It won’t be long before telemedicine is up and running at North Shore Health. The location for the Avera e-Emergency equipment has been decided, and wall boxes and electrical boxes have been roughed in. Camera equipment and monitors have been sent to Sioux Falls, where Avera is located, said Kimber Wraalstad, hospital administrator. When everything is complete, emergency room patients will be assisted by staff from North Shore Health and by medical personnel from Avera.
“It is anticipated that the direct point-to-point circuit for e-Emergency services will be available sometime after Fisherman’s Picnic,” Wraalstad said.
With the addition of e-Emergency services, the medical staff found it necessary to make some changes to their bylaws, which were reviewed by James Hogan, an attorney with Hall Render. The medical staff at their May 17 meeting approved the revised bylaws.
Revisions proposed and adopted were: change the name to North Shore Health from Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center; Separate the Courtesy and Allied Health Medical Staff categories; add a Telemedicine Medical staff category; revise the Telemedicine Credentialing and Privileging section; and correct several typographical errors.
The hospital board approved the revision to the bylaws, which were first completed in 2012.
North Shore Health Director Kimber Wraalstad reported that several candidates had been recruited for open positions in radiology, nursing, and dietary, but due to lack of housing in the area, all declined employment offers. “Not everyone who wants to move here is ready to buy,” Wraalstad said. And as we all know, there is very little housing offered for rent in the county,” she added.
“The issues regarding housing are countywide and have impacted North Shore Health,” Wraalstad said.
Active shooter drill
On June 27 the Workplace Violence Prevention Subcommittee coordinated an active shooter drill with Mike Marturano from St. Luke’s and Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen and other Cook County Law Enforcement personnel. Marturano conducted three different sessions with a limit of 20 people per session. “I was able to participate this year. It was scary, but very useful training. It’s sad that we need to do this, but the reality is, these types of incidents are occurring and it’s best to be ready for them,” Wraalstad said.
Case Mix Survey
A surveyor from the Minnesota Department of Health conducted an onsite audit of North Shore Care Center’s Minnesota Case Mix Classifications for accuracy. The audit was done on May 22 and 23, and was unannounced. Reviewed were residents’ records, observations of residents, and interviews with residents, staff, and families. Only several minor changes were made to the Minimum Data Set. Wraalstad said, “These were excellent results,” and she congratulated Mark Abrahamson, Amy James, Robert McGregor and other members of the Interdisciplinary Team.
Grand Portage Wellness Fair
The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa held its annual Wellness Fair on Saturday, June 17 with Treg Axtell from the physical therapy department on hand to share information about physical therapy services available in Grand Portage. “It is always a great event,” said Wraalstad.
Wall will be built
The hospital board and county have been in discussion for some time about right of way issues with the new nursing home addition along County Road 7.
To satisfy those concerns North Shore Health will build a four-foot-tall retaining wall along the area of concern that will cost $89,409.
“The wall will meet the expectations of the county and allow us to retain parking,” Wraalstad said. “My goal is to not have people park on County Road 7. It’s not safe to park there. This was the best long-term solution we could come up with. Hospital board member Kay Olson was the only vote against building the wall, and Wraalstad said Olson was more irritated with the process than against building the retaining wall.
Leave a Reply