March 12, 2024

Aspirus Health sponsored and hosted a booth during the Up North Community Expo at the Hodag Dome in Rhinelander on Thursday, March 7.

The booth featured several services from Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital and the Aspirus Health system. The ARN Emergency Department, ARN Nursing, ARN Birthing Center, ARN Therapy Services, Aspirus MedEvac, Aspirus Health Plan, Aspirus Business Health, Aspirus Home Health and Advance Care Planning all sent representatives. We had a full booth!

This was the 2nd Annual Up North Community Expo hosted by the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce and it included 85 vendors from seven counties.

Thank you to everyone who took part!

Pictured (from left): Matt Thompson, Dan Arndorfer, Amy Bormann, Claire Horant, Ra'chell Lucas, Heidi Kraege, Megan Umnus, Tom Helbach and Ted Ryan.

Congratulations to Jordan Knopf, Physical Therapist, recipient of the Aspirus Eagle River Hospital Good Catch Award! The Good Catch award is based upon a commitment to High Reliability Principles for Safety to bring awareness to situations where an employee’s actions prevented harm to those we care for in the Northwoods.

Here is a summary of Jordan’s Good Catch: During a physical therapy session, Jordan’s patient shared that she was having a very bad day, that she was suicidal and did not feel safe at home. Jordan asked her patient if she could help her – she agreed – then Jordan requested her leadership guide her on how to help her patient. Jordan explained to her patient that she was concerned for her well-being, and she recommended the patient go directly to the Emergency Department. The patient agreed and Jordan escorted her to the ED and provided hand-off communication to the Triage Nurse.  

Jordan’s actions ensured her patient received the care and treatment she needed.  

This is a great example of using the ARCC tool. ARCC (Ask a question, make a Request, voice a Concern, use the Chain of Command): A safety tool that provides confidence, promotes speaking up, and escalates the concern, if not addressed. ARCC is a communication technique that can help assert a concern in a non-threatening way.

Each month our Good Catch Team reviews all the Good Catches submitted through SafetyZone and choose the best catches to be recognized within our region. Submit your good catches and you could be the next “Good Catch Award Winner!”

Good catch, Jordan!

Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital will begin offering Urgent Care on Monday, March 18, providing timely treatment for non-life-threatening illness and injuries. Urgent Care is available without an appointment, seven days a week from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Emergency Department entrance at the hospital.

You can’t always plan when you need health care. Injuries and illness occur at the most inconvenient times when you are not able see your regular provider. With Urgent Care you still have access to quality care when and where you need it.

It may be confusing whether to choose Urgent Care or an Emergency Department. Urgent Care is for problems that need to be treated right away but are non-life threatening. This includes conditions such as allergies, pink eye, rashes, upper respiratory infections, strains and sprains, ear infections, insect bites, cuts, or other minor illnesses. Urgent Care can also perform minor procedures, provide basic lab tests and imaging to help provide an accurate diagnosis and determine proper treatment.

Injuries that require rapid or advanced treatment should be treated at an Emergency Department in a hospital setting where a higher level of care is available. When in doubt, do not hesitate to call 911, especially for suspected cases of stroke, heart attack or head trauma.

The benefits of Urgent Care extend beyond expanded access. Visitors to Urgent Care will typically have a shorter wait time than at an Emergency Department and will usually have a less expensive cost of visit with lower insurance co-pays.

“The addition of Urgent Care at Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital shows a commitment by Aspirus to increase services and provide reliable care to our local community and the thousands of visitors that visit our area every year,” said Carmen Viegut, Director of Nursing, Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital. “It is a valuable extension of the emergency care Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital has been proudly providing in the Northwoods for over a century.” 

For more information about Urgent Care at Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital, located at 401 Mohawk Dr., visit aspirus.org/urgentcare.

Dr. Michael Zevitz, Aspirus Cardiology - Rhinelander, interviewed with WRJO Radio host Mike Wolfe on Thursday, March 7, on 94.5 FM.

This interview focused on cholesterol levels and why they matter. Dr. Zevitz was asked several questions including: what should everyone know about cholesterol, how do you know what your cholesterol number is, what are the risks of high cholesterol and how can you prevent or manage your risk, among others.

Thank you, Dr. Zevitz, for discussing this important topic for the WRJO Radio audience!

To learn more about Aspirus Cardiology - Rhinelander, please click here.

Every day, we show compassion for our patients, their loved ones, and one another. Below are a few recent examples from our intranet's Recognition Wall for North Division facilities. Recognize a co-worker or view more staff recognitions.

Compassion

Myriam Brault, ARN Med/Surg

Thank you so much for floating to HYMC and helping us on a busy Saturday! Everyone was so appreciative of your help. You made a huge difference in our workflow.

Accountability

Denise Schoeneck, Aspirus Koller Behavioral Health

Thank you for always being a great support, resource and team player! I know I can always go to you for advice and reassurance.

Collaboration

Leah Tanner Payne, HYMC Medical Outpatient

Thank you for your patience teaching me the Epic way. I will get it one of these days!

Foresight

Katarina Alberts, HYMC Nutritional Services

You are so wonderful and appreciated by all staff. Thanks for being supportive of your work family. We appreciate all the little things you do! Especially the laughs we have together.

Joy

Erin Karlen, Radiation Oncology

Thank you, guys, for your recent work in getting the Daily Linac QA up to speed. From adding MPC and SRS QA to troubleshooting the DQA3 connectivity, you've done a great job working through issues and adjusting to process changes. All with a very busy tx schedule. Please keep up the great work!

Join us for a free one-on-one Advance Care Planning appointment (approximately 1 hour). 

Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital

• Thursday, March 21
• Thursday, April 18
• Thursday, May 16

Appointments available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Registration is required. Call 715-847-2380 or 800-847-4707, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Employees have an opportunity to obtain wellness points by meeting with a facilitator and completing the document.

Advance Care Planning will help you:

• Think about your health care values and goals.
• Consider possible future choices.
• Talk with your doctor and loved ones about your wishes.
• Make a written plan (advance directive).

To learn more about Advance Care Planning, please visit https://www.aspirus.org/advance-directives.

Do you have an announcement you'd like to include in the North Division Newsletter?

Please send it to Aspirus North Division Regional Communications & Community Engagement Lead Matt Thompson at Matthew.Thompson@aspirus.org. Please provide any items for this newsletter by end-of-day Friday for use the following week.

Teri Theiler

President, WI North Division