Eggman
Family Supports Efforts for Personal Reasons
Grinnell
Regional Medical Center is seeking funds to completely renovate and upgrade the
emergency department. More than 10,000 patient visits happen annually in this
certified Level III/Area trauma center. Significant improvements are needed and
planned for GRMC’s emergency services to continue to meet the needs of area
residents and all who come to the emergency department for medical care.
“The
emergency department is really the front line for the community in times of
crisis - from hazardous material spills, trauma, and everyday accidents,” says Doris
Rindels, BA, RN, GRMC vice-president and former team lead and trauma
coordinator in the emergency department at GRMC. “Our ER is pretty much the
same as it has been for the past 30 years or more. We have extraordinary
nursing and medical staff providing outstanding medical care. Our facility
needs to be upgraded to meet the level of care being provided.”
For
Ken and Verleen Eggman, access to emergency medical care in Grinnell is something
they are very grateful for. Over the years, GRMC and its emergency department
have helped the family tackle and triumph over several life-threatening
situations.
In
April 2014, the Eggman’s daughter-in-law, Shirley Parrott, had not been feeling
well for several weeks. Between jobs, she did not have insurance coverage and
didn’t have the resources to go see a doctor. Her symptoms, it turned out, were
that of a pending heart attack.
When
the attack happened on April 12, Parrott was brought to GRMC by ambulance. Her
heart stopped beating—twice. The emergency team at GRMC kept Parrott alive and
prepped her to fly by air ambulance to Mercy Des Moines. On her way to the
helicopter, her heart stopped again. Within 11 minutes, she was at Mercy. The
specific blockage she had caused a massive heart attack that typically has a 5
to 10 percent survival rate and is often referred to as a widow maker.
“The
doctors at Mercy said that they saved her life in Grinnell,” says Verleen
Eggman. “She would not be here today without GRMC.”
“Honestly,
I had not been to GRMC in a long time. I wasn’t happy with them,” Parrott says.
“But I am astounded at what they did to save my life and, obviously, very happy
that things worked out the way they did.”
Parrott’s
experience in the GRMC emergency department isn’t the only one that has made a
difference to the Eggmans.
In
1987, Ken Eggman was driving a truck pulling a trailer filled with lumber when
the vehicle was hit head on. Emergency first responders brought him back to
life at the scene and transported him to GRMC. He suffered numerous physical injuries.
And in recent months he has suffered from a stroke. He believes that in both
these situations that GRMC saved his life as well.
As a
way of giving back to GRMC, the Eggmans have donated $5,000 to the Moving at the Speed of Life campaign and
designated their gift for the emergency department renovation.
“It’s
been here for me and our family so many times,” says Ken Eggman. “The tax
benefit is a bonus to supporting what is important to us.”
“The
area needs this ER,” adds Verleen Eggman. “They are doing a good job.”
A
renovation and upgrade of the emergency department will improve flow,
efficiency, and privacy – all with the idea of becoming more patient-friendly.
To accommodate this, a newly designed entrance and nursing station will be
created. New upgrades in the emergency department will include monitors, beds,
lighting, HVAC/automated controls, safety features, and upgrades in the cable
for increased technology needs.
Plans
for the new emergency department design also include:
• Two
new trauma bays with sliding walls and doors for patient privacy and increased
treatment capacity by providing more room for medical staff and equipment.
• A
total of five exam rooms and a triage room, in addition to the two trauma bays.
•
Creating a centrally located nurses’ station for greater access and monitoring
capability along with a new call system.
•
Constructing a new decontamination suite to treat patients exposed to hazardous
materials to be located outside and adjacent to the emergency department within
a new ambulance bay. This new suite would be able to handle several patients at
once.
• An
exterior canopy added to the entrance for patients and visitors walking into
the facility through the emergency department door from the parking area.
•
New access controls for greater security for staff and patients. Rural
hospitals and emergency departments in particular, are increasingly at risk for
incidents of violence.
GRMC
needs a fully-functioning emergency department during renovation. A temporary
ED will be in place in the second floor east medical/surgical patient wing.
This area is within steps of the radiology department, surgery, and
obstetrics.
GRMC
is the closest Level III/Area trauma center within 35 miles, or greater
depending on a patient’s location. There are 19 Level III/Area trauma centers
in Iowa with the resources to provide stabilization for all trauma patients. In
order for hospitals to be certified with this trauma level, there must be
appropriate surgical and/or critical care available, including surgeons and
anesthesiologists, to keep patients at our own facility. Iowa has 19 area
trauma centers mainly in larger communities.
Higher
levels of trauma care than what is available at GRMC are found in Des Moines,
Waterloo, Davenport, Mason City, Sioux City, and University of Iowa Hospitals
and Clinics.
With
urgent care services now available at GRMC, the emergency room renovation
project does not require expansion beyond the existing footprint of the
department. Due to the emergency department location on the second floor of the
hospital, space is a premium. Any expansion would require an addition or a
complete relocation of the department, which would dramatically add to the cost
of the project.
The
medical center has raised almost $900,000 toward the $2.3 million project for a
new emergency department and urgent care.
For
more information about the GRMC emergency department renovation project or to
make a donation toward this effort, please contact Denise Lamphier, GRMC director
of communications and development, at 641-236-2589.
Photo cutline: The Grinnell Regional Medical
Center emergency department has been there for Ken and Verleen Eggman, front.
They are shown here with their son, Dennis Parrott, and daughter-in-law, Shirley,
in back.
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