The Basin Clinic in Naturita has hired a new nurse practitioner. Mary Kus recently moved to the West End, sight unseen, from Chicago. She started on Oct. 16 and is currently shadowing the other providers before she starts taking her own patients.
Executive Director of the Basin Clinic Christina Pierce said Kus had researched the area and done live video interviews before arriving. She brings a 7-year-old son.
Pierce added Kus seems to be “adventurous” and that others at the clinic have reported Kus is getting along well.
“I think we made a good choice,” said Pierce.
Nurse practitioner Angela Miller is leaving on Oct. 31, in order to follow her heart working in a pain management setting. Pierce said it’s sad for the Basin Clinic to lose her, but Miller will be filling in on Mondays to continue to help out. The clinic won’t have to close but maybe one day in November as a result.
Robert Tapley, the other nurse practitioner, is on site three days one week, and then four days the next. Pierce admitted staffing is a challenge in remote and rural areas, but once Kus is up to speed, things should even out again.
Verna Reiva, of the Basin Clinic, recently received her radiology certification. Now, she can do X-rays, and clinic staff don’t have to call a retired technician to come in and perform those. Pierce said in the past, a provider would have to call Linda Adkins or Monica Odom — sometimes Ken Jenks — for help. X-rays will now run more smoothly at the clinic.
Dr. April Randle, MD, and also on staff, has been presented a humanitarian award through the state. She’s received $10,000 to donate to a charity of her choice, and Randle has chosen the Basin Clinic as the recipient.
In other financial news, the clinic just received a USDA grant. The funds must be matched by $20,000, and Pierce said the clinic will try and fundraise for that portion.
The goal is to replace outdated equipment, like the clinic’s defibrillator, which is a 2009 Phillips model. The Basin Clinic really needs a Zoll debrilator, one like the EMS staff keep in the ambulance. The Zoll AED can be carried room to room, take blood pressure and has a pulse oximeter too. Pierce said the machine costs more than $50,000.
In another donation, Alpine Lumber just gave paint to the clinic, so that representatives can start painting the interior of the building. Pierce said the Basin Clinic will need more paint to finish the job, but Alpine Lumber’s donation is a great start, and she’s grateful. She added it will be some time before the board can build a new medical facility. In the meantime, the space needs to be welcoming for patients.
“We need to make what we have feel good, and where people want to be there,” she said.
The drive-through flu shot clinic, held last week at the Basin Clinic, was successful. Then, staff administered 74 doses of the flu vaccine, but also 66 high doses for senior citizens. In this way, 140 people were served in the West End with just a few doses left over. Pierce said the turnout was better than last year, and she hopes that more people will start coming annually to receive the flu shot.
