CHI St. Alexius Health welcomes media professionals to work with the media relations team to arrange interviews and stories and to visit the facilities. If you are a member of the media and would like to speak to a member of our media relations team, please click here.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy being seen in North Dakota
As more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are being distributed, some health officials say fewer people are lining up for their shot. While nationwide hesitancy has become better, health officials say North Dakota is one of the states that are seeing an increase - which has an effect on the doses sitting on shelves.
“Obviously those that were affected by COVID, whether family members or working in different businesses or different healthcare or have seen the effects of COVID, are maybe a little bit more interested in getting the vaccine,” explained Sherry Adams.
April is National Donate Life Month and throughout the month, CHI St. Alexius Health will create awareness about the importance of organ, tissue and eye donation.
Currently more than 3,000 people in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and the national waiting list holds the names of more than 108,000 men, women and children. Each day, 22 people die waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and a new name is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes. There are more people waiting for a life-saving transplant than there are donors, making it incredibly important for everyone who supports donation to register. One person can help heal up to 75 lives through organ and tissue donation. Organs that can be donated include heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and intestine. Tissues that can be donated to save and heal lives include skin, bone, veins, heart valves, connective tissue and eyes.
Current Visitor Guidelines Updated
CHI St. Alexius Health hospital and clinics announced updates to their visitation guidelines. These guidelines vary in each of our locations.
Please click here to see the allowances and restrictions at each location.As always the safety of our visitors, patients, employees, and physicians is our highest priority. We thank you for your cooperation with compliance during these COVID-19 times.
Bismarck allocated more COVID-19 vaccines
CHI St. Alexius says vaccine deliveries are ramping up and the more vaccines they receive, the more they can administer. When COVID-19 vaccines first began being distributed, the healthcare provider received a shipment every three weeks. Now, a new shipment arrives once a week. The Pharmacy Quality and Research Manager says at one point, St. Alexius had about a thousand people on its waitlist.
But with more doses come more opportunities to put shots into people’s arms.
Bismarck Nurse Receives Daisy Award
Extraordinary Nurse Recognized at CHI St. Alexius Health
Diane Vetter, a nurse at CHI St. Alexius Health, was honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses ®. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. DAISY Award recipient, Diane, was recognized for a situation with a patient where she knew something didn’t seem right and she ended up saving that patient’s life.
Cardiologists warn of iPhone 12 usage for people with defibrillators or pacemakers
Cardiologists are saying the new iPhone 12 and the charger can be dangerous for some patients. Heart Rhythm Society is saying people who have defibrillators or pacemakers should take precautions when using the new technology. The new latest phone and the wireless charger have magnetic rings to connect. But CHI St. Alexius’ Interventional Cardiologist says the magnet switches the tool into safety mode.
Experts explain impact of pandemic on the health care system, what we can expect for the future
From COVID-19 survivors to frontline workers to health care professionals, the pandemic has put stress on everyone. From the start, our nation relied on the people working behind the scenes to get us to the point we’re at now. Last year, the pandemic shocked us all and created an unexpected chain reaction. COVID patients relied on health care workers. The community relied on contact tracers. And now, we’re all relying on the Department of Health to help us get vaccines into as many arms as possible. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but those I spoke to say we’ve come a long way. At its onset, doctors and nurses snapped into action, turning their attention to COVID patients desperate for their care.
Bismarck adds new technology to help with knee replacement surgeries
Close to 800,000 knee replacement surgeries are done every year in the United States, according to CHI St. Alexius. The hospital is incorporating new technology for faster patient recovery, less pain and improved mobility. The ROSA robot scans the knee to create a virtual image with detailed information for the surgeons. The computer’s virtual image then helps doctors navigate to make more precise cuts of the bone. The precise cuts help ensure the alignment is as close to perfect as they can get.
