St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center today announced it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement and is the first medical facility in the state to achieve this certification.
The advanced certification is for Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers seeking to elevate the quality, consistency and safety of their services and patient care.
St. Mary’s underwent a rigorous onsite review in October when Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with advanced disease-specific care standards and total hip and total knee replacement requirements, including orthopedic consultation, and pre-operative, intraoperative and post-surgical orthopedic surgeon follow-up care.
“Achieving Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certification recognizes St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center’s commitment to provide care in a safe and efficient manner for patients,” said Patrick Phelan, interim executive director, Hospital Business Development, The Joint Commission. “The advanced certification will help St. Mary’s better provide coordinated and comprehensive care to patients undergoing a total hip or total knee replacement.”
“St. Mary’s is pleased to receive advanced certification from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” added Stan Tatum, CEO of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. “We look forward to improving patient safety and quality of care for the increasing number of patients undergoing total hip or total knee replacement surgery and are grateful for the leadership provided by our orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Edgar Fike, Dr. David Keller and Dr. Tim Teske in achieving this certification.”

story and photos by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

The state of Guerrero, Mexico is a juxtaposition of two worlds.
The resort city of Acapulco, backed by the Sierra Madre Del Sur mountains spills into the Pacific Ocean.
Cliff divers entertain throngs of sunbathing tourists daily plunging some 136 feet into the crashing waves below.
But travel a few miles in any direction and you run the risk of becoming entangled in the violence and death associated with what you might expect from Mexico’s heroin capital.
Oklahoma Heart Hospital RN Shawn Watts walked that fine line a few weeks ago, going on a medical mission trip that provided help and hope for hundreds of families.
Watts realized the world is a very different place outside the walls of Oklahoma Heart Hospital South.
An outdoor covered basketball court served as the mission trip’s staging ground surrounded by a dense urban population eager to seek medical care.
Watts served as triage nurse sending patients to either a dentist, optometrist, pharmacist, family practice doctor or pediatrician based on their needs.
“They’re so worry about their kids staying healthy they wanted their kids to get vitamin shots and even antibiotics when it wasn’t appropriate,” Watts said.
At OHH all Watts has to do is walk into a supply room to get whatever he needs to take care of patients.
“They gave me a box of IV catheters, tubing and medication,” Watts said. “It’s field medicine. That’s exactly what it is.”
Fifteen minutes away was storied Acapulco.
“You hear that and think ‘Oh, how nice.’ It’s not,” Watts said. “In Mexico they develop a resort community and you go two miles beyond and it’s gone. That whole culture is gone. You have true Mexico. They have chickens hanging for sale gutted in the streets. They burn their trash in the streets at night.
“Fish are laying out all day long for sale not even iced in the market. You drive whatever direction you want to. It’s just the culture.”
So Watts assumed when he arrived he’d bunk up in a corner in someone’s house on the floor.
Little did he know he would find a resort hotel room for $43 a night.
People from all over would line up early in the morning to catch the clinic as it opened. Some rushed out the door without even taking their morning medication.
“I would check their blood pressure and it would be 180/110,” said Watts, who traveled with the medical-based Fishers of Men. “We couldn’t tell if their medicine was working for them.”
Multivitamin IV solutions, or banana bags, flowed freely for most of the day as the group did what it could for whomever showed up.
Despite residents not always having access to medical care or the medicines they needed, Watts said the culture had a few things working for it.
“You have no choice but cardiac health there because everything was uphill and you walk to everything,” Watts said. “These little old ladies their blood pressure was well controlled just on basic medicines. They didn’t use medications like we do. They used medicines that were more basic, been around for years and didn’t require monitoring afterwards. Long-term they weren’t the best but they were the most practical for that area.”
Diabetes, malnourishment and dehydration were all issues.
In the hot Mexico sunshine, Watts would go through 6-7 bottles of water daily with no access to a restroom.
“We left there at 6 p.m. and we all went to the restroom after that,” Watts said.
The days flowed for Watts.
“I triaged them so fast that I made the doctors and the dentists mad because I set up extra lines,” Watts laughed. “I had a couple CNAs with me and we did blood pressure, scales, temperatures, measurement. I started slotting them so fast the director of the mission board said ‘You come back. You organize. You’re good. You get everything done. You come back.’”
That’s no surprise. ER, ICU and now CCU at Oklahoma Heart Hospital have been Watts’ sandbox for the past 17 years.
His first calling was in applied ministry as a youth minister in an inner city.
He started doing home health on the side.
“It flowed,” Watts said. “I became an aide and did home health for four years and went to nursing school and worked three jobs during that.”
He would go to class for three hours and see patients on his lunch break before repeating the cycle in the afternoon.
“I love it. It just fits,” Watts said. “I’ve tried to slow down and thought about an office job since I’m 50. I just don’t have the gears for it.”
That’s a good thing not only for the people of Oklahoma City but the residents of Guerrero as well.

Chad Borin, D.O., has been appointed Chief of Staff for St. Anthony Hospital.
Dr. Borin is board certified in emergency medicine. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in medical biology. He then went on to complete his medical degree from Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Following his medical degree, Dr. Borin completed an emergency medicine internship at Tulsa Regional Medical Center, and an emergency medicine residency at Integris Southwest Medical Center.
Dr. Borin is the Medical Director of St. Anthony Hospital Emergency Services, as well as an active member of the Medical Executive Committee. He is the first osteopathic physician and first emergency physician to become Chief of Staff. He will serve a two-year term and will be succeeded by Chief of Staff Elect Gregory McKinnis, M.D. in 2019.

by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

Norman Regional Health System Infection Prevention Specialist Julie Smith, RN, MS, CIC has a new ally in the war on germs in her health system.
Actually, she has four new allies and not one of them is over four-foot tall.
Norman Regional Hospital recently invested more than $400,000 in new Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots, which have been credited by other healthcare facilities across the U.S. for helping reduce infection rates.
“We’ve begun to see an impact already,” Smith said. “Your typical day-to-day cleaner doesn’t clean C-diff spores so you have to use special cleaners such as bleach, which is the only thing that works. This will kill the C-diff spores and it cleans the air.
“We have already seen a decrease in hospital-acquired infections.”
Think R2D2 with the ability to emit UV light 10 times brighter than the surface of the sun.
Norman Regional has four new pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) disinfection robots that will enhance patient safety by destroying the microorganisms that cause hospital acquired Infections (HAIs).
These robots use UV light technology to quickly disinfect an enclosed space. The Germ-Zapping Robots emit a blast of UV light that kills bacteria and viruses in minutes within an enclosed area.
Depending on the size of the room, the Xenex robots can disinfect in just 5-10 minutes. The germicidal UV light disinfects a variety of areas and surfaces including bedrails, tray tables, machines, monitors, keyboards and computers.
“We’ve taken the approach that patients come first,” Smith said. “That’s our main stance. If it takes a little longer to turn over the room then we’re going to do it. It’s the right thing to do.”
The technology also provides a total kill of the Ebola and Zika viruses.
It has shown impressive declines in a number of organisms at various hospital sites around the country including:
*70% reduction in ICU C. diff infection rates
*53% reduction in C. diff infection rates
*57% reduction in MRSA infection rates
*100% elimination of VRE in isolation rooms
“The Xenex LightStrike, no-touch disinfection system uses pulses of full spectrum UV light to fuse the DNA of organisms. Once the organism’s DNA is fused it can no longer replicate or mutate, and is no longer infectious,” said Clyde Brawner, Director of Environmental Services at Norman Regional.
Two robots will be stationed at Norman Regional Hospital and two will be at the Norman Regional HealthPlex. After a housekeeper has completed the process of cleaning a room which includes removing trash and wiping surfaces with a disinfectant, the robot will be wheeled into the room to begin its work. The robot uses intense bursts of UV light to disinfect high-touch areas in patient rooms and operating room suites.
It can also be used to disinfect other areas such as utility closets, waiting rooms and more.
“The UV robots are another way that Norman Regional is making patient safety a priority,” said Darin Smith, Pharm.D., Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement. “It’s both important and necessary to have multiple methods of effective disinfection in our arsenal to protect patients, visitors, and healthcare staff.”
Xenex’s patented Full Spectrum pulsed xenon UV room disinfection system is used for the advanced disinfection of healthcare facilities. Due to its speed and ease of use, the Xenex system has proven to integrate smoothly into hospital existing disinfection operations.
Norman Regional Health System is a multi-campus system that serves the healthcare needs of south central Oklahoma.
Norman Regional Hospital is licensed for 324 beds and offers a full range of services including emergency care, oncology, an intensive care unit, surgery and more.
The Norman Regional HealthPlex campus is licensed for 136 beds and features the services of cardiovascular, spine and orthopedics, women’s and children’s and more. The Norman Regional HealthPlex is also the home of the Chest Pain Center and the HealthPlex Heart Hospital.
It has grown to employ more than 2,700 people and have 356 physicians credentialed on the Medical Staff.
The burden of treatment costs has shifted from insurers and CMS to hospitals.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics show that in the United States, one in 25 patients will contract an HAI while in care, with close to 75,000 of these patients dying annually.
CDC figures also show that HAIs cost the United States healthcare industry upwards of $30 billion dollars.

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak is offering innovative ideas on health insurance to national leaders. Doak responded today to a request from U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking for recommendations as lawmakers move forward with the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
“If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, we should take this as an opportunity to do something different, something that works,” Doak said. “Unlike other lines of insurance, the hands of the health insurance industry have been tied by the law, unable to grow and innovate. Now is the time to open the market to see what can be done to provide greater access to affordable health insurance for everyone.”
One of Doak’s suggestions to House Leader McCarthy includes examining the use of microinsurance. This type of insurance focuses on the low-income population and has been successful in countries like India. Doak included research from David M. Dror, Chairman of the Micro Insurance Academy, on how microinsurance could work in the United States.
Other ideas from Doak include:
Permitting sale of insurance across state lines under state regulatory enforcement.
Adopting policies that expand the use of health savings accounts coupled with more affordable, high-deductible health plans.
Allowing states to enact new health reforms at the grade-school level that incorporate physical fitness and nutrition programs to deter preventable illnesses.
Letting states determine the age at which a child can remain on his or her parent’s group health plan.
Enacting legislation that protects consumers from unfair balance billing and surprise billing from individual providers like anesthesiologists, radiologists or medical service companies such as air ambulance and imaging providers.
Allowing states to pursue innovative health care delivery mechanisms including, but not limited to, telemedicine and the expansion of the technologically-based Project ECHO® for rural America.
The Oklahoma Insurance Department and Commissioner Doak will be holding town hall meetings throughout the state to talk with Oklahomans about healthcare reform. The dates and locations of those meetings will be announced at a later date.

Sawyer Hamel discovered his green thumb by growing a cabbage from a small seedling to a head large enough to feed a family. All the third graders in his class received cabbage seedlings from Bonnie Plants, an Alabama based company, to develop a love of gardening. His teacher, Shawna Hughes, has had her classes participate in the cabbage growing program for five years.
“Kids look forward to it. The program really extends learning beyond the classroom,” Hughes said and added, “It’s so important for kids to know where food comes from.”
Hamel’s faithful care for his cabbage seedling resulted in a prize winning vegetable. His name was submitted to Bonnie Plants, along with a photo of him with his 15 pound cabbage, and he was selected as the Oklahoma state winner. His school, Wayland Bonds Elementary in Moore, arranged an assembly for third and fourth graders in his honor where he received a $1,000 scholarship from Bonnie Plants. He also received a plaque signed by Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese.
Ag in the Classroom (AITC) coordinators Cheri Long and Melody Aufill attended the assembly representing the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF). They presented the book “Katie’s Cabbage” to Hughes and provided Specialty Crop Activity Books for all of her students. The AITC program is coordinated jointly by ODAFF, the State Department of Education and Oklahoma State University to promote agricultural literacy in grades pre-K through 12. More information can be found about Ag in the Classroom at www.agclassroom.org/ok .
“Ag in the Classroom lessons and activities help students and teachers participate in experiential hands-on learning about the food and fiber industry in Oklahoma,” said Aufill. “Oklahoma has a diverse agriculture industry that includes commodities and specialty crop production. Bonnie Plants third grade cabbage program provides an excellent experience for students to grow their own cabbage which is a specialty crop grown in Oklahoma.”
Shawn Beam represented Bonnie Plants at the assembly and noted that more than 200 schools participate in the program designed to grow the next generation of gardeners. Beam is the station manager for the Bonnie Plants greenhouse operation in Whitesboro, Texas. His company has delivered more than 14 million cabbage plants nationwide and he encourages all Oklahoma third grade teachers to sign up for free cabbage plants at www.bonnieplants.com.

By Emily D. Lammie, Director of Community Engagement

After almost 27 years of operation in the iconic building on Classen Boulevard and I-44, A Chance to Change opened its doors at 2113 W. Britton Road. Since 1979, the agency has helped guide individuals and families to recovery from behavioral health and substance use disorders. This move has made it possible to enhance the addiction and behavioral health services the agency provides.
Thursday, January 12, 2017, A Chance to Change along with the Northwest Chamber of Oklahoma City held an official ribbon cutting and open house. Additional photos, photo descriptions, and interviews are available upon request.
The new building space has not come without growing pains, however. “We are thrilled to be able to truly become a full service counseling agency in this new location. We understand that many of our clients are in some of their darkest hours, insecure, and struggling for normalcy. Uprooting our location, although much needed and very improved, can be extremely stressful. The construction, décor, and facilities were all designed with our community in mind. From soothing wall colors, to comfortable chairs, the warmth and care our clients felt in the Classen location is still very much a part of the new building space,” said Janienne Bella, Chief Executive Officer.