Newsmakers in Health Care

Primrose OB/GYN, the practice of Drs. Marcus McCorcle, Thomas Shultz, Gregory Stamps and Gary Walker, was honored by Microsoft with a national award in the clinical records-ambulatory category of the 2008 MS-HUG Healthcare Innovation Awards. The award recognizes organizations that are using technology to enhance and transform the quality of patient care, reduce costs, streamline clinical and business processes, support interoperability, improve productivity and workflow and enable informed decisions. The award was presented in Orlando, Fla., during the annual convention of the Health Information and Management Systems Society.

Tim Shryack, director of clinical services for Jordan Valley Community Health Center, presented a seminar, “What Can Community Health Centers do for their Community and Statewide to Assist During a Disaster” during the recent Public Health Preparedness Summit in Atlanta. As a consultant to the Missouri Primary Care Association, he developed a disaster plan now in place for 19 federally qualified health centers in the state.

The CoxHealth Foundation received a $3,000 grant from the Ozarks Health Advocacy Foundation. The money will be used by CoxHealth’s Hulston Cancer Center to improve the oral health of cancer patients. Hulston Cancer Center is working with Jordan Valley Dental Clinic and other local dentists to help provide comprehensive dental exams and care for cancer patients.

Carol Gourley joined The Gardens Assisted Living as its director of nursing. Gourley, who has 20 years of experience in long-term care, supervises the entire nursing staff and oversees all aspects of resident care.

Gordon L. Kinne was appointed to the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee. Kinne, president of Med-Pay Inc., holds a bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University. His appointment, which required Senate confirmation, is for a term ending Jan. 1, 2010.

The CoxHealth Foundation received a $10,000 challenge grant from the Kerr Foundation for a simulation lab at Cox College of Nursing and Health Science. In addition to providing hands-on experience for students in a controlled environment, the simulator will allow the college to create the first “train the trainer” program in the region. Plans are to have the lab open by the fall.

Dr. Michael Murrell recently attended a workshop, “Reconceptualizing Child Custody: Past, Present and Future – Lawyers and Psychologists Working Together.” The workshop was held in Chicago by the American Bar Association and the American Psychological Association. Murrell is in private practice in Springfield is an expert witness in child custody cases.

Ruth Shryack, chief financial officer of Jordan Valley Community Health Center, received a graduate certificate in Healthcare Corporate Compliance from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The certificate’s criteria included health care compliance in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

CoxHealth’s Medical Explorers Program has announced four scholarship recipients: Scott Bartkoski, a junior at Missouri State University, $1,250; Ginger Burnett, a student at Cox College of Nursing and Health Sciences, $1,250; Kayla McIntosh, a senior at Norwood High School, $1,000; and Kyle Fink, a senior at Missouri State University, $1,000.

Dr. Rosellen Meystrik of St. John’s Clinic-Plastic Surgery, attended the recent annual meeting of the American Society of the Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons in San Diego. Topics addressed included updates about Memory gel breast implants for augmentations, new techniques in abdominoplasty and skin resurfacing procedures, as well as safety in outpatient surgical facilities.

The Associate Degree in Nursing Program at Cox College of Nursing and Health Sciences has received reaccreditation until 2015 from the National League for Nursing Accreditation. The program’s accreditation is based on a faculty self-study report, a site visit by peer reviewers and analysis of data collected by the National League for Nursing Board of Directors.

Cheryl Fitch, vice president of community relations at CoxHealth affiliate Oxford HealthCare, was elected a member of the regulatory affairs subcommittee of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice in Washington, D.C. The subcommittee meets semiannually. Fitch also recently was confirmed to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Missouri Alliance for Home Care. The board works with MAHC’s executive director to oversee the group’s operations.