CHI Health St. Francis

The ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® is the highest credential a healthcare organization can achieve. A Magnet designation indicates to patients and the public that these organizations have met the most stringent, evidence-based standards of nursing excellence in patient care delivery.

CHI Health St. Francis was designated as a Magnet organization in 2020 by the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® and they are now applying for redesignation.

We invite patients, family members, staff, and other interested parties to provide feedback via email or direct mail.

• All comments must be submitted by March 14, 2025.
• Anonymous comments should be sent in writing to the Magnet Program Office.
• Please note that ALL COMMENTS WILL BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL and will not be shared with the organization.

Send Comments to:

American Nurses Association
Magnet Recognition Program Office
Attn: Katie Little
8403 Colesville Road., Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910

E-Mail Comments to:

[email protected]

Why is Magnet important?

Magnet recognition acknowledges the invaluable contributions of nurses in all healthcare settings and among all populations worldwide. It is a results-driven recognition that fosters nurse engagement and the role nurses play as interprofessional team members to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

St. Francis Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center

The St. Francis Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center (ADTC) offers residential and outpatient treatment services for substance use disorders.

Experience expert heart care that’s in rhythm with you. Our local heart experts at CHI Health Clinic in Grand Island and Hastings have been caring for the community for more than 20 years and have 70+ years of combined experience, advanced knowledge and techniques to keep your heart in tune. We’re proud to live and work in the community, and continue to serve our friends and neighbors in Central Nebraska with 24/7 in-person care.

A sophisticated range of cardiology services is also available nearby at CHI Health St. Francis in Grand Island, should you need it for:

• Managing serious conditions such as chronic heart failure
• Treating heart emergencies at our brand new, state-of-the art, 24/7 Cath Lab
• Recovering from heart illness and improving your health with Cardiac Rehabilitation 

A benefit of being part of CHI Health is easy access to the advanced care and services of our extended team, including:

• LAAC (left atrial appendage closure) Devices
• Electrophysiology
• Vascular and Cardiothoracic Surgery

We also offer the online convenience of one consistent medical record system, MyChart, so all of your information is one place for managing your health care. 

Our local specialized services include:

Aquapheresis

St. Francis was one of the first hospitals in Central Nebraska to utilize Aquapheresis™ Therapy, also known as ultrafiltration therapy, which is designed to safely and effectively remove excess salt and water from the bodies of patients who are suffering from fluid overload due to heart failure.

A low salt diet, fluid restriction or other therapies can help patients reduce fluid – such as a water pill, or diuretic, given orally or intravenously. However, these treatments do not always work effectively, resulting in a need for alternative therapy – such as Aquapheresis™.

Heart Failure

One in five adults over the age of 40 will develop heart failure. Early diagnosis, treatment and lifestyle improvements can help people with heart failure enjoy longer, more fulfilling lives. Our comprehensive heart failure program and team of experts offer highly specialized, proven treatments to help those with heart failure get back to the life they love.

St. Francis is pleased to provide superior heart and vascular care through a partnership with CHI Health Nebraska Heart, which has been ranked as a top cardiac hospital in Nebraska. The same cardiovascular physicians from Nebraska Heart also practice at St. Francis. This partnership allows us to provide you with a high level of specialization in the fast-advancing field of cardiology.

Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation

If you’re dealing with a heart or lung condition, you may need to make lifestyle changes that can seem overwhelming. Our cardiac and pulmonary rehab staff is here to help you make the changes needed to become healthier.

Our cardiac rehab staff includes nurses with special training in caring for patients who have heart and lung problems. What they do best is make everyone feel welcome every time they walk through the door. Our nurses will teach you, encourage you, and support you on your path to wellness, so you can achieve:

• Improved physical fitness and ability to exercise
• Better knowledge of heart and lung disease
• Increased independence and quality of life
• Understanding of a heart-healthy lifestyle and decrease the risk of future heart problems

State-of-the-Art 24/7 Cath Lab

The all-new Cardiac and Vascular Catheterization Lab at St. Francis (opened in March of 2022) is on the leading edge of heart care. In addition to heart attack care, the new Cath Lab accommodates routine and diagnostic cardiac procedures, such as:

• Heart catheterizations
• Angioplasty
• Implanted pacemaker device
• Vascular Procedures

Vascular Surgery

Your vascular system is a complex expressway of veins and arteries. Vascular surgery may be needed when blocked or hardened arteries lead to vascular disease. CHI Health’s vascular program offers a range of preventive screenings and vascular surgery options with providers who are experienced in vascular procedures.

CHI Health St. Francis is proud to offer 3D mammography which is proven to find cancers (specifically early stage cancers) at a higher rate.

If joint pain is keeping you from participating in activities you enjoy, hip or knee replacement has the potential to restore your independence and quality of life.

The St. Francis Joint Replacement Center gives you access to first-class care close to home. You can remain near family and they can easily be involved in your care. Recovery is often quicker than you might expect. Most of our joint replacement patients are able to walk the day of surgery.

Free Joint Pain Seminar

Learn more about treatment options at a FREE seminar led by joint replacement coordinator Natalie Chavez, BSN, RN, CMSRN on the second Tuesday of each month at CHI Health St. Francis. Please call if you have any questions.

Please note that masks are required and we are taking precautions with seating and attendance to ensure proper social distancing.  Sessions take place in Conference Room 6A/B.

For questions, please call (308) 365-2208.

The Joint Camp Difference

One of the greatest features of the St. Francis Joint Replacement Center is Joint Camp. This program allows joint replacement patients to share the experience with other “campers”—everything from preoperative education to postoperative rehabilitation. The campers encourage each other to reach goals and celebrate achievements together.

Our Joint Camp participants select coaches to help them through recovery. The coach can be a friend or family member who learns about joint replacement and recovery right along with the camper. This knowledge is especially helpful once patients get home and need help with everyday activities such as getting dressed and preparing meals for the first couple of weeks.

Anterior Hip Replacement

Get back to the things you love. This new approach offers patients less pain and a faster recovery.

Amenities

The inpatient tower at St. Francis was designed to be a relaxing, healing environment. While at the Joint Replacement Center, you’ll stay in a private room with ample space for family and visitors.

The Nebraska Room is a bright cheery space where patients participate in group physical therapy.

Pain Control

Managing your pain is always at the forefront of our care. Although we can’t eliminate all pain, we do all we can to manage discomfort so you can tolerate the activities that will get you mobile and active again.

Before surgery, anesthesia providers will discuss your options for pain management. They will listen to your expectations and work with you to devise a plan that suits your needs.

Our anesthesiologists offer regional or general anesthesia.

We know every patient has individual pain management needs. A patient’s pain control is closely monitored after surgery by specially trained nurses.

At CHI Health Clinic St. Francis, we can provide you and your family with quality primary care.

• See our Family Medicine Location
• See our Internal Medicine Location

Same-Day Appointments

When you need care and tomorrow isn’t soon enough make a same-day appointment. Our experienced primary care physicians and staff are committed to providing care to patients of all ages — babies to seniors — even on short notice. Call the clinic to schedule. 

COVID-19 Testing and Vaccinations

We do provide COVID-19 testing and vaccinations for all approved ages (Pfizer vaccine brand). Appointments are required. To schedule call our office, or you can schedule a drive-up test via CHI Health Virtual Quick Care. 

The events that bring patients to rehabilitation at St. Francis change their lives forever. Because each person is unique, our team individualizes every patient’s care. We understand that each patient has individual needs and will progress at a different pace. Each patient’s treatment plan is different and designed to help that person improve all that they can to resume functional daily living.

With our warm, inviting atmosphere, inpatient rehabilitation at St. Francis is the best place for you to recover from an illness or injury. Best of all, St. Francis is close to home, allowing you to benefit from the support of your friends and family.

Located on the sixth floor of the Inpatient Tower, the 10-bed inpatient rehabilitation area offers care that focuses on improving a patient’s mobility and independence through physical, occupational, and speech therapies. St. Francis sees patients dealing with the physical effects of stroke, fractures, arthritis, cardiac surgery, or neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.

Inpatient rehabilitation provides patients experiencing functional difficulties as the result of health problems with an opportunity to focus their energy on recovery. There are several benefits of inpatient rehabilitation at St. Francis:

• Access to licensed physical, occupational, and speech therapists
• 24-hour nursing care
• Home-like apartment setting to practice activities of daily living
• Home evaluation for safety and physical challenges
• Care from an interdisciplinary team of professionals working together to maximize recovery and individual gains
• Weekly team conferences
• Patient and family training
• On-site pre-admission screening
• Admission from hospital, home, or other facility

We’re happy to discuss our services and philosophy as well as arrange a tour of the inpatient rehabilitation area at St. Francis. Please call us at (308) 398-5770.

Rehabilitation greatly benefits patients who experience:

• Limitations in self-care
• Impaired mobility, balance, and coordination
• Limitations in joint strength and motion
• Changes in memory, thought processing, reasoning, and rational thinking
• Speech and communication problems
• Swallowing disorders

These functional difficulties may be the result of stroke, hip fractures, some forms of arthritis, amputations, neurological disorders (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, muscular dystrophy), major multiple trauma, spinal cord injury and brain injury.

If you believe you may benefit from inpatient rehabilitation services, please call us at (308) 398-5770. A member of our staff will perform a screening at no charge. If it’s determined that inpatient rehabilitation is not appropriate, we can discuss other alternatives and resources.

The Care Team

We take an interdisciplinary approach to patient care. This means that everyone on our treatment team works together to ensure you receive the best care and that we maximize your recovery. Your team can include, but is not limited to:

• Physicians
• Rehabilitation nurses
• Physical therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech/language pathologists
• Social worker or case manager
• Dietitian
• Patient care assistants
• You and your family

Other special services such as psychology and prosthesis training are available based on the needs of the patient. Spiritual care is available through our pastoral services department or local clergy members.

A stroke is brain damage caused by a blocked or bleeding artery in the brain. The American Stroke Association estimates that nearly 800,000 people will suffer a new or recurrent stroke this year.  

Stroke Treatment

Time is brain. See our Neurological Institute section for how strokes are treated and why minutes matter.

Best Outcomes

The CHI Health St. Francis Stroke Center has received national certification as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission. This means that we provide quality care to meet the unique and specialized needs of stroke patients.

We provide rapid response in diagnosing and treating stroke patients. Our highly-specialized team collaborates at all stages of treatment using the most advanced research and technology.

CHI Health St. Francis received the 2023 Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke GOLD PLUS with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.

Multidisciplinary Team

At St. Francis, our medical team consists of physicians and medical specialists from neurology, internal medicine, emergency medicine, critical care, as well as respiratory, physical, occupational and speech therapists.  

The director of the Stroke Center is Dr. Adeolu Morowa, a Board Certified Neurologist. For more information, contact our St. Francis Stroke coordinator at (308) 398-5896.

What Sets Us Apart

We are committed to ensuring that no matter what CHI Health Hospital you go to, we can ensure you will receive the highest level of care. Our system of care allows us to utilize resources to help ensure quality care throughout all campuses. See all of our hospital locations below.

We have developed a One-Call Transfer Center at CHI Health which helps if you need specialty care that is not available in your exact location, we get you transferred quickly and efficiently to a CHI Health Hospital that can manage your care.

Expert women’s care now in Grand Island! We have added Women’s Health providers who will listen closely and address your health concerns. With routine exams to pregnancy care to menopause management and more, we are committed to caring for women – in every stage of life.

Now Offering Midwifery

New arrivals are a team effort. We have the resources, now including midwifery, that you need to have the moment you've been dreaming of. Our comprehensive team includes an expert L&D team at CHI Health St. Francis and 24/7 NNP coverage in the NICU.

Mother's Milk Depot

Our clinic is also a collection site for mothers interested in donating breast milk. We have partnered with the Mother's Milk Bank of Colorado to offer mothers the opportunity to make a difference in babies' lives. For more information please read our brochure. If you are interested in donating milk, contact the clinic at (308) 398-9393 for eligibility requirements.

Comprehensive outpatient wound treatment for acute and chronic wounds, ostomy and continence care.

Conditions

• Ulcers due to pressure, diabetes, neuropathy, or non-healing surgical wounds
• Vasculitis, Panniculitis, and Cellulitis
• Minor burns
• Soft tissue radionecrosis (radiation burns), compromised skin grafts, and flaps
• Traumatic wounds
• Lower extremity ulcerations
• Problematic fistulas or drain tubes
• Ostomy and peristomal skin care
• Incontinence and Incontinent skin care

ABI/TBI testing

Treatments

• Screening
• Negative pressure wound therapy
• Topical antimicrobial therapy
• Compression therapy
• Grafts
• Sharp, mechanical, chemical and autolytic debridement as well as low-frequency ultrasonic mist therapy/debridement

Specialists

Our clinic/team includes an APRN certified in advanced practice wound care, two registered nurses certified in wound care, and an APRN that is certified in wound, ostomy, and continence. Our team specializes in all wound types as well as in ostomy care.

Lacey Heikes, APRN, APCWCN

Suellen Bruguera, APRN, CWOCN

If you or anyone you know may be in need of our services please contact us where you will be able to talk to one of our nurses and discuss your needs and make an appointment.