May 10, 2007 — For the fourth consecutive year, Schneider Regional Medical Center has been recognized for its outstanding standard of care in SRMC's Respiratory Care Department.
We are very pleased to have received this acknowledgment, said Rodney E. Miller, Schneider president and CEO. We have an exceptional staff thats committed to saving the lives of every person that comes through our doors. This award is a testament to their service.
The award, from the American Association for Respiratory Care, is given to a facility that exhibits a higher standard of care for its Respiratory Care Department.
SRMCs department is small with a staff of nine respiratory therapists. They provide life support in every room of the hospitals eight-bed Intensive Care Unit, and five ventilators are available in the nursery, as well making plenty of work for all those therapists.
I have been here 14 years, so I was here when there were only two therapists, recalls Jeannine Mydlenski, director of Respiratory Care. I worked days, and my colleague worked evenings. Today, when we get called, we apply the more advanced services, put patients on life support and take them to ICU. So the time someone is on the unit, in trouble, is a lot shorter.
The facility now has two staffers per shift, and care is available 24 hours a day.
Despite its small size, the department has been invaluable to the Virgin Islands. Before it became available, a patient would be flown to mainland locations, such as Florida, to receive care, costing the hospital and taxpayers upwards of $30,000 round trip.
Under the circumstances, staying close to home has obvious advantages. Now, we dont have to send loved ones away to the mainland, Mydlenski says.
Because of our service, the length of stay for a patient is shorter and their survival rate is higher, Mydlenski says. Thats the type of care you want.
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