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Members from the Texas County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary display one of the three new telemetry units purchased after a grant was awarded to TCMH from the Bess Spiva Timmons Foundation and additional funding support was given to the hospital by the Auxiliary. Front row from left, Julia Bryan, Virginia Fisher, Primrose Casey and Doris Scheuer. Back row from left, JoAnn Preciado, Lana Bucher, Reese Bucher, Shirley Kruse and Roma Hollenbeck.
Texas County Memorial Hospital received an upgrade to some essential patient care devices thanks to the support from two area organizations.
Three Nihon Kohden tele transmitters (telemetry units) were recently purchased to replace older units that were in use on the medical surgical floor after TCMH was named the recipient of a grant and then received additional local funding support.
The Bess Spiva Timmons Foundation awarded Texas County Memorial Hospital with a $7,000 grant and additional funding support of $2,205 was donated by the TCMH Auxiliary.
Shortly after the new units arrived, they quickly became an essential tool to improving patient care on the medical surgical floor.
The new units were designed for use with ambulatory patients, giving those who need monitoring the ability to easily move around, while still reporting continuous vitals to nursing staff.
The new telemetry units can monitor electrocardiogram (ECG), respiration and continuous peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (Sp02).
“Telemetry on the medical surgical unit has been invaluable for higher risk cardiac patients,” Theresa Gregg, Medical Surgical and ICU director said. “The continuous monitoring of vital signs is found to be associated with a reduction in intensive care utilization due to the earlier recognition of patient deterioration.”
Gregg explained that the telemetry units give the nurses a window of opportunity for earlier intervention to help stabilize patients before more serious complications occur.
“We are now able to observe even more patients at the same time,” Gregg said, adding that the receipt of the grant from the Timmons Foundation has been a valuable asset for patient care.
“The Healthcare Foundation was pleased to partner with the Timmons Foundation and the TCMH Auxiliary to provide another tool for our staff to use to improve patient healthcare and outcomes at TCMH,” Jay Gentry, TCMH Healthcare Foundation director said.
The Timmons Foundation is a private family foundation of the descendants of Bess Spiva Timmons. The late Dr. Joe L. Spears, a long-time family practice physician from the Cabool area, is a past president of the Timmons Foundation Board. Tim Spears, son of Dr. Joe L. Spears, assisted in obtaining the funding for TCMH through his family’s foundation.
The TCMH Auxillary operates a gift shop at the front entrance of the hospital, and proceeds from the gift shop are donated back to the hospital.
The Auxiliary works with the TCMH Healthcare Foundation to identify capital needs within the hospital, and the Auxiliary directs their donations to meet those needs. Since the group’s inception in 1980, the Auxiliary has donated $196,985.00 to TCMH to help purchase items such as waiting room furniture and equipment for use throughout the hospital.
The TCMH Auxiliary is open to all adults, male and female, that would enjoy volunteering some time at the hospital. For more information on volunteer opportunities, please contact Renina Pearce, volunteer services coordinator at (417) 967-1236.