Imagine being able to watch your favorite movie during an MRI.  This is now a reality for patients at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital with the new CinemaVision technology.  These innovative “goggles,” accompanied with MRI safe headphones, immerse patients in a movie of their choice and ultimately help them remain calm during the noisy MRI scan.  This also allows technicians to obtain better imaging results without the use of sedation or anesthesia.

“Our hope is that this technology will decrease the anxiety of our patients that getting an MRI can cause.” said Shelly Stanton, Imaging Director at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital.  “If you have ever had a pleasure of having an MRI, you have experienced the strain of having to lie perfectly still for about 40 minutes while you hear the constant ping of the MRI during your testing. An MRI is a very important diagnostic tool for many medical conditions, but people do have trouble taking the test, especially if they are a least bit claustrophobic.   The loud noise and long period of lying absolutely still can also lead to serious anxiety.”

The MRI goggles produce a video image similar to what a person would experience from a five foot display set while standing ten feet away.  So the image will appear as if it is being projected from a distance to prevent any feelings of claustrophobia. Patients have the option of viewing a pre-selected video or bring a favorite DVD from home to watch, or can listen to their favorite CD.

The CinemaVision System was funded through the Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Foundation as a way to improve a patient’s MRI experience. “As an MRI patient myself, I know first-hand the noise you experience during MRI testing. I am so glad to be able to help improve our PVCH’s patients’ experience and reduce their anxiety while they receive MRI testing,” shared Lewis Young, PVCH Foundation Trustee and donor.

July 1, Pawnee Valley Community Hospital is launching the new Vial of Life program to the citizens of Pawnee County. Essentially the program is designed as a way to capture an individual’s health information in a location that is easily identifiable and assessable for first responders to the scene.

The Vials look like a normal prescription bottle with VIAL OF LIFE on the label with a magnet attached to the bottle. Inside the bottle is a Health Information Sheet along with instructions on how to properly implement the program. The instructions are as follows: 1) Fill out the Health Information Sheet in PENCIL so that in-formation can be updated as needed. Place the Health Information Sheet into the Vial along with a copy of your durable power of attorney or do-not-resuscitate order, if you have them. 2) Place the Vial in a visible spot in the upper right hand corner of your refrigerator where local emergency response teams have been trained to look for it. Then put the magnet on your refrigerator. 3) Take the information sheet with you when you visit your doctor, pharmacist or emergency room. Record any new information, medications or changes to reflect your current status. Replace your Vial in your refrigerator and leave it there unless updates are necessary.

Prior to production the Health Information Sheets were reviewed by both the Larned EMS Director, Josh Huff, and PVCH Nursing Director, Kendra Barker, to make sure that all the information they might need in responding to a medical emergency is included on the form.

“The first responders I have visited with are very excited about this program. They have witnessed first-hand how a patient’s emergency care can be hin-dered when vital health information is not assessable,” shared Linda Henderson, PVCH Marketing Director.

PVCH is training all first responders in Pawnee County on the Vial of Life program. This includes Larned EMS, Larned Police Department, Larned Fire Department, Pawnee County Sheriff, Garfield Fire Department, Burdett Fire Department & EMS and Rozel Fire Department.

The Vials will be available at the PVCH Information desk, ER, Acute, PVMA and other healthcare clinics in the area and the Pawnee County Health Department. The Vials are free to the public.

As the summer heat builds, the cooling water of the new waterfall is now flowing in Pawnee Valley Community Hospital’s Healing Garden.  While the waterfall’s landscaping still has to be completed, patients and staff now have the luxury of being able to visit the Healing Garden and enjoy the gentle sounds of the water cascading down the two resurfacing waterfalls. 

“The completion of the waterfall takes us one step closer to having the Healing Garden completed.  The next step is getting our fence put up along with the irrigation system,” shared Linda Henderson, PVCH Foundation Director.  “Once the fence is up, our patients can experience more privacy in this tranquil setting.” 

Among the items yet to be completed include the gazebo, pagoda and of course the landscaping.  “Everything depends on funding and without the funding we are unable to move forward with this project,” commented Henderson.   Healing Garden Legacy Bricks are still available for a donation of $35  to be engraved and placed along the pathway in the Healing Garden.  Each brick allows for three lines of 14 characters each for engraving.  This is a great way to honor family members, special occasions or loved ones. 

Henderson invites anyone is interested in a tour of the Healing Garden to see the progress first hand to give her a call.  “We are very excited about the progress we have made, but we still have a ways to go before we can see this project to completion.”

“On April 13, I was at home in bed. It was about 2 a.m. and I woke up and just wasn’t feeling right,” shared Sandra Parret about the night that transformed her life. “I didn’t dream it was my heart. I was dizzy but not dizzy. I felt weird so I got up and headed to the bathroom. Once there I just felt like I wanted to lie down so I thought ‘I have to get to the bed’ but collapsed before I got there. My partner called 911 and before we left the house the emergency responders gave me a baby aspirin to chew on. I was then rushed to the emergency room at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital.”

Soon after her arrival Parret was diagnosed with having a heart attack.  “Some things about being in the ER are very clear and other things are a complete blur,” commented Parret. “I really feel like Debbie Tomlinson (ER provider at PVCH ED) saved my life that night. I was never really worried because someone was always telling me ‘you are in good hands’. Someone was paving the way for me.”

Parret was then transported out by Eagle Med to Hays Medical Center. “I ended up having two heart attacks with 100% blockage, and before everything was over I had three stents put in,” commented Parret.   Miraculously there was no damage to her heart.

Prior to her heart attacks, Parret knew she carried some risk factors for heart disease including high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but she was taking medications to combat their effects. Nine years earlier she was also a smoker but had given that bad habit up. And working at a high stress job with demanding deadlines – well that didn’t improve the situation.   You see, because she had a family history of heart disease and combined with the other risk factors, it made her more aware of the possibilities of heart disease than most.

Because of this awareness, Parret had taken up swimming before work with a few of her friends. But two weeks prior to the heart attacks she started to notice that while getting ready for work she would be running out of energy. She brushed it off and contributed it to being sick with allergies, which eventually lead her to give up her swimming routine. Then she started to experience pain in her neck and shoulders which continued to get worse, even while just sitting.

Following her stents and release from the hospital, Parret has been faithful to her rehab appointments at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital. She is currently on a regiment of doing cardiac rehab three days a week alternating with physical therapy two days a week. “I’m at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital five days a week. I love it! I think it is a great hospital and the doctors and staff are wonderful and caring,” shared Parret. “I’m so glad we have it here because having this hospital here truly saved my life.”

As a grandmother to five grandchildren, ages 16 – 5, Parret today understands that life is too short. Her advice to friends and family is that “There is nothing that’s worth the stress of losing your life for it. Enjoy life and find a way to do what you love to do.”

With 114 parking spaces originally allotted for PVCH and PVMA when the new hospital building was completed, no one would have imagined that three years later the hospital would have already outgrown their parking needs. “This is a great problem to have,” commented John Hughes, PVCH Administrator. “The number of people utilizing our facilities continues to grow while we continue to add new healthcare services. With this in mind, we need to make sure that we have adequate parking for our patients, visitors and staff.”

Plans for a new parking lot, located north of the Pawnee Valley Medical Associates at the corner of Carroll Avenue and Eleventh Street, have been in the works for some time now. The new lot will add an additional 42 spaces for campus parking.

Before the lot could be constructed one house had to be removed from the property while a basement house was demolished. Following house removal, foundations, utilities and trees were removed from the lot.

The surveying has been done and the Pawnee County Commissioners have approved the initial architectural drawings. PVCH is now waiting for the final design to be completed with all of the specs.

On July 7, the plan will be taken before the Larned City Council for their approval. Then the job will go out for bids, including bidding for both a concrete parking lot and an asphalt one. This way the Pawnee County Commissioners can compare the two bids and weigh the pro and cons of using either type of material in the construction.

The estimated completion date for the parking lot is the end of summer. Once completed, associates from both Pawnee Valley Medical Associates along with Pawnee Valley Community Hospital will be able to utilize the new parking spaces, which will in turn open up additional parking for our patients.

Pawnee Valley Community Hospital recently took a step into the great unknown by launching a PVCH Facebook page on social media.   “We have been hesitant to do so until now,” shared Linda Henderson, PVCH Marketing Director, “but with the popularity of social media and our need to be relevant with our younger demographics it seemed like the next logical step in connecting with our consumers.”

“Not only will Facebook allow us an opportunity to share new medical advancements and services offered at PVCH, but we are also able to highlight educational opportunities, the outstanding work of our associates and our service in and around the community,” commented Henderson. “You can connect with PVCH’s new Facebook page by searching for Pawnee Valley Community Hospital and “Liking” us to get the latest updates and information taking place at PVCH.”

PVCH is also in the process of upgrading their current website and will be launching a new look in the near future. You can find the current website and relevant PVCH information at pawneevalleyhospital.com.   On the website you can catch up on recent news releases, learn about the various services available at PVCH, Pawnee Valley Medical Associates and the specialty clinics; pay bills online, enter the patient portal and check out current career opportunities at PVCH.