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This Year's Project: Heartfelt Living, Heartfelt Giving
About Our Organization
The mission of the Beatrice Community Hospital Foundation is to encourage and inspire charitable giving that will enhance patient-and-family-centered healthcare services provided by the Beatrice Community Hospital & Health Center and its associated entities.
Beatrice Community Hospital & Health Center is a community, not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving Beatrice and its surrounding communities. As the largest rural hospital in Southeast Nebraska, we provide a continuum of care that includes emergency services, a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, women's and children's care, orthopedic and general surgery, and family and internal medicine physicians. We are committed to providing Incredible Care. Incredibly Close.
Current Project: Heartfelt Living, Heartfelt Giving
Join us in Advancing Cardiac Care with EKG Technology
The Beatrice Community Hospital and Beatrice Fire and Rescue are valuable assets for ensuring the safety and health of our community. This year, we are launching a project to enhance our cardiac care capabilities with advanced technology through heartfelt giving and EKG innovation.
Our goal is to enhance EKG machines and integrate state-of-the-art technology to coordinate with patients arriving from Beatrice Fire and Rescue transportation. EKG advancements are essential for streamlining clinical workflows and enhancing patient care. Automated EKGs will eliminate redundant procedures, ensuring rapid access to complete patient records.
With the funds raised during Big Give Gage, we will obtain 4 new EKG machines along with a cutting-edge platform to shift from paper-based to digital EKG records. This upgrade aims to enhance coordination with Beatrice Fire and Rescue during patient transportation. The advanced technology will equip onsite doctors with patient information before arrival, allowing for adequate preparation and the development of a medical treatment plan prior to the patient’s arrival. External doctors will also have seamless access to EKG data, facilitating support of our BCH patients through the seamless transfer of patient medical records.
Each year, we conduct a substantial number of EKG readings, directly impacting countless lives in our community. By supporting this campaign, you're investing not just in equipment, but in the health and wellbeing of our neighbors, friends, and loved ones.
Thank you for supporting healthcare in Gage County!
What is an EKG?
An electrocardiogram (EKG) is a simple test that checks how your heart is beating. It shows the speed and rhythm of your heartbeat, helping your care team diagnose various conditions such as irregular heartbeats, previous heart attacks and the causes of chest pain, EKGs offer crucial insights into your cardiovascular health.
Interesting Facts
• In 2023, over 70 patients came to BCH by Beatrice Fire & Rescue ambulance with chest pain and/or cardiac issues, approximately 6 patients per month.
• Beatrice Community Hospital performed 2,832 EKG tests in 2023, this is roughly 8 tests per day.
• Approximately 15% of the time Beatrice Fire and Rescue performs EKGs on the ambulance.
• Every year, 805,000 people in the U.S. have a heart attack.
• More than 350,000 people per year go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital.
• Laughing is good for your heart, sending 20% more blood through your body. Relaxed blood vessels means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard. Smile!
Infusion Center Smart Pumps
Project Details
At the Beatrice Community Hospital, Infusion runs through our veins!
The BCH Foundation 2023 Big Give Gage goal is to raise $15,000 for the purchase of three (3) smart pumps. As technology changes the way that healthcare is delivered, the BCH Infusion Center needs to update the pumps delivering medications to their patients.
“The services provided by the BCH Infusion Center allow people to be closer to home and feel more at ease when receiving their treatment,” Senior Executive of the BCH Foundation Shelby Watson said. “New IV Pumps allow for our staff to efficiently continue providing these services, and the integrated technology of the pumps allows for seamless communication between departments.”
The Foundation has set a goal of raising $15,000 to buy three pumps to ensure BCH patients, like Dee Kalin, get the care they need when they need it.
“We’ve gotten busier, and we need more pumps,” Terry said. “We want to be able to care for local patients locally. Our hospital’s ability to care for patients is growing and infusion is a part of that. We don’t want local patients to have to travel somewhere else for care.”
Terry said the BCH Infusion Center is a unique care center because the treatment patients receive can be lengthy, covering weeks, months and even years.
“Our nurses are incredibly skilled and compassionate,” Terry said. “We get to know our patients like family.”
Dee Kalin says she is grateful for the care she received at BCH and appreciated that she could get her infusions close to home without lengthy travel time. But mostly, she appreciates how compassionate and caring everyone was.
“I noticed not just how caring they were to me, but that they were good with everyone who walked in the door,” she said. “I highly recommend them.”
Dee is feeling better – she is back to her daily walk, is enjoying time with her three children, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren and is again welcoming patents and visitors to the hospital!
Shelby Watson, Senior Executive of the BCH Foundation says, "It's all about patient safety. Not only will we be more efficient in providing care, we will be lifting up our mission to provide quality services and compassionate care."
Blanket Warmer
Raised $19,819.00 Towards the Goal of $15,000.00
Project Wrap Up
Thank you for giving to the BCH Foundation during Big Give Gage! Because of your generous support, we were able to exceed our original goal and raise over $19,000 for our Acute Care Department. The Foundation, along with 60 other non-profits, were part of a historic day where the fourth-annual Big Give raised over $300,000 for Gage County non-profits. The day was a huge success!
Out with the old, and in with the new! Your generous gifts allowed BCH to purchase a new blanket warmer. "Nothing is more calming than a warm blanket for a patient or a family member" - Dave Thomas, BCH Director of Nursing.
Offering a warm blanket is just one way to offer excellent care and keep you comfortable and relaxed during your hospital stay. The Acute Care team at BCH is able to ensure that a warm blanket is never out of reach to comfort patients and family members because of you!
Thank you for supporting healthcare in Gage County and Big Give Gage!
Sincerely,
The Beatrice Community Hospital Foundation Board of Directors & Staff
Project Details
The Beatrice Community Hospital is patient-centered and focused on providing the best care possible. Patient comfort and satisfaction are a top priority.
Offering a warm blanket is just one way to offer excellent care and keep you comfortable and relaxed during your hospital stay. The Acute Care team at BCH needs to replace the current blanket warming unit to ensure that a warm blanket is never out of reach to comfort patients and family members. The BCH Foundation Big Give Project is to raise funds for a blanket warmer to ensure this oftentimes overlooked gesture can continue to be offered.
"Nothing is more calming than a warm blanket for a patient or a family member" - Dave Thomas, BCH Director of Nursing
Beyond the simple comfort of a warm blanket, blanket warming has also been shown to improve patients' clinical outcomes by reducing anxiety, lessening bleeding, increasing response to medication, and reducing chances of cardiac problems. A warmed blanket may feel like a trivial thing but goes a long way on soothing and calming a nervous patient.
Blanket warming also enhances the patient experience with proven clinical outcomes and measurable cost efficiencies by improving patients' recovery and reduce the length of hospital stay. With better thermal comfort, patients recover quickly and lower the probability of readmission and infection rates.
Picture Perfect
Raised $22,005.00 Towards the Goal of $12,500.00
Project Wrap Up
Thank you for giving to the BCH Foundation during Big Give Gage! Because of your generous support, we were able to exceed our original goal and raise over $22,000 for our Diagnostic Imaging Department. The Foundation, along with 60 other non-profits, were part of a historic day where the third-annual Big Give raised over $320,000 for Gage County non-profits. The day was a huge success!
You generous gift will go towards the purchase of a mobile x-ray machine, a piece of equipment that Director of Diagnostic Imaging, Jesse Young, says "is crucial to making patients as comfortable as possible and one of the most critical pieces of technology in the entire Imaging Department." Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Foundation table at the non-profit fair to chat with Jesse about our project.
The mobile x-ray machine will be able to help patients in all types of situations, whether it be post-operative x-rays, newborn babies, sick/elderly/handicapped patients who cannot easily be transported or critical emergencies anywhere in the hospital, we will be able to provide x-ray services promptly and at the point of care.
Thank you for supporting healthcare in Gage County and Big Give Gage!
Sincerely,
The Beatrice Community Hospital Foundation Board of Directors & Staff
Project Details
The BCH Foundation 2021 Big Give Gage goal is to raise $12,500 for the purchase of a mobile x-ray machine.
The BCH Diagnostic Imaging team includes 14 Imaging Technologists who provide X-ray services on a 24/7/365 basis. Our staff completes nearly 10,000 x-ray exams per year in outpatient, clinical, inpatient, emergency and surgical settings.
It is crucial to make a patient as comfortable as possible while receiving care and BCH can do this by bringing the x-ray to the patient. Most x-ray services are provided in one of our three x-ray suites. However, not all patients can be transferred to our suites; this is especially true in emergencies. For this reason, a mobile x-ray machine is one of the most critical pieces of technology in the entire Imaging Department.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Raised $11,056.24 Towards the Goal of $13,280.00
Project Wrap Up
In 2020, the BCH Foundation helped to purchase three Vapotherm units for use across all areas of the hospital. These purchases were made possible through fundraising during the 2020 Big Give Gage event and the annual BCH Foundation Healthcare Grant Award Process. Vapotherm devices allow the Beatrice Community Hospital to comfortably treat a broad range of breathing issues, from supporting the needs of COVID-19 patients, to newborns, COPD, pneumonia and heart failure patients.
Project Details
Help us give our patients "A Breath of Fresh Air."
The BCH Foundation asks for assistance to purchase two Vapotherm HiVNI (Hi velocity nasal insufflation) devices.
Vapotherm high velocity therapy is an advanced form of high flow oxygen delivery, capable of providing ventilatory support, without the need for a tight-fitting respiratory mask. Vapotherm has been used by 1,250 hospitals and 1.5 million patients to date. Backed by strong clinical data, Vapotherm is proven to help patients with respiratory conditions avoid placement on BiPAP machines which require the patient to wear a mask over their nose and mouth during until their cardiopulmonary crisis has resolved and may help patients avoid invasive intubation and placement on a ventilator.
One device can allow the Beatrice Community Hospital to comfortably treat a broad range of breathing issues, from supporting the needs of COVID-19 patients, newborns, COPD, pneumonia and heart failure patients.
The cost of each device, the cost to provide reliable and comfortable breath, is $6,640. Two Vapotherm ventilator support systems will allow BCH to care for every patient who needs it.
The benefits of Vapotherm are many:
- The comfort of wearing a nasal cannula vs a pressurized mask over the nose and mouth.
- The ability to communicate with caregivers and loved ones while receiving breath and oxygen support.
- The ability to have good oral hygiene because no mask is used.
- The ability to take medications, nutrition and water by mouth while breathing is being supported.The ability for clinicians to provide precision control of the oxygen level, flow rate of the gas, and temperature of the gas allows for control of the patient’s comfort and management of certain laboratory blood values.
“I can attest to the patient success and respiratory therapist satisfaction with the Vapotherm. I worked with countless patients on this device at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital (a Vapotherm Center of Excellence) in Lincoln NE with over 15 years of Vapotherm use at that organization. Vapotherm truly has been responsible for hundreds of successful patient liberations for ventilators and keeps people off of ventilators.” “This technology would be an extraordinary tool in the cardiopulmonary department of any community access hospital and would set us above what other similar hospitals can provide.”– Joe Rush Registered Respiratory Therapist, Registered Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory Therapist and Cardiopulmonary Director BCH.
Delivering Life's most Treasured Moments
Raised $8,125.00 Towards the Goal of $23,000.00
Project Wrap Up
In 2019 the BCH Foundation worked with the Gage County Foundation to help plan and organize the first ever day of giving in Gage County, Big Give Gage. Big Give Gage, help on September 10, 2019 united the community around generosity for 47 area non-profit organizations, bringing in over $173,000 in total.
The BCH Foundation raised funds to support fetal heart monitors for the Labor & Delivery department at Beatrice Community Hospital, helping to purchase two monitors as well as other medically necessary equipment.
Project Details
When a new baby is on the way, the top priority at the Beatrice Community Hosptial is delivering a healthy, happy little one in a safe and caring environment.
To do this, we need your help. The professionals at BCH rely heavily on advanced technology to provide quality care, safely and efficiently. We would like assistance to purchase two new Phillips brand Avalon CTS Wireless Fetal Monitors to provide quality care to the nearly 200 babies born each year at Beatrice Community Hospital.
We want to give Mom the best chance of having a successful and worry-free delivery. With traditional monitors Mom is required to have continuous monitoring but she is faced with having to be attached to the moitors and cords on the traditional fetal monitors, limiting movement. Studies show that frequent moving and repositioning help the labor process. Wireless monitors are used on expectant mothers to give them the freedom to move freely while in labor. Using a wireless monitor gives nurses and doctors the ability to keep a close eye on baby's heartbeat and Mom's contractions, while Mom still has the independence to walk around, use the whirlpool, and change positions frequently.
“At Beatrice Community Hospital, our nurses take pride in helping a new Mom to feel safe and comfortable during the big day. Any assistance with purchasing two new wireless monitors would help out greatly to continue to provide the great service our labor and delivery staff strive to provide.” Jill Allen, OB Coordinator
The Phillips Avalon CTS Wireless Fetal Monitors cost over $11,500 each. Our goal for the Big Give Gage is to raise $23,000 and purchase two new monitors to replace the outdated monitors currently in use, and continue to safely welcome each and every happy little bundle of joy!