Midwives join local health center's obstetrics staff

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

Henry County Health Center is now providing certified midwives to mothers in Henry County. Official introductions of new obstetrics staff members were made to the board during the Henry County Health Center Board of Trustees? monthly meeting on Tuesday. These new staff additions to the hospital were made in an effort to provide a wider variety of birthing options to expecting mothers and their families.

?I am really glad to see the new team get started at HCHC this week and I am looking forward to having the option available for people in our community,? Jodi Geerts, chief nursing officer said. ?It will be great for locals to have the option of having a certified midwife in Henry County.?

Despite being officially on HCHC?s staff, the new midwives are not seeing patients at this time as they are still in the process of completing their orientation program. When the midwives are able to start seeing patients, the hospital registration staff and family medicine staff will begin notifying new mothers that midwives are available as a birthing option.

Besides new staff members, Geerts also gave the board an update on Ebola and infectious disease preparedness. According to Geerts? report, HCHC?s medical staff are working tirelessly to adequately prepare for an Ebola outbreak should one occur in Henry County. Staff training on Ebola is still ongoing, but according to Geerts, major topics such as gear donning and doffing and initial contact procedures have been thoroughly addressed, and staff are making excellent strides in educating themselves on how to be as careful and efficient as possible.

?This month we have already gotten a lot of training done,? said Geerts. ?We have been requiring our staff to practice donning and doffing a lot as research shows that infectious diseases are often spread to medical staff simply because of improper handling of equipment and uniforms. This type of training has really been good for our healthcare facility as a whole as it has given us a chance to reevaluate a lot of our emergency plans.?

One such emergency plan that is being looked at more closely is an emergency room crisis response team for patients with mental health needs. In many cases, mental health patients that come into an emergency room for services may benefit from an extended hospital stay or committal to a mental health facility. If such were the case, a mental health emergency management plan would simplify the placement process for patients that need mental health services in a more residential-type setting.

Geerts and a team of medical professionals in the Henry County community are still developing such a program. The program is inspired heavily on the insistence of many mental health professionals that agree that mental health patients would benefit from a more organized and streamlined mental health care placement program.

?Some of the initiatives that we are trying to integrate have been difficult to get off the ground, but I think they are making a difference in helping mental health patients get connected to local resources that they need,? Geerts explained.

In other news, the nominating committee in charge of replacing an empty board seat is still reviewing applicants. According to HCHC CEO Robb Gardner, the board has received a lot of interest in the open position and already has several strong applicants to choose from.

In addition to an update on the nominating committee?s search, the board also voted to approve an updated copy of board bylaws and regulations that included revisions in wordage.

The last major topic of discussion surrounded HCHC?s monthly financial standing. CFO Dave Muhs reported that the health center is currently above budget for the month of November and there has been an increase in the number of insurance claims this month. Lastly, Muhs said he is in the process of wrapping up a 2013 Medicare cost report and should have it ready to present at next month?s meeting.

The next HCHC Board of Trustees meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 12:00 p.m., in the HCHC Board Room.