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Medical Center ceremony honors former physicians
Murphy Medical Center has taken to heart the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared."
On Saturday, the Cherokee County hospital that serves Cherokee, Clay and surrounding counties, dedicated its recently expanded emergency facilities which will enable it to provide better care to its patients. "Our goal is to improve service and care for our community," Mike Stevenson, the hospital CEO, told an audience of more than 100 supporters and visitors who came to the dedication and tour of the new facilities. Stevenson expressed his appreciation of The Cannon Foundation, The Duke Endowment, Janirve Foundation, The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and North Carolina's Department of health and Human Services for their financial support. He also recognized the community's participation in events like the "Two Hours from Anywhere" race and heart-walk, saying it had raised more than $44,000 in that event which provided for the funding of five new heart monitors of the ER.
The expansion provides for a private EMS entrance, a new triage facility, two two-bed trauma rooms, a decontamination room and digital x-ray capability.
"It improves the efficiency of the department," Dr. Jeff Larson told the Sentinel. "People are being treated more quickly. There is more privacy for our patients, and it's more comfortable for them and their families," he said. Larson said the expansion had been a challenge in that the emergency room was operating 24/7 while the work was being done. He said the hospital and the construction company had done a good job with temporary walls of "keeping thing pretty separate." "A project like this takes a team effort," Stevenson said. He thanked Toni Lovingood, the hospital administrator, Gail Crawford, the Emergency Department Manager and Wells and West Construction company for their hard work and dedication to the project. Murphy Mayor Bill Hughes, commenting on the dramatic increase of the hospital's ER during the past five years said, It's projected that this ER will treat 15,000 patients this year. That's 700 more folks than the population of the town of Murphy. Prior to giving the invocation, the Reverend Fred Lunsford thanked the ER's staff for saving his life. He also complimented Stevenson saying the CEO was "a man willing to go out on a limb when most men aren't even willing to climb the tree." The new ER expansion was dedicated to two doctors (Dr. Tom Hutson and the late Dr. Damien O'neill) who had done so much in the past to provide exceptional services at the ER. Dr. Mark Walters, an ER physician at MMC, said Hutson's contribution as the hospital's ER Director from 1985 until his retirement in 2003 was exceptional. "When I came here 20 years ago, it was clear to me that MMC was a hospital on the move," Walters said. "There was a lot of excitement and engergy, and at the core of it was Dr. Tom Hutson." "Your greatest legacy is what you've done for emergency medical services in this county," Walters told Hutson. "Starting with ambulance drivers, you trained them to be outstanding EMT's. And you reached into your own pocket to pay for equipment when the budget was tight. You left us with the best trained EMS system in North Carolina." Speaking about the contribution of Dr. Damien O'Neill, Walters said he was known as the "extreme doctor. He loved taking care of the sickest of the sick. It is only natural to have Room number one dedicated to him," Walters said. "He inspired all of us to give the most." A framed memorial was presented to Dr. O'Neill's family that was identical to the one placed in the hospital's trauma room. A reception followed the dedication along with guided tours of the new facility.
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