Archive for category: HPC News

By Debbie Sparks, Development and Marketing Manager

National Dental Hygienist Week, April 8-12

Each year in April we recognize the contribution of dental hygienists and their focus on maintaining good oral health practices which impacts overall health.

There are more than 200,000 dental hygienists in the United States. In Kansas, there are nearly 3,000 dental hygienists.

Dental hygienists provide oral care under a dentist’s supervision. They clean patients’ teeth and examine their mouths for signs of damage, gingivitis and other diseases. Hygienists teach patients how to maintain good oral health.

The education of dental hygienists typically includes prerequisite courses prior to obtaining either a dental hygiene certificate or associates degree, which is typically a three-year program. Dental hygienists may go on to obtain a Bachelor of Science or Master of Science in Dental Hygiene.

In Kansas, dental hygienists may obtain an Extended Care Permit (level one, two or three) which allows them to practice under indirect supervision in settings like schools or nursing homes.

Thank you to Christina Cook, RDH, ECP II, Dental Operations Manager and Dental Hygienist, for her hard work and dedication to our patients! Christina always goes above and beyond and is a true team player.

National Administrative Professionals’ Day

National Administrative Professionals’ Day, also known as Secretaries Day or Admin Day, is observed on the Wednesday of the last full week of April each year. This year it is celebrated on Wednesday, April 24. It is a day to recognize the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionists and other administrative support professionals.

Shout out to Nikki Balden, Administrative Assistant at HPC. Nikki supports all the Senior Leadership Team members in addition to coordinating meetings and schedules, assists with HR functions and takes notes for the Continuous Quality Improvement meetings. In addition, she takes minutes for the Board of Directors, Finance and Quality Improvement Committee monthly meetings, and so much more. We thank and salute Nikki for all she does!

Stay tuned for May when we celebrate Patient Services Representatives and Nurses!

By Thao Le, MSN, APRN, PMHN-BC, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner for Health Partnership Clinic

With every new year comes new resolutions. Whether it’s getting in shape, traveling more, or quitting smoking, every new year gives us an opportunity to turn the page and start fresh. While coming up with a New Year’s resolution can be difficult, it can sometimes be just as difficult to maintain the resolution over a period of time. This is known as a New Year’s resolution “slump,” and according to a 2022 study by Planet Fitness, it takes an individual a mere average of 41 days to give up on their resolution.

Fortunately, there are tips to help make sure your resolution sticks:

• Set “SMART” goals
• Stick to just picking one goal to prevent feeling overwhelmed
• Write out a detailed plan
• Stay motivated by tracking progress
• Don’t be afraid to ask for support from friends and family
• Give habits time to make them stick
• Reward yourself

In the United States, improving fitness is the most popular New Year’s resolution for the year 2024, while improving mental health was the most popular resolution the year 2023.

Recently, Health Partnership received a $5,000 grant to improve the health and wellbeing of its employees. Health Partnership thought what better time than the new year to launch “Putting the Health in Health Partnership,” a six-week program that will not only offer employees an opportunity to improve their mind, body, and spirit but assistance in achieving their New Years resolutions.

The program will involve:

• Yoga – Yoga classes for beginners to de-stress and improve strength, balance and flexibility.
• Decompression Baskets – Playdoh, adult coloring books, colored pencils and puzzle booklets will be provided at each clinic to decompress and stimulate the brain.
• Wellness Challenge – Each staff member will receive a weekly checklist that includes a list of healthy activities to accomplish. After six weeks, participants will be entered into a drawing to win a prize.
• Chair Massages – Chair massages will be available to staff in Week six to reduce stress and tension.
• Healthy Snacks – six weeks of healthy snacks to get the day started on the right foot.

The wellness of Health Partnership Clinic depends on the wellness of its employees. Employee well-being affects job performance and patient care. When staff are physically and mentally healthy, improved decision-making follows. Together, let’s start off the new year with a bang!

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Personal hygiene begins and ends with our hands.

Healthy hands are happy hands so be sure to keep hands clean to prevent viruses from spreading. It’s one of those everyday precautions besides covering your coughs and sneezes and avoiding close contact when you are feeling unwell.

At Health Partnership Clinic, we follow several proactive steps to ensure the safety of our staff and patients. On the top of the list is frequent handwashing. At home, it is equally important. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides several useful tips and reminders to keep you and your family healthy.

Remember, handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick—that goes for COVID, the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and colds!

According to the CDC, handwashing can prevent one in three diarrhea-related illnesses and one in five infections, including the flu.

How Germs Spread

Washing hands can keep you healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections from one person to the next. Germs can spread from other people or surfaces when you:

• Touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
• Prepare or eat food and drinks with unwashed hands
• Touch a contaminated surface or objects
• Blow your nose, cough, or sneeze into hands and then touch other people’s hands or common objects

Did you know… A typical human sneeze exits the body at about 200 miles per hour and emits around 40,000 droplets into the air. Wow!

Key Times to Wash Hands

You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during these key times when you are likely to get and spread germs:

• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before eating food
• Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with vomiting or diarrhea
• Before and after treating a cut or wound
• After using the toilet

Did you know… The CDC reports that only 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women washed their hands after using a public restroom. Yuck!

• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
• After handling pet food or pet treats
• After touching garbage

It is also recommended that you should clean hands:

• After you have been in a public place and touched an item or surface that may be frequently touched by other people, such as door handles, tables, gas pumps, shopping carts, or electronic cashier registers/screens, etc.
• Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because that’s how germs enter our bodies.

Follow Five Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way

Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another and throughout an entire community—from your home and workplace to childcare facilities and hospitals and clinics.

Follow these five steps every time.

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations. If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. You can tell if the sanitizer contains at least 60 percent alcohol by looking at the product label. Remember to keep hand sanitizer out of reach of young children and supervise their use. Swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitizer can cause alcohol poisoning.

Get the whole family involved in handwashing. HPC has developed an easy-to-follow tip sheet for children. Check it out.

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

As Veterans Day nears, Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) reflects on the proud men and women who have served in the U.S. military. We salute and thank them for their bravery and service. It’s also a time to pay tribute to our own. Staff members submitted names of family members who have served or are currently serving. A flier has been designed with those names and will be shared.

HPC is recognizing Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11, by sending thank you cards to our 54 veteran patients and to staff family members. The Olathe clinic, 407 S. Clairborne Rd., Olathe, Kan., will provide resources and flag pins (on a first come first serve basis) from Monday, Nov. 6-Friday, Nov. 10. Resources and pins will be available at all sites.

On Friday, Nov. 10, veterans are invited to stop by for refreshments at the Olathe location.

Click here for more information about HPC staff and family members who have served or are serving in our nation’s armed forces.

Did you know?

Veterans Day, a federal holiday, is meant to honor all veterans of the uniformed services who served or are still serving during times of peace as well as war.

Veterans Day has its origins at the end of World War I when at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the fighting ended with the signing of an armistice.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day, Nov. 11. The day is also known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations. Wilson’s proclamation stated:

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

Congress officially passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

“Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and, whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations ….”

The resolution also encouraged the display of the U.S. flag on all government buildings and urged appropriate ceremonies.

A congressional act, approved May 13, 1938, made Nov. 11, a federal holiday. In 1954, Congress — at the urging of veterans’ organizations — changed the name to Veterans Day to honor service members who had served in all the nation’s wars.