Oak Ridge Today

Deemed ‘unlikely’ here, but county officials take preventive measures for Ebola virus

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Art Miller and Terry Frank

Art Miller, left, director of the Anderson County Health Department, talks with County Mayor Terry Frank about local preventive measures concerning the Ebola virus. (Photo courtesy of Anderson County government)

 

CLINTON—Anderson County officials are aware of the few cases of the Ebola virus in the United States and are taking early preventive measures in the unlikely event that the virus occurs here, the Anderson County Mayor’s Office said Wednesday.

Preventive measures being taken by local Health Department and emergency officials include conferencing, protocol reviews, and in-service training. This will help ensure that they “know what to do in the unlikely event that a case of the Ebola virus occurs here,” a press release said.

The release said staff members at the Anderson County Health Department recently completed a “table-top exercise” aimed at allowing the employees to plan ahead and be prepared. They used a hypothetical case and followed already-established protocol to deal with the hypothetical case. The procedures involved isolation of the hypothetical Ebola patient upon presentation to the Health Department, protection measures for other Health Department patients and staff members, and immediate communication between the local Health Department, Anderson County Emergency Medical Service, Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, and the Health Department’s regional office in Knox County, as well as the Tennessee Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Similar exercises have been conducted in every health department office across Tennessee,” said Art Miller, director of the Anderson County Health Department. [Read more…]

Y-12 to hold emergency management exercise Wednesday

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New Hope Center

New Hope Center

New Hope Center to be closed to public until noon

Emergency response personnel from the State of Tennessee and the Y-12 National Security Complex—along with other federal, state and local emergency management personnel—will conduct an emergency management exercise on Wednesday, October 15, at Y-12’s New Hope Center.

Because of the activities associated with the exercise, New Hope Center, located on Scarboro Road, will be closed to the public from 8 a.m. to noon the day of the exercise, and so will East Portal Road from Scarboro Road up to and including Portal 13.

The exercise should be completed by late morning or early afternoon, a press release said. [Read more…]

Honors: Nurse in Family Birthing Center named ‘MMCer of the month’

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Shelia Justice

Shelia Justice

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Shelia Justice, licensed practical nurse (LPN) in the Family Birthing Center at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, has been named the “MMCer of the Month” for September.

In her duties, Justice provides care for post-partum mothers and babies as well as post-operative patients in the Family Birthing and Women’s Services Center. She is a scrub nurse for c-section deliveries and assists with other deliveries. Justice also ensures that the department is well-stocked and at the ready for patients. She has been with Methodist for a cumulative 13 years.

Justice is described by Donna Longmire, director of Surgical Services, as “an asset to Covenant Health, Methodist Medical Center, and the Family Birthing Center. [Read more…]

Still time to sign up, sponsor Acorn Classic golf tournament for MMC Foundation

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ORHS Cheerleaders Decorate Hospitality House

Cheerleaders from Oak Ridge High School helped to decorate the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center for Christmas last year. The houses offer temporary lodging to patients and families who must travel for extended care at Methodist, even during the holidays. (File photo)

Player spots and sponsorship opportunities are still available for the Methodist Medical Center Foundation’s 2014 Acorn Classic. The annual golf tournament will take place on Monday, October 20, at the Oak Ridge Country Club with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Registration is open for individual players and teams, and a limited number of sponsorship opportunities are also available.

The Acorn Classic is a four-person scramble tournament open to 120 amateur players, a press release said. The entry fee is $150 per player or $600 per team of four, and it includes green fees, cart, lunch, four contest holes, and a dinner awards banquet. Proceeds will benefit the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center, which provide free lodging to cancer patients who must travel for treatment, as well as other outpatients and families as space allows.

“Join us and help the Hospitality Houses provide a home away from home to patients and their families when it’s needed most,” Acorn Classic Chair Tom Hilton said. [Read more…]

Updated: Driver injured, pulled from van crash that sparks gas line fire

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Car Crash and Gas Line Fire Oak Ridge Turnpike

The male driver of this Honda Odyssey minivan was taken to the hospital after he crashed into a wooded area alongside Oak Ridge Turnpike and sparked a gas line fire. The area of the gas line fire is in the left foreground.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:05 p.m.

A male driver was taken to the hospital after a westbound minivan went down a small embankment on the north side of Oak Ridge Turnpike, crashed into a wooded area, and sparked a gas line fire on the east end of town.

Driver Thomas Debusk, 43, of Knoxville, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The cause of the crash, reported at about 1:43 p.m., was not immediately known. The gold 2003 Honda Odyssey van driven by Debusk struck an aboveground natural gas pipeline in a small basin below Oak Ridge Turnpike and next to the parking lot at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is across from Tractor Supply. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge firefighters save five lives, fire trucks help, chief says

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Oak Ridge Firefighters Lifesaving Medals and Harness Family

Oak Ridge firefighter and engineer Michael Vanosdale, left; Captain Eric Rackard, second from left; and paramedic Austin Keathley, right, helped save the life of Jason Harness, 50, second from right, on July 21. The three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals during a September 5 ceremony for three new fire engines. Also pictured is Nicole Harness. “These are the men that saved my husband’s life,” she said.

 

Oak Ridge firefighters have saved five lives so far this year, and the department’s fire trucks—which carry $30,000 worth of medical gear, including cardiac equipment—played a key role, Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said this month.

The five lives have all been saved since January; they were cardiac saves, Kerley said.

“That wouldn’t happen without these trucks,” the chief said during a September 5 ceremony to unveil three new Sutphen fire engines, the first for the Oak Ridge Fire Department in about 16 years.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley

During that ceremony, three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals for their role in saving the life of Jason Harness, 50, on July 21 at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Harness’ wife, Nicole Harness, reported that her husband was in the car and not breathing that summer evening. The rescuers who responded moved Jason Harness from the vehicle to the ground, where “he was found to be pulseless, not breathing, and unresponsive,” Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said.

Harness had had a massive heart attack, with 100 percent blockage. [Read more…]

Honors: MMC names August employee of the month

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Gilly Lipang

Gilly Lipang

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Salvacion “Gilly” Lipang, a housekeeper in the Environmental Services Department at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, has been named the MMCer of the Month for August.

Lipang has been with Methodist since 2010. She is described by Chris Rhodes, environmental services director at Methodist Medical Center, as “one of the most upbeat, happy individuals I have had the privilege of meeting.” Rhodes said Lipang always has a smile on her face and is a very hard worker who will do any task asked of her to the best of her ability. Rhodes said he receives many compliments on her friendliness and dedication to her job.

Lipang received two nominations. One nomination noted, “Gilly exceeds all standards of care for our patients and performs excellent care at all times.” This nomination continued: “When she cleans the rooms for our patients, they shine. She doesn’t miss a spot; everything in the room is in its place and ready for us to greet the patients with comfort in knowing she has performed a job well done.” [Read more…]

MMC Foundation hosts 2014 Acorn Classic golf tournament

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Sponsorship, player opportunities available

Plans are under way for the Methodist Medical Center Foundation’s 2014 Acorn Classic. The annual golf tournament will take place on Monday, October 20, at the Oak Ridge Country Club with a 1 p.m. shotgun start.

Registration is now open for individual players and teams, and a variety of sponsorship opportunities are available. The Acorn Classic is a four-person scramble tournament open to 120 amateur players. The entry fee is $150 per player or $600 per team of four, and it includes green fees, cart, lunch, four contest holes, and a dinner awards banquet.

Proceeds will benefit the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center, which provide free lodging to cancer patients who must travel for treatment, as well as other outpatients and families as space allows. [Read more…]

Health Night on the Town lecture to look at end of life

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Methodist Medical Center Entrance at Night

The main entrance to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge is pictured above at night. (Photo courtesy Covenant Health)

Death, you might say, is a fact of life. It’s something we all must face, and while it may not do to dwell on death, it can benefit all of us to understand it, accept it, and plan for it—for both ourselves and our loved ones.

That’s the goal of the Ethics Committee at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge as they present “Preparing for End of Life” at August’s Health Night on the Town lecture. The Ethics Committee is comprised of physicians and other experts from the medical field who will share their professional and personal experiences. The program will discuss the biology of death, the psycho-social aspects of death, and the practical aspects of death, such as advance directives and other legal documents.

Health Night on the Town on will take place Tuesday, August 26, at 7 p.m. in the Ridge Conference Room of Methodist Medical Center located at 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The program will be led by members of the Ethics Committee at Methodist Medical Center, which includes members of Methodist’s medical staff: family practice physician and Ethics Committee chair Jose Malagon, MD; orthopedic surgeon Randall Robbins, MD; anesthesiologist Stephanie Smith, MD; and Methodist employees: chaplain Jack Sills, clinical social worker Julie Emig, and risk manager Lisa Chadwick.

Health Night is a free medical lecture series and is open to the public. For more information about Health Night on the Town, call (865) 835-4662.

Toddler hospitalized after apparently falling into swimming pool

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Note: This story was updated at 12:26 p.m.

A toddler who apparently fell into a swimming pool on Tuesday morning reportedly remained in an intensive care unit in Knoxville, authorities said.

The Clinton police and fire departments were dispatched to a home on Melton Hill Circle in Clinton at about 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, the Clinton Police Department said in a statement.

“A 911 caller told dispatchers that a two-and-half-year-old boy had, apparently, fallen into a swimming pool,” the statement said.

The CPD said the boy was first transported to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

“At last report, the child remained in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at East Tennessee Childrens Hospital in Knoxville,” the statement said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Covenant Health’s heart surgery program receives highest ratings

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Methodist Medical Center Entrance at Night

The main entrance to Methodist Medical Center, a Covenant Health hospital in Oak Ridge, is pictured above at night. (Photo courtesy Covenant Health)

 

Covenant Health’s cardiac program has received the highest quality designation from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, an organization dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung, and esophagus, a press release said. The society represents nearly 7,000 surgeons, researchers, and allied health care professionals worldwide.

Based on data submitted from Covenant Health’s elite heart hospitals—Parkwest, Fort Sanders Regional, and Methodist medical centers—Covenant’s cardiac program received a three-star quality ranking in the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, regarded as the world’s premier clinical registry for adult cardiac surgery, the press release said. About 95 percent of U.S. programs that perform adult cardiac surgery participate in the database, but only about 10-15 percent of participants receive the three-star designation.

The cardiac team was recognized for quality outcomes for coronary artery bypass graft, or CABG, a surgical procedure to create new paths around narrowed and blocked arteries to allow blood flow to the heart. The quality designations are based on data measures for U.S. hospitals in several areas related to CABG surgery, including survival and complication rates, use of surgical techniques shown to deliver better outcomes, and appropriate use of perioperative medications. Covenant’s cardiac surgery team performed above national averages in overall composite scores for the study. [Read more…]

MMC offers classes for expectant parents, getting in shape, improving health

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From classes for expectant parents to getting in shape and improving your health, Methodist can help you keep your cool as the summer heats up!

Classes will be held at the hospital, located at 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge, unless otherwise noted. For more information and registration, call (865) 835-4662 or 1-800-468-6767. [Read more…]