Petersburg Medical Center Newsletter
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▲Dr. Hyer and Dr. Hess holding their University of Washington 2022 Exceptional Family Medicine Clerkship Faculty Awards
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▲ PMC managers participating in break-out discussions during the Managers Retreat in October
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▲ PMC employees participating in Walk/Bike to School and Work Day--from Left to Right: Joel Pipkin, Phil Hofstetter, Sheen Canton, Elise Kubo
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NEWSLETTER BANNER PHOTO: PMC staff and WAVE advocates and board members “Waving for WAVE” and wearing purple to raise awareness against domestic violence
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MESSAGE FROM THE CEO:
Growth of services and enhanced community collaborations
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Fiscal year 2023 to-date has focused on the growth of services and enhanced collaborative efforts in the community to ensure a high quality of care and support throughout all stages of life.
Exceptional Family Medicine Faculty Awards
Drs. Hess and Hyer won the University of Washington’s Exceptional Family Medicine Clerkship Faculty Awards for 2022. These prestigious awards are presented to only five recipients each year from among approximately 500 Family Medicine Clerkship faculty for demonstrating excellence and commitment to medical student teaching. Drs. Hess and Hyer were recognized for their work overseeing medical students during their clinical rotations at PMC. PMC has rated as one of the top sites for medical student rotations for the past several years.
Collaboration with School
PMC is delighted to begin working with Petersburg School District on a new health and wellness program. PMC will be providing health services (nursing/medical) and behavioral health services to students beginning this fall.
More Providers and Specialties at Joy Janssen Clinic
Several new providers have joined PMC over the past few months: Dr. Alice Hulebak, Erik Hulebak, PA and Angela Menish, NP. More available providers means that community members will have an easier time scheduling appointments and have more providers to choose from when scheduling. The clinic has expanded to include optometry (visiting), audiology, chiropractic and acupuncture--with these specialty services now being provided in the newly relocated Specialty Clinic area next to Public Health.
Dr. Tuccillo Retirement
After 30 years of practicing medicine at PMC, Dr. Mark Tuccillo retired on October 31. Many thanks for his decades of dedication, quality patient care and leadership to PMC and the community.
New Facility
PMC continues to work towards a new facility. Preliminary geotechnical studies and test digs have been completed, and PMC’s Board of Directors have directed CEO Phil Hofstetter to enter into negotiations with Bettisworth North for final project planning, design and construction administration services.
Managers Retreat
PMC managers, supervisors, and two board members met for a day-long retreat on October 19 – the first managers retreat since October 2019. Work focused on identifying primary objectives and recommendations to consider when refining PMC’s strategic plan at an upcoming hospital board work session scheduled for November 10.
— Phil Hofstetter, CEO,
Petersburg Medical Center
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▲ Two boys posing in their fort at a favorite Kinder Skog play area
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▲ Kinder Skog Mentor Becca Madsen searching for cranberries in the muskeg with a program participant
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▲ Three “Skoggies” posing in front of a rainbow while playing at the beach
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
New Home for Youth Program Allows Growth Opportunity
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In September, the Kinder Skog Nature Program officially transitioned from a program under the umbrella of the Petersburg Lutheran Church to a program housed under Petersburg Medical Center’s Community Wellness Department. With this move Kinder Skog was able to increase capacity and now has 35 kids enrolled in the afterschool program, with about 20 “Skoggies” joining the adventure each day. While agency and the location have changed, the Kinder Skog program itself remains essentially the same. The afterschool and summer nature program serves elementary aged youth and spends most of the time outdoors—rain or shine.
This autumn, Skoggies created ephemeral art, picked buckets of cranberries, laughed through impromptu dance parties in the woods, practiced Native Youth Olympics skills and served our community by filling approximately 200 snack bags for Humanity in Progress. This fall, Kinder Skog also began enjoying new classroom space at Stedman Elementary. This is a wonderfully cozy space for kids to be creative, decompress after a long day at school, and enjoy nature enrichment while indoors. PMC thanks the many community members who supported this transition and those who donated items to make the new space just what the Skoggies dreamed it would be.
In addition to PMC obtaining a childcare license through the State of Alaska Childcare Program, PMC also hired a Youth Program Coordinator, Katie Holmlund, and Kinder Skog program mentors Becca Madsen and Kaili Watkins. Holmlund and Madsen have been invited to attend the Alaska Afterschool Network Conference in November as two of the six recipients of the 2022 Afterschool Superhero Award. Both look forward to connecting and networking with fellow afterschool professionals from across the state and increasing their skill sets to better serve the community and program.
Kinder Skog continues to be committed to providing place-based learning opportunities, unstructured outdoor play, and community connectedness for youth with supportive and highly qualified staff. The Kinder Skog program has been a great addition to PMC by helping meet the mission of promoting health and wellness in the community. PMC plans to continue expanding the capacity of the Kinder Skog program to help meet the community need for childcare.
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MEET THE STAFF
Finally Calling Petersburg Home After Getting Hooked Years Ago
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Karen Leatherman became the CEO Executive Assistant and Compliance Officer for Petersburg Medical Center in May 2022. She enjoys the variety of work and tasks associated with the position, which can be both very rewarding and very challenging, depending on the day. Most recently, Karen worked with the Missouri S&T Small Business Development Center, helping businesses navigate how to stay open and access SBA loans and financial relief during COVID.
Karen first moved to Southeast Alaska 15 years ago. She met her husband, Robin, on the ferry along the way when she was moving to Sitka and he was moving to Glacier Bay National Park. Both fell in love with each other and with the area. Positions with the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have taken them from coast-to-coast to exotic and remote locations like Dry Tortugas National Park (halfway between Key West and Cuba), Cape Hatteras National Seashore (ship graveyard of the Atlantic) and Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge (famous for really large brown bears!).
Although the couple has lived all over the country, they kept returning to visit Petersburg because of their love for the area and the community. They were in the process of moving to Petersburg when the PMC job became available – a good sign that it was finally meant to be.
Outside of work, she also enjoys a variety of activities and hobbies, especially those that involve being in the great outdoors, including walking, hiking, fishing, boating, wildlife watching, traveling, exploring, hunting and long-range shooting with her husband. She loves to workout, read and write and is a self-published author, currently working on her second and third books. Karen volunteers with the USCG Auxiliary and serves as a member of several advisory boards for companies in the Lower 48.
Karen has two stepsons, one in Kodiak and one in Seward, and two grandchildren. She grew up on a dairy and crop farm in Iowa and is the 12th of 13 children. Such a large extended family makes for some pretty chaotic and fun family gatherings on the rare occasion they are able to get together and for some very entertaining Zoom gatherings throughout COVID.
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▲ Karen and her husband Robin halibut fishing in Kodiak (where they lived prior to moving to Petersburg)
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▲ Karen and Robin enjoying time off at Loggerhead Key during their tenure at Dry Tortugas National Park
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▲ Karen and Robin hiking on Kupreanof earlier this year
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DEPARTMENT SPOTLIGHT
Home Health
With a Twist
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When people think about home health programs, most think it is only for housebound elders in the community. However, PMC’s Home Health program offers services above and beyond traditional perceptions of in-home healthcare. While traditional services are offered, the PMC Home Health team nurses also provide patient assessments, coordinate personalized care plans, provide information and training to caregivers, administer medications, perform skilled procedures, and provide end-of-life care.
One home health team member called their work “Home Health with a Twist” because of all the help they provide that is beyond traditional in-home healthcare. For example, patient navigator Brandy Boggs is dedicated to helping all community members connect to resources, complete applications, and navigate complex healthcare and assistance programs. Community members do not need to be a Home Health patient, or even a PMC patient, to access these free patient navigator services. Another example of a non-traditional home health offering is the addiction and recovery support service provided by the home health occupational therapist.
A recent move into much larger office space in the lower level of the Elks Lodge has allowed the team to greatly expand much-needed community programming and services. Community members can now take advantage of a new lending closet and check out – free of charge – durable medical equipment such as crutches, walkers, and raised toilet seats. Additionally, people who are caring for a friend or family member can now access resources, education, and support through the new Caregiver Cafés offered every two weeks.
Home Health Aide Lynette Homme says she has never worked in a place with such a strong team mentality – where everyone is so supportive and works so well together. With the home health caseload tripling over the past three years, the department has expanded staffing to meet the demand.
Manager Kirsten Testoni says she loves coming to work each day and is so grateful for each of her team’s unique background and strengths. The department has grown from a two-person team to eleven: including nurses, home health aides, administrative staff, and a patient navigator. In addition, the department is supported by the Rehabilitation Department with a dedicated physical therapist, a speech therapist and an occupational therapist.
If you or someone you know could benefit from healthcare being provided within the home, call PMC Home Health to discuss options. Note that Medicare, Medicaid and private insurances have different rules for eligibility for home health services.
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▲ Home Health staff from left to right (back row) Lena Odegaard, RN, Case Manager, Brandy Boggs, Patient Navigator, Kirsten Testoni, RN, WCC HH Manager, Yvonne Lindstrom, RN Case Manager, Lynne Homme, CNA, Laura Holder, RN, Case Manager, (front row) Jacque Grone, Lead Billing Specialist, and Mara Lenz, CNA
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▲ Home Health logo designed by Emma Gates
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▲ PMC’s Home Health Department has a new community lending closet for durable medical equipment
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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Emergency Preparedness: Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate (ALICE)
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Thanks to funding from the State of Alaska Hospital Preparedness Grant, PMC was able to provide emergency preparedness training focused on an active shooter event to PMC and school employees.
Nearly 200 people received training from three newly certified ALICE trainers: Julie Walker and Becky Turland from PMC and Petersburg Police Officer Andrew Ayriss. This training team will soon be rolling out training to Borough employees to complete the community preparedness grant project.
Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate (ALICE) training is widely adopted by schools, healthcare facilities and businesses across the country. ALICE training helps prepare people for active shooter or other violent events by providing response strategies. It empowers people to know their options, increase survivability and make their own life-saving decisions in the face of violence.
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▲ PMC received grant funding to implement ALICE training to PMC, Petersburg School District, and Petersburg Borough staff.
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▲Gail Ribich handing Olivia O'Neil Candy
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▲ George Curtiss gets visited by the whole Curtiss family!
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LONG TERM CARE UPDATE
Fall in LTC
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Fall has been busy around Long Term Care. Our residents have enjoyed both community outings and the happenings around Long Term Care. This fall the Long-Term Care census has seen an increase and we are now at 14 residents in our 15 bed facility—making the atmosphere bustling! A few of our natural leader residents have taken to assisting the activities staff in running group activities, a gesture we are all grateful for. Weekly activities like Yahtzee and Bingo continue to be popular among the census and we are beginning to see a few volunteers trickle in for these activities. Residents have also been able to enjoy weekly music again. Activities staff continues to cook weekly meals, keeping the facility smelling wonderful and has leaned into the autumn aesthetics and has done several pots of crockpot cider on the chillier fall days.
In the community, our residents were able to attend Octoberfest Art Share and engage with many community members. Residents were excited for the opportunity to get out in the community and visit with friends and family they don’t often see.
As the month has wrapped up, LTC was able to host a COVID safe trick or treating for the first time in several years. The event started with a small Halloween party for the residents catered by our dietary department. Once trick or treating began, our residents were able to dress up and hand out candy to family members and PMC staff children. The event may have been cut short a little early due to the power outage; however, our residents all got to see family and friends before the lights went out. Smiles galore filled the halls for both the kiddos and the residents. Our residents and staff would like to thank all the families that came out to see our residents!
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Petersburg Medical Center | 907-772-4291 | pmcweb@pmc-health.org
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