March 2009

Grinnell Regional Hospice will hold a Memorial Service on Tuesday, April 28. This remembrance service, beginning at 7 p.m., will be held in the sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church, 1025 5th Ave, Grinnell.

The semi-annual service, which is open to the general public, honors hospice patients and residents of the Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s service area who have passed away between Sept.1, 2008, and Feb. 28, 2009. Members of the Grinnell Regional Hospice staff will facilitate a ceremony and provide reflections, poetry, and musical selections.

“The service offers a time for those of us who have recently lost loved ones to take a moment and reflect on the meaning and significance of their lives,” says Susan Sanning, M.Div, Th.M., Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s chaplain and organizer of the event. “It affords us a chance to remember and find ways to help those memories become a blessing.  We look forward to seeing the families of patients we’ve served as well as others in the community who wish to join us for the evening.”

“We especially invite community members and friends to submit photos of the loved one they wish to remember. The photos will be included with those of hospice patients in a slide presentation at the close of our time together,” Sanning says.

Refreshments will be served following the program. Persons interested in participating, submitting a photo, and/or recognizing a loved one should call the Grinnell Regional Hospice office at 641-236-2418 by Tuesday, April 21; however no one will be turned away.

Grinnell Regional Medical Center appointed Jack Fritts, MA, CPA, as the new vice president of finance and chief financial officer of the organization. As CFO, Fritts oversees the organization’s financial services including patient accounting, business operations, and purchasing. The CFO is a key member of the senior leadership team in planning, policy formulation, and administrative decision making with particular reference to the role, functions, and operations of the organization’s financial services.

Since 2001, Fritts has served as GRMC’s controller. Fritts has a great deal of experience in healthcare finance. He has worked for St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, and Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, in addition to his experience at GRMC.

“We are very pleased to have Jack as a part of our administrative team. Not only does he bring excellent technical experience to his new role as CFO, he is also a trusted colleague and friend,” says Todd C. Linden, GRMC president and CEO.

In addition to his professional work, Fritts has served as adjunct faculty at Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids; College of St. Francis, Joliet, Ill.; and the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.

Fritts succeeds Todd Nelson who resigned the position at the end of 2008.

A long-time Grinnell resident has named four area organizations in her will.

Before her death at the age of 92 in August 2008, Corinne Switzer bequeathed more than $130,000 of her estate to be shared equally by Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Mayflower Community, the Grinnell United Church of Christ-Congregational, and Diamond Life Health Care in Montezuma.

“Corinne was a very loving, caring, and devoted woman, not only to her son, but to everyone who knew her. Her memory and generosity have left a big impact on several lives,” says Velma Hamilton, administrator at Diamond Life Health Care. The health center was a part of Switzer’s life since 1975. The staff took care of her son, Phillip T. Switzer, who died of cancer.

Corinne Switzer was born on March 16, 1916, in Peru, Ind., to John and Bertha Whittenberger Dice. On June 3, 1934, she married Henry Switzer in Frankfort, Ind. The couple operated the Monticello Floral Company in Monticello, Ind., from 1934 to 1940. In 1940, the family moved to Iowa Falls, where they owned and operated Switzer’s Flowers.

The Switzers moved to Grinnell in 1955 and purchased Larsen’s Motel. In 1963, they built the Motel Grinnell – Best Western near Interstate 80. They also operated the Hickory Room Restaurant and the Silhouette Restaurant in Grinnell.

In 1998, Switzer, then widowed, moved to an assisted living apartment in Beebe Hall at Mayflower Community. She lived there the rest of her life.

“Corinne was always a bundle of energy on our campus, looking for ways to brighten people’s lives and to enjoy some kind of entertainment,” says Bob Mann, executive director of Mayflower Community. “Her favorite pastime was, of course, her regular bridge groups, which were always preceded by lunch with her partners. Corinne was never afraid to bid six- or seven-no trump!”

In her honor, her gift to Mayflower Community has been used to provide uninterrupted power to the Beebe building with the installation of a natural-gas powered generator.

Switzer was a member of the United Church of Christ-Congregational in Grinnell. She enjoyed playing golf, cards, traveling, and playing the piano.

Throughout her lifetime, Switzer consistently supported GRMC’s annual fund drive. Her estate gift to GRMC was designated for the Blueprint for Health capital campaign to help fund the expansion and renovation of the laboratory. Switzer made the gift in memory of her son, Phillip. Because she made GRMC aware of her bequest prior to her death, Switzer was a Legacy Club member.

“We are honored that Corinne entrusted a significant portion of her estate to GRMC by including the medical center in her will. Corinne’s legacy will be seen in a renovated lab that will ensure quality healthcare for generations to come,” says Mindy Uitermarkt, GRMC director of development. “A portion of the lab has already been renovated. When totally complete, the new lab will be much more patient friendly for the 100,000 procedures performed there each year. It will truly enhance our ability to offer the best diagnostic tools to our medical professionals and topnotch service to our patients.”

Grinnell Regional Medical Center welcomes Syed M. Ahmed, MD, cardiologist with the Iowa Heart Center. Ahmed began seeing cardiology patients in the visiting specialty clinic on Feb. 25. He will host a clinic on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month on the second floor visiting specialty clinic, until need increases and requires weekly clinics.

“The need for cardiac care continues to grow in the area. We know the community has a greater need for cardiology services than could be accommodated by the two current cardiologists who see patients in Grinnell,” explains Todd C. Linden, CEO and president of GRMC. “Ideally, we’d like to secure a full-time cardiologist to practice in Grinnell but in the meantime, this will provide cardiology specialists here two days a week to meet the ever growing needs of our residents. Dr Ahmed will be a great addition to our medical staff and cardiac care team.

“I was very impressed with both Dr. Ahmed’s clinical skills and his engaging personality.  People are going to really like him.  It was also great to have such an excellent recommendation from our new internal medicine physician, Dr. Christine Lindgren.  She has worked extensively with Dr. Ahmed the past several years and she was very excited to see him added to our medical staff,” Linden says.

Ahmed currently practices out of the Iowa Heart Center office in Marshalltown. He has been with Iowa Heart since 2001.He earned his bachelor’s and medical degree from the Sindh Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. He completed an internship at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center in Karachi as well as Brooklyn University Hospital, Brooklyn, NY. Ahmed also completed a fellowship program in cardiology at the State University of New York, Brooklyn.  He is board certified in both internal medicine and cardiology.

Iowa Heart cardiologists Mark McGaughey, MD, and David McAllister, DO, along with Stephanie Kalvig, ARNP, and Teresa Sieck, PA-C, will continue to see patients at GRMC on a weekly basis. The addition of Dr. Ahmed increases local access for cardiac-related health issues.

Appointments with Iowa Heart cardiologists are scheduled through a patient’s primary care physicians or by calling Iowa Heart Center at 641-754-5999.

The Grinnell Regional Medical Center Auxiliary launched its fundraising Challenge Drive on March 1, inviting anyone in the GRMC service area to take part. The auxiliary and its Challenge Drive support the medical center through volunteer, financial, and educational initiatives.

“We continue to hear about the unfair reimbursement issues facing GRMC so the auxiliary works to support the medical center in any way possible – financially as well as with volunteer support,” explains Maralee Kruse, the 2009 Challenge Drive chair. “Your involvement helps us provide this support that enhances quality healthcare. The auxiliary plans to donate $30,000 toward the hospital for equipment this year. Plus, the auxiliary will again provide major scholarship funds to students in healthcare fields and co-sponsor the Women’s Health Focus, set for October 7, 2009.”

The auxiliary has two meetings each year. The public is welcome and anyone who makes a donation to the Challenge Drive will receive an invitation to these special gatherings. Leading the organization are the 2009 officers: Carol Jordan, president; Sheila Latcham, vice president; Fran Davis, treasurer; and Maralee Kruse, secretary.

The auxiliary hosts activities such as coordinating an annual trip to Legislative Day at the state capitol; fund-raising activities that financially support the medical center; supplying gifts to all newborns at GRMC; and providing car seats to needy families.

In 2008, the auxiliary shifted its membership drive to a challenge drive to reflect changes in the public’s perceptions on why they support non-profit organizations. Kruse added that the auxiliary had a huge success last year and hopes it continues in 2009.

The Challenge Drive has five giving levels: Bronze - $5; Silver - $15; Gold - $25; Platinum - $50; and Lifetime - $150. To accept the Auxiliary Challenge, stop by the Glass Gift Box, inside GRMC, and complete a Challenge card. Or mail your Challenge donation to the GRMC Auxiliary, 210 4th Ave., Grinnell, IA 50112