Hospital News

Terrea Harper, a peer recovery specialist in the Warm Hand Off program of AMH's Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine unit, was just doing her job Oct. 27, 2020, as she helped a patient in the Emergency Room. But those few hours together impacted Shamyria Wingate so much that she named her baby after Terrea when she was born in January 2021.

The Alton Memorial Hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team is aiming to reduce hospital readmissions by instituting the Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Community Paramedic Program. The MIH program – the only such hospital-based EMS program in this part of the state -- is completely free of charge to patients, and is referral-based by providers to ensure that only chronically ill, high-risk patients are enrolled

Ruth Kvistad, an EMT with Alton Memorial Hospital’s EMS team since November 2020, has even loftier goals. She graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri–St. Louis  last year with a BA in philosophy and has also completed premed studies. Ruth has been accepted into the MD/JD (Juris Doctor) program at Southern Illinois University. But her admiration for EMTs is firm thanks to an unforgettable experience as a young girl.

Medicine hardly seemed like a calling for Brian Fogarty when he was finishing high school in 2011. But the Alton Memorial Hospital paramedic has learned things about himself he never imagined and is now on the way to medical school.

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The lifetime risk of developing colon cancer is as much as 4.3 percent in the general population and higher if you have a family history of the disease. Colon cancer can be curable if detected early, as pre-cancerous lesions can be removed during a colonoscopy. David Henkhaus of Alton is one who knows about this, from both a positive and negative point of view.

Beth Rull saw some positives in COVID-19, which is quite remarkable considering that the past year has been the most challenging health year of her life – and very little of it had to do with the pandemic. She went through a double mastectomy and followed up with radiation oncology treatment at Alton Memorial Hospital -- and was very pleased with the care she received.

A machine in the Alton Memorial Hospital café stands ready to help satisfy the hunger of employees, physicians and visitors during the hours when the café’s serving line is not open. The Byte machine holds a limited amount of items but can be accessed by the use of a credit card.

Mary Norman began Jan. 18 as the new coordinator of Miss Eunice’s Hat Box, the Alton Memorial Hospital gift shop. Miss Eunice’s Hat Box is currently open from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and is located on the ground floor of the AMH Beeby Wing across from the café. Because of the pandemic, only three visitors are allowed inside the gift shop at one time and all visitors must wear a mask.For more information, call the gift shop at 618-463-7493 or Mary’s office at 618-433-6684.

Kelly Currie, MD, is a Washington University Physicians of Illinois Inc. plastic and reconstructive surgeon who has recently joined the Alton Memorial Hospital medical staff. Dr. Currie specializes in hand/upper extremity surgery and general reconstructive plastic surgery.  She is located in Suite 101 of Medical Office Building A on the Alton Memorial Hospital campus along with Dr. John Felder and Lorraine Seiffert, NP. To schedule an appointment, please call 618-433-6006.

While it wasn’t the Thanksgiving she would have preferred, Gale Smay nonetheless came out of the holiday weekend with plenty of warm feelings about Alton Memorial Hospital. The Dow, Ill., resident was so thankful about the treatment she received while battling the COVID-19 virus that she brought bags of treats back to the ER and Intermediate Care Unit staffs recently.