News

Ozarks Healthcare’s Foundation has announced the launch of a new fundraising initiative for a mobile mammography unit. The Foundation’s goal is to raise funds to purchase a mobile mammography unit in 2022 to help make routine screenings more accessible for women who might not otherwise have access to this service.

As many healthcare facilities across Missouri have seen an increase in the number of those seeking help for behavioral health issues in emergency departments, the Ozarks Healthcare Behavioral Health Center (BHC) is one of several organizations that is adding programming to help meet the health needs of its community. Ozarks Healthcare BHC is now offering services through its Emergency Room Enhancement (ERE) program to decrease repeated usage of emergency services and law enforcement while increasing access to mental, physical, and substance use health resources.

As flu season approaches, Ozarks Healthcare’s Pharmacy is making it easy for its community to receive the annually recommended flu vaccine by bringing vaccinations on site to area businesses and schools.

Ozarks Healthcare Laboratory Services will conduct low-cost lab health screenings at several of its locations through the remainder of 2021. Community members are encouraged to get to know their numbers for blood sugar, cholesterol, thyroid, calcium, and more. Getting these numbers checked regularly and knowing what they mean is a great first step towards better health.

West Plains Bank and Trust Company has made a donation of $7,199 to Ozarks Healthcare’s Foundation. The donation was made possible through proceeds raised through West Plains Bank and Trust Company’s community debit card program. The funds will be used to help with costs associated with Ozarks Healthcare’s latest expansion project, which includes a new medical office building, flexible clinics, procedure suite, centralized imaging facilities, an updated pharmacy, and more.

Ozarks Healthcare has expanded its nutrition services for its hospital patients with the organization’s recent hire of Kurstin Koch, registered dietician. Registered dieticians provide nutrition therapy for patients, assess their nutritional needs, develop and implement nutrition programs, and evaluate and report results to physicians to determine the best path of care for the health of their patients.

Ozarks Healthcare Therapies was recently able to gift a pediatric patient, Stetson Clayton, a new wheelchair thanks to a fund established by David Zechman, former Ozarks Healthcare President and CEO, and his family through Ozarks Healthcare’s Foundation. Stetson is the son of Jared and Haley Clayton of West Plains.

Twelve nurse residents have joined Ozarks Healthcare as employed nurses after completing Ozarks Healthcare’s Nurse Residency Program. Ozarks Healthcare's Nurse Residency Program is a 12-week program for graduates of nursing school that features rotations through different departments of the hospital. Graduate nurses spent time in approximately 28 departments of Ozarks Healthcare’s hospital over 12 weeks.