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Our nursing specialties include:
Medical/Surgical
Working in a small rural hospital Med/Surg unit is an excellent
experience for a new nurse or a nurse who wants to continually learn
and grow. At WCCH, you will work in a stimulating environment with
a wide variety of care opportunities.
At WCCH, the Med/Surg unit will give you the opportunity to care
for patients of all ages, from children to the elderly, and to give
direct patient care to patients who have a variety of disease processes,
from acute to chronic.
Because of our size, the Med/Surg unit involves total care, so you
will gain a broad-based experience. You'll learn to deal with
the complications of surgery or illness and provide ongoing patient
assessment and care. You'll develop a close relationship with
your patients and assume an important patient/family teaching role
that will help them cope with the stresses of surgery or illness
and with the lifestyle changes that may follow.
The unit provides 24-hour observation and acute care stays, as well
as swing beds.
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Special Care
Special care nursing at West Central Community Hospital is a team
effort. Nurses work in collaboration with the medical staff and
other professionals to assure coordinated patient care, from crisis
intervention to routine management.
The nursing staff is supported with advanced technology, including
computerized monitoring and data collection. In caring for critically
ill patients, you make decisions based not only on technical data,
but also on your individual experience and knowledge.
Surgical Services
Advanced equipment and techniques keep operating room and postanesthesia
recovery room nursing in the forefront of progressive nursing practice.
Nurses here are key members of the surgical team, building technical
expertise that allows them to handle unexpected situations efficiently.
Special areas in this department are:
- General Surgery. This is a fast-paced environment
where you will work with a range of patients: general, orthopedic,
OB/GYN, ENT, general trauma and urology. Many procedures are now
done with state-of-the-art laparoscopic equipment in all specialties.
- Endoscopy. Thanks to improved technology, endoscopy
is in great demand. WCCH is a fully equipped suite, performing
more than 400 procedures annually.
- Ambulatory Surgery. At WCCH, more than half of
all surgical procedures are performed on an outpatient basis including
podiatry, ENT, dental, urology, gynecologic, orthopedic and general
surgeries. The nursing staff provides pre- and post-operative
planning and care for each patient. Through patient/family teaching,
family members are encouraged to participate in the patient's
recovery.
- Post-Anesthesia Recovery. Nurses in this critical
care area are trained to deal with the special needs of the immediate
post-anesthetic phase of surgery. The recovery area provides nurses
an opportunity to incorporate primary nursing in the post-operative
setting and to become highly proficient in assessment and critical
monitoring skills.
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Obstetric Department
As a nurse working in the Obstetric Department at WCCH, you focus
on care of the family, centering on the physical, educational and
emotional needs of the infant, the mother and their family. Services
provided to expectant couples include: early pregnancy classes (for
patients thinking of getting pregnant and those in the first trimester
of their pregnancy), prenatal classes and breast feeding classes
(for those thinking about breast feeding or who want to learn more
about breast feeding). Newborn hearing screening, metabolic screening
and hyperbilirubenemia screening are performed during the infant's
hospital stay. Infant follow-up and maternal follow-up are provided
for all patients four to five days post delivery for those patients
who deliver at WCCH.
Nurses working in the Obstetric Department have the opportunity
to care for the patient during labor and delivery, post-partum and
nursery. This promotes a wonderful continuation of care for patients
and families. Nurses provide one-on-one education for the mother
and her family verbally, through demonstration and with pamphlets
and videos. The nursing staff works closely with the WIC Clinic,
Healthy Families and other support organizations to meet the needs
of the patient and her family after discharge.
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Swingbed
West Central Community Hospital participates in a Medicare program
called “Swingbed.” The Swingbed program provides medical
care, restorative and rehabilitative services, activities and other
services based on the needs of the patient. Swingbed utilizes a multi-disciplinary
approach to individualized patient care that involves nursing, therapies,
dieticians, social services, therapeutic activities and behavioral
health care. Patients and their families are encouraged to be involved
in planning care. Patients usually stay in the same bed and are cared
for by the same staff, whether they are considered acute or skilled.
The Medicare Swingbed program is dedicated to the adult patient who
requires ongoing skilled care on a short-term basis following acute
hospitalization. Patients must meet established Medicare criteria
for admission into the Swingbed program.
The goal of West Central Community Hospital's staff is to help
each Swingbed patient reach his or her full potential and return home.
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Ambulatory Care
WCCH is a provider of outpatient health care services to those patients
requiring a short length of stay within the facility. Nursing practice
includes special emphasis on patient education through individual
and family teaching. The ambulatory care unit provides 24-hour medical
and surgical nursing care for outpatients needing observation while
awaiting diagnosis or following surgery, and for patients having special
procedures such as outpatient surgeries and blood transfusions.
Emergency Department
As an emergency department nurse, you will encounter the entire
spectrum of emergency care. Perhaps nowhere else in the hospital
will you be exposed to so many types of cases and procedures. The
department treats nearly 9,000 patients each year. Its facilities
include four cardiac monitoring rooms and two trauma rooms.
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