LCRH grateful for National Guard's help through pandemic

Jul. 1—Administrators at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital are thankful that the community seems to be seeing the end of the COVID pandemic. They recently spent time reflecting on the members of the Kentucky National Guard who helped them get through some of their most difficult times, and then looked forward towards the changes and innovations the hospital is working on, now that they can focus on something other than the coronavirus.

LCRH CEO Robert Parker, new Chief Operating Officer Rhee Perry and Assistant Administrator Kevin Albert discussed both the recent past and the not-too-distant future of the hospital in a recent talk with the Commonwealth Journal.

Albert gave high marks to the men and women of the Kentucky National Guard who helped out at the hospital.

In September, LCRH was one of 21 Kentucky hospitals chosen to receive assistance from the Guard.

Fifteen service members came on site September 13. Through the six months the Guard stayed there, a total of 34 Guard members rotated through, Albert said.

"Their principal mission was to alleviate some of our staffing pressures related to the pandemic," Albert said. "We were having difficulty filling positions, so their main goal was to come in and help us with non-clinical functions."

Those included logistical support as well as assisting in the dietary, pharmacy, materials management and case management departments. Among their duties, they were on hand to move new equipment and to aid in finding places to transfer patients as needed, Albert and Parker explained.

The Kentucky National Guard was not there for any type of security operations, Albert said.

"They came in at a great time of need in our facility to help maintain the operations, and support all of our dedicated staff that were working through that as well," he said. "Everybody hated to see them go. ... They came as soldiers and left as friends."

In fact, as they were leaving, the solders presented the hospital with a framed collage of patches and mementos to memorialize their visit to the Somerset hospital.

But while the hospital staff hated to see the end of the program, its conclusion did mean that the state was starting to recover from the pandemic, Albert said.

And coming out of the pandemic means being able to focus more on other projects.

One of the projects LCRH has been able to kick off this year is a renovation of the behavioral health unit, where all adult and geriatric psychiatric patients are cared for.

Albert said phase I of the project, or work the north side of the unit, began on April 11. He expected that to be completed by mid-July. Then Phase II would begin and should be completed in the fall.

The project will impact 27 beds, and will provide additional safety measures for the patients, "to make sure it's a safe and secure environment for the patients that are there," Albert said.

The project will also renovate the "cosmetics" of the unit, such as having new paint, flooring, lighting, furniture and bathroom fixtures.

The hospital is also focusing on streamlining aspects of the food and nutrition department which will help improve how it provides meals to patients staying there.

Albert said the streamlining process will improve accuracy and safety of meals, meaning they will have better access to knowing patients' caloric needs or allergies.

"Once we implement that, there's what we call an Ambassador Program that's going to have at least five individuals from our food and nutrition department who will actually be delivering all the meals to every patient in their beds for breakfast, lunch and dinner," Albert said.

That means the people who actually make the meals with get to talk face-to-face with the patients who eat them, making substitutions to meals based on the patient's feedback.

"That's very important when the patient first gets to the unit. They'll know the dietary restrictions with the first meal that the patient gets," he said.

The hospital is also focusing on bringing the latest technological advancements on board, Perry said. LCRH recently purchased 36 new ICU beds for its critical care rooms.

"The technology on them is just astounding," Perry said. "It's not something that your typical patient would really think about, but with all the tech and the way the mattresses are — the way they move, the ergonomics — it really is a huge part of their healing process. ... It plays a major role in their recovery and healing."

He and Parker also gave a glowing report on the hospital's three new surgical robots — so much so that Parker said the hospital is looking at getting two more.

Their current three robots offer specialized services to patients. One performs general surgeries, gynecological surgeries and bariatric surgeries. The second specializes in neurosurgery, while the third specializes in orthopedic surgeries.

"We're thankful we have robotics surgery for several of our specialties," Albert said.

And one final piece of exciting news for patients and their visitors: The gift shop may reopen as soon as August, and will be home to some of the best gifts available, courtesy of the Mole Hole.

"We are very excited to reopen the gift shop at LCRH. By partnering with The Mole Hole, we are creating an opportunity for our patients, staff, and visitors to shop for unique gifts while also supporting our local businesses," Perry said.