Seeing a medical practitioner after hours in the local emergency room will no longer be available as an “extended clinic” visit. As of January 1, Medicare regulators say, all care rendered in the emergency room must be regarded as emergency care.
But the emergency room of Mercy Health/Love County Hospital is adjusting its fees to keep rates for “non-emergency patients” comparable to what they were under the extended clinic.
“We have dropped the “extended clinic” name for services rendered...
Love County EMS medics Teresa Tow and Justin Cheek ready the hospital’s portable decontamination shower for an educational panel/demonstration on methamphetamine.
The subject happened to be methamphetamine but the underlying message from panelists at Mercy Health/Love County Hospital, Clinic and EMS recently was the same: addiction to any drug or alcohol is a terrible thing.
The panel was preparing local leaders for what the public will see when all Oklahoma television...
There’s a new answer to the old riddle, “What’s black and white and “read” all over?” Not just the newspaper anymore.
Now there are CT and bone density scans. These are high-resolution black and white images of the body that reveal more about what’s going on inside than a simple x-ray.
The best news of all: Scans are being taken and read for patients at Mercy Health/Love County Hospital and Clinic.
The two scanners, installed over the winter, have broadened the scope of the...
(from left) Charlene Frazier, Ella Toles, Lula Finch, and Rose Jackson gather fresh vegetables from the new walk-in refrigerator at the Mercy Health/Love County food pantry in Marietta.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy products are being offered for the first time at the emergency food pantry operated by employees of Mercy Health/Love County Hospital and Clinic.
“This is a God-send. We are thrilled that we now have fresh foods for the families we serve,” said Lula Finch, a longtime...
Advanced Life Support: Love County EMS is one of few rural counties to have attained paramedic status and able to provide the most extensive pre-hospital care. Kneeling from left are Richard Barker, Mercy Health/Love County administrator; Tad Hall, PA, EMS manager; Obie Heath, EMT; and James Hicks, paramedic.
Young people take note: A career path in healthcare has opened in Marietta.
Love County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Mercy Health/Love County Hospital now...
In 1963, a brand-new doctor moved to Marietta and opened a clinic on SW 3 St. It was a risky move as three other physicians were in town already.
But Dr. Vergil Smith won instant and enduring acceptance – “ten people the first day and it never stopped. Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy,” he recalled recently.
The open and friendly general practitioner will turn age 78 this year and celebrate his 45th year in Marietta. He sees patients Monday-Thursday in the clinic...
Patient Cooking: Dietary Manager Valerie DeFoor pulls a food tray from the new cold/hot serving cart at Mercy Health/Love County Hospital.
Hospital patients eat meals prepared from a “dietary plan” appropriate for their illness. But what does the medical staff eat?
For the next 17 weeks, at least, many Mercy Health/Love County Hospital and Clinic employees will be preparing their personal meals under Weight Watchers® guidelines. The goal is to shed extra pounds, and...
Almost three out of four people enrolled in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan would probably be better off in a different Part D plan, says the volunteer enroller in Love County.
Don Sessions arrived at his conclusion based on results for 83 Love County participants during the open enrollment period that ended last December 31.
All had sought assistance in comparing their 2007 Part D enrollment with the plan choices available for 2008.
Heart Shocker: Clinic manager Connie Barker and EMS trainer John Gilliam apply AED electrode pads to a training mannikin. An AED uses an electric shock to restart a stopped heart. All Love County schools have been given AEDs through a donation arranged by Mercy Health/Love County Hospital and Clinic.
Life-saving equipment to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest is being placed in Love County schools this month.
The device, an Automated External Defibrillator...