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Pinedale Online > News > December 2007 > Sneak preview inside the new Pinedale Medical Clinic

CAT Scanner. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
CAT Scanner
This 4-slice CT can do a patient exam in a matter of seconds. CT imaging uses special x-ray equipment to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body. The digital images can be sent electronically to a radiologist technician in Jackson to evaluate the images.

Contact info:
Pinedale Medical Clinic
Phone: 307-367-4133
Fax: 307-367-6636


Reception Area. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Reception Area
The reception area is open and expansive. This side of the clinic is for scheduled appointments and walk-in patients.

New Medical Clinic. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
New Medical Clinic
The new Pinedale Medical Clinic is almost ready to open to the public.

X-Ray Machine. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
X-Ray Machine
State of the art x-ray machine is entirely digital instead of using film. Laura Clark is the Radiology Director.

Emergency Room. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Emergency Room
The Emergency Room area has an ambulance entrance, 3-bay triage area, a decontamination room, climate-controlled trauma bays and a nurses station.

Trauma area. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Trauma area
There is an enclosed, climate-controlled trauma bay area in the Emergency Room side of the clinic.

Lab. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Lab
Lab for testing samples.

To hear the KPIN radio broadcast version of this story, click on this link: Pinedale Clinic Tour (KPIN 101.1 FM, 3:39 minutes, 661K, mp3 audio file)
Sneak preview inside the new Pinedale Medical Clinic
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
December 3, 2007

On Friday, November 30th, the Sublette County Rural Health Care Board held a pre-opening reception for the new Pinedale Medical Clinic, which is almost ready to open to the public. Community members and the media were given an opportunity to meet the medical clinic staff and tour the facilities.

The SCRHCB had hoped to open to the public on Monday, December 3rd. However, workers still have more finishing touches to do on the building, so the opening has been delayed until mid-to-late December.

During the presentation, Sublette County Rural Health Care Board member Bill Budd made the remark, ”We all serve with the same goal in mind: Quality medical care for all the people in this county.”

Sublette County Clerk, Mary Lankford, speaking on behalf of the Sublette County Commissioners who were out of town, said this facility and the partnership to build this facility was very unique. “Money always makes it easier,” she joked. “The two boards were able to get together to make this happen. It is a wonderful asset for this county and for the town of Pinedale,” she said.

Cost of construction for the new building was $9.4 million.

The Clinic is split into two sections, one for regular appointment patient visits and the other for emergency room services. The facility has eight patient exam rooms, two of which are for visiting physicians. One of the rooms is set up specifically for gynecological exams, with curtains and extra privacy barriers. All the rooms have call lights above the doors, and a nurse call button inside, which the patient can press if they need to call a nurse for help, such as if they are experiencing chest pains while in the exam room.

Currently, three physicians from Jackson come to Pinedale on a regular basis, a urologist, an orthopedist and an OB/GYN doctor.

The new clinic features a state of the art X-Ray room which takes digital images rather than film. X-rays can be electronically sent over a dedicated T-1 line to St. John’s Hospital in Jackson, where a staff radiologist can review the X-Ray within minutes and send back a report.

The crown jewel of the clinic is a new CAT scan machine. CAT or CT scanning is a non-invasive, painless medical test that uses special x-ray equipment to produce multiple images or pictures of inside the body. A computer joins the images together in cross-sectional views of the area being studied. CAT scans can provide detailed information on head injuries, stroke, brain tumors, internal organs, bone, soft tissue and blood vessels. It provides greater clarity than conventional x-ray exams.

This is a “4-slice” scanner, suitable for a small clinic such as this. The Jackson hospital has a 64-slice CAT scanner. More sophisticated models can go up to 320 slices. “It can do the scan in a matter of seconds,” said Laura Clark, Radiology Director. The new scanner means it will take 15 to 30 minutes to get data back, compared to 7 days. “That’s a big deal,” said Clark. “It means our EMTs won’t make so many trips to Jackson.” If a patient needs a copy of their scan results or x-rays, the Clinic can burn a copy to a CD so the patient can take it to their own doctor in another medical facility.

The clinic also has a Minor Procedure Room that will allow staff to do things like splinting, casting and minor excisions. One room in the clinic will be for observation or detox, however there are no facilities for over-night stays. The blood-draw room has a direct pass-through door into the laboratory for testing so lab samples aren’t taken out through the hallway. The lab meets all required regulations. It is humidity-controlled, which is required by some of the analyzers. Access to the lab is via a touch button lock system on the door so only authorized personnel can enter.

At present, the clinic will be open during regular weekday business hours, with 24/7 on call emergency services available.

The other side of the clinic is dedicated to Emergency Room services. It has its own separate entrance for the ambulance. Facilities include a nurse’s station, decontamination, enclosed climate-controlled trauma bay, and 3-bay triage area.

The clinic has two doctors on staff:
Dr. Jim Quirk, Board Certified Family Practice Physician
Dr. David Kappenman, Board Certified Family Practice Physician

In addition, they have two Mid-Level Nurse Practitioners: Doug Thomas, PA-C
Kris Roork, PA-C mid-level providers, certified (-C)

Other department staff:
Dr. James Quirk, Medical Director
Mary Joe Carlson, Nurse Manager
Michelle Overgaag, Lab Director
Laura Clark, Radiology Director
Laurie Horn, Medical Records
Amanda Key, Site Supervisor

Administration:
Kip Boone, CEO, SCRHCD
Sally Boone, HR/Personnel
Lorraine Gatzky, CFO SCRHCD
Andy McGinnis, Maintenance Supervisor

Visiting Physicians are:
Dr. Finkelstein, urologist, Jackson
Dr. Guier, orthopedist, Jackson
Dr. George, OB/GYN, Jackson

Contact information for the Pinedale Medical Clinic:
Phone: 307-367-4133
Fax: 307-367-6636

Randy Johnson, 307-367-2099

Photos by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!



Related Links
  • Pinedale Clinic Tour Audio File - KPIN 101.1 FM (3:39 min., 661K, mp3)

  • Old Medical Clinic. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Old Medical Clinic
    The new clinic was built between the old clinic and the new ambulance barn, on the hill on the east side of Pinedale.

    Holiday Flowers. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Holiday Flowers
    The reception and wonderful food was beautifully catered by Sue Eversull and her assistants.

    Bill Budd. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Bill Budd
    Bill Budd serves as Chairman on the Sublette County Rural Health Care Board. During the reception speeches he said, "We all serve with the same goal in mind: Quality medical care for all the people in this county."

    Mark Lankford. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Mark Lankford
    "It is a wonderful asset for this county and for the town of Pinedale,” said Sublette County Clerk Mary Lankford during the reception.

    Randy Johnson. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Randy Johnson
    Media/Marketing Services Coordinator Randy Johnson serves as the community liaison for the Rural Health Care District.

    Reception Area. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Reception Area
    Waiting room and front desk where people will check in and check out. This view is looking towards the main entry door.

    Entry area for patients. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Entry area for patients
    Hallway and nurses station on the other side of the reception area. This is where regular patients will go once brought inside to see a doctor.

    Triage Reception. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Triage Reception
    This side of the clinic is for scheduled appointments and non-emergency walk ins. Triage area. A nurse will be present. Staff will be present at a central nurses station in the middle of the clinic where they can also see the front desk and communicate using the phoone system. This view is standing in the same spot as the previous photo, turned slightly to the left. A hallway goes to the right. Another goes to the left, behind the front desk reception area.

    Back of front desk. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Back of front desk
    View of the area behind the reception desk.

    Patient Chair. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Patient Chair
    Patient chair in one of the exam rooms.

    Nurses station. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Nurses station

    Offices. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Offices
    Getting the offices set up is one of the little details that still needs to be finished before the Clinic can open.

    High Ceilings. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    High Ceilings
    The building has high ceilings and windows throughout to give lots of natural light and give a feeling of openness.

    Another hallway. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Another hallway
    One person in the tour commented, "This is like a small hospital!" Pinedale, and Sublette County, are extremely fortunate to have a medical facility of this high caliber.

    Coding Office. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Coding Office
    Office where the coders will work. assemble patients’ health information. They make sure that patients’ initial medical charts are complete, that all forms are completed and properly identified and signed, and that all necessary information is in the computer. They assign a code to each diagnosis and procedure for insurance purposes.

    OB-GYN Exam Room. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    OB-GYN Exam Room
    The OB/GYN exam room has a curtain that can be drawn in front of the door to give extra patient privacy.

    Call Light. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Call Light
    Exam rooms have call lights outside the doors. There is a nurse call button inside that the patient can press to cause the light to turn on and let nurse know that the patient needs help, for instance if they are having chest pains while waiting in the exam room.

    Medical Records Room. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Medical Records Room
    The Medical Records room is designed to make them 100% secure for access. People won’t be able to come in and look at records. Laurie Horn is in charge of medical records and is current on regulations regarding access and patient privacy.

    Minor Procedures Room. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Minor Procedures Room
    In the Minor Procedures Room, doctors will be able to do splinting, casting and minor excisions.

    Lab sample pass through door. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Lab sample pass through door
    Nurse Manager Mary Joe Carlson demonstrates the pass through door from the blood draw room into the adjacent lab. This makes sample handling compliant with regulations so they aren't walked out into the hallway to take them to the lab.

    Lab 2. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Lab 2
    View of the back part of the lab. The lab is regulation compliant for confidentiality for lab locks. Access inside is via a touch button lock system on door. The only ones with access to the lab are authorized clinic personnel.

    Michelle Overgaag. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Michelle Overgaag
    Michelle is the Director of the Lab.

    ADA Signs. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    ADA Signs
    Signs in the clinic are also in Braille for blind persons.

    X-Ray Machine. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    X-Ray Machine
    The new X-Ray machine takes the technology from film in old clinic and putting x-rays on a view box to digitizing the image and putting it up on computer, where skilled technicians can manipulate the image.

    X-Ray computer. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    X-Ray computer

    X-Ray computers. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    X-Ray computers
    X-rays can be sent to Jackson via a special dedicated T-1 computer line. A radiologist then can read it and consult with Pinedale physicians. This will save some patients a trip to Jackson to get these services. Results can be returned in a matter of hours rather than days.

    CT Scanner. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    CT Scanner
    CT scanning—sometimes called CAT scanning—is a noninvasive, painless medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.

    CT Scanner. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    CT Scanner
    A camera will monitor the patient while they are having their cat scan. The technician can hear patient if they say something, and can speak with the patient during the process.

    CT Scan computer. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    CT Scan computer
    The CT has two monitors and keyboards. One to scan. The other is to manipulate the images.

    Computer CAT monitor. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Computer CAT monitor
    CT scanning provides more detailed information on head injuries, stroke, brain tumors and other brain diseases than regular radiographs (x-rays).

    Emergency Room Door. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Emergency Room Door
    Entrance into the Emergency Room area of the clinic.

    Emergency Nurses Station. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Emergency Nurses Station

    Emergency Room. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Emergency Room
    The Emergency Room has a high ceiling with many high windows which add to the light inside.
    Pinedale Online > News > December 2007 > Sneak preview inside the new Pinedale Medical Clinic

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