Blog

In her job as a Medical Assistant at LVMC: Physician Services, Patricia Martinez sees her patients as more than a number or diagnosis on a chart. For the past five years, she’s developed relationships with people coming to receive medical care, watching their children grow up and learning about their lives.

As a physical therapist for 30 years, I have heard it all: from, ”I’m too tired to exercise” to “I’m too old to exercise” to “Exercise is for young people,” and more. These excuses are just that -- excuses.

For several weeks this spring, the hard-working Certified Nursing Assistants at the Comprehensive Care Center were followed just about everywhere they went.

In the halls of the Comprehensive Care Center, applause and cheers started breaking out as Sheila Holley cruised by with her walker. “Sheila! Look at you!” came the calls and recognition.

Environmental Services Director Deanna Hall has a saying that exemplifies the direction she gives her staff: “Cleanliness matters.”

Mary Fahning is no stranger to broken bones and keeping an active lifestyle. A year ago, the Lompoc resident broke her foot and hiked 150 miles with the injury until she could get to a doctor.

Anabel Quintanar has been nationally recognized for excellence in nursing by the Veterans Health Administration. It is the highest award for nursing in the VA system and comes after a rigorous review process.

When I arrived at LVMC in 1980, the primary referral hospital for services not provided locally was, and continues to be, Cottage Health. Our respective administrative and medical staffs have worked closely over the past two decades to develop a professional relationship based on trust and mutual respect. Two recent examples are the collaboration LVMC has with Cottage Health to provide immediate access to neurology consults, via tele-neurology, which is a necessary and critical component of LVMC’s stroke program and our acute heart attack program (called STEMI) which enables us to quickly transport patients needing cardiac catheterization to Cottage Health.

Ricky Ruiz likes to be in the middle of emergencies — and as an EKG Technician in LVMC’s Cardiopulmonary Department he gets that chance. As an EKG technician, he works in every clinical department, spending most of his time in the Emergency Department.

As children begin a new school year, healthcare professionals are joining in the national effort to promote National Immunization Awareness Month in August. August is usually a good time for this reminder, as parents of school-age children must ensure vaccinations are up-to-date for a specific age or grade.

Are you the kind of homeowner who goes all-out at Christmas? Do Santas hang from every corner, and decorations abound as your home is transformed into a winter wonderland?

Watching over the merchandise in the LVMC Gift Shop, Lola Day feels right at home. For more than three decades, the personable Lompoc Hospital Auxiliary volunteer has been a presence of some sort or another at both the old hospital and LVMC.

Dr. Mohammad Bakir has lived in New York for the past three years, completing his medical residency at a Brooklyn hospital.

Lompoc Valley Medical Center: Comprehensive Care Center has been awarded a 5-Star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The CMS ratings range from 1 to 5 stars and are based on quality measures, health inspections and staffing. Nursing homes with 5-Star ratings are considered to be significantly above average in quality.

Certified Nursing Assistant Danielle Rushing had a job in Lompoc working with the elderly, but it just didn’t seem like the right fit for her. “I wanted to work somewhere I could enjoy,” she said.