As I write this article I am reflecting on the brief ceremony held on Wednesday, June 20 for the staff of the Oakes Community Hospital. We were joined, on the grounds of the hospital building on 8th Street, by the flag guard of the American Legion and Father Mathew of St. Charles Catholic Church. Father Mathew led the prayers and the veterans lowered the flag for the last time at the “old” hospital. We then went to the “new” hospital and the flag guard raised the flag on the new flag pole. The ceremony was very emotional for many people. There were the employees who had worked at the hospital for many, many years. In fact, I believe that Sister Dianna can remember moving into the hospital on 8th Street. Many have been with the hospital since their “early” years – even recollections of working as high school students. There were those who began their nursing careers at Oakes Community Hospital. I heard the people who talked about all their children being born in this building, and those that had said goodbye to both parents in this building. I personally remember stays in the Oakes Community Hospital in 1968 and in 2001. I have often told of the fact that after we moved to Oakes in the summer of 1990, all three of my children had been to the emergency room by Christmas!!
How fortunate we are in Oakes to have a facility to meet our needs and caring people to serve us. That will now happen in a new building just on the “north side of town”. The patients were moved to the new facility on June 19 and all is going well. Emergency services are being provided and surgical procedures will resume soon.
After the Building Dedication held on June 3, many of the tour guides had an opportunity to share their experiences in giving the tours. We heard so many positive comments about the state-of-the-art facility and such pride in the fact that the facility is in our community serving this rural area. We did have some interesting questions, too. I am going to share a few questions and answers in this column.
How many employees are there at the Oakes Community Hospital? According to Julie Entzminger, Human Resources, there are 100 employees of the OCH.
How many doctors on staff? There are 5 doctors and several Physician Assistants that serve the patients at OCH, and other doctors that come to OCH part-time to serve the patients. With the new facility and surgical suite, it is hoped that more physicians may consider coming to the OCH for surgical procedures.
Can patients listen to church services? At this time, we are not able to broadcast the Chapel Mass at OCH into private patient rooms. Patients will have access to radio and television to listen to worship services that are broadcast.
Why are some outlet covers red? Those particular outlet covers are powered by the generator in case of an emergency or power outage. Every medical room has at least one so that no services are lost.
How many bathrooms are there? How many doors are there in this building? I have done a count and this is my “approximate” answer. There is a male restroom and a female restroom in the entry of the building. There are 26 unisex bathrooms, including the ones in the patient rooms. There are six double door entrances and three single door entrances to the building. There are 18 double doors for electrical and housekeeping closets. I counted 73 single doors, including the nurse server doors and the patient closets. Remember this is an approximate number!!
As Director of the Oakes Community Foundation, I will continue to seek and raise funds for the new facility. There is landscaping to be done; and plans that may include a healing garden in the future. We will be finalizing plans for the donor wall that will be unveiled sometime in the fall. If you would like to be included on the donor wall for this awesome facility, you may reach me at the Foundation Office through the Oakes Community Hospital at 701-742-3291.
