events or by calling (573)986-4440.
Heart Saver CPR Certification Class
This is an instructor-led course that teaches adult and child CPR and AED use, infant CPR, and how to relieve choking in adults, children and infants. It will be held on Monday, July 12, from 9 to 11a.m. at HealthPoint Fitness in Cape. This course teaches skills with the American Heart Association’s research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which allows instructors to observe the students, provide feedback, and guide the students’ learning skills. The course is for anyone with limited or no medical training who needs a course completion card for CPR and AED use to meet job, regulatory or other requirements. This class is not for healthcare providers seeking a BLS class. Cost of the class is $50 and includes a booklet. Participants can reserve a spot by calling or stopping by the front desk of HealthPoint Cape or HealthPoint Jackson. For more information, call 573-755-2301 or 573-986-4400.
Diabetes Self-Management Support Group
Southeast Diabetes Center hosts this free support group facilitated by Southeast’s Diabetes Educators. The programs are geared toward people who are living with diabetes and trying to control blood glucose. Friends and family members are also welcome. The meeting will be from 1 to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13, at HealthPoint Plaza in Cape. This month’s topic is “Palliative Care,” which is specialized medical care for people living with a chronic illness. The goal of the program is to improve quality of life for both patient and family. Regina Frazier, APRN, will discuss the palliative care program at SoutheastHEALTH. To register, call the Southeast Diabetes Center at 339-0121 to take advantage of this program.
Grief Support Group: Your Grief Journey
The SoutheastHEALTH Grief Support Group will meet from 1:30-3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21, at HealthPoint Fitness in Cape. Topic for this month’s meeting, led by Julie Metgzer, LCSW, a bereavement counselor with Southeast Hospice, is “Your Grief Journey.” For more information about this support group, please call Southeast Hospice, 573-335-6208.
Healthy Cooking: Easy Entertaining Boards
Join us on Monday, July 19, to learn more about creating easy, elegant and healthy charcuterie boards. Whether you’re hosting a few friends for game night or a special occasion, these boards are a fun way to share good eats. Healthy Cooking classes at HealthPoint Fitness – Cape are taught by HealthPoint Nutritional Services Coordinator Laura Vollink, RD, LD. Cost is $5 for HealthPoint members and non-members. Class sizes are limited. To register, call 573-986-4440.
American Red Cross Blood Drive
There is an urgent need for blood nationwide. You can do Do your part in our community. SoutheastHEALTH Volunteer Services will host a blood drive on Friday, July 9, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Southeast Hospital Harrison Room. Registration is required to allow for social distancing. To make an appointment, visit rcblood.org/appt.
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 14 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.
SoutheastHEALTH President and CEO Ken Bateman has announced the promotion of Darah Jirkovsky from SoutheastHEALTH Foundation Development Manager to Executive Director.
Jirkovsky brings extensive experience in development efforts at major non-profit organizations, including the American Lung Association and the March of Dimes. She joined the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation in 2016 as Development Manager. In this role, Jirkovsky oversaw fundraising campaigns and events efforts for the Foundation, including those for hospice and patient care, along with the annual Journey Gala benefitting cancer patients, the Foundation’s largest and most successful fundraiser. She also worked closely with donors and potential donors and contributed to grant writing projects.
Bateman said Jirkovsky’s “ongoing success in cultivating donors and building relationships has enabled the Foundation to support initiatives that positively impact many aspects of healthcare, including capital and special projects that enhance patient care and services. I look forward to working with her and continuing to build organizational growth for the Foundation.”
“I am thrilled and honored to assume this new and exciting role,” Jirkovsky said. “I am so proud of the work we have done at the Foundation and look forward to our future growth that will allow us to better serve our patients and community.”
Jirkovsky holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Strategic Communications – Public Relations, from the University of Kentucky. She is active in the community as a member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, Jackson Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Council on Philanthropy and Southeast Cancer Control Coalition.
About SoutheastHEALTH Foundation
SoutheastHEALTH Foundation, Inc. was organized in 1977 as an independent 501 (c)3 nonprofit entity to ensure the future of healthcare in our region. The Foundation’s Board of Directors is made up of individuals and volunteers from all segments of our service area. The Board oversees fund-raising projects and manages the allocation of funds in an effort to enhance service to our community.
SoutheastHEALTH has announced the appointment of Peter Kinder as Vice President for Government Affairs. Kinder comes to SoutheastHEALTH with a wealth of experience in government, both on the state level as Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor and nationally representing Missouri’s best interests.
In his new role, Kinder will interact with local, county, state and federal agencies on issues that will impact SoutheastHEALTH and the healthcare industry. He also will be a key voice in educating the community we serve about ways to collaborate, leading to improved healthcare and lower healthcare costs.
“I realize the importance of building strong relationships with focused strategy and how it can influence government policy, which is why I personally recruited Kinder for this position. He will play a key role in developing and maintaining relationships with legislators, regulators and other policymakers to keep SoutheastHEALTH informed of changes to laws, regulations, enforcement and spending priorities that could have a significant impact on our organization,” said Ken Bateman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SoutheastHEALTH.
Kinder, of Cape Girardeau, served as the 46th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2017. He is the first Lieutenant Governor to be elected to a third term since 1940. He is recognized throughout the state and nation for helping establish the Tour of Missouri, an international professional bicycle race, the third highest profile domestic race in the U.S. The race brought in athletes from 20 countries, attracting an estimated 1.2 million spectators and creating a direct economic impact of $80 million.
“Government and healthcare are both incredibly complex and both are also intertwined in many ways. In my role, I hope to help SoutheastHEALTH navigate these complexities to further its mission of providing excellent healthcare services to residents of this region. I was born at Southeast Hospital and my father, James Kinder, was a practicing pediatrician at Southeast Hospital for many years. That makes this new role even more meaningful in that it allows me to continue what always has been a very special relationship with SoutheastHEALTH,” said Kinder.
Kinder earned his Juris Doctorate degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, TX. Prior to being elected Lieutenant Governor, Kinder represented six southeast Missouri counties as state senator, serving three terms in that position. He currently is president and CEO of Olympia Consulting.
SoutheastHEALTH First in the Region to Introduce Rapid Diagnostic Technology
Aimed at Optimizing Antibiotic Therapies
Cape Girardeau, MO. (June 1, 2021) – SoutheastHEALTH has implemented a state-of-the-art rapid diagnostic technology focused on helping clinicians deliver optimal antibiotic therapies more quickly for patients suffering from serious bloodstream infections. Southeast is the pioneer in bringing this technology to the region.
Lauren Thomas, Executive Director of Laboratory Services at SoutheastHEALTH, said getting patients on the best therapy as quickly as possible is crucial. “Our new system, Accelerate Pheno®, is designed to help clinicians obtain faster diagnostic results which improves outcomes, reduces the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for blood stream infections and shortens patients’ length of stay. Just as importantly, this technology can help reduce the risk of a patient developing sepsis. Our Microbiology lab has been able to provide antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) results using the Accelerate Pheno® system up to 40 hours faster than conventional methods.”
Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming response to infection, which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, amputations and death. People of all ages can get sepsis. Those at higher risk include people with a chronic illness, the very young, older adults and people with compromised immune systems due to certain medications or chemotherapy. In the U.S. alone, more than 1.5 million people develop sepsis and 250,000 die from it annually. Early diagnosis and targeted antibiotic therapy is vital in reducing mortality among these patients.
The Accelerate Pheno® system is made by Tucson, Arizona-based Accelerate Diagnostics. The in vitro diagnostic system identifies organisms direct from positive blood cultures and performs AST to determine which drugs, at which concentrations, may be most effective in treating the organism. Traditional AST can take 48 hours or more. The Accelerate Pheno® system delivers results in about seven hours. “This amazing technology is not just a time saver,” Thomas said. “In many sepsis cases, it’s a lifesaver.”
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 13 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.
About Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc.
Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc., is an in vitro diagnostics company dedicated to providing solutions for the global challenges of antibiotic resistance and sepsis. The Accelerate Pheno® system and Accelerate Pheno Test® BC kit combine several technologies aimed at reducing the time clinicians must wait to determine the most optimal antibiotic therapy for deadly infections. The FDA cleared system and kit fully automate the sample preparation steps to report phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility results in approximately 7 hours direct from positive blood cultures. Recent customer studies indicate the solution offers results one to two days faster than existing methods, enabling clinicians to optimize antibiotic therapy for patients up to two days faster and reducing patients’ length of stay by up to two days.
