Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

All ideas do matter at Stormont Vail Health.

Two years ago we started a new program at Stormont Vail called All Ideas Matter or “AIM.” The premise of this program was for everyone on the team to have the opportunity to submit ideas that could potentially improve our organization and our work.

Fast forward through a worldwide pandemic, shutdowns and isolation brought by an unknown virus, the development of a vaccine and promising treatments, a presidential election, COVID-19 disinformation campaigns blanketing social media, and you wind up at today –  when all ideas still matter.

We encourage our team members in all parts of our organization to use this tool to provide their insights on how we can better serve our patients, visitors and our own team.

A recent example of how this works is the idea submitted by Ashley Silva, CT Technologist in Radiology CT Scan area. Ashley submitted an idea to AIM suggesting that a poster be created to place around the hospital and in patient care locations with a legend of scrub colors and what department they represent.

Our team members have been wearing color coded scrubs to differentiate their work responsibilities or home department for several years now, but new team members or patients and visitors don’t always know what those colors mean. For instance, you can identify Birthplace nurses because they wear bright pink scrub tops and black bottoms; Imaging staff are in dark gray tops and dark gray or black bottoms. Behavioral Health team members are in teal and black scrub combinations.

Ashley said she was prompted to submit her idea because of her experience shortly after starting at Stormont Vail. “I found it frustrating to not know who was who and watching visitors not know as well and I worked at a smaller hospital that did this and it worked very well,” she says.

Ashley says she hoped by having a guide to the scrub colors, it could help newly hired team members “with their anxiety in approaching the wrong department and visitors could save time by asking the right people the right question.”

Ashley’s idea was accepted and a poster was created by Ann Wright, Creative Design Specialist, Marketing and Communications. Thank you, Ashley, for your great idea, and thank you, Ann, for the visual and informative poster.

To submit your ideas to AIM, click here: https://svweb.stormontvail.org/AIM/SitePages/Home.aspx

Here are today’s updates:

• Operational Changes Effective Nov. 1
• COVID-19 Scorecard (Scorecard attached in English and Spanish)
• COVID-19 Vaccines
• Deb Yocum Shares Her Breast Cancer Story
• Celebrate Miracle Treat Day this Thursday
• Stormont Vail Health and Team Is Best of the Best – Topeka

COVID-19 Scorecard

Here’s a look at today’s COVID-19 scorecard:

• We have 14 inpatients who are COVID-19 positive. The percentage of hospital patients who are unvaccinated for the past 30 days is 78%. Vaccinated is defined as fully vaccinated individuals for greater than 14 days since the last immunization.
• From the previous day – COVID-19 inpatient discharges: 4. Deaths: 0.
• We have 27 COVID-19 positive patients in the outpatient Enhanced Primary Care program.
• The percentage of patients testing positive for COVID-19 at Stormont Vail facilities the past seven days is 9.2% percent. The percent of positive cases who are unvaccinated is 67%.

COVID-19 Vaccines

• We have administered 93,183 vaccinations, which includes first, second and booster doses of the vaccine.
• COVID-19 vaccines are available through the Stormont Vail Retail Pharmacy, 2252 S.W. 10^th
• To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment:
  • Go through your Stormont Vail MyChart
  • Use the online scheduling assistant at www.stormontvail.org/covid19/
  • Call (785) 270-4786.

Deb Yocum Shares Her Breast Cancer Story

Five years ago, a routine mammogram changed Deb Yocum’s life. Today, she is a breast cancer survivor. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our Vice President, Clinic Operations Officer is sharing her story and encouraging you to schedule your mammogram. This month and always, we thank all of our team members who assist patients in receiving appropriate breast cancer screenings, diagnosis and treatments, and for the hope and healing they provide each individual.

Celebrate Miracle Treat Day this Thursday

This Thursday, Oct. 28, is Miracle Treat Day! All Dairy Queen locations in our 15 county region will donate $1 for every Blizzard^® Treat sold to fund the children’s programs and services at Stormont Vail Health, a Children’s Miracle Network hospital. Take your family or your work team out for a treat and use #MiracleTreatDay on social media to show your support. Can’t make it to Dairy Queen on Thursday?  You can always show your support for Children’s Miracle Network at Stormont Vail by visiting https://www.stormontvail.org/give/donate/

Stormont Vail Health and Team Is Best of the Best – Topeka

Best of the Best -Topeka winners, including Stormont Vail Health, clinics and team members, will be showcased in a virtual broadcast at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27. Best of the Best – Topeka is an annual recognition sponsored by the Topeka Capital-Journal. The broadcast is open to families and friends.

Below are winning categories for our team:

Medical Facility – Stormont Vail Hospital

Pediatrician – Randall L. Schumacher, MD, Cotton O’Neil

Urgent Care Facility – Cotton O’Neil Express Care Clinics

Weight Loss Center – Cotton O’Neil Weight Management Center

We together,
Dr. K