Long Prairie is first hospital ever to receive CALS designation
by Karin L. Nauber
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| Patient care is especially vital during an emergency. All emergency room nurses and all registered nurses at Long Prairie Hospital are CALS trained. Pictured is Charge Nurse Jo Anderson, RN, caring for a patient in the ER. |
Imagine you have been in an accident. If you are conscious, you may be aware of two things. One, the pain you are in. Two, that you are scared. Scared of what is wrong and of not knowing if anyone will be able to help you. If you live in a rural area, this fear may be compounded by the feeling that you don't know if the staff at your local hospital will be equipped to handle your emergency.
If you are going to the Long Prairie Memorial Hospital, a member of CentraCare Health System, your fears can be somewhat alleviated. This hospital is a shining star among rural hospitals in that they are the first hospital ever to be designated a "CALS" organization for excellence in rural emergency medical care.
CALS stands for Comprehensive Advanced Life Support and it is no "accident" that Long Prairie is the first hospital to receive this designation.
CALS originated in Minnesota in 1996 as a result of a collaboration among emergency medicine and family physicians, rural practitioners and academic specialists, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, paramedics and others.
According to Dr. Paul Van Gorp, who was involved in the initial planning stages and is the board chairman of the program today, in the early 1990s the Minnesota Medical Association and the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians formed a joint task force to look at and deal with issues in rural health care.
"Rural health care was in a crisis situation. Emergency care may have been not as good as at a larger hospital where emergencies were cared for on a regular basis. In the rural hospital, family physicians cover the emergency room as well as clinics. Maintaining competence in each emergency situation that could arise was difficult," he said.
At Long Prairie Memorial they may only encounter a serious car accident, gunshot wound, cardiac emergency or prenatal emergency infrequently, sometimes only a handful of times a year.
"It is hard to remain confident in handling those emergency situations and feel competent when we dealt with them so seldom," he said.
In emergency care Van Gorp said there was a time called the "golden hour." That is the hour immediately following an emergency situation where the care and interventions that are given could save a life.
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| On November 6, a CALS hospital plaque was presented to the Long Prairie Hospital at the 2007 Report to the Community. Pictured are: Jodi Hillmer, R.N., Marie Katterhagen, R.N., Skip Hofstrand, M.D., Todd Grant, M.D., Paul Van Gorp, M.D. and Roger Oberg, administrator. -submitted photo |
"We felt the best way to deal with this was to better train our staff in comprehensive advanced life support techniques," said Van Gorp.
Out of that idea, CALS was born.
Van Gorp was an officer, board member and president of the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians at the time CALS was being conceived and was instrumental in its birth and practice.
"After 15 years or so CALS has developed into a concrete course," he said.
The training includes a one day lab and a two day training session where they also get updated on new equipment and new ways to care for emergencies
"There is also a huge manual available so that we can review and know best how to handle an emergency," he said.
It is an evolving manual and now includes how to handle terrorist threats and emergencies as well as hundreds of other situations.
The staff also goes through training every two to three months on a section of CALS emergency care to keep the emergency staff up-to-date.
Rural hospitals could not support this without the legislature who has generously helped fund the CALS program, said Van Gorp.
"Mary Ellen Otremba has really gone to bat to secure funding for this program," he said.
The importance of CALS has not gone unnoticed. While the program began in Minnesota, Van Gorp said it is now also used in Wisconsin, Texas, Missouri and is moving into North Dakota. It is also used at embassies around the world.
"This training is needed everywhere, but would be especially useful in places like Alaska and Wyoming-places where it is difficult to get to a major hospital," he said.
CALS is now its own independent program. It was felt that hospitals who excelled at getting the course training and following the principles of it should be recognized.
Long Prairie Memorial Hospital is not only the first in Minnesota, but the first in the world to receive this designation.
Van Gorp credits Marie Katterhagen, surgery manager, with being instrumental in securing that the hospital is meeting all requirements.
"She is a detail person. She makes sure people get scheduled for the training and if they can't make it, she makes sure they are rescheduled. She got the people in and makes sure they are trained on the new equipment," said Van Gorp.
Katterhagen said that after they handle an emergency, the trauma unit from St. Cloud also comes to Long Prairie to review the case with the Long Prairie staff.
"We review it all-what could we do better or different-it helps us handle emergencies better because we don't get these cases very often," said Katterhagen.
The Minnesota State Trauma Advisory Committee has approved CALS as one of the training programs that can be used to qualify Minnesota hospitals for the levels III and IV trauma designation.
In order to qualify as a CALS hospital, the applicant institution must meet a number of stringent criteria for staff training, up-to-date technology and evidence of commitment to the CALS principles.
"We are very honored to become the first hospital in the state of Minnesota to receive this designation," stated Jodi Hillmer, director of patient care services. "CALS is one of the best programs I have ever been a part of. The team approach involves everyone in the decision making and treatment of each patient. It also focuses on early preparation for transfers to tertiary (medical treatments provided at a specialist institution) care centers when appropriate."
"This designation represents our commitment to quality rural emergency care," said Anita Rademacher, planning and operations specialist.
Rademacher said that 100% of all the nurses that work in the emergency room and all of the registered nurses that work at the hospital have received the CALS training.
For more information about Long Prairie Hospital visit www.centracare.com or CALS visit www.calsprogram.org.