KVCS monthly update
Kootenai Valley Christian School (KVCS) will hold its annual Spring Auction and dinner on Friday, April 26. The event will be held at the Libby Assembly of God church from 5 until 8 p.m. KVCS extends a special thank you to Libby Sports Center for being a major sponsor of this year’s event.
Being raffled off this year are: a Henry Golden Boy Rifle, a Scenic Flight over the Cabinet Mountains, and a seven night stay at the Pend Oreille Shores Resort. The three winners will be drawn during the event. You can purchase tickets at Rosauers on March 15, 22, and 29, and April 5 or 12 from 3:30 until 5:30 p.m.
KVCS will be closed from April 15-19 for Easter break. Students will have a half day of school on March 22 and April 26.
The KVCS playground still has some additional work needed. The cost of work needed is approximately $3,200, so fundraising continues. They hope to add a couple of basketball hoops and a covered area over the concrete slabs that are currently in place.
KVCS is currently sporting windows panes from the 1950’s and is launching a New Windows Project in March. They hope to be able to replace the old windows with new energy efficient ones. A total of 43 windows need to be replaced in the building at an average cost of about $300 each for a total of $12,900. Any and all donations would be appreciated and welcome towards the Windows Project. Anyone interested in donating is encouraged to contact KVCS directly at 293-2303.
By Danielle Nason
Technology advances community care
The medical community in Lincoln County has taken another great step forward in an effort to improve continuity of care and flow of patient information by going live with a new orders and results project as part of a grant awarded to Cabinet Peaks Medical C enter (CPMC) and the Lincoln County Health Alliance (LCHA).
LCHA was formed in 2017, as part of a grant awarded to CPMC from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for Rural Health Network Development Planning. LCHA is a partnership between CPMC, Kalispell Regional Medical Center (KRMC), Northwest Community Health Center (NWCHC), and the Center for Asbestos Related Diseases (CARD) that is dedicated to improving the health of our communities across the care continuum.
While each of the LCHA facilities uses Electronic Health Records (EHR) independently, communication between the hospital and the clinics for orders and results has historically been done via fax machine because the organization’s EHRs could not communicate with each other.
In June of 2018, CPMC, on behalf of LCHA, received a second grant: the HRSA Rural Health Care Service Outreach Grant. One of the goals of this grant is to improve provider access to health information using reliable, secure, and up to date technologies. LCHA began the Orders and Results Project in Oct. 2018 as part of this grant. The project was meant to allow providers at NWCHC and CARD to order lab and imaging tests for their patients within their EHRs and have the information flow seamlessly to CPMC’s lab and imaging departments. In return, CPMC would send results back to the providers in the same manner, allowing results to flow directly into the clinics’ EHRs.
“Managing faxes is labor intensive and inefficient, at times causing delays in testing and treatment, as well as frustrations for both patients and providers,” said Ahyoung Huff, MPT, MHA, Lincoln County Health Alliance Network Director, and Executive Director of the Health Information Exchange of Montana. “Making this process more efficient can assist providers in the ability to make real time decisions about the patient’s care.”
The Orders and Results Project went live last month. “A project like this takes a lot of effort to fine tune as technology is never perfect and we are dealing with changes in workflow at every facility,” added Huff. “I have been very impressed with the dedication and effort put forth from each of the network sites to complete this project successfully in record time. It’s been exciting to see what we can achieve as a network when we collaborate to align our resources and strategies together for a common goal. Everyone had vested interest in this project because we knew the value it would bring to our providers and the patients we all serve.
Achieving optimal patient experience and outcomes is truly important to our Alliance, and we hope that this project will serve the patients well for years to come.”
For more information on the Lincoln County Health Alliance or the Orders and Results Project, contact Huff at 283-7239.
Submitted by Kate Stephens
Fundraising for local in need of lung transplant
With the cost of a life-saving transplant often exceeding $800,000, most transplant families are unable to shoulder that financial burden.
COTA is a national 501(c)3 charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-related expenses.
In Libby, volunteers are raising funds for COTA in honor of transplant patients like local resident, Chris Stanton.
Because Stanton has been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, the transplant team at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Wash., has recommended a life-saving lung transplant.
Libby volunteers are raising $50,000 for COTA to assist with transplant-related expenses.
Additional volunteers are needed for this COTA community campaign. Individuals and groups interested in more information should contact Community Coordinator Teri Beebe at 293.1372 or tbeebe103166@hotmail.com.
COTA helps transplant families avoid financial devastation. Transplant procedure costs range from $100,000 to more than $800,000.
Once the transplant is complete, families face significant transplant-related expenses, including medication; transportation to and from the transplant center; lodging; and expenses while parents are out of work and often living with the hospitalized child far from home. These out-of-pocket expenses add up to tens of thousands of dollars annually for transplant families with lifetime totals often exceeding $1,000,000. In cases where a shortfall exists, COTA helps bridge the financial gap.
Chris has asked for assistance from the Children’s Organ Transplant Association. The organization’s priority is to assure that no child or young adult is denied a transplant or excluded from a transplant waiting list due to lack of funds.
One hundred percent of all funds raised in honor of patients assist with transplant-related expenses for a patient’s lifetime.
Contributions may be sent to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, Indiana, 47403. Checks should be made payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Team Chris S” written on the memo line. Secure credit card gifts are accepted online at www.COTAfor TeamChrisS.com.
Submitted by COTA