SOUTHEAST HOSPITAL GIVES ANNUAL AWARDS

Hospitals must concentrate on patients' needs to be successful in the new health-care marketplace, the president of the Missouri Hospital Association said Thursday night.

"Hospitals have perhaps unwittingly entered the world of big business," Marc Smith said at the Southeast Missouri Hospital Association's annual dinner.

Restoring the public's confidence in hospitals and the health-care system is "a daunting challenge," Smith said, and will require "renewed focus on the people and the communities that we serve."

Smith quoted Tip O'Neill, the former speaker of the House, who once said, "All politics is local."

"Likewise, all health care is truly local," Smith said, and hospitals have to build partnerships within the community "that not only ease the pain of the sick but improve the lives of the healthy."

He also called on hospitals to improve health-care access for children, the elderly and the poor.

Southeast, celebrating its 70th anniversary, also recognized three longtime friends of the hospital. C.A. Bohnsack and Dr. Jean A. Chapman received Outstanding Service Awards, and the hospital's Special Service Award went to Edna Ruth Fischer.

While recognizing its past, Southeast officials also looked to the future.

Robert Erlbacher II, president of the board of trustees, said he is "delighted" to be working with St. Francis Medical Center on negotiations for a proposed affiliation between the two hospitals.

A recent efficiency study on the proposed affiliation showed projected savings of $47 million, mostly through combining services, eliminating duplication of services and eliminating capital costs, Erlbacher said.

The hospital also recognized its 1928 Alumni Club, made up of the babies born in its first year of operation.

Bohnsack received the Outstanding Service Award in recognition of his leadership and efforts to develop Southeast through two decades of dynamic growth.

Bohnsack served on the active board of trustees from 1975 to 1987 and on the executive committee from 1979 to 1987, holding the offices of secretary-treasurer, second vice president and first vice president of the board from 1983 to 1987.

While on the board, Bohnsack served on nine committees and participated in several fund-raising campaigns by the hospital and its Foundation. He has been a member of the honorary board of trustees since 1987.

Chapman, a past member of the board of trustees and a former member of the medical staff, was honored for excellence in leadership, for helping establish a solid foundation on which Southeast continues to operate and build, and for demonstrative teamwork and service.

He served on the active board of trustees for 20 years and was the first physician to serve on the board's executive committee. His 39 years with the hospital have been devoted to facilities development, services and beautification efforts, and to advancing quality health care and promoting education about treatment and prevention of health problems.

Chapman was also honored for his service to the Cape County Medical Society and his role as creator, program coordinator and host of "Ask Your Doctor," a medical show that airs weekly on Cable Channel 5. The show was created in 1990.

Fischer was recognized for her work as a volunteer in the community and at the hospital, where she has done volunteer work since 1958. She has assisted at numerous special events and has been active in beautification and fund-raising projects.

Erlbacher commended Fischer for "living your life in such a way that patients, visitors and staff are helped and cheered by your artistic touches, positive spirit and many kindnesses."

The 1928 alumni honored were Rebecca Hahs Bollinger, Marble Hill; Judy Jackson, Cape Girardeau; Kenneth Popp, Oak Ridge; Richard Eggimann, Cape Girardeau; Polly Sturgeon Cotner, Cape Girardeau; Tori Williams Landgraf, Cape Girardeau; and Charles Schultz, Jackson.

Guy Lowes of Jackson, Southeast's first patient, was also recognized. Lowes was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 9, 1928, for a tonsillectomy.

The 1928 alumni and Lowes each received memento boxes and will be honored with an inscribed brick placed in the hospital's Commemorative Brick Garden by the hospital Foundation.

Dr. Michael Bennett and Paul Sander were named as two newly elected members of the board of trustees. Bob Bohnsack, Jacklyn Clark, Walter Joe Ford, John Grimm, David Hahs, Ben Lewis, James Limbaugh and Stone Manes were re-elected to the board, Erlbacher announced.