Scott Bond and Dale Reisner, Washington State Hospital Association and Washington State Medical Association wrote a great article, published in the Puget Sound Business Journal, proposing that any conversation about healthcare coverage needs to also include discussion on access. For example: If you have insurance but you have to drive 30 miles or more to seek emergency care, are you truly covered?

Click Here for the Business Journal Article

We would like to thank the Waitsburg Lions Club 7872 and Club President Guy McCaw for their hospitality last night and for the opportunity to present information on the Hospital District. The club clearly has a vested interest in the success and well being of their community; they truly serve!

Choose Red, Choose Life!

We recently completed the installation of our last Cerner, Long Term Care module last month and are one of the first Long Term Care facilities, in the Nation, to install Cerner’s MDS Intelligence and Powerchart LTC products in combination with their Caretracker module. We are excited about this partnership and the positive patient care outcomes using these tools will lead to. To learn more about how Columbia County Health System and Booker Rest Home is improving healthcare for our residents, please read the following:

Cerner & Columbia County Health System MDS Intelligence Solution.

Flu IQ

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ABC news World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer is slated to begin a series of stories exploring health care costs. As noted by the Washington State Hospital Association: Health care pricing is a very difficult and confusing issue, but it’s important for patients to understand their choices and their costs. We encourage patients to learn as much as possible about their options for care and care setting, and discuss their choices with their medical team and their insurer. Furthermore, as health care consumers, we all need to consider cost when making decisions. But it’s also important to consider quality. To that end, the Washington State Hospital Association and its member hospitals provide information on both hospital pricing and quality.

Here is a link to additional resources provided by the Washington State Hospital Association: 

Charge data is an imperfect reference because actual pricing can depend greatly on things like insurance provider and charity care. This data should not be considered a predictor of what an individual will pay.

September 26th from 4 to 6 PM we will be holding a Radiology open house and ribbon cutting event to present our upgraded CT scanner and renovated suite to the community. We will also have representatives from Alliance Imaging here to talk about the MRI Mobile Coach. Additionally, staff will be here to answer questions about DEXA and other Radiology services.

Please mark your calendars and help us celebrate this improvement to Healthcare in Dayton! We will have refreshments provided by the Touchet River Cafe.

New Siemens Somatom 16 CT Scanner in our renovated suite.

One in 3 children in the United States is overweight or obese. Childhood obesity puts kids at risk for health problems that were once seen only in adults, like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

The good news is that childhood obesity can be prevented! In honor of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, Columbia Family Health System encourages your family to:

• Get active outside – Walk around the neighborhood, ride a bike along the dike, or play basketball at the school.

• Limit screen time – keep inactive (sitting down) screen time to 2 hours or less a day.

• Make healthy meals – buy and serve more vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain foods.

Taking small steps as a family can help your child stay at a healthy weight.

• Hammer Down fitness supports health and well being in our community: Hammerdown Here!

• There are scheduled, healthy activities listed on our Calendar: HERE

We can all use this month to raise awareness about the obesity epidemic and show people how they can take action toward a solution — both at home and in the larger community.

We all need immunizations (also called vaccines or shots) to help protect us from serious diseases. To help keep our community safe, Columbia County Health System is proudly participating in National Immunization Awareness Month.

Shots can prevent serious diseases like measles, diphtheria, and rubella. It’s important to know which shots you need and when to get them.

We will be holding a Flu Shot Clinic on 9/17 and 9/19, 9:00am – 5:00pm at Columbia Family Clinic and 9:00am – 5:00pm on 9/18 at the Waitsburg Clinic. We will be charging $27.00 cash, check, or credit on date of service; children can receive a flu shot, free of charge, anytime. If you are Medicare, there is no upfront cost, we’ll just need you to sign the roster. We will not be billing insurance during the clinic, but patients with insurance can schedule anytime.

Everyone age 6 months and older needs a seasonal flu shot every year. Other shots work best when they are given at certain ages.

If you have a child age 6 or younger, Find out which shots your child needs.

All adults need a booster shot every 10 years to help protect against tetanus and diphtheria. Find out which shots you or your teenager needs, and talk to your doctor or nurse to make sure that everyone in the family is current with their vaccinations. For more information, call or visit Columbia Family Clinic or Waitsburg Clinic.

Columbia County Hospital District Chief Executive Officer Dale E. Polla resigned on August 1, 2013 following a special executive session of the Board of Commissioners here.

Polla leaves the District after nearly nine months of service to the District. The Board of Commissioners cited several compelling factors to Polla’s resignation; including a change in the direction of District overall management, embrace of the detalls of the coming Affordable Care Act and the long-term operational health of the District.

The Hospital District has announced the retention of Jon Smiley as the interim CEO. Jon is familiar with our organization and assisted us for several months with a previous transition. He has served as the CEO of Sunnyside Community Hospital & Clinics and remains very active in the healthcare industry in various capacities. He was the longest-serving hospital CEO in the state. In addition to his leadership in hospitals, Jon has been a leader within the Washington State Hospital Association, providing excellent counsel and service to improve health care for all residents of Washington State. In 2005, Jon was awarded WSHA’s Joe Hopkins Award, given each year to an individual making great contributions to rural health care.

Columbia Family Clinic and Waitsburg Clinic are performing $35.00 Sports Physicals

We completed our CT Suite project today with the new to us, Siemens 16-slice, Sensation scanner. We would like to thank Walla Walla Electric, Apollo Heating and Air, MW Engineers, and Blue Room Architecture. We would like to extend a very large thanks to St. Mary’s Medical Center for making this project even possible and the staff at the Department of Health for their expertise.

We couldn’t have completed a project of this magnitude without the fantastic, Columbia County Health System’s staff. The facilities department truly went the extra mile to get this unplanned project completed.

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We are wrapping up an exciting project for both the hospital and the community; with the installation of this new 16-Slice, Siemens, CT Scanner, we will be able to scan faster as well as be able to perform additional studies. Turn around times are very important for certain studies or in times of emergency. Look for a ribbon cutting event in the near future.

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The providers of our Waitsburg Clinic specializing in Family Practice Medicine. Truly outstanding providers practicing in a great community.

The Waitsburg Clinic:
235 Main Street
Waitsburg, WA 99361
509.337.6311

Dr. Kyle Terry, MD
Dawn Meicher, ARNP
Kortney Killgore-Smith, ARNP

Recently, hospital week allowed us to gather the group together after an appreciation BBQ and get a group picture! You should see some faces you know