The NVH Lab has purchased a COVID PCR Analyzer which will significantly improve our ability to quickly and accurately identify COVID positive patients.

On December 15th NVH recieved the first batch of COVID-19 Vaccine in Okanogan County. Starting the next day we vaccinated any elgible healthcare worker, first reponder, or nursing home resident regardless of organization.

In the first two weeks we have vaccinated 500 people, and are awaiting approval from the Department of Health to move forward with the next phase.

The Tonasket Family Medical Clinic remodel of the Verbek building is complete. Dr. Jex and Dr. Dawson are seeing patients in the new space and are happy to be able to have more room.

We are accepting patients now and would love to schedule you for flu shots, check-ups, or to establish a new primary care physician.

Last night at their Regular Board Meeting the Commissioners accepted Scott Graham's resignation and appointed John McReynolds as CEO.

COVID has had a huge impact on the volumes and finances at Three Rivers and Scott felt he needed to be 100% focused on Three Rivers right now to help them recover from the COVID-inflicted financial damage.

John was hired as Chief Operating Officer in 2017,and used the opportunity at the Board meeting to thank Scott and the Board.

I am very proud of the collaborative work that we achieved and I was hopeful the hospitals could continue to move towards a higher degree of integration. Scott has been a great mentor for me, and I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to work with him. I am excited and humbled to be taking the role of Administrator, and I appreciate the faith in me the Board has demonstrated.

-John McReynolds

Most of the Board Meeting was focused on thanking Scott for his service, and committing to continuing to find ways to collaborate with our regional partner hospitals.

North Valley Hospital has stood up Incident Command to address and prepare for COVID-19. This process is our standard protocol for any emergency or situation that could impact our ability to care for patients or to prepare for an influx of patients.

Although the exact extent of the impact is unknown we are preparing and evaluating the impact on NVH. We will be discussing at our upcoming Town Hall Meetings on March 4th (CCC in Tonasket at 7pm) and March 5th (Senior Center Oroville 7pm).

Thank you to the volunteers from the Long Range Focus Committee who’s many hours of printing, folding, and assembling made this newsletter an affordable way to connect with our entire District.

NVH was just awarded a $100,000 grant to support the Boiler Project. The Grant is from the Empire Health Foundation and Premera. The project kicks off in a few months.

Thanks to Teresa Webber, Mike Oberg, Kim Jacobs, and Rhonda Piner from the Grants Committee, and Dixie Brown, Montie Smith, and Salley Bull from the Foundation for their work on the project.

With a grant from North Central Accountable Communities of Health (NCACH) and in partnership with the Tonasket School District, NVH helped support a series of inspirational and education assemblies at the Tonasket School District.

Speaker Ron James spoke to students and teachers about the powerful impact of choices and consequences. A particular focus was the dangers of opioid use and how addiction damages lives.

Thank you to the NCACH for the funding.

The AZ Wells Foundation’s generous support has funded the purchase of two specialized supply carts. One will be utilized for IV’s and the other dedicated to Wound Care. These carts provide a convenient and safe method of transporting all the required supplies into each patient or clinic room.

Thank you AZ Wells!

Dr. Rosie Dhillon is joining the North Valley community as a General Surgeon after completing her residency at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Dhillon is now seeing patients and specializes in laparoscopic procedures.

Welcome Rosie!

OTHELLO, Wash., Sept. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- D.G. Sebesta, MD, FACS is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Achiever in the field of Medicine as a Surgeon at Othello Community Hospital and North Valley Hospital.

A frontrunner in healthcare, Dr. Sebesta has over fifty-six years of surgical experience. Between the ages of thirteen and fourteen, he worked for a veterinarian performing animal surgery. When he told his employer that he wanted to become a veterinarian surgeon, his employer said that he was too smart for the field, encouraging him to become a human surgeon. People say that Dr. Sebesta has charm and warmth; he receives hugs at any Walmart in Washington State.

Throughout his education and training, Dr. Sebesta earned a Doctorate of Medicine from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Outside of work, Dr. Sebesta enjoys writing memoirs and hunting all over the world. As a testament to his passion for hunting, Dr. Sebesta founded the Lasting Legacy Wildlife Museum, a hunting museum located at 1729 E Weber Rd, Ritzville, WA.

Dr. Sebesta dedicates this recognition in memory of Chester V. McVey MD, creator of the McVey Herniaplasty.

Contact: Katherine Green , 516-825-5634 pr@continentalwhoswho.com

Please join us at our two upcoming Town Hall Meetings to discuss the recent changes to OB services and the impact on our Hospital and Community.

Tonasket on Thursday, July 18 at the Tonasket Seniors Center from 6:30 to 8PM

Oroville on Tuesday July 23 at the Oroville Seniors Center from 6:30 to 8PM.

Confluence Health has announced to North Valley Hospital their intention to stop providing Hospital services at North Valley Hospital as of September 1st due to physician staffing challenges. This announcement follows previous communication in which Confluence Health informed the Hospital that it couldn’t support the Hospital’s Obstetrics program due to shortages of physicians.

Confluence Health will continue to provide outpatient care in their Tonasket and Oroville clinics.

Following Confluence’s first communication, NVH began recruiting for family practitioners who would also take care of obstetric services in the hospital.

With the departure of another Confluence Health Family Practitioner, NVH faces more difficulty with recruiting providers to support the Hospital’s OB Program. NVH’s primary focus will be to recruit physicians who can provide in-patient coverage after September 1. NVH is aggressively exploring temporary and long-term arrangements with physicians to allow uninterrupted services.

The North Valley Hospital Board of Commissioners will discuss these developments on June 20th and welcomes members of the public. Confluence Health representatives will also be present to answer any questions.

The Board and Administrative Team has worked to create the goals to support progress on our Strategic Plan. These items represent the big picture ideas, and are supported with several subtopics and tasks.

Participate in the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment by completing the survey linked below. The data is used to focus the efforts of health care organizations in the region on the most pressing needs in our community.

At the Board meeting on December 13th the Commissioner endorsed four strategic pillars of Quality, Satisfaction, Stewardship, and Collaboration. Communication was identified as the foundation for each pillar. Read more at https://www.nvhospital.org/strategic-plan/

In 2018, the A.Z. Wells Foundation continued their generous support of North Valley Hospital and many other organizations in our region. NVH wanted to take this opportunity to thank the foundation for their ongoing support. The funding they provided in 2018 helped purchase new vital sign monitor carts.