Quilt auction benefits OB Dept.

CRESCO - Regional Health Services of Howard County’s 41st annual Hospital Auxiliary Quilt Auction takes place Saturday, Sept. 22 beginning at 12 p.m. at the Harvest Tent located at North Elm Street and Highway 9, Cresco.

One-hundred quilts will be featured at the auction. Proceeds will be used to purchase a newborn monitor, hearing screen machine and Nitronox machine for the Obstetrical Department. 

Members of the public attending the auction are invited to bring their own lawn chairs for comfortable seating.

Quilts may be viewed prior to the auction through the hospital website of Regional Health at: www.rhshc.com or by visiting downtown Cresco from Sept. 17-20 when they will be on display in store windows.

Sue Heimerdinger, Mark-eting/Community Relations at Regional Health Services said, “This year we have 100 quilts. The auxiliary generally always raises funds for hospital equipment and supplies and different projects. That is its mission, and the quilt auction is the hospital auxiliary’s major fund-raiser every year. We generally get about 200 people at each event and amazing donors for the quilts and quilt-related items.” 

Stephanie Riley, OB Coordinator, said, “The Nitronox machine helps us deliver nitrous oxide to our laboring moms. Nitrous oxide is an anesthesia and adjunct that is patient-administered. Patients administer it to themselves to help get them through labor pain and the anxiety of labor. That helps us keep the patients in charge of their delivery and their pain, and it’s a more natural form of pain relief for moms and babies.”

She continues, “There are fewer side effects, and it wears off quickly. They use it when they want it and administer it to themselves via a face mask. It wears off about 3-5 minutes after they inhale it.”

Riley notes Regional Health Services of Howard County is currently the only critical access hospital in Northeast Iowa with a Nitronox machine.  

Danielle Courtney, Senior Director of Nursing, said, “Stephanie brings us the best practice and brings evidence, She’s always up-to-date on the most recent policies and procedures.”

Riley said, “I’m affiliated with American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and The Association of Women’s Healthcare, so they govern us and send us lots of updates on standard practice or on what is being used overseas. This is used a lot in Australia and other countries that are trying to decrease health care costs and improve patient care with less pharmacological intervention.”

Of nitrous oxide, Riley adds, “The patient’s perception of pain is changed. With the nitrous, they are able to get through it like they wanted to. We hope we can help women through their labor pain while they are here.”

Regional Health Services provided a patient testimonial about the Nitronox Machine, which reads as follows:

Rebecca Ortner delivered her second baby, Albany Louise Ortner, at Regional Health Services of Howard County on Aug. 26. Rebecca stated, “I was excited to try nitrous with my second birth. It was very helpful as it takes the edge off. There is still pain, but it helped me to remain calm. Because nitrous is self-administered, I could decide when and how much I wanted. I would recommend to mothers in labor that they use nitrous to help decrease pain and anxiety during labor.”

Riley advises pregnant women to talk with their primary care doctor about nitrous oxide pain relief.

Courtney said the newborn monitor and hearing screen machines are both upgrades for RHSHC.

“The newborn monitor is a way for us to monitor babies who may have issues after delivery,” she said. “We’ve always had it; it’s an upgrade. We are looking for newer technology and then for car seat tests for those babies who are lower birth weight who  need a car seat test before they go home, The newborn monitor has a couple of upgrades on it. We continually try to keep babies with their moms here, so that monitor is going to help allow us to do that.”

She continues, “The hearing screen machine is an upgraded machine with meaningful use for Electronic Health Records,  it’s mandated we have things from other sources automatically dumped into our EHR, so that is how the newborn hearing machine will fulfill that need. The nurse will do the hearing test, it will automatically dump into our EHR and be able to be pulled for reporting to the state. That’s a mandatory upgrade by the state,” she said.

 

About the Nitronox Machine

According to literature provided to the Cresco Times Plain Dealer by RHSHC:

‘The Obstetrical Department of Regional Health Services of Howard County offers nitrous oxide as an additional  option to women for pain control during labor.

‘Nitrous oxide administration helps decrease pain and anxiety during labor and is safe for the mother and fetus.

‘Inhaled nitrous oxide does not interfere with breastfeeding. Since nitrous is self-administered, not only can a woman decide how much to use, but she can also decide if she wants to stop using it and try another method of pain relief instead, including epidural and intrathecal anesthesia (administered by a certified registered nurse anesthetist) when appropriate.

‘Nitrous can easily be discontinued, and its effects disappear within five minutes.’

For more information on pain control options offered to mothers by the Obstetrical Department of Regional Health Services of Howard County, call 563-547-2101 and ask to speak to a nurse in the OB Department.