Health Briefs:

In her new position, Noe will be responsible for the planning and overall operation of the fifth floor including oncology, orthopedics and post-surgical patient care.

Noe most recently served as a house supervisor in the hospital’s nurse staffing office. She also has worked in various positions for Blount Memorial Occupational Health.

She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Nursing in Knoxville, and she also has completed the University of Tennessee College of Business Administration’s executive development program.

Telemonitoring services expands to private payers
In-home electronic monitoring offered by Blount Memorial Home Services now is available to private paying patients interested in connecting themselves with health care providers through an easy-to-use, table top device. Previously the
service, which now includes more than 100 active monitors in the community, was only available to qualifying Home Services patients.

The HomMed health monitoring system operates from a home-based unit that is placed in a patient’s home or room that collects important data including, but not limited to, weight, blood pressure, heart rate and temperature.

It’s the size of an alarm clock radio and can easily be stored on a bedside table. Each day, at a designated time, the home-based unit sends a signal to remind patients to collect vital sign information, which is a voice-guided, three-minute process.
Collected data, which includes the most-recent vital signs, is then sent to a central station located inside the hospital’s Home Services building.

Collecting and reviewing patient data daily helps care providers react quickly to actual or potential problems.

Nurses can be sent to a patient’s home-based on clinical needs shown through transmitted data, and by responding in the earliest, most-treatable stages, physicians often can help patients avoid costly return hospital admissions and emergency department visits. While the system collects information between physician visits, it’s not intended to eliminate the need for doctor’s appointments or home care visits.

Home Services staff members say the system is especially helpful to seniors, people with limited mobility and anyone with a chronic condition such as congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes and asthma.

For more information about in-home electronic monitoring, call Blount Memorial Home Services at 865-981-2160.

BMH marketing team nets professional awards
Blount Memorial Hospital’s marketing and public relations department was awarded five first-place awards, three second-place awards and three third-place awards at the annual Volunteer chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s "V"
Awards.

Top-level "Awards of Excellence" were received for the hospital’s community relations during the unveiling of the Cancer Center Legacy Quilt, the Good Health newspaper insert and the Profiles in Pink event. Blount Memorial public relations manager Jennie Bounds received a writing award for her feature story "Profiles in Pink." Bounds also received top honors for media relations during the Healthy Returns for Education Tennis Challenge.

Second place "Awards of Quality" went to the hospital’s 60th anniversary calendar, the marketing department’s crisis response kits and the Healthy Returns for Education Tennis Challenge event. Third place "Awards of Merit" were earned for the weekly Women’s Health newspaper column, the Healthy Returns for Education Tennis Challenge media kit and Celebrate Spring: A Mountain Retreat for Women with Cancer.

The PRSA awards follow the April 19 presentation of the Tennessee Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations annual "Prism" awards in Nashville. Blount Memorial earned six first-place "Prisms" for the employee recruitment billboards, "The Shortest Distance" print paid advertising series and Celebrate Spring: A Mountain Retreat for Women with Cancer. The Healthy Returns for Education Tennis Challenge netted two awards, one for the event’s media relations and another for the actual event.

Second-place "Citations" were awarded for the hospital’s holiday exterior photo, the employee newsletter, Checkmate, and "The Shortest Distance" advertising campaign.

Blount Memorial offers cancer patient groups
The Blount Memorial Cancer Center offers free groups for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and family members and friends of cancer patients and survivors.

On Tuesdays at 10 a.m., a group for cancer patients and survivors meets in the Blount Memorial Cancer Center Conference Room One on the second floor.

Before attending, cancer patients and survivors are encouraged call 865-980-5025 to schedule an orientation appointment.
Meeting simultaneously in an adjacent room, also at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, the family members and friends of cancer patients and survivors meet in the center’s Conference Room Two, also on the second floor.

For more information or to schedule an orientation appointment, call health education and social services coordinator Debbie Roberts at 865-980-5025.