HOCKING VALLEY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL RECEIVES GRANT FROM ALADDIN SHRINERS
LOGAN – Pediatric patients who visit Hocking Valley Community Hospital’s Physical Therapy Department will soon benefit from new equipment. On Wednesday, January 24th, Hocking Valley Community Hospital was presented a check for $13,260.00 by local Hocking Hills Shrine Club to purchase new equipment. “We have supported the hospital for many years,” said Steve Rine, past President of the Shriners club. “We do a lot of great things to help children who need medical help and this is another great opportunity.”
On hand to help receive the gift was Cart Switzer, Director of Physical Therapy who shared how the equipment would be used to benefit patients at HVCH. “We are so grateful to you for making it possible to purchase this equipment,” said Switzer during the monthly Aladdin Shriners meeting. “Many of our pediatric patients are frequently challenged when standing, and the EasyStand StrapStand improves their abilities.” This device will allow healthcare providers to more easily stand a patient during treatment without harm or injury to the therapist or patient. “It can be used on a variety of patients to assist with transfers, promote weight bearing, and improve balance and standing tolerance for patients recovering from injury or illness,” Switzer said.
The grant will also enable HVCH to purchase two Hi Lo Tables for use during therapy in the Outpatient Clinic. Tables have the ability to be lowered to a level of two feet and raised as high as four feet. The flexibility to adjust levels provides significantly easier access to patients of various sizes and physical limitations getting on and off the treatment table safely. It also allows the therapist to raise the patient to a height that is better for treatment necessary for the patient.
Additionally, an Iowa Oral Performance Instrument will also be purchased for use by HVCH speech therapists. “The device is used to measure a patient’s tongue strength, giving a base line measurement during initial evaluation, determining if decreased tongue strength is cause for the patient’s difficulty swallowing and or forming words properly,” Switzer continues. “It is also used to measure progress of therapy to determine effectiveness of treatments and improvement of tongue strength.”
“We are proud of our Hocking County community when members come together and support our local hospital through grants such as this,” said Latricia Johnston, Chief Public Relations Officer who was also in attendance to receive the donation. “It speaks volumes that we are in this together. Our doors at HVCH are open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay for services, and on average we provide over $5 million of unfunded care to the community each year. Those patients need us too, and it is grantmakers like our local Aladdin Shriners, Logan-Holl Foundation, Wal-Mart and others who help make it possible for us to continue leading the way to a healthier community.”
The Shriners have been in establishment since 1870, and are known for their philanthropic support in caring for pediatric patients who have experienced orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate. Over the years, Shriners Hospitals have expanded to an extraordinary health system with 22 facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Hocking Valley is a community non-profit hospital with an emergency department, urgent care and a wide variety of clinical, specialty and outpatient services. For more information, contact the Community Relations office at (740) 380-8336.