Given all of the changes in the healthcare delivery system in the greater Chequamegon Bay over the past few years, we feel it is important to give you an opportunity to get answers to questions you are asking about the future of healthcare delivery in our area. We want to hear from you. If you have a question about local healthcare issues submit your question below or leave a message on the MMC Question Line 685-5505

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Is there a service in Ashland that would be able to serve meds to a patient at home? Posted: 07-09-2003 12:16:53 The following services might be of help: Bay Area Home Health, 682-9506 Community Health Resources, 682-6892 Personal and Long Term Care, Lori Knapp Inc., 682-5662. If you have further questions please contact me at Ashland County Health & Human Services, 682-7028, Ext 214. Terri Kramolis, Public Health Supervisor Ashland County Health & Human Services What type of angioplasty is available at MMC? Will the new CT scanner coming this summer be able to take images of the heart’s vessels and possibly eliminate the need to do a conventional catheter angiography? A virtual colono Posted: 06-13-2003 15:17:31 Angioplasty is not currently available in Ashland but our hospital and the local medical community are looking at ways to bring this service here in the future. As a step in this direction MMC will add the most advanced diagnostic multislice CT scanner to our services this summer. The new CT scanner will provide the ability to perform calcium scoring of the blood vessels of the heart. Because it is so fast it can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of previously performed coronary artery procedures. It will also be used to diagnose other vascular diseases of the most important arteries within the body. New capabilities are not limited to visualizing blood vessels. New imaging techniques of the chest, lungs, abdomen, colon, and pelvis are only the beginning of the story of this new CT scanner. - Dan Gillis, Director of Radiology Services of MMC What is HIPAA? Posted: 06-03-2003 13:34:31 HIPAA is short for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This is a Federal law that was enacted back in 1996. There is a part of the law that goes into effect on April 14, 2003 called the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule sets forth guidelines for how MMC, a covered entity according to HIPAA, can use and disclose patient information and what rights patients have regarding their health information. MMC has put policies and procedures in place in order to comply with the law and to assure patients that their health information is protected and will not be used or disclosed inappropriately. MMC has also gone through an extensive training process for their entire workforce so that they are knowledgeable of the law, familiar with applicable policies and procedures, and familiar with how the law will affect the jobs they perform. Wendy Kreinbring, MMC’s Privacy Officer Patrick Miller, MMC’s Privacy Contact Under this HIPAA law, will there be anything different when I come to register at MMC? Posted: 06-03-2003 13:38:13 Under HIPAA there are two items that will be noticeably different at the point of registration. First, whether you are an inpatient or an outpatient you have the right to receive a copy of MMC’s Notice of Privacy Practices. It describes various rights you, as a patient, have under the HIPAA guidelines in order to control your protected health information and how you can exercise those rights at MMC. As part of the HIPAA guidelines you will be asked to sign an acknowledgement that you received this document. Second, if you are registering as an inpatient you will be asked if you wish to be included in MMC’s Facility Directory. MMC staff and volunteers will utilize this directory in order to respect your chosen privacy rights under the HIPAA law. For example, under the directory the patient has the right to see visitors or receive calls. The directory will include the patient’s name, location in the facility and religious affiliation of inpatients that chose to be included. If the patient chooses YES to the directory, MMC will acknowledge the patient is in the hospital and give the information listed above if the visitor or caller asks for the patient by name. If the patient chooses NO to the directory, MMC will not give out any information to anyone or even acknowledge the patient is in the facility. Wendy Kreinbring, MMC’s Privacy Officer Patrick Miller, MMC’s Privacy Contact What is the money raised by Partners of MMC used for? Posted: 04-07-2003 08:35:35 Money raised by Partner’s Gift/Coffee Shop and Thrift Shop is used to fund various projects for MMC and the community it serves. Last year profits allowed us to give a gift of $40,850.00 to MMC. Over the past 30 years, Partners has gifted over $700,000, all of it earned by volunteers. Examples of what Partners has funded include medical equipment, art work and stained glass for the MMC Chapel. Each year we give a minimum of $5,000 in scholarships. We also finance Lifeline, an emergency response system that gives people confidence to live in their own homes longer. Partners generate funds through the MMC Gift/Coffee Shop and the Thrift Shop in downtown Ashland, fundraisers and dues. Some projects, such as staffing the information desk or knitting caps for every baby born at MMC, do not generate money but are equally important. The next time you shop at our Gift/Coffee Shop, or donate or purchase items at our Thrift Shop, know that you just gave a gift to yourself and your loved ones - above and beyond the item you purchased Jill Engelman, President, Partners of MMC 2002 Jan Washnieski, President, Partners of MMC 2003 Q. Last week you talked about hospital visiting guidelines and also said that anyone with a communicable disease should not visit patients in the hospital. What kind of disease should prevent me from visiting? Posted: 03-31-2003 14:44:37 A communicable disease is a disease that can be transmitted to others. A few examples are upper respiratory infections (colds), gastrointestinal flu, pneumonia and draining wounds. Visitors should make sure all open wounds are covered with a bandage and the bandage covered with an article of clothing. Visitors with weakened immune systems and communicable diseases should avoid hospital visits if at all possible. Before visiting hospital patients, people who have recently received a smallpox vaccination should come to the hospital emergency room to have their vaccination site checked. Keith Henry, M.D. Physician Director, Infection Control What are the visiting hours at the hospital and who should visit? Posted: 03-22-2003 07:53:05 The hospital staff recognizes the importance of visitors for the patients when it is balanced to also accommodate the medical care for each patient. For this reason the hospital has general guidelines for visiting in the hospital. • Visiting hours are from 1pm to 8pm • Two visitors per patient in a room at one time • No children under 14 years of age Use common sense and be considerate: • Limit the time of your hospital visit to allow you loved one time to rest • Do not bring infants to the hospital to visit. • Do not bring children to visit who are ill or are having signs of communicable disease. Children are more susceptible to disease than adults • Seeing a loved one significantly ill may be a traumatizing experience to the child. • Call to the nursing unit if you have a special request for visiting a family member. • When a child is hospitalized, parents are encouraged to visit at anytime and to stay with the child during the hospitalization. When hospital care requires Emergency Room services or a surgical intervention it is important to have family or a significant other with the patient. Remember: Visitors may be requested to leave the patient room during the time they are visiting. The medical and nursing staff need uninterrupted time to provide for the care of your loved one. The patient also requires time when they can rest to help with their recovery. These guidelines will be adjusted by the staff to meet the specific needs of our patients. The specialty units of the hospital as Obstetrics, Intensive Care, Peri-Operative Services and the Behavioral Health Services have additional considerations for visiting hours. This is explained to family and significant others by the staff of these units. It is important for the public to follow these guidelines so the patients will have adequate time for rest and recovery. It is also necessary for the hospital staff to have uninterrupted time intervals to provide the care which each patient requires. Closing visiting hours at 8 p.m. and visitors quietly leaving the building allows the staff to complete care interventions and prepare the patients for sleep. Phone calls after visiting hours should be made to the hospital’s general number, 682-4563. Ask to be connected to the second floor nurses station. Ask if the patient can receive a phone call. Many patients and their roommates have their sleep interrupted by calls at inappropriate times. Madonna Pralle, RN Nurse Manager Medical-Surgical Nursing Unit Can I choose to have my tests or surgery done at MMC rather than in Duluth? Posted: 02-14-2003 11:11:42 Yes, in many cases you can. The diagnostic and surgical procedures available at MMC are performed according to the same quality standards you would find elsewhere. Having your tests or surgery done locally can also save time, money, and inconvenience for you and your family. Additionally, many patients find that the care and personal attention they receive in their own hospital is more comforting than in a large and unfamiliar environment. Your doctor can help you think about the best plan for your needs. It is always appropriate to ask him or her about options in your home community. Dan Adams Vice President for Patient Care Services Do physicians work for MMC? Posted: 02-14-2003 11:03:11 A: No, with the exception of two of the psychiatrists, all of the physicians that practice in the Ashland area are either in a business that they own and manage themselves or are employed by one of the Duluth-based healthcare systems. While there are some hospitals that employ physicians, the independent relationship between physicians and the local hospital is still the most common model. MMC believes this independent model helps to insure that your well-being is your physician’s primary concern. Daniel Hymans President Why do I get a separate bill from the physician and the hospital? Posted: 02-14-2003 10:32:14 The physician and the hospital are two separate businesses, distinct from one another and yet working together as your healthcare providers. Your physician uses the hospital to help diagnose and treat whatever your illness or injury might be. This can be done on either an inpatient or an outpatient basis. For example, after a visit to your physician’s office, your physician may send you to the hospital for outpatient radiology services. The hospital will bill for the radiology exam and the physician will bill for the office visit. If you become an inpatient at the hospital, you will receive a bill from the hospital for services such as charges for the room, charges for lab and x-ray exams, charges for supplies, etc. Your physician(s) will then bill you for the professional services they provided while you were a patient in the hospital. Memorial Medical Center is ready to help you better understand this process. If you have any questions, please phone the billing office at (715) 685-5560. Bobbi Sundberg Director of Patient Business Services Is Memorial Medical Center owned by a Duluth hospital system? Posted: 02-13-2003 09:08:45 A: “No. Our hospital is a non-profit corporation owned by the legal entity called Memorial Medical Center. As a locally owned organization, we are governed and controlled by a board of directors made up of representatives from the communities we serve. All decisions are made here to meet the needs of our local customers. Although we work collaboratively with local and regional clinics, MMC is a separate and independent organization.” - Don Marcouiller, MMC Board Chair Will tests be cheaper when Duluth Clinic builds their new clinic? Posted: 02-20-2003 16:01:15 No, in many economic climates when competition increases consumers benefit from lower prices. However, the healthcare marketplace in smaller communities, such as Ashland, is a substantially different economic climate. Investment in new technology in the healthcare field quite often requires the commitment of more than a million dollars to stay on the cutting edge of advances in medicine. Recently MMC installed a new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine costing in excess of $1,500,000 and has a new CT Scanner on order that costs nearly $1,200,000. These are major investments for a facility of our size and for a community such as Ashland. The average useful life of both of these pieces of equipment ranges from 5 to 7 years. For MMC to be able to replace this technology at the end of their useful life, a substantial number of patients must use these services at the prices in effect today. The current volumes are adequate to support these two pieces of equipment but they are inadequate to support two MRIs and two CT Scanners in our community. Should MMC lose a substantial portion of its MRI and CT volume, MMC will still have to recover the costs it incurred to bring these services to our community. Most likely, the hospital will need to increase the cost of other hospital services to offset the loss of revenues currently received from our MRI and CT services. The expected loss of revenue may also force the hospital to reconsider those services that are needed in the community but cannot be supported by their income alone. The price of those services may increase substantially or the service may have to be cut back substantially. It is still too early to determine exactly how the expansion of Duluth Clinic services will effect our pricing as well as our ability to continue to offer less profitable services. Regardless of where we will need to go with pricing, it is important for our patients to remember that MMC exists to provide healthcare services to the area we serve. If the hospital is to continue providing those services, we must continue to generate the income needed to cover the costs of all services. We appreciate your interest in lower priced healthcare services. Although the exact effect on the pricing of our services is still unknown, we do not believe the duplication of sophisticated, high-cost technology in our community will lead to lower priced healthcare services. Les Whiteaker Vice President for Financial Services