Ardy & Ed’s Drive In serving up food and fun since 1948
December 1, 2022
DCMC announces 2022 ‘Living Our Values’ award recipients
STURGEON BAY – Each year the Mission & Values team of Door County Medical Center (DCMC) recognizes employees who exemplify DCMC’s values (service, vision, compassion and excellence) with the “Living Our Values” award.
The 2022 Service Award recipient is Stacie Jaucquet, a quality care manager RN who heads the Mission & Values Silent Auction Committee – which raises funds for the Ministry Fund each year and teaches basic life support classes to employees and community members.
Jaucquet was nominated by Megan Fox, quality care manager RN.
“Working side-by-side with Stacie, I’ve learned she is always up for a challenge and can complete any task she has her mind set to,” Fox said. “She is aware of our hospital and the community needs around us and has the motivation to make positive changes to all aspects of our organization.”
This year’s Vision Award went to James (Jamie) Blum, a lab medical scientist and leader of DCMC’s microbiology and molecular testing.
Blum has conducted numerous validation studies to meet Federal Drug Administration requirements, which helped bring new COVID-19 tests to the hospital.
He also performed studies to validate pooled COVID testing, which cut COVID test turnaround times in half.
Lab Department Assistant Melissa Horstketter, who nominated Blum, said “when thinking of someone who embodies our mission and values at Door County Medical Center, I think of Jamie Blum.”
The Compassion Award this year went to Jodi Falk, a 30-year veteran activity coordinator in DCMC’s skilled nursing facility.
Falk was recognized for her “genuine and sincere interest in the lives of the residents” and her work during the pandemic when the living and work environment at the facility changed.
“She has consistently exhibited a genuine and sincere interest in the lives of the residents,” Michelle Wetak, department assistant in the facility and co-nominator of Falk, said. “She has been an advocate for the residents and always has the resident’s best interest in mind.”
The 2022 Excellence Award went to Sue Knipp, a pharmacy technician, who “is constantly looking for ways to improve drug use efficiency.”
Pharmacist Bradley Hobart, who nominated Knipp, said she “enthusiastically completes any task asked of her.”
“She is exceptionally motivated, and her attitude and work ethic help us deliver timely and efficient care to patients,” Hobart said. “Beyond that…, she frequently finds prescription medications that will expire soon and cycles them out of low-use areas and into high-use areas, works diligently to recoup thousands of dollars from manufacturers when drugs need to be returned or were not reimbursed appropriately and when ordering from our distributor, she consistently investigates different manufacturers of the same drugs in order to save money.”
Froedtert to begin construction on proton therapy cancer treatment project
MILWAUKEE – Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) health network has announced it will bring the MEVION S250i Proton Therapy System to Wisconsin.
Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that targets radiation doses to cancerous cells with less exposure to healthy tissues.
Hospital representatives said this approach helps prevent complications and secondary cancers and can be used with patients who have previously had radiation therapy.
The system will be installed at the Froedtert & MCW Clinical Cancer Center, 8800 W. Doyne Ave., at the Froedtert Hospital campus in Milwaukee.
Construction on the specialized vault is scheduled to begin in early 2023, with the first patient treatment expected in 2024.
Earlier this year, the Froedtert & MCW health network announced a partnership with Legion HealthCare Partners, which will assist implementation and management operations of the proton therapy system.
‘8th Annual Honor a Life’ gathering set for Dec. 7
GREEN BAY – The Unity Grief and Education Center invites those who have experienced a death of a loved one to the 8th Annual Honor a Life event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay.
It is sponsored by Cellcom.
“Hope is found when we know we are not alone,” Jenny Boeckman, Unity Grief services director, said. “We look forward to gathering our community together for an evening of light and love as we find comfort and peace in remembering loved ones this holiday season.”
Established in November 2021, Unity Grief and Education Center, 2079 Lawrence Drive in De Pere, is Northeast Wisconsin’s only freestanding, free-of-charge counseling and education center that provides professional grief support to individuals and families of all ages who have experienced a death.
Unity is a nonprofit provider of hospice care, supportive care, nonmedical home care and grief support across 13 counties throughout Northeast Wisconsin.
For more information, call (800) 990-9249.
Wisconsin has among nation’s highest rates of Blastomycosis
WISCONSIN – UW Health is alerting people there is a serious respiratory illness to be vigilant about – and it’s not COVID-19.
Blastomycosis is a dangerous respiratory disease that develops when a person breathes in the airborne spores of Blastomyces dermatitidis – which can infect humans and animals, including dogs.
According to Bruce Klein – a pediatric infectious disease physician at UW Health Kids and professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison – the toxic fungus is present in the Great Lakes states and the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys but is uniquely endemic in Wisconsin, especially in northern parts of the state.
“Wisconsin sees among the highest rates of blastomycosis in the United States,” Klein said. “The fungus grows in damp acidic soils, particularly along river and stream banks, among leaves, pine needles and decaying wood.”
He suggests that people with weakened immune systems, in particular, avoid activities that involve disrupting soil in these areas.
“Some people experience only mild flu-like symptoms such as fever and cough, but others may develop pneumonia, and some may die if the fungus colonizes and overwhelms the lungs in the absence of treatment,” Klein said. “There is no vaccine to prevent blastomycosis and symptoms usually appear between three weeks and three months after a person breathes the fungal spores.”
Klein, who has studied blastomycosis for nearly 40 years, said the respiratory illness is treatable with antifungal medication.
He said his research team continues to investigate genetic factors that may make some people more susceptible to the disease.
Klein said work on a 2009-10 outbreak in Marathon County discovered that people of Hmong ethnicity are genetically more susceptible to blastomycosis.
Other healthcare news:
Important healthcare coverage deadlines are looming for those who are self-employed, work for an employer that does not offer health insurance or are early retirees.
Coverage through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace’s open enrollment period continues through Jan. 15, 2023, however, if you need coverage to begin by Jan. 1, 2023, you must be enrolled by Dec. 15.
More information can be found at healthcare.gov for information.
In addition, Medicare coverage changes for 2023 must be completed by Dec. 7.
See medicare.gov for more information.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will host a virtual “Human Trafficking Conference” from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12.
Conference organizers said human trafficking is a hidden problem affecting every county in Wisconsin.
The conference fee is $99 for continuing education professionals and $25 for students.
See uwgb.edu/human-trafficking-conference/ for more information and to register.
Bellin Health’s Occupational Health Clinic (1630 Commanche Ave.) in Ashwaubenon has closed and merged with Concentra occupational health – which recently opened at 2920 Ramada Way in Ashwaubenon.
Bellin Health will continue its occupational health operations in Sturgeon Bay and Marinette as well as Iron Mountain, Michigan.
“Partnering with the national leader in workplace health will enable us to provide additional resources and new services to the clients and patients of our former Bellin Occupational Health Clinic on Commanche Avenue,” Chris Woleske, regional president of Bellin Health, said.
Students at the Medical College of Wisconsin-Green Bay have been coaching students this fall at Notre Dame School in De Pere, which included preparing some of them for the Girls On The Run 5K.
Girls on the Run of Northeast Wisconsin – open to third- to eighth-grade girls – has evidence-based programs that inspire girls to build confidence, kindness and decision-making skills.
For more information on the national endeavor, see girlsontherun.org.
