Love Leash - KentuckyOne Health

Transcription

kentuckyone health
Love
on a
Leash
Spring/Summer 2012
Vol. 1 Issue 1
Therapy dogs give hope
to cancer patients
Pedal to the metal
salvaging Surplus
Supplies
No One Dies Alone
was born
“He
to do this.”
Janie Fergus,
Ke
nt W
uc el
c
se ky
o
e
in
O m
si
d
ne e
e
fo
to
r
d
et H
a
ils e
al
th
!
Information Technology
(about her dog, Ned)
Letter from the CEO
Common Thread is published quarterly by the
communications and marketing departments of
KentuckyOne Health for employees and their families.
Contact Us
KentuckyOneEmployees.org
859.313.1845
Over the past several weeks, I have
traveled to many corners of this
wonderful state, and have witnessed first
hand the innovative and compassionate
care that we are delivering to our
patients every day.
I am incredibly honored and excited
to lead the Commonwealth’s newest and
largest health care system, KentuckyOne
Health. The care that each of you provide on behalf of the faith-based
organizations that created our new system is both inspiring and
motivating to me personally as we build a new model for delivering care
and improving the health of Kentuckians.
We have a tremendous amount of work to do in the months ahead.
There are opportunities for us to learn from each other and share best
practices across the state. Whether in a rural or urban community, we
have expert caregivers who are setting the standard for innovation
in quality and patient-centered care. Together, we will share and
implement these standards across our organization so that KentuckyOne
Health is recognized as the health organization for the Commonwealth.
Those of you who joined KentuckyOne from the previous Saint Joseph
Health System are familiar with this magazine, Common Thread. Now
in its fourth year of publication, I am pleased to introduce an all-new
edition of the magazine, the first as a statewide version for KentuckyOne
Health. Common Thread is a wonderful reflection of our legacy, purpose,
mission and culture, with stories about the amazing commitment and
outreach that our employees provide every day, inside the walls of
KentuckyOne’s facilities and in the communities that we serve.
With nearly 200 locations across Kentucky and more than 13,000
employees, this magazine gives us the opportunity to meet and get to
know our co-workers in other parts of the state when we may not have
the opportunity to meet them in person.
I look forward to meeting many more of you in person as we expand
services to reach more people who need us. To restate the message in our
current advertising, “When you’re known for delivering the best care, the
only way to make it better, is to invest in ways to reach more people.”
Better care is truly here.
Ruth Brinkley, FACHE
CEO
Publisher
KentuckyOne Health
Executive Editors
Jeff Murphy
Jeff Polson
Editor
Kara Fitzgerald
Art Director
Liz Sword
Graphic Designer
Laura Doolittle (Provations Group)
Contributing Writers
Alice Bridges
Kym Russell
Phyllis Shaikun
Kathie Stamps
Amy Taylor
Tanya J. Tyler
Photographers
John Flavell
Nina Mullins
Wes Mullins
Shaun Ring
Lee Thomas
Tim Webb
Feather Whimsy Photography
KentuckyOne Leadership
Ruth Brinkley, FACHE, CEO
Bev Weber, RN, COO
Gary Ermers, Interim Chief Financial Officer
Matt Gibson, Interim Chief Strategy and Business
Development Officer
Sharon Hager, VP of Legal Operations (CHI)
Betsy Hall, Division Corporate Responsibility Officer
Tanja Oquendo, Chief Human Resources Officer
Dan Varga, MD, Chief Physician Executive
KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to protecting and preserving
the environment. Common Thread is printed on a Forest
Stewardship Council™ (FSC®) Certified Paper. The FSC
promotes responsible forest management by ensuring certified
products come from forests that are managed properly and are
not depleted.
Spring/Summer 2012
Contents
features
15
Love on a Leash
Therapy dogs help
patients heal at Saint
Joseph Cancer Center.
12 Pedal to the Metal
Full-speed effort wins Toyota van
for Our Lady of Peace.
22 Best Friends Share Hope
An unexpected diagnosis
cements a lifelong friendship.
24 No One Dies Alone
Volunteers provide care and
compassion to patients dying alone.
27 Adopting God’s Will
Families share their stories of
love found through adoption.
34 Salvaging Surplus
Supplies
Hospital “trash” saves lives abroad.
22
Spring/Summer 2012 common thread
1
Contents
Departments
Spring/Summer 2012
3
6
9
Welcome to
KentuckyOne Health
An introduction to
the new organization
New Threads
Disaster Relief Fund, plus
other hot topics
Quick Thread:
200 Years and Counting
The Sisters of Charity of
Nazareth celebrates its
bicentennial.
10Mission Moments:
Building Relationships
in Belize
Hospital leaders partner
with the people of Belize.
14 Quick Thread:
Reconnecting With
Our Mission
Employees recognize World
Day of Healing.
14
20Mission Moments:
Honoring Jack
Employees honor beloved
volunteer Jack Loeffler.
26 Quick Thread:
Lost and Found
Long-lost work of art
restored, rededicated.
32 Health Care Hero:
Stepping Up For Safety
Employees step up to
ensure patient safety.
36 Quick Thread:
Impact Change
Transformed parking
meters help Lexington’s
homeless community.
37 Healthy Spirit:
Know Your Numbers
Initiative helps employees
see complete wellness
picture.
Share Your Story
20
2
common thread Spring/Summer 2012
The purpose of Common Thread is to connect the
new KentuckyOne Health family. Through inspiring
stories about our employees and their commitment
to our communities, we want to celebrate the
individuality that makes up KentuckyOne Health,
while respecting the heritage and faiths of the
legacy organizations. Submit your story ideas at
KentuckyOneEmployees.org.
Welcome to
KentuckyOne Health
On Jan. 1, 2012, Jewish Hospital &
St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph
Health System merged to become
KentuckyOne Health, the state’s largest
health system.
The nonprofit system is committed
to improving the health of Kentuckians
by integrating medical research,
education, technology and health
care services wherever patients receive
care. KentuckyOne Health has nearly
200 locations including hospitals,
physician groups, clinics, primary care
centers, specialty institutes and home
health agencies, with more than 13,600
employees across the state of Kentucky and
southern Indiana. KentuckyOne has more
than 2,325 licensed beds.
The heritage of care and service
represented by Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s
HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health
System will be strengthened and expanded
to increase access to high quality health
care for the people of Kentucky.
3
Health Care HERO
Transforming Health Care
Better care is here.
Advertising Campaign: KentuckyOne
Health’s current advertising campaign will
help build brand awareness throughout the
Commonwealth. The campaign features
your KentuckyOne Health colleagues in local
billboard, newspaper, television and radio ads.
Meet KentuckyOne Health. A new and unique partnership between two of Kentucky’s leading
health providers—Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System.
Together we are investing $320 million to bring the latest treatments to more people across
the state. Learn more about KentuckyOne Health at KentuckyOneHealth.org.
Flaget Memorial Hospital
Frazier Rehab Institute
Jewish Hospital
Jewish Hospital Shelbyville
Jewish Physician Group
Our Lady of Peace
Saint Joseph Berea
Saint Joseph Jessamine
Saint Joseph London
Saint Joseph Martin
Saint Joseph Mount Sterling
Saint Joseph East
Saint Joseph Hospital
Saint Joseph Physicians
Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital
VNA Nazareth Home Care
KentuckyOne Logo Reflects
Strength, Energy: Our name,
KentuckyOne Health, expresses our vision
to create a healthier Kentucky by coming
together as one. It reflects our profound pride
in being Kentuckians.
The KentuckyOne Health logo symbolizes
the highest quality, advanced care that is now
available to all Kentuckians. The intersecting
triangles form a letter K, reinforcing our
focus on improving the health status of
Kentuckians and the integration of our
services and expertise. The angled lines show
a sense of optimism and our dynamic vision.
The color and shape of the design express
technological advancement and innovation.
The sophisticated hues, orange and purple,
are distinctive in health care and together
convey a sense of richness, depth, strength
and energy.
Jewish Hospital Medical Centers:
East, South, Southwest, Northeast
The Women’s Hospital at
Saint Joseph East
Websites to Bookmark
KentuckyOneHealth.org
Portal website leading to legacy internet sites
for Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare
and Saint Joseph Health System
4
KentuckyOneEmployees.org
KentuckyOnePhysicians.org
Intranet site for employees featuring issues
of Integration Update; also used as part of the
email address for employee questions
([email protected])
Intranet site for physicians featuring issues
of Integration Update; also used as part of the
email address for physician questions
([email protected])
Meet Ruth Brinkley, CEO
Previously with Catholic Health Initiatives,
Ruth W. Brinkley, FACHE, served as president
and chief executive officer of Memorial
Health Care System in Chattanooga, Tenn.,
senior vice president for performance
management for the national health system,
and Louisville group vice president, leading
regional strategy development and operations
improvement for six health care systems.
Brinkley’s background, experience
and vision are an exceptional match for
KentuckyOne Health. As a nurse, she is
dedicated to improving the health of people
and communities.
Most recently Brinkley was president and
chief executive officer of southern Arizona’s
largest health care system, Carondelet
Health Network, part of Ascension Health.
Employing more than 5,000 staff and
associates, the Catholic, nonprofit network
includes four hospitals, a neurological
institute, 20 primary and specialty care
offices, and two ambulatory surgery centers.
At the same time, Brinkley served as one
of eight Ascension Health ministry market
leaders. In this role, she was also responsible
for overseeing operations in Idaho and
Washington.
Her academic medical experience includes
serving as associate executive director/chief
nurse executive and associate dean, clinical
practice, at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham Hospital, Alabama’s largest
and most comprehensive academic medical
center.
Earlier in her career she served in various
nursing management and staff roles at the
University of Chicago and Michael Reese
Hospital, the former Chicago teaching
hospital.
Brinkley is a registered nurse and holds
Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in
nursing from De Paul University in Chicago.
She is a fellow in the American College of
Healthcare Executives; a founding member
of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S.
Health Care Industry Foundation; and a
frequent speaker on both health care and
broader leadership issues.
Modern Healthcare magazine recognized
Brinkley as a top 25 minority health care
executive for 2010.
Brinkley, 59, is a Georgia native and has
two grown children.
KentuckyOne Health Leadership
For the complete organizational structure, visit KentuckyOneEmployees.org.
Board of Directors
Executive Team
Michael Ades
Attorney, retired
Paul Edgett
Catholic Health Initiatives
Richard Schultz
Ad Executive, retired
Lou Ann Atlas
Fifth Third Bank
Robert Hewett, Chair
Business Executive, retired
President & Chief
Executive Officer
Miller Hoffman
Hoffman Robertson
Insurance
John D. Stewart, II, MD,
Board Observer
Surgeon
Valerie Briones-Pryor, MD,
Board Observer
Primary Care Physician
Thomas Mechas, MD
London Women’s Care
Jane Burks
Volunteers of America
Steve Raible, MD,
Board Observer
Louisville Heart Specialists
Jane J. Chiles
Meridian Chiles Advertising
Michael Rowan
Catholic Health Initiatives
Gerald Temes, MD
Thoracic Surgeon, retired
Louis Waterman,
Board Observer
Attorney
Liz Wendeln, SCN
Board of Stewardship
Trustees, Catholic Health
Initiatives
President & Chief Executive
Officer
Sharon Hager
VP of Legal Operations
(CHI)
Bev Weber, RN
Chief Operating Officer
Betsy Hall
Division Corporate
Responsibility Officer
Gary Ermers
Interim Chief Financial
Officer
Matt Gibson
Interim Chief Strategy and
Business Development
Officer
Tanja Oquendo
Chief Human Resources
Officer
Dan Varga, MD
Chief Physician Executive
Russell Williams, MD
Surgeon
KYOneBrandCenter.com
Online resource with guidelines for use of
KentuckyOne Health logos plus downloadable
logos and templates; requires users complete
simple one-time registration
5
Our Common Thread
Welcome to the first edition of Common Thread published by KentuckyOne
Health. This quarterly magazine features inspiring outreach and mission
stories about our employees and their extraordinary work to provide the best
care possible to our patients and communities. Common Thread will help
connect the new KentuckyOne Health family as it travels across Kentucky
and southern Indiana to more than 13,600 employees.
There is a common thread that unites us all – our passion for health care,
for people and communities, for a healthier tomorrow and an unsurpassed
quality of care – and through this magazine, we share stories of hope,
encouragement and transformation.
Please consider submitting your story suggestions at
KentuckyOneEmployees.org, where you also can read Common Thread online.
While impossible to share everyone’s story at once, and not every facility
will be represented in each issue, the magazine staff will look for opportunities to highlight our employees across the organization.
In addition to being mailed to employees’ homes for entire families
to enjoy, the publication will be mailed to community members and
affiliates within our markets. Copies also are made available in patient
waiting areas throughout our hospitals and facilities.
Love
on a
Leash
kentuckyone
health
Spring/Summer
2012
Vol. 1 Issue 1
Therapy dogs give
hope
to cancer patients
Pedal to the met
al
salvaging Surp
lus
Supplies
no one Dies Alon
e
was born
“He
to do this.
”
Janie Fergu
s,
Information Techn
ology
(about her dog, Ned)
h!
to lt
e ea
m Hs
il
o
c ne deta
el o for
W ckyinside
e
u e
nt s
Ke
Disaster Relief Fund: KentuckyOne
Health employees, their families and our
communities were among those devastated by
the storms and tornadoes that swept through
the tri-state area of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio
on March 2. Relief funds have been established
to provide outreach to those affected by this
disaster. If you would like to make a donation,
consider the options below:
Tornado destruction in West Liberty, Ky
Photograph by John Flavell
Online Donations:
SaintJosephFoundation.org
Click on the DONATE NOW icon. Indicate
which hospital you would like the funds
designated to, then denote “Disaster Relief
Fund (Employee).” If this gift is in honor or
in memory of a specific person, please note
that as well.
6
Check Donations:
Giving.JHSMH.org
Click on “Make your gift to the Jewish
Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation,” then
check “Other: Please specify below” and type
“Employee Assistance Fund” in the box.
Send checks payable to the Saint Joseph
Hospital Foundation to One Saint Joseph
Drive, Lexington, Kentucky 40504. Write
“Disaster Relief” in the memo line.
Send checks payable to the Jewish Hospital
& St. Mary’s Foundation to 200 Abraham
Flexner Way, Louisville, KY 40202.
Write “Employee Assistance Fund”
in the memo line.
threads
new
From left, Doug Caswell (USPS), Wendy English (USPS), Laman Gray, MD, Ruth
Brinkley, Alisa Zanetti (USPS), John Froning, DMD (ventricular assist device patient),
and Mark Slaughter, MD.
Heart Health Stamp: The United States Postal Service (USPS) and Jewish Hospital
(JH) joined forces on Feb. 13 for the dedication of the first ever Heart Health stamp.
The USPS honored February as American Heart Month by issuing the first-class Heart
Health Forever® stamp and selected JH for the community’s unveiling of the stamp
due to its century-long history as a pioneer in medical innovation, in the field of
heart care in particular.
OneCare Update: Keep informed of the
OneCare program and its related projects by
reading the latest OneCare for KentuckyOne
Health newsletter at KentuckyOneEmployees.org.
One of the key initiatives for KentuckyOne
Health is to create an electronic health record
in its acute-care and ambulatory care settings,
specifically its owned physician practices.
7
threads
new
Wellness Award: Jewish Hospital & St.
Mary’s has received a Corporate Health
& Productivity Management Award from
the Institute for Health and Productivity
Management (IHPM). The award recognizes
the organization’s work to increase the
variety and quality of employee offerings
of wellness programs and linking the
improvements in employee health to
increased productivity and decreased lost
work time.
Debbie Cowles
Get With The Guidelines: Saint Joseph
London (SJL) has received the Get With The
Guidelines®–Heart Failure Gold Quality
Achievement Award from the American
Heart Association. The recognition signifies
that SJL has reached an aggressive goal
of treating heart failure patients with 85
percent compliance for at least 24 months
to core standard levels of care as outlined by
the American Heart Association/American
College of Cardiology secondary prevention
guidelines for heart failure patients. For more
information, visit heart.org/quality.
servant Leadership Award: The
Spirit of Saint Joseph Servant Leadership
Excellence Award is presented to a leader
at Saint Joseph and Flaget facilities who
demonstrates the mission and core values
of the organization, along with the seven
pillars of servant leadership: self-awareness,
listening, changing the pyramid, developing
your colleagues, coaching not controlling,
unleashing the energy and intelligence of
others, and foresight. Debbie Cowles, human
resources, was a recent recipient of the award.
Weber Awards: The Shelton R. Weber
Award was created in 1993 to honor Weber
for his exceptional service to Jewish Hospital
HealthCare Services as both a board member
and chair. This award recognizes supervisory
staff members who embody extraordinary
decision-making ability, professional growth
and development, diplomacy, philanthropy,
leadership and vision. The 2011 winners were
Karey McDowell, Frazier Rehab; Carrie Dunn,
Jewish Cancer Care; and Michael Ahrens,
Mission and Values Integration.
2011 Weber Award Winners (left to right):
Karey McDowell, Carrie Dunn, Shelton
Weber and Michael Ahrens
8
thread
quick
200 Years and Counting
In December of 2011, the Sisters of Charity of
Nazareth (SCN) marked a milestone, 200 years of
ministry. As hundreds gathered in Nazareth, Ky.,
members of the SCN family recalled their early years.
From the beginning the Sisters found themselves
ministering to the needs of the times. They often
risked their own lives to provide compassionate care
for the sick during times of crisis, including the 1832
and 1833 cholera epidemics and the Civil War, when
Sisters tended to soldiers on both sides.
In 1874, SCN founded Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital
in Louisville. A few years later, in 1877, SCN founded
Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington. In 1951, the congregation established Flaget Memorial Hospital in Bardstown.
Sisters have also had a presence at Saint Joseph London and
Saint Joseph Martin. In 1997, SCN consolidated with Catholic
Health Initiatives, which operates the facilities today as part of
KentuckyOne Health. Throughout the years, a number of Sisters have served in a
variety of roles within the hospitals to make sure lay leaders
and employees had a clear understanding and orientation to
the mission and values of the system. The SCN legacy continues
today as part of KentuckyOne Health.
Mother Catherine
Spalding co-founded SCN
in 1812 and guided the
congregation for 45 years.
Learn more and get involved with SCN at scnfamily.org • Become a Sister. • Support international ministries.
Join the associate program. • Make a prayer request online. • Volunteer.
9
“Our neighbors
are not just the
people next door;
we have solidarity
with people all
over the world.”
Building Relationships in
Belize
God’s grace is worldwide
By Kathie Stamps
10
Would you happily live in a
wobbly structure with dirt floors
and a tarp for walls? Hundreds of people
outside of Belize City do, and they’re actually
quite content.
“They are such people of faith,” said
Billie Turner, RN, chief operating officer
and chief nursing officer at Saint Joseph
Martin. “They are very thankful for what
they have, and are very happy.”
Flora Washburn, manager of mission
services at Saint Joseph Berea, agreed. “We
tend to think of third-world countries as
being disadvantaged, which economically
they are,” she said, “but they have so many
cultural, spiritual and family situations in
place that are extremely strong and resilient.”
Mission moments
The mission team visited the village
of Las Flores, where they worked
on home repairs and assessed the
greatest needs in the area.
Turner and Washburn were two of a
dozen Americans who traveled to Belize on
Valentine’s Day 2011 for a weeklong mission
trip in the small village of Las Flores, a suburb
of the capital city of Belmopan in Belize. The
projects for the trip were organized through
the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN),
which has a strong presence in Belize City.
“This was my first time on a mission trip,”
Turner said. “I want to do it again!”
The mission team was charged with the
task of working on home repairs for three
different families in Las Flores. With the
help of some of the villagers, they laid a
concrete floor in one home for a mother and
her six children, where sand, cement and
water were mixed on the ground itself because
there were no cement mixers available. They
added an extra room to another structure by
putting up plywood walls and topping them
with an aluminum roof. Their third project
was to start a house from scratch, which
included building a frame so concrete could
be poured at a later date.
“We were quite taken aback by the
situation at the first home we went to,”
Turner said. But as the week progressed, she
knew she would be encouraging co-workers
and family members to think about doing
something similar.
“It is one of the most rewarding things I’ve
ever done,” she said. “It gives you a different
picture of the world. Our neighbors are not
just the people next door; we have solidarity
with people all over the world.”
In the fall of 2010, Sister Liz Wendeln,
SCN, and KentuckyOne Health board
member, challenged the Saint Joseph
Leadership Development Institute to become
involved with international missions “to
expand our vision and see what goes on
beyond ourselves,” Washburn recalled.
SCN worked with local village leaders
in Las Flores to determine the home repair
projects before the Americans arrived.
“We go there with great intentions of
helping them, but we are the ones who end
up becoming richer from it,” Washburn said.
“The difficult part is when you see the needs
of someone else. Coming from the American
culture, we want to try to ‘fix’ it,” she said.
Turner said, “Until you see those situations
and how people are living, you don’t realize
how much we take for granted.”
Early in the week, when members of their
group found out that kids were sleeping on
a dirt floor – and yes, it all turned to mud
when it rained – their first thought was to
buy bunk beds for them. “A few of us went
out for a couple of hours one morning
looking for bunk beds!” Washburn said. As
it turned out, the children liked sleeping in
hammocks. What the family really needed
and wanted was linoleum for the floor. “We
bought a piece of linoleum and you would
have thought it was Christmas,” Washburn
said. “They were so excited to no longer be
sleeping on a dirt floor or walking in mud in
the bedroom.”
She was immediately reminded of a piece
of advice from Diane Jones at Catholic Health
Initiatives: “Build relationships. Find out how
you can help – what they want, not what you
think they need.”
“These people were so appreciative and
thankful for what we did,” Turner said. “I left
there feeling like they did more for me than I
did for them.”
Known as British Honduras until 1973,
Belize is about half the size of Kentucky (the
Commonwealth has 4 million more people,
though). It is the northernmost country
of Central America. Although the official
language is English, many of the people in
Las Flores speak Spanish, as they are refugees
from El Salvador, Guatemala and other
countries.
Washburn and Turner returned to Belize
in January 2012 with Sister Susan Gatz, SCN,
to assess how the legacy Saint Joseph Health
System organization could be involved in Las
Flores. Their intent was to see if establishing
a not-for-profit medical clinic would benefit
this village and its neighbors. They were able
to meet with the University of Belize, the
Ministry of Health, a private physician, nurse
and villagers to discuss the greatest health
needs in the area. Results of the assessment
showed that a health clinic that also
addressed health education would be a good
thing. This information has helped them
in applying for a Catholic Health Initiatives
Mission and Ministry International Grant
that would help initiate working with the
Ministry of Health to establish a clinic.
“It is all about the people and building
an ongoing collaborative relationship,”
Washburn said, “where we learn from one
another and can build a sustainable future
together.”
11
Pedal to the Metal
Full-speed effort wins new Toyota van for Our Lady of Peace
by Phyllis Shaikun
J
ennifer Nolan had only been
president and chief executive officer of
Louisville-based Our Lady of Peace (OLOP),
the largest and most comprehensive private
provider of child/adolescent inpatient
psychiatric care in the country, for a year
when she heard about Toyota’s 100 Cars for
Good contest. In 2011, over a period of 100
days, the company donated 100 cars to a
variety of non-profit organizations. Toyota
believes that fulfilling transportation needs
enhances the good works of charitable
organizations in local communities.
“Since we really needed to replace our old
van that had more than 300,000 miles on it,”
Nolan said, “I thought we could do this.” She
called Sherri Craig at the Jewish Hospital & St.
Mary’s Foundation for assistance, and they put
the pedal to the metal – completing all of the
required paperwork for OLOP to be considered
among the 500 finalist organizations in
Toyota’s two-week timeframe last March.
An independent panel of experts reviewed
all the hundreds of applications they received
taking into account their degree of need and
the potential benefit of the vehicle to the
organization along with information about
their mission, geographic diversity and the
population served. OLOP was chosen to
be among the 500 and then the
real work began.
Photograph by Shaun Ring
12
Each of the finalists received an email
stating the date their organization would be
scheduled to be up for voting on Facebook.
Over a 100-day period, five finalists competed
for votes against one another each day. The
organization that received the most popular
votes by the end of that day received a vehicle.
In mid-May, with their July 14 date close
at hand, the organization’s marketing and
communications team filmed a video that
mapped out their strategy to help get-out-thevote. The effort generated support not only
from Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s 7,500 team
members, but from their friends and families
too. Board members, vendors, patients and
the community at large voted for OLOP to
win a new van.
Cardiothoracic surgeon and KentuckyOne
Health board member, Gerald Temes,
MD, encouraged his grandchildren
to vote and to appeal to all of
their Facebook friends to
follow their lead.
Many long-time
leaders admitted they had never seen such
tremendous employee participation for any
event ever in the history of the organization.
Everyone rallied the troops to get-outthe-vote. Even the local Jewish newspaper
encouraged readers to vote for the Catholic
hospital that does such incredible work for
our community’s children.
Every way possible was pursued to attract
votes. From devising Internet campaigns to
blanketing the community with posters, from
stuffing flyers into Pharmacy Plus bags to
handing out flyers on street corners on voting
day, and from TV appearances to impromptu
speeches to anyone who would listen, the
troops were gassed up and going at full speed.
Vendors got into the act by printing 10,000
flyers and 2,000 stickers at no cost to support
the campaign.
Jeff Polson, communications executive
at KentuckyOne Health, was in Denver at a
Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) event on
July 14. He asked everyone in
attendance
“I am so appreciative of everyone’s
support. At midnight, when OLOP
was declared the winner, we were
still awake, taking a victory lap …”
This just in: Saint Joseph Hospital
Foundation is a finalist in this year’s
100 Cars for Good contest. We need
your votes on July 21! Vote at facebook.
com/toyota. Help win a vehicle for the
Appalachian Outreach Project!
to take time out of the conference to vote. CHI also
sent a message out across their system encouraging
people to cast their ballots.
Nolan and Craig agreed the important thing to
remember was how well everyone pulled together and
how much fun they all had with the competition.
The excitement and energy that surrounded the July
14 voting day was unbelievable. “It was one of the
most stressful yet exciting days of my career,” Nolan
recalled. “I am so appreciative of everyone’s support.
We were in the lead all day long and we never gave
up; we kept our feet on the pedal all day. At midnight,
when OLOP was declared the winner, we were still
awake, taking a victory lap through email for the big
victory!”
Formal presentation of the van was made on Sept.
29 at Jeff Wyler Toyota of Clarksville, Ind. When
OLOP asked for the new van, they anticipated it would
help them continue providing the vital transportation
for young patients. What they didn’t anticipate was
how much their young patients would love it.
A case in point is John, a 13-year-old who suffers
from highly acute behavioral issues. He has been at
the Children’s Peace Center for several months, and is
transported to the hospital for treatments on a weekly
basis. While a normal car trip might not be special,
John surely loves his trips in the Sienna. When it’s
time to go, he simply cannot wait to hop into the van.
He loves the sliding door that shuts automatically
behind him and, like any typical adolescent, he loves
the TV monitor and DVD player. But perhaps his
favorite part is the large-screen GPS system.
During his ride, John pays close attention to
the screen, carefully noting street names and
landmarks along the way. The GPS system keeps him
engaged and focused, but still allows him plenty of
opportunity to enjoy the view of the city from the
Sienna’s large windows. Patients like John have been
positively impacted by the comfort and ease of travel
that has come with the new van. So much so that
when taken in another vehicle, John’s disappointment
is palpable, “Where’s the Sienna?”
OLOP’s main campus on Newburg Road has 11
inpatient units and partial hospital and intensive
outpatient programs for children, adolescents and
adults. The Children’s Peace Center at OLOP offers
highly specialized programs that are one-of-a-kind
in Kentucky. On a typical day, about 80 percent of
inpatients are children – about 2,000 per year – and
90 percent have suffered abuse or neglect. Nearly half
have been removed from their homes and are in state
custody. One of OLOP’s most significant specialties
is its service to young patients with developmental
disabilities or brain injury coupled with a chronic
mental illness.
The new Toyota Sienna has made a significant
impact in the short time it has been in use. Specially
trained drivers travel approximately 400 miles each
day to a variety of destinations continuing to ensure
safe and reliable transportation for the children OLOP
serves.
13
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Since 1992, Pope John Paul II and now Pope Benedict
XVI have called on the worldwide church to raise awareness
of the faith community’s role in the work of health care. In that
spirit, Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital (SMEH) observed World Day of
the Sick, a special day of prayer, in February. Employees, patients and
families gathered in the SMEH chapel to pray in solidarity for the sick and
for those who serve the sick around the world.
Throughout the day, chaplains at SMEH visited each of the hospital floors
to anoint the hands of caregivers. “Having a chaplain visit and anoint my
hands was very meaningful to me,” said Lisa Dolan, vice president and
chief nursing officer at SMEH. “The act caused me to reconnect with our
mission and my personal desire to help those in need. The celebration was
a reminder that the best care we can give to those we serve is not only safe
and of high quality, but is also rich with love and compassion.”
Also known as World Day of Healing, a Catholic Health Initiatives’ (CHI)
Feast Day, it is observed annually on Feb. 11 throughout all CHI facilities.
g
Reconnecting
with Our Mission
SMEH Chaplain Jim
Denyes anointed the
hands of Lisa Dolan during
World Day of Healing.
Chemotherapy patient
Carol McCaslin and Mister
Love
on a
Leash
Therapy dogs give hope
to cancer patients
By Tanya J. Tyler
It’s a cloudy, chilly Friday. Patients and
their loved ones sit in the waiting room at
Saint Joseph Hematology Oncology in the
Saint Joseph Cancer Center. The patients
are there to receive their chemotherapy
treatments. The atmosphere is somber and
resigned. It’s quiet except for the ringing of
phones and the turning of magazine pages.
Then the door opens, and a fluff of white
fur waltzes into the waiting room. With a
low “whoooo,” the visitor announces his
arrival and suddenly the feeling in the room
changes. People put aside their magazines
and sit up. Smiles appear on their faces.
Mister is here.
Photographs by Shaun Ring
15
Touch starts with a ‘T’
Jamine Hamner is the coordinator of
volunteer services for Saint Joseph Hospital
(SJH), Saint Joseph East (SJE) and Saint
Joseph Jessamine (SJJ). At a peer conference,
she heard people talking about therapy dog
visitation. It sounded like something that
would be a perfect fit for SJH.
“The hospital already had a policy for
patients to have their own pets come and
visit them,” Hamner said. “I felt if the
hospital was open to having pets in the
facility, there would be some support for this
program.”
The goal of the therapy dog visitation
program would be to reduce patient and
visitor anxiety and depression associated
with hospitalization. Hamner gathered
policies from other pet therapy programs
and put together one for SJH. She sent it
to various departments including security,
risk management and infection control.
Around the same time, Julie Steffey, manager
of oncology support services for the newly
opened Saint Joseph Cancer Center Resource
Services, contacted Hamner about ways
volunteers could help. Not knowing Hamner
had already set the wheels in motion, Steffey
mentioned incorporating therapy dog
visitation.
“I said I was working on this (policy)
and waiting for final approval, but since
the cancer center was located outside of the
hospital, maybe we could start it over there,”
Hamner said.
Steffey asked the oncology doctors how
they felt about having dogs visit patients
receiving chemotherapy. They approved the
plan, and Love on a Leash (LOAL) was chosen
to provide the service.
“We chose Love on a Leash because they
make sure the dogs are prepared,” Hamner
said. “Also, they carry liability policies. It just
made them a really good group to work with.”
Hamner said the successful program has since
spread from Saint Joseph Cancer Center to
inside SJH and SJE, with therapy dogs visiting
units, patient rooms and waiting areas.
Deb Ratcliffe, president of the central
Kentucky chapter of LOAL, said the national
program was founded in California in 1984
by author and dog-obedience instructor Liz
Palika. The Lexington chapter began about
six years ago. Therapy dogs are different from
service dogs.
“Therapy dogs go places to let people pet
on them and love on them,” Ratcliffe said,
who visits with Dollar, her 9-year-old Boxer.
“If you see a service dog helping somebody
with a disability, they will have a vest on that
says ‘Service Dog, Do Not Pet.’”
16
Liz Young, a LOAL team leader, has a
mnemonic for remembering the difference.
“Service starts with an S and so does the word
‘stop.’ And therapy starts with a T, which
also is the first letter of the word ‘touch,’” she
said. Young owns the white furball named
Mister. His vest says, “I love working for hugs
and kisses.”
Meeting Mister
Young and Mister have been visiting SJH
and other venues for about two years. It’s
very apparent Mister, a 5-year-old Samoyed,
loves his work.
“Mister has never met a stranger,” Young
said. “I think dogs like Mister know when
someone needs their comfort.”
One time Mister sat at the feet of a man
who had high blood pressure. Young and the
man’s wife watched the man’s blood pressure
go down. Another time, a woman who was
experiencing back pain realized she didn’t
need her medication while she was patting
Mister.
“It was a miracle,” Young said. “It was like
magic.”
Donald Goodlett and Ned
“The dogs walk in and
everybody’s immediately up
going to pet them and smiling.
It’s an amazing difference that
you see in people.”
LOAL volunteer Liz Young and Mister
17
Robert Davis and Ned
Another therapy dog is Ned, a 5-year-old
mixed breed who was rescued from a shelter
by Janie Fergus, director of information
technology for SJH, SJE, SJJ, Continuing Care
Hospital and Saint Joseph Mount Sterling. She
and Ned were certified three years ago.
“I was so happy when Saint Joseph went
through the process to allow the therapy dogs
to come in,” Fergus said. “Ned loves it. I can
just see his whole personality coming out
when we’re visiting people. He was born to
do this.”
Ned shakes hands and dances for patients.
Because he is small, patients sometimes ask
Ned to get up on the bed with them. “If the
nurse approves, they put down a sheet and
Ned can get up on the bed,” Fergus said.
A lot of smiles
Patients share stories of their own dogs,
present and past, as they love on the therapy
dogs.
“It’s good for the patients,” Ratcliffe said.
“The staff gets a whole lot out of it, too.”
Dr. Monty Metcalfe, with Saint Joseph
Hematology Oncology, agrees. “I see a lot of
smiles when the dogs come in,” he said. “It
18
universally makes people happy. The dogs
walk in and everybody’s immediately up
going to pet them and smiling. It changes the
atmosphere totally. It’s an amazing difference
that you see in people.”
A dog lover himself, Metcalfe is glad
the program has been implemented. “It’s
a wonderful program,” he said. “I hope it
continues forever.”
Chemotherapy patient Carol McCaslin
recently had her first encounter with LOAL. It
was a pleasant surprise to receive a visit from
Mister. He loved her long nails.
“We take for granted that the medical team
is going to do what they need to do for us,
but it’s sometimes hard to address the soul,”
she said. The therapy dogs fill the void.
“They make you feel good,” added
McCaslin, who once had a pet-photography
business with her husband. “You just sit there
and you’re patting them, stroking them,
scruffing them behind the ears. It makes all
the difference in the world.”
Robert Neal has enjoyed meeting LOAL
participants while taking chemotherapy
treatment for the past five months. He
believes Mister is an angel.
“He’s very special,” Neal said.
“He really brightens the room up.
When I’m sitting there getting the
drip done and he comes through the
door, it makes my day go better.”
For the human participants, LOAL
has proven to be equally uplifting.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,”
Ratcliffe said. “It’s a blessing. You
get so much more out of it than you
give, you really do.”
For Fergus, volunteering with
LOAL makes her appreciate her work
even more.
“This has really helped me
remember to keep in touch with
what our business is here,” she said.
“It’s brought great rewards to my
work.”
“Love on a Leash has changed my
life,” Young said. “It’s everything I
never knew I always wanted to do.
God has laid this out before me and
I love it.”
Pet therapy programs are also
offered at Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s
facilities.
Saint Joseph Cancer Center, which opened
If you believe your
dog has the personality to be
a therapy dog, you can attend a
LOAL orientation session to find out
what the certified trainer will look for
when evaluating your dog. The main
criterion is basic obedience. Dogs must
be up-to-date on their vaccinations
and licensed in the state of Kentucky.
The dogs and their handlers have
to go on 10 trial visits with an
established team before becoming
nationally certified. The testing fee is $25.
Once certified with LOAL, the owner/dog can enroll
with volunteer services to visit SJH and SJE.
For more information, visit loalcky.com.
For more information about volunteer
services, call 859.313.1290.
How to
volunteer
January 2011, has a unique approach to
cancer care. Besides Love on a Leash, patients
receive additional support through classes and
groups. Saint Joseph Cancer Center Resource
Services offers patients, families and the
community free resources such as one-on-one
consultations with a nurse navigator, social
worker and chaplain; mind/body wellness
presentations; a music expression program,
including healing drumming; an education
series; and a library with take-away materials,
loaner books and audio/visuals. You can learn
more at SaintJosephCancerCenter.com.
SJE Women’s Hospital patient
Chelsea Means and Lucy
19
Mission moments
Honoring Jack
Beloved volunteer Jack Loeffler faces failing health; employees honor his legacy
By Phyllis Shaikun
O
n Wednesday, Feb. 1, 85-year-old
Jack Loeffler, a Sts. Mary &
Elizabeth Hospital (SMEH)
volunteer since May 2007, thought his
daughter-in-law was taking him to the
hospital for some lab work. Instead, he was
surprised by his good friends in the lab, who
presented him with a leaf on the SMEH Tree
of Life. They are so fond of Loeffler that they
chipped in to purchase the leaf and held a
party in his honor when poor health forced
him to cut back on his activities – including
his beloved volunteer work.
“Everyone considers Jack an excellent
volunteer, friend and member of the
SMEH family,” said Mary Anne Tinnell,
Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation
development specialist. “He has impacted
20
the lives of so many that his lab friends felt it
was only fitting to celebrate his legacy with a
permanent memorial like the leaf. He truly is
a light in the eyes of all he meets.”
Loeffler began volunteering close to
five years ago in SPD (supply, process and
distribution) with the encouragement of
then auxiliary president and family friend,
Bonnie Goddard. His beloved wife of 54 years,
Mary Rose, had died two years before and he
needed to stop grieving and find something
to do. “I was bewildered after she passed
away,” he admitted, “so I was happy to be
of service at SMEH, which is just two blocks
away from my house.” He quickly went from
volunteering just a few days a week to being at
the hospital full time – even on holidays.
Over the years, he helped organize the
other volunteers’ schedules and kept them
on track. He also began supervising local
high school students and developmentally
impaired adults from Harbor House Inc.,
who came to the hospital to help label, sort
and distribute materials for use throughout
the hospital. “I treated them like they were
my friends,” Loeffler said, “and not like their
supervisor.”
When he first started at the hospital, he
would eat lunch with another volunteer in
the cafeteria. He began noticing that the lab
employees seemed to be having the most
fun of all the groups there. After his friend
passed away, he asked the lab group if he
could join them. Soon enough he became
a part of their team. Mary Jean Frank, a
supervisor in the SMEH lab, describes him as
“He sheds no
light
on himself,
but pushes others
ahead.”
“a kind man, a real gentleman.” She explained
that lab employees split into two groups to
cover the lunch break, so Loeffler would
take an extended lunch hour in order to
accommodate their schedules and visit with
them. In fact, when one group returned to the
lab after lunch, the second group hurried on
so they wouldn’t miss him.
He has donated more than 3,000 hours
to SMEH, and has truly become a vital part
of the hospital. “I volunteered as a tribute
to Mary Rose,” he said tearfully. “She had
always wanted to volunteer, but was not able
to do so because of her health.” Admirers say
he was meticulous about everything he did,
and modeled that behavior to everyone he
met. Although he is very ill now, his hospital
friends are praying and hoping for his return.
He quipped, “They tell me they have a job
waiting for me if I can come back.”
In addition to his lab friends, SMEH’s Teresa
Hanke said Loeffler also touched the lives of
many other employees with his hand-crafted
Christmas trees. He had seen similar trees
at a craft shop a number of years ago and
thought he could make some even better. He
started experimenting with coat hangers and
eventually used them to build more than
50 trees a year. Although it is not easy work,
and he often suffered cuts on his hands, he
gave trees as gifts to numerous individuals
at SMEH (including all 20 employees in the
lab). He also donated trees to SMEH’s Saintly
Treasures Thrift Shop and to Jewish Hospital’s
Medical Center Southwest. He has never
charged a penny for his labors.
Medical laboratory technician Chris
Thompson said, “We used to tell Jack that
he didn’t just give us trees, he gave us his
heart. We even requested that a Christmas
tree be etched on his leaf. He is my hero;
I consider him a real-life super person.
Everything he had done has been to benefit
others – he sheds no light on himself, but
pushes others ahead. When Jack was in the
Navy, he swam out in a dangerous current
to save a drowning man, and he ended up
having to be rescued afterwards. He worked
hard all his life doing back-breaking work in
the Louisville Courier-Journal press room for
more than 44 years to provide for his wife
and three boys. His was called the greatest
generation, and he truly is an example of
that.”
21
Jasmine Meads (left)
and Naketa Ashley (right)
Best Friends Share
An unexpected diagnosis
cements a lifelong friendship
Photograph by lee thomas
22
Hope
By Kym Russell
If you don’t read another
sentence, let these words sink
in: “Never, never give up.”
Naketa Ashley flashes a radiant smile and
points to the heavens, “We do get up. It’s all
God,” she said. “I’m a living testament to
that.” Her melodious laugh rises and carries
away any doubt.
Her colleagues at Saint Joseph Hospital will
remember the sound of her lilting laughter
and how, in her nursing career, Ashley
touched so many people with her spirit and
compassion. Those working on the medicaltelemetry surgery unit, 3B, last spring will
likely recall the day of Ashley’s life-changing
health emergency, too. She was at work as
a clinical manager in the morning. That
evening, she was a patient in ICU at high risk
of heart failure.
She was diagnosed with a serious, rare
condition called Takayasu’s Arteritis that
strikes women younger than 40 years old.
Subtle signs of a problem first appeared when
she was pregnant with her third child. Each
symptom had been explained by other causes.
But, three years after her pregnancy, the
pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place
in a single devastating blow. A heart catheterization revealed all of the arteries to her heart
were completely blocked, even the carotids.
“Her heart had compensated with
collateral flow. That was how she was
functioning. Doctors were astonished she was
still breathing, still alive. It was nothing but
God that she had functioned so well since
the birth of her baby. When I got the news
I dropped to my knees. I thought there was
just no way,” said Jasmine Meads, Ashley’s
best friend of 22 years and fellow nurse on
Unit 3B.
Meads got a much needed boost of hope
from cardiothoracic surgeon Michael Sekela,
MD. “He said we’re going to fix Naketa.” Dr.
Sekela successfully performed quadruple
bypass surgery to restore Ashley’s heart
function. But, another setback was nearly
immediate: she suffered a stroke causing
aphasia and mobility disabilities that
required long-term rehabilitation. Meads was
at her bedside every opportunity in the early
days. She said she wanted to stay strong for
her best friend, but privately fought her own
battle with fear.
Today, the two friends are together to tell
Ashley’s story. For now, Meads is doing most
of the talking. Ashley chimes in with details.
They have so much to share: how they
became girlhood friends, experiencing
motherhood at young ages and earning
degrees in business-related fields. They both
married. Then, together, they returned to
college for nursing degrees. Now, Ashley and
her husband, Chris, are the parents of three
children. Meads and her husband, Bryan, have
four children. Meads said that while Ashley is
in physical rehab, the experiences of the past
year have bonded their families in what she
calls “emotional and spiritual rehab.”
Meads said her husband helped her hold on
to hope. And, she knew God was always there,
too. Ashley admits that she felt like throwing
in the towel at times. She remembers one
low point in rehab when her pastor helped
her find hope, again. “He believed and he
prayed,” Ashley said. Feeling hopeless, she
said, “feels like you’re dead … no hope is
scary, for me, for my husband.” She paused,
“But, it was Him. My hope came back.”
It’s evident that the two friends have talked
“Never go a day
without saying
‘I love you’ to people,
we’re not promised
tomorrow.”
about this unexpected turn in their journey.
Meads puts their perspective in words:
“We believe all things are going to work
out. We just have to be patient and strong
and know God has it under control. This is
for a bigger reason for Naketa that we don’t
know. I’m seeing some of it now, the way
she has recovered and touched people with
her story. It still seems surreal to me that it
happened. But, then, I get back to reality and
understand that this is life. We’re here. We’re
God’s workers. And, He ultimately has a plan
that we’re really not supposed to know but
allow Him to direct our paths. It’s submitting
to Him and knowing everything is going to
work out and it has.”
There has been such an outpouring from
Ashley’s Saint Joseph family with gifts and
support. They put together a Christmas party
and benefit concert, raffles, baked good sales,
even a visit from UK men’s basketball coach
John Calipari and some of the players on the
team.
“It goes to show that at the hospital we are
definitely here for our patients. And, we are
here for one another. We are family here at
Saint Joseph,” Meads said.
Ashley and Meads are counting their
personal blessings, already. An experience
that could have wrenched everything apart
has brought the best friends, their families
and colleagues, closer.
Meads said they have learned a lot about
living every day. “We have to value the time
we have with each other. Never go a day
without saying ‘I love you’ to people, we’re
not promised tomorrow. Stop focusing on
material things that don’t matter.”
Ashley agrees. And, again, her marvelous
laughter fills the air. In the moment, hope
does spring eternal.
Good Thoughts and Deeds
“I always knew when Naketa was on the floor, I’d hear her laugh,”
said LaJava Chenault, vice president of nursing at Saint Joseph Hospital
and a professional mentor for Naketa Ashley. Chenault was one of
several hospital members of the National Black Nurses Association who
suggested honoring Ashley with a benefit concert last Christmas.
On Unit 3B, Fannie Smith, unit secretary and cardiovascular tech,
said that Ashley really is thought of as family. Together, the staff has
organized or reached out personally to provide support, including
Easter baskets, gift cards, homemade meals and fundraisers. “Naketa
is a special person. Her patients loved her, too. She received the Love
Award from them so many times.” The doctors, PAs and medical teams
that cared for Ashley at the hospital have followed her rehabilitation
progress. “Someone is always asking about her, how she is doing,
wishing her the very best,” Smith said.
23
No One Dies Alone
Volunteers provide care and compassion to patients dying alone
By Alice Bridges
It was a rainy night in Eugene, Ore., in 1986.
Nurse Sandra Clarke was making rounds at the
beginning of her shift at Sacred Heart Medical
Center and entered the room of a frail, elderly
man with a “Do Not Resuscitate” order. In a
barely audible voice he asked, “Will you stay
with me?” Clarke promised she would return
after checking on her other patients. It took
longer than she had anticipated, and when she
returned to his room ready to apologize for
the delay, she saw his pale, outstretched hand.
He had died alone.
Clarke was haunted by her broken promise
and determined to find a way in which other
patients at her hospital would never have
to die alone. In 2001, her dream became a
reality when No One Dies Alone (NODA)
began – first at a single hospital and now at
facilities around the world, including Jewish
Hospital (JH), and at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth
Hospital (SMEH), which is preparing to
launch the service if enough interest and
support is generated.
NODA is a volunteer program that provides
the reassuring presence of a companion
to dying patients who would otherwise be
alone. With the support of the nursing staff,
companions provide patients with the most
24
valuable of human gifts, a dignified death.
“We welcome human life into this world;
the same respect and dignity should be
shown as a human life is leaving this world,”
said chaplain Kathy Lesch, who coordinated
the program launch at Jewish Hospital. “Most
of the time, loved ones are at the bedside of
a dying patient. But we often have patients
who are all alone without family or friends
to be with them as they are dying. Their
relatives may be far away, or they may have
outlived those who cared for them. That’s
where NODA comes in.”
Volunteers are the heart of the program.
“Compassionate companions” sign up for
days they are available on the secure Internet
calendar. Vigil coordinators carry a digital
pager and are prepared to receive a call from
the nursing staff or hospital chaplains and
then to coordinate schedules of available
volunteers for shifts of up to four hours each.
The goal is to provide any patient in need
with a 24-hour vigil.
“We never know when support for a
dying patient will be needed,” Lesch said.
“On average we have a vigil every eight to
10 weeks.” In the little more than two years
since the program began at JH, a total of
32 dying patients have received the care of
NODA volunteers.
Drew McMurtrie (pictured right) began his
service as a NODA volunteer shortly after the
program began and has been a companion to
about 10 patients. Retired for about a decade,
he is an active volunteer in numerous JH and
Frazier Rehab Institute activities. When he
first heard about NODA, he was “quite taken
by the whole concept. Probably what intrigued
me the most was that I had been lucky enough
to be present when my father passed away, and
then a number of years later when my mother
passed away,” he said. “I thought how lucky I
was to be there and how terrible it would have
been if I hadn’t been there or no one else had
been available. Since I was so lucky, I thought I
would give back in this way.”
While McMurtrie said that patients in the
active stages of dying rarely respond to touch
or voice, he feels the presence of a caring
companion is vitally important. “For me it’s a
dignity thing. People deserve dignity as they
leave this world. Whether they’re conscious
of me, what we’re saying, music we’re
playing, there is dignity in having someone
there when they leave this world.”
No nursing skill is needed to serve as a
compassionate companion; just a willingness
to hold the patient’s hand, read aloud, play
music, fluff pillows, and assist in comfort care
measures requested by the patient or nurses.
Companions are supplied with a CD player,
CDs, journals, and literature to assist with the
vigil.
Vigil coordinators carry a digital pager for
12-hour periods (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Nursing
expertise is not necessary for this position
either. All that is needed is organizational
skill as these volunteers take the requests
for support from hospital staff, set up the
companions’ schedules, and communicate
with other coordinators. Access to email and
the Internet are essential for both coordinators and companions.
While the time demands are small, the
rewards are immense. “I get the satisfaction
of easing someone’s passage,” McMurtrie
said. “We also have received feedback from
family members who couldn’t be present.
We’re taking the place of the family in those
situations and have received thanks from
family members for doing that.”
To sign up to volunteer, contact Jewish
Hospital Volunteer Services for an application
at 502.587.4305.
“People
deserve
dignity as
they leave
this world.”
25
Lost & Found
restores long-lost work of art
thread
quick
26
The Visitation, painted
in 1503, depicts Sts.
Mary and Elizabeth.
On Jan. 12, Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital (SMEH)
held a very special rededication ceremony for a piece
of art that has been part of the hospital for nearly a
century. The painting is a copy of The Visitation, an
Italian Renaissance oil-on-wood work completed by
artist Mariotto Albertinelli in 1503. The original hangs
in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
The painting depicts the hospital’s namesakes,
Sts. Mary and Elizabeth, and their meeting that was
recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Back
in 1919, a museum-quality reproduction was commissioned and presented to SMEH the following year by
Edwin Bacon of the former Bacon’s department store
chain in Louisville. The painting hung in the main
entrance to the hospital, which was then located in
Old Louisville. Jim Parobek, KentuckyOne Health
senior vice president of clinical integration and SMEH
president and chief executive officer, explained that the
painting had been rediscovered, restored and placed in
a prominent location at the hospital.
Parobek and retired Bacon’s executive and former
Jewish Hospital board member Martin Margulis
unveiled the painting and Father Bryan Lamberson
of the chaplaincy team offered the blessing. Parobek
thanked the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, whose
members originally received the painting, and congratulated them on their bicentennial this year. “Their
mission,” he said, “is one we share today as part of the
new KentuckyOne Health.”
Adopting God’s Will
Families share their stories of love
found through adoption
By Kym Russell
Love knows no
boundaries for parents
who choose to adopt. This
issue features five families
who have experienced great
rewards and challenges of
international adoption.
Through telling their
stories, a common thread was
revealed: each family shared
a calling by God to bring their
very special children home.
Really God, You Want Me?
Margaret Kramer, a clinical educator with Saint Joseph
Heart Institute, prayed her way to China to meet her baby girl
in 2000. She asked God again and again to show her the way.
She said the doors kept opening – along with the encouragement of her extended family, church, friends and Saint
Joseph colleagues. She had spent time in China before and
thought adoption may be in her future.
Then, following a Christian retreat, Margaret said she felt that
she encountered the Holy Spirit and a very real longing to adopt
was placed in her heart – even though she was 38 and single.
She submitted her application to Helping Hands, a Lexington
adoption agency. One year from that day, she brought baby
Livie (Olivia Bess) home. Just 11 months old, Livie’s character
was already evident to her caretakers at the orphanage. They
described Livie as lively, lovely and a lucky baby. Margaret
said she is a lucky and blessed mom. Today, her sixth-grader’s
character still shines bright. “I couldn’t love her more.”
Photographs by nina and wes mullins
27
Growing Hearts and Family
The Maas family recently welcomed 9-year-old Elshaday, born in Ethiopia,
into their growing family. Darren Maas, who works in the biomed department
at Saint Joseph Hospital, and wife Rebecca have two biological children,
Miranda and Ethan, and six children from other countries. Rebecca, author of
the kyfamilyforfaith blog, shares their ever-changing story online.
Shortly after Ethan was born, she and Darren realized the frugality of
trying to live the typical American Dream. Instead, they felt called to care
for children with special needs. Faith, a baby from China, came first. Then,
Gabriel and Jacob arrived from Africa. Just six months later, they looked to
Ethiopia and Grace and Sera joined the Maas family in 2010. With eight
children, three with serious health conditions, each child is receiving medical
attention and abundant love.
The Maas’ have learned the international adoption process can present
unexpected obstacles and lengthy waiting periods. Even so, they believe:
“With each new adoption our hearts grow a little more. Our relationship
as husband and wife and our relationship with our Heavenly Father have
become more and more intimate. It is exciting to see how God will bless our
family next.”
28
Counting Their Blessings
Melanie Stratton and her husband, Tom, have six children,
ages 9 and under: Walter, Eli, Miles, Molly, Maggie and
Liam. Two were born in South Korea and two in Ethiopia. As
parents, they believe the four adoptions have enabled them
to witness to others about obeying God’s commands, reaping
His blessings, and educating others about adoption.
“God led us to go international. He came through on
His promise to bring great joy into our home,” said Melanie,
a medical technologist at Saint Joseph Berea. She says the
children get along with each other, argue, help care for the
youngest baby and, best of all, look after one another.
The Strattons haven’t experienced many obstacles during
their adoption processes. That could be because Melanie
follows the advice she gives to families considering adopting,
“Pray. Then, if the Lord speaks to you, listen and do
whatever He says. You can’t go wrong. You will be blessed
100 times over.”
29
Following God’s Plan
Tracy and Brandon Rexford had never discussed adoption until witnessing close friends adopt
a daughter. “Once we started praying with our friends about their adoption, we realized that God
had laid adoption on our hearts as well,” recalled Tracy, a clinical educator at Saint Joseph East.
“Prior to adopting Abby our family seemed complete. But, we couldn’t have been more wrong,”
Tracy said. “We opened up our hearts and we realized that there was a child in China that needed
our love. From the minute we told our daughters, Ali and Anna, that they had a little sister in
China they began praying for her.”
Tracy said adopting Abby has been an incredible experience for her family. “There were many
steps of faith and uncertainty, yet, there was peace in knowing we had a daughter in China and
God was taking care of her.” In December, 2006, nine-month-old Abby joined her new family.
“I look at Abby and I’m blown away by God’s love for us because we are adopted into God’s love
as well,” Tracy said. “Adoption is not as overwhelming as others might fear. When God has a plan
for our lives, and we give our lives to Him, we can be complete.”
30
Twins Double the Rewards
Wes and Nina Mullins recently became
first-time parents of 18-month-old twins
through the miracle of international
adoption. In 2006 they learned of their
infertility and soon began to consider
adoption. The couple quickly discovered that
adoption is not a consolation prize; your
children are your children no matter how
they come into your family.
The twins, Alexander Mikiyas and Eliana
Tizita, kept their Ethiopian birth names
of Mikiyas and Tizita as a tribute to their
ethnic heritage. Alexander is physical and
adventurous, while Eliana is more verbal
and comedic. The Mullins home is full of
smiles and laughter, but it wasn’t always easy.
The family spent three months in Ethiopia
waiting for the twins’ visas to come home.
Wes said, “Every day of waiting…
every tear-soaked pillow… every financial
hardship… it was ALL worth it.” The
couple agrees that the twins have not only
made them more efficient in day-to-day
life but have helped mature their marital
relationship and their personal relationship
with Jesus Christ. Wes works as an education
coordinator for the legacy Saint Joseph
Health System organization. Nina worked at
Saint Joseph East before starting Nina Mullins
Photography.
Photograph by feather whimsy photography
Adoption Assistance Program
Several families within the legacy Saint Joseph Health System organization have benefited
from the Catholic Health Initiatives adoption assistance program. Helping relieve the
financial burdens adoptive parents bear and fulfilling the organization’s mission were among
the many reasons the adoption assistance program was developed.
Reimbursement is provided to benefit eligible full- and part-time employees for some of
the financial obligations related to adopting a child. For more information, look under the
My Handbook tab on HR/Payroll Connection (Benefits & Time Off>Miscellaneous>Adoption
Assistance) or call the HR/Payroll Connection Support Center at 1.888.450.9450.
31
The Gibson-McAtee Safety-First Award
was named in honor of Ashley McAtee
(left) and Jonathan Gibson (right).
32
Health Care HERO
Stepping Up for Safety
Jewish Hospital employees’ extraordinary
efforts to keep their patient safe
By Phyllis Shaikun
“Our organization’s primary concern is the
safety of our patients, and our board is committed
to high reliability, preventing errors and promoting
safety,” said Belinda Beard, RN, corporate safety officer
for KentuckyOne Health. While we all know that safety
events can occur, Beard said increased awareness of
ways to prevent them has resulted in some major safety
catches over the past year.
In fact, one catch was so significant that an award was
created to honor the two Jewish Hospital (JH) employees,
emergency room technician Jonathan Gibson and
registered nurse Ashley McAtee, whose extraordinary
efforts kept their patient safe.
Back in October 2011, Gibson and McAtee were with
their patient in the JH operating room. Gibson, who has
been with the hospital since 2006, had concerns about
the patient’s care and used the ARCC error prevention
technique to address the Fellow who was handling the
case:
He A sked a Question:
“Is there another option?”
Requested a Change:
“Please reconsider.”
Voiced a Concern:
“I am concerned about this decision.”
Used the Chain of Command:
“I won’t proceed until the attending
surgeon has seen this case.”
When he was still not satisfied with the responses he
received, Gibson left the OR to discuss his issues with the
attending physician. “I had never stopped a procedure in
the OR before that day,” he said, “but I felt like I was just
doing my job. I would rather err on the side of caution
and would want someone to do the same thing for me in
a similar situation.” The interesting thing is that Gibson
had just taken an error prevention class the day before.
Meanwhile, McAtee, a January 2011 graduate of
Spalding University’s School of Nursing, had only been
working at JH for a few months and was monitoring the
patient’s care. She had confidence in Gibson’s abilities
and judgment and readily supported his decision not to
proceed without checking further. So she stopped the
line by refusing to follow the directions given by the
Fellow. The delay gave Gibson enough time to discuss his
concerns with the attending physician, and they worked
together to resolve the issue – all the while ensuring that
the patient received the best possible care.
McAtee was shocked about receiving the safety award
and being honored for what she considers “the stuff we
do every day.” Sometimes in health care, she contends,
we tend to concentrate on the disease process of a patient
and have the potential to lose sight of the patient as a
whole. Standing up for our patients is really what the
award is all about; patients are more than a diagnosis.
“Gibson and McAtee’s commitment to error prevention
and patient safety is noteworthy,” Beard said. “In
recognition of their great safety catch, the Jewish Hospital
& St. Mary’s Foundation established the Gibson-McAtee
Safety-First Award in their honor. The award will be
presented annually to team members whose actions best
demonstrate the commitment to keep our patients safe.”
Criteria for nominees proposed for the award include:
a team member or members whose actions had a direct
impact on a specific patient or patients; actions that
required the courage to act and a commitment to patient
safety; actions that exemplify the type of behavior we
desire in all of our team members; and actions that
showed behavior rarely demonstrated in the workplace.
The award is for $500, which will be equally
distributed among recipients. In addition to receiving
individual plaques or trophies, each recipient’s name will
be placed on a permanent wall plaque listing all previous
winners. Nominations for the award can be submitted
at any time during the year by a team member or
physician. The selection process occurs in early October
with the honoree(s) chosen by the chief medical officer,
the director of patient safety and the director of quality
and risk management. The award will be presented
annually in November.
“I had never stopped a procedure in the OR before that day.”
33
Salvaging Surplus
Supplies
Our ‘trash’ saves lives abroad
By Amy Taylor
Each year 10 million children
worldwide under age 5 will die for
lack of basic medical care. Many will die from
a lack of medical supplies alone.
U.S. hospitals dispose of thousands of tons
of usable medical equipment and supplies
in landfills. This “surplus” is what most
Americans call “garbage.”
Fortunately, an organization called Supplies
Over Seas (SOS) is recovering these tons of
usable medical supplies and shipping them
to third world countries where they can save
lives. And now KentuckyOne Health hospitals
are joining the effort.
Allen Montgomery, president and chief
executive officer of SOS, has hundreds of
inspiring stories to tell about what happens
when American hospitals commit to recycle
and ship out usable supplies to less fortunate
countries.
“We’ve just developed a relationship
with the Manabi Provincial Government in
Ecuador, and a representative came to visit
to inspect the supplies and equipment we
planned to send,” Montgomery said. “When
he and a physician who has been there on
a mission saw three ventilators from Saint
Joseph London (SJL) that would be on the
shipment, they were both overjoyed, and
almost in tears. They told stories about
critically ill children needing a ventilator
and two children having to share a single
ventilator because they don’t have enough.
“Medical decisions are made on a daily
basis about which children will live or die
due to lack of ventilators. The six ventilators
from Saint Joseph London (which were in the
basement and not being used) will literally
save hundreds of lives of the most vulnerable
children around the world.”
Saint Joseph and Flaget facilities became
involved with SOS a year ago when SJL
purchased equipment for its new facility and
had surplus equipment and supplies to give
away from the old hospital, according to SJL
Public Affairs Director Sharon Hershberger.
SJL made a huge donation which included
42 hydraulic stretchers, bedpans, sterilizers,
footstools, surgery lights, and stainless steel
sinks – just for starters.
At SJL, “the plan is to ‘capture’ as many
34
supplies as possible, so bins have been placed
in high-traffic areas like surgery,” Hershberger
said. “During a surgery, a pack can be opened,
and then only a portion of the supplies from
that pack may be used on a patient. Normally,
the rest of the supplies would be thrown away.
Now, if they are usable, they are collected in
the bin.”
Items that are no longer sterile can still
have a use, Hershberger said.
“Gloves that are out of date or no longer
sterile can be used as exam gloves. Syringes
that are out of date can be used for infant
feedings or irrigating wounds. Allen told us
of developing countries where, when a baby
is born, there may be no blanket to wrap him
in. So he may get wrapped in a plastic bag. It
would be much better to swaddle him in an
unused, but clean, surgical drape.”
Surplus items collected at hospitals are
shipped to the SOS warehouse in Louisville,
Hershberger said. Since Owens Minor, the
medical supply company that drops off
supplies to SJL, would be
going back to Louisville, the
company is generous enough
to transport the SOS supplies
to their warehouse at no cost
for SOS pickup.
“That is a blessing,” she said.
Within the legacy Saint
Joseph Health System organization, SJL, Saint Joseph Mount
Sterling (SJMS) and Flaget
Memorial Hospital currently
are collecting supplies for SOS.
The plan is for all hospitals
to eventually take part. The
legacy Jewish Hospital & St.
Mary’s HealthCare organization already has a long
tradition of supporting SOS.
After SJMS built a new facility, Sister
Janet Carr and Martin Riggs, director of
development, began working with SOS. A
wide variety of items, such as beds, defibrillators, bilirubin lights and fetal monitors were
left in the old facility. These surplus goods
have since been picked up by SOS and have
begun making their way across the globe.
Other surplus items are scheduled to be
donated to a town in Mexico. The equipment
will be used to serve a town of 20,000 that is
currently without a health care facility.
The SOS program is one of only 15 medical
surplus recycling organizations across the
U.S. It was founded in 1994 by physicians of
the Greater Louisville Medical Society. Since
1994 SOS has shipped more than 600 tons of
supplies to 90 developing countries.
Sorting of supplies is one of the biggest
Volunteers are needed to help sort
supplies before they are shipped.
While no medical knowledge is
necessary, a background in health
care is especially valuable to the
process. Please call the SOS office
about scheduling and availability at
502.736.6360, or email Karen Womack
at karen.womack@suppliesoverseasorg.
Visit SuppliesOverSeas.org to learn
more about the program.
Sharon Hershberger sorted through
collected supplies at SJL, where bins
are placed in high-traffic areas like
surgery to capture surplus items.
Photograph by tim webb
“It’s not just that it furthers our humanitarian efforts; it also supports our green efforts.”
jobs. SJL Director of Materials Management
Maureen Phelps got a first-hand look at how
SOS sorting is completed when she and other
supply chain directors in the system recently
went to the SOS warehouse to do some
volunteer sorting. They toured the warehouse
and learned about SOS processes and sorted
supplies. Supply chain will be working with
SOS to establish a volunteer day once a
month to engage other departments within
the Saint Joseph and Flaget facilities.
“It’s a big operation,” Phelps said. “It gave
us a better idea of how they use and sort and
transport the supplies, and just the scope of
their operation. It was much bigger than any
of us had imagined. We were very impressed
with SOS’s organization. It was a very finelytuned operation.”
Much of the day was spent sorting different
sizes of syringes, Phelps said.
“These had been collected in bins,” she
said. “They would just have been wasted
otherwise. It gave you a good feeling knowing
you were helping a ‘green’ initiative, plus
serving the underserved. We were just plain
impressed with them.”
Hershberger was so impressed that she
asked the London Rotary Club, of which
she is a member, to make a donation to
SOS. Their $500 helped pay for gasoline
for two tractor trailers on three box trucks
to transport equipment and supplies from
London to Louisville. Groups or individuals
can also sponsor shipment of ¼ of a sea-going
container for $2,500, half a container for
$5,000, or a full 40-foot container for $10,000.
SOS accomplishes so many worthy goals,
Hershberger said.
“It’s not just that it furthers our humanitarian efforts; it also supports our green
efforts, keeping things out of the landfills,
and reducing our carbon footprint.”
35
thread
quick
Impact Change
Transformed meters help Lexington’s
homeless community
Defunct parking meters throughout Lexington have been
colorfully decorated by local artists and repurposed for the Impact
Change project, developed by the Downtown Lexington Corporation
Foundation and Lexington & Fayette County Parking Authority, and
sponsored by the Kentucky Blood Center. These specially refitted
parking meters are located at local businesses and hot spots around
town, including Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East (look for
them in the front lobby). Meters are also stationed at YMCA facilities
(High Street and North locations – a home base for Saint Joseph
Healthy Living Center).
The Impact Change Meters provide an outlet for people to give their
spare change and have it go directly to service agencies that support
homeless and rehabilitation issues. Examples of such agencies include
Salvation Army, The Hope Center and The Nest – Center for Women,
Children & Families. Learn more at ImpactChangeLex.com.
Photograph by lee thomas
36
Healthy SPIRIT
Know Your Numbers
Initiative helps employees see complete wellness picture
By Phyllis Shaikun
Y
ou could call it a Heart Month bonus from Jewish Hospital’s (JH)
Wellness Committee. A notice read you could find out your “health
numbers” in just a few minutes throughout the month of February
by stopping by Pharmacy Plus on the JH downtown campus from 7 to
11 a.m. By popular demand, two dates in March were set as well with no
appointment necessary.
Know Your Numbers is a wellness committee initiative in its second
year of helping employees learn more about their health. “In just eight
minutes, we can get their entire wellness picture,” said Michelle Eckhart,
co-manager of the Wellness Program and manger of Jewish Diabetes Care
for Jewish Physician Group (JPG). “We can check weight, BMI (body mass
index), body fat and blood pressure, and with just a finger stick, we can
screen for glucose and run a full lipid panel free of charge.”
More than 500 employees took advantage of this special health
screening that really impacted many of their lives in the process. They
not only received their test results within minutes, they also received
immediate, one-on-one advice from a registered dietitian or nurse.
Last year, upon hearing test results and receiving proactive advice, one
employee lost 15 pounds and cut her triglyceride numbers in half to a
normal range.
DeAnna Hall, employee health, who co-manages the wellness program
with Eckhart, knows the program works. “One man I saw in the elevator
told me that when he was tested last year, he learned his numbers were off
and set about losing 30 pounds. We also caught several employees with
high blood pressure, and one woman was put on meds before the end of
the day!”
Both Eckhart and Hall believe the beauty of the program is the
immediate feedback employees receive. Knowing where they are
health-wise empowers them to make the changes they need to make their
lives better.
Thanks to her participation in Know Your Numbers, Jan Day, RN, BSN,
lead nurse at JH, has lost 56 pounds – and five dress sizes – in less than
seven months. “When I saw my numbers last year,” she said, “I was very
concerned. They showed I had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I
realized that at 58, I needed to change my ways in order to be healthy for
my eventual retirement. I also knew that if I did not make lifestyle changes
now, I might become too set in my ways to make changes later on.”
That’s when she decided to join JH’s Weight Watchers at Work program.
“I followed their guidelines,” she said, “and the leader cautioned me not to
go by what others have or have not been able to accomplish.” She attained
Weight Watchers’ lifetime status in March and can now attend meetings at
no charge. She admitted she is grateful she stuck with the program, which
now has 20 members attending on a regular basis.
The organization realizes that a healthy workforce benefits both
employees and employers and offers discounts and award perks that
encourage participation. Day uses her Wii Fit at home all the time and
plans to use the points she earns to purchase a second one her family can
use on vacations. That should help with her current wellness project –
getting her husband to be healthy along with her.
“You need to make the commitment to yourself that you are important
and you are going to be the healthiest you can be,” Day concluded. “We
are in health care because we want to help people, but if we don’t take
care of ourselves, we can’t take care of others.”
“I realized that at 58,
I needed to change
my ways in order to
be healthy for my
eventual retirement.”
—Jan Day, RN, BSN
Marketing & Communications Department
One St. Joseph Drive
Lexington, KY 40504
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Lexington, KY
Permit #162
Better care is here.
Continuing Care Hospital
Flaget Memorial Hospital
Frazier Rehab Institute
Jewish Hospital
Jewish Hospital Outpatient Centers
Jewish Hospital Shelbyville
Jewish Physician Group
Our Lady of Peace
Saint Joseph Berea
Saint Joseph East
Saint Joseph Hospital
Saint Joseph Jessamine
Saint Joseph London
Saint Joseph Martin
Saint Joseph Mount Sterling
Saint Joseph Physicians
Meet KentuckyOne Health. A new and unique
partnership between two of Kentucky’s leading health
providers — Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare
and Saint Joseph Health System. Together we are
investing $320 million to bring the latest treatments
to more people across the state. Learn more about
KentuckyOne Health at KentuckyOneHealth.org.
The Women’s Hospital at Saint
VNA Nazareth Home Care
Joseph East
Jewish Hospital Medical Centers:
East, South, Southwest, Northeast

Love Leash - KentuckyOne Health

Transcription

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