Reprinted compliments of the Shelby Promoter, January 18th issue.

Last month, Marias Medical Center (MMC) director of nursing Julia Drishinski received the news she had been hoping for. The State of Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) had designated MMC as a trauma receiving center.
A year-and-a-half of hard work and training had paid off for Drishinski and the hospital’s trauma committee, which is made up of employees from several departments of the hospital.
“You have to hold the standard of care to an exceptional level” to achieve the state’s designation as a trauma receiving center, Drishinski explained.
That includes instituting policies and procedures based on high levels of care and advanced trauma life support, which includes the hospital being certified in providing care based on the newest, evidence-based research. All doctors must be advanced trauma life support-certified and all nurses certified in the trauma nurses core curriculum, which train them to know how to react to injuries that may be traumatic.
Drishinski explained part of the program is based on performance-based improvement. The trauma committee had to send charts of patients to a DPHHS committee for review. “They would assess whether or not we’re giving care based on evidence-based practices,” she said.
“Trauma” can be anything from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, a fall, or in the form of blunt or penetrating force. MMC anesthesiologist Dr. Tracy Lords said often trauma patients don’t come to the emergency room to be treated, either, so all nurses at MMC have to be prepared to treat a trauma patient.
Because a trauma injury may not be immediately obvious, all injuries that come into the hospital have to be treated as trauma. Drishinski said the hospital receives 300-400 accidents each year. Only several cases each month meet “trauma” criteria.
Still, everyone in the hospital needs to be ready.
“Every step is important. It starts with the first phone call,” said Lords.
Members of the EMS crew received certification to administer IVs and medications to patients on the way to the ER. They also received endorsements in monitoring patients and in airway management.
“That improves care markedly,” Lords said of the EMTs’ certification.
Drishinski pointed out the EMTs received training for the endorsements on their own time. “It speaks a lot to their commitment to the community,” she said. Even the basic EMS certification is a time-consuming process, said Drishinski. Adding the other endorsements meant a much larger time commitment.
The trauma committee, headed up by Dr. Chuck Marler, holds meetings monthly or quarterly, depending on need, said Drishinski. The committee discusses treatment of the trauma cases they treat and includes EMTs and EMS director Dr. Marc Adams, nurses, and representatives from the x-ray department, respiratory therapy and the operating room.
Drishinski said the purchase by MMC Auxiliary of a training dummy helped with training as well.
The designation also includes a community education component, so last year physicians held informational meetings on subjects including water safety, farm equipment safety and vehicle accident prevention.
The entire process, which took Drishinski and the trauma committee about a year and a half to complete, culminated in October with a visit from a DPHHS review team. MMC was not only certified as a trauma-receiving center, it did not receive provisional status, which most facilities do at first. Because of that, the hospital will not be surveyed again for three more years.
“For us, it puts us on a level of expertise I think that has been here,” said MMC CEO Mark Cross. “I’m proud of our staff for achieving this.”
Drishinski said because of MMC’s small size and its lack of a full-time surgeon, the hospital will probably not try for additional certification. Certification “is based on demographics and what type of physicians you can recruit,” Drishinski explained.
“We really focus on stabilize and ship,” agreed Lords.
Drishinski stressed it isn’t just the staff that works in the ER that has been involved in the designation. “The entire facility has worked hard for this designation. All departments are affected by the patients we bring into the ER,” she said.
“We’re privileged to be designated as a trauma receiving center,” added Lords.
Now that MMC has earned its designation, it will be subject to normal surveys.
“Next time they come, they’ll hold us to a higher bar,” Drishinski said. The state committee will assess the hospital’s equipment and policy and procedure, as well as conduct staff interviews and pull charts of trauma patients to make sure proper medication is being administered and the patients are being treated in a timely manner.
While the staff at MMC doesn’t want to see trauma cases, they want to be ready for them when they come. With their important new designation, they can be.

Those who were honored and remembered during the second annual Tree of Lights:

In Honor of:
Mark & Linda Brusven sponsored by Bob & Jessica Brusven & Family
Mary Jane Moore sponsored by Pat & Connie Moore
Frances Smith sponsored by Galata WELCA
Paul and Rose George sponsored by Bob & Jessica Brusven & Family
Frank Hollenback, Bozeman, Navy sponsored by Pat & Connie Moore
Brice Robertson, Senior Airman, Air Force sponsored by Brenda Potter & Family
George Smith, Army sponsored by Rod & Nancy Carlbom
Janel Wiese, Captain MT Army National Guard sponsored by Bob & Jessica Brusven
Christopher Widmar, Petty Officer 3rd Class sponsored by Jack & Dawna Widmar
Dennis Austin, Senior Airman, Air Force sponsored by Brenda Potter & Family
Thomas Parker, Lance Corporal, USMC sponsored by Jack & Dawna Widmar
Robert Wiese, Staff Sergeant, MT Army National Guard sponsored by
Bob & Jessica Brusven
Nate Dilling, Senior Airman, Air Force sponsored by Brenda Potter & Family
In Loving Memory of:
Martin Sveum, Army sponsored by Rita Christoferson
Don Alme, Navy sponsored by the Alme, Bergman & Lager Families
Leonard Atkinson, Army sponsored by Delia Atkinson
Mark Furr, Army sponsored by Lyle & Ellen Rush
John Cross, Army sponsored by Mark & Lona Cross
Jack Canavan, Army sponsored by Julia Drishinski
John P. Moore, Navy sponsored by Pat & Connie Moore
Fred Arnold sponsored by Jan & Dwayne Irvin
Tom Schwenke sponsored by Wayne & Pat Schwenke
Beverly Richman sponsored by Bob & Judy Richman
Richard and Alvina Kunk sponsored by Paul & Rose George
Mona Irvin sponsored by Lyle & Ellen Rush
Cherlyn Sorum sponsored by Mark & Lona Cross
Gene Fong sponsored by Mark & Lona Cross
Thomas and Gladys Haas sponsored by Brenda Haas Potter
Ed and Josephine Peterschick sponsored by The Peterschick Family
Howard Jacobson sponsored by Eve, Carla, & Derek Jacobson
Earl & Marie George sponsored by Paul & Rose George
June Barborak sponsored by April & Gary Seubert
Earnest Rush sponsored by Lyle & Ellen Rush
Scott Aikins sponsored by Aikins & White Families
John Lager sponsored by Arlene Lager & Family
Leanne Lager sponsored by Arlene Lager & Family
Mr. & Mrs. Elpel sponsored by JoEve Aikins
Ruth Erickson sponsored by Eve, Carla, & Derek Jacobson
Geralyn Lager Granzow sponsored by Arlene Lager & Family
Phyllis L. Kolschefski sponsored by John & Bonnie Whitney
Norma Hedye sponsored by Rod & Nancy Carlbom
Bucky Eaglin, Army sponsored by Gerry & Cindy Lamb
Don and Fran Fischer sponsored by Don & Linda Lee & Boys
Stephanie Copeland sponsored by Bob & Judy Richman
Amber Gerlean Lee Mertz sponsored by John & Bonnie Whitney
Michael Richman sponsored by Bob & Judy Richman
Vicki Schwenke sponsored by Wayne & Pat Schwenke
Daniel Johnston sponsored by Gordon & Patrick and Al & Kerri
John Carr sponsored by April Carr
Edward H. Thompson sponsored by Beth Aklestad
Bill & Anona Smith sponsored by Cindy Combs
Gene Tinsley sponsored by Wayne & Pat Schwenke
Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd Carlbom sponsored by Rod & Nancy Carlbom
Con Zuelke sponsored by The Peterschick Family
Robert James Hodgson sponsored by Rod & Nancy Carlbom
Orville & Cynthia Laugen sponsored by Bob & Jessica Brusven & Family
Ann Lohr sponsored by Jan & Dwayne Irvin
Ken & Flora Nasset sponsored by Gerry & Cindy Lamb
Marian Hollenback sponsored by Pat & Connie Moore
Joyce Austin sponsored by Mark & Lona Cross
Eddie H. Thompson sponsored by Beth Aklestad
Mina Nelson sponsored by Dick & Autumn Beatty
Neoma B. Thompson sponsored by Beth Aklestad
Melvin & Clara Underdal sponsored by Allan & Diane Underdal
Robert James Carlbom sponsored by Rod & Nancy Carlbom
Henry Alme sponsored by The Alme, Bergman & Lager Families
Leonard and Margery Engles Bollinger sponsored by Marleigh Bollinger & Siblings

Rachel and Shawn Richard welcomed Landyn Corvin to their family on Christmas Eve. Although the hospital is not where anyone would like to spend their Christmas, Rachel and Shawn Richard were excited about their "gift" delivered on Christmas Eve at Marias Medical Center. Landyn Corvin arrived at 9:55 Saturday evening. Below is a picture of the Richard family. Another picture of Landyn can be viewed at our Web Nursery.

The Marias Medical Center resently conducted a survey of their employees in regards to a possible 4 day-school week. Please Click Here for a printable version of the results.

The Sunburst Community Foundation-Non-Permanent of the Montana Community Foundation recently awarded Marias Healthcare Services, Inc $3958.00 toward the purchase of a Cardiograph to be used in the Sunburst Clinic. The Cardiograph will be used in the Sunburst Clinic to monitor the heart activity of North Toole County residents. The Cardiograph can detect heart problems and help identify solutions that can save lives. Patients suffering from chest pains can now be tested in Sunburst to determine whether the patient needs to be sent immediately to the hospital or cared for with alternate strategies. The Cardiograph can also be used for pre-surgery testing, DOT or similar physical, sports physicals, and/or general health screenings. The equipment is also compatible with the Marias Medical Center's electronic medical records. More information on the Sunburst Community Foundation check out their website at www.mtcf.org. The Toole County Health Foundation also contributed $500 toward this purchase.