Growing for the Future

New Beebe Health Center Walk-in Care in
Kmart Receives Warm Welcome

The Beebe Health Center Walk-in Care officially opened in the Rehoboth Beach Kmart on June 30, 2009, as Dennis Kondash, DO, Medical Director, cut the ribbon and dignitaries, friends and representatives of both organizations attended and toured the facility.

The mood was a celebratory one as attendees mingled and Beebe volunteers welcomed visitors with cookies and soft drinks. The official ceremony was brief, though, as patients began arriving to seek non-emergency health care for such ailments as ear aches and stomach upsets.

"We are pleased to able to bring cost effective and convenient healthcare to our community and thank Kmart for helping us make it possible," Jeffrey M. Fried, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center, said at the ribbon cutting. Mr. Fried also thanked several Beebe Medical Center Board members and staff members for working hard to make the center possible. Those he cited who were attending the event included: Janet McCarty, Chair of the Beebe Medical Center Board of Trustees, Paul Mylander, Treasurer of the Board, and Mary Bragg, Beebe Medical Center Property Manager for Satellite Support.

Jim Berens, Kmart District Manager, also voiced his thanks for the opportunity for Kmart to bring non-emergency healthcare to the community. "This health center is good for our customers, our community and us," he said, adding. "We are honored to be part of this effort and look forward to helping those in our community." He was joined by Matt Earnest, the Store Manager.

Dr. Kondash, donning his white physician coat, was prepared to take care of arriving patients.

"In-store clinics are becoming a popular trend across the country because they provide care by trained medical providers when it is needed, at a convenient location and at a reasonable price," he said. "We already have found a strong need for our service here in Kmart, both from out-of-town visitors and for residents whose own physicians are unavailable."

Beebe Health Center Walk-in Care represents a new relationship by Beebe Physician Network, a subsidiary of Beebe Medical Center, and Kmart, a subsidiary of Sears Holdings. It provides year-round, non-emergency care for residents whose primary care physician is unavailable. It provides year-round, non-emergency care to visitors who do not have a local physician and are not so sick as to feel they need to go to the hospital emergency room.

The center is open for convenient, extended hours. Hours are:

• Monday through Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The fee for service is $99 a visit. Some insurances are accepted and no appointments are necessary. Injuries and illnesses treated include: upper respiratory infections, ear infections, gastrointestinal complaints, sprains, and skin conditions such as athlete's foot, poison ivy and ringworm. Some vaccines also will be offered. They include flu, pneumonia, Td (Tetanus, Diphtheria) and Zostavax (for shingles).

Rehoboth Beach Kmart is located at 19563 Coastal Highway, Rehoboth Beach (On the northbound side of Coastal Highway between the cities of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach).

In the event of a life-threatening illness or accident, patients are advised to dial 911.

New Joseph R. Hudson Wing

Fran Needham, MS, RN, Director of Emergency Services at Beebe Medical Center, pinched herself on the arm one morning in May 2008 to make sure she was not dreaming as she looked around the Emergency Department.

Although open just a few days, it was already buzzing with patients and with the doctors, nurses, and other Beebe Medical Center team members caring for them. As the population has exploded in coastal Delaware, the larger Emergency Department was sorely needed.

"We finally have the room we need," Ms. Needham says. "We have been under construction for two years, and during that time our patients were very tolerant of our congested environment. Our entire team is absolutely delighted with our new expansion, which now provides us with 37 beds to serve our patients. We truly thank the community for all of its support."

The spacious new Emergency Department takes up the first floor of the
$35 million Joseph R. Hudson Wing of Beebe Medical Center. The wing also houses a 20-bed Critical Care Unit on the second floor, a 42-bed inpatient suite on the third floor, and a hi-tech helipad perched above the rooftop. And while these units have had a staggered opening through this spring and summer, the wing represents the culmination of a decade of planning and fundraising and two years of construction.

"This is a great day for all of us at Beebe and for the community," said Jeffrey M. Fried, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center, as he kicked off the official dedication and ribbon cutting of the new wing on April 9. Board members, donors, volunteers, community leaders, and other invited guests surrounded Mr. Fried as he spoke.

"We want to thank the Emergency Department staff and physicians who have worked tirelessly despite being surrounded by temporary walls, drilling, and reduced waiting areas for patients," Mr. Fried said, adding that despite all the inconveniences during the construction process, the Emergency Department managed to maintain a 95 percent patient satisfaction rate according to the professional surveys that were taken.

Who Made It Possible?
"In 1998, the Board recognized that we would not be able to keep up with the needs of our community in our current facility on Savannah Road, and so we began our vision to grow along with the community," Mr. Fried said.

In 2002, Beebe Medical Foundation kicked off the Vision 2005 Capital Campaign to raise funds to help with three important expansion projects, one of which was the expanded Emergency Department. The Vision 2005 Capital Campaign raised more than $12.5 million, a record for Beebe Medical Center.

The wing was named in honor of Joseph R. Hudson, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Beebe Medical Foundation, who has been a supporter and advocate of the medical center for more than 20 years.

"Joe Hudson presided over the Board when this [expansion] was on the drawing boards," said Janet B. McCarty, Beebe Medical Center Board Chair, at the dedication. "His involvement in Beebe is legendary. He is most deserving of this honor."

Paul Mylander, Treasurer of the Beebe Board of Directors and Chair of the Vision 2005 Capital Campaign, emphasized how much financial support community members have given to Beebe Medical Center to make its growth possible. He referenced the friendly "competition" between Mr. Hudson and Eugene D. Bookhammer, Chair of the Beebe Medical Foundation Board, to see which of them could raise the most money.

"They both raised a lot, and gave a lot of their own money," he said. Mr. Mylander also recognized The Country Life Homes' founders, Elmer and Mary Ann Fannin and their family. Their generous donations made it possible to build the helipad, with its unique design, which includes flooring that will not freeze, foam, a fire-suppressant sprinkler system, and a safety meshing system.

Mr. Mylander was supported on the Vision 2005 Capital Campaign by the following dedicated committee members: The Honorable James Brady and Sarah Brady, Honorary Co-Chairs; the late Harry W. Lynch, Jr., Honorary Co-Chair; Mr. Bookhammer; William L. Berry, CPA; Robert Lore; Robert G. Frederick; Michael A. Meoli; Alex J. Pires, Jr.; Lacy F. Letonoff; and Wallace E. Hudson, Jr.

A Tour of the Wing
Double doors provide an entrance into the Emergency Department from the spacious ambulance bay. To the immediate right is the decontamination room for those exposed to toxic chemicals. Straight ahead are the seven extra-large trauma rooms designed to treat critical care patients who must be stabilized before they are taken to the operating room, admitted into the hospital, or transferred to another facility. The wide hallways provide access to 30 treatment rooms, where patients receive emergency care, and to stations for the nurses and physicians. A bank of elevators connects the three new floors with the basement and the new helipad.

Loretta Ostroski, RN, Nurse Manager of the Emergency Department, says that the Emergency Department staff enjoyed working with the architects in order to make sure that the department met their needs.

"We had the opportunity to see the layout designs in their early stages so that we could give our input to help create an environment that flows well and allows us to provide efficient care for our patients," she says. "It has been an exciting and worthwhile experience."

Adrienne Harvey, RN, lead nurse for the Critical Care Unit, was just as thrilled about moving from the old unit on the fourth floor to the new one on the second floor, directly above the Emergency Department and close to the operating rooms. A unique feature of the 20-bed floor is that windowed nurses' stations are positioned between every two patient rooms so that nurses can constantly monitor both of the patients for whom they are responsible.

"The design of the unit maximizes visibility of the patients," she says. Kathy Cannatelli, RN, BSN, Nurse Manager of the Critical Care Unit, the Cardiovascular Step Down Unit, and the Chest Pain Observation Unit, says the staff had looked forward to moving into the new unit.

"Our critical care nurses appreciated being able to work closely with the architects during the design process," she says.

She also notes that the unit has a new wireless communication system that allows each staff member to have a communication device connected to the patient call system, the paging system, the telephone system, and to all the other staff in the unit.

"This will make it easier for us to communicate with each other, or to contact a physician immediately," she explains.

The second floor also has a family waiting room with state-of-the-art accommodations and a consultation room where family members can meet in private with physicians. There also is a kiosk where computers with Internet access are available for the families of patients.

The new third floor suite has 42 rooms, including three isolation rooms and eight pediatric rooms. There is also a special room for obese patients that has a special-size bed with a firmness regulating system and a lift system built into the ceiling that can lift patients weighing as much as 800 pounds in and out of the bed and to the shower and bath.