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Sleepy Eye Medical Center Designated
Level IV Trauma Hospital
Only 20% of Minnesota hospitals designated

The Sleepy Eye Medical Center is pleased to announce that it has been named a Level IV Trauma Hospital by the Minnesota Department of Health. This designation places SEMC among just over two dozen hospitals out of over 100 hospitals in the state that are listed as trauma centers.

As a Level IV Trauma Hospital, the Sleepy Eye Medical Center provides stabilization and treatment of severely injured patients to our area. To be designated, SEMC demonstrated compliance in several areas, such as proper emergency room and operating room procedures and equipment, professional trauma education and post-trauma peer review processes.

Minnesota’s statewide trauma system was created in August of 2005. It established criteria for the treatment and transportation of seriously injured people and called for a process for the state to designate hospitals as trauma hospitals. The goal of the trauma system is to see every hospital in Minnesota become a trauma hospital.

A trauma system is vital to survival for the severely injured person, as the amount of time between an injury and the time it takes to receive care is the most important predictor of survival. The longer the injured person goes without treatment, their chance of survival diminish. Having a trauma system in place greatly increases the patient’s chance of survival in rural areas like Sleepy Eye and the surrounding communities, which are not in direct proximity to an urban trauma center.

The impact of trauma in Minnesota is staggering, both emotionally and financially. Trauma is the leading cause of death for Minnesotans ages 1 to 44 and is the forth leading cause of death for all Minnesotans. On average, more than 2,400 Minnesotans die from trauma each year. In 2004, 70% of fatal crashes occurred in rural areas, and the economic cost of motor vehicle fatalities in Minnesota was over $683 million dollars. The cost of medical services due to motor vehicle crashes was estimated to be $310 million dollars. *

*Source: Minnesota Department of Health Statewide Trauma System

Sleepy Eye Medical Center to Host Simulation
Classes at 8:30-11:30 and 1:00-4:00
Sleepy Eye Medical Center
Simulation is one of the newest techniques available to help health care professionals be prepared for medical emergencies with children. The Sleepy Eye Medical Center will be hosting simulation training for children's emergencies on Wednesday, October 8, with classes held at 8:30-11:30 and 1:00-4:00.
The training is conducted by Twin Cities-based Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in its Kohl's Mobile Simulation Center, the first of its kind in the nation to focus solely on preparing physicians and nurses for life-threatening conditions impacting children.
During simulations, multidisciplinary teams come together to practice critical events that are made highly realistic by simulation specialists using computerized mannequins and other techniques. For example, teams may practice scenarios in which a child is brought to an emergency room experiencing severe breathing difficulties, or when a newborn needs resuscitation.
A debriefing follows the event, during which participants identify what went well and where improvements in team performance can be made, offering insight into how the learning can be applied in the clinical environment. A strong emphasis is placed on how best to work together as a team.
"We're so happy that Kohl's has made it possible for us to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our colleagues and bring this leading-edge training to hospitals throughout the region. Simulation training helps provide them with the tools to respond effectively to a pediatric emergency," said Karen Mathias, APRN, Director of Children's simulation program. "It's very much a dress rehearsal for situations that may not occur often, but eventually arise in any health care setting."
Mathias said that simulation training in health care grew out of the approach taken by the aviation industry, which routinely uses simulation to help ensure that pilots and others can practice scenarios that can arise. Simulation training is often noted as one of the main reasons for the overall safety of the U.S. aviation industry.
"It makes a lot of sense to take the lessons learned in aviation through simulation training and apply them to medical care," she said.

Sellheim is new SEMC Administrator

Kevin Sellheim, Chief Financial Officer and Interim Administrator has been appointed administrator by the Sleepy Eye Medical Center Board of Directors. Sellheim, who has been with SEMC for five years, is replacing Bob Van Meeteren, who resigned from his position as administrator in November.
“We interviewed several candidates and found Kevin to be the best fit for us. We feel confident about his knowledge and abilities and are pleased that he accepted the position,” said Gordon Osmonson, chairman of the Sleepy Eye Medical Center Board.
“We have every confidence that Kevin will do an excellent job as our administrator. He is familiar with the organization and has been part of major decisions we have made as we have completed the remodeling of our hospital and the building of our clinic,” said Osmonson.
While taking over administration duties, Sellheim will, at this point in time, also continue to guide the financial aspects of the organization.
Sellheim lives in Sleepy Eye with his wife, Barb. They have two grown children and a grandson and enjoy golfing and spending time at the lake.

A Life-Saving Effort
Treml's life saved by quick thinking from all areas
By: Naomi Weiss

Wednesday, November 19 started off as just another day for Leon Treml. He was working at Norwood Promotional Products in Sleepy Eye, washing blankets on the press, when something didn't feel quite right.
“I reached on the press, and felt something up by my collarbone. I thought I pulled something,” said Treml.
It was approaching noon, and Treml didn't think much of it. He took his lunch break, remembering that nothing tasted good.
“I was going to go home, but started feeling better about twenty minutes later, so I decided to stay,” he said.
Another hour went by, and Treml started to get really sleepy.
“It was about a quarter to two, and I was so tired. I have sleep apnea, and usually that kicks in around that time of the afternoon. I wanted to go home and sleep, but was hanging around because the schedule for the next week was coming out, and since that day was my last day of work for the week, I wanted to see when I worked that next week.”
Waiting around for that meeting to get out turned out to be the best decision Treml could have made.
“I saw Terry Weicherding come out of the meeting, and started to feel really lightheaded. I knew when I saw Terry, though, that I would be in good hands,” he said.
Terry is part of the Norwood Sleepy Eye First Responders, a group of 31 dedicated employees who are available to immediately respond to a page for medical assistance. Each person on the team goes to training once a month for the first four months of the year.
JoAnn Schmidt was a Norwood First Responder that heard the call for medical assistance, and rushed over to help Treml, who had collapsed within feet of the first aide room while talking to someone.
“Because it was a witnessed cardiac arrest, our protocol is to immediately go into defibrillation. We got the defibrillator on him immediately, it shocked once, and we did a set of 30 compressions and two breaths. He started responding. We got him on the board and put oxygen on him, and by that time, the ambulance was there. They switched him to their defibrillator and transported him to Sleepy Eye Medical Center. On the way to the hospital, he was talking and responding a little bit,” said Schmidt.
At SEMC, RN's Kary Nelson, Cindy Anderson, Pattie Pelzel and Lynnae Pelzel and Dr. Ecker implemented Level 1 Heart Attack protocol, a set of standardized orders to facilitate rapid transport to Abbott Northwestern.
“Our goal from door to balloon is 90-120 minutes, meaning from the time he is brought to us to having that vessel opened at Abbott,” said Sue Schweiss, Director of Nurses at the Sleepy Eye Medical Center.
Treml spent just 36 minutes in the Sleepy Eye Medical Center ER, and was well within the timeframe for Level 1 protocol.
“Right before I passed out, I looked at the clock and it said 2:17. When I reached the recovery room at Abbott, it was 4:45.”
“If I would have gone home like I planned to that day, I wouldn't be here today,” said Treml.

National Laboratory Professionals Week is April 19-25, 2009. This year's theme, Laboratory Professionals Get Results, is very fitting as every day Laboratory Professionals perform tests and interpret results and provide answers for a complete picture of a patient's health. National Laboratory Professionals week salutes those who serve you through Laboratory services. Sleepy Eye Medical Center is proud of its Laboratory Team. Together they have over 132 years of Laboratory experience. Please take the time during this week to stop by the SEMC laboratory and congratulate and thank the staff for their dedication and hard work.

The Sleepy Eye Medical Center, along with other national, state and community organizations, is leading a massive effort to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making-an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of April 16, 2009 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).

As a participating organization, SEMC will provide information and tools for the public to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers, and execute written advance directives (healthcare power of attorney and living will) in accordance with Minnesota state laws.

The event will run on April 16 from 1:00-5:00 p.m., and no appointments are needed. People wishing to participate can come to the front entrance of SEMC and will be directed to the Union Room.

"As a result of National Healthcare Decisions Day, many more people in our community can be expected to have thoughtful conversations about their healthcare decisions and complete reliable advance directives to make their wishes known," said Cindy Steffl, RN, Discharge Planner at SEMC. "Fewer families and healthcare providers will have to struggle with making difficult healthcare decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient, and healthcare providers and facilities will be better equipped to address advance healthcare planning issues before a crisis and be better able to honor patient wishes when the time comes to do so."

For more information about National Healthcare Decision Day, please visit www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org.