Caribou Medical Center donates to the athletic program

At the most recent city council meeting, Caribou Medical Center presented $2000 to the Recreation Department’s Rec League program, which will be used to help run the program and defray costs.  The Medical Center is a community-centered facility, which means that one of its most important missions is to help support the surrounding area in as many ways as possible over the course of a year.  COO Dillon Liechty was raised in Soda Springs, and spent many happy years participating in the rec league programs.  He sees the donation as something he is happy to be able to facilitate.

“I played on those same field when I was a kid, and I know it’s an important thing for a lot of kids out there,” he says.  The CMC has been donating to the program for many years, but this year the City Council felt that it should be made more public than in the past.

Caribou Medical Center is a 501 c3 organization, and serves a “critical access” function, rather than a for-profit one.  

“We’re interwoven within the community,” Liechty says.  “We really want to be a part of what’s going on here, and we’re always open to these kinds of things that help to support the area and make people’s lives better here.”

Other than the rec department donation, which the Medical Center has been making on a yearly basis for almost the last decade, CMC has also contributed to many other projects across the county, including digital signs for schools, seating at sports venues, ice machines and water fountains, and more.  They are a level sponsor of the Soda Springs School District.

In addition to its outward facing outreach efforts, the Medical Center is working to promote its range of services which are available to Caribou County residents, some of which may not be on people’s radars.  In addition to the standard range of emergency services and specialists one expects to find at a Trauma IV hospital facility, the Medical Center also provides access to in-house chemotherapy, pain management, telehealth counseling, and many others.

The community health needs assessment conducted on behalf of the hospital found that the biggest needs in the community were in the areas of Pain Management, Chronic Disease Care, and Mental Health services.  The Medical Center has programs in place or on the way to directly add to its services in each of those areas, as well as others on the list.

Telehealth counseling has been a growing need, especially in the area of mental health and wellness.  CMC was actually a pilot program for the University of Utah’s telehealth program, and benefits from the fiber optic lines that allow for secure and fast internet connectivity.  The medical center has added a number of new providers in various departments, and continues to add more.  The Enterprise will try to keep the community apprised of new arrivals and services offered by CMC in the future.

One of the things Liechty would like to make sure the community is aware of right now, however, is that services which are provided by the Medical Center can be utilized in aftercare, even if an initial surgery or diagnosis was made at a different hospital.  One clear example is chemotherapy.  CMC itself has in-house screening services for cancer diagnoses, and a consulting oncologist for ongoing care, which many people might be aware of.  However, fewer people might be aware that CMC has a staff of certified chemotherapy nurses and an in-house mixing pharmacy, which means that ongoing chemotherapy treatment can be done right in Caribou County.  Oftentimes, hospitals where an original diagnosis is made will set up treatment schedules at their own facilities, regardless of where the patient may live.  For many patients, it is simply a matter of paperwork to have those ongoing services moved to the Medical Center.  Rather than driving to Logan or Pocatello for treatment, patients can instead schedule chemo sessions right in town, which ultimately puts a lot less strain on the whole process.

In addition to chemotherapy, CMC is also able to provide pain management services, orthopedics, sports medicine, OBGYN services including deliveries, Industrial screening, Prenatal classes, “swing beds” for acute and skilled nursing care, chronic disease management, mental health services, sleep studies, and much more.  CMC is a partner with Medicare and Medicaid programs, and takes most insurance.   

Dillon Liechty has been working at the Caribou Medical Center for around 8 years.  After growing up in Soda Springs and graudating from SSHS, Liechty went on to receive a degree in Political Science and an MBA in Human Resources.  After working for BP Oil for several years, Liechty was drawn home like so many others, and began his new career in hospital management and administration.

“I like this a lot better.  It’s great to be working in a place where you’re helping people in a way that is really significant and meaningful to them. Working in a community hospital makes you a part of something important,” he says.   

The hospital is expanding the kinds of technology and equipment it provides to its patients.  One amazing purchase is a “DaVinci robotic surgery armature,” which allows for precise surgery using a device to help facilitate delicate surgeries in ways that greatly reduce recovery times and surgical scars.  “At first, it looks like a science fiction thing,” Liechty says.  “But it’s an amazing surgical aid.”

A number of other technological innovations are in the future for the center, which is seeking every day to be as responsive to community needs as possible.

The Caribou Medical Center can be directly contacted at (208) 547-3341 for information about any of its services, or to schedule consultations.