BIG CHANGES AT POWDER RIVER HEALTH

 

August 6, 2020



By Sean Hill, PR County Medical Administrator

As many of you know, we have been experiencing some profound changes throughout our organization. This includes staff retiring and making change in their personal worlds. We are transitioning through these times as rapidly as possible and ask community indulgence, as we go through this growth spurt.

Business operations are in the middle of realignment to make our accounting and billing processes move more efficiently through the insurance and payment world. Many of our patrons won’t see these back of house improvements, however this will ultimately save us and by default the tax payer by bringing all accounting and billing under a single umbrella which will save money.

Therapeutic Services which includes a full-time physical therapist and full-time occupational therapist has been working on improving the great service our community has grown to depend on. As our past department head moves into her private practice, we wish her well and look forward in working together to bring services to Powder River County. There are now two great therapy services to choose from and we find it a blessing that our community can provide options. To that end, both Kylie and Rhonda have been hard at work making improvements, ordering new equipment and planning additional services. To introduce these new products and services we will be offering a 25% discount on any out of pocket expenses to new or returning clients. This can be used for products or services at the time of appointment only so call and schedule a visit. Once all our new equipment gets in and set-up, please look forward to a grand re-opening.

Medical Clinic: It is with sadness our new provider has decided to leave us so soon as July 31st was Patrick’s last day. He is out to seek his own adventures and we wish him well. With the difficulty in finding providers we have developed a mixed model that (we believe) will accommodate the community and even offer additional options with how medical needs are met. Starting August 10th, we welcome, Dr. George Ceremuga from Rapid City who will be joining us on Mondays and Tuesdays. Dr. George is a practicing Doctor of Osteopathy with years of experience serving the medical needs of rural communities. He has served medical missions in Central and South Americas and takes great pride in administering medicine in a full body, holistic method. Dave Smith, Nurse Practitioner from Miles City has filled in for us before. Many in our community know him and Dave will be helping us out on Fridays for the foreseeable future. We are also working with another Physician’s Assistant and another Nurse Practitioner to fill in on certain days and we will promote that as scheduling becomes more solid. To round out all our in-person provider options, we will also be offering in-clinic telehealth visits. Our team will schedule a visit, conduct a nursing assessment and link you into a provider via video; this will allow community members almost full time access to get medication refills, blood work, and other services completed even when a provider is not at the clinic in person. Along down the line you may even be able to have a provider telehealth visit in the privacy and convenience of your own home.

Not to forget our Nursing Home; the Manor is a top-notch skilled nursing facility that strives to create a professional homey environment for our residents. They are in many aspects (literally family) where we strive to offer a dignified residence where our family can spend their later years or recover from surgeries, injuries or other ailments. With COVID-19 hitting us, we have been trying to protect our residents in every way possible while still allowing family and friends to visit. Please, please if you are visiting - keep hands sanitized, keep as much distance as you can and keep your masks on correctly. Remember it’s them we are protecting from outside sources. As staff remind all visitors to keep masks on, please be kind, as they are charged with the safe keeping of all.

In the ever-changing world of healthcare, the only thing that is constant is change. We have found out over the last few months is no one knows what a “new normal” will look like.

What WON’T change, is the dedication from Powder River Health to serve the needs of our community in any way, using any methods we have available. If you have healthcare needs, call us. If you need help and have no one to talk to you, call us. If you are or know someone who struggles with meals call us, we manage the Meals On Wheels program and will make sure everyone is fed.

Call us:

Medical Clinic: 436-2651

Therapy: 436-2872

Manor: 436-2646

Public Health: 436-2297

Thank you to Powder River Community for your continued support. We are here for you.

 

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