State of the Hospital

Steven Smith, Rob Matt and Susie Broome discuss the hospital.

Rob Matt, Vice President of Hancock Regional Hospital spoke to Kiwanis about the current state of Hancock Regional Hospital and the current events in hospitals in general.  Matt spoke of several current trends:

·         Delivery of high quality health care at a lower cost.

·         Hospitals need to become institutions that help people stay out of the hospital by keeping them healthier.

·         The need to tighten the connection between all the patient treatments using common platforms that adhere to national standards for all patients’ records and billings.

·         Regional cooperation among suburban hospitals

During questions Matt also addressed the process for recruiting and retaining medical professionals, the community benefit survey, the use of hospitalists, and future information access from the hospitals portal. 

Further information can be found on the hospital website at http://www.hancockregionalhospital.org  .

Dr. Gerry Smith speaks about Sierra Leone

Dr. Gerry Smith of Greenfield spoke to Kiwanis about his involvement with NarSarah Clinic in Sierra Leone, West Africa.  Dr. Smith serves on the board of SEED (Salone Enabling and Empowering Development, Inc.).  SEED operates the NarSarah Clinic the Koinadugu District of Sierra Leone. 

Dr. Smith told us of the conditions in Sierra Leone one of the poorest countries in the world.  Life expectancy is 46 years, the literacy rate is 21%, 70 % of the population lives below the poverty line, 32% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water and childhood mortality is 25%.  Most of the country has no electricity, water, or sanitary sewer.

The NarSarah Clinic sees over 50 patients per day, some of whom walk over 10 miles to get to the clinic.  1 to 2 babies are delivered per day.  In addition to the clinic SEED provides: Health Education Programs; HIV/AIDS Awareness classes; Women Against Poverty; Business Development; Agriculture and Animal Husbandry training; Education including scholarships; Camp for Amputees and War Wounded; and a School for the Blind.  One of the educational programs taught the local clients how to can and preserve food for the rainy season when there are no harvests.  The equipment including canners and canning jars was provided in addition to the training. 

More information on SEED, including programs and how to help, can be found at www.seed-narsarah.org .  

New Member Deborah Smith

Deborah Smith, a new Kiwanis member, with her sponsor Kathy Medved.