May 28, 2008 — Editor,
The students and teachers at Elliott County High School would like to express their gratitude to the businesses in Grayson that contributed to the Job Shadowing Program this week. The students who chose to participate were able to spend the day in an instructional environment and learn about the services performed there. It was very educational experience for everyone involved.
We would like to thank the following businesses for providing their services: Grayson Physical Therapy, City Florist, All Creatures Veterinary Care, Diva’s, McFarland’s, Carter County Chiropractic, Farmer’s Hardware, Pilot/Wendy’s, Southern States, McDonald’s, Food Fair, Fantastic Sam’s, Rent-to-Own, Grayson Sporting Goods, Sloan’s Market, Vogue Salon, James’s ATV.
Amanda Adkins
Elliott County 8th Grader
Sandy Hook
Editor,
I would like to thank everyone that helped make National Nursing Home Week at Carter Nursing and Rehabilitation Center a big success!
A special thank you to the following employees Kathy Carper, Diann Branham, Barbara Hall, Becky Felty, Frances Adams, Jessica Carter, and the Rehab department for sponsoring our ladies in the annual Beauty Pageant.
We also held a reception to honor four of our employees that have been with us for 20 years. We would like to thank Joyce Griffith, Brenda Lewis, Joyce Rogers, and Gay Jones for their hard work and dedication.
Also, we would like to thank WUGO, Grayson Journal Enquirer, and Charles Wallace. We appreciate each and every person who helped us celebrate our special week.
Thank You,
Gaye Clevenger
Activity Director
Carter Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Editor,
King‚s Daughters Medical Center‚s (KDMC) request for 120 beds was denied in 2007 due to a lack of need. A judge ruled that beds were not needed because the patients were not being diverted to another hospital during high census. In reality, patients were requesting to wait in the emergency room for a bed instead of being transferred to another facility. Can a hospital deny a patient this right? Is it right to force these patients to be diverted in order to be approved for additional beds? Diversion is a national problem in which the patient can actually be harmed. When patients are diverted, care is comprised, pain and suffering is prolonged and in some instances it has led to fatalities. In Arizona a ten-year-old boy having an asthma attack was diverted and died. Had he not been diverted to another hospital, he might be alive. Is this the headlines we want to read in the local newspaper?
One reason KDMC needs more beds is because the public is requesting the quality of care that KDMC provides. Another reason is because admitted patients are being held in the emergency room due to lack of inpatient beds. This causes a longer wait time for the sick patients in the lobby. Lastly, beds are needed because studies show that due to baby boomers, emergency room visits in the U.S. could nearly double form 6.4 million visits to 11.7 million visits by 2013. Emergency room over crowding is an enormous problem nationwide and will only get worse in the future. Additional inpatient beds for KDMC would help prevent over crowding in the emergency room and the frustration of longer waits.
One way the community can help with this problem is to write and express your concerns to Shane O‚Donley, Division Director, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Division of Certificate of Need, 275 E. Main St. 4W-E, Frankfort, KY 40621.
Thanks,
C. Hall, R.N., OSU BSN Student
