the occupational therapists, the discharge planners, the doctor, the nurse,” Sowder said. “Everything is coordinated to provide everything for that patient when they get ready to either go home or go to a nursing home. We’ve set that up for success once they leave our building.” A fellow professional with whom
Sowder frequently collaborates is Doug Dunbar, a physical therapist certified in LSVT Big, a treatment protocol focusing specifically on Parkinson’s patients. “LSVT Big addresses mobility issues
that you see in Parkinson’s patients, such as the typical shuffling gait, no arm swing and balance issues,” he said. “Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder, and there is no known cure. However,
Bringing different specialists together, each with their own toolbox of treatment methods, means Ozarks Healthcare professionals can not only treat patients but educate families as well.
- Doug Dunbar
some of the symptoms can be controlled with medication, so the sooner we get the patient after diagnosis, the better.” “Sharon (Sowder) and I treat a lot of
“ ”
the Parkinson’s patients together because Parkinson’s has a voice component as well.” Dunbar said bringing different spe-
cialists together, each with their own toolbox of treatment methods, means Ozarks Healthcare professionals can not only treat patients but educate families as well. Being able to provide these ser- vices through a small-town hospital is particularly meaningful, he said. “We have a lot of clinics, and each has
an LSVT-trained staff member there with the exception of one, and we’re working on getting that corrected,” he said. “We’re able to offer that service to eight or nine counties, so patients aren’t having to drive
to Springfield or St. Louis or somewhere to get that expertise. We’re here to see pa- tients at all levels and accommodate their needs in a timely manner.” Integrating the work of the depart-
ment into the wider Ozarks Healthcare community is the job of Tracy Litchfield, stroke and STEMI coordinator. Her role, while typically less visible to patients, serves a critical function in the depart- ment’s mission to promote stroke aware- ness, inform other medical specialties and hold itself accountable to high-per- formance standards. “I spend a lot of my time collecting
data, evaluating that, implementing edu- cation for both our patients and our staff, whether that be patient discharge infor- mation or education we can do to im- prove things for our patients from a staff standpoint,” she said. “I also play a role in
keeping other med- ical personnel at the hospital up to date. We do annual online training and com- plete competencies with staff members to make sure they understand how to treat an acute stroke patient, how to ad-
minister the medication, all those things.” Litchfield, who’s been at Ozarks
Healthcare for five years, stepped into this job last year. She said what she enjoys most is working in a team environment. “People here want to work together for
the good of our patients and the good of our communities,” she said. “I like that I get to see the process from beginning to end, whether I am directly at the bedside with a patient or just looking at it from a data-gathering standpoint. “I get to see how they came in and ev-
erything that we do for them, and then get to see there was a good outcome. It’s nice to know I can evaluate data with the stroke team and be able to say this is what we’re doing well and this is an opportuni- ty for improvement. I think that’s proba- bly what I enjoy the most.”
•
Doug Dunbar PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Sharon Sowder SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Dr. Clara Applegate NEUROLOGIST
Tracy Litchfield STROKE AND STEMI COORDINATOR SUMMER 2022 | INSIGHT | 29
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