2 And the winner is… For the third consecutive year, our hospital has been recognized as a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital among more than 1,300 critical-access hospitals nationwide. The recognition from the Chartis Center for Rural Health honors outstanding performance among U.S. rural hospitals based on their quality and safety, solid finances, patient experience, and market share. This is meaningful because it offers a well-rounded assessment of our operation. Improved access to care and new services As a leadership team, we can learn from the results and apply best practices from other high-performing rural hospitals throughout the country. It’s rewarding to see the efforts of our health care team recognized, but it’s the rural communities we serve who get credit for the “win.” When you consistently choose Grundy County Memorial Hospital for your health care needs, it results in growth for our rural hospital, which in turn allows us to improve upon the ways in which we serve you. For instance, recently we’ve added respiratory therapy and expanded Infusion Services. When the new Imaging and Surgery building addition opens at the end of the year, improved access to surgery care and new imaging services will be the result. For the residents of the rural communities we serve, it all adds up to a win! Thank you for choosing our hospital for your care. Infusion therapy close to home Grundy County Memorial Hospital provides a safe and comfortable outpatient setting for infusion therapy. The service allows those who have been prescribed an injection or IV administration for any of a wide variety of medications to stay close to home for their care. Hospital pharmacist Ariel Loring, PharmD, MPH, says with the recent addition of a specially trained infusion nurse, more needs can be accommodated at GCMH, saving area residents from travel. ”Recently, I was speaking with a patient who is making weekly trips to the Mayo Clinic for a cancer immunotherapy infusion— yet it’s a medication that we can administer here,” Loring says. “Your physician can order your infusion therapy to be provided locally at your request.” Infusions are offered in a private, comfortable and sterile environment. Infusion medications are prepared, or compounded, in the hospital’s IV “clean room” by licensed and certified pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The following health conditions and medications are among those for which sterile infusion treatments can be scheduled at GCMH: ● IV administration of antibiotics ● IVIG (intravenous immune globulin) ● Osteoporosis ● Rheumatoid arthritis ● Dehydration and nausea ● Crohn’s disease and other gastroenterology disorders ● Iron infusions for anemias ● Various medications to treat complications from chronic kidney disease ● Anti-rejection medications after organ transplant ● Multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases ● Immunotherapy, biologics and supportive medications for those with various cancers (chemotherapy treatments are not administered through the hospital’s Infusion Services) Adam Scherling, MHA GCMH Administrator Ariel Loring, PharmD, MPH HOW CAN WE HELP? Questions on whether specific medications can be administered at GCMH may be directed to hospital pharmacist Ariel Loring at 319-824-4164 or ariel.loring@unitypoint.org. Infusion medications are compounded in the sterile environment of the IV “clean room” to reduce any risk of contamination. healthNEWS
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