Health briefs

SIKESTON HOSPITAL RANKS FIRST FOR PATIENT EXPERIENCE

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston was ranked No. 1 in the state for patient experience of care and No. 37 of 2,728 hospitals in the U.S. The hospital also was ranked No. 4 in the state and highest in the region for total performance overall measure by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

VALDIVIA JOINS MANAGED CARE

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

TIFFT NAMED DIRECTOR OF MATERIALS MANAGEMENT AT SOUTHEAST

SoutheastHEALTH appointed Ken Tifft as executive director of materials management and operations. The hiring was announced Feb. 12. Tifft most recently was affiliated with WellStar Health System in Marietta, Ga. He holds a degree in business administration with an emphasis on finance and a master of science degree in supply chain management and logistics from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

SOUTHEAST UPGRADES CLINICAL LABS

SoutheastHEALTH announced recent clinical laboratory upgrades that brought in 11 chemistry analyzers, with six installed in the hospital's main lab, two in the emergency department, one in the Cancer Center lab and two in the Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County in Dexter, Mo. Chemistry analyzers are used to test blood and body fluid samples, according to a news release from the hospital. The new technology eliminates the need for lab technicians to manually perform testing processes and decreases biohazard exposures to blood and body fluid, said SoutheastHEALTH laboratory services director Lauren Thomas in the release. The analyzers also have the capacity to handle the growing volume of lab tests, she said.

SACHS JOINS CAPE ENT

Dr. Marc A. Sachs joined Cape ENT Group of Saint Francis Medical Center. Sachs, an otolaryngologist, most recently practiced at Yuma Ear, Nose and Throat in Yuma, Ariz., after spending most of his professional career in the Midwest. He is a former chief of staff at Mercy Clinic East in Janesville, Wis., where he practiced for 22 years and served two terms as chief of the head and neck department.

BRADLEY, GRIFFIN, COOLEY RECOGNIZED IN HEARING REVIEW

Cynthia Bradley, Kyle Griffin and Joyce Hill Cooley were recognized in the December issue of the Hearing Review as three of the best hearing health care professionals in the nation for 2013. A variety of reasons, including devotion to continuing hearing aid education, volunteering service to seniors and school screening programs, and dozens of years in the hearing health field, were mentioned in their recommendations to the review board. Bradley is a national board certified hearing instrument specialist with Miracle-Ear Center in the Farmington, Mo., Wal-Mart. Griffin is a national board certified hearing instrument specialist with Miracle-Ear Center at 1465 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Cooley is a registered nurse, national board certified hearing instrument specialist and certified occupational hearing conservationist with Miracle-Ear Center in the Jackson Medical Center.

SEYER HONORED AT LEET EYECARE

Kelsey Seyer was named the February Leet EyeCare Above and Beyond Award recipient. Seyer is a clinical technician at the 3230 Blattner Drive location in Cape Girardeau.

GOLDEN LIVING CENTER HAS NEW ADMINISTRATOR

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Karen Ireland-Ratcliff is the new administrator at Bloomfield's Golden Living Center. She is a nurse with 33 years of experience in health care, mostly in the area of long-term care. She has worked in a number of capacities with Golden Living Center since 2000, including director of nursing at Golden Living's Cape Girardeau facility and then director of nursing at the Dexter, Mo., center.