The KCH Blog

KCH Blog Post We now proudly offer a hospital outpatient pharmacy with retail pharmacy services, a specialty pharmacy, and home infusion services in Knox County. With the KCH Outpatient Pharmacy now open to the public and accepting transfers, we wanted to share a story about how dedicated we are to ensuring outpatients and the community have the medication they need. "Hello. My name is Patrick, and I wanted to share my recent experience with the team at Knox Specialty Pharmacy and how they helped me. I was experiencing uncontrolled body movements, diagnosed as Tardive Dyskinesia. Unfortunately, the first medication that I was prescribed caused me to have adverse side effects. In fact, my condition began to worsen over the next few months to the point that I was having terrible memory issues and was unable to communicate. My brother, who lives near Chicago, was doing his best to help manage my healthcare due to my deteriorating condition. In September, my doctor decided to try a...

KCH Blog Post Nurse Practitioners bring a comprehensive perspective and personal touch to health care. The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) defines nurse practitioners as clinicians who blend clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating health conditions, emphasizing disease prevention and health management. They must have a master's or doctoral with advanced clinical training. They work autonomously and in collaboration with physician colleagues. Nurse Practitioners can order and interpret diagnostic testing, diagnose and treat acute and chronic heart conditions, prescribe medications and other treatments, educate patients and their families on disease prevention, and make positive cardiovascular health and lifestyle choices. Each area of specialty care may utilize its advanced practice nurse differently. In Cardiology, we are privileged to work very closely with our amazing physician colleagues, Dr. Barry George, Dr. Gangaram Rasa, Dr. Robert Drake, and Dr. Ali...

KCH Blog Post Written by: Ashley Leutze MSPAS, PA-C Tiffany Hayter DMS, PA-C Daniel Cox MSPAS, PA-C   Information from  https://www.aapa.org/about/what-is-a-pa/ If you have received medical care through Knox Community Hospital, you may have encountered a PA (physician assistant/associate). Many of us may be at Knox, but we play an essential role. Patients have the right to choose their healthcare providers and fully understand who cares for them.   In the 1960s, physicians and the American Medical Association recognized that there was a shortage of primary care providers in America. Dr. Eugene Stead Jr. organized the first PA class consisting of 4 students who were Navy medical corpsmen in 1965. The first PAs graduated from Duke University in 1967, and thus, the PA profession was born. Becoming a PA is a long, rigorous path. A bachelor’s degree must first be completed, and then students must apply to a PA program. There are more than 304 PA programs in the country, and ...

KCH Blog Post Nurse practitioners (NP) have been part of Knox County’s medical landscape for nearly 25 years and nationally for even longer. Over the last decade, Knox Community Hospital has increasingly employed advanced practice nurses in a variety of clinical specialties and settings. You may encounter an NP in the emergency department or urgent care, in specialty care offices, while you are in the hospital, or you may see one routinely as your primary care provider. I am approaching 24 years of nursing practice, with nearly 10 of those years spent working in our community as an NP. Even still, I occasionally get questions about what I do, what my education is, what to call me, and, my personal favorite, when I will see the doctor. While these are never straight forward answers, I appreciate the opportunity to help educate my patients as to my professional practice and how I fit into their healthcare team. There are nurses with advanced degrees who do not hold the same licensure and...

  Role of an Advanced Provider The role and value of advanced practice providers in the medical field are often misunderstood. Advanced practice providers (APP’s) play a critical part in providing quality health care. At KCH, we employ more than 50 APP’s who work with the physician(s), typically a medical doctor (MD) or doctor of osteopathy (DO), and the nursing staff.  One of the myths about APP’s is that a physician supervises them. In fact, the relationship is more of a collaborative partnership in caring for the patient. “Each advanced provider is independently licensed, and we typically learn under a nursing model of care versus a medical model,” stated Kody Green, CNP. Both approaches are valid and important in health care.  “In partnership with the patient and the physician, we provide holistic care with a strong focus on building trust-based relationships,” said Kody. Another myth is that the advanced provider has a very limited menu of services they are ...