Author: dech_admin

May 2020 Machias – In mid-March, Down East Community Hospital’s VP of Quality, Monique Mills, asked the DECH Auxiliary if they could provide the hospital with 50 handmade isolation gowns to be used as a backup to our personal protective equipment inventory.   The hospital and the Auxiliary agreed to split the cost of the supplies.  Kathy Land, Auxilian and Board Member, on the project, “After reviewing CDC guidelines and some discussion, we agreed to order our fabric and other supplies online from JoAnn fabrics or from Amazon.  That turned out to be easier said than done as fabric and other supplies were either out of stock, in stock and later cancelled, partially shipped, back ordered for a couple of months, etc.

Monique asked that the gowns have cuffs for the sleeves, and this also turned out to be a challenge.  Premade cuffs were out of stock as was the knit fabric with appropriate stretch and recovery.  At this point Carol Bryan came to the rescue with the idea that we use the ribbed tops of socks as cuffs for the sleeves of the gowns.  Such a clever idea and they work beautifully.

When some of the fabric was back ordered and we were unsure we would ever receive it, we decided to go ahead with what we had.  Lisa Carlisle donated fabric from her stash at home and a 94-year-old lady friend of Carol’s donated fabric because she was no longer able to sew and help make gowns.

We have finished production and was able to provide Monique with 54 gowns, thanks to the work of some dedicated Auxiliary members and friends!”

“We would like to thank the Auxiliary and all the special people who put such talent and care into making these incredible gowns; Kathy Land, Lisa Carlisle, Gail Peters, Sharon Dean, Bett Daley, Kathy Burke, Kathy Rioux, Carol Bryan and her friend. This was no small feat and we want you all to know how much this act of kindness is appreciated.” Steve Lail, President & CEO.

“It is always nice to have back up plans in place during a pandemic. The donation of these washable gowns helps to ensure we can continue to deliver care safely in a time where things are ever evolving. Protecting our staff and patients are of key importance. We understand a lot of time and creative thought was put into this project and we are grateful for this community support. It is heartwarming to know this group is always willing to help in any way that they can. The gowns are just as beautiful as their acts of kindness!”  Monique Mills, BSN, RN, CIC, Vice President of Quality/Interim CNO.

April 2020 Machias – Bill Burke, owner of Pat’s Pizza in Machias, began the weeklong deliveries to the staff at Down East Community on April 20.  Bill made deliveries during the day, evening, and night shifts.  The provider practices in Machias, Milbridge, and Jonesport, were not forgotten either. He delivered boxes and boxes of pizza to show Pat’s appreciation to all our staff who have worked each day of the pandemic to care for the community.

“It’s been a difficult couple of months.  All our staff were very appreciative of the generous, thoughtful gesture.  It makes you feel pretty special when someone does something so totally unexpected.  Bill is a nice guy and we appreciate what he does for us and the community.” Steve Lail, CEO of Down East Community Hospital.

April 2020 Machias – Machias Memorial High School Physical Sciences teacher, Jim Lenke, reached out to the hospital to ask if we needed face shields.  Yes, was the answer!  Mr. Lenke used the school’s 3D printers to make visors that were designed with notches spaced across the front of the visor.  These notches were designed to be matched with and fit into the holes made by a 3-hole punch. The reason that is important is it made it easy to produce the plastic shields that would be attached to the visors.  The visors and the face shields were made so they could be easily decontaminated, and the faces shields can be easily replaced when they need to be.  The plan is for each frontline staffer to have their own visor for their use.  So far, visors with face shields have been distributed to the Laboratory, Cardiopulmonary, and Emergency Department staff.  The next round will be distributed to the front-line staff on the inpatient floor.

Hospital CEO, Steve Lail, on the face shields, “We were prepared to pay for the visors, but Mr. Lenke talked with Principal, Brian Leavitt, and he waived all costs.  Machias Memorial High School straight up donated everything! We put out there that we needed PPE, our community comes up with a way to provide us with PPE.  It’s pretty amazing really.”  “We love these face shields and are grateful for and proud of our community that just keeps on giving.” Carrie Cassidy, BSN, RN,CEN, Emergency Department Director.

March 2020 Machias – Down East Community Hospital’s physicians are now able to provide quality diagnostic services at lower radiation doses thanks to the recent arrival of a new CT system. The system, called Revolution* EVO, was installed and ready for use on February 19, 2020 and patients are already benefiting from the advance technology and our ability to use this new system to lower average radiation exposures during CT scans.

“Last year we purchased a new MRI and now we have been able to upgrade our CT System. We are more than just a little excited to be able to bring these upgraded systems to the people of Washington County.”

Today, more than 70 million computed tomography (CT) scans are done per year in the U.S. with tremendous clinical value in helping physicians to provide a fast and definitive diagnosis across a wide range of applications.  CT is a non-invasive and expedient way to look inside the body at organs, soft tissues, vascular structures and bones using x-rays to generate very high-resolution images of the body.  It does this by rotating an x-ray source and detector around the patient as the patient is moved through the device.

With higher resolution than previous technologies, patients not only will get a more diagnostically accurate scan but will also have a better experience during the procedure.  Revolution EVO comes equipped with ASiR*, GE’s proprietary next generation low dose technology, which allows us to provide high quality CT scans at low radiation dose.  Furthermore, clinicians can help reduce patient anxiety with Revolution EVO as the scanner’s unique design allows the operator to spend more time with the patient and less time in front of a computer in an operator’s room, noise is reduced making the experience more comfortable, and faster rotation speeds allow for shorter exam times.

Revolution EVO delivers high definition imaging across the entire body, helping physicians make a confident diagnosis across variety of applications such as, cardiac exams, brain imaging, Low dose, whole organ diagnosis and follow-up for oncology patients, detailed bone imaging, and low dose scans for pediatric patients.

January 2020 Machias – DECH welcomes its first baby of 2020!  Alison Furman, of Princeton, gave birth to Chase Alexander Furman at 9:14am on January 3.  Chase, who is cuddly and very sweet, weighed in at 6 pounds and 13 ounces.

Alison was happy to be presented with the New Year’s baby basket that overflowed with gifts from Down East Community Hospital and area businesses.

Thank you to all who helped us welcome Chase to our Community: Archibald’s, Advanced Auto Parts, Bangor Savings Bank, Bar Harbor Savings Bank, Berry Vines, Bella Vita, Bluebird Restaurant, Colleen’s Hair Salon, Hammond Lumber, Hannaford’s, Helen’s Restaurant, Hing Garden, Kay Richmond, Machias Dental, Machias Family Pharmacy, Machias River General Store, Machias Savings Bank, NAPA, Subway, Tom’s Mini Mart, True Value, Viking Lumber, Ultimate Image Hair Salon, Whole Life Natural Market.

December 2019 Machias – Down East Community Hospital has earned national recognition for its efforts to engage hospitals in increasing organ, eye, and tissue donor registrations across the state, through the Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) Hospital Organ Donation Campaign. The WPFL is a national initiative that unites the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the organ donation community with workplaces across the nation in spreading the word about the importance of donation.

The program challenges hospitals and healthcare organizations to “let life bloom” by educating their staff, patients, visitors, and communities about the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donation and offering them opportunities to register. Down East Community Hospital conducted awareness and registry campaigns to educate staff, patients, visitors, and community members about the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donors and, by doing so, increased the number of potential donors on the state’s donor registry. The hospital earned points for each activity and was awarded platinum recognition through the HRSA Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign.

Down East Community Hospital, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, and Maine Medical Center were the only Maine hospitals to receive the platinum award. CEO, Steve Lail on the award, “As I stated last year, platinum is not often awarded to small rural hospitals.  Part of why that may be true is small rural hospitals don’t have the same resources as larger hospitals.  I do know that if we didn’t have a dedicated champion like Donna Renshaw, we would not have been as successful as we have been in promoting awareness.  Donna Renshaw, RN, BSN, CNOR has worked passionately on this initiative for years and reaches her goals with the help of co-workers who assist her with this initiative.  We are very proud of Donna and the others for what they have done to promote the gift of life.”

If you would like to learn more about giving the gift of life, go to https://neds.org or if you would like to register to become a donor please register at https://registerme.org.

September 2019 Machias – To launch breast cancer awareness month and to promote the importance of early detection, Down East Community Hospital will hold its second annual “Get Your Pink On” march down Main Street in Machias.  The march will be held on Saturday, October 5 and begins at 9am rain or shine.

There will be plenty of pink pirate hats for everyone and pirate skirts, tutus, fedoras, and pink fairy wings available first come first serve!  We also have a limited amount of “Real Men Wear Pink” ball caps.  You are welcome to wear your own costume or just come as you are.

Meet us at the Colonial Parking Lot in Machias to get your pink on before we set out for the dyke!

September 2019 Machias – This year, for Down East Community Hospital’s annual staff development event, the Staff Development Team prepared a team building exercise that included food!  That food, upon the conclusion of the program, were donated to food banks in Machias and Cherryfield.

In all 5 sessions held at the Lee Pellon Center this past week, teams comprised of staff from DECH were tasked with purchasing (with allotted play money) food items from a make shift store that they would then use to construct a creative, workable Putt-Putt golf hole.  The staff was very creative and enjoyed the team building project – partly because it was fun and partly because they would get to donate to a good cause.

“As was recognized in the Community Health Needs Assessment for Washington County, food insecurity is something that many of our friends and neighbors deal with on a regular basis. When our Staff Development Team brought forward the idea of taking the funds for the annual staff development event and purchasing food items that could be used for a team building exercise so we could donate those items to local food pantries, we were all on board because it just made sense.” Steve Lail, President & CEO.

October 2019 Machias – Earlier this month family members of Jeanette J. Stuart and DECH Auxiliary members attended a bench dedication in memory of Jeanette.  The bench was purchased with monies donated to the auxiliary in her name.  The DECH Auxiliary certainly benefitted from Jeanette’s generosity of time and ideas.  A founding member of the Auxiliary, she served in many capacities throughout the years.  Since Jeanette loved flowers and gardens, they felt it appropriate that the bench be placed in the inner courtyard of the hospital knowing that many will spend a few quiet moments sitting on the bench, to rest, reflect, pray, or just to take in some fresh air.  “Many will be thinking of loved ones, as we will think of Jeanette, when we enjoy the garden and the bench dedicated in her name” DECH Auxiliary.

Plaque reads – In memory of Jeanette J. Stuart Longtime dedicated Auxiliary member – 2019