2024 at BSMC is certainly off to a good start! The electric panel has finally been installed at the new clinic building. After waiting for over a month, progress can continue again. Hopefully, it will all work like it should and heat will be flowing this week. From there, the building needs a good cleaning and inspection, then the move in can begin! While all of that is happening across the street, inside the current building, the dining room expansion will be taking place. It should only be a 2-3 week project, but the results will prove useful for a lifetime. When this part of the building was built in 1985 the ADA rules were different, and in general the equipment was smaller. Being at full capacity with a majority of our folks using walkers or wheelchairs, and all of them wanting to eat in the dining room for meals and/or attend activities, it requires some strategic planning and a good bit of patience to get everyone into the room and positioned in a way that everyone fits. This project will remove the wall between the doorways of the main dining room and will also expand the doorway going into the adjacent space. Korb construction started on the project on February 13.

BSMC has also received a grant from AgWest Farm Credit to purchase three new AEDs. One of these will go into the new clinic building, and one will replace the device in the basement, as well as one replacing the device in the wellness center. While everyone hopes an AED is never needed, it is an important life-saving device in any emergency situation.

The facility has also filled the open Midlevel position! Joe Essperson, PA, husband of Tenley (Keller) Essperson, will begin working at BSMC in May. His backgrounds is in Adult critical care situations, so he will begin his training here with time in the clinic and the ER learning the ropes. When he has completed that training, he will begin seeing patience, as always you will ll see updates of both the dining room expansion as well as when Joe is ready to begin to build his practice.

We welcomed Cheyenne Feltz, PNP a couple of months ago and she continues to build clientelle in her mental health practice. We are so fortunate to have someone right here in town to help us with mental well being. She is still accepting new clients, and can do telehealth appointments if you'd prefer to stay home while under her care and still reap the benefits of working together!

The CEO, Ron Wiens has been conducting a Community Health Needs assessment. After reaching out to some specific focus groups, he has gathered the following data: 91% of high school students believe Big Sandy is a good place to live, despite the 62% of people that feel alcohol abuse is the most prevalent risky behavior in our community. Now that he has collected all of this insight, he will begin creating a plan of action. The idea is that Big Sandy Medical Center will help to mitigate the problems the community feels the strongest about. All of this will be available for public viewing later in the summer, after the Board has approved the 3-year plan.

In the January Board Meeting, new officers were voted into place. Bob Nelson is now the sitting Chariman, Anna Bold is the Vice-Chair, and Ann Quinn will sit as the secretary. Remember the Board meets every third Thrusday of the month and meetings are always open to the public.

Finally, the Leadership team at BSMC will begin a series of Leadership training this month. This training should help the team work better together, be stronger when working independently, and improve the working environment in the facility as a whole.

Keep an eye on the Facebook page and the website for further updates and all the recent happenings at BSMC. We look forward to all the good things that are coming this year and thank you for continuing to be the heart of BSMC.