Children’s at Parker Reaches Out to Growing Community

from The Children's Hospital (TCH) News, September 2005

Staff from The Children’s Hospital at Parker Adventist Hospital
have participated in numerous community events since the
‘hospital within a hospital’ opened in 2004, including a health
and safety fair, Parker Country Days and the Elephant Rock
bike ride.

Since the opening of The Children’s Hospital at Parker Adventist Hospital in February 2004, the opportunities for Children’s staff to take great care of kids in a new area and reach out to the community have been endless. From bike races and kids’ triathlons to safety fairs and country days, Children’s at Parker is gaining a presence in the Douglas County community.

“Parker and Douglas County residents know that The Children’s Hospital at Parker is an integral part of their community, and we are here to stay,” said Claudette St. Pierre , clinical coordinator for Children’s at Parker.

Children’s at Parker is not only staying, it is gaining more traffic. This past year, the inpatient unit saw a significant growth in volume, and the Emergency Department has seen nearly twice as many patients as last year.

“As we participate in more community events, we are beginning to realize not only the benefit of these events, but also the additional things we can do to increase our involvement in the community down here,” said Brad Pace, RN, director of The Children’s Hospital at Parker.

“Special Delivery... An Event for Expecting and New Parents,” is Sunday, Sept. 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Parker Adventist Hospital .

Children’s at Parker staff have participated in a health and safety fair at the Parker library and participated twice in Parker Country Days, a weekend event that attracts more than 70,000 people. They also have volunteered at the Elephant Rock bike ride, which draws upward of 4,000 riders each year. At the ride, they helped the Kiwanis club of Parker man a “refuel station,” where they cut up fruit and provided energy bars, water and energy drinks for riders.

In August, the staff helped manage the Fall Frenzy, a kid’s-only triathlon at the Parker Recreation Center . Parker staff and other volunteers cheered for participants, made sure kids followed the right paths, and ensured participants’ safety.

This month, Children’s at Parker will co-sponsor a baby fair with Parker Adventist Hospital and Babies ‘R’ Us. The event, which will be held at the Parker Adventist Hospital for expectant mothers and families with new arrivals, will expose new families to a vast array of services in the local community.

“Douglas County is one of the fastest-growing regions in the state, and the need for pediatric expertise is growing,” Pace said. The Children’s Hospital at Parker operates as a “hospital within a hospital” at Parker Adventist Hospital and offers many of Children’s pediatric services in a smaller setting.

Children’s leases approximately 7,500 square feet of space inside the Parker hospital. There are 14 rooms, eight of which are emergency exam rooms. These rooms also are used for specialty clinic visits. The other six rooms are inpatient rooms. The Children’s area at Parker is staffed with Children’s nurses, techs, PSCs and physicians.

Emergency physicians from Children’s down-town campus staff Parker’s Emergency Department from 4 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, Saturday noon to midnight and Sunday 8 a.m. to midnight. The physicians provide pediatric emergency care for infants to kids up to age 14. Children’s has an agreement with Parker Adventist Hospital that children older than 14 are seen in the Parker Adventist Hospital emergency room unless the family requests to be seen by Children’s. There are also pediatric hospitalists on staff who care for all the kids on the inpatient unit.

During the day, 12 different medical and surgical specialty clinics operate in the ED space. These services include adolescent gynecology, dermatology, endocrinology, hematology/oncology, pediatric surgery, urology, ENT, gastroenterology, cardiology, pulmonary, neurology and synagis. Specialty care services are available by appointment and referral for the families living in the Parker area.

As Children’s continues to grow and the Douglas County population continues to boom, the need for space is becoming more apparent. On the second day Children’s at Parker was open, all six inpatient beds were full, so this past winter, the hospital expanded two doorways in the ED serve two more patients when needed.

“Space is a big challenge for us in all areas from storage space to exam room clinic space,” Pace said. “We’re going to outgrow the number of beds we have down here in a shorter time than we anticipated.” One of the ways the Parker staff plans to address that growth is by expanding hours of operation to 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting in early 2006.

“The 24-7 emergency department will create the message that we’re open for families whenever they need our services,” Pace said.

The staff at Parker also are working hard to make sure their patients and families are happy with their care. This past year, Children’s staff have been following up each patient visit with a phone call.

“We feel callbacks can help us enhance our services at Parker,” Pace said.

Another way Children’s at Parker staff hope to enhance services is by putting call-center nurses on site. Children’s call-center nurses answer phoned-in questions about patient care. Because of Parker’s small staff and growing Emergency Department volume, this pilot program will allow call-center staff to work at Parker, but also will allow the Parker staff to use the nurses to help with patient care. In the years to come, the staff at Parker hope to continue to develop their relationships with both community physicians and local emergency medical services so that Children’s continues to grow not only its presence, but also the impact on the kids and families living in the Parker area, Pace said.