Auxiliary purchases beds for health center

A $25,000 donation from the Jefferson County Health Center Auxiliary helped the Jefferson County Health Center purchase two new patient beds aimed at helping caregivers perform their jobs better, while simultaneously boosting patient safety and level of care.

Michigan-based firm Stryker Patient Care created a new patient bed model that it calls ?Spirit Select? beds. The beds incorporate various patient safety features as well as caregiver support devices.

With the auxiliary?s help, the health center purchased a total of four Spirit Select beds that have been a part of its medical-surgical unit since April.

?We are very excited to have them,? said the health center?s vice president of nursing, Jacque Bookin-Nosbisch. ?They were very well received, and our patients love them.?

The Spirit Select is equipped with perimeter alarms for fall safety, IsoGel air mattresses to help prevent bedsores, and the bed can reposition into a chair.

?They also have the capability of lowering 10 inches from the floor, making it easier for patients to get in and out of bed,? Bookin-Nosbisch said. ?They have additional lighting under the bed and night lights. They also have a built-in scale, and they have a [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] function to lower all sections of the mattress deck flat to the bed to assist with CPR compressions.?

Bookin-Nosbisch said the beds bring the health center another step closer to its goal of continuing to ensure quality care for its patients.

?We are always striving to meet our quality measures, and make our patients as safe and as comfortable as we can,? she said. ?We like to stay on the forefront of technology.?

Since Spirit Select beds are pricier than standard hospital beds, the health center plans to gradually add more.

?They are expensive beds, so each fiscal year we will try to add more beds,? Bookin-Nosbisch said.

The auxiliary board president Jean Keller, said the auxiliary tries to be of service when the health center calls on it for support.

?When they have a need for something, we just try to step in and do it,? Keller said, adding that prior to its most recent purchase, the board purchased equipment for the health center?s physical therapy department.

Keller said the board is able to help through the support of donations, memorials and the operation of both The Bargain Box and the Gift Shop.

?The Bargain Box and the Gift Shop at the [health center] are both auxiliary operated,? she said, adding that donations and memorials were also beneficial and greatly appreciated.

?Some are large, some are not, but we are happy to have any of it,? Keller said of donations.

In addition to helping the health center, the auxiliary also provides 12 scholarships to both high school seniors and non-traditional college students who are interested in pursuing health care careers.

?We have four of them for seniors and eight are for non-recent graduates,? Keller said. ?Whether they are just graduating from high school or returning to school, it gives them a chance to keep going. Jefferson County residents can apply.?

As for Bookin-Nosbisch, she said the health center staff is thankful for the auxiliary?s continued support.

?We are very grateful to our auxiliary ? they are wonderful,? she said. ?We feel very fortunate that they were able to help make this possible.?