Our house recently acquired a puppy. Please note that I did not say “bought” a puppy. Our son, Andrew, bought a puppy. It seems as if there would be a big difference between us buying a dog and our son buying a dog. Not so much. Odin is at our house. The penguin picture made me think of the way curiosity is at the leading edge of how young people, dogs, penguins, learn. Odin is interested in everything. He’s learning every second. When do we lose that hunger for curiosity? How much greater could our impact on those we serve … Read More
I Am Great At Multitasking… Or Am I?
I’m good at walking. Assuming I started walking around 12 months of age, now I am 672 months of age, and guessing I have averaged a conservative 7,500 steps per day, that equates to 1,836,862,500 steps. I have walking down. I’m good at sending and receiving email. Ray Tomlinson sent the first email in 1971. Let’s assume that I was slow to catch on and didn’t launch my first email until 20 years later. Assuming I have sent or received 100 emails per five-day week since 1991 that’s 702,000 emails. And that’s not even counting weekends. I have email down. … Read More
Many of the biggest moments of our lives happen in hospitals
“Many of the biggest moments of our lives happen in hospitals.” A rural hospital CEO spoke this line at a conference I recently attended. Births, medical diagnosis, treatment of acute injuries, significant procedures, and even death. All items significant enough to deserve a notch in the timeline of our lives. And they happen at a hospital. At a LOCAL hospital. At YOUR hospital. In 2014 There were 2,489 freestanding hospitals in the United States. Freestanding as defined by not belonging to a system. Independent. KSB Hospital is freestanding. In 2018 the number of freestanding hospitals has fallen to 2,053. This … Read More
Coming Soon To KSB Hospital… Even More Doctors!
The mission of KSB Hospital is to restore, maintain and enhance health by providing superior care now and in the future. Nothing is more critical, or frankly more challenging, to realizing that vision than ensuring our community has access to the best physicians and advance practice providers (APPs) right here at home. Recruiting caregivers to a rural setting has always been a long and competitive process, and with recent studies projecting the current shortage of doctors to increase to more than 100,000 nationwide in the next decade, it’s likely to get even more challenging to attract the best talent. Understanding … Read More
Memorial Day Thoughts
As we embark upon Memorial Day weekend, I want to share observations from an event I attended in Washington, DC this week. I was honored to be present at the retirement ceremony for Brigadier General Jay Burks, as he ended his career with the United States Air Force. KSB’s leadership team will remember General Burks from his compelling presentation at our Leader Development Institute. Getting to know Jay and his wife, Valerie, has been one of the highlights of my career. They are among the most brilliant, loving, fun people I have ever met, and I am thrilled for them … Read More
Celebrating Hospital Week – What Makes KSB Successful?
As Hospital Week 2018 concludes, I offer my sincere appreciation to the members of the KSB Family for everything you do that defines our culture and allows miracles to happen every day at KSB Hospital. As I pause and reflect on all the blessings of Hospital Week, I ask what attributes lead to success for an independent, rural hospital? Dedicated physicians that place the patient first. Always; Caregivers that blend attention to detail resulting in safe care delivered with big hearts that recognize the value of the people they care for as well as their colleagues; Support Team Members that create … Read More
KSB Medical Mission – The Final Chapter
My job for the KSB Medical Mission was very straightforward. Bring back the same nine people that left the KSB parking lot on April 14th. Mission accomplished. To tie a bow around the trip, I would like to focus on three themes. The Peruvian People Pride, Dignity, Humor, Patience. These are a few of the words that come to mind when I think of the people our team served. The children are beautiful, and very happy. The people are kind and grateful. Even though our team’s inability to speak Spanish hampered communication, it was clear that the people were pleased … Read More
KSB Medical Mission – Day 8 – by Pratip Nag, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
This is the story of a soccer ball. The night before I left Dixon, my sons Jacob and Dylan deflated a soccer ball for me to take to Peru. A father is always proud when his children emulate the same values – they had already sent different types of chocolates and more than hundred matchbox cars – so I happily packed the soccer ball. On the way to Cusco I imagined different ways I could use the soccer ball to have fun with the kids and adults we will see. I imagined us playing soccer with the kids or … Read More
KSB Mission Trip – Day 7 – By Our Healthcare Professionals
Today’s post shares the experiences of KSB Hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer Linda Clemen, R.N., Marissa Frost, R.N., Social Worker Julie Ammon, and Pharmacy Director Luke Herbert, PharmD. How does care in Cusco differ from KSB? The foundations of nursing, social services, and pharmacy in the US is to care, be kind and give the patient the best medicine to promote healing and health. The focus in Cusco, Peru is the same, only with limited resources. As nurses, we didn’t understand the language and we needed the physicians to utilize the interpreters, so we were left with nonverbal communication, caring touch, … Read More
KSB Mission Trip- Day 6 – By Greg Reckamp, M.D.
As I review the last few days of providing care to some of the wonderful people of Peru, I realize that health problems are universal – arthritis, infection, cancer, kidney stones, glaucoma. Every health problem I saw I could see in Oregon on Monday. The difference of course are the resources available to treat these problems. In the United States we are blessed to to have many resources and medications. But healthcare is more than resources. Providing health care means caring, something that is easy to lose sight of in the day to day frustrations of an office practice. … Read More