Monticello Live

The Drew County Home Hometown Health Initiative received a mini-grant from Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health Services, Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention to purchase a prescription drop box for the residents of Drew County.

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January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month, an important time to spread the word about this sight-stealing disease.   Glaucoma is called “the sneak thief of sight” since there are no symptoms and once vision is lost, it’s permanent. As much as 40% of vision can be lost without a person noticing.

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During their last board meeting of the year, the board of Drew Memorial Hospital recognized Judge Damon Lampkin for his dedication to to the hospital and the health of Drew County.

Employment Opportunity- Licensed Practical Nurse
Competitive Salary
Pass Criminal Background Check
Electronic Medical Records experience preferred
Email resumes to searkemployment@yahoo.com
Accepting resumes until 12-28-2012

November is National COPD Awareness Month. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S and in Arkansas. But many people may not know what COPD is.

COPD, or Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a serious lung disease that over time, makes it hard to breathe. You may also have heard COPD called other names, like emphysema or chronic bronchitis. In people who have COPD, the airways—tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs—are partially blocked, which makes it hard to get air in and out.

Symptoms of COPD include:

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Drew Memorial is seeking applicants for the following positions:

Nursing – RN, LPN, Pool and Fulltime

Part time Ultrasound Tech

Quality Department Executive Assistant

Applications & Information available online

Drew Memorial Hospital’s new Surgery Center became a much clearer vision, with Tuesday passage of the continuatino of the current millage for the local hospital, by a 2 to 1 margin.

DMH CEO Mike Layfield was busy calling board members and staff of the hsospital to thank them for their efforts, describing the successful outcome as, “A giant step forward for health services at Drew Memorial Hospital, and an improvement of the overall health of the citizens of Drew County.”

Here are the FINAL, but UNOFFICIAL election results for the proposed extension of the Drew Memorial Hospital millage, voted on, Tuesday, by Drew County voters……………..

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Today is Voting Day for the proposed millage extension for Drew Memorial Hospital.  If passed by voters, these funds will be used to construct a new, updated surgery center for the local hospital. 

Hospital supporters key phrase during recent months has been, “This is not a new tax.”  It is a continuation of the current millage that supports local medical care at Drew Memorial.

A total of 212 votes were cast

There are two questions on the ballots, shown below, and you will make a total of 5 “button pushes” in the entire voting process.

Seldom do any of us hear of diseases that were once common in our childhood such as measles and mumps. What made the difference? It was public health prevention that made a difference in containing these life-threatening illnesses.

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The Drew Memorial Hospital called to order their monthly board meeting Aug. 22 to discuss their financial report, old business and new business.

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Monday night, the Quorum Court  approved an ordinance transfering  operations of the hospital to Drew Memorial Hospital, Inc.  The ordinance also approved a lease of the facilities to the board, which is made up of the current DMH board of directors.  Also October 9 was set as a special election day for two DMH millage questions.

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At Wednesday’s MEDC meeting, Benji Rybrn, on behalf of Ryburn Automotive Superstore, the National Automobile Dealers Association, and the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association, presented the Workforce Training Center with two cardiopulmonary resuscitation dummies.

The dummies will be used for training students in their upcoming healthcare classes.

Jim Searcy was reappointment to the Drew Memorial Hospital Board during the Quorum Court meeting Monday night. Judge Damon Lampkin said, “He’s a real asset to the board,” and the Court unanimously voted yes to reappointing him for a seven year term.

Around 2:30 Sunday morning, an 18 year old Drew County youth was reportedly involved in a 4-wheeler accident in the Possum Valley  area.

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The Drew County Health Unit recently provided over 1,850 free flu shots to local residents, including 916 flu shots and 35 mist for a total of 951 at the mass clinic, Thursday, as well as around 900 flu shots that were given at the local school in recent weels.

Karen Brown, Administrator of the Drew County Health Unit, expresses their appreciation to the nursing students from UAM-Monticello and UAM College of Technology – McGehee and Crossett, along with nurse volunteers from the community and UAM nurse.  Volunteers also helped with paperwork and data entry from DHS, The Woods, CIS Department @ UAM, as well as fraternity members from UAM and volunteers from the community.

Drew Memorial Hospital’s phase I and Phase II of the building modernization project were discussed. The new inpatient wing under construction should be completed and ready for occupancy by February 1, 2012. The allied health building should be completed and ready for occupancy by March 1, 2012. The final phase of this project, which is the new surgery center and a new concept and a line drawing, was reviewed. A cost estimate should be available within the next few weeks, based on the new concept of locating the Women’s Center on the front side of the hospital rather than on the backside and relocating the new geri-psych unit closer to the hospital.

Reports indicate that the construction of the new Pre-Post/Op area should be complete by October 1, 2011.

Reprinted from DMH Hospital Report.

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Click on the video above to go on a tour of the new Mainline Community Health Clinic in Monticello.  (Click on the “cloverleaf” to set it to full screen.)

Mainline’s Allan Nichols will take you on a tour of the facility, and explain many of the features of the clinic, and the services that they offer to Monticello and the surrounding area.

Wednesday, UAMS received a $102,131,393 federal grant – one of the largest ever received by an Arkansas institution – announced at UAMS by Rick Wade, senior advisor and deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In addition to the $102 million grant, UAMS and its partners are providing a 20.6 percent match of $26,450,427.

The grant will enable fiber connections and/or bandwidth upgrades in all 75 counties and in 135 Arkansas communities, including 81 Arkansas hospitals, all two-year colleges (four-year colleges are already connected), eight public libraries, all state human development centers, the state’s trauma network, community health centers, mental health clinics and home health agencies.

For more information read the full article on MagnoliaReporter.com

The Quorum Court unanimously approved the Hospital Board’s request to borrow $14 million to fund the Hospitals building modernization plan. Construction could start within the next 15 months.

With the approval of the loan application; Phase I of the modernization will be to build and construct an Allied Health building containing services such as a sleep center, physical therapy, and an outpatient psychiatric program.

Additional services can be added to the building such as chemotherapy and radiation treatment programs and outpatient clinics. Phase II of the program will be the addition of 41 all private rooms replacing the current medical/surgical rooms.

Two representatives with Murray and Company provided preliminary sketches of the phase modernization plan. The Board voted to begin work on Phase I, the allied health building, shown in red in the photo.

The Drew Memorial Hospital Board voted to move ahead with the first phase of the master site plan to modernize the hospital during its regular meeting Wednesday, July 22. Murray and Company will draw up the plans for the new allied health building.

The master site plan consists of six phases, which include new construction, renovations and remodeling to modernize the hospital’s facilities. The Board voted to approach the phase modernization project by starting with Phase I, construction of the allied health building. (more…)

Monticello’s  Dr. Sylvia Simon was recently appointed to serve  on the Arkansas Medical Board by Gov. Mike Beebe

Dr. Simon’s term will expire on December 31, 2014.

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This year’s MADD sponsored DWI mock accident was held on the parking lot area of the Monticello High School, Monday.

This year’s event was held in honor of Dustin “Rooster” Ferguson.

The first video show the accident re-enactment.
The second covers Steve Brantley’s comments about the event.
The last video is of Dustin Ferguson’s mother’s statements from Monday, which was the first time she has spoken publicly about the wreck that took Dustin’s life.

MADD MOCK DWI 2009-04-13 from MonticelloLive on Vimeo.

Dustin’s parents came out to speak for the first time since the accident. His mom told the students attending, “Sept. 22, 2008, two days after his 19th birthday, our son lost his life from a drunk driver. One choice of an indivdual changed our lives and our community. I stand before you as Dustin’s voice. His plans and his dreams could not be achieved because of the choice of another. Remember your choice affects everyone.”

DVD video’s of last year’s presentation are available at James Quick Print.

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Mike Layfield, Drew Memorial Hospital’s new CEO came on staff this week, and is currently spending most of his time getting to know the hospital staff at Drew Memorial.

Layfield, shown here with Vonda Russell at a “Meet & Greet” held in the hospital cafeteria Wednesday morning, wants to meet with all employees and physicians personally, and he seems to be making a positive impression on all.

Layfield told MonticelloLive, “I’m impressed with community’s interest and support of our hospital.”  “We are all partners in healthcare and health education: the hospital, the doctors, the Health Dept., and home health.” (more…)

As many drove by Monticello High School this morning something out of the ordinary was happening on school property. Unfortunately, the scene was all too familiar for the many public servants who took part in helping. An organized reenactment of a drunk driving accident was staged for high school students to observe, complete with rescue teams from the Fire Department, Police Department, State Police and ambulance service. A helicopter even landed to med-flight some of the victims.

Teresa Belew, Executive Director for the Arkansas Mothers Against Drunk Driving, visited from Little Rock and spoke to students. She related to the audience that a survey of the youth of Drew County reveals shocking facts. Twelve years of age is the age most reported for having a first taste of alcohol. Of young people who regulary drink alcohol, most say they began regular use at age fourteen. She also reported that in Arkansas alone, there are four to five people killed each week because of an alcohol related accident. Countless others are injured.

Steve Brantley, organizer of the reenactment today, has first-hand experience of an alochol related accident. Today, he shared his story with students of how his wife, Patricia Brantley, was killed in a collision with a drunk driver on June 21, 1996. It forever changed his life and the life of their four children. Steve is passionate about educating others about the dangers of drinking and driving and is very involved in the local chapter of MADD as coordinator for the county.