The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Surveys... surveys...and more surveys! The facility State Survey was completed at the end of June. This survey is conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services and is designed to monitor our Long-Term Care facility. The goal is to assure that we continue to provide safe, effective care to our residents, providing them with dignity and respect in the process. In order to continue to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs these surveys must take place at least once very 4 years. The arrival of the survey team is always a surprise and this year they showed up on Saturday, June 22nd and stayed through Tuesday, June 25th. We are pleased with our results and have just a few areas to improve on. There is always room for growth and we have been working hard to make necessary adjustments to be the best facility we can be. Full results of our survey are posted in the Medical Center for anyone who would like to review them. Our Fire Safety Survey also took place in June. Fire Life Safety surveys are conducted once a year and ours went great! To round out our summer, the Montana Board of Pharmacy’s Annual Pharmacy Inspection also took place in July. We are so grateful to work closely with the great staff at the Big Sandy Pharmacy, and we are pleased to report they passed flying colors! The Medical Center is still awaiting the pharmacy inspection; however, we anticipate the same results will hold true.

In the midst of all these surveys, the clinic and waiting room also got a facelift! The Medical Guild applied for, and received, a grant from the Lippard-Clawiter Foundation with the monies being awarded to replace the flooring. The project was completed by McNair Furniture and Flooring out of Rudyard and it looks amazing! If you haven’t seen it yet, please stop in to check it out! While you’re there, you could also wander down to the activities room of the Long-Term Care Center. Lisa Sipler, the Activities Director here at BSMC and Laci Labuda, Dietary Manager, spent a day repainting and rearranging the room. The sunshine yellow walls were covered with a calming grey and the room is so welcoming! Lisa is always looking for volunteers for activities with our residents. If you are interested in helping out, please give her a call! On your way to the activities room, you will also see a new Smart TV in the hallway cove. This was purchased by the Medical Guild. Our residents have enjoyed the multiple viewing options, from farming shows to country music classics, and even some funny puppy videos. We greatly appreciate the members of our Medical Guild and the community members that support it!

We are also so proud to announce that ALL BSMC staff members are now CPR certified. Not just our medical staff, but our office personnel and ancillary departments as well. This means that at least 50 members of our community are prepared to save a life if the need arises, whether in a medical setting or out and about. If you’d like to join the team of life savers in town, Jessica Dooley, RN will be teaching classes once a month. The first class is planned to be a CPR/AED/First Aid class. The class will run from 8:30 am to approximately 4:00 pm on August 24, 2019 in the Conference Room at Big Sandy Medical Center. The cost will be $60 and will include your workbook and completion card. Class size will be limited, if you are interested please call/text Jessica at 307-299-2629 to reserve your space.

There will also be seven members of our BSMC team headed to Great Falls this fall to obtain their Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification. This is a two-day course for both providers and nurses that covers the intense 10-20 minutes surrounding a Myocardial Infarction or other cardiac dysrhythmia. In other words, this is the training that teaches us the methods and medications to help your heart beat get back on track when it’s gone haywire. The American Heart Association originally developed ACLS protocols in 1974. Every five years new guidelines are released to keep up with the most recent research developments. ACLS certified providers are required to renew their certificates every two years in order to maintain proficiency and up-to-date knowledge. We are excited to have both of our providers as well as ALL of our nurses become ACLS certified this year!

As far as life savers go, let’s take a minute to appreciate our first responders. Our volunteer ambulance service has been on 49 runs so far this year. They have brought 17 people to our Emergency Department (ED) and transferred 27 people from our ED to other facilities. We have seen over 170 patients in the Emergency Department at BSMC in 2019. We couldn’t do what we do without the wonderful volunteers and our great providers!

Are you interested in becoming part of all this fun? We are looking for a Ward Clerk! This official position is new to the facility, but we are excited to be adding someone to our team. If you want to join our fun-loving crew, this is the gig for you. This will be a full-time position, M-F, 8-5. Please stop by the medical center, visit our website or call Colette Terry at 378-2188 for more information.

We would like to remind all visitors that for the safety of our staff and residents, the doors to the facility are locked after hours and on weekends. There is a door bell at each entrance, please ring to let us know you’re waiting to come in! The ER entry door is locked AT ALL TIMES, please ring the bell at that door for entrance. As there is limited staff in the facility during those hours, we appreciate your patience as we come to open the door for you. Thank you for understanding.

Finally, we must once again say thank you to those that supported our First Annual Corn Hole Tournament! We are grateful for the community’s support and will be purchasing our new IV pumps in the coming months. We are already planning for next year’s tournament. We plan to have an adult and a children’s bracket next year. It will be a part of the Homecoming 2020 Festivities!

What a great community to live in. Stay safe, stay well and thanks for being the heart of BSMC.