Mosaic General Surgery

With the effects of 2020 still being felt around our state and the nation, this Nurses Week seems more needed than ever. Without the continued effort of our nurses, the impact of COVID-19 in our area would be unthinkable. Happy Nurses Week to all of our nursing staff! Feel free to shout out a nurse you know down below!

Chief Medical Officer and President of Mosaic Life Care at St. Joseph, Medical Center, Davin Turner, DO, had the ride of his life Thursday evening when he flew with the Air Force Thunderbirds as part of their Hometown Hero program honoring deserving local citizens during air shows. We thank the Thunderbirds and the 139th Airlift Wing for making this possible!

We are LIVE at the Sound of Speed Airshow to discuss this weekend’s activities!

We love that we have this type of community support! Thank you so much!

April 15, 2021, marks the first day since March 28, 2020, that the Mosaic Life Care health system had no COVID-19 positive inpatients. Mosaic CEO Mark Laney, MD, made the announcement to caregivers, patients and visitors thanking caregivers for their outstanding efforts.

Monday was a day of continued hope for our service area. Monday morning, the first St. Joseph community COVID-19 vaccine was administered to Tim Ramsey, an organ transplant recipient. The vaccine is the hope for a brighter tomorrow, says Tim. I know it sounds cliche, but I’m ready to get back to normal. It’s a big relief. Others joined him in receiving the vaccine. Stay tuned for further updates on the community vaccination efforts.

Thanks to all the eligible individuals who have signed up to receive the vaccination. Not surprisingly, we’ve had an overwhelming response. More than 2,500 have... signed up. As we work through the list of names already submitted, we are pausing our current sign up process via the Nodaway County Health Department. We are doing so to focus on getting those already on the list scheduled to receive their vaccine, while we also closely monitor the allotment coming from the state. Rest assured our goal is simple: to get vaccines in arms as fast as possible. However, the current demand for vaccines is greater than the current supply available. Please stay tuned to local media outlets for more details or follow along on our social media pages for timely updates. See more

It's usually the hard things that remind us of why we do what we do

Dr. Kammerer helps to explain why it is important to receive both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, if you choose to vaccinate when it has become available to the general public.

At this time, all 1500 additional appointments for the community COVID-19 vaccine clinic are FULL. If appointment slots open, we will share availability on social. We are working on a process to announce open slots at the same time each week to make it easier for you to book appointments when they are available. Please be patient with us as this is an ever-changing situation and we are doing our best to open slots as fast as we can with limited vaccine availability. For now, please continue to check our posts for the latest information. Please do not call the hospital, clinics or the Community Nurse Line for appointment information. All appointments and cancelations for St. Joseph are to be done online at myMLC.com/vaccine.

Over the past few weeks, other countries have reported mutations of COVID-19. To date, there is only one reported case of a COVID-19 mutation in the United States. Many have asked, will this COVID-19 vaccine be effective against other mutations of the COVID-19 virus?

More vaccine has arrived! 1500 additional appointments for eligible individuals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine are now open in St. Joseph. We received confirmation from the State of Missouri of enough vaccine to open additional appointments this week and next. Individuals in Phase 1A and 1B Tiers 1 and 2 are eligible for vaccination based on the state’s phased approach. Eligible individuals in Phase 1B Tiers 1 and 2 include: * Anyone 65 years of age or older * Any adult...s with one or more of the following conditions - cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, heart conditions, weakened immune system due to organ transplant, severe obesity (BMI greater than 40), pregnancy, sickle cell disease, Type 2 diabetes mellitus or individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities such as down syndrome. Additional appointments include: 150 appointments for Wednesday, January 27 150 appointments for Thursday, January 28 200 appointments for Friday, January 29 250 appointments per day Monday, February 1 Thursday, February 4 To schedule an appointment in St. Joseph, visit www.myMLC.com/vaccine. Please do not call the hospital, clinics or the Community Nurse Line for appointment information. All appointments and cancelations for St. Joseph are to be done online at www.myMLC.com/vaccine. We will continue to open appointments as we receive confirmation from the state, please be patient with us as we work to roll things out as quickly and efficiently as we can. Remember, in order for the vaccine to be as effective as possible, individuals must receive both doses when scheduling your appointment, make sure you are available to receive your second dose 21-28 days after your first. For a full list of the State of Missouri’s phased approach to vaccinating the state, please visit www.mostopscovid.com.

Vaccine registrations are FULL at this time! Stay tuned for further registration updates. Please do not call the medical center or your primary care provider to schedule your vaccination. The only place to register is www.mymlc.com/vaccine.

With Mosaic recently vaccinating more than 2,000 caregivers, many wonder will we soon be able to remove mask mandates and relax social distancing measures? Mosaic’s Chief Quality Officer Ed Kammerer, MD, gives an update on when herd immunity could take effect in our communities, discusses the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, and more.

I’m doing my part to get things back to normal. I miss my family, my friends, celebrations and vacations. I trust medicine and I’m excited that this vaccine brings hope that we can get back to the things we love. Aryn, RN, is on the frontlines daily and didn’t hesitate when the opportunity came to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.