Whitley County high school and home-schooled seniors are invited to apply for four $1,000 Parkview Whitley Healthcare Scholarships offered by Parkview Whitley Hospital.

 The scholarships are designed for seniors who have chosen to pursue their higher education in the medical field. Areas of priority are clinical healthcare, rather than administration or management.

 One scholarship each will be awarded to a home-schooled senior and to the following high schools:

•  Columbia City High School
• Whitko High School
• Churubusco High School

 The scholarship applications have been distributed to the high schools listed. Home-schooled seniors may call (260) 248-9375 to request an application.

 The $1,000 scholarships have a one-year renewal option if the following requirements are met:

•  Contact the granting agency to request a renewal
• Maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 (“B”) or better
• Show proof of enrollment in classes for the next year of study
• Provide a copy of the current transcript
• Provide a brief summary of your educational experience to date

 Recipients must plan to attend an accredited institution to pursue a two-year or four-year degree. The scholarship will be paid directly to the college for application toward the student’s expenses.

 Applications for these scholarships are to be submitted to the Human Resources Department, Parkview Whitley Hospital, 353 N. Oak St, Columbia City, IN 46725, no later than April 9, 2010.

Fort Wayne, Ind. – Monday, Feb. 15, 2010 — Parkview Whitley Hospital chief operating officer, John Meister, has accepted a leadership position with Parkview Health’s corporate office in Fort Wayne.

Meister will serve as vice president of special projects. He will help lead and participate in the implementation of key projects for Parkview Health and Parkview Physicians’ Group, a physician-led and physician-governed division of Parkview Health.

Meister will continue to be involved with the building of the new Parkview Whitley Hospital, as well as continue to be a leader in Whitley County.

John Meister (third from left)

Rick Henvey, regional COO, Parkview Community Hospitals, will oversee Parkview Whitley Hospital until a permanent replacement is hired.

“It has been a true honor for me to help improve access to care for Whitley County residents,” said Meister. “We continue to hear from residents and businesses that Parkview Whitley Hospital is making a positive difference in the delivery of patient care. I’m looking forward to my new opportunity with Parkview Health. This is a great time to be involved with several unique initiatives aimed at improving the health of the communities in our region.”

Meister has served as COO for Parkview Whitley Hospital since 2005.

COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (Feb. 2010) – In this aerial photograph shot from an airplane February 4 and looking north at the junction of US 30 and SR 205 in Columbia City, the new Parkview Whitley Hospital takes shape as construction workers continue with the erection of steel, visible in the center of the photograph. Steel erection, which is divided into six sequences, moving from west to east, is scheduled to be completed this April. The address of the new hospital is 1260 E. State Road 205, Columbia City, IN 46725.

The new Parkview Whitley Hospital is taking shape. (photo contributed)

The Northeast Indiana Patient Safety Coalition announced it has completed its first project aimed at enhancing patient safety at hospitals in the area. 

The coalition was established in November 2008 as a way for area hospitals to work together on patient safety initiatives. The first project was to standardize the colors of wristbands that hospitals use to alert hospital personnel of precautions for patients. The new universal system is now in place. 

The wristband colors are: 

• Red: Allergy alert
• Green: Latex allergy
• Yellow: Fall risk
• Purple: Do not resuscitate
• Pink: Limb alert
• White: Patient identification

 Prior to the completion of the initiative, hospitals in the area had different color systems and mechanisms to alert medical personnel of potential patient risks. 

“We are pleased with the progress that is being made. Patient safety is our top priority, and we appreciate the support and commitment we have received from coalition members,” said Dr. Jeffrey Brookes, Northeast Indiana Patient Safety Coalition member. “We are looking forward to additional opportunities and new innovations to improve patient safety and provide the best care possible to patients in our hospitals.” 

The Northeast Indiana Patient Safety Coalition members are: 

• Adams Memorial Hospital
• Bluffton Regional Medical Center
• Cameron Memorial Community Hospital
• DeKalb Memorial Hospital
• Dukes Memorial Hospital
• Dupont Hospital
• Fort Wayne Medical Education
• Fort Wayne VA Medical Center
• Jay County Hospital
• Kosciusko Community Hospital
• Lutheran Hospital
• The Orthopaedic Hospital of Lutheran Health Network
• Parkview Hospital/Parkview North Hospital
• Parkview Huntington Hospital
• Parkview LaGrange Hospital
• Parkview Noble Hospital
• Parkview Ortho Hospital
• Parkview Whitley Hospital
• Rehabilitation Hospital of Fort Wayne
• St. Joseph Hospital
• Select Specialty Hospital of Fort Wayne
• Wabash County Hospital

 The efforts by the coalition are in alignment with the recommendations by the Indiana Patient Safety Center and the Indiana Hospital Association for statewide wristband color standardization. The coalition is the fifth such entity to be created in Indiana. It meets every other month.

Bill Brice, Parkview Whitley Hospital paramedic, maneuvers through an intersection with caution during training he received this month on a virtual driving simulator. The simulator teaches important driving skills to help ambulance drivers, police and fire fighters reach their destinations safely.

That’s exactly what happened at Parkview Whitley Hospital for four days last week, when EMTs and paramedics took part in an intense simulated interactive driving experience to hone their emergency-vehicle driving skills.

The program is offered by the Indiana Public Employers Plan, Inc., as part of its Safety and Loss Prevention Program, and is administered by Downey Insurance in Kokomo, Ind. Funds to administer the program come from an Indiana Department of Homeland Security grant. EMS director Duane Ginder arranged for the simulator to be brought to Parkview Whitley Hospital to train not only his staff, but several local police officers
and fire fighters as well.

“This is the first-ever opportunity for our emergency workers to train in simulated driving scenarios,” said Ginder. “The advantage is that it teaches important driving skills without putting anyone at risk.”

The drivers were trained in a 35-foot-long climate-controlled “Team-IPEP” trailer parked on the hospital campus near the EMS department. The trailer houses a very impressive three-screen arcade-like training simulator, which cost $100,000 to develop. The state-of-the-art virtual driving simulator was designed and built by the same company that manufactures the Link Flight Simulator used by both military and civilian flight schools. It is equipped with two simulators, one for training EMS and police, and another for fire fighters.

Certified instructor Thomas Clarkson of Downey Insurance described the instructions to teach trainee, controlling the driving situations from a computer located behind the trainee. Following a few exercises to get the trainees accustomed to the simulator, each driver was put through emergency scenarios. The instructor read a traffic-accident situation and then the driver maneuvered his or her way through road traffic
to the emergency location.

The drivers had to carefully drive around true-to-life obstacles such as children on bicycles, unheeding drivers, sun glare, fog, blind intersections and more. Following each scenario, the instructor played back the driver’s session, pausing to point out responses that went well and ways the driver could have done better.

The Team IPEP simulator program has been operating in Indiana since 2000.

WHITLEY COUNTY, Ind. — Effective Nov. 17, 2009, Parkview Whitley Hospital will lift the temporary restrictions on visitors that were in place to minimize the spread of H1N1 influenza.

Though the restrictions have been lifted, visitors should continue to exercise good judgment and refrain from visiting people in the hospital if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms.

Parkview Whitley Hospital extends a thank you to patients, families and visitors for their patience and understanding while the restricted visitor policy was in place.

The restricted visitor policy will also be lifted at all other Parkview Health hospitals in the area. For more information go to www.parkview.com.