WGRT talked with St. Clair County Administrator Controller Karry Hepting this week and she mentioned that the emergency operation center has been partially active in the Emergency Management Office, monitoring the water levels and the flooding.  Hepting says they are  advising residents to start to prepare to protect their property and their areas, and have sandbags available as the water is expected to continue to rise through June and July.  She says water levels could potentially reach our historic highs.  Hepting says Clay and Ira township residents should contact their local unit of governments who should have the sandbags, and she says the best thing residents can do is sign up for the WINS alert, which you can find at the WGRT website, and information can be received through phone calls, texts or emails to keep you up to date on emergency issues in your specific area.

Lake Huron Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2019 Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes Lake Huron Medical’s efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.  The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care.  “This recognition is made possible through a culture of teamwork and a relentless pursuit of excellence in care and outcomes,” said Jay de los Reyes, Chief Executive Officer, Lake Huron Medical Center. “We are particularly pleased with these recent grades, not just for the hospital, but also for patients. It reinforces the strides we are making in patient care.”  “To be recognized nationally as an ‘A’ hospital is an accomplishment the whole community should take pride in,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that earn an ‘A’ grade are making it a priority to protect patients from preventable medical harm and error. We congratulate hospital leaders, board members, staff, volunteers and clinicians who work so hard to earn this A.”   Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.  Lake Huron Medical Center was one of 855 across the United States awarded an A in the Fall 2018 update of grades. To see Lake Huron Medical Center’s full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.  For more information on the programs and events at Lake Huron Medical Center, please visit  www.mylakehuron.com.

The American Red Cross has a critical shortage of type O blood and urges eligible donors to give now to help patients facing trauma and other life-threatening situations. As a thank-you for helping replenish the blood supply, all donors who come to give blood or platelets now through June 10 will receive a $5 Amazon.com Gift Card via email.  Right now, the Red Cross has less than a two-day supply of type O blood available for emergency rooms, where it can be most critical. That means just six units of type O blood are available for every 100,000 people, but at least 14 are needed every day. While just 7% of the U.S. population has type O negative blood, it can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is what hospital staff reach for during emergencies when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type. Type O positive blood is the most transfused blood type and is also critical in trauma situations.  “All blood types are urgently needed, but we’re facing a critical shortage of type O blood – the blood group most needed by hospitals,” said Cliff Numark, senior vice president, Red Cross Blood Services. “Because it’s vitally important for hospitals to have type O blood available when every second counts, type O donors are urged to donate now and make a point to donate often.”  The Red Cross collected approximately 11,500 fewer type O blood donations than needed to sustain a sufficient blood supply. Spring break schedules are known to decrease blood donations, and schools, including high schools and colleges, begin to host fewer blood drives in late spring as school years end. Because these drives account for about 20% of blood donations during the school year, less drives can also greatly affect the blood supply.

Donations needed now 

Donors of all blood types, especially type O, are urged to urged to make an appointment to donate using the Blood Donor App, at RedCrossBlood.orgor by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Eligible donors with type O blood are encouraged to make a whole blood or Power Red donation, where available. During a Power Red donation, donors give a concentrated dose of red blood cells during a single donation, allowing them to maximize their impact.  In thanks, all those who come to donate blood or platelets with the Red Cross May 1 through June 10, 2019, will receive a $5 Amazon.com Gift Card via email. (Restrictions apply; see amazon.com/gc-legal. More information and details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/Together.) Additionally, those who come to give May 24-28 will receive an exclusive Red Cross-branded T-shirt, while supplies last.

How blood shortages affect hospitals

Blood shortages are not uncommon and can have a direct impact on patient care. Dr. Atif Shafqat, an oncologist and hematologist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, says that hospitals face consistent shortages of blood products year-round, even causing some surgeons to delay elective procedures because of individual shortages. “When I ask our blood bank director the toughest part of her job, she always tells me it is these shortages and how to deal with them,” he said.  Despite these challenges, hospitals and the Red Cross work to ensure patients have the blood products they need, but that can only happen when a volunteer donor rolls up a sleeve to give. “This is all possible thanks to the volunteers and the blood donors who are giving this generous gift,” said Shafqat.

How to help

Eligible donors can find a blood or platelet donation opportunity and schedule an appointment to donate by using the free Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donation appointments and completion of a RapidPass® are encouraged to help speed up the donation process. RapidPass lets donors complete the pre-donation reading and answer the health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, from the convenience of a mobile device or computer, or through the Blood Donor App.  Those interested in hosting a blood drive can learn more and sign up to sponsor a drive this summer by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/HostADrive.

This year Blue Water Habitat For Humanity and the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce will be coming together with area residents on their Make a Difference Day as a community to beautify the 900 blocks of Howard and Pine Streets in what they are calling “Rock The Block”  The event will take place Saturday, June 8th and registration begins at 8:30 am.  They are looking for volunteers at various shifts available from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, or they say you can help all day. Volunteers must be 18 or older. Lunch will be provided at Port Huron First United Methodist Church. All attendees are reminded to wear closed toe shoes and clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.  According to organizers, 100 volunteers are needed for the day.  Attendees are asked to register in advance and you can do that by calling Kara at 810.985-9080 ext 200 or Joyce at 810-985-7101.

Lake Huron Medical Center is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award^TM.  This distinction places Lake Huron Medical Center among the top 5% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals.  According to the report, patients rated their overall experience at Lake Huron Medical Center 5% higher than the national average. Patient experience measures tell how patients felt about the care they received at the hospital. These measures are based on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  Lake Huron Medical Center is a member of Prime Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest hospital systems with 45 hospitals in 14 states. Prime Healthcare has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients for four consecutive years (2016-2019) than any other health system in the country.  “We are proud to recognize the recipients of the 2019 Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award, which shines a spotlight on the hospitals that are preventing the occurrence of serious, potentially avoidable complications, for patients during their hospital stay,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “We applaud these hospitals and their commitment to providing the best possible care for every patient.” During the study period (2015 to 2017), Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in safety provided for patients in the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes (risk-adjusted patient safety indicator rates) for 14 patient safety indicators defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).  “Lake Huron Medical Center has been at the heart of our community for more than 60 years, working to build trust and improve the health of our community,” commented Jay de los Reyes, Chief Executive Officer, Lake Huron Medical Center. “Providing high-quality, compassionate, comprehensive and cost-effective health care to the mind, body, and spirit of all those who walk through our doors is not just something we say; it’s what we do.”  Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, as compared to patients at non-recipient hospitals, on average*:

• 55.9% less likely to experience an accidental cut, puncture, perforation or hemorrhage during medical care.
• 50.9% less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest.
• 64.4% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital.
• 57% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital.

In addition, if all hospitals in the country performed at the level of award recipients for each of the 14 Patient Safety Indicators, 127,667 patient safety events could have been avoided.*  *Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 5e and 2018) to MedPAR data for years 2015 through 2017 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.  For more information on the programs and events at Lake Huron Medical Center, please visit  www.mylakehuron.com.

St. Clair County Emergency Operation Center is still partially activated. Local Emergency Management officials are monitoring the flooding situation and are advising residents that the time to prepare is quickly passing. In the coming weeks, the southern portions of St. Clair County will continue to see flood waters rise quickly to potentially record heights.  This is an increasingly serious and potentially life threating situation! This situation may also change quickly with the amount of projected rainfall, wind direction and waves depending on where you are located within flood zone. It is highly recommended that you pay particular attention to all National Weather Service watches and warnings regarding information in your local area. If you have not signed up yet for WINS (Warning Information Network System). Please immediately join our alerting system by visiting WINS at www.bereadystclaircounty.org.  The Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division strongly advises that you rush to completion all
property protection and hardening activities in the next two weeks or less. The water may begin to significantly rise by the beginning of June or sooner. If you are in need of sandbags, please contact your Local Township or City Office.
The following are providing sandbags to their residents:
– Clay Township Water Department on Muskrat Run between the hours of 7am and 3:30pm.
– Ira Township Office 7085 Meldrum Rd. Monday – Thursday 7am – 5pm
– Algonac DPW at DPW@cityofalgonac.org (810) 794-9361
– East China Twp — west of the waste water treatment plant 1244 Recor Rd, East China Twp

It is also important that you make the Emergency Operation Center or local government offices aware of any flood damage to occupied dwellings. If your home is impacted it is very important that you contact the Emergency Operation Center at (810) 989-6392 or via email at damage@stclaircounty.org. Please include your address, phone number, foundation type, amount of water in your home, and damage pictures in the email.  If you live on an island will you be able to get off the island when the water gets higher? If you are on the mainland, where would you go if the waters get higher than the second floor of your house?  There are two types of evacuations, voluntary and mandatory. Voluntary evacuation is where residents choose to move from a perceived area of danger to a safe area on their own. This is when you decide to stay with family or friends, or at a hotel until local emergency official declare the area is safe to return to. A mandatory evacuation is declared when a hazard directly threatens the community. If a mandatory evacuation notice is issued, you must leave without delay and will not be able to return until local emergency officials render it safe to return to the community. If you have to
evacuate, where will you go? Do you have family or friends inland that you can stay with? If you wait too long to evacuate, will your road be too flooded for your vehicle to travel on? You need to think about this now and not when it is too late. NOW is the time to prepare. Get ready by listening to the National Weather Service, WINS alerts, local radio stations and television stations and social media now for any evacuations. Have your emergency kits packed and ready to go for ALL members of your family (including seniors, infants and pets). Make sure to
include water, non-perishable food, clothing, medicine, medical devices, insurance information and visit BeReadyStClairCounty.org for additional emergency kit information.
Here are some safety measures to take for flooding:
What to do if my house starts to flood:
– Stop the flow of water (sandbag) and minimize damage.
– Move essential items to an upper floor
– Disconnect electrical appliances. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water
– Shut off water, gas and electricity, if the water has reached any electrical outlets.
If you need to leave your house, you should do the following:
– Secure your home.
– Take your disaster kit (remember medicine, vital documents, food for your unique situation)
– Take your pets and supplies need to care for your pets.
– Shelter locations will be opened in the event you are to leave your home and are in need of sheltering.
Contact your city or township office.
– If you cannot physically leave or have difficulty call your local dispatch at (810) 794-9381 for Clay/Ira Township all others call: (810) 985-8115 or dial 911 in an emergency.
– Notify your insurance company
Emergency workers will be assisting many and may not be able to get to you right away.
What is 2-1-1? St Clair County has partnered with United Way 2-1-1 to help our communities respond to and recover from flooding events. 2-1-1 has a collection of local community based resources that will help individuals and families during emergencies. Call 2-1-1 from any landline or cell phone to talk to a specialist regarding non-life threatening assistance related to the flood. You can also call your local dispatch at (810) 794-9381 for Clay/Ira Township and all others calls use (810) 985-8115.
IF THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY, PLEASE DIAL 9-1-1.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ST. CLAIR COUNTY WINS SYSTEM will be used to contact you in an emergency situation. If you have caller ID, you may not recognize the number, however please answer and receive the information.