Hurricane Irene: Up Close and Personal

My girlfriend Angela and I decided to take a long weekend trip to New York City. Angela had not been to the Big Apple before and we were looking forward to a short getaway. After a long storm delay, we finally arrived in NYC around midnight. It was an omen.
Our plan was to fly home on Sunday evening after taking in a Broadway show and a tour of the city, but that was not to be.
On Friday, the forecast tracked a direct hit to NYC from Hurricane Irene.

On advice from the hotel, we headed to the closest Rite-Aid for supplies in the chance that the city was without power for a few days. Bottled water, peanut butter, granola bars, chips and salsa seemed to make the most sense to us, a couple of Iowans in the path of a hurricane. Times Square is always crazy, but we were joined by what seemed like thousands of others also wondering how to prepare for the pending storm. The shelves were soon bare.

New York is often called "the city that never sleeps." But sleep it did by noon on Saturday when it actually shut down. It was historic! About five hospitals in low lying areas actually evacuated their patients and others put their disaster preparedness plans into action. Shops and restaurants closed. All public transit shut down and the Mayor asked everyone to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Fortunately, the best happened and although the storm did create havoc along the Eastern Seaboard, New York City was spared and damage was minimal. All we really experienced was some strong winds and a lot of rain. By Sunday afternoon, the sun actually peeked out and the city came back to life.

When I'm in NYC, folks often ask where I am from and it's great fun to tell them I am from Brooklyn. They say, "That's funny, you don't sound like you're from Brooklyn..." When I tell them the Brooklyn I am from is in Iowa and has 1,500 residents instead of 1.5 million residents, they always get a big smile.

As you might have guessed, our Sunday flight was cancelled and we could not get a flight out until Tuesday. Because of something to do with the hurricane, The David Letterman Show needed an audience on Monday. This was a Bucket List item for both of us, so we were thrilled to score free tickets! It was really fun to see all the behind the scenes things that go on to produce a show like that every weeknight. We agree with Alan Colter, the Late Show announcer that New York City is indeed "the greatest city in the world!"

“Untangle Life” at GRMC Women’s Health Focus and Baby Fair

Guest Blog
Jeanette Budding, Assistant Director

GRMC Communications and Development

It’s easy for anyone to get tangled up in the busyness of life that we can forget to take care of ourselves as we are trying to take care of everyone and everything else in our lives.

But for one night out of the year, women can take time to untangle and enjoy laughing together. Join more than 500 women at the Women’s Health Focus and Baby Fair. In its fifth year, this GRMC event focuses on women – a fun and educational night out with friends. And, this year will be no exception. The theme, “You: Untangled,” is all about letting our hair down, having fun, working out the tangles of life’s stresses, and learning something about ourselves and our inner beauty.

Our keynote speaker, Pat Wynn Brown, will provide a humorous performance about our love-hate relationship with our hair. She says that her Hair Theater Beauty School is a laughter and story-telling ‘conditioner’ for the tangles of life’s stresses and frets. Humor is an age-defier and a good giggle can erase years off our face. The phases of our hair and lives share a common message for all women. Pat’s message will touch each of our lives.

Young women, new and expecting mothers, as well as grandmothers will find the latest information on pregnancy and babies. Plus, we have excellent door prizes and drawings for those who sign up, like a handmade baby quilt, car seats, and more.

This year we have a new activity related to our theme and speaker – makeovers for six lucky women who purchase their tickets by Sept. 21. Winners will have their makeover during the day prior to our event. We also have local salons who will offer 10-minute hair “up-dos.” These are just quick styles for the evening.

Make plans to join us on Wednesday, October 5, at the Grinnell Newburg High School.

The evening will begin at 4 p.m. with 40 educational booths, retail therapy vendors including The Glass Gift Box and area hair stylists.

Once again, a fabulous buffet meal will be catered by the Mayflower Community with salads, pasta dishes, and incredible desserts.

And we’ve thought of everything, even childcare on site and dinner provided for the little ones over 2, all for $3 per child.

Tickets to the event are $18 and financial assistance is available. Register for childcare at the time of ticket purchase. To purchase tickets, go online here. Tickets are also available at The Glass Gift Box located inside GRMC, Dori’s Fine Fashion and Shoes, and Postels Community Health Park.

GRMC Hosts First-Ever Blue Jean Ball

Guest post by Laura Nelson-Lof, GRMC marketing specialist

The Blue Jean Ball Caps a Great Day At the Grinnell Regional Airport
Come to the Optimists Fly-In Breakfast with the family in the morning and come back in the evening for some grown up fun...

Get out your favorite jeans and make plans now to attend the first-ever GRMC Blue Jean Ball on Saturday, September 24, 8 to midnight at Grinnell Regional Airport/Billy Robinson Field.

The event has a little something for everyone. For tickets to this fun celebration of the great relationship between GRMC and the community, you may go here or any of the following locations:
Grinnell: The Glass Gift Box at GRMC, Postels Community Health Park
Brooklyn: Seaton's Grocery
Lynnville: Lynnville Medical Clinic
Montezuma: Montezuma State Bank, Peoples Savings Bank
New Sharon: New Sharon Memorial Clinic
Tama/Toledo: Deer Creek Health Center
Victor: Victor Health Clinic and Victor Market

Tickets are $25 each, two for $45 in advance. $30 each at the door.

Headlining the evening's entertainment are The Dweebs, a popular Wisconsin-based cover band that plays hits from the 70's to today. Check them out here!

Ben Latimer and Dr. Jeff Knobloch are the masters of ceremonies for the evening that will include celebrating Todd Linden's upcoming 50th birthday.

An incredible array of items are on offer for guests to bid on through a silent auction, live auction, and raffle. You can read the list of great items here.

Silent auction items include handmade truffles, framed artworks by local artists, a ride along with Grinnell's finest - the Grinnell Police Department, overnight stays at area bed and breakfasts, gift baskets, exquisite California wines, and more.

Live auction items feature week-long stays in an Estes Park, Colorado condo or a week at a luxury highrise condo in downtown Chicago on Lake Shore Drive.

The raffle offers the change to win an iPad2 or a Flip camera. Something for everyone.

Proceeds from the event will go to support equipment needs in the surgery department at GRMC. For more information, please call 641-236-2954.

Doctors for Adults

I am thrilled that with the addition of Todd Janicki, MD, MBA, on July 1, Grinnell Regional Internal Medicine now accepts referrals for advance adult care. The team of Todd Janicki, Christine Lindgren MD, PhD, and Ronald Collins, Jr., MD, is an excellent one. As I have written before, physician recruitment for a rural community hospital can be challenging. These physicians have years of experience in diagnosing and treating challenging cases. They're not straight out of residency. We specifically recruited for strong clinical backgrounds for these important positions.
We also recruited for those physicians who enjoy practicing in a smaller community with all it has to offer. Physicians who would prefer to be anonymous in their community would probably not fare well in a rural setting where everyone knows (or is related to) everyone else. And we believe that the quality of life in our area is exceptional. Not everyone, though, is drawn to a rural community but thrives in the bustle of urban or suburban life.
This team of physicians expands the spectrum of specialty care that we can provide right here at GRMC. This practice is really a hybrid with an emphasis on hospitalist activity. Each of these three physicians rotates their clinic hours and provides inpatient coverage. For some patients, the internist directs patient care during hospitalization. For outpatient care, patients need a referral from their primary care provider or surgeon and may also be referred to the clinic following hospitalization.
You and your physician can determine if you have a medical condition that would benefit from a consult with these specialists at Grinnell Regional Internal Medicine. It's great to have these physicians on our medical staff.

Did you know GRMC offers childbirth classes?

Guest post by Ashley Grundler, graphic designer, GRMC

My husband, Chris, and I have been attending weekly childbirth classes through GRMC. The two-hour classes run for four weeks on Tuesday evenings. These classes seem to be a bit of a hidden gem and I'm here to tell you, they are a must for any first-time parents.

So far we've attended two classes that have touched on everything from discomforts of pregnancy to what to expect during labor and delivery. And can I just say, I have learned so much!

Kim Jones, RN, is an experienced OB nurse and she has carefully walked us through breathing techniques, showed us equipment we shouldn't be startled to see during delivery, and truly prepared us for what to expect once we arrive at the hospital.

I urge all expecting moms and dads to attend this wonderful and informative four-week class. I already feel less anxious about childbirth and my husband feels more comfortable in his role as my labor support person.

It won't be long now before our daughter is born. These classes answer questions we didn't know we had and have eased a lot of our fears. Our doctors and the staff at GRMC have been with us every step of this journey. We are enjoying these last weeks of pregnancy and are looking forward to welcoming our daughter soon!

Please, don't hurt the ones you love...

The current national debate over the federal budget and debt limits/debt reduction could have a severe impact to hospitals and healthcare centers across the country. Some in Congress are considering a $100 billion cut in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals. These funding programs exist to care for persons with disabilities, seniors, children, and the most poor in our nation.

Most people know the financial challenges that Grinnell Regional Medical Center has faced because of already low reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. More than half of our patients rely on these programs for their primary health insurance. Cuts in these programs affect all of us, whether we use them ourselves or not.

All over the country, hospitals just like GRMC are open 24/7 and stand ready as the only source of medical care for millions of Americans. Please, join me in telling Congress to protect hospital care.

To learn more, go to http://www.protecthealthcare.org/

Another measure of quality healthcare

The following is a guest blog, written by Janet Lacey, director of patient experience at GRMC.

"Our way to create and enhance a service excellence journey to build patient loyalty, foster teamwork, and celebrate the joy of caring."

The phrase above sums up our Compassion in Action service initiative program. We recognize employees and volunteers as they are "Caught In The Act" of providing exceptional service, of going above and beyond what's expected. We have been following this and other paths for years to provide patients with quality healthcare, and an outstanding experience, all at a good value.


For the next several weeks, GRMC employees will participate in short, effective 30-minute meetings called "huddles." These sessions are just like football huddles: short, to the point, and unite us as a team.

Quality huddles contain information for GRMC employees that explains a new program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services called Value Based Purchasing. VBP as it is known, is an initiative required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Through the VBP, CMS will withhold one percent of hospitals' Medicare inpatient payments as an incentive for meeting quality measures. Hospitals can earn back part of that withheld payment by how well we meet certain standards of quality.

This program starts on July 1, 2011, just a couple of weeks away. But, at GRMC, the focus has always been on quality healthcare. The incentive payments are definitely important, but we focus on quality for one major reason. We want to keep our patients as safe and well cared for as we possibly can. After all, we are caring for each other's friends, family, and neighbors.

Over the next few weeks, all employees will participate in a huddle to learn more about the program and how important every single staff member is to this process. The huddles will explain how the safety and satisfaction of our patients, HCAHPS survey scores, Core Measures, and Value Based Purchasing all interact, what they mean, and how we can use them to improve the quality of care delivered at GRMC.