Health briefs

__CULBERSON NAMED FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR__

Saint Francis Healthcare System appointed Mark Culberson as facilities management director. His responsibilities include direct activities of plant operations, plant maintenance and biomedical engineering departments, according to a news release. He will oversee design, cost estimating, scheduling and construction activities throughout Saint Francis Healthcare System properties and serve as the safety officer for Saint Francis. Culberson joined Saint Francis in 2008 as an electrician, later becoming a construction coordinator. Before coming to Saint Francis, he worked in the electrical and medical service industry.

__NEW HEALTH CARE FACILITY OPENS IN CAPE__

Essential Benefit Offerings opened at 37 Doctors’ Park in Cape Girardeau. The facility is an all-in-one, direct-access clinic where patients can visit a physician, obtain lab results and fill most generic prescriptions without leaving the building. EBO also provides access to Telehealth, which offers 24/7/365 care through telephone or video calls with primary care, pediatric, internal medicine, dermatology and mental health physicians. EBO co-founder Tony Thompson described the business as a medical clinic, under the care of Dr. Judee Bland, focused on educating patients and saving them money. New services will be launching at the clinic in the future, including a Center for Diabetes and other diabetic services under the guidance of Dr. Sandra Bollinger.

__VNA OPENS NEW LOCATION__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — The Visiting Nurse Assocation held a ribbon cutting for its new location at 3999 State Highway PP, Suite 4 in Poplar Bluff.

__PHARMACIST JOINS BROADWAY PRESCRIPTION SHOP__

Catherine Heaton recently graduated from South University School of Pharmacy in Savannah, Georgia, and joined Broadway Prescription Shop in Cape Girardeau. Heaton was raised in Charleston, Missouri, and previously received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southeast Missouri State University. From 2006 to 2011, while attending Southeast, she worked at Broadway as a pharmacy technician.

__WOODRUFF NAMED SURGICAL SERVICES DIRECTOR__

Saint Francis Healthcare System appointed Julie Woodruff as surgical services director. Her responsibilities include supervising and directing the administrative and clinical activities of the area, according to a news release. This position reports directly to the vice president of patient care. Woodruff joined Saint Francis in the operating room in 1998, serving as operating room manager since 2010. She worked as a team coordinator for neurosurgery and as assistant manager in the operating room. She has previous experience as a nurse manager and surgical assistant for an OB-GYN practice. Woodruff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration.

__CHILAKAMARRI JOINS STE. GENEVIEVE HOSPITAL__

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. — Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital added psychiatrist Dr. Srinivas Chilakamarri to its behavioral health services. He will provide clinical consultations at Pointe Basse Family Health Care and complement the counseling services of Vickie Bruckerhoff. Chilakamarri is a practicing psychiatrist at St. Anthony Medical Center in St. Louis and C Group Psychiatric Services PC, also in St. Louis. He has been a practicing psychiatrist for almost 30 years. He attended Guntur Medical College in Guntur, India, and was a resident physician at Saint Louis University.

__SENIOR HOSPICE CHANGES NAMES__

FARMINGTON, Mo. — Effective July 25, Senior Independence Hospice of Mid-America has changed its name to Heart & Soul Hospice, the Park Hills Daily Journal reported. Heart & Soul Hospice is a not-for-profit, Medicare-certified hospice agency in Missouri serving Iron, Madison, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington counties. They have provided services for end-of-life care and support for patients and their families since 2005. They join parent organization Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America.

__CCC MARKS ACQUISITION OF EL NATHAN HOME__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. — The Community Counseling Center recently celebrated the 2015 acquisition and redesign of El Nathan Home in Marble Hill. At the event, Charles Johnson, owner of El Nathan Home, and his mother, Nedra Bollinger Johnson, provided the history of the home. The organization has served Bollinger County for 30 years, but as patient numbers continued to grow, so did the need for additional programs and staff. Johnson’s donation of El Nathan Home provides the CCC with needed space. “Acquisition of the El Nathan Home came at a time when our center was in dire need of space for support staff, psychiatrists and nurses, therapists and case managers,” John Hudak, CEO of Community Counseling Center, said in a news release. “The El Nathan Home allowed us to move our psychosocial rehabilitation program on site as well, and for the first time, all of our programs in Marble Hill were housed under one roof.”

__POPLAR BLUFF HOSPITAL ADDS PULMONOLOGIST__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Pulmonologist Dr. Mohanad Alfaquih joined Regional Physician Specialists Pulmonology and Sleep and the medical staff at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. He is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine and board eligible in critical care. He graduated from the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan, and completed a residency in internal medicine at the Henry Ford Hospital at Wayne State University in Detroit. He completed a fellowship in pulmonology and critical care at the same facility.

__WILLS CHIROPRACTIC CHANGES HANDS, NAME__

After the July retirement of Dr. Jim Wills of Wills Chiropractic Center, Dr. James Lee has taken the baton. Wills Chiropractic Center now is Lee Chiropractic Center, serving in their Jackson office at 2625 E. Jackson Blvd. Plans for the business include acupuncture, cupping therapy and Class IV laser treatment. Though Lee only recently moved to Southeast Missouri, he is familiar with the region, having attended Southeast Missouri State University from 2006 to 2009. He studied chiropractic care at Logan University in Chesterfield, Missouri. He has a bachelor’s degree in human biology and his doctorate in chiropractic. Joining Lee as office manager, replacing Doris Thiele, is Sara Richter. Richter graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 2011 with a degree in hospitality management.

__BRANN IS STAR SERVICE TEAM MEMBER__

PARK HILLS, Mo. — Chelsea Brann was Star Service Team Member for July at Parkland Health Center. She is a patient care technician on the medical/surgical unit and has worked at Parkland for six years. She is in nursing school and will graduate as a registered nurse in November.