![\"mtmclighting\"](\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/MTMCLighting.jpg\")
\nEd Gonzales, Director of Facilities\/Support Services and Development at MTMC, is pictured with Certified
\nSurgical Services Management Director Lynn Bartel, RN, BSN. They play key roles at the hospital.<\/p>\n
San Andreas, CA…December 1, 2016- Mark Twain Medical Center (MTMC) adds a special glow to the recent lighting upgrade in its surgery suites with a $300,000-plus cost savings to the completed project. \u201cThis project creates a more comfortable environment for our patients and our surgeons,\u201d says Certified Surgical Services Management Director Lynn Bartel, RN, BSN. She explains, \u201cAn operating room usually seems very cool to patients because it must be no more than 68 degrees to keep things sterile. But once the overhead lights go on, surgeons are working in 80 to 90 degrees at the site of the surgery due to the heat from the bright lights. That can quickly increase to 100-plus degrees depending upon what surgery-specific garments are required.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nEd Gonzales, Director of Facilities\/Support Services and Development at MTMC, is pictured with Certified
\nSurgical Services Management Director Lynn Bartel, RN, BSN. They play key roles at the hospital.<\/p>\n
Edward Gonzales, who took over as Director of Facilities\/Support Services and Development at MTMC in
\nJanuary 2016, notes LED bulbs in the upgraded lighting system create and maintain a consistent temperature.
\nHe explains lighting improvement for the hospital\u2019s two surgery suites had been proposed for years \u2013 but the
\ncost was prohibitive. Original structural improvements were bid at around $337,000.<\/p>\n
Gonzales has leveraged his years of experience and contacts as a facilities manager for major health systems
\nto make the lighting upgrade for around $37,000 \u2013 by replacing only part of the whole system. His career
\nspans 35 years in health care facilities management.<\/p>\n
He came to MTMC from Alameda Health System and was with Kaiser Permanente for seven years, assisting
\nin implementing various systems program and processes in direct correlation with the support services
\ninfrastructure at the new Modesto facility which opened in 2008. Gonzales and his wife moved to Twain
\nHarte almost four years ago; they have two daughters and a grandson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took a different approach to the lighting project here,\u201d he explains, \u201clooking at it as a retrofit rather than
\nnew construction. That greatly reduced the cost of the overall project. The simplified project uses existing
\nceiling booms to support new arms holding the energy-efficient LED light array. And, we have the added
\nbonus of up to 70 percent in energy savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking it from new construction to a retrofit also saved a lot of time,\u201d Gonzales adds. \u201cThe Office for
\nStatewide Health Planning and Development has a lengthy process for approving hospital construction and
\nremodeling projects \u2013 but a retrofit is signed off with a field review once it is completed.\u201d The MTMC project
\nwas completed and approved November 4th.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are just a few of the ways we continue implementing state-of-the-art equipment and new procedures to
\ncreate a safe, comfortable environment for surgery patients at MTMC.\u201d says Bartel.<\/p>\n
Her nursing career spans nearly four decades in hospitals across the U.S. Her expertise as an Operating Room
\nnurse (RN, BSN) has helped elevate patient satisfaction and staff morale at MTMC. A recent patient
\nsatisfaction survey reflects her success.
\nBartel began fine-tuning MTMC procedures when she took over as Certified Surgical Services Management
\nDirector two years ago. She is originally from Tennessee, moved to California in 2011 and was with a Sonora
\nhospital before joining the MTMC team.<\/p>\n
Her administrative duties never overshadow her love of nursing as she oversees a staff of 25 including nurses,
\nsurgical technicians and sterile processing technicians. \u201cWe are growing our own nurses here at MTMC\u201d she
\nsays proudly. \u201cWe make sure young people get to know the medical profession. So often these days high
\nschool kids have a computer\/social media focus. We show them how interacting with people can be so much
\nmore rewarding. It works \u2013 there are now students in nursing and medical schools who started in ROP with
\nus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI love OR nursing,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe are constantly improving procedures and equipment to provide a safe
\nenvironment for the most vulnerable time a person can experience. All the nurses here feel the same. We take
\nextra care to make sure everything is done perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the 38 years I have seen as a nurse many changes have been made to improve patient care and safety.
\nMark Twain Medical Center is pushing boundaries and creating the best for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her latest implementation is a Nutritional Prep Kit \u2013 a high carbohydrate drink designed to help patients
\nrecover faster. \u201cThe patient drinks 12 ounces the night before surgery,\u201d Bartel explains. \u201cThen, six more
\nounces is taken two hours before surgery. It helps to keep a normal blood sugar level, keeps the patient
\nhydrated \u2013 and avoids the starving sensation most patients experience when fasting before a procedure.\u201d
\nShe notes, \u201cPhysicians provide patients with the kit, which includes a medicated soap. They shower with it the
\nnight before their procedure and we follow up using the same soap in pre-op and in the OR.\u201d The kit which
\nBartel originated at MTMC over a year ago has been very successful and Dignity Health has made this a
\nstandard procedure at all facilities.<\/p>\n
Bartel balances her busy career with an active family life. She has three grown children, two step sons, six
\ngrandchildren and one great-grandchild. She and her husband Dave live in the town of Moccasin in Tuolumne
\nCounty where he has worked 20 years for the City and County of San Francisco Hetch Hetchy Power and
\nWater facility.<\/p>\n
About Mark Twain Medical Center
\nFounded in 1951, Mark Twain Medical Center is a 25-bed, critical access hospital providing inpatient
\nacute care, outpatient services and emergency services. The Medical Center\u2019s Medical Staff represents a
\nbroad range of specialties that ensure access to high quality medical care in a rural community. In
\naddition to being a major provider of health services, Mark Twain Medical Center is also one of the area\u2019s
\nlargest employers. More than 300 people are employed at the hospital and its five Family Medical
\nCenters. The Medical Center is a member of Dignity Health, the fifth largest not-for-profit healthcare
\nsystem in the nation. For more information, please visit our website at www.marktwainmedicalcenter.org.
\nMark Twain Medical Center is also on Facebook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
San Andreas, CA…December 1, 2016- Mark Twain Medical Center (MTMC) adds a special glow to the recent lighting upgrade in its surgery suites with a $300,000-plus cost savings to the completed project. \u201cThis project creates a more comfortable environment for our patients and our surgeons,\u201d says Certified Surgical Services Management Director Lynn Bartel, RN, BSN. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,3,20,33,4,1,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertising","category-business","category-featured","category-health-fitness","category-life-style","category-news","category-san-andreas","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/MTMCLighting.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}