Pawnee Valley Community Hospital is challenging all participants of this year’s 5^th Annual Benefit Fun Run-Walk to discover their inner “Super Hero”. The “Super Hero” Fun Run/Walk, to benefit the USD #495 Larned High School Indian Athletics, is taking on a whole new look as participants are encouraged to wear their favorite “super hero” costume as they navigate this year’s one mile and 5K course.

The event, being held on Saturday, June 13^th, is for runners and walkers of all ages. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. on the PVCH Campus at the intersection of 11^th & Carroll with race time beginning at 8:00 a.m. Prizes will be awarded in the 5K to the top placing adult male and female, youth ages 13 – 18 and 12 & under; and the top One Miler. Prizes will also be awarded for the most creative costume in the categories of adult – both male and female; youth ages 18 – 13 and 12 & under.  

To be guaranteed an event t-shirt you must register on or before June 1, 2015. Registration fee for the 5K Run/Walk: 18 & up is $25; Students 6 – 17 is $15; 5 & under – Free (no shirt); for the One Mile event – $15; Shirt only – $15. Registration forms are available at PVCH, Larned Area Chamber of Commerce and area businesses, or online at pawneevalleyhospital.com.

All of the proceeds from this year’s event will go to benefit Larned High School student athletes through the high school weight program. “Almost every student athlete uses the weight program at the high school”, shared Athletic Director Dustin Wilson. “The importance of this program is starting to be realized by our student athletes in high school competition. We also have the highest number of student athletes progressing on to college teams then we have ever seen in the past.”

In 2014, the PVCH 4^th Annual Benefit Color Fun Run/Walk successfully raised $3,979.19 which helped fund additional free weights and dumb bells for the weight room which is something that all students atheletes use throughout the year.  In 2013, the PVCH Fun Run/Walk successfully raised $3,656 which helped fund a Weight & Conditioning Record Board for the LHS weight room, which designates top lifters by grade, gender and event, plus new training dumb bells.

If you would like further information on this year’s Color Fun Run/Walk please contact Jason Rath or Kimi Bowman at 620-285-8605 or Linda Henderson at 620-285-8840.

Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Sleep & Diagnostic Center in Larned recently received program accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

“The American Academy of Sleep Medicine congratulates Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Sleep & Diagnostic Center on meeting the high standards required for receiving accreditation as a sleep disorders center,” said Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler, AASM president. “Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Sleep & Diagnostic Center is an important resource to the local medical community and will provide academic and scientific value in addition to the highest quality care for patients suffering from sleep disorders.”                 

To receive accreditation for a five-year period, a sleep center must meet or exceed all standards for professional health care as designated by the AASM. These standards address core areas such as personnel, facility and equipment, policies and procedures, data acquisition, patient care, and quality assurance. Additionally, the sleep center’s goals must be clearly stated and include plans for positively affecting the quality of medical care in the community it serves.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine accredited a sleep disorders center for the first time in 1977. Today there are more than 2,500 AASM-accredited sleep centers across the country.

Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Sleep & Diagnostic Center is directed by Son V Truong, MD, and is located at 923 Carrol Avenue. , Larned, Kansas.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is a professional medical society for clinicians, researchers, and other health care providers in the field of sleep medicine. As the national accrediting body for sleep disorders centers, the AASM is dedicated to setting standards and promoting excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research.         

“We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all who have supported us through this endeavor,” shared Kathy Weaver, PVCH Director of Cardiopulmonary / Sleep & Diagnostics Center. “Our team wants the very best for our patients and I appreciate all of the hard work and dedication they have devoted to the success of this program. And we are so grateful for the continued support we receive from our patients and the community. By taking the time to stop and recognize where we are today and how far we have come, we can appreciate all that we have learned through this process in effort to become the best sleep lab in our service area. With this appreciation in mind, we look forward to giving our patients the best sleep lab experience possible as we help them achieve quality sleep in their lives.”

LARNED, Kan. (March 3, 2015) The prestigious American Diabetes Association Education has recognized Pawnee Valley Community Hospital as a certified expansion site for Diabetes Solutions, a quality diabetes self-management education program.   ADA believes that this program offers high-quality education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.

The Association’s Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. These Standards were developed and tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board in 1983 and were revised by the diabetes community in 1994, 2000, 2007 and 2012.

Programs apply for Recognition voluntarily. Programs that achieve Recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management. “The process gives professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality of services they provide,” comments Paul Carrington, PVCH Chief Nursing Officer. “And of course, it assures the consumer that he or she will likely receive high-quality service.” Education Recognition status is verified by an official certificate from the ADA and awarded for four years.

Diabetes Solutions will be offered every other month at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital starting in April. The program is a ten hour course in two consecutive classes (the first and second Tuesdays of the month), running from 8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and includes lunch. It is not required that a patient attend the consecutive classes in the same month. A physician referral is required to take the class and a patient needs to be registered one week prior to the course date.  

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 29.1 million people or 9.3% of the population in the United States who have diabetes. While an estimated 21 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 8.1 million people are not aware that they have this disease.   Each day approximately 4,657 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications – heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve disease and amputation. About 1.7 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2012 in the U.W. Diabetes contributed to 234,051 deaths in 2010, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the US. Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age but without diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading non-profit health organization supporting diabetes research, advocacy and information for health professionals, patients and the public. Founded in 1940, the Association has an area office in every state and conducts programs in communities nationwide.

For more information on Recognized education programs in your area or other American Diabetes Association programs, call your local AHA office or contact the AHA online at www.diabetes.org/erp. For additional information about Diabetes Solutions at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital call 620-285-3161.