Mountrail County Health Center Drive Through Testing Draws A Crowd

30 Apr 2020 Events, News

Mountrail County Health Center in Stanley hosted a Drive Through COVID-19 testing event on Friday, Apr. 24. Testing started at 10:00 a.m. and ran through 2:00 p.m. although the lineup of vehicles of those waiting to be tested started more than an hour before.

Testing was organized through staging using the Stanley High School parking lot. Those looking to be tested were asked to report to the High School where they were assigned a number to their car. Mountrail County Sheriff Corey Bristol and several of the department officers, Mountrail County Emergency Manager Warren Bogert along with the Highway Patrol were at the school to coordinate that portion of the event.

When told by Health Center staff, they would then send a set number of vehicles down 8th Avenue towards the hospital. Along the way, intersections were being controlled by members of the Stanley Public Works and Stanley Police Department to assure smooth movement of not only those who were waiting to be tested, but also those cars that were just trying to go from one area of the city to another.

At the Health Center, they were met by staff with the information forms prior to testing. They then moved along the driveway area on the east side of the complex for testing. Tests were administered by staff and then brought back into the “command center” where they were documented and packaged for transport to the State Lab for testing.

The Health Center was grateful to all that helped make the testing a success, saying they could not have successfully done this test without coordination and manpower from the Stanley Police Department, Mountrail County Sheriff’s office, Stanley Public Works, and the Highway Patrol. They kept everything moving as smoothly as possible, without clogging up city streets with traffic, and that was no small feat. People participating were in awe of the teamwork as they drove from the staging area and down 8th Avenue to MCHC.

Additional thanks went to Marilyn Gaebe, who provided a delicious lunch for staff and kept them energized for the entire day. They appreciated Estvold Oilfield Services, specifically Jake and Kelsey, for allowing them to use their coolers to safely transport tests from Stanley to Bismarck testing labs and the “best COVID-19 courier in the state” Rodney Essler.

They also expressed their thanks to the community saying, “We would not try to offer these testing services if we did not think that people would show up to be tested, and our community SHOWED UP! It was a steady stream of cars the entire four hours.”

Last but not least, they expressed a personal thank you to the staff of the Mountrail County Health Center. From traffic control, to gathering information from each test subject, to registering each test subject, and properly marking each test to the Providers performing the swabs, and then our lab processing each test from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and to everyone inside the building allowing business to proceed as usual. This was pointed out as teamwork at its ultimate finest.

In the span of a little over 4 hours, the Mountrail County Health Center staff were able to test 189 vehicles, totaling 357 tests that included residents from throughout the county and a few out of county residents. “Thank you to everyone who came to get tested so we can gather more data about how this virus is impacting our community and to start working on getting North Dakota open again,” they said.

The drive through testing helped support Governor Doug Burgum’s goal of increasing testing to start the work on smartly reopening the state.

This testing clinic was a group effort between administration and providers.

Additionally, per direction of the state, the facility is also testing all of their residents and employees starting last week and continuing on Monday.

As of Monday morning, tests completed in Mountrail County had increased from 524 on Friday to 892 on Monday. One new positive was recorded on Monday, up from the cumulative 33 since the first tests administered in the county. That new positive is part of the testing done on Friday and is a case from New Town. Of the 892 tests recorded in the county thus far, 858 have returned negative. Not all of Friday’s test results were included in Monday’s numbers.

This article has been republished by the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.

Mountrail County Health Center COVID-19 Drive Through Testing

20 Apr 2020 Events, News

April 20th, 2020

RE: Mountrail County Health Center COVID-19 Drive Through Testing

Mountrail County Health Center is committed to providing our community the best care possible during the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic. We therefore are offering a complimentary “Drive Through” testing event at our facility on Friday, April 24th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.  We are strongly encouraging residents of Mountrail County who have not previously had access to  drive-through testing to be screened.

Details

COVID—19 testing will be conducted at door 13 at the back of our building.  Please see the map for further instruction.

Please bring your Photo ID.  MCHC employees will register patients while they wait in line.  Please remain in your vehicle with your window rolled up unless instructed otherwise by MCHC staff.

Testing will be offered on a first come first serve basis.  Please be advised that once you enter the driveway for testing, there IS NOT an area to turn around.  You will need to wait until it is your turn to be tested in order to exit. 

You will have a limited amount of time with the provider conducting this test.  The drive through testing clinic is NOT the time to discuss symptoms or other medical conditions with a doctor.  If you need 1:1 time with a provider, or are experiencing severe respiratory symptoms, please do not use the drive through clinic.  Call the Rural Health Clinic at 701-628-2505 so our nurses can triage you individually and get you the care you need. 

If you have questions about this process, please call 701-628-2424.

Mountrail Bethel Home Frequently Asked Questions (4/17/2020)

17 Apr 2020 Did You Know?, News

If you have a spouse, sibling, parents, or other loved one in a nursing home, you may be worried about their safety and well-being because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Here are some key questions to ask the nursing home:

Has anyone in the nursing home tested positive for COVID-19?

There have been ZERO residents in Mountrail Bethel Home that have tested positive for COVID-19.  In the event that a resident at MBH tests positive for COVID-19, all POA’s will be notified.  

There have been ZERO staff members at Mountrail Bethel Home that have tested positive for COVID-19.

For the most up to date information about positive COVID-19 cases in our county, you can visit www.health.nd.gov and click on the “Corona Virus” banner at the top of the page, and then click on the square that says “North Dakota Cases” on the left side of the page.

What is the nursing home doing to prevent infections?

Mountrail Bethel Home has implemented multiple new policies to best protect the health of our residents. 

  1. Mountrail Bethel Home is restricted to essential personnel only.  Visitors are restricted from the entire hospital campus.
  2. Staff are screened prior to each shift for symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
  3. Traffic that is normally routed through Mountrail Bethel Home has been re-routed elsewhere through the building.
  4. All staff is wearing face masks 100% of the time while caring for residents in Mountrail Bethel Home.
  5. All staff is required to change into hospital sanitized scrubs each shift.
  6. The nursing home is following CDC and ND State Department of Health’s guidelines regarding communal activities and dining at this time.  Residents are being asked to self-isolate as much as possible.  When not possible, minimum distance guidelines and maximum group sizing guidelines are followed according to NDDOH and the CDC.
  7. We have doubled our cleaning frequency, also focusing on commonly used/touched surfaces. 

Does nursing home staff have the personal protective equipment (PPE) – like masks, face shields, gowns, gloves – that they need to stay safe, and keep their patients safe? Have they been given specific training on how to use this PPE?

Yes.  The Mountrail Bethel Home has adequate PPE and has a plans in place for usage and re-supply.  Staff have had training in appropriate donning and doffing of PPE.

What is the nursing home doing to help residents stay connected with their families or other loved ones during this time?

Mountrail Bethel Home activity and social work departments have been working individually with families to set up times to video chat with their loved ones.  We are also conducting 1:1 activities with residents in their rooms to help residents maintain social interaction.

What is the plan for the nursing home to communicate important information to both residents and families on a regular basis?  

We will continue to contact the resident directly or the resident’s POA to communicate all high priority information.  Other general information will be posted on our Facebook page “Mountrail County Health Foundation” or in the Mountrail County Promoter.

Is the nursing home currently at full staffing levels for nurses, aides, and other workers?

Yes.  Currently we are at full staff.

What is the plan to make sure the needs of nursing home residents are met – like bathing, feeding, medication management, and social engagement – if the nursing home has staffing shortages?

If Mountrail Bethel Home has shortages in staff, staff from other departments will come help in the nursing home.  We also are currently operating under a waiver that allows the nursing home to “re-activate” CNA’s and Nurses who licenses have expired.  This has created a pool of people MBH could call in to work if needed. If you are concerned about the safety and well-being of a spouse, parent, or other loved one who lives in a nursing home, contact the North Dakota Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program by calling toll-free 855-462-5465, select option 3 and ask for the Long –Term Care Ombudsman Program.

MCMC Offering Telemedicine Appointments

17 Apr 2020 News

Mountrail County Medical Center is now offering virtual visits through telemedicine. 

For non-urgent visits such as medication refills, routine follow-up appointments, etc., they are encouraging all patients to consider the telemedicine visits.

Tammie Braaflat, FNP says that from a Primary Care Provider perspective they are able to still offer the same level of care, without requiring unnecessary travel during the pandemic. Patient’s routine healthcare needs have not stopped due to COVID-19 and medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and depression can all be managed through telemedicine. Feedback from the patient perspective has been overwhelmingly positive as most patients needing routine care are also being very cautious with leaving their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telemedicine is not new, especially in rural areas. Mental health, psychologists and counseling professionals have used this method for quite some time, and most specialty visits through the VA Health System are done by Telehealth.

Braaflat says it is easy for a patient to switch their currently scheduled appointment to telemedicine. They would just need to call the receptionist at the Clinic at the Mountrail County Medical Center and ask them to make the switch.

Patients can also schedule new appointments the same way. Patients that are unsure if they need an appointment can call the clinic. If the receptionist is unsure, they will transfer you to a nurse for more information.

There are many ways to use the technology at the clinic beyond the telemedicine. Patients can email their provider through the patient portal. That allows them to directly message their provider with simple questions like whether they need an appointment. The receptionist should be able to help you set up the patient portal if you have not already done so.

Telemedicine appointments are very easy to navigate with a computer, tablet or smartphone. It uses video and audio allowing patients and their provider can to see each other. Patients without access to a smartphone, computer, tablet etc. can visit with their provider over the phone.

The clinic has been working to set up schedules for all providers as they face the potential challenges with COVID-19. There is a designated provider on-call 24/7 to manage acute emergent and non-emergent patient concerns.  Patients with acute healthcare concerns are urged to contact the clinic directly during normal business hours to speak with a nurse to arrange for the most appropriate visit.

Currently most of our acute visits are being managed through the Emergency Department by the Emergency Provider on-call. Any patient with fever, cough, or any other respiratory symptoms are being treated and screened separately in specially designated area of the hospital. 

A different provider is on staff in the clinic for non-acute/non-urgent clinic services and taking care of the residents in the Bethel Home. Braaflat said she had been working in the clinic for the past two weeks, which has also lowered her exposure risk to potential COVID-19 patients.

This helps to ensure they are taking the best care possible for all patients, and especially those in the nursing home. Braaflat says that a lot of planning has been going on to ensure the care provided within the hospital, clinic, and Bethel Home is done in the safest manner taking into consideration the fragile nature of the nursing home population.

Braaflat says that for the last two weeks most of her clinic visits have been telehealth visits. Anyone that has called has been encouraged to schedule their visits through telehealth if possible. She says that they

have been handling a wide range of visits this way, including those health conditions like diabetes, etc., as well as rashes, prescription refills and more. If during the visit they determine a patient needs to have lab work, or radiology they are ordering the appropriate tests at which time the patient would have to come to the hospital.

With the MCHC campus doors locked, Braaflat says patients might drive by and see an empty parking lot. This is because of the telehealth. A lot of time and energy has gone into planning how to best take care of the community, patients and residents. They are still there wanting to provide the services patients need, especially during this stressful time when more people are facing uncertainty with employment, anxiety and depression. She says it is important that patients can still access their primary care.

Braaflat also says that Medicare and many insurance companies have removed many of the restrictions on telehealth visits, meaning they can bill insurance just like a regular clinic visit.

Connecting to your provider for a telemedicine appointment is very easy. You go to the Mountrail County Health Center webpage at stanleyhealth.org. On the home page there are links to connect to each of the providers. You check in within a few minutes of your appointment time and are connected.

Virtual physical therapy visits are also possible for patients for follow up appointments. The initial appointment would be conducted face-to-face, but follow up appointments may be done virtually.

This article has been republished with the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.

Press Release Re: Patient Movement

30 Mar 2020 News

March 29th, 2020

RE: Patient Movement

To continue to offer the best care to our patients and nursing home residents, Mountrail County Health Center will be instituting a new policy for all patients arriving at MCHC.  Starting on Monday, March 30th 2020 the following changes will be made:

  • All patients presenting to MCHC with any respiratory symptoms (congestion, cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, etc.) will be triaged and screened through the Emergency Department entrance.
  • Patients being seen in the Rural Health Clinic for unrelated symptoms will continue to be screened for any of the above symptoms, and will be redirected to the ED entrance if screening criteria is met.
  • The Rural Health Clinic will continue to see patients for acute, non-emergent visits only.
  • We have deployed a telemedicine platform to use in the Rural Health Clinic for routine visits, and those patients who do not need to be seen on site.  If you had a scheduled visit and our healthcare team determines this may be an option for you, you will be contacted about this prior to your appointment. For more information, please see our home page at www.stanleyhealth.org.
  • Physical Therapy will remain open on a case by case basis as determined by our Physical Therapist.
  • Routine lab work and radiology services will be on a case by case basis as determined by your Primary Care Provider. 

If you feel you feel need to be seen for a healthcare concern in the near future we are asking that you call MCHC first, so that we may triage your symptoms and direct you to the proper location.

*** (701) 628-2505
***

MCHC will continue to keep our community updated as this situation evolves.  We would like to thank our patients for being understanding during this rapidly changing situation. 

COVID-19 Precautions at MCHC

23 Mar 2020 News

March 19th, 2020

Re: Precautions at MCHC

Mountrail County Health Center is dedicated to providing excellent patient care in a safe environment. With the recent nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, we are implementing several precautions that will protect our residents, patients, and staff.

  • We have implemented an employee screening procedure upon entry to the building.
  • We have discontinued use of the Main Entrance and moved hospital admittance “check in” desks away from the entrance to the nursing home.

For the foreseeable future, patients checking in for:

                Regularly scheduled outpatient appointments should check in at clinic reception

                ER or Walk-in patients should check in at the ER door (south side of building)

                All patients will be screened for symptoms PRIOR to entrance.

  • We have restricted foot traffic through the nursing home to essential personnel only.
  • We are following the CDC and ND State Department of Health’s Recommendations regarding communal dining, minimum spacing rules, and group activities for all nursing home residents.
  • We have increased the number of times that frequently touched surfaces throughout the facility are sanitized.
  • All departments are continuing with regular appointments at this time.

Again – if you feel you need to be seen for COVID-19 at MCHC **YOU MUST CALL THE RURAL HEALTH CLINIC IN ADVANCE** to allow our nurses to triage each case individually.  701-628-2505

Please remember this is a fluid situation.  We will be posting more information as we receive guidance from the CDC and the ND State Department of Health. 

Employers: Guidelines For Ill Employees

18 Mar 2020 News

March 18th, 2020

RE: Information for Local Employers

Mountrail County Medical Center is dedicated to caring for our community.  We are asking our local employers to be extremely flexible with their employees that may fall ill. 

Please DO NOT direct your employees to the Mountrail County Medical Center for a work note/work release.  Mountrail County Medical Center remains committed to following guidelines from the CDC and ND Dept of Health.  We recommend all sick employees quarantine at home for at least 5 days and up to 14 days.  Providers at MCMC will not provide clearance to return to work prior to a 14 day quarantine, again taking into consideration information being filtered through the CDC and ND Department of Health.

Employees that you feel need to be seen at MCMC **MUST CALL THE RURAL HEALTH CLINIC IN ADVANCE** to allow our nurses to triage each case individually.  701-628-2505

At this time, testing for COVID-19 type illness is being offered to those patients with severe symptoms or risk factors for severe disease.  The majority of patients with COVID-19 like symptoms can be managed safely at home, without the need for medical care. 

Employees with severe symptoms, namely trouble breathing, should report to the Emergency Department as usual.

Employees should be symptom free before returning to work.    

Thank you for your attention in this matter,

MCHC Staff

Help and Hope for North Dakota Residents

25 Feb 2020 News

According to the North Dakota Suicide Prevention Plan 2017-2020, approximately 117 Americans die by suicide daily.  For North Dakota residents ages 15-24, suicide is the second leading cause of death.  Do these statistics scare you?  They should.  Especially given the fact that in North Dakota, the suicide rate is 25% higher than the national average, and information gathered during the 2019 CHNA indicates that residents of Stanley are struggling as well.   As part of the Community Health Implementation Plan, a formal response to the Needs Assessment, Mountrail County Medical Center pledges to place a high priority on mental health, and to assist community members get the help they need. 

Stephanie Everett, MCMC CEO and Foundation Director stated, “We can no longer allow the mental health struggles of our community to go unchecked.  We know, that with mental health, each day, each moment actually counts, and Medical Center staff need to get proactive and build resources to be a part of the solution.”  At MCMC, our ultimate goal is to transform the community by encouraging confident communication about mental health so our residents know how, where, and when to ask for help.  We want to reach people before they enter a state of crisis (mentally), and encourage growth of coping skills as well as decrease stigma. 

As part of this effort, the Mountrail County Health Foundation has invited Kora Dockter and Alison Traynor to speak at the annual Women’s Expo.  This event will take place on March 9th, 2020 at Rosen Place on 8th, from 5-7 PM.  The theme for this year is “Healthy Mind for a Healthy You”, and will focus on achieving health from the inside out.  Guest speakers Alison and Kora will be giving the talk “Reaching Zero Suicide: Defining Your Role and Spreading Hope”, and will draw on their years of experience in the field and personal experience to call attendees to action. 

Kora Dockter, BSN, NDSPC Chair

Kora Dockter has served as the ND Suicide Prevention Coalition Chair for the last 4 years and lead a statewide call for healthcare system-wide improvement, working along-side Governor Burgum. Kora has worked as a pediatric nurse for over 20 years, serving and advocating for individual children and youth with special healthcare needs and their families and later, at the healthcare system level in her pioneering work championing ND’s Asthma Action Plans and the Medical Home model. Kora is a popular public speaker and advocate in North Dakota for her public health perspective on the suicide crises impacting North Dakotans of all ages.

In 2014 Kora Dockter lost her adult son, Steven to suicide. After a long battle with depression, Steven was discharged from a local psychiatric hospital without as much as a brochure or a discharge plan. Upon his discharge, Kora was told “the place is doing him more harm than good”. 

“As a pediatric nurse, I trusted the healthcare system to provide a standard of care. After all, my parents had been hospitalized at the very same hospital and received excellent care and discharge planning, but I discovered that my son was on the wrong floor with the wrong diagnosis”. 

Kora Dockter applies her 20+ years if nursing experience with best practice care coordination practices to shed light on how treating suicide like any other disease can save lives. Kora will also share her very personal walk with God who through it all was able to bring hope back into her life. 

Alison Traynor, LSW

Alison has served North Dakotans for the past eleven years as a licensed social worker, primarily in crisis response, training and coordination for behavioral health, including human trafficking, intimate partner violence and suicide. Through this work, Alison found that, in ND crisis situations, suicide risk was often a part of the picture and that most helping professionals are unprepared when it came to suicide. Alison has since dedicated herself to research in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention (supporting communities left behind after a suicide loss).

For the past five years, Alison has worked to mobilize statewide suicide prevention efforts as the Director of Suicide Prevention and founding member of the non-profit, ND Suicide Prevention Coalition.  Alison specializes in suicide and violence prevention, holds a Master of Public Health, Policy and Administration, a social work license and will graduate in 2020 with a master’s in social work. In 2019, Alison was named 40 under 40 in Public Health by the de Beaumont Foundation. If you are interested in hearing Kora and Alison speak at the annual “Women’s Expo” on March 9th please call the clinic at 701-628-2505 to reserve your spot.  Limited seating is available – deadline to RSVP is March 4th, 2020.

Offering Patients Hope

12 Feb 2020 News

This article has been published with the gracious consent of the Mountrail County Promoter.

You assume that you know the face of opiate addiction. You believe you can tell just by looking at a person, but that is not true. A person is  often struggling in plain sight. It affects all ages and demographics and could be anyone that you know.
Addiction to opioids can happen quickly and easily. Many times, it persists with that person not looking for the “high” but rather just struggling to feel normal. Withdrawal is so profound and so deep that the only way they can get by is to have that opiate on board. They seek it out just to try to have a normal life. It snowballs and takes over their life.
That is where a new program at the Mountrail County Medical Center’s Rural Health Clinic is looking to help. Abbey Ruland, PA and Tammie Braaflat, FNP are offering a MAT Program to help patients looking to move forward and through addiction to a successful and healthy life.
MAT stands for Medication-Assisted Treatment, a strategy for combating opioid use disorders that combines behavioral counseling with prescription medications containing buprenorphine, such a Suboxone.
By the time patients come to them, they say, they are often desperate. They may have lost their job or relationships to the drug addiction. They may have used up their financial resources to get more drugs. They say it is not in an attempt to get high, but rather to take away the horrible pain that comes with the addiction.
Both have taken the required coursework on how to prescribe the medications that will help and credit current CEO Ben Bucher for also having providers on staff in Cando that are part of the MAT programs. They are also working with them with the ECHO Project. Through the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the North Dakota Opioid Use Disorder TeleECHO gives providers a virtual learning network with other treatment providers. This program gives collaboration, support and ongoing learning with subject-matter experts and healthcare staff as they look for new ways to support patients in their home communities.
Ruland started her training while still working with Trinity in New Town. She finished that just before returning to practice in Stanley. Braaflat took her training in Bismarck in November and finished the online portion in December. They say that much of the training was in pharmacology and the science of chemical addiction. They learned about the different medications that could be used to treat the addiction and how each works, as well as the side effects and things to watch for during treatment.
It covered how to start the process, known as induction, and the protocols to follow so they do not cause sudden severe withdrawal. It included skills for interviewing and counseling patients. It is about spending the time getting to the bottom of the issue, including the “whys” and “hows” and how to change going forward.
They say it opened their eyes to the differences in the traditional ways to look at addiction and slip ups. Instead it needs to be treated like any other disease. Rather than condemning for a slip up or relapse, instead it is creating open dialog about the ups and downs in the process. It is about not condemning the patient, but rather helping them to avoid those issues in the future. They want to build honest and open relationships to be a pillar of hope for the patient.
Opioid addiction needs to be treated like any other disease. You don’t look at a diabetic and ask why they don’t stop eating or why they don’t just do what is necessary. You work with them. Addiction needs to be treated the same way.
The goal  is to help patients get their lives back on these medications. They want them to be able to regain a sense of normalcy that will allow them to function within their relationships and jobs.
Treatment with MAT will help patients in their own community. In the past patients have had to travel as far away as Bismarck. That is  not realistic if their whole life  then revolves on going that far to get the help they want.
Opioid addiction often starts with a prescription. The addiction happens so fast. For many it is a prescription after a surgery and then the patient finds they can’t go without it. It happens quickly and unexpectedly. It then turns into the need to get more pills, often on the street. It can also turn to a heroin addiction rather than pills because that is cheaper and easier to find.
The buprenorphine works to bind tightly to the receptors while providing no altered sense or euphoria. It allows the patient to get through the painful, profound withdrawal from the opioids.
The MAT program is open to patients ages sixteen and up. The buprenorphine can be used by pregnant patients. It is recognized by all major medical organization. Research shows that this treatment method shows better outcomes. It is not substituting one drug for another, but rather finding a way to help patients reach their goals.
Depending on where the patient is in their addiction and what opiates they are using, they will work with them as they stop and then start the buprenorphine. It is all timed out and dosages will be adjusted as needed. They say that everyone’s story is different, so they are focusing on helping each patient meet their goals. It is not an overnight fix, but they can get there.
It is hope in a hopeless situation. They want their patients to be able to see the light and help them get there. Like any other medical problem, the patient has to have the desire to get better. With open and honest conversation, they can help them get there. They will guide you through this to feel good again. They stress that  they want their patients to know that they are there with compassionate open minds to help. They want them to know they do not need to be scared or ashamed to ask for the help.
Although the program in Stanley has only started in the past few weeks, they already have patients that are benefitting from the program. Opioid addiction is a large issue in Mountrail County, but both are quick to point out that if  you are dealing with it or have a family member dealing with it just losing a single person is a big deal.
They have made sure that the pharmacy is carrying the medication that is dispensed by prescription. At the beginning of treatment, patients will likely be seen twice a week until they are stabilized with their withdrawal and treatment. It will then be based on patient needs, but likely at least monthly.
The length of treatment with buprenorphine will also depend on the patient. For some it could be a lifelong prescription. For others it could be working on a plan to get off it as well once the addiction is treated and their situation changes. That is no different than any other medical diagnosis like diabetes, heart conditions, blood pressure and more that require long-term or lifelong treatments.
You can schedule appointments with either Ruland or Braaflat by calling the clinic at 628-2505. If you are concerned about discussing addiction as the reason for making the appointment, they say that you can tell the scheduler you are looking for medication review or a checkup. They say that discretion is one of their highest priorities as they work towards their goal of wanting people to feel better and find hope for a better future.

Nominations Open For Long Term Caregiver Award

22 Jan 2020 News

January 1st, 2020 marks the beginning of the submission period for the North Dakota Long Term Care Association Caregiver Award.  This annual award recognizes employees across the state of North Dakota who go above and beyond their everyday duties to substantially enhance the quality of life for residents of long term care facilities.  The NDLTCA takes this time each year to honor and recognize those special employees who make a difference in the lives of North Dakota’s aging population.  Mountrail Bethel Home, a CMS 5 star rated nursing home, is proud to employ Director of Rosen Place Assisted Living Facility, Lauren Hysjulien, a previous winner of the award.  When asked about the award, Lauren stated, “It was a nice way to feel appreciated for all the hard work I had put in during the previous year”. “You don’t always know that the work you’re doing makes a difference, but receiving this award helped show me that even the little things can make someone’s day a little better”.   

Applications to nominate an employee can be picked up from the Director of Social Services, Kelly Gustavson, or can be found at the link here.  All employees working in North Dakota long term care facilities are eligible for this award, but MUST be nominated by a resident or family member to be considered.  This award will be judged based on how the nominated caregiver substantially enhances the quality of life of residents.  Mountrail Bethel Home’s motto is “nobody takes care of your like your own”.  Employees pride themselves on treating residents with the respect and dignity they would give their own family members, and this results in the top quality care we strive to provide.  Residents and family members are welcome to nominate more than one staff if applicable.  Winners of the award will be presented with a cash prize during the annual NDLTCA Spring Convention in Bismarck.  All nominees will receive a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement from the North Dakota Long Term Care Association, and will be listed in the Caregiver Booklet.   All entries must be postmarked by Friday, February 7th to:

North Dakota Long Term Care Association

1900 N 11th St

Bismarck, ND 58501

For more information, or for any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Kelly Gustavson at 701-628-2424 ext. 118 or at kgustavson@stanleyhealth.org

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