National Hospital Week is May 11-17, and a time to reflect on the critical care, services, and community support that the hospitals and healthcare systems across our country provide to Americans. Blue Ridge Regional Hospital’s (BRRH) role as a rural hospital means that we provide needed care close to home for community members in Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties, and the surrounding areas.
Our place as part of Mission Health and HCA Healthcare makes us stronger, since we’re connected and collaborate with the region’s only designated Level II Trauma Center, which means that patients have access to 24-hour emergency medicine and general surgeons, neurosurgeons, and orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiology, and radiology, among other services.
Especially this year, we are excited to celebrate National Hospital Week because of the challenges every hospital and caregiver faced when Hurricane Helene hit us. As with the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone on our team stepped up like they always do to continue to make our patients our top priority. Everyone’s dedicated efforts were nothing short of heroic.
Our team members are also out in our community making it a better place by giving of their time. Just last month, team members packed healthy snack bags for children to take home for the weekend at Feed-A-Child Yancey County. This is just one example of the ripple effect on community health that our committed team members have.
The week of May 6-12 is National Nurses Week, when we highlight the wide-ranging talents and equally important specialized expertise nursing staff must have to succeed and serve patients exceptionally. This year’s theme is “The Power of Nurses,” and that’s exactly right — the power they wield to provide compassionate care to patients, comfort them, and help them heal is truly extraordinary.
At BRRH, we honor our nurses with pride and respect, and are excited to shine a light on them during nurse’s week and every day.
May is also Stroke Awareness Month, and it’s always important to review the crucial facts about this urgent health emergency that strikes 795,000 Americans annually. The condition is a major cause of adult disability, and the message that’s most important for readers to understand is that, with a stroke, “Time is brain.” A stroke quickly does damage, and once brain cells are lost, there isn’t a way to get them back, so intervening to stop the stroke is the goal of Emergency Department caregivers. They are helped by advanced imaging and an amazing, innovative clot-busting drug that can stop a stroke in its tracks and restore blood flow to the brain.
It’s essential to become familiar with what the symptoms of a stroke are, and never to delay calling 9-1-1 if you experience any of them. The acronym they form is BEFAST, so commit these to memory:
B – A loss of balance or coordination
E – Eyes, suffering blurred or double vision, or vision loss, typically in one eye since strokes tend to affect one side of the body
F – Facial drooping
A – Arm weakness or numbness
S – Speech can be slurred, or one may lose the ability to speak
T – Time to call 9-1-1
Never minimize these symptoms, because ultimately, it’s better to arrive at the hospital and get treated immediately for a stroke — even if that doesn’t end up being the diagnosis.
We are inspired and driven to provide our community members with the care they need, whether it’s an emergency situation, an annual wellness exam, scheduled surgery, OBGYN care, and more. As always, I and everyone at the hospital are grateful the community puts their faith in us. Thank you for allowing us to care for you. It is an honor to be your hospital of choice.
Tonia W. Hale, DNP, MAOM, BSN, RN, is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nursing Officer of Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine. Hale is a proven leader with more than 32 years of progressive healthcare experience. A native of East Tennessee, she holds an associate’s degree in nursing from Walters State Community College, a baccalaureate degree in nursing from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in organizational management from Tusculum University, and a doctor of nursing practice degree in executive leadership from East Tennessee State University. Ms. Hale is currently a resident of Burnsville.
