The worldwide COVID 19 Pandemic has affected society in the last three months for all segments, especially health care.
“COVID certainly dominated our activities and thinking, for two solid months,and we’re just now getting back to thinking ahead,” CHS/SEK President and CEO Krista Postai said.
“We did commit to remaining in the (former Mercy) hospital once the county assumes responsibility,” she said. “We are planning some minor remodeling including enlarging the pharmacy and moving all of our diagnostics (including mammography) into the clinic space freeing up the former diagnostic space for Ascension/Via Christi.”
“We are starting to see more people in the clinic now as the state is ‘opening up’,” Postai said. “At one point about one-third of our visits were through televideo or on the telephone but we definitely find that folks in Ft. Scott prefer face-to-face visits. We’re not quite back to normal activity level but getting there.”
“In addition to testing for COVID, we are now offering the antibody testing with a doctor’s order,” Postai said. “This is used to see if you had the virus and have since developed antibodies that could help protect you for getting it again. Although the science is still out on that, as some people seem to be susceptible to having it a second time. So far everyone we have tested thus far have been negative.”
“We have added staff including mental health,” she said.
CHC/SEK welcomed Tien Nguyen, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner to it’s Behavioral Health Services team, according to a press release.
Psychiatric NPs assess and diagnose patients, provide psychotherapy and prescribe medication.
In addition, six nurse practitioners were added to the team.
“CHC/SEK welcomed its first class of nurse practitioner residents, thanks to a partnership between the Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing at Pittsburg State University and the health center. The new residency program is the first such program in Southeast Kansas,” according to the CHC/SEK Facebook page.
“With guidance from their professional preceptors, six nurse practitioners — Lorraine Lorentz, Kelly McGuire, Kelly Mishmash, Brice Saunders, Maranda Scott, and Mayra Watson — will care for patients in Coffeyville, Fort Scott, Pittsburg, and Miami, Oklahoma clinics.”