Emergency Room

wandaw@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - In an attempt to reduce the number of unnecessary visits to the emergency room, Washington County Hospital has created a 24-hour, call-in Advice Line that offers professional medical support, said Bonnie Forsh, clinical director of emergency services at the hospital. Medical professionals are now just a phone call away, and hospital officials are encouraging more people to take advantage of the service launched a month ago. The toll-free line is staffed by seasoned health-care professionals trained to address any medical situation.

It's the kind of telephone call no grandparent wants to receive. There's been an accident. Or an arrest. Or an injury that has resulted in a trip to the emergency room. The grandchild desperately pleads for money. Could you wire it now to post bail or pay for medical treatment? And, by the way, don't tell Mom or Dad. It will only worry them. The rub? There's been no accident. No legal problems. No time spent in a hospital. And it's not a relative who wants the money.

When Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher set up their philanthropic foundation, their intent was to “help individuals overcome illnesses and adversities.” In a dedication Wednesday afternoon, a medical department that sees more than 90,000 patients a year — regardless of their ability to pay — was named in their honor. The emergency room at Meritus Medical Center was officially changed to the Fletcher Emergency Department after the Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Foundation donated $1 million for the department.

RANSON, W.Va. -- The emergency room at Jefferson Memorial Hospital was shut down briefly Monday morning while firefighters from nine departments cleared smoke from the hospital's second floor. A motor overheated in the mechanical room for an elevator, Independent Fire Co. Chief Ed Smith said. Hospital staff prepared to evacuate patients, but the situation was brought under control before that happened, Smith said. Independent and Citizens Fire Co. were called to the hospital at 6:36 a.m. Because of the smoke and possible evacuation, Smith upgraded the call to three alarms.

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer, Charles Town MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The Veteran Affairs Medical Center is getting ready to open a new emergency room for patients who are veterans. The hospital's old emergency room area will be turned into additional space for outpatient service, said Doris R. Griffin, the VA's public affairs officer. The new emergency room is expected to be operational in June, Griffin said. The hospital will be holding holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. today at the new emergency room.

I am pleased to report that my secret plan to infiltrate the deepest recesses of Washington County Hospital without detection and report back on the quality of health care in Hagerstown was an unqualified success. Only problem was, I didn't know I had a secret plan to infiltrate the deepest recesses of Washington County Hospital until after the fact. That fact being that I found myself flat on the ground outside a Frederick restaurant and people running every whichaways as if there had been some kind of disturbance or something.

Odds and ends from a columnist's notebook: Unless you've been very, very lucky, most parents in the local area have been to the emergency room of Washington County Hospital - and have an awful story to tell about it. The story almost never involves the quality of care, but waiting for hours with a sobbing child whose deep cut or broken nose doesn't merit pushing the small patient ahead of the victims of a car wreck. The team being led by Hagerstown mayoral candidate Richard "Dick" Trump is betting that voters will remember those awful times and vote for a group that supports the construction of a new hospital next to the Robinwood Medical Center.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - A Christmas Eve dinner that started with about 400 meals three years ago tripled in number this year, with about 1,200 people receiving a free holiday meal on Friday. The Lend-A-Hand Dinner, started by Washington County Hospital emergency room doctor Scott Wegner, included ham, turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, said Judy Fogelsonger, nutrition service director at the hospital.

Emergency room nurse says alcohol can be a killer By ANDREW SCHOTZ / Staff Writer Teens who make poor choices can end up dead like "Bob" or "Jessica," a nurse cautioned Williamsport High School students Tuesday. Linda Dutil drew on the horrors she has seen in Maine emergency rooms to illustrate how drugs and alcohol can kill. Bob was 18 years old when he tried to impress some popular classmates and "drank enough to shut down his body," Dutil said. Jessica, 14, drank three beers at another party, passed out face down and choked on her own vomit.

It's the kind of telephone call no grandparent wants to receive. There's been an accident. Or an arrest. Or an injury that has resulted in a trip to the emergency room. The grandchild desperately pleads for money. Could you wire it now to post bail or pay for medical treatment? And, by the way, don't tell Mom or Dad. It will only worry them. The rub? There's been no accident. No legal problems. No time spent in a hospital. And it's not a relative who wants the money.

This summer, Hagerstown Community College's College for Kids program will offer a variety of classes for students entering grades six through eight. Courses offered include “A Pair of Genes;” “Discovering Shakespeare;” and “ER Academy.” “Discovering Shakespeare” will be held from July 9 to 13, from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, at HCC's Kepler Center. Students will study the world of William Shakespeare and learn about comedy, tragedy, mock stage combat, basic stage directions and Elizabethan performances.

Ten students and a bus driver were treated for minor injuries at Chambersburg Hospital following a crash that ended with a school bus on its side Friday morning, according to the hospital. The accident at Glen and High streets, involving a Chambersburg Area School District bus and a Saturn Vue sport utility vehicle, was reported at about 8:47 a.m., Cpl. Jon Greenawalt of the Chambersburg Police Department said. Catherine Dusman, assistant superintendent of the Chambersburg Area School District, said the bus was about one minute from its destination at Benjamin Chambers Elementary School on Franklin Street when the accident occurred.

Laszlo Madaras has finished the grueling JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon nine times, but things were different when he ran it last Saturday. Before the race started, the physician at Waynesboro (Pa.) Hospital and Chambersburg (Pa.) Hospital learned that his close colleague at Chambersburg Hospital had died. Marty Heine, Chambersburg Hospital's emergency room physician, was hiking with his wife on the Appalachian Trail in Greene Township, Pa., the day before the JFK 50 Mile when he collapsed.

When Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher set up their philanthropic foundation, their intent was to “help individuals overcome illnesses and adversities.” In a dedication Wednesday afternoon, a medical department that sees more than 90,000 patients a year — regardless of their ability to pay — was named in their honor. The emergency room at Meritus Medical Center was officially changed to the Fletcher Emergency Department after the Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Foundation donated $1 million for the department.

Why endure a long wait in an emergency room for a simple case of the sniffles or a bad strain, when MedExpress officials say their clinic can have you on your way quickly without denting your pocketbook?  The newest urgent care, walk-in clinic located at 1048 Lincoln Way East, in Chambersburg, Pa., opened May 19, with hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. "At MedExpress, we are committed to exceeding patient expectations," said Dr. Frank Alderman, chief executive officer of MedExpress.

AUG. 28, 1979-APRIL 15, 2011 Jason W. Mose, 31, of Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg, Pa., died Friday afternoon, April 15, 2011, in the emergency room of Chambersburg Hospital, as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Greene Township.   Born Aug. 28, 1979, in Carlisle, Pa., he was a son of Rodney C. and Cindee Mose of Chambersburg, and Debra Mose of Greencastle, Pa.   Jason was a 1998 graduate of James Buchanan High School, where he lettered in football, baseball and chorus.

Phase One of an $11 million expansion of City Hospital's emergency department that will nearly double the number of beds was marked Thursday with a promise that the new facility would be dedicated to "the community, not to administrators or doctors. " Anthony P. Zelenka, chief administrative officer for West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital, told a crowd of nearly 100 that when the second phase, the renovation of the existing emergency department, is finished in October, the number of beds will increase to about 40. The department currently has 27 beds.

OCT. 24, 1924-APRIL 12, 2011 Gladys Naomi Myers, 86, of Hagerstown, passed away Tuesday, April 12, 2011, at Julia Manor Health Care Center in Hagerstown. Born Oct. 24, 1924, in Greencastle, she was the daughter of the late John and Sadie (Butler) Kennedy. She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. She was employed for 20 years as a nurse's aid in the emergency room at the former Washington County Hospital. Gladys is survived by two daughters, Mary Lee Taylor of Hagerstown and Elizabeth "Miriam" P. Kline of Myersville, Md., and a son, Allen Lee Myers of Hancock; nine grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.

A 6-year-old boy playing with a lighter in a home at 11829 Patrick Road near Hagerstown caused a fire Wednesday morning that sent his grandparents to Meritus Medical Center, according to Maryland State Fire Marshal Deputy Chief Jason Mowbray. Helen Stull was registered at the emergency room as of Wednesday evening, a hospital spokeswoman said. Her husband, Richard Stull, was discharged from the emergency room. Mowbray said the boy was not injured, but he was taken to the hospital to be with his grandparents.