What's New                 

CRMC RESPONDS TO BUS CRASH TRAGEDY
On the evening of October 5, 2008, shortly after 6 pm, one of the worst motor vehicle accidents in the history of Colusa County occurred near the city of Williams.  A chartered bus rolled over causing the deaths of 10 people and injuring 35.  Due to the magnitude of the accident, air and ground rescue units from Colusa and several surrounding counties had to be called in to assist.  Local and national news media converged on the scene as well as Colusa Regional Medical Center, the nearest hospital.

CRMC staff responded in an incredibly heroic way.  Within minutes of enacting its mass casualty plan, six physicians and 73 clinical and support staff reported for duty and awaited ambulances.  Nursing staff from neighboring medical offices also came to the hospital to lend a helping hand.  Several of our fellow Colusans came to the hospital to volunteer their translation services for the predominantly Asian accident victims.

Brady Myers, President of the CRMC Board of Directors, and Dale Kirby, CRMC Chief Executive Officer, thanked those who gave so unselfishly of their time and medical skills that evening.  "Words cannot adequately express the pride and appreciation we have for our physicians, employees and volunteers.  We are truly blessed to live in a community with such an outstanding hospital and caring people," stated Myers and Kirby in a press release the following day.

CRMC FOUNDATION EVENTS IMPROVE CARE FOR COLUSANS
The Foundation held its 17^th Annual “Swing-For-Life” golf tournament on September 26, enjoying a record turnout for great weather, great golf and successful fundraising.  Over $16,000 was raised at the event.  All procedures will go toward upgrading CRMC’s Surgery Department and Medical/Surgical Unit.  Last year’s tournament was also a tremendous success, raising over $15,000 that was given to CRMC’s Emergency Department for new equipment.  The Foundation also held its 3^rd Annual “Ride-For-Life” bicycle ride and walk event enjoyed by 140 bike riders.  $3,000 was raised with funds going to help the Colusa First 5 Commission and the Children’s Health Initiative, organizations that provide health insurance for underprivileged children.  Between private donations and special events, the Foundation helped raise over $85,000 during the year.  Thank you CRMC Foundation!

ANNUAL EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION:
CRMC held its annual Employee Recognition Luncheon and acknowledged it's long-time employees with CRMC pins and a great BBQ lunch.  Two of CRMC's "Best of the Best" were recognized:

Employee of the Year, 2007-08:   Sabrina Myers, Clinic Coordinator, Outpatient Clinics.  Sabrina joined the clinic team in 2006 and has given tremendously of herself in both time and talent to assist our clinics in Colusa, Arbuckle, Williams and Stonyford with their relocations; preparing for Joint Commission and California state surveys; customer/patient service and support; and, overall clinic operations.  Sabrina goes above and beyond the call of duty, without complaint, to accomplish whatever is necessary for patient care and the operation of the clinics.

Manager of the Year, 2007-08:   Cheryl Sanford, Director, Clinical Laboratory Services.  Cheryl came on board with us in 2006, finding significant challenges in our laboratory.  Aging equipment and physical plant, employee turnover, customer service issues, and a Joint Commission survey just weeks away.  Cheryl rose to the challenge and has repositioned the lab as one of our stellar clinical service departments.  New equipment, technology and a Lab Information System have been installed; new diagnostic tests have been brought on line; employee turnover is down and morale is up; and procedure volume reached an all-time high last fiscal year of over 96,000 tests performed.

Congratulations to these outstanding individuals, and all of CRMC's wonderful employees!

CRMC WELCOMES NEW PHYSICIANS AND CLINIC SERVICES
Dale Kirby, Chief Executive Officer, announces, “We are very pleased to welcome several new physicians to our community and medical staff.  With the arrival of these new physicians, we will have increased the number of specialists who add expertise to our “Hospitalist” program and will also be adding several new special-care programs in the outpatient clinics:  critical care, nephrology, hypertension and women’s health.

Subil Go, MD has joined the North Valley Nephrology practice with Dr. Venue Kondle and Dr. Robert Polhemus as an internal medicine/nephrology specialist.  He recently completed his residency at Brown University in Rhode Island.  He is sharing call as a “Hospitalist” and is also seeing patients in the Colusa Health Clinic who have kidney disease, hypertension or chronic health problems.

Marcy Ann Haas, MD arrived August 1 and has joined the medical staff in the Arbuckle Medical Office and Colusa Health Clinic as a family practice/OB physician.  She completed her residency in Family Practice at Redding Medical Center in Redding, California, in November 2006.  She will be specializing in Family and Women’s Health Care.  She and her husband have moved from Klamath Falls, Oregon to Williams.

Jagraj Nijjar, MD has begun offering an Infectious Disease and Adult Immunology Clinic on Thursdays at the Colusa Health Clinic for patients who have developed an antibiotic resistance or who have had exposure to a variety of infectious diseases.  Dr. Nijjar is board certified in both internal medicine and infectious disease.  He completed his infectious disease fellowship at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana.  Dr. Nijjar is also a valuable member of the CRMC “Hospitalist” team in addition to seeing patients in the Colusa Health Clinic.

Antonio Meraz, MD, board certified in Family Practice, has joined the practice of North Valley Family Physicians with Dr. Julian Delgado and Dr. Michael Goodman to offer family practice and obstetrics care.  Dr. Meraz attended medical school at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science in Los Angeles, and completed his residency in family practice at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, CA. 

For more information on the new outpatient special-care clinics or to schedule an appointment, call the Colusa Specialty and Industrial Medicine Clinic at 530.458.3243. See our 2008-09 Physician Referral List

PHYSICAL REHABILITATION CENTER OPENS:
CRMC's new Physical Rehabilitation Center is now open and accepting new patients.  Located on the hospital campus in the new Medical Arts Buildings complex, the rehab center offers physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy services.  "This project is the culmination of a year long effort by a partnership of our rehab team, our hospital staff, and the CRMC Foundation to bring a new level of physical rehabilitation services to Colusa County," stated Charla Parker, Director of Planning and Program Development.  The CRMC Foundation generously contributed $12,000 toward the purchase of new equipment and accessories for the center. To make an appointment please call (530) 458-3287.

QUALITY AND SAFETY OF CARE COMMITMENT:
Colusa Regional Medical Center is committed to providing the highest quality of patient care possible in a safe, comfortable and reassuring environment.  To communicate a service problem or concern please contact the manager of the service involved (see "Hospital Directory" under the "Contact Us" tab above), or you may contact our administration office at (530) 458-5821, ext. 254.  In addition, you may contact The Joint Commission by telephone at 1-800-994-6610, or by email at "complaint@jointcommission.org."