SUBMITTED

EMPORIA–Rachel Muirhead of Hays, is part of the cast and crew presenting “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales,” the final show of the 62nd season of Emporia State University Summer Theatre.

Though the characters may be familiar, this charming family comedy by John Glore retells favorite storybook fables with uproariously derailed makeovers.

Seven actors tell the stories of Chicken Little, The Gingerbread Man and everything in between. Fun music and witty narration accompany the likes of ineloquent giants, sassy barnyard animals, colossal cow pies and enough stinky cheese to go around.

Muirhead, a junior theatre education major, works in the costume shop.

“The Stinky Cheese Man” is under the direction of Dan Matisa. Assisting with the production are technical director Chris Lohkamp, scenic designer Eric Luchen and costume designer Kelsey Patterson.

The Stinky Cheese Man runs July 27 through 29 at 7:30 p.m., with a special matinee performance on Saturday, July 30, at 2 p.m. All performances will be in the Karl C. Bruder Theatre located at 1301 Market St. For tickets to this production, visit the Memorial Union Ticket Office or call (620) 341-6378.

HAYSMED

HaysMed was recently reaccredited as a Chest Pain Center with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.

Hospitals that are accredited by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care have achieved a higher level of expertise caring for patients who come in with a complaint of chest pain or are experiencing symptoms of a heart attack.

More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people each year dying of heart disease. Coordinating care to reduce treatment time is critical, especially during the early stages of a heart attack, which often includes chest pain.

“I am very proud of my accomplishment and our teams’s commitment and dedication to providing exceptional heart care,” said Carol Groen, RN, BSN,CEN, NE-BC, Six Sigma Green Belt Certified, Manager of Clinical Certification and Special Projects at HaysMed. Groen oversees the Chest Pain accreditation and is the driving force behind the committee’s success.

Hospitals awarded the Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI designation have dedicated resources to help all types of chest pain patients. These resources include a call team made up of Cardiac Cath Lab staff and an Interventional Cardiologist available 24/7, every day of the year. This team arrives at the hospital within 20 minutes of activation for a suspected heart attack emergency. All team members use an evidence-based, protocol-driven approach to maximize efficiency, which leads to quicker treatment time and improved outcomes.

“I have been able to bring together diverse medical entities such as EMS, the emergency department and cardiology to assess, diagnose and treat patients who come to us with symptoms of a heart attack. This teamwork between the departments helps ensure all chest pain patients receive appropriate protocol-driven and timely care,” said Groen.

The goal of the formal accreditation is to significantly reduce the mortality rate for chest pain patients. “It’s important for everyone to recognize the early symptoms of a heart attack. Knowing the symptoms and calling 911 is critical to survival,” Groen emphasized.

By achieving Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation status, HaysMed demonstrates expertise in the following areas:
• Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
• Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly
• Effectively treating patients at low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
• Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
• Ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel
• Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
• Constructing a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
• Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack

HaysMed was first accredited as a Chest Pain Center in 2013.

RCH

PLAINVILLE – The trauma center at Rooks County Health Center (RCH) has again received designation as a Level IV Trauma Center by the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment (KDHE).

Every three years, designated trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance as outlined by the American College of Surgeons and endorsed by the Kansas Advisory Committee on Trauma.

“We know that every second matters when a life-threatening injury occurs. Trauma center designation is a key part of the overall statewide trauma system which increases the chance of survival and reduces permanent injury for patients in Kansas,” said KDHE Secretary Susan Mosier, in a news release. “On behalf of families and visitors in our state, we congratulate Rooks County Health Center for serving this vital role”.

Injuries are a leading cause of death and disability in Kansas. KDHE’s Trauma Program works to assure those that are injured in Kansas have access to an organized system of trauma care that offers them the best chance of recovery.

There are four separate categories of designation by the Kansas Trauma Program. Each category has specific criteria that must be met by a facility seeking that level of designation. A trauma care system includes a network of hospitals providing a spectrum of care for injured patients. Trauma center designations are based on the hospital’s care capability, from the highest level of care possible (Level I) to hospitals designated Level IV.

Level IV trauma centers are rural hospitals whose primary role in the trauma care system is to stabilize seriously injured patients and, if necessary, transfer them to the appropriate higher level trauma center. Hospitals that have achieved Level IV trauma center designation have demonstrated a commitment to providing optimal care for those who have been seriously injured.

RCH is one of the few critical access hospitals in Kansas that is willing to make the immense effort and incur the expenses necessary to attain Level IV designation.

As RCH staff explained, the necessary higher levels of staff training and education required to obtain Level IV, coupled with the advanced equipment required, is possible due to the support and commitment of the hospital board and administration. As one RCH nurse stated, “We just hold ourselves to a higher standard. This is the right thing to do for our community, so we at RCH make the effort and make sure we get it done”.

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

Mike Jensen was working hard last Wednesday morning, July 13, when he got a call that turned his day around.

Jensen, a Hays farmer, was busy at his dad’s rental properties, cutting up fallen tree branches that had broken during an early morning storm that swept through the area.

Then, he decided to check his cell phone, and he soon had reason to smile — even though he realized he had a lot more work ahead of him.

“I saw I had eight missed calls,” said Jensen, also a local beekeeper who specializes in swarm removal.

One of those calls was from Fort Hays State University, which was looking for a swarm removal expert. A large hackberry tree on the FHSU quad had snapped in the 80 mph straight winds, and swarming around the opening was a hive of honey bees.

Jensen — who along with his daughter, Fort Hays State sophomore Elissa Jensen, helped start the FHSU Bee Club last year — quickly began the process of removing the bees in an effort to save them.

“This is what I like,” Jensen said. “It’s so educational. The more you work with bees, the more you learn about them.”

With their home suddenly open to the world, the bees weren’t as cooperative as Jensen had hoped.

“They were pretty irritated,” Jensen said, “but then, who wouldn’t be if you got your home blown apart?”

Jensen and his son, Ethan, who will be a senior this fall at Hays High School, returned Thursday morning to remove the bees.

“They kept balling back up (Wednesday), so we let them sit overnight,” Jensen said. “Now, we’ll screen the front, haul them off and relocate them somewhere — and hope they survive.”

Jensen said he thinks the bees have a good chance of surviving.

“If this was October, I don’t know,” he said. “But it’s early enough. They can rebuild and make it through the winter.”

Andree Brisson, Fort Hays State’s sustainability coordinator, said the university is “so fortunate to have this relationship we have formed with the local beekeepers because you can call them at a time like this.”

“The beauty of this,” Brisson said, “is that the bees don’t have to be exterminated.”

Jensen Farms manages about 35 hives and also specializes in swarm removal.

“In the past, if we had found these bees, they probably would have been sprayed and exterminated,” Brisson said.

Now, people know who to call — Jensen Farms at 785-623-4285.

“The bee club has helped change the culture, made aware the importance of bees,” Brisson said. “We’ve had a paradigm shift on campus about the awareness of bees.”

As Jensen took a break from his work, he told how the bees not only had found a new home for two or three years but they extended the life of the tree in the process.

“When the trees get a bad spot and bees move in, the bees actually save the tree’s life,” Jensen said, explaining that the bees seal off the damaged portion.

But the life of that particular hackberry tree, as well as the lives of the bees that made it their home, all changed dramatically early Wednesday morning.

“They should be alright,” said Jensen, who was also called for swarm removal of bees from three other trees in town after the storm. “We’ll get them out and relocate them at least 2 miles away.”

Jensen said it’s not a surprise that no one apparently knew the bees were there.

“They usually look for a hole 12 to 15 feet high,” he said. “They just went in, made themselves at home and started working.”

Coincidentally, the FHSU Bee Club brought between 12,000 and 15,000 bees to a hive on the outskirts of the Fort Hays State campus this past spring. Little did anyone know they weren’t the first bees on campus.

“To think,” Jensen said, “we had Elissa’s Earth Day booth 50 feet away from that tree this spring, and those bees were that close all the time.”