New bath unveiled at hospital

After raising money to replace the old tub at the Mineral County Hospital, workers have run into a problem with the new state-of-the-art bath.

Angie Mellen, Peggy Prince, Gary McCaffe, Verma Helm and Carrie Noonan formed a committee to raise funds, but now Nursing Director Kirsten Locke said ever since the new bathtub was installed, scheduling baths for the residents has become an issue.

Locke said the residents love the new bathing suite so much that once they get in, they don’t want to get out. However, that’s a problem that she said she’s happy to have.

Mellen, who acted as the chair of the committee to replace the old bathtub, said the old tub was brought up to the current hospital from the older building in 1972. There were several problems that nurses and residents had to deal with when using the facility, which she described as “horribly old.”

The lift was powered by water instead of hydraulics and Mellen said you couldn’t use hot water or the lift wouldn’t work. When you lowered the lift, cold water drained into the tub and it was hard to get the right temperature for a resident. The tub itself also had draining issues.

“Imagine being an 80-year-old person in a cold bathroom and you had to get into an old tub with cold water dumping on you as you’re being lowered,” Mellen said. “It wasn’t very comfortable.”

Mellen said the new tub is much nicer and much more comfortable for residents. It can serve as a shower and a tub, features whirlpool jets, the side of the tub opens easily and the tub also reclines. There is a handheld for hair and rinsing.

“It is setup so users will be very comfortable,” Mellen said.

Hospital Administrator Steve Carty congratulated the committee on their fundraising efforts at the unveiling last week.

He said that he was impressed by the group’s effort and ability to work as a team to accomplish something that would help serve the residents.

“That’s how we do things around here, as a team. We do everything as a team because that’s the only way it works,” Carty said.

Mellen said it was a team effort on the part of the county that allowed them to purchase the tub, through the work of organizations, businesses, employees, private donors and people giving their time that made it possible.

“The thing I want to stress is that it was not the committee, it was the community that gathered behind us,” Mellen said. “We raised an amazing $14,000 in about six months. If felt like the whole county just put their effort toward making this happen. I just want to say thanks to everyone who was involved in any way.”

A grant from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for $5,000 also helped to purchase the tub.

At the unveiling on Friday, those who contributed to the new bath suite in any way and the community were invited to come and see what their contributions had made possible. Punch and refreshments were available and Locke, as well as Jennifer Krutilla, showed guests the new bath suite and tub.

Locke said that while employees did their best with the old tub and made it the best that it could be, the new tub was a much needed addition. Mellen agreed.

“We can now give the residents a comfortable and a safe bath experience,” Mellen said.

Now only if they would get out of the tub.