SoutheastHEALTH has joined Mercy after receiving all necessary third-party regulatory approvals. The first noticeable change for patients and the community of these organizations moving forward together starts this week with the
placement of new Mercy signage at locations across southeast Missouri.
“Being called to serve southeast Missouri is an honor for us,” said Steve Mackin, Mercy president and CEO. “It’s an important opportunity to expand our value-based care approach south along the I-55 corridor to this very key part of the state. Improving patient access, focusing on preventive and proactive care while keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital, is our focus. It enables us to provide lower-cost and higher quality health care in the communities we serve. We’re excited to bring this value-based care approach to a new part of Missouri for Mercy, one that can significantly benefit from it.”
The two health care systems signed a definitive agreement in August for SoutheastHEALTH to become a member of the Mercy system strengthening health care delivery across southeast Missouri through increased patient access to high quality care.
“When we talk about moving forward together, we’re talking about the monumental opportunity to transform Cape Girardeau into a regional health care hub,” said Ken Bateman, Mercy Southeast CEO. “Because Mercy is one of the largest and highest rated health care systems in the country, we will have the ability to ensure our community has access to the very best care available.”
Co-workers with SoutheastHEALTH are now Mercy co-workers. Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau is now called Mercy Hospital Southeast, while Southeast Health Center of Stoddard is now Mercy Hospital Stoddard.
Other former SoutheastHEALTH facilities and services have also been renamed, including SoutheastHEALTH Foundation. The foundation is now named Mercy Health Foundation Southeast. All donations to the foundation will continue to remain local, just as they always have been, to support patients in southeast Missouri.
SoutheastHEALTH College of Nursing & Health Sciences also is part of Mercy and will continue to educate the next generation of nurses and allied health professionals. It is keeping its existing name for the time being. Mercy is excited to have such a great educational resource join the system and help continue meeting the needs for exceptional clinicians in the region and across Missouri.
Public celebrations with Mercy’s traditional blessing and a ribbon cutting are set for Jan. 11, 2024. The Cape Girardeau event will start at 10 a.m. at 650 S. Mount Auburn Road. Another blessing and ribbon cutting will be held at 3 p.m. at Mercy Hospital Stoddard.
When joining a new community, Mercy hosts roundtables to learn how to best serve the needs of the community and hear how residents envision the future of health care. Those forums will be held in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding region.
“Every community is a reflection of the people who live and work within it. These roundtables help us learn what residents and co-workers value, providing invaluable feedback for how we can continue the Sisters of Mercy’s legacy of service. It’s a tradition that ensures we keep the community’s needs at the heart of all we do,” Mackin said.
Mercy has already committed to significant investments in southeast Missouri, including switching all Mercy Southeast facilities to Epic, Mercy’s electronic health record system. This state-of-the-art system provides one medical record available to all Mercy health care providers, ensuring care continuity for all patients Mercy serves. It also offers patients online appointment scheduling, access to their records, contact with their physicians, online bill payment and more through the MyMercy patient portal and the MyMercy app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.) These features will be available following the transition to Epic scheduled for fall 2024.
“It’s important to the entire region that this transition goes smoothly. We are committed to continuing to provide outstanding care to our patients and to ensuring our co-workers are in the best position possible to make that happen. I am excited to play a part in it all,” Bateman said.
Bateman is delaying his planned retirement until late 2024, continuing as Mercy Southeast CEO to help lead the transition. He has stepped down from his role as president.
Bateman is working alongside Eric Ammons, Mercy regional president, and Ryan Geib, Mercy Southeast community president. Geib, who has been with Mercy for four years, most recently served as chief operating officer for Mercy Fort Smith community.
Mercy, one of the 20 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized quality care and one of the nation’s largest Accountable Care Organizations. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 50 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 900 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 4,500 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 47,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the The Wildflower Boutique located in downtown Bloomfield.
Owner is Amanda Fortner and she has recently opened the Wildflower Boutique on the courthouse square.
She carries clothing from small to 3xl along with shoes and accessories.
This is small-town shopping at its finest is what you will experience here at the boutique," commented Fortner. "We offer a wide selection of clothing items, accessories, and shoes that cater to every style and taste."
The Wildflower Boutique is nestled in the heart of downtown Bloomfield just across from the courthouse.
The annual Puxico School District's Veterans Day Assembly was held on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. The District was out on Friday so they held it earlier in the week.
Students who participate in FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) club welcomed visitors and veterans. They also prepared a luncheon of ham, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, dessert and drinks for approximately 80 veterans and their family members.
Laney Porter opened the ceremony while Austin Harbin and Zach Jones presented the colors. The Pledge of Allegiance was held by Ziti Boyco and the Puxico High School band played the Star Spangled Banner.
The guest speaker was Robert Wake of the Wake Foundation in Poplar Bluff. He was a veteran of Iraq and was wounded in combat being awarded a Purple Heart. He was also born and reared in Kennett, Missouri and now lives in Poplar Bluff, MO
On May 16, 2004, Sgt Wake was wounded severely when his detail received intense enemy fire.
“At about 3 o’clock in the morning, after moving back from a machine gun nest on the roof of a police station, me and the medic decided to have an MRE in the dark,” Wake said. “We had been in a 17-hour gun battle. We were fighting very hard being up on the roof. There were 16 of us and about 5,000 of them. The medic lit a cigarette and I heard a bomb come down the tube. It exploded between me and the medic.”
That was the beginning of an his long road to recover. This incident left Wake with 141 bits of shrapnel in his body.
"I really remember the bright flash and I remember feeling like a big part of my body was on fire," stated Wake. "It broke my nose, it knocked out my upper front teeth, shattered my right ankle and blew out my left knee and tory my frontal lobe."
Wake was in and out of consciousness for hours.
“Somehow I had crawled across the roof. I realized I was still alive, and I just said, ‘God. If you just help me get home ...’ And I went out again. The last time I came to, I had all my gear on and I had fallen backward through a window into this room ...” Filled with frightened Iraqi policemen, he explained.
“I went out and when I came to again, the Army had me in a stairwell,” Wake said. “I could hear them calling my name over the radio, reporting there was blood coming from my ears, nose, eyes and I said ‘This is not good.’
“My best friend and another gentleman carried me five flights of stairs. I have no memory of it. They got me into a Humvee and we went through another ambush before I could get out. Something I thought was five minutes lasted more than five hours. That’s how much time I lost during that ordeal. I was then awarded the Purple Heart on July 4th in Baghdad.”
VFW Post Commander Duane Martin help present the Quilt of Honor
Former Puxico R-8 Schools Superintendent George Sifford, 96, a World War II U.S. Navy veteran and “the oldest man in town” was awarded a numbered and recorded Quilt of Honor to commemorate his service to the United States. He received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Sifford was assigned to an aircraft carrier and spent 16 years as superintendent at Puxico School District.
Tonna O'Dell received the Teacher of the Year. She is a junior high social studies teacher.
Martin stated, "This is an annual event with the school and our organization sponsors programs dedicated to patriotism among students, the Patriot Pen and Voice of Democracy writing contests. The community support and the school support we have are overwhelming.”
Alyssa Owens earned the Patriot Pen Speech winner and Ella Duncan won the Voice of Democracy Speech. Both reach their speeches to the audience.
Andrea Clark and Caiden Jackson accepted Patriot's Pen second and third place. Stephanie Day and Aricka Robinson placed second and third in the Voice of Democracy category.
Each were honored with medals and certificates of merit from the VFW and Auxiliary.
Rachell McGill recognized the winners of the Coloring Contest. Each student came to the stage for a group photo.
The Puxico Band played America the Beautiful and Taps was played by Joshua Simons to close the event.
GoSEMO Fiber is making its way into the city of Puxico and the rural area as well. You may have noticed a lot of work along the roadways already.
They officially opened an office in Puxico and held a ribbon cutting on Thursday, November 2, 2023.
“It’s been a very busy start-up for Angela and the team getting opened here,” commented Loyd Rice, Sr. Manager Fiber Services for GoSEMO Fiber. “There is lots of construction going on in the immediate Puxico area and the light is coming soon. Spread the word and stop by and sign up for internet/tv/phone.”
Future subscribers/customers residing in the City of Puxico! The moment is here for all City of Puxico residents to take action and sign up for their services.
Your service area is steadily approaching its lighting and testing phase, so it’s time to ensure your name and address are on our service/drop list. You can register your home, church, or business for internet, phone, and/or TV services.
Registration is a easy and we are here to assist you – simply visit our website at GoSEMOFiber.com or drop by our local office at 310 N Highway 51, Puxico between the hours of 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. You can also call 573-321-9203 if you have questions.
