October 2008

Grinnell Regional Medical Center welcomes Kevin R. Emge, DO, to the surgical services department and GRMC Medical Staff. He will begin providing surgical anesthesia services on November 10. He joins Kenneth J. Whipple, DO, anesthesiologist, who began at GRMC in August.

Emge has more than 20 years experience in providing healthcare. He just recently completed a residency in anesthesiology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Prior to his shift in medical practice to anesthesiology, Emge was an obstetrics/gynecology physician. He completed his OB/GYN residency at Chicago Osteopathic Medical Center in Chicago and a general practice internship at Des Moines General Hospital. He earned his medical degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Services, now known as Des Moines University.

As a native of Shenandoah, Iowa, Emge cultivated a love of medicine naturally from his father who was a dentist.

“I also enjoyed and was influenced by the early medical shows,” Emge says. “I enjoyed OB/GYN but decided that for my personal life style to switch to anesthesiology. In this specialty, I have a critical role with the patient. I’m there for them when they wake up from anesthesia. I enjoy this practice because it allows me to be involved in my family, the community, my church, and the fine arts.”

Emge adds, “I wanted to work in a community hospital. I want to be a part of the community just as GRMC is part of the community. I can be involved in outreach and support the community. This job is part of life as a whole, not a single component, and I can be involved in the activities of the medical center not just the operating room.”

“Dr. Emge has the personality and perspective to embrace this community,” says Todd C. Linden, CEO and president of GRMC. “We are thrilled to have him join the medical staff. GRMC has an exceptional surgical center and he will compliment the surgeons, staff, and facilities.”

Emge and his wife, Mary, moved to Grinnell with their two daughters, Holly and Lauren. He can be described as a disciplined person having completed 18 marathons, four full ironman triathlons, and other triathlons. He also performs piano recitals across the Midwest and completed in competitions in Paris, Frances, and Texas. Emge previously served in the Iowa Army National Guard and United States Navy.

Honor a loved one this holiday season with a special angel ornament. The Grinnell Regional Medical Center Auxiliary will sell angel ornaments for the holidays. An “Angel Tree” will be located in the lab waiting area of the medical center, across from The Glass Gift Box. Angel ornaments in honor of loved ones or in memory of loved ones will cover the tree in the hospital lobby and be on display until Dec. 13.

This year’s angel is a clear crystal with silver ribbon. Each ornament will be tagged with information and placed on a Christmas tree in the medical center after Thanksgiving. The angels may be picked up by the person who purchased it anytime after Dec. 13 and taken home or given to the honoree. The tree will remain on display until after Dec. 25.

Funds raised will go toward the auxiliary scholarship fund that supports individuals pursuing a healthcare degree. Each year the auxiliary provides $10,000 in scholarships to area residents entering or continuing a healthcare education.

To purchase an angel and support the scholarship program, stop by the GRMC Auxiliary’s gift shop, The Glass Gift Box. Ornaments will be sold from Nov. 3 through Dec. 13. Angels are $10. For more information, contact the GRMC volunteer coordinator at 641-236-2588.

Todd C. Linden, president and CEO of Grinnell Regional Medical Center has launched, “Todd’s Perspective,” a blog (web log) on his perspectives about being a hospital administrator and thoughts in general.  The blog can be found by clicking here.

“This blog is another way of communicating with the community,” Linden says. “It gives me an opportunity to provide my view on an issue affecting GRMC and it gives me the opportunity to hear from members of our community.”

Linden says he will publish new posts weekly or more frequently if a certain issue or topic warrants. 
Just a handful of hospital administrators in the nation are writing professional blogs. Two of the more well-known are Nick Jacobs, CEO of Windber Medical Center in Pennsylvania, and Paul Levy, president and CEO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Mass.

Grinnell Regional Medical Center will offer an evening program on the value and need for advance directives in healthcare. The seminar, “Put it in Writing,” will explain various types of advance directives available in Iowa. The program is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 6, beginning at 7 p.m. at the GRMC Tomasek Conference Center. All adults are invited to learn about end-of-life wishes and how to put them in writing so that loved ones know what type of care you want in the event of life-threatening conditions.

Class participants will examine their wants and desires not only at end-of-life but when a major health crisis occurs. The time to discuss these concerns is long before the crisis that calls families together outside of emergency departments or ICUs, a time when emotions are high and logical decisions seems to be difficult to determine.

In general, families can rarely weigh potential outcomes and make decisions from the same perspective in the time of crisis and stress. We all judge quite differently what quality of life means. The time to discuss wishes for healthcare is when it can be discussed from a broader view. This will be easier when you are planning toward a future event, not when that event is thrust upon you and consensus may prove difficult.

Susan Leathem Sanning, GRMC chaplain, will lead the seminar. Sanning will provide guidelines and present questions you can answer for yourself and with your family about defining what entails quality of life for you and what end-of-life care options you may desire.

Forms are also available by contacting Grinnell Regional Hospice at 641-236-2418. To link to the websites, go to the Grinnell Regional Medical Center website at www.grmc.us then click on the Put it in Writing button.

This seminar begins at 7 p.m. with light refreshments. Please make a reservation by Tuesday, Nov. 4, by calling 641-236-2418.

DES MOINES, Iowa – State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald announced today that a Grinnell baby has been chosen to receive a $1,000 College Savings Iowa account, courtesy of the College Savings Iowa Baby 529 Giveaway. Baby Owen, born at Grinnell Regional Medical Center, is the child of Alicia and Cory Blankenfeld.
 
“Little Owen has quite a bit of growing to do before going off to college, and the money in this account will grow right along-side him,” stated Fitzgerald, plan administrator. “We encourage families to put time on their side and start saving for college as soon as possible.”
 
The College Savings Iowa BABY 529 Giveaway awards one college savings account each month to a randomly selected baby.  All babies born in participating Iowa hospitals are eligible to win if they are registered.
 
“This is a wonderful way for our office to work in conjunction with Iowa Hospitals,” stated Fitzgerald.  Local Hy-Vee store director Scott Gilbert provided the family with flowers, refreshments and other gifts. Todd Linden, CEO of Grinnell Regional Medical Center; Sheryl Baarda, OB Nurse Manager; and Denise Lamphier, Director of Public Relations also participated. Also in attendance was State Senator Tom Rielly. Fifty-eight Iowa hospitals are currently participating in the College Savings Iowa BABY 529 Giveaway program.
 
“We’re pleased to have so many Iowa hospitals join our effort to increase awareness about the benefits of saving for college,” stated Fitzgerald. “We know new parents are busy, but it doesn’t take much time or money to start saving with College Savings Iowa.  They can open an account in about ten minutes with just $25.” 
 
College Savings Iowa is a state-sponsored 529 plan designed to give families a tax-advantaged way to save money for college.  Investors can choose from thirteen Vanguard investment options, including four age-based investment tracks.  Anyone – parents, grandparents, friends and relatives – can invest in College Savings Iowa on behalf of a child.  Iowa taxpayers can deduct a portion of what they contribute to each account from their state taxable income and there are no income or residency restrictions.
 
Withdrawals used to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies, and room and board are free of state and federal taxes.  Funds can be used at any accredited college, university, community college or technical training school in the United States or abroad. ** For more information on College Savings Iowa, call 1-888-672-9116 or visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com.
 
*Adjusted annually for inflation. If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income.
 
** Earnings on non-qualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.
 
About College Savings Iowa
Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other important information are included in the Program Description; read and consider it carefully before investing. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor and Underwriter. If you are not an Iowa taxpayer, consider before investing whether your or the beneficiary’s home state offers a 529 plan that provides its taxpayers with state tax and other benefits not available through this plan.
 
The Treasurer of the State of Iowa sponsors and is responsible for overseeing the administration of the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan. The Vanguard Group, Inc. serves as Investment Manager, and Vanguard Marketing Corporation, an affiliate of The Vanguard Group, Inc., assists the Treasurer with marketing and distributing the Plan. Upromise Investment Advisors provides records administration services. College Savings Iowa is an Iowa trust sponsored by the Iowa State treasurer’s office. The plan’s portfolios, although they invest in Vanguard mutual funds,
are not mutual funds. Units of the portfolios are municipal securities and the value of units will vary with market conditions. Investment returns are not guaranteed, and you could lose money by investing in the Plan. Participants assume all investment risks as well as responsibility for any federal and state tax consequences.
 
About The Vanguard Group
Vanguard, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, is one of the world’s largest investment management companies and a leading provider of company-sponsored retirement plan services. Vanguard manages nearly $1.3 trillion in U.S. mutual fund assets, including more than $390 billion in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Vanguard offers more than 150 funds to U.S. investors and more than 50 additional funds in non-U.S. markets.

Members of the media are invited to a presentation with State of Iowa Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 10 a.m. at Grinnell Regional Medical Center as Fitzgerald presents a $1,000 college savings account to Owen Blankenfeld, infant son of Cory and Alicia Blankenfeld of Grinnell.    Blankenfeld was selected at random from all registered Iowa babies to receive a $1,000 college savings account in September. The Baby 529 College Savings Giveaway is a program of the State of Iowa Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald and College Savings Iowa.

GRMC is one of 58 hospitals in Iowa participating in a program to start college savings accounts for newborns. The Baby 529 College Savings Giveaway is a new, on-going program that will award one $1,000 College Savings Iowa account to a baby selected at random from all registered babies born in participating Iowa hospitals on a monthly basis. All Iowa hospitals are eligible to participate.

Participating hospitals provide parents of newborns with Baby 529 College Savings Giveaway program materials. The parents can register their baby online or by returning the entry form in a provided envelope. Every family who registers to participate will also receive a small welcome-home gift, courtesy of State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald and College Savings Iowa.

College Savings Iowa is a state-sponsored 529 plan designed to give families a tax-advantaged way to save money for college. Iowa taxpayers can deduct up to $2,685* per beneficiary account from their state taxable income, and there are no income or residency restrictions. Withdrawals used to pay for qualified higher education expenses are free of state and federal taxes. Funds can be used at any accredited college, university, community college, or technical training school in the United States or abroad.

State of Iowa Treasurer Fitzgerald says, “We want to send a message to all new parents letting them know that it’s never too early to start planning for a child’s future. Even a small amount invested regularly can grow into a substantial amount over time.”

For more information on College Savings Iowa, call 1-888-672-9116 or visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com.

Grinnell Regional Medical Center announces the addition of Guy McCaw, MD, FAAFP, family practice physician, and Anne Stephens, LAc, acupuncturist, as new providers at the New Sharon Memorial Clinic.

McCaw has been on the GRMC medical staff for 20 years, having come to Grinnell after residency in 1988. He has a full-time practice located on the first floor of the Ahrens Medical Arts Building but was asked by the hospital to work one day each week in New Sharon and Lynnville to help ensure ongoing medical coverage for residents of those communities.

“We are extremely fortunate to welcome Dr. McCaw to the clinic staff, as we adjust for changes in providers at the New Sharon Memorial Clinic. He brings a wealth of experience and excellent patient skills,” says Kevin Kincaid, GRMC outreach clinic director. “The clinic and hospital had a need. We’re excited that Dr. McCaw is able to help.”

“I enjoy the drive to New Sharon and Lynnville each week, and meeting so many great people,” says McCaw. “Having been an eastern Iowa farm kid, I love to watch the farm fields and timberland as the seasons change. The staff in the clinics have been great to work with and I’m really looking forward to this new component of my practice.” 

McCaw earned his medical degree from University of Iowa College of Medicine and completed his residency at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids.

Stephens, a licensed oriental medicine practitioner and acupuncturist, began her practice in Grinnell in 2005 and expanded to the New Sharon Memorial Clinic in October. She earned her degree at Southwest Acupuncture College, in Santa Fe, N. Mex., and completed additional training at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.

“Acupuncture is particularly effective in treating chronic pain, migraines, and digestive disorders,” Stephens says. “Complimentary and alternative medicines can be extremely successful with patients.”

Stephens was featured in a USA Today, Sept, 15, 2008, article that focused on complimentary and alternative medicines in the hospital setting. To view a copy of this article, go to the GRMC website, www.grmc.us.

The New Sharon Memorial Clinic is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. It is closed on Tuesday. McCaw will see patients on Wednesdays. Stephens will see patients on Thursdays. Also providing primary care in the clinic is Jackie Harris, ARNP, along with Julie Knoot, RN, and Donna Smith, RT(R).  For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 641-637-4046.

McCaw Joins Lynnville Medical Clinic