Starke County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a crash at the intersection of State Roads 8 and 23 that sent one person to the hospital via MedFlight. The wreck happened around 6 last evening. The officers found one person pinned in a vehicle, according to a sheriff’s department news release. Continue reading
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the staff at IU Health Starke Hospital is ready to assist those women 40 years of age and older in getting a mammogram.
Early detection is key, according to Josephine Klicek, director of imaging at the hospital. If you are underinsured or uninsured, you may be able to have that mammogram at no cost.
“Our ladies auxiliary at IU Health Starke Hospital has graciously given us a donation to provide some additional vouchers,” explained Klicek. “A voucher is for those who are uninsured or uninsured that meet income guidelines that maybe couldn’t have their mammogram. The great part about having that at Starke is that not only can we provide a free mammogram for you, which includes the radiologist’s fee, but also at Starke Hospital you do not need a doctor’s order to get your screening mammogram.”
A woman involved in a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Range Road and State Road 10 in Starke County on Monday morning died of massive blunt force trauma, according to St. Joseph County Deputy Coroner Chuck Hurleus.
The woman’s identity has not been released.
Emergency personnel were called to the scene shortly after 11 a.m. on Monday where Starke County Sheriff’s Deputies police found semi tanker on its side and on fire. A passenger car was located on the side of the roadway, according to the accident report. The driver of the passenger car was taken to South Bend Memorial Hospital where she later died of her injuries. The passenger of the vehicle and the semi driver were taken to IU Health Starke Hospital and later transferred to South Bend Memorial Hospital.
A semi vs. passenger car accident at the intersection of State Road 10 and Range Road just east of North Judson Monday morning resulted in fatal injuries.
Officers arrived at the scene shortly after 11 a.m. and found a semi tanker on its side engulfed in flames. The passenger car involved in the accident was located on the side of the roadway, according to the accident report. The driver was airlifted from the scene to South Bend Memorial Hospital where she later died of her injuries. The passenger and the semi driver were taken to IU Health Starke Hospital and later transferred to South Bend Memorial Hospital. Their medical conditions are unknown.
IU Health Starke and LaPorte Hospitals are in search of health care delivery partners to provide the best care possible to the residents they serve. IU Health Starke President Craig Felty says they’ve sent out requests for proposals and are keeping their options open.
“Our goal would really be to maintain a relationship with IU Health,” Felty said last week during an interview at WKVI. “We cherish that relationship, but we also just identify that over the years as health care has changed we need to look for somebody additional who might be able to help us meet that need.” Continue reading
IU Health officials are looking for a new strategic partner to serve the health care needs of Starke and LaPorte Counties. Leadership has decided that’s the best approach to create the strongest strategy going forward, according to a news release. IU Health LaPorte Hospital President and CEO G. Thor Thordarson said in a statement, “We have a strong plan for taking care of our community that includes investing in new facilities, best people, and leading-edge technology. We will work with an organization that is as dedicated as we are to this mission.”
The Starke County EMS base in North Judson will soon have a paramedic on duty around the clock. The county commissioners approved the expansion of Advanced Life Support, or ALS, service to that base immediately and to Grovertown starting Jan. 1. Knox already has 24-hour ALS coverage. Continue reading
School starts in a few weeks, and that has many parents scrambling to make sure their children’s immunizations are up to date. IU Health Starke Hospital Director of Patient Services Janet Gillon encourages them to take advantage of the services HealthLink has to offer. Adult patients who need a primary care provider can visit Dr. Nabil Abdo at Dr. Browne’s office. He also has a nurse practitioner on staff who can assist patients of all ages with their health care needs. A nurse practitioner is also available at HealthLinc. Visit http://iuhealth.org/starke/ for more information.
The Knox City Police Department is investigating the battery of a 14-year-old boy in Wythogan park on Monday night.
According to witness statements given to a Knox officer, a male juvenile had approached the victim in the park and struck him on the head. The victim fell and struck his head on the concrete walkway. The suspect, later identified as a Knox resident, was in a gold-colored passenger car with four other people that left the scene.
Today, we say a fond farewell to our mentor, colleague and friend, Ted Hayes. Over the years, Ted has served in many capacities at WKVI: general manager, news director, commercial producer and longtime on-air personality, forging many friendships throughout the Kankakee Valley and our listening area.
The pavilion and picnic benches at Sandy Acres Park got a fresh coat of paint, thanks to IU Health Starke Hospital associates and their families. President Craig Felty says they chose the site for their annual day of service. They worked with Knox Park Superintendent George Byer to figure out how to best use their time and talents. Associates tackled several projects. They painted picnic tables and the park pavilion, installed exercise equipment and spread mulch in the play areas. Felty says all of the IU Health associates enjoy getting out and giving time back to the community.
IU Health Starke Hospital associates will be getting out of the medical setting tomorrow to spruce up the community. President Craig Felty says all hospitals in the IU Health system take part in a community day of service. This year the local staff is installing fitness equipment and painting the pavilion at Sandy Acres Park on South Heaton Street in Knox. ”
“We want to be good neighbors. We want to engage the community, and we want to do what is best in order to help achieve our mission, which is to improve the health of our patients and our communities we are in,” Felty says.
Last year IU Health Starke Hospital associates did work at Wythogen Park in downtown Knox. Felty encourages community members to stop by and visit the IU Health Starke Hospital administrators and staff members at the park tomorrow.
IU Health Starke Hospital and Community Services of Starke County are hosting a free health fair this afternoon at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in downtown Knox. Hospital President Craig Felty encourages people to stop by and see what services are available locally.
“We will have several educational opportunities for people to come in. We’ll also be doing several different types of screenings, which is very important. It helps us to increase the wellness of patients and maybe prevent something or catch something before it gets out of hand. This is a great opportunity to come out, see what is offered at your local hospital, get some free screenings and get some good information about how to stay healthy,” Felty said. Continue reading
Students who take part in the Kindergarten Countdown program at Knox Elementary School this summer will each get a book of their own to take home every day of the three-week enrichment experience. IU Health Starke Hospital and the Knox Community School Corporation are joining forces for a community book drive. Knox Curriculum Director Peggy Shidaker says books should be appropriate for youngsters in the 4 to 5 years old age range. She says books like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, books from “Pete the Cat” series by Kimberly and James Dean and favorite like “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff are extremely popular. They all teach children sequencing and predicting, which are fundamental to brain development. Continue reading
Give Mom, or any special woman in your life the gift of peace of mind this Mother’s Day. Encourage them to take advantage of the discounted mammograms IU Health Starke Hospital is offering this month. Josephine Klicek is the director of diagnostic imaging. She says women can get their mammogram and reading for $95, and mo doctor’s order is needed if it’s just a screening test.
Women should get their first mammogram when they turn 40, unless they develop problems like a lump, redness or inflammation sooner. Also, if there is a family history of breast cancer, women are urged to get a mammogram 10 years before that woman was diagnosed. For instance, if the diagnosis was made at age 44, get a mammogram when you are 34. Continue reading
A Logansport woman faces numerous drug charges in Starke County following a traffic stop late last week by a LaPorte County Deputy and Indiana State Trooper on U.S. 35 near Hamlet. The deputy pulled Kelly A. Koranda, 36, of Logansport, over just south of Starke County Road 500 North on Thursday, April 24 for an unspecified traffic infraction. According to a news release sent this afternoon by the Indiana State Police, Koranda appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for blood and urine tests.A nurse there reportedly found several packets of heroin in Koranda’s underwear. Officers say she admitted eating 10 packets of the drug before being pulled over and hiding more in her underwear. They recovered 172 baggies of heroin weighing about 36 grams from Koranda. She was admitted to the hospital for observation. Officers arrested her there Sunday when she was released. She’s charged with felony dealing a narcotic drug, felony possession of a narcotic drug over 3 grams, felony maintaining a common nuisance and misdemeanor operating while intoxicated on a controlled substance. Koranda was taken to the Starke County Jail.
The Starke County Early Education Advisory Council invites families with young children to a preschool fair this evening from 5 until 7 at the community center in downtown Knox. More than 25 preschools and community organizations will have booths, and several will offer activities for children. Porter-Starke Director of Children’s Services Todd Willis says preschool is a good opportunity for children and parents to get used to being away from one another. He says one of the main causes of stress for young children is separating from their family, so getting them into an environment where they can learn to take turns and make peer relationships outside the family is extremely important.
“When I don’t learn as a young child how to resolve conflict with my peer, and I need to resort to throwing a temper tantrum or aggression, if those basic skills are not learned early, they follow the kid into adulthood. Really, the opportunity for a child in that 3 to 4 age learning that early is crucial,” Willis says. Continue reading
The Starke County Sheriff’s Department investigated two accidents on Sunday.
At 11:20 a.m., officers responded to a call of a vehicle in a water-filled ditch on State Road 8 and Range Road. The car landed on its roof in the ditch. The driver, Kaitlyn Vukelich of Schererville, and her four-year-old daughter were pulled from the vehicle by a passerby.
Staff members from IU Health Starke Hospital visited the WKVI studios on Friday morning and one topic that General Surgeon Dr. Mangalore J. Subbarao discussed was the importance of the colonoscopy.
Dr. Subbarao said you can prevent colon cancer by getting this procedure.
“Colonoscopies are very important to prevent the cancer of the colon,” said Dr. Subbarao. “Colon cancer develops with the little growth called a polyp. If you remove the polyp, you have no colon cancer. If you don’t remove the polyp, it grows into a big cancer and it spreads. Then only do you have some symptoms.”
IU Health Starke Hospital recently underwent a rigorous accreditation process. President Craig Felty says the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation’s findings are a nationally recognized symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to “They come in and they more or less go from top to bottom in your hospital,” Felty says. “They look at everything from the physical structure to our processes to our quality outcomes to how we credential and privilege our physicians. It’s a very thorough four-day survey that’s done every three years.”
The survey team comes in unannounced. Felty says the hospital staff has to be in a “state of constant readiness” for them. The Joint Commission team members spent four days at IU Health Starke Hospital, touring the building, tracking the progress of individual patients through the hospital and talking to cart and bedside care providers.
Felty says the Joint Commission’s report was overall very positive. “We had absolutely no findings in the actual patient care division, which was absolutely wonderful. We have an older facility, and so we do have challenges that come with that. A couple of our findings were related to the age of the facility and things that pop up here or there. The few findings that we had, we are very happy to say and very proud of the colleagues of Starke Hospital, or physician partners, who we could not do without. Physicians are a huge part of our organization. We are just very proud to say that we had a remarkable survey, one of the best surveys I’ve had in my 20-plus years of experience with the Joint Commission.”
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