Influenza and COVID vaccinations will be available at special clinics Oct. 3 and 4 at Jefferson Community Health & Life Fairbury Clinic.

The CDC recommends influenza vaccinations for everyone 6 months and older. October is the optimal time to receive your vaccination.

The CDC recommends a dose of the updated 2024-2025 COVID vaccine. JCH&L will have the Moderna Spikevax vaccine available at vaccine clinics for those 12 years of age and older.

The flu and COVID vaccinations can be given on the same day.

Special influenza vaccination clinics will be offered at JCH&L Fairbury Clinic on Thursday, Oct. 3, and Friday, Oct. 4, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Appointments are required and can be made by calling 402-587-5188. Please be prepared to leave your name, a phone number where you can be reached, and which day you would like to have an influenza and/or COVID vaccine appointment.

When you arrive for your appointment, please use JCH&L’s main entrance, accessible from H Street.  Vaccines will be given in the Clinic Conference room.

Influenza and COVID vaccines will also be available at JCH&L Fairbury Clinic at regular clinic appointments or at a vaccine appointment. Call 402-729-3361, option 1, for an appointment.

When you come to your appointment, please wear clothing which allows easy access to your arm. Bring your health insurance card and a photo ID. Most major insurances and Medicare cover the influenza and COVID vaccines. There will be a fee if you are a private pay patient.

Children 18 and under covered by Medicaid can’t get their influenza or COVID vaccines at these clinics. Please contact Blue Valley Community Action’s vaccination program at 402-826-2141, extension 3, for information on flu and/or COVID vaccinations at BVCA shot clinics.

If you have questions or need more information, please call JCH&L’s vaccination line at 402-587-5188.

Lori Ohlde, RN, and Deb Sutton, RN, are now certified Nebraska State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselors.

The federal government, through the Administration on Community Living (ACL), funds a SHIP in every state. The Nebraska SHIP is a division of the Nebraska Department of Insurance. SHIP does not sell insurance, nor does it endorse any insurance company, product, or agent.

Nebraska SHIP has a statewide network of certified counselors and partner organizations. Counselors receive extensive training on Medicare and are available to meet for one-on-one counseling, to help with problem solving, provide support during decision making, and assist with identifying potential Medicare fraud, error, or abuse. SHIP counselors will not recommend policies, companies, or insurance agents, but will provide free, confidential, and unbiased assistance.

The Nebraska SHIP offers a toll-free hotline that any person eligible for Medicare, relatives, friends, or providers can call for answers to insurance questions, to report potential fraud or abuse, or to arrange a meeting with a SHIP counselor.

If you would like to speak to your local Nebraska SHIP office, call the hotline at 1.800.234.7119.

“Jefferson Community Health & Life is pleased to once again be able to offer SHIP counselors on our staff to help our patients and the public,” said Bill Welch, interim CEO at JCH&L.

JCH&L is planning a Medicare Part D and Advantage review event in late October, with details to come on making appointments.

 

People who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts and have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease and face a 30% increased risk for stroke mortality — a gap that has grown over the past two decades.[1]^,[2] Jefferson Community Health & Life is committed to changing that. For efforts to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural health care outcome disparities, Jefferson Community Health & Life has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® – Stroke Rural Recognition Bronze award.

The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, recognizes the importance of health care services provided to people living in rural areas by rural hospitals that play a vital role in initiation of timely evidence-based care. For that reason, all rural hospitals participating in Get With The Guidelines – Stroke are eligible to receive award recognition based on a unique methodology focused on early acute stroke performance metrics.

“We are proud that our team at Jefferson Community Health & Life is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in Jefferson County who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Erin Smith, JCH&L chief nursing officer.  “As a hospital in a rural community, we deal with characteristics, such as extended interfacility transportation times, and limited staffing resources. We’ve made it a goal to make sure those hurdles do not affect the standard of care our stoke patients receive.”

JCH&L’s goal is to provide exceptional quality care.

“Rural communities deserve high quality stroke care. I’m proud of our team for their commitment to stroke care excellence and this achievement,” Smith said.

The award recognizes hospitals for their efforts toward acute stroke care excellence demonstrated by composite score compliance to guideline-directed care for intravenous thrombolytic therapy, timely hospital inter-facility transfer, dysphagia screening, symptom timeline and deficit assessment documentation, emergency medical services communication, brain imaging and stroke expert consultation.

“Patients and health care professionals in Jefferson County face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association, co-author on “Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association” and co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. “Jefferson Community Health & Life has furthered this important work to improve care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”

[1] American Heart Association. American Heart Association issues call to action for addressing inequities in rural health. February 10, 2020. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/american-heart-association-issues-call-to-action-for-addressing-inequities-in-rural-health; American Heart Association. Public Health AmeriCorps to address health inequity in rural communities. April 6, 2022. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/public-health-americorps-to-address-health-inequity-in-rural-communities.

[2] Harrington R, et al. Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Circulation. 2020;141:e615–e644.

Jefferson Community Health & Life CEO Burke Kline, DHA, MBA, MHA, MSM, CHFP, FACHE, has resigned his position as of Monday, Aug. 19, after four years. Dr. Kline became chief executive officer in June 2020.

“We thank Dr. Burke Kline for his service and contributions during his tenure, and wish him success in his future endeavors,” said Trevor Steinmeyer, chairman of the JCH&L board of directors. “The Board has initiated a comprehensive search for a new Chief Executive Officer who will inspire our team, drive innovation, and lead JCHL toward continued growth and success.”

Lana Likens will serve as temporary interim CEO. Deb Sutton, RN, will serve as temporary interim nursing home administrator.

Nicole Swartzendruber has known since she was a kid that she wanted a career in some area of health care. By the time she was in high school, she knew being a physician assistant was her goal. In December she will graduate as a physician assistant from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and early in 2025 she will join Jefferson Community Health & Life.

Swartzendruber grew up on a farm outside of Shickley, where her family has a feedlot. She knows that a small town rural area is where she wants to have her career. She wants to help ensure rural residents have access to the quality and compassionate health care they need.

“I have a love for agriculture and community,” she said. “I like to be involved in the community.”

She graduated from Shickley Public Schools and was accepted in to the RHOP (Rural Health Opportunities Program.) She got her bachelor of science form Wayne State College in biology, and is currently in physician assistant school at UNMC. She said she has loved her training to be a physician assistant, and is enjoying her rotations. She said she chose rotations to help her be prepared for and effective in a rural general practice when she graduates. She had one rotation at Jefferson Community Health & Life in November-December 2023. She is especially looking forward to a rotation in Kenya for six weeks in the fall.

Besides her love of health care, during college she has worked in fire and rescue.

Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family. She is engaged to Brandon Huebner, who works in law enforcement. Her parents, Mark and Donna Swartzendruber, have a feedlot at Shickley. Her sister Megan is married and has two children. Her brother Caleb lives at home. She has her own small cow-calf herd, enjoys recreational sports and enjoys reading.

Jefferson Community Health and Life is happy to welcome her to our team of family medical providers. She will join Dr. Craig Shumard, Dr. Rebecca Stroklund, Dr. Brett Wergin, Rick Blum PA-C, Megan Knutson FNP-C, Keegan Williams FNP-C, and Kensly Williams PA-C. JCH&L continues to recruit for providers. Our goal is to employ 4 physicians and 6 advanced practice providers.