Mountains Community Hospital

Did you know that National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing? This year, Terry Peña, COO/CNO, put on her vintage nurse uniform and delivered gifts to our awesome nurses! Happy Nurses Week!!!

Happy National Hospital Week (May 9-15)! It is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate our clinicians, administrators, and staff for being there for the community. To kick off the week, our friends at Air Methods/Mercy Air treated us to tacos by Las Salas. Thanks, Renee Limpus, RN, for coordinating and serving the drinks!

Welcome our newest members to the MCH Foundation Board! To learn more about the board members, please visit: https://www.mchcares.com//mch-foundation-board-welcomes-i/

Don Mitchell and his wife, Jennifer, love their puppy Birdie, even though she may have been responsible for Don’s visit to Mountains Community Hospital last month. Don is a retired Sergeant with the Ontario Police Department and has been a full-time Lake Arrowhead resident for the past six years. He started feeling unwell on October 5. I thought I had COVID-19, he said. I had a lot of the symptoms except shortness of breath and I never lost my sense of taste or smell. He ...went to the MCH Rural Health Clinic, where he tested negative for COVID-19. He spoke to his primary care doctor located down the hill. That doctor told him it sounded like COVID-19 and that they had been getting many false negatives. He suggested Don get tested again. On Thursday, October 15, as Don’s fever continued rising and falling, he started shivering uncontrollably. His temperature was 103. Jennifer said, ‘That’s it. We’re going to the hospital,’ Don said. We went to MCH because I didn’t know if I could handle the drive to Riverside. In the Emergency Department, Don was given another COVID-19 test; the results came back in an hour negative. Dr. Ludwig Cibelli ordered some blood work and told Don he wanted to do a CT scan to see what was going on intestinally. I thought I would be transported down the mountain, Don said. I didn’t know MCH had a new 80-slice CT machine. Within two to three hours, Don was diagnosed with a bacterial infection, which had turned to sepsis in his bloodstream. That shocked me, Don said. I thought I’d be going home, but Dr. Cibelli said that I would be staying for two to three days. Don was amazed at the speed and accuracy of the diagnosis as well as with the care he received. Don’s diagnosis was enabled through the use of MCH’s highly sophisticated Biofire testing system. Click the link to read more about Don's experience at MCH: https://www.mchcares.com//outstanding-care-leads-to-speed/

The need for blood donations is urgent - please donate! The LifeStream bloodmobile will be at MCH this Friday, December 11, from 9am-2pm. If you have any questions, call LifeStream at (800) 879-4484. Click the link to make an appointment: https://giftoflife.lstream.org//sched/drive_schedule/82670

You can make an impact while you shop for Black Friday deals. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/33-0530904 and AmazonSmile will donate to Mountains Community Hospital Foundation, at no cost to you.

Check out our latest COVID-19 Update: https://mailchi.mp/c83bfc6b4aa2/covid-19-update-1396268 The community is experiencing an increased spread of Coronavirus cases. Mountains Community Hospital is recording 24 positive test results daily. Patients are commonly reporting that it starts with what they think is the common cold or a scratchy throat. Then, about 37 days later, they experience fever and/or chills. In that 37 day time period of cold-like symptoms, people continu...e about their daily routine and possibly spread the Coronavirus to others. We urge you to take ALL symptoms seriously and to take all necessary precautions. You should get tested 2-3 days after the appearance of your first symptom. If you are experiencing symptoms, reach out to your primary care provider. If you don't have one, testing is offered through the Rural Health Clinic in Lake Arrowhead. Click the link at the top to read more.

Our Medical/Surgical Department is looking for an experienced Registered Nurse to join their night shift team. This is a per diem position. Click here to apply: https://www.mchcares.com/career-apply-registered-nurse-for/