Our annual Red, White, and Cute photo contest, sponsored by the TCHS Baby Friendly Committee, is now open for entries! Vote for your favorite contestant on the 4th of July at Roosevelt Park in Hebron from 10 am – 1 pm. Winners of each category will receive a prize!

*Child does not need to be wearing red, white, and blue in the photo. Proceeds from the contest will go towards purchasing a non-invasive transcutaneous bilirubinometer to screen TCHS babies for newborn baby jaundice.*

Please submit your photo entry at the following link: https://thayercountyhealth.com/2019-red-white-cute/

Thayer County Health Services is now taking appointments for School and Athletic Physicals for the 2019-2020 school year at our clinics. Kindergarten and 7th grade will need a physical and immunizations, while 8th grade through 12th will only need a physical if they are playing sports. Your insurance wellness benefits may cover the cost. For coverage information contact your insurance provider for details. For an appointment call 402-768-7203.

Jarie Sones, APRN-FNP, examines a child’s teddy bear.

On March 13, Thayer County Health Services (TCHS) held its annual Teddy Bear Clinic, sponsored this year by a generous Thrivent grant on behalf of TCHS employee Jolene Beckmann.

“The purpose of this event is to help children understand what a doctor’s visit will entail by walking through the process with their stuffed animal. It is meant to be fun but also helps to remove the sense of fear that is often associated with going to the hospital,” said Kassi Hartley, Marketing Director at TCHS.

The Teddy Bear Clinic invited children to schedule an appointment for their favorite stuffed animal. Each child experienced the check-in process first hand as they told the volunteer how their stuffed animal was feeling and why it needed an appointment. The answers ranged from broken legs to being tired from too much candy.

Up first was a trip to the lab where they learned about good and bad bacteria, watched their animal receive a blood draw, and were able to see how an infrared vein finder is used. Unfortunately, the device only detected stuffing, but some brave volunteers offered up their arms to see their own veins and the reactions were priceless.

Teddy Bear Clinic Participants

The next stop took them to a handwashing station where they had “germs” in the form of a lotion that shows up under a blacklight placed on their hands. Each child washed their hands and then returned to the blacklight to see all the spots they had missed. A resounding “ew” had many returning for a second trip to the sink to re-wash their hands. After that enlightening experienced, the group traveled down the hall to visit radiology where they saw just how easy it is to receive an x-ray and even took a copy of their stuffed animal’s x-ray home.

Haley Weidel, RN, and a Teddy Bear Clinic participant during the immunization portion.

A trip across the corridor to the clinic led them to immunizations where their stuffed animal was administered a shot and received a cool band-aid in return. After receiving a sticker for being so brave, they met Jarie Sones, APRN, Family Nurse Practitioner, to examine the eyes and ears of their animals.

Once the stuffed animals were patched up and given a clean bill of health by Jarie, the stuffed animals and their owners said goodbye knowing that the hospital isn’t a scary place to go but will keep them healthy and they’ll walk away with a cool sticker.

A special thank you to Sgt. Tim Pickering for conducting car seat checks, Jolene Beckmann for her Thrivent grant and volunteerism, all of the staff and volunteers that manned their stations and led the groups around, and the Thayer County Health Services Baby Friendly Group for their help in planning and running the clinic.

L 2 R: Jamie Koch, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Michael White, RN, Paramedic, Ranae Vorderstrasse, RN, Trauma Nurse Coordinator, Dave Burd, Chief Executive Officer

Thayer County Health Services is proud to announce our re-designation by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Emergency Health Systems as a Basic Level (Level IV) Trauma Center for another four years. Thayer County Health Services is the only Level IV Trauma Center in the region and prides itself on its commitment to provide quality care to trauma patients. This achievement recognizes TCHS’s dedication to providing optimal care for patients who experience a traumatic event, such as a motor vehicle accident, fall, sports injury, drowning, or physical assault.

“At Thayer County Health Services, we are committed to providing excellent care for all patients, including trauma patients.  As a critical access hospital in rural Nebraska, we are not immune to trauma-related events and injuries,” said Jamie Koch, RN, Chief Nursing Officer. “As a trauma designated hospital, we are committed to providing ongoing education and tools to our staff in order to provide the best care possible to all patients, especially those patients involved in a trauma related event.”

Trauma centers are hospitals with resources immediately available to provide efficient surgical and medical intervention to reduce the likelihood of death or disability to injured patients. Accredited trauma centers must be continuously prepared to treat the most serious life-threatening and disabling injuries. Trauma centers across the United States are identified by a designation process and a verification process. The different levels (i.e., Level I, II, III, IV or V) refer to the kinds of resources available within a trauma center and the number of patients admitted yearly.

A Level 4 trauma center provides advanced trauma life support prior to the transfer of patients to a higher-level trauma center and provides evaluation, stabilization, and diagnostic capability care for trauma patients. Trauma Center designation is a process outlined and developed at a state or local level. The state or local municipality identifies unique criteria in which to categorize Trauma Centers. These categories may vary from state to state.

The elements of a Level IV Trauma Center include:

• Basic emergency department facilities to implement ATLS protocols and 24-hour laboratory coverage. Available trauma nurse(s) and physicians available upon patient arrival.
• May provide surgery and critical-care services if available.
• Has developed transfer agreements for patients requiring more comprehensive care at a Level I or Level II Trauma Center.
• Incorporates a comprehensive quality assessment program
• Involved with prevention efforts and must have an active outreach program for its referring communities.

Our trauma team continues their education on an ongoing basis through courses such as trauma to the abdomen, emergency trauma assessment, trauma in the elderly, emergency stabilization and transfer and much more. “Being a Trauma Center is important to our facility and to our community because it improves our care for our patients. Michael White, RN, Dr. Hubl, and I work closely with our local EMS departments and meet with them quarterly to discuss any updates or issues. We also do community outreach and education for the public and the schools as part of our trauma designation,” said Ranae Vorderstrasse, RN, Trauma Nurse Coordinator for Thayer County Health Services. “As a whole, I feel the trauma program has greatly improved the care of our patients and helps quickly get them to a higher level of care if needed.”

There are 49 trauma centers in Nebraska and Thayer County Health Services’ re-designation enhances the care of injured patients in Nebraska’s rural regions. Each trauma center regardless of its level is an integral component of the emergency medical services system.

Thank you to all our staff, especially our trauma team, for all of their hard work and dedication to providing exceptional healthcare close to home.

Source: braintrauma.org, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

The 2019 New Year’s baby for Thayer County Health Services is Emery Ellen Wagner.  She was born on January 20th, 2019, at 11:28 am by Dr. Bryan Hubl.  Baby Emery weighed 8 pounds and was 19.75 inches long.  Emery’s parents are Jordan and Michael from Bruning.

Photo: Back row L2R: Jamie Koch, Chief Nursing Officer; Dave Burd, Chief Executive Officer and Ranae Vorderstrasse, RN
Front Row L2R: Jordan Wagner, Emery Wagner and Michael Wagner

A basket for the New Year’s baby was presented to Emery’s parents by David Burd, TCHS Hospital Administrator.  The basket was overflowing with items from the following businesses and organizations: Amanda’s Cottage, The Bottle Shop, Bruning State Bank, By Design, Burp Rags made by Naomi Grupe, Central Market, Citizen State Bank, D’s Daylight Donuts, Dageforde Insurance Agency, Deshler Chamber of Commerce, The Deshler Rustler, Dick Walsh Insurance Agency – State Farm, Fairbury Journal News, Fleece blanket made by Amanda Hofts, Hebron Chamber of Commerce, Hebron Journal Register, Landmark – John Deere, Majestic Theatre, Mylah Rose Boutique, Noel Photography and Design, Corn Rows Quilt made by TCHS employees and sponsored by the TCHS Hospital Guild, Priefert Pharmacy, Reinke Manufacturing Co., Roehr’s Machinery, Thayer County Bank, and True Value Hardware – Hebron.

Thayer County Health Services would like to thank everyone that contributed to the New Year’s baby basket.

Hospital Named Shaken Baby Prevention Education Champion

Thayer County Health Services (TCHS) in Hebron was recently recognized as an Abusive Head Trauma / Shaken Baby Prevention Education Champion. To become an AHT/SBS Prevention Hospital Champion, the hospital signs a pledge, creates or updates an AHT/SBS policy, provides yearly education to hospital personnel, educates parents with evidence-based AHT/SBS materials in accordance with Nebraska Revised Statute 71-2103, and incorporates The Crying Plan into post-discharge patient calls.

“The stresses of parenthood can be intense, but with proper education, we are ensuring parents know the right way to deal with their new role,” said Division of Public Health Deputy Director Judy Martin. “This is a transformative initiative that impacts children in their first year of life, but affects the rest of their life.”

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) worked with the Nebraska Hospital Association, the Nebraska Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative, and the Brain Injury Alliance of Nebraska to launch the Nebraska AHT/SBS Prevention Education Hospital Campaign. The campaign provides evidence-based education and training to parents of newborns as well as birthing hospital staff.

Eleven babies’ deaths were associated with Abusive Head Trauma for Nebraska infants between 2010 and 2016. Even one infant death is too many.  Many more babes were injured by being shaken but were able to survive. Abusive Head Trauma (AHT), also known as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), is 100 percent preventable and is a form of physical child abuse to a baby or young child.

Resources are available to help hospitals become AHT/SBS Prevention Education Hospital Champions including an AHT/SBS Toolkit – dhhs.ne.gov/HospitalCampaign. Learn more about Abusive Head Trauma/Shaken Baby Syndrome and The Crying Plan at – http://dhhs.ne.gov/publichealth/MCAH/Pages/SafetyResources.aspx