Stephens County Hospital

SCH News

Hospital opens 17-room addition

Ross Willis - Toccoa Record

Stephens County Hospital opened its third floor expansion for business yesterday.

The Hospital Authority said that the addition will add 17 more rooms to the existing facility.

During the Authority’s regular monthly meeting last Monday, Authority members said that they were glad to have the new addition and that they have high hopes for the hospital’s future.

Hospital Authority member Elliott Caudell said that the hospital generated approximately $70,000 in revenue last month.

“This figure is still pretty good. The Wilkinson Center is pretty much full, but the Clary Center is somewhat down and hurting,” Caudell said.

“However, we will be addressing this issue in the coming months. The Clary Center needs a little more advertising outside of the Stephens County area. It is a fine facility, and we have decided to engage an advertising firm out of Atlanta and spend up to $20,000 to get a market study done to find out where we would best be served to advertise and promote the facility,” he said.

Following Caudell’s statement, he motioned for the Authority to approve the proposed market study, and all of the members voted in favor of the measure.

In other business:

• Stephens County Hospital Administrator Ed Gambrell told Authority members that the recently approved ATM machine from North Georgia Credit Union will be installed next week.

Gambrell said that the machine will be located in an alcove near the front lobby and elevators.

“It will be out of the way, but it will be very visible,” Gambrell said.

• Director of Nursing Faye Taylor presented her quarterly report.

Taylor said that the hospital held a spring disaster drill with all department managers involved. The scenario was that of an Amtrak train derailment with 120 victims.

The nursing director also said that efforts have been made to improve communications between hospital and outside physician personnel.

• Taylor told the Authority that all of the nurses who recently ended their scholarship periods that have taken the required state board examinations have passed.

She also said that the hospital currently has five people on scholarship and that two other people will be reviewed for scholarship possibilities. One of those candidates will be reviewed for radiology and the other for nursing.

• The Authority unanimously approved a request from Taylor for the purchase of an infant transport incubator.

“The one we have now is 15-years-old, and we can no longer get parts for it. On occasion, it won’t function,” Taylor said.

The temperature and humidity controlled device will cost $10,239.

• Personal Care Homes Manager Karen Williams told Authority members that Wilkinson Center vacancies are down from the past quarter. She said that there were 10 vacancies in the center during the previous quarter but that there are only four vacancies this quarter.

However, the Clary Center has two more vacancies this quarter compared with the previous period.

Williams also said that she ordered a divider for one of the vacant rooms as a trial to see how the piece of equipment will work out for the proposed creation of semi-private rooms at the facility. She said that if it works our as expected, then another divider will be ordered to create another semi-private room.

Williams said that the divider will be installed in a vacant room, and no resident will have their private room changed to a semi-private one.

Williams said that rocking chair gliders were purchased with memorial fund contributions, and that several picnics for the centers’ residents have been planned which will be held at various state parks.

• Bio-Medical technician Tony Knox presented the quarterly safety report.

Authority member Keller Cheek expressed concern over the number of lost days due to injuries.

“Several big companies go for thousands of hours without lost days. these lost days worry me. As far as the percentage, it worries me,” Cheek said.

Knox said that most such lost days are back strain problems.

• Gambrell said that local emergency teams and agencies are involved with the creation of a bio-terrorism team.

“It is a good thing to get the community prepared,” Knox said.

• Caudell said that Rotary Club members announced during a recent club meeting that the recent Russian tour goup that visited northeast Georgia said that the most impressive thing they saw during their visit was Stephens County Hospital.

“They said that they were very impressed with this hospital. They said that they have nothing like it in Russia. They were very pleased,” Caudell said.