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Michelle Siebrecht, PA-C Resumes Schedule

Goldsmith and Ullrich serve 9 years on the HMH Foundation Board

Peter Goldsmith and Dale Ullrich

May 9^th marked the final meeting for both Peter Goldsmith and Dale Ullrich who completed three, three-year terms on the Horn Memorial Hospital Foundation Board.  Goldsmith and Ullrich were instrumental in leading Foundation fundraising for several projects over the years including the hospital’s 3-phase facility improvement project and most recently, the Digital Mammography fundraising project.  Thank you for your 9 years of service to our local hospital.

HMH Auxiliary Gives Annual Donation to Hospital

Maintenance employees: Raymond Nepper, Dave Sweeden, and Mark Euchner

This year eight departments of the hospital submitted their “wish list” to the Auxiliary and all items were approved totaling a donation of $10,850.  Bev Jessen, Auxiliary President, comments, “We like to get a list from each department on items that they need but aren’t necessarily in the capital budget.  We were pleased to see the large variety of departments submitting requests this year, as we like to support all areas of the hospital as much as we can.”

In addition to the donation for equipment, the HMH Auxiliary also gave five scholarships to Horn employees to help them further their education in the healthcare field.  Scholarships for $500 were awarded to:  Jenni Sohm, Kenzee Reik, and Shawna Muckey and $250 scholarship recipients were Jessica McGuire and Carrie Arens.

National Stroke Awareness Month

May is National Stroke Awareness Month.  Horn Memorial is taking this opportunity to educate the community on the risk factors and symptoms of stroke, a leading cause of death and serious long-term disability in the United States.

“Time is crucial in the treatment of stroke, as on average, every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke and roughly every four minutes someone dies from a stroke,” said Jill Webb, HMH Outpatient Director.  “The earlier a stroke is recognized and the patient receives medical attention, the greater chance of recovery.”

Strokes occur when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and vital nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or ruptures.  When this occurs, part of the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen, destroying millions of valuable nerve cells within minutes.

If you suspect a stroke, remember the word FAST – F-A-S-T.  F is for face – is your face drooping?  A is for arms – can you lift both arms?  S is for speech – are you slurring your words and T is for time, call 9-1-1 immediately because with stroke, time is of the essence.

Primary stroke symptoms include:

·         Sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the face or facial drooping

·         Sudden numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, especially on one side of the body

·         Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech

·         Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes

·         Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

·         Sudden severe headache with no known cause

Stroke is a leading cause of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States.  According to the American Stroke Association, approximately 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke each year, and 87 percent of these are ischemic strokes.  An acute ischemic stroke occurs when an obstruction, such as a blood clot, blocks blood flow to the brain.  The obstruction deprives the brain of blood and oxygen, destroying valuable nerve cells in the affected area within minutes.  The resulting damage can lead to significant disability including paralysis, speech problems and emotional difficulties.

Treatment may be available if you get to the emergency room immediately upon recognition of stroke symptoms.  Leading a healthy lifestyle, including lowering risk factors like high blood pressure and weight, can also help reduce your stroke risk.

For more information about stroke, visit www.strokeawareness.com

Ida County MRC Attend Training

First row: Patti Andrews, Unit Leader; Judy Andresen, Karen Salmon, Jane Snyder, Marilyn Skaren, Roxanne Stevenson, Mikka Belson Second row: Mike Andrews, Sherry Reiling, Mary Forristal, Sue Salcido, LuAnn Bennett, Anne Johnson, Wanda Freese, Erin Dausel, Dale Wellendorf Back row:

Rhett Leonard, Kevin Freese, Rich Salcido, Devlun Whiteing, Adam Peck, Larry Albrecht  Not pictured:  Jenni Fundermann, Roger Harrington, Kathy Leonard, Amanda Monroe-Rubendall, Laura Peuse, Jenni Sohm, Ed Sohm



Members of the Ida County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) met jointly with the Horn Memorial Hospital nursing staff on Tuesday, April 30 for an afternoon of education.  The group received instruction on what to do in the event of an active shooter as well as watched a video on the Creston, Iowa tornado response.

The MRC is a group of volunteers for the hospital and public health that are trained to respond to an emergency or disaster.

Horn Hospice Volunteers Recognized



Back row: Anne Beery,RN; Sue Schultz, Betty Davison, JoDee Hewitt, and Cindy Mildenstien, Community Health Director

Middle row:  Zanet Thies, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator; Donna Forbes, and Karen Lansink

Front row: Mike Andrews, Sharon Uhl, Pam Shever, RN; and Floyd Wilcke

Volunteers who were absent from photo: Jane Snyder, Florence Wunschel and Karen Burnett



Horn Memorial recognized their Hospice Volunteers at an appreciation dinner held in April.  Horn Hospice currently has 15 active volunteers who collectively volunteered a total of 245 hours of their time in 2012.  They drove 1,619 miles to meet with patients, family and HMH Staff and attended 56 hours of meetings this past year.  Horn Hospice has a dedicated group of volunteers as evidenced through these 2012 statistics!  They are instrumental in providing compassionate care to our patients.

Carpenter Receives Education Certification from IHA

 Randy Carpenter, Chairman of the Horn Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees is a recent “graduate” of the Iowa Hospital Association’s Trustee Education Certification Program.  The trustees were recognized at the IHA Governance Forum held in West Des Moines in April.  Carpenter is the second HMH Trustee to take this training; he joins Marc Jensen who completed it in 2011.

Through this certification program, IHA has provided a framework to support Iowa hospitals in developing effective board members.  IHA has designed the governance education certification program to help hospitals use governance best practices, promote the coordination of care and the best use of resources as well as demonstrate to lawmakers, regulators, physicians, employees, the business community and other community stakeholders that Iowa hospitals:

·         Understand and embrace the need for governance accountability.

·         Govern according to a standard of excellence.

·         Are willing to formally certify their adherence to governance best practices.

·         Are committed to coordination of resources in their communities.

·         Embrace community accountability and transparency.

·         Structure their community benefit and outreach programs to meet identified community needs.

·         Utilize data from IHA to identify and address areas of need, especially regarding the uninsured and underinsured.

·         Utilize performance data to identify opportunities for improvement and monitor progress that improves quality and safety.

·         Integrate local health efforts with state programs. 

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis placed on good board governance. This not only involves understanding basic not-for-profit board ethics but it requires knowledge of the health care industry.  The entire HMH Board of Trustees takes part in an aggressive education program provided by Horn Memorial.   Horn Memorial Hospital and the communities it serves are the beneficiaries of the intense interest the trustees have shown in board education.

Hospital Week Wellness Screenings

HMH Pharmacy Receives Positive Performance Recognition