Open House a Success for Long-Nissen Infusion Center at Bates County Memorial Hospital
Bates County Memorial Hospital (BCMH) is pleased to announce
the Curtis W. Long, MD and Gay L. Nissen, RN Infusion Center is open and seeing
patients. On July 21, BCMH welcomed visitors to an Open House of the
Long-Nissen Center.
Tours of the new space were led by outpatient clinic nurses
Karla Short, RN and Carly Murdock, RN, BSN, and Ann Donnohue, RN and Outpatient
Specialty Clinic Manager, pointing out features like private and semi-private
rooms, patient recliners in every room with heat and massage controls,
comfortable visitor seating, and an air filtration system that sanitizes 99.9%
of airborne bacteria in the infusion area with a push of a button.
BCMH recognized donors to the infusion center at the Open
House, and Dr. Curtis W. Long was the guest of honor, along with his assistant
nurse, Gay Nissen, RN. The Long-Nissen Infusion Center was named for Dr. Curtis
Long in thanks for his generous donation, who has provided many years of
service to BCMH. Dr. Long has stated that it has been his privilege as a family
physician to have delivered 3,000 babies in Bates County, and to perform the
first laparoscopic procedure in the state of Missouri right here at BCMH. Gay
Nissen has worked with Dr. Long as his nurse for over 40 years.
Others who contributed to the Long-Nissen Infusion Center
included:
·
Bates County Community Health Foundation donated
$10,000 to purchase patient recliners, and more than $3,000 from their annual
golf tournament.
·
BCMH Auxiliary volunteers covered the cost of a
blanket warmer and all guest furniture, a gift totaling $21,871.
·
Montrose School district gifted $1,065, proceeds
from their Pink Night fundraiser in February, which enabled the purchase of
rolling patient trays for all rooms.
·
The BCMH Plant Operations department donated
funds to purchase a beverage refrigerator for patients.
·
Reegan Koshko, age 17, donated photography of
local rural landscapes in Bates County in memory of her mother, Cheyanna
Hellwig, who passed away at the age of 32 from breast cancer. Reegan is a
senior at Appleton City High School. She attended the event with her
grandmother, Carolyn Hellwig.
·
William and Linda Gollhofer gave a cash donation
for the Long-Nissen Infusion Center.
The Long-Nissen Infusion Center is staffed by a team of
chemotherapy certified nurses, and patients of Heather Dains, Oncology Nurse
Practitioner, will be seen in the new space. Oncologist Jaswinder Singh, MD
will continue to see patients on the first floor of the hospital in Outpatient
Specialty Clinics.
Infusion services include chemotherapy and immunotherapy, as
well as non-cancer therapies, including outpatient IV antibiotic therapy,
allergy injections, injections and infusions for various disease processes and
preventative medication management.
BCMH has provided infusion services, including chemotherapy, since the 1990s. In 2004, the hospital offered 517 infusions. In 2024, Ann Donnohue predicts they will perform close to 3500, thanks to the expansion of patient care through the Long-Nissen Infusion Center.
