Our Emergency Staff

Our Emergency Care Department is staffed with physicians that work around the clock, side-by-side with skilled, licensed registered nurses. All of our physicians and registered nursing staff have advanced training in both adult and pediatric trauma care and cardiac care. The McKenzie Health System Emergency team offers unsurpassed patient care, anytime day or night.

Emergency Care works closely with our Diagnostic Imaging, Laboratory and Cardiopulmonary staff to maximize the emergency care you receive.

Telemedicine Advantage for Advanced Stroke Care

Advanced telemedicine at McKenzie Health System connects our Emergency Center to the St. Johns Neuroscience Center of Excellence, a facility that is nationally certified as a Primary Stroke Center. Using advanced robotic technology, specialists there help McKenzie staff evaluate and treat stroke patients. Until now, this level of highly specialized stroke care was not available in the Sanilac County area.

McKenzie’s Telemedicine program allows stroke patients to receive immediate, advanced care without wasting critical time travelling to another area.

The use of telemedicine devices, once a novelty, is now standard medical practice in daily use throughout the world and is ideal for emergency situations such as stroke.

Awarded HFAP “Stroke Ready” Certification

McKenzie Health System was awarded certification by the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), the nation’s original independent, accreditation organization recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). With this designation, McKenzie Health System is the only Critical Access Hospital in Michigan with the “stroke ready” HFAP certification, which confirms high-quality care as determined by an independent, external process of evaluation.

“McKenzie Health System clearly demonstrates a commitment to quality and patient safety,” said Lawrence Haspel, DO, Chairman of the Bureau of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation for HFAP. “We base our decision on the findings of an extensive and thorough on-site review of the system against recognized national standards for patient safety, quality improvement and environmental safety. McKenzie Health System has earned the distinction of HFAP certification through its performance in successfully meeting those standards.”

As designated by HFAP, Stroke Ready centers provide timely access to stroke care and indicate to the community and emergency medical services that hospitals are prepared to meet the initial needs of stroke patients. Further, the organization has indicated a growing need for Stroke Ready centers, particularly in rural America.

McKenzie Health System’s stroke –ready quality measures include activation of the stroke team, the team being on site within 15 minutes of the patient arriving, and laboratory studies & neuroimaging studies being done with results in the hands of the provider within 45 minutes of patient arrival.  All of this activity is focused on the team determining if a treatment known as thrombolytic therapy can be delivered.  Thrombolytic therapy, which can dissolve dangerous clots in blood vessels, can improve blood flow to the affected area and prevent damage to those tissues and organs.  All of this is necessary when treating ischemic stroke patients, which is the condition that results from an obstructed blood vessel blocking blood flow to a portion of the brain.  Time is not our friend when treating conditions like this which is why being certified as “stroke-ready” is important because certification affirms that we know how to best manage treatment that could result in a reduction of disabilities often resulting from having a stroke.

“This certification further signifies our commitment to treating strokes and supporting community needs,” said Steve Barnett, President and CEO, McKenzie Health System. “We are honored to be noted for this significant achievement that recognizes our commitment to providing outstanding care to our patients and our community. In particular, I’d like to recognize the incredible commitment and effort of our Laboratory; Radiology; Patient Access Services; Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Departments; as well as Mark Hamed, MD, MBA, MPH, Medical Director of the Emergency Department, Patricia Schafsnitz, RN, Director of Nursing, and our stroke robot team; and the entire staff at McKenzie Health System. Our achievements are never the result of one person; they are reached due to the work of the entire team.”

Level IV Trauma Facility

Trauma Team Members (l to r): Mark Hamed, MD, MBA, MPH, Trauma Program Medical Director; Patricia Schafsnitz, RN; Konni Phillips, RN, Trauma Program Coordinator; Diane Hart, CST, Trauma Registrar; Amy McCrea, LPN, Trauma Registrar; Jenifer Monzo, RN, BAS, CPHRM.

McKenzie Health System is a Level IV Trauma Facility.  The Level IV Trauma Facility designation means that critical patients will come to McKenzie Health System Emergency Department, be stabilized or treated, and may then be transferred to a Level I, II, or III facility, depending on their condition.

McKenzie has the distinction of being the first critical access hospital in the State of Michigan to be a fully accredited Level IV Trauma designee. Konni Phillips, RN, Emergency Room Manager and Trauma Program Coordinator, explained the importance of the designation for a full three years, “Full designation is only awarded for an entire 3 years when a facility has met all of the requirements, allowing for only a small number of minor deficiencies. At McKenzie, we were thrilled to have zero deficiencies noted!”

The Michigan Trauma Program was created as a result of a statewide assessment of the state’s needs by the Michigan Trauma Commission. It is designed to match the needs of injured patients to the appropriate trauma care facility, so every patient receives optimal care from the initial recognition of the injury through return to the community.  The Level IV designation is the culmination of years of preparation and state scrutiny to insure McKenzie is prepared to:

• treat patients needing Level IV care
• assemble a trauma team in 30 minutes or less
• act as the area trauma authority
• participate in regional and/or state trauma organizations
• transfer patients requiring more comprehensive care at a Level I, II or III Trauma Facility
• maintain a 24/7 schedule of nurses and doctors that have on-going training in trauma care
• make X-ray and CT available on a 24/7 basis
• keep a laboratory available on a 24/7 basis as well as prepare a transfusion protocol collaboratively between the trauma service/program and the blood bank.

As part of the Michigan Trauma Network, McKenzie Health System must participate in Regional Trauma Network injury prevention work plans and initiatives. Because falls are the number one type of injury in the Sandusky area; McKenzie provides public education programs on fall prevention for the community and works with seniors and others to provide opportunities to gain balance and strength.

Oxy-Free ED

McKenzie Health System is concerned about the welfare of our community. In the face of growing prescription medication addiction, overdose, and deaths, our Emergency Care Department is restricting the dispensing of narcotic and sedative medications, such as Oxycodone and Oxycontin, for chronic pain complaints. McKenzie’s Oxy-Free ED Policy is available upon request.

Our Emergency Service Expertise

From unexpected minor injuries to emergency assistance managing chronic illness, it’s comforting to know that the McKenzie Emergency Care Department is trained to provide the urgent care you need.