Norton County Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital, Level IV trauma center, and has an outpatient and specialty clinic and rural health clinic. It is located in rural northwest Kansas. Specific to the outpatient and specialty clinic, the hospital aims to keep care close to home for patients but offering a variety of services and bringing specialists in monthly for clinics. Some on-site physicians and specialists perform surgeries as well.

Like many hospitals and other businesses, Norton County Hospital currently faces workforce shortages and is looking to hire for several clinical and support staff positions. The COVID-19 pandemic and many other factors have led to these workforce shortages. The hospital recently formed a Recruitment and Retention Committee to study and find solutions to benefit hospital staffing and patients.

Patients are encouraged to make routine visits with their medical provider and have blood tests done on a regular basis to monitor their health. Dr. Glenda Maurer is a family physician at Norton County Hospital in rural northwest Kansas. She discusses the importance of blood draws and what the test results mean to a patient's overall health and well-being.

August is National Breastfeeding Month, a time to learn the great benefits of breastfeeding. Heather Saville, BSN, RN, is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She serves as the Director of Nursing and in-house lactation consultant at a rural northwest Kansas hospital. She speaks to her role as a lactation consultant and the importance of getting new moms and nursing babies off to a great start.

Norton County, Kansas was a recent recipient of a major grant through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas' Pathways to a Healthy Kansas program. This grant is one tool that Norton County Hospital and the Norton Regional Health Foundation are using to create stronger, healthier communities in the area. In this episode, Katie Wagner, Executive Director for Community Relations & Foundation at Norton County Hospital, speaks to how Norton is engaging community members to live healthier lives and providing ways to make "the healthy choice the easy choice."

Dr. Theresia Neill provides an overview of maternal health in rural areas, such as where she practices medicine in northwest Kansas. A complete maternal health package goes beyond prenatal and postpartum care; it also includes services such as physical therapy for the expectant mother, taking care of her mental health needs, providing education on infant feeding, including lactation consulting, and so much more.

An injury that leads to severe bleeding must be treated right away; sometimes emergency crews cannot get to a person who is severely bleeding in a timely manner. The Stop the Bleed campaign is a nationwide effort to better prepare members of the public to save lives. This preparation is being done by raising awareness and teaching people how to learn quick actions to control serious bleeding. A bystander, neighbor, friend or relative can be the person to get the bleeding under control before help arrives - and save the patient's life!

Julia Thompson, BSN, RN, is a Stop the Bleed instructor at Norton County Hospital. She wears many other hats in her nursing role as well. Julia speaks to why Stop the Bleed is an important campaign and what is covered in a typical Stop the Bleed training. This is timely, because May is Stop the Bleed Month!

The occupational therapy profession is highlighted during the month of April nationally, as it is Occupational Therapy Month. Occupational therapists can help people of all ages (from babies to senior adults) with independence in daily activities. At Norton County Hospital, Chelsea Stagemeyer, OTR/L, sees patients regularly for evaluation and establishment of a plan of care, which can include exercise programs for post-surgical, muscle weakness and other upper extremity injuries. It can also include assistance for pain control and manual therapy for soft-tissue mobilization.

Chelsea discusses some of the ways she helps patients with fine motor coordination skills, pediatric therapy, fall prevention and home modification education, and wheelchair evaluations. Chelsea has a special interest in creating custom orthotic splints for hand and wrist injuries. Hear more about her work and the importance of occupational therapists in the health care system.