Health briefs

HORMONE REPLACEMENT BUSINESS OPENS IN CAPE

Vitality opened at 465 S. Mount Auburn Road, Suite 103 in Cape Girardeau. Vitality offers all-natural bio-identical hormone replacement therapy specific to each individual.

BENNETT INDUCTED TO COLLEGE OF DENTISTS

Cape Girardeau dentist Dr. Ross Bennett was inducted as a fellow of the International College of Dentists at its 84th annual convocation Nov. 1 in New Orleans. The college, with representative chapters in more than 80 countries, inducted only 300 dentists from the United States this year. Bennett is co-owner and managing partner of Bennett Family Dentistry in Cape Girardeau.

KANE NAMED DENTIST OF THE YEAR

DEXTER, Mo. -- Dr. William T. Kane, a general dentist in Dexter, was named the 2013 Missouri Dental Association Dentist of the Year, according to the Dexter Daily Statesman. The award was presented in November at the MDA House of Delegates Award Banquet in Jefferson City, Mo. The award is designed to recognize a member dentist who has demonstrated outstanding service to the MDA, to dentistry profession and to the community during the past year.

TWIN RIVERS GETS GUARDIAN OF EXCELLENCE AWARD

KENNETT, Mo. -- Twin Rivers Regional Medial Center was named a 2013 Guardian of Excellence Award winner by Press Ganey Associates Inc., according to a hospital news release. The award recognizes top-performing facilities that consistently achieved the 95th percentile of performance in physician engagement and patient satisfaction for medical practices. Press Ganey partners with more than 10,000 health care facilities, including more than half of all U.S. hospitals, to measure and improve the patient experience.

VALDIVIA JOINS MANAGED CARE

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Christi Valdivia is now on staff as a family nurse practitioner at Managed Care Inc., a rural health clinic on Hunter Avenue in Sikeston.

BUCHANAN NAMED DIRECTOR OF NURSING

DEXTER, Mo. -- Sophia Buchanan was named director of nursing services at Golden Living Center in Dexter. She has been in the field of nursing for 12 years and has worked in health care since 1984. She is originally from Doniphan, Mo., and lives in Sikeston, Mo.

SAINT FRANCIS OPENS EXPANDED NICU

Saint Francis Medical Center moved patients into the expanded Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on Dec. 10, according to a news release from the hospital. The NICU is one of the first areas completed as part of the hospital's Building on Excellence expansion and renovation project. The new unit has additional space, including 18 individual rooms, specially designed spaces for multiples and a family room.

KUTZ HONORED BY LEET EYECARE

Shannon Kutz, a certified paraoptometric, was named the Leet EyeCare "Above and Beyond" award recipient for November. Kutz, optical manager at Leet EyeCare's 3230 Blattner Drive location in Cape Girardeau, was nominated by her peers as an employee who goes above and beyond to exceed patients' expectations.

GRACE RELIANT HEALTH EARNS ACCREDITATION

Grace Reliant Health Services LLC of Jackson was awarded a Community Health Accreditation Program Inc. accreditation under the CHAP Home Health Standards of Excellence. This is the first year Grace has received CHAP accreditation, which demonstrates that the organization meets the industry's highest nationally recognized standards. CHAP evaluation focuses on structure and function, quality of services and products, human and financial resources and long-term viability. Through CHAP accreditation, Grace is also certified as a Medicare provider.

JONES JOINS REGIONAL PHYSICIAN SPECIALISTS

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Dr. J. Stan Jones joined Regional Physician Specialists, a division of Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, as an orthopedic surgeon. Jones is board certified in orthopedic surgery and surgery of the hand.