MCDH receives USDA Rural Development Grant

3/31/06

Susan Jones, RN, ICU and OB Manager, demonstrates the use of the ICU Med-Dispense Unit to visitors from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities grant program. Left to right: Chad Parker, Susan Jones, RN, Larry Fleming, Janice Waddell, Al Aiello, and Shirley Stevenson.

In 2005, MCDH was awarded a $35,000 grant to support the purchase of three new Med-Dispense units.  The grant came from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Program.

The District purchased three new, state-of-the-art automated medication dispensing units (similar to an ATM machine) located in the Critical Care, Obstetrics and Outpatient Surgery departments.  This allows the pharmacy and nursing departments to operate under a single, unified system for medication dispensation and tracking, resulting in improved patient safety and greater control over costs and inventory. 

Med-Dispense units are multi-drawer storage units, controlled by computer password accessible only by authorized nurses and physicians.  The computerized system includes patient information such as medications being taken and known allergies.  When a health care provider orders a medication from the Med-Dispense unit, the drawer containing the appropriate medication and dosage pops open.

The Med-Dispense units improve the accuracy and safety of patient care by only allowing access to the specific medication required, by requiring pharmacist review of medication orders prior to dispensing the initial dose, and due to the warnings built into the system. Warnings may include alerts regarding sound-alike drugs, patient allergies, duplicate therapy, drug-drug and food-drug interactions, and recommended follow up. 

The Med-Dispense units also allow for better record keeping and improved revenue, because the units reduce lost charges due to missed charting, and eliminate pharmacy technicians’ labor in charging.  Use of Med-Dispense units also dramatically reduces “shrinkage,” or medications that are simply lost from the system.

The Med-Dispense units tie into the hospital’s new clinical information system, immediately updating a patient’s records, which are accessible to the patients’ care providers throughout the hospital.

Five representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Program visited MCDH on Wednesday, March 22 to observe the impact of their grant award on the facility.  The visiting dignitaries were Al Aiello, Rural Development Manager in Santa Rosa, Janice Waddell, California Community Programs Director, and Chad Parker, Larry Fleming and Shirley Stevenson from the program’s Washington, D.C. office.

Susan Jones, RN, manager of OB and ICU, and Gerry Trindade, Pharmacy Director, demonstrated the use of the Med-Dispense units for the visitors, who also toured the hospital and met various employees.