Madisonhealth Blog
As you are (hopefully) aware, our 2024 strategic plan includes seven goals, one of which is tied to Pride Initiative F.3.1. In that initiative (and its accompanying WIG), we aim to improve the variance against our staffing standard as a way to help us remain profitable and thereby contribute toward ensuring the organization’s future. A committee overseeing this important goal has met with every Mh department, working with managers and directors to determine how to meet the initiative. One department in particular has stood out thus far, in accomplishing this vital objective. MedSurg/ICU, under the direction of Angie Hathaway and Stephanie Hart, has made huge strides in trimming staffing hours to meet the standard. For the first time in a year, the department’s staffing levels were actually within their department’s standard. Last year, an external consulting firm was utilized to provide Mh leadership with benchmarking statistics, including direct comparisons of...
Story by Jeremiah Kalb Hospitalist Jack Clark has found that long days of treating patients have conditioned him to conquer multiple mountain passes in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming (LoToJa) on his endurance road bike in just half a day. “I see my work here as mental training for the endurance sports stuff I do,” Clark says. “It’s rare that I feel burned out and have to get out of the white coat. And I rarely have to get off my bike.” He has participated at LoToJa, the longest one-day USA Cycling sanctioned bicycle race in the country, four times as a solo rider and multiple times on relay teams since 2008. LoToJa’s website states it is one of the nation’s premier amateur cycling races and continues to be a grueling test of one’s physical and mental stamina. The doctor just rides to cross the finish line. Clark, a hospitalist at...
Free Raffle Announcing our FREE RAFFLE with tons of prizes! Help us support these local businesses: THE HICKORY gift card ($50 value) ROCK GYM ($50 value) SPLATTER LAB ($60 value) RIGHTEOUS SLICE gift card ($25 value) SAGE DAY SPA ($100 value) HEBER HATCHETS ($60 value) FAT CATS ($100 value) COLD STONE ($25 value) ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHOCOLATE FACTORY ($30 value) Just take our 3-minute survey. And if you share this post on your own FB page, we’ll put in an additional entry for you! Terms and Conditions These terms and conditions apply to the Madison Memorial Hospital date-night raffle contest being run on the official Madison Memorial Hospital Facebook account, unless otherwise stated. This promotion is only open to legal residents of the United States and Canada. Employees of Madison Memorial can enter. Employees of Marketing and Public Relations at Madison Memorial are prohibited. By entering this promotion you agree to...
Story and Photo by Jeremiah Kalb When patients visit Madison’s Behavioral Health Unit, they work with several professionals to help them return to good mental health. The most well-known professionals involved in this care include a psychiatrist, social workers, and nurses. A recreation therapist is a lesser-known professional who is equally vital to a patient’s success. Emily Johnson, a full-time certified recreation therapist, describes recreation therapy as “helping people discover their zest for living because it’s those activities that you do every day that make you who you are.” Simply put, Johnson helps patients help themselves. “But more with a purpose of mindfulness and intent,” she adds. The roots of recreation therapy first appeared during World War II when the Red Cross provided hospitalized soldiers with recreation therapy programs. Leisure, recreation, and play make up the foundation of recreation therapy. Without recreation therapy, a patient may find it challenging to...
Story and Photo by Jeremiah Kalb The late co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, once said that it’s not a faith in technology. It’s faith in people. Pharmacy Director Dorsie Sullenger, one of Madison’s longest continuously-serving employees, credits his team for the technology innovations he’s helped bring to the hospital’s pharmacy over the years. “I’ve had a brilliant staff,” Sullenger says. “I’d put them up against anybody in the state. They’ve all embraced technology.” During his time, Sullenger has seen the typewriter give way to computers. Computers and phones shrank down to devices his team carries in their pockets, and the internet means work is always with them, for better or worse. Raised near or below the poverty line in Rigby, Idaho, there was only one car in Sullenger’s household, so he walked everywhere as a teen. “I paid for most of my school clothes,” he says. His first job at...
After nearly three years of intensive efforts, culminating in an application process with a post-application survey, Madison Memorial has been awarded one of the most prestigious, hard-to-earn, coveted credentials in the healthcare industry: the Pathway to Excellence designation. On Monday, April 18, during a noteworthy phone call between Madison Memorial staff members and Dr. Nora Warshawsky, Pathway Commissioner for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Madison team was officially notified of our attainment of this long-sought goal. We are now the first (and only) Pathway-to-Excellence certified organization in the state of Idaho. The Pathway designation is a global credential, highlighting an organization’s commitment to creating a healthy work environment where nurses are empowered and valued. Madison Memorial’s nurses constitute an integral part of our team, wielding a powerful voice both in our policies and practices. Pathway nurses, including ours, are fully engaged, which yields higher job engagement, reduced...
Story by Jeremiah Kalb On a chilly evening in March, Anna Struhs loaded a bag of slip leashes and dog collars into her Honda Pilot in preparation for a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Utah. The following day, two furry animals named Misty and Queenie waited at the I-15 Exit 344 in Ogden for the next three legs of their “freedom ride,” and Struhs was their driver. In the “rescue world” where Struhs has played a part since 2019, a “freedom ride” is a magical carpet ride out of an animal shelter and eventually into the loving arms of a new owner. “They are there because some human failed them miserably, by surrendering or abandoning or dumping them,” Struhs says. Approximately 3.1 million dogs enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. About 390,000 of those dogs are euthanized each year. For this transport, Struhs received a text asking her if there was...
Story and Photo by Jeremiah Kalb Prolific poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once proclaimed, “In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I can learn from him.” Ambulatory Services Executive Director Kyle Loveland has found great success in striving to live this principle throughout his career. “I have benefited greatly by realizing that every person I work with is better in at least one way, often many than I am,” Loveland says. “I always learn something from each person I work with.” He has used this success principle several times to get where he was as a hospital intern to presently providing Ambulatory Services leadership to about 100 employees and support for about 40 providers. Raised in Colorado and Wyoming, Loveland did not grow up thinking he would find a career in healthcare. “It wasn’t until my last few semesters of...
Story and Photo by Jeremiah Kalb Each year in the United States, there are approximately 53 million outpatient surgical procedures and 46 million inpatient surgical procedures. All of these procedures introduce a significant risk to the patient – infection. Bacteria like Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Pseudomonas left on surgical instruments can infect the surgical site and lead to patients becoming gravely ill and requiring further medical attention following surgery. If surgical instruments are not sterile, this may also mean spreading serious illnesses or diseases such as HIV/AIDs, Hepatitis, and more. Central Sterile Processing Supervisor Margaret Wood’s job is to lead a mighty team of three technicians that help eliminate all pathogenic microorganisms. Sterilization ensures that infectious pathogens do not transfer to the patient. “Because of our work, patients can safely undergo surgery,” Wood explains. She sees Central Sterile as a critical part of the hospital’s backbone. It’s safe to say that...
Story and Photo by Jeremiah Kalb There’s a line from the 1971 musical Fiddler on the Roof where Tevye’s second daughter, Hodel, voices her wish that Yente looks through her book and make her a perfect match. The story is set in early 20th century Russia but is not unlike the story that unfolds every day at the desk of one particular employee in the hospital. Instead of the “matches” living in or around the little town of Anatevka, the “candidates” Human Resources recruiter Abigail “Abby” Caldwell is looking for can be found visiting Indeed.com or a few other job websites. Caldwell’s applicant tracking software quickly posts jobs to the Indeed site, where 250 million people visit every month, giving her a link to the most talent in every field. “We’ve been happy with the reach it can give us,” Caldwell says. Before she posts a job, Caldwell makes sure...
Madison’s Beloved Jack Law Retires After a Quarter Century of Service
Jack Law, Madison Memorial’s Biomedical Engineer shares some of his journey from the last quarter-century of service at Madison Memorial following his retirement party. Some of the most interesting things that we learned from Jack’s insight include caring for the patient, co-workers, and the guests always at Madison. This inspirational attitude has helped Jack to remain constant in his service caring for everyone as part of fulfilling the mission of the hospital. After a quarter-century of unselfish sacrifice and service, Jack feels that he is a better man because of his time at Madison Memorial. He has felt the sweetness that comes as we care for those in need. He readily includes others in his family and friend group. This gives him the dedication and service leading to excellence in care with every patient all the time.
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