Petersburg Medical Center Newsletter |
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▲ Carleen Lyons and Mike Boggs, long-time co-workers. |
▲ Kara Newman, COVID-19 ER screener and future CNA. |
NEWSLETTER BANNER PHOTO: A beautiful double rainbow out on the water. |
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MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
PMC says goodbye to long term staff.
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FAREWELL TO STAFF: Petersburg Medical Center's Environmental Services staff celebrated Carleen Lyons' last day at PMC in June. Carleen has been working hard for PMC for 27 years and will be greatly missed. Thank you, Carleen, for your many years of service and for your early-morning smiles!
Rocio Tejera-Elejabeitia, PMC Controller celebrated her last day at PMC. Rocio has assisted in reorganizing the PMC budget, financial package, accounts receivable and general ledger mapping within the organization. We are excited to see what the future holds for you but you will be missed.
NEW NURSING ASSISTANTS: Congratulations to certified nursing assistant students Kara Newman, Lynette Homme, Doris Zamora, Annie Christensen and Kennedy Conn for passing the state CNA exam after completing CNA training. We can't wait to see what the future holds for all of you!
COVID-19 HOTLINE: Please call our COVID-19 hotline 907-772-5788 if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, traveling and would like to test, need asymptomatic or symptomatic testing, or are interested in receiving your first or second COVID-19 vaccine. Let's get to herd immunity. Stay safe!
— Phil Hofstetter, CEO, PMC
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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
What are Petersburg's health-related needs? Tell us what you think!
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Petersburg Medical Center is conducting a community health needs assessment. We do this every three years to help inform PMC and our partners in planning for and meeting the health-related needs of our community.
Over the next month, we are conducting a community-wide survey as well as brief interviews with select community members who are knowledgeable about the needs of our community and about influences on our health/healthcare.
You could win $200 for participating!
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▲ Ready for a challenge? Register for the Paddle Battle at www.pmcak.org. |
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
Annual Paddle Battle event set for July 17
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Please join us on Saturday, July 17, for the annual Paddle Battle! Paddlers can choose to start from Scow Bay at 8:30am, or from South Harbor at 9:15am. Spectators are invited to watch paddlers finish the event at Sandy Beach about 10am.
All proceeds from this annual PMC Foundation fundraising event go towards furthering education of current and future PMC employees. The foundation has helped a number of employees pay for their schooling in the past, and board members hope to help many more in the years to come.
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MEET THE STAFF
Life surprises Alice Wegener with career that makes her happy
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Alice Wegener's life has not gone according to her plan, yet life circumstances have put her right where she needs to be.
Alice is the new activities coordinator at Petersburg Medical Center’s Long-Term Care Center. But growing up, she always wanted to be a lawyer.
After graduating from Petersburg High School, Alice headed to the University of Utah to pursue a political science degree in preparation for law school. She was surprised, however, to find herself really enjoying elective classes such as lifespan development. She continued to take similar courses for fun.
By the time Alice realized she actually disliked political science and did not want to be a lawyer after all, she was almost finished with school. Since she had taken so many extra classes, she found she could double major in political science and family, community and human development.
COVID-19 hit during Alice’s junior year of college. She was home for spring break to visit her family and then-future husband when dorms shut down and classes went virtual. Finding that she preferred studying from home, she chose to stay in Petersburg even after campus reopened. She finished her courses online and graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in May.
Last fall, while taking college classes from home, Alice was hired as a certified nursing assistant at PMC. The job showed her how much she loved working with people and helping to make them happier. When the LTC activities coordinator position opened, Alice knew she would love it—just as she had loved a past summer job as camps coordinator for Petersburg Parks and Recreational.
In her new job, Alice gets to know each resident and plans activities inspired by the resident’s hobbies and interests.
“How can I help make these folks flourish?” is the question she asks herself as she goes about her job.
She works with PMC’s Rehabilitation Department to plan therapeutic recreation, and leads activities or helps residents participate. Alice will plan special luncheons, potlucks and events. She ensures that residents can go on outings for functions, sometimes escorting them. These are only a few of the essential things Alice does daily in her new role.
When not working, Alice spends time with her husband, Cody. The couple was married this past December in Petersburg. They love exploring, and spend their free time hiking, diving, prospecting, or taking drives to enjoy beautiful Alaska.
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▲ Alice and husband Cody. |
▲ Little Alice at one of her many childhood dance recitals. |
▲ Alice's senior photo for graduation at the University of Utah. |
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▲ Julie Walker and her two kids. |
▲ Becky Turland enjoying the sunshine with her three kids. |
▲Join us for the Rainforest Run on September 6th! Registration will be available in August on the PMC Website.
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DEPARTMENT SPOTLIGHT
PMC team focuses on promoting health and wellness of community
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With big goals to improve the health status of our community and patients, Petersburg Medical Center formed the Community Wellness department in 2020. The department includes:
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Julie Walker, Community Wellness and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator
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Becky Turland, Community Wellness Specialist
The Community Wellness team will implement and support new and existing prevention programs, offer community health education, and collaborate with other PMC departments and local partners to support health and wellness opportunities for Petersburg residents.
Currently, the team is surveying community health needs and childcare needs to help identify strengths and ways to improve related services in Petersburg.
The Community Wellness team will focus on wellness throughout the life cycle, from maternal and child health to wellness of our senior citizens. Over the past year, the team collaborated with PMC’s Home Health and Rehabilitation departments to start a new program called CAPABLE. CAPABLE is an aging-in-place program to help seniors continue living safely and independently in their own homes.
The Community Wellness team also promotes preventative health care such as cancer screenings, wellness check-ups and vaccinations. There was a significant decrease in preventative screenings during COVID, but the team hopes to get people back on track to help avoid future health problems or to catch them early, when they are easier to treat.
Here are some upcoming events Community Wellness will support this year:
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Superkids Camp - A one-week kids camp in partnership with the local Kinderskog group to focus on learning basic nutrition and being physically active. The camp will feature field activities, Native Youth Olympics, and an opportunity to try fresh local vegetables from Farragut Farm and salmon from SchoolHouse Fish.
- Back to School Youth Health & Resource Fair- August 2021
- Diabetes Screening Clinic-November 2021
- Rainforest Half Marathon Run-September 6, 2021
- Community Health Fair-Spring 2022, Dates TBD
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LONG TERM CARE UPDATE
Gardening, van rides, and karaoke part of a rainy and sunny June
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Long Term Care staff and residents were excited about the break from the rain June brought.
Jordan Stafford, activities aide, has recently been signed off to drive the LTC van, putting our residents back on the road. Through van rides, walks, and time on the patio, our residents took every opportunity to soak up some sun!
We didn't let June's rainy days bog us down. Due to less-than-stellar weather, our picnic for June was held inside. Even though we were not able to get outdoors, residents enjoyed burgers prepared and cooked by staff.
Our residents’ garden really took off in June. Many of our residents who enjoy gardening have beamed with excitement seeing our tomato plants finally producing tomatoes.
For Father’s Day, residents enjoyed a baked potato bar. Topping potatoes off with the works, each resident enjoyed this opportunity to customize their meal. We spent Father’s Day weekend enjoying time outdoors, movies, and even singing to karaoke.
Looking forward, staff and residents alike hope the sunny weather will continue throughout the summer.
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▲ Linda Reller, LTC resident, enjoys flowers with Stephanie Hoskins, CNA. |
▲ CNAs Brooklyn Dormer and Jordan Stafford help Carol Wallace, LTC resident, onto van lift for a ride on a sunny June day. |
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