Whatever virtues propelled Harry Lee to the chairmanship of the Allen County Regional Hospital Board of Trustees, supreme physical balance probably wasn’t one of them. Turns out, though, he’s got it — a fact that was demonstrated empirically Tuesday night.
Trustees began their monthly meeting with a short commute to the hospital’s rehabilitation unit, where its director, Ben Taylor, stayed late to demonstrate a recent piece of equipment. The Biodex Balance System, while simple in appearance — it resembles an overgrown Segway scooter with an attached touch-screen control — actually combines a number of sophisticated features that allows the hospital to (1) test individuals suspected of having balance problems and (2) treat those who most assuredly do.
“Rather than just talk about it,” said Taylor, “it’s easier if I have a volunteer.” With that, Lee mounted the Biodex’s platform, a large platter-sized disc that can be adjusted for maximum wobbliness, and awaited Taylor’s instruction.
According to Taylor, the Biodex is currently used mostly for an older population but its capabilities include a broader potential. The level of difficulty can be adjusted from “very easy to very challenging,” from a simple “fall-risk assessment” to an “athletic single-leg stance” test. Its applications, said Taylor, are meant to accommodate everyone from the 80-year-old victim of a stroke to the 19-year-old college athlete with a sprained ankle.
Watching the screen before him, Lee’s task was to guide a tiny digital dot into the center of a bull’s-eye, and keep it there, using only the subtle adjustments of his body weight. As the exercise progressed, the platform assumed a new and precarious wiggle.
The machine records and saves the data, which allows the hospital not only to draw longitudinal conclusions about the success of a particular patient’s rehabilitation but to compare those findings with similar patients in his or her age-category.
The machine, purchased by the ACRH Auxiliary, includes a menu of different exercises — not just the digital ball game — that Taylor and his staff will select in accord with the need of the patient.
At the end of Tuesday night’s demonstration, Taylor printed out his subject’s results, which showed that Lee had the balance of a man many decades his junior.
“He passed with flying colors,” said Taylor. “I knew he would.”
THE HOSPITAL’S executive director, Tony Thompson, updated the board on the increasing number of specialists bringing their expertise to ACRH. Recent examples include Dr. David Dowell (surgical podiatry) and Dr. Jacqueline Youtsos (dermatology). There is some evidence, said Thompson, that the investment in a broader medical services menu is helping ACRH attract patients who previously would have taken their needs elsewhere. In that spirit, continued Thompson, the hospital is “stepping up” its search for an additional OB/GYN, and is on the lookout, too, for a visiting endocrinologist (glands).
Thompson briefed the board on the upcoming clinic in Humboldt. A ribbon-cutting and reception will take place Nov. 21 (exact time pending).
Finally, nursing director Patty McGuffin relayed the cheery news that the composite scores for the hospital’s “quality assurance” reports — which measure nurses’ and doctors’ responsiveness, facility cleanliness, pain management, discharge instructions, etc. — show ACRH with an average ranking that beats both the state and national averages. “These numbers speak very well of our medical professionals,” said Lee.
