Final week to purchase a piece of new ED

We’re down to the final week for those who would like to become a part of CoxHealth history by purchasing a commemorative brick for the new Cox South Emergency Department.

Employees and the community have a chance to be part of the construction of the new Emergency Department through a program offered by the CoxHealth Foundation.

Donors may sponsor one of 2,200 bricks that will be used in a pathway in the ED garden. The bricks will be engraved with up to three lines of text, such as names, special messages, remembrances or favorite sayings.

All brick donors will be invited to the VIP party to see their bricks before the community open house. All proceeds will provide grants to patients in the Emergency Department who cannot afford their care through the Foundation’s Good Samaritan fund.

Each brick costs $100 and payroll deduction is available in $25 increments for employees. Donors will also receive a miniature brick as a keepsake of their donation.

For more information or to purchase a brick, check out the Foundation’s web site at www.coxhealthfoundation.com

National construction to cause traffic stops Friday afternoon

MoDOT Traffic Alert for Friday, March 26:
National Avenue North of James River Fwy.

Where: National Avenue at entrance to Cox South Hospital just north of James River Freeway (Route 60)

When: 12 Noon to 3 p.m. Friday, March 26

What: Brief traffic stops to enable concrete trucks to enter and exit construction site where new underpass is being built as part of interchange reconstruction project.

Please obey flaggers directing traffic at Cox driveway.

Volunteer Services project offers security blankets for pediatric patients

Spending time in an emergency room can be scary for patients of any age, but for children, it can be especially traumatic.

Pat Long, volunteer coordinator in Volunteer Services, knew how much her own grandkids (shown with a few blankets above) had been comforted by their security blankets in the past and she wanted to bring that same luxury to Cox’s pediatric patients.

“We saw a need when kids come to the ER, so we started asking around,” Long says. A group called Newborns in Need stepped up and donated 25 blankets. On Tuesday, 80 new blankets were delivered by Project Linus-Springfield/SW/Lakes Area, a local chapter of a national organization that provides security blankets, not unlike the one carried by Linus van Pelt in the “Peanuts” comic strip.

The blankets are now available to young patients in both Emergency Departments and those served by Pre-Hospital and Pediatrics.

“It’s a security thing,” Long says, noting that even older children like the handmade blankets. “I think it’s a great customer service to provide that security for them.”

There are currently 105 blankets available and Long is pursuing more. On Saturday, May 15, Volunteer Services is hosting a “Make-a-Blanket Day,” with experts from Project Linus coming to the Ozark Room at Cox Walnut Lawn to teach a class on blanket making. The event will be held from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Participants are asked to bring 1.5 yards of fleece and a sharp pair of scissors to create “no sew” blankets that can be donated to the hospital.

Anyone interested in participating or donating may call Long at 269-3169.

Online physician visits now an option

This month, CoxHealth began offering eVisits at some physician offices. EVisits
allow participating physicians to communicate with and provide care to established patients who need help with routine concerns via the internet.

Any patient of a participating physician can use the service, but the cost varies depending on the patient’s insurance plan. For some patients, the cost is significantly less than a standard office visit.

EVisits is an expansion of CoxHealth’s existing Patient Express service, a secure on-line portal that allows patients to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, get lab results, journal blood glucose levels and more. The eVisits option lets patients essentially e-mail their physician with a question, and the physician will answer back within normal business hours.

“It’s not instantaneous, but it is timely,” says Dr. Kerry Randolph, medical director of CoxHealth Regional Services. “The physician should respond within half a working day.”

The program is a convenient option for patients with routine concerns that don’t necessarily require face-to-face care.

Dr. Tim Jones with CoxHealth Steeplechase Family Physicians has used the service and says, “For someone who is very familiar with themselves and their typical symptoms, and a physician who is very familiar with that patient, it’s a benefit. It’s definitely convenient for patients, saving them the time and expense of coming into the office for something routine.”

Physicians say patients who often experience the same condition and symptoms, such as a sinus infection or urinary tract infection, are the best candidates for this service. During the course of the eVisit, if the physician decides a prescription is necessary, it can be electronically prescribed to the patient’s pharmacy.

Three CoxHealth clinics are currently trialing the service: Cox Family Medicine Associates and Steeplechase Family Physicians in Springfield, and CoxHealth Center Willard in Willard.

“We’re in the testing phase. Our intention is to roll this out to other clinics as it develops,” says Dr. Randolph.

If during an eVisit the physician determines an office call is needed, there is no eVisit charge and the patient can come into the office and pay as they normally would.

“This is along the same idea as our Walmart Clinics, in that we are offering a unique, convenient service at a lower cost to the patient than the standard physician clinic model,” says Dr. Randolph.

CMN unveils updated Baby Buggy

Children's Miracle Network recently unveiled the revamped Baby Buggy, a specialty ambulance designed to transport some of the most critical neonatal patients in the Ozarks.

A grant from the St. Louis Cardinals' "Cardinals Care" program provided for updated artwork on the vehicle. The new look is shown in the top photo, while the one below is the the ambulance's original paint scheme.

The Baby Buggy is also supported by Jared Enterprises, who offer ongoing financial support.

Cox medical supplies en route to Haiti

Medical supplies donated by CoxHealth are headed to Haiti this week. Tracy Lipscomb, wife of Larry Lipscomb, who is a Cox board member and grandson of CoxHealth’s namesake Lester E. Cox, is delivering the supplies to medical clinics near the coastal town of Montrouis.

Lipscomb is traveling to Haiti to volunteer at a local orphanage and to assist a group of American physicians who provide medical care at the clinics. The group is lead by Dr. Tony Hlavacek, a pediatric cardiologist from Charlotte. Lipscomb traveled to Haiti with the group before the earthquake in Haiti and knows there is an even greater need now.

“I did not want to go empty-handed,” says Lipscomb. “I really wanted to be able to take something from Cox on this trip. I asked Dr. Hlavacek for the list of needed medical supplies. Cox just stepped up to the plate. I am so excited to be transporting these supplies for Cox.”

Lipscomb says the medical supplies and medications will make a huge difference for the people who live in the area who don’t have access to the most basic health items like vitamins and pain relievers.

The list of items include: surgical booties, paper surgical gowns, sterile surgical gloves, bandages, ear drops, eye drops, pre-natal vitamins, baby drop vitamins, children’s’ vitamins, anti-fungal creams, pain relievers and medications for urinary, bladder, skin and eye infections.

Plastic, aluminum recycling now available throughout CoxHealth

The Environmental Leadership Council at CoxHealth has announced the kickoff of plastic and aluminum recycling throughout the system with the distribution of dozens of recycling containers for use in departments and on patient floors.

CoxHealth’s Green Team champions will be in charge of placing the bins in their departments and emptying the containers on a regular basis.

Champions will be emptying the containers into outside receptacles managed by WCA Waste Corporation. The receptacles are located at:

Cox South: Near the trash compactor, south of the main hospital, between Engineering and the new ED construction site

Cox North: In the compactor area by the loading dock in the building’s central core; adjacent to the ER entrance.

Cox Walnut Lawn: In the compactor area on the northwest corner of Walnut Lawn.
Hulston Cancer Center: Driveway at the southeast corner of the building. This location also serves Wheeler Heart and Vascular Center.
Ferrell-Duncan Clinic: Northeast corner of the Primrose lot, just east of the construction trailers.

The exterior receptacles will be in place on Monday, March 8.

The project includes a total of 180 recycling bins that will be distributed to departments via the Green Team Champions. To receive a bin, a department must identify a Green Team champion. If your department doesn’t have a champion yet and you’d like to volunteer, feel free to contact the council by e-mailing Keith Roe at Keith.Roe@coxhealth.com.

In addition to aluminum and plastic, CoxHealth is currently recycling cardboard, paper, metal, and batteries from throughout the system.