River Cities Business Journal: Health

County seeks medical examiner; Fort Mojave hospital to serve as base for emergencies

KINGMAN - Mohave County is looking for a qualified, licensed contract medical examiner.

The county Procurement Department has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a contract examiner who is a “licensed physician certified in pathology” to perform forensic pathology services for Mohave County.

According to the RFP, “The medical examiner is responsible for arranging for the facility(ies) needed to perform all of their services including but not limited to examination and autopsy services.

“Mohave County does not provide any facilities, equipment, personnel or other resources. Any proposal submitted represents that the offeror has the ability to coordinate and arrange for all resources to perform the duties and scope of services required of the medical examiner.”

The selected medical examiner “shall be deemed an independent contracted medical examiner of Mohave County and not an employee of the county for all purposes,” the RFP states.

The present medical examiner, Dr. Julie Jervis, sent a letter dated May 1 to County Manager Ron Walker confirming her intentions “not to renew” her contract due to a family necessity. Her contract expires June 30. The Board of Supervisors voted to approve entering into a contract with Jervis during the Board's April 3, 2006, meeting. At that meeting, it was approved for her to serve as medical examiner “in the annual amount of $300,000 ($25,000 per month) for a one-year period with three one-year options to renew.”

For more information, call Annie Newton-Lawson, procurement officer, at (928) 753-0752 ext. 5.

Valley View approved

as base hospital

FORT MOJAVE - The Arizona Department of Health Services has approved Valley View Medical Center's application as a base hospital to coordinate some ambulance transports in the Tri-State area. Valley View's emergency department will soon expand its abilities, via two-way radio, to act as a liaison between hospital personnel and paramedics for the benefit of a patient.

Until now, another hospital in western Mohave County served as the radio base for virtually all patients who were brought by ambulance to Valley View.

To commemorate the milestone, Valley View is hosting area paramedics and emergency medical service personnel in a series of activities through Friday for National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week.

The Fort Mojave Mesa, Golden Shores and Mohave Valley Fire Departments have already agreed to switch their base hospital affiliation to Valley View, according to CEO Jim Matney. Other fire departments and fire districts have been invited to observe the base station and its life-saving capabilities.

“This state-of-the-art radio does more than just let people talk to each other,” Matney said. “Paramedics can hook up an electrocardiogram and other telemetry while patients are in the ambulance, and the results will be digitally displayed in the Valley View emergency department. As our hospital expands, so does the technology that will allow emergency crews in the field to get information to the hospital before the patient ever arrives. That saves precious time.”

Another goal of the base station is to help direct ambulance patients to the closest hospital.

The hospital had a barbecue at Valley View May 24 for paramedics and EMS personnel with the area's nine fire departments and ambulance services: AMR (Laughlin), Baker (Needles), Bullhead City, Clark County (Laughlin), Fort Mojave Mesa, Golden Shores, Laughlin-Bullhead Inter-national Airport, Mohave Valley and Tri-State Care Flight.

Valley View unveils

digital cath lab

FORT MOJAVE - Just hours after receiving initial authorization from the State of Arizona on May 15, Valley View Medical Center successfully treated its first patient in its new cardiac catheterization lab.

The facility will be used for inpatient and outpatient cardiac care, including the treatment of patients who are having heart attacks or who have blocked arteries. The new Cardiac Care Services program offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic testing and treatment procedures. This care is not only important for people who have heart-related problems, but also for people who want to prevent them.

Five local cardiologists and four vascular surgeons currently have medical privileges to perform the procedures at Valley View, including pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, angioplasties (clearing blocked arteries), and stents (small mesh devices or tubes to keep arteries and veins open). Vascular surgical procedures have also been expanded to the cath lab, in addition to those already being performed in Valley View's inpatient and outpatient surgery center.

“This life-saving technology is important to the Tri-State area,” said Valley View CEO Jim Matney. “This means that fewer patients with heart problems who come to Valley View will have to be transferred to hospitals in Las Vegas or elsewhere.

“We have top-notch cardiologists at Valley View. The combination of quality specialists and in-house care is easier for patients who no longer have to travel, and for their family members, as well.”