Health briefs

__MELTONS ATTEND OPTOMETRIC CONGRESS__

Optometrists Drs. Derek and Kayla Melton attended the Kentucky Optometric Association's 111th annual Spring Educational Congress in Lexington, Ky. The conference, held April 25 to 28, provided the Meltons with the latest updates in eye care and disease and also included an exhibit hall featuring the latest products and services in optometry. The Meltons live in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Derek Melton owns Melton Eye Care Associates in Cape Girardeau.

__GENESIS HOME CARE HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Genesis Home Care celebrated the opening of its Marble Hill office June 14 with an open house and ribbon cutting with the Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce. The business is at 305 High St., across from the Bollinger County Court House. Genesis Home Care is a home-care provider supplying aid in the home for everyday life services. Jennifer Baker is the case manager at the Marble Hill location.

__FLOYD EARNS CANCER NETWORK CERTIFICATION__

Dr. Justin Floyd, oncologist/hematologist at Saint Francis Medical Center, was certified by MD Anderson Cancer Network through the medical center. Floyd, a Saint Francis medical partner at Cape Medical Oncology, sees cancer patients at Saint Francis, as well as Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville, Mo., and Memorial Hospital in Chester, Ill. MD Anderson Cancer Network is a program of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of America's leading cancer care providers. Experts at MD Anderson have developed disease-specific guidelines for cancer treatment, cancer prevention, early detection and follow-up care that allow MD Anderson Cancer Network-certified physicians to bring new hope and knowledge to cancer patients. Floyd joins 28 other MD Anderson Cancer Network-certified physicians at Saint Francis.

__VA COMPLETES MENTAL HEALTH GOAL__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Department of Veterans Affairs has met the goal to hire 1,600 new mental health professionals outlined in President Obama's Aug. 31, 2012, Executive Order to Improve Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members and Military Families. John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff hired five new mental health professionals toward this goal. Marj Hedstrom, medical director of the local VA, said the center will continue to recruit for any vacant mental health positions. So far, the Poplar Bluff VA has hired social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, and has selected more candidates who will start soon. As of May 31, the VA has hired 1,607 mental health clinical providers to meet the goal of 1,600 new mental health professionals outlined in the Executive Order. Additionally, the VA has hired 2,005 mental health clinical providers to fill existing vacancies.

__GOODMAN NAMED VOLUNTEER SERVICES DIRECTOR__

Cathy Goodman of Jackson was named volunteer services director at Southeast Hospital, effective June 21. She has worked at SoutheastHEALTH since 1986 and most recently served as patient advocate with the quality management department. Most of her years at Southeast have been spent as part of the quality management team, including service as interim quality management director, quality management coordinator and medical staff quality management coordinator.

__YEOMAN OPENS ARKANSAS OFFICE__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Dr. Lance Yeoman of Poplar Bluff opened a new Dermatology Office PC in Paragould, Ark., the Daily American Republic reported. Marketing director Whitney Springston said the new office will help serve patients in communities between Poplar Bluff and Paragould with limited access to care. Meanwhile, Yeoman's Poplar Bluff office has expanded its waiting area and added a new piano. Both offices have new equipment to provide the best medical services to customers. The Paragould office is at 1 Medical Drive, Suite 602, and the Poplar Bluff office is at 225 Physician's Park Drive.

__NEUROSURGERY PRACTICE HAS NEW NAME, LOOK__

A Cape Girardeau neurosurgery practice relaunched June 1 with a new name, a new look and a renewed focus on patient care. Regional Brain & Spine is comprised of neurosurgeons Dr. Kevin Vaught, Dr. Paul Tolentino and Dr. Kyle Colle; pain management physician specialists Dr. Terry Cleaver and Dr. Christopher Reis; and physical medicine and rehabilitation physician Dr. Annamaria Guidos. The practice's main office is inside Southeast Medical Plaza at 1723 Broadway, Suite 410 in Cape Girardeau.

__OGBURN NAMED VP OF AMBULATORY SERVICES__

Saint Francis Medical Center promoted Alex Ogburn to the newly created position of vice president of ambulatory services. Ogburn, who previously served as director of occupational medicine and ambulatory services, joins the medical center's executive team. In his new position, he will oversee cardiovascular services, ambulatory care and system development, wound care, material management and food and nutrition services. His replacement has not yet been named.

__BETTER HEARING OPENS DESLOGE OFFICE__

DESLOGE, Mo. -- The Desloge Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the new Better Hearing Solutions location at 334 N. State St. in Desloge. The Desloge office joins the company's existing locations in Perryville and Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

__WHIFFEN TO SPEAK AT NURSING CONFERENCE__

B.J. Whiffen, an associate professor at Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing & Health Sciences, was selected for an oral presentation at Sigma Theta Tau International's 24th International Nursing Research Congress. The conference will be in July in Prague. Whiffen's topic will be "Women ARE Different: Gender Specific Protocols for Treatment of Hypertension in Women." She will note how extensive literature research has failed to clarify gender-specific guidelines for treatment of women with hypertension. Whiffen has developed gender-specific guidelines for a treatment of hypertension in women, which she will share at the conference.

__MCCULLOCH RECEIVES PIONEER LEADERSHIP AWARD__

KENNETT, Mo. -- Teresa McCulloch, CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Missouri, received the Pioneer in Leadership Award at the annual conference of the Missouri Alliance for Home Care at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The award recognizes an individual with extraordinary service to the home care industry. Under McCulloch's leadership the VNA has expanded its coverage area from five counties to 15 and has grown from a grant of $100,000 in 1973 to a multimillion dollar not-for-profit company with more than 900 employees.

__RONHOLM JOINS PERRY COUNTY HOSPITAL__

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Dr. Chad M. Ronholm joined Perry County Memorial Hospital, specializing in comprehensive rheumatology care. His office is at 212 Hospital Lane, Suite 202.

__SCHNURBUSCH IS ADMINISTRATOR AT SOUTHEAST HOME CARE__

Vickie Schnurbusch was named administrator of home care services at SoutheastHEALTH. She succeeds Sheila Beussink, who is returning to the inpatient setting full time as director of maternal-child services. Schnurbusch initially began employment at Southeast Hospital as a pharmacy tech in the 1980s. Her career led her to work in oncology, employee health, medical telemetry, home health and hospice in staff positions. She became the nurse manager of hospice in 1996 and left that position for a few months in 2012, returning as a staff nurse in March of this year. She is nationally certified as a hospice and palliative care nurse.

__POPLAR BLUFF HOSPITAL STARTS RENOVATIONS__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center has begun renovations at its north campus to allow for relocation of services currently at the south campus on Pine Street. The newly remodeled campus will become known as the Poplar Bluff Specialty Hospital. Services to be relocated to the north campus include inpatient rehabilitation, medical oncology, behavioral health, sleep lab, pain management and the Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center. The renovation will take place in four phases, with plans to have all services relocated to the north campus sometime in 2014.

__HEARTLAND HEARING MOVES TO NEW LOCATION__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Lisa Bishop, hearing instrument specialist and owner of Heartland Hearing, moved into a new office at 4804 Westwood Blvd., Suite B. The new location offers clients additional testing rooms and a more private environment.

__BJC LAYOFFS TO AFFECT PARKLAND__

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare system is facing cutbacks and announced in June that they will be laying off 160 employees throughout the company, the Farmington Press reported. BJC spokesperson June Fowler said the impact to Parkland Health Center -- which has a hospital in Farmington and emergency and outpatient clinic near Bonne Terre, Mo. -- will be that less than 10 people in the hospital will be affected by the layoffs. Fowler said a decrease in hospital patient care and government cuts has caused the hospital to lay off employees. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, this was the first time in the not-for-profit organization's 20-year history that it has resorted to layoffs. BJC HealthCare operates 13 hospitals in Missouri and Illinois.

__SOUTHEAST HEALTH TRUSTEES RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE__

The Missouri Hospital Association presented Governance Excellence recognition to three SoutheastHEALTH trustees. John M. Thompson, Robert "Bob" Neff and Frank Kinder received certificates during the MHA Leadership Forum in Lake Ozark, Mo., in June. The trustees completed the MHA's educational development program designed for hospital board members. The Governance Excellence Certificate Program was launched in 2011 to enhance hospital trustees' skills and provide them with increased knowledge of issues pertaining to hospital governance for their organizations. Thompson serves as chairman of the Southeast Hospital Board of Trustees, Neff is vice chairman and Kinder is secretary/treasurer.

__STINSON PROMOTED AT SOUTHEAST HOSPITAL__

Sharon Stinson was promoted to executive director of operations, finance and portfolio management at Southeast Hospital. Stinson most recently served as director of operations support, and she began her career with Southeast Hospital in 1978. She has served as assistant director to the chief nursing officer for nursing administration for more than 20 years.

__BLACK RIVER MEDICAL CENTER ADDS PARTNER__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The board of directors at Black River Medical Center announced it will join forces with Nueterra, a global health-care management company, in overseeing the ongoing operations of the medical center as of July 1, the Daily American Republic reported. Saint Francis Healthcare System will continue to provide support and leadership as a medical partner and part owner. Nueterra is one of the nation's leading developers and managers of health systems, physician-owned surgical facilities and community hospitals. It focuses on creating long-term partnerships to develop innovative strategies that improve delivery of health care services while growing market share.

__ZIOMEK LECTURES IN ITALY__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Dr. Stanley Ziomek, cardiovascular surgeon at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, received international recognition from the International School of Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Ugo Tesler, scientific director of the Cardiac Surgery Department for the Policlinico di Monza Hospitals Group in Monza, Italy, invited Ziomek to present on the topic of advances in cardiovascular surgery, particularly in coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Ziomek's presentation described his experience with high-risk patients over the last five years at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center who required CABG for improvement in symptoms and/or survival.

__KOUO RETIRES FROM MEDICINE__

Dr. Louis Kouo has retired after 29 years of practicing medicine in Cape Girardeau. Kouo, a gastroenterologist, closed his office at 3117 Blattner Drive on July 12. The medical records of Kouo's patients will be transferred for safekeeping to Cape Gastroenterology Specialists located within the Center for Digestive Diseases at 28 S. Mount Auburn Road.

__COX EARNS DENTAL CERTIFICATION__

Darla Cox earned a Dental Assisting National Boards certification and became an American Dental Assistants Association member. She joins a group of 11 percent certified dental assistants nationwide. She began dental assisting with Dr. Charles Wilson in 1998. When he retired in 2007, she joined Jackson Dental, where she shares more than 15 years of experience with the practice.