Pulse

Guttenberg Municipal
Hospital & Clinics

CELEBRATIONS G M H C M O N T H LY S TA F F N E W S L E T T E R OCTOBER 2021

A Message from Keri

Birthdays The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on health
care systems across the world, particularly on the mental health and
OCTOBER well-being of our health care workers. This impact weighs heavily on
Cara Peterman 10/1 front-line providers and without recognition has negative downstream
Lana Troester 10/1 Keri Smith
CNO effects on all health care departments.
Hayle Bockenstedt 10/2
Marianne Moore 10/2 Studies from the last 18 months have revealed a remarkable increase
Kayleen Schmelzer 10/3 in stress, depression and anxiety amongst healthcare workers. Literature shows that 29%
Mary Moser 10/5 of healthcare workers report a significant increase in stress, 24% reported anxiety, and 13%
Carol Lamker 10/6 reported clinical depression as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (Shreffler, 2020). This is
Dr. Dikkers 10/10 concerning as emotional stress can lead to decreased patient safety practices, decreased patient
Beth Sadewasser 10/11 satisfaction, and clinical burnout.
Emily Margeson 10/14
As a healthcare leader, and in light of World Mental Health Day on October 10, please know
Shawna Priem 10/17
your GMHC family cares about you and your well-being. Below are some resources to help you

Anniversaries through this time:

GMHC offers EAP counseling through Guidance Resources. You can access EAP by contacting
OCTOBER
Stephanie Wikner 10/2/20 1-855-891-3684.
Donna Jensen 10/5/95 In addition, our very own Cornerstone Family Practice offers behavioral health services. Nicole
Karen Kerper 10/8/20 Makovec, LISW and Kate DeWall, LISW are highly trained in caring for emotional health. Please
Kim Franzen 10/15/12 contact Cornerstone Family Practice for scheduling.
Cynthia Schultz 10/16/20
Lastly, practice self-care by making time for you, maintain a balanced diet, and get adequate
Emily Matt 10/18/99
George Osai 10/22/18 sleep. You are all a vital part of our team and play an important role in the care that we provide.
Connie Anderegg 10/26/94 Take care of yourself!

Keri
Shreffler, J, Petrey, J & Huecker, M, (2020). The impact of COVID-10 on Healthcare Worker, Wellness:
A Scoping Review. West J Emergency Medicine.
Friday
Oct. 1

Wear pink with your jeans

for $10 this Friday to
kick off Breast Cancer
Awareness Month.
New GMHC Employees

Our People
Please help us welcome Jim
and Kathy to Team GMHC!

Pharmacists Month October Medical Assistants Week Oct. 17 - 23

Thank you Shout out this week to our Medical Assistants
Kathy Doar Jim Niehaus
Door Screener Door Screener to Cindy at CFP; Taryn LeGrand, Melissa Ludovissy, Lexi
Schultz, Tori Pierce, and Jordan Ries.
Varo, LeAnn
Esmann, for
all the work
you do in
our inpatient
Physician’s pharmacy.
Assistant
Week Physical Therapy Month
Oct. 3 - 9 October Thank you to our PTs; Kim Franzen
Shout out to
Jeff Ashline for
and Joel Gourley; and PTAs: Amber Glawe, Health
Sydney Pirillo, Ashley Link, Molly Andersen and
his work as a PA in our ED. Lauren Timmerman who assist our patients in
Care
their recovery. Quality
Healthcare Food Service Week
Week Oct. 3 - 9 Oct. 17 - 23
Thank you Robin Esmann and Sarah Meyer
Shout out this week to our
for your leadership in quality.
Dietary Department for cooking
for and serving our patients and Respiratory Care Week Oct. 24 - 30
staff. Thank you Nancy Witham, Thank you to our RTs; Catie Dean, Stephanie
Erlene Kennicker, and Nikki Reuter, Kim Schroeder, Sheila Lee, Amanda
Abbott. Miller, Katie Koch, Amy Sitzmann, Jeremy Cuff
and Brad Streicher for helping our patients
breathe easier.

Healthcare Supply
Chain Week Oct. 3 - 9
Recognizing Lindsey Knockel Healthcare Facilities Week
and Jill Knepper for their work Oct. 24 - 30 A big thank you this week to Jane
that supports every area of GMHC! Parker and Randy Hoeger for ensuring a safe
and efficient
environment
for all patients
and staff at
GMHC.
October is Breast
Cancer Awareness
Month
Thank you to everyone who
donated to Jeans Day in
September. A check for
$250 was given to the Ed-Co
Volleyball Team to help support
recently diagnosed women!
In addition, our Imaging
Department put together a
basket for the Ed-Co Pink Out
Auction held on Oct. 7th.
In the month of October, all
women who get their mammos
at GMHC will get free pink gifts.
Thank you for wearing
pink on Friday, Oct. 1 and
helping us inspire hope!
Save the Date!
Culture Breakfast!
Thursday, October 28th
we’ll be serving up Casey’s
Breakfast Pizza. Yum.
(And pizza for night staff too)
Introducing SafeNetRx
Do you have unopened AND unexpired medications that you
no longer need? DONATE THEM! is a program that will take
your unopened and unexpired medications for distribution to
underserved patients. Simply drop off your meds at Hartig
Drug or Nightingale Drug in Guttenberg, please do not drop of
at GMHC. These pharmacies will work with GMHC to get the Kudos to Family
donations to SafeNetRx. Resource Center!
Acceptable donations: Sealed original bottles or cannisters On the evening of Thursday,
of items including liquids, eye drops, inhalers, vitamins, or October 28, Kari Harbaugh
supplies with good expiration dating of at least 6 months. and Tracy Kregel have been
Blister packaging requirements: no half tablets, tablets & invited to present to the Iowa
capsules must have imprint with identifiable markings and Academy of Family Physicians
intact, 5 or more tablets per card. (IAFP). Their presentation
Unacceptable donations: controlled substances, opened is titled “Addressing Social
bottles, refrigerated medications, and expired medications. Determinants of Health in a
Rural Area”.
SafeNetRx collects donated medications, inspects them rigorously
by pharmacists to assure safety, and partners with providers to Congratulations to both Kari
get medication access to their most vulnerable patients. and Tracy for their successful
And, a friendly reminder, if you have open or expired meds,
work regarding social
determinants and establishing
you can drop them off at Hartig Drug or Nightingale Drug in
the Family Resource Center as
Guttenberg for safe disposal!
a model to the IAFP.
Yes, it
happens
in Iowa!
HIPAA Violation Close to Home
In a recent issue of Report on Medicare Compliance the story was shared of the criminal
conviction of a former Iowa hospital employee for wrongfully accessing her ex-boyfriend’s
protected health information. She sent information from his medical record to a friend on
Facebook Messenger. She even stated in the message “I can access his medical records
at work, but please don’t say anything because I can get fired for this. Lol.” The employee
and the ex were in a legal custody battle over their two children. Eventually the hospital
was informed of the breech, investigated, and notified the patient. They terminated the
employee. What stands out about this case is the criminal conviction. The employee
pleaded guilty to wrongfully obtaining individually identifiable health information under false
pretenses and was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $1,000. The employee
worked at an unidentified Cedar Rapids hospital. Most employees think that the worst thing
that can happen to them is losing their job. The fact that this crossed the line to a criminal
penalty against an individual suggests an interest in more stringent penalties. According to
the 1996 Federal HIPAA statute wrongful disclosure can be punishable by a fine of up to
$50,000, one year in jail, or both. Multiple disclosures could multiply the fine and sentence.
Don’t let this be you. Please take HIPAA Compliance Seriously!

Automated Appointment
Reminders Begin Oct. 5
In collaboration with WELL Health
Inc we will be implementing
automated appointment
reminders through secure two-
way, multilingual messaging in the
patient’s preferred communications
channel: texting or telephone.
If GMHC has our patient’s cell
phone or home phone in its
system, patients will receive
automated appointment reminders
seven days, two days and one day
before their appointments, with an
opportunity to respond or to opt-
out of this service.
October is Health
Literacy Month
Health Literacy Month is time
for organizations and individuals
to promote the importance of
understandable health information.
Since 1999 when Helen Osborne
founded Health Literacy Month,
there have been hundreds of
awareness-raising events taking
place worldwide.
Help patients remember
your instructions with the
“teach back” method:
“I want to make sure I did
a good job explaining your
problem and treatment.
Please tell me in your own
words what you need to do?”
It’s That Time of Year: Flu Vaccinations Clinics
It’s time for our employee influenza vaccinations. The vaccination is free of charge to all employees
and Medical Staff. Vaccinations will begin September 30th. CDC is strongly encouraging early
vaccination this year as they expect this to be an early and more severe influenza season.
The influenza vaccination is MANDATORY for all employees and practitioners. You will only be
excused from getting the vaccination if you have a valid religious exemption or you provide a
physician statement or a copy of a documented statement in your medical record indicating a
compelling medical contraindication to the vaccination.
If you elect to refuse the vaccination, you will not be allowed to work during the influenza season,
from October 19th through April 30th. If you have not received your vaccination by October 18th,
you will not be allowed to work until you provide proof of vaccination.
As in previous years, all employees will need to complete a vaccination form and present the
form at the time of vaccination; the vaccination form is attached. Also attached is the Vaccine
Information Sheet for your reference.
Again this year, we will have designated dates and times for employees to receive vaccinations.
VACCINATION CLINICS are as follows and all employees will need to present at one of these:
September 30th 11:30am-1:30pm – Surgery Break Room 2nd Floor
October 4th 12:00pm-1:30pm – Education Center
October 6th 12:00pm-1:30pm – Education Center
October 8th 12:00pm-1:30pm – Education Center
October 15th 11:30am-1:30pm – Education Center
Bring your completed vaccination form with you. If you are unable to make any of these
times, you may obtain the vaccination from the nursing staff contingent upon their availability.
Nursing and Cornerstone staff may provide vaccinations to each other as in the past; the
completed forms need to be forwarded to Robin Esmann.
All vaccinations must be completed by October 18th.
Those employees who receive the vaccination elsewhere will need to provide
documentation to me of that vaccination; you will also need to complete the attached
vaccination form indicating that you are receiving the vaccination elsewhere forward the
completed form to Robin.
It is extremely important for all employees to receive the vaccination to protect themselves, co-
workers and patients from influenza. Influenza is a very serious and preventable illness. As health
care workers, we have a responsibility to protect our patients by making sure we are immunized
against influenza each year. Many of us come in contact with patients who are at high risk for
influenza-related complications, including children, the elderly and patients with chronic illness.
Health care workers can be a key cause of influenza outbreaks in institutional settings.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Robin at ext. 2357.