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Page Content:   Good Samaritan Regional Health Center Innovation & Learning Center recently received a grant for $5,000 from the Illinois State Library.  Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White presented more than $1 million dollars to the “Back to Books” grant, which was awarded to more than 230 libraries in Illinois.

 “We are really excited to have $5,000 to spend on updating books in the medical library,” said Coleen Saxe, Librarian at Good Samaritan Regional Health Center.   “Our goal is to provide the best patient care possible, and knowledge is the key to doing just that.”

 Each library submitted an application and a letter to identify the types of books and materials that would be purchased if it were to receive the grant.  All of the books and materials to be obtained at Good Samaritan Regional Health Center will focus on subjects such as medical, nursing, allied health, or anything related to the services provided at the hospital.

 “New books will help keep our patrons current and will help to identify best practices,” stated Saxe.  “We appreciate the grant opportunity provided by the Illinois State Library and are so fortunate.”

 The “Back to Books” grant gave awards that ranged from $2,500 to $5,000 per library.  This grant was made possible by the Federal Institute Museum and Library Services and the state of Illinois Library Funds.

 Good Samaritan Regional Health Center resources are available at no charge for inter-library Loan through OCLC First Search or Docline.  For more information about the Innovation & Learning Center Library or services at St. Mary’s Good Samaritan, please visit smgsi.com.

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St. Mary’s Good Samaritan would like to congratulate Carla Martinez, R.N. and Vanessa Kell, R.N. for becoming ostomy certified, and Julia Altadonna, R.N. on becoming wound care certified.

Martinez and Kell attended the Ostomy Management Course in Chicago, Illinois and at the conclusion the National Alliance of Wound Care (NAWC) proctored the Ostomy Management Specialist Certification Exam. Altadonna obtained her Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) certification in wound care in July 2012.

Both Martinez and Kell have been members of the St. Mary’s Hospital Wound Healing Center team and hospital consultants since the opening of the center in 2010. Altadonna joined the Wound Healing Center team for Good Samaritan Regional Health Center in August 2011.

The Wound Healing Center specializes in treating acute and chronic hard-to-heal wounds. Diabetes, vascular problems, medications, infections and poor nutrition are some conditions that can prevent a wound from healing. The Wound Healing Center also offers hyperbaric chamber treatment  program, which provides a 100% oxygen environment for patients with extremely difficult wounds that do not respond to conventional therapy.  St. Mary’s Good Samaritan is one of very few organizations in southern Illinois that offers this service.

For more information about The Wound Healing Center please call 888.257.6098 or visit our website at smgsi.com

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Page Content:   The prestigious American Diabetes Association Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes self-management education program was recently awarded to the St. Mary’s Good Samaritan diabetes program. ADA believes that this program offers high-quality education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment. Education Recognition status is verified by an official certificate from ADA and awarded for four years. 

The Association’s Education Recognition Certificate assures the educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. Programs that achieve Recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management. 

“Our program is honored to be awarded ADA Recognition and to continue the quality of services we provide,” said Diane Terry, Diabetes Program Coordinator and certified Diabetes Educator since 1994.

St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia and Good Samaritan Regional Health Center in Mt. Vernon Recognition sites have been providing services since 2008. Both programs provide a full range of services for the diabetes patient including Diabetes Self-Management Training Group Classes, individual Diabetes Self-Management Training, Medical Nutrition Therapy, a monthly Diabetes Support Group and wellness coaching. 

Additionally, program participants have access to financial assistance programs, outpatient social services, mental health, pharmacy, NEXT program and more.   

 The program has proven itself by helping patients achieve lower blood sugar and meet their personal behavior change goals. Diabetes Self-Management Training topics include medication management, insulin training, blood glucose monitoring, physical activity, basic meal planning, coping strategies, and reducing risks of complications.

 According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 25.8 million people or 8.5% of the population in the United States who have diabetes. While an estimated 18.8 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 7 million people are not aware that they have this disease.

 Each day approximately 5,205 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications- heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve disease and amputation.

About 1.9 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2010 in the US. Diabetes contributed to 231,404 deaths in 2007, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the US. Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age but without diabetes.

For more information on diabetes education, please call 618.899.2085 or visit the diabetes booth at the Heart Expo and Health Fair on May 4^th at the Mt. Vernon Holiday Inn.

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Page Content:  The Auxiliary of St. Mary's Hospital announced that two scholarship applications are now available for students pursuing a career in the health care field.  The Auxiliary provides two - $500 scholarships and The Illinois Hospital Association offers a $1,000 scholarship. 

Eligibility for the St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary scholarship:

• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
• Applicants must attend Kaskaskia College.
• Any person accepted into, or currently enrolled in a hospital-related health care professional curriculum is eligible.  Consideration is limited to students who have been accepted in a health care professional sequence; that is, when courses are open only to student candidates for the degree or certification.
• Have a 3 point GPA out of 4 points or a 4 point GPA out of 5 points is necessary.

Eligibility for the Illinois Hospital Research & Educational Foundation scholarship:

• Any student currently enrolled or accepted into a certificate or degree conferring, hospital-related health care sequence is eligible. Students in general course of studies programs (i.e. pre-med, general education courses, liberal arts, etc.) are not eligible. 
• Applicants enrolled in an associate degree or hospital-based program will be considered their first year.
• Applicants must be Illinois residents.
• The school to be attended need not be an Illinois institution; however, it must be accredited or recognized as an approved program by the appropriate agencies.
• Students having less than one academic year remaining until graduation are not eligible for consideration.
• In order to be competitive, a 3.5 GPA out of 4 points or a 4.5 GPA out of 5 points is necessary.

The applications for both may be picked up in the hospital’s Information Desk or Gift Shop in Centralia.  You may print off the instructions and applications by clicking here.  

Deadlines for receipt of the completed application(s) are May 1^st for the Auxiliary and April 15^th for the Illinois Hospital Association.

 If you would like further information please contact a member of our Scholarship Committee:  Delores Wanzo (532-8820), Jeanette Storck (533-1277) or Betty Scarbrough  (532-0339).

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Good Samaritan Regional Health Center was presented a check for $50,000 by the hospital’s auxiliary. The check was the final installment in the Good Samaritan Regional Health Center Auxiliary’s commitment of raising $225,000 toward a water wall and heritage wall at the new Good Samaritan Regional Health Center.

The auxiliary had made the nearly quarter-million-dollar pledge in January 2011, they accomplished this commitment in two years.

Good Samaritan Regional Health Center Auxiliary is comprised of over 200 members that volunteered 23,559 hours in the hospital in 2012. Volunteers also help in special projects  such as, making flower arrangements for the gift shop, Christmas stockings for December born babies, heart Pillows for  heart patients,  and  baby afghans for the gift shop.  Volunteers also provide support at community events; prostate screenings, the monthly Connections educational series and the Heart Expo each year.  This year the Auxiliary has added pet therapy volunteers, and in spring 2013 they will add music therapy volunteers.

During its January meeting, the Good Samaritan Hospital Auxiliary seated its new board, which includes President Bob Brown, First Vice President Jane Byars, Second Vice President Judith Heitmeyer, Secretary Eloise Morris, Treasurer Marcia Spiller, Past President Stacey Rogers and board members Linda Hoffman, Brad Fosberg, Cleo Holt and Sharon Horton.

Committee chairs for 2013 also were appointed at the  January meeting.  Pat Rettig was selected to chair the AHA committee; Virginia Rubenacker was selected as chair of the Bargain Box; Barb Holman was selected as communications chair; Norma Metz was appointed chair of the gift shop committee;; Anita Hunt was selected as legislation chair; Brenda Warren was appointed to chair the ways and means committee; Karen Huntington was selected as scholarship chair and Ruth Jones was appointed as service hours recorder.

For more information about volunteering at Good Samaritan Regional Health Center, contact Judy Swinson, Director of Volunteer Services, at 618-899-1031.

  

 From left: Officer Installation from left to right, Mike Warren, President Good Samaritan Regional Health Center; Bob Brown, President; Jane Byars, First Vice President; Judith Heitmeyer, Second Vice President; Eloise Morris, Secretary; Marcia Spiller, Treasurer; Stacy Rogers, Past President; Linda Hoffman, board member; Brad Fosberg, board member; Cleo Holt, board member; Sharon Horton, board member.

  

 From Left:  Check Presentation from left to right, Eloise Morris, Marcia Spiller, Sue Robbins, Auxiliary President Bob Brown,  SMGSI President & CEO Phil Gustafson, Past President of Auxiliary Stacey Rogers, President of GSRHC Mike Warren, Vice President of Fund Development Bruce Flanigan, and Director of Volunteer Services Judy Swinson.

 

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Are you looking for a guidance and information on your health and wellness?  Well look no further.  Several education and wellness services will be provided at the St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Heart Expo and Health Fair on Saturday, May 4 at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Vernon.

In addition to the many educational opportunities offered free of charge, attendees may receive free screenings and health assessments, including blood pressure screenings, memory screenings, body mass index calculations, a diabetes risk test, sleep screenings and take-home colon cancer tests.

Also, heart risk profile lab work will be offered for $30 per person. This deeply discounted profile will consist of measurements in cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, VLDL, a cholesterol/HDL ratio, a thyroid function test (TSH), a complete blood count (CBC) and a comprehensive metabolic panel.

To reduce wait times, those wishing to attend the Heart Expo and Health Fair are asked to pre-register at least 48 hours prior to the event by calling (888)257-6098 or by visiting smgsi.com and clicking on the on-line event registration. Pre-registration is offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will allow attendees to have paperwork completed and ready for a signature upon arrival.

“The Heart Expo and Health Fair allows residents from Southern Illinois access to a wealth of information on a wide array of health topics, especially heart health and its relationship to other health factors,” said Victoria Woodrow, Director of Marketing/Public Relations for St. Mary’s Good Samaritan. “Also, there are free screenings to determine the health of attendees, as well as a $30 heart risk profile that is being offered at a reduced.”

The event runs from 8am - 11am at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Vernon.  Among the education and wellness services offered free of charge at the event are: 

·         Open Heart Surgery & Endovascular Surgery

·         SMGSMG Neurology - Information on “Heart Attack/Stroke Attack - Go to ER Immediately”

·         Shake the Salt Habit

·         Lymphedema and You

·         Cardiac Cath Lab - Heart Care, Stenting & Symptoms/Signs of Heart Attack

·         SSM Home Care & Hospice

·         Diabetes Self-Management Education

·         Hospitalist & Geriatric Programs

·         Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Services

·         Advance Directives and End of Life Decisions - POA Witnessing Available

·         Volunteering

·         Pet Therapy

·         Connections Educational Series: Become a Member

·         Yoga & You

·         Sleep Apnea: Diagnosis & Treatment

·         Electronic Health Record is Coming!

·         Breast Imaging Center: Mammograms

 

FREE SCREENINGS AND HEALTH ASSESSMENTS:

•        Memory Screenings

•        Spirometry Screenings

•        Grip Strength Screenings

•        Blood Pressure Testing

•        Diabetes Risk Test

•        Good Samaritan Plaza Pharmacy: Education & Medication Review

 

For more information or to pre-register for blood work, call (888)257-6098 or visit smgsi.com for fast easy on-line registration.

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Page Content:   St. Mary’s Good Samaritan honors the dedicated men and women of its auxiliaries during National Volunteer Week for their service and dedication to the hospital and the communities it serves.

“Volunteers are often the first faces that patients and visitors see upon entering our facility – faces of friendliness and caring that represent so much of what we stand for,” states Scott Niermann, St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary Liaison.

St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Auxiliaries are compromised over 320 members that volunteered a total of 40,106 hours in 2012. Volunteers serve in many locations throughout the hospital and also provide support at community events such as different screenings, the monthly Connections educational series, blood drives and the Health Expo each year. 

“Our volunteers are so important to our mission and this community.  We could not do all that we do without their selfless giving day after day, year after year,” states Judy Swinson, Director of Volunteer Services for Good Samaritan Regional Health Center. 

St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary formed in 1958, marking their 55th anniversary with the hospital. Since then the Auxiliary has reached $1,000,000 in financial gifts through their fundraising activities. 

Good Samaritan Regional Health Center Auxiliary formed in 1966, marking their 47th anniversary with the hospital.  Since then, the auxiliary has given over $1,823,380.12 in gifts to the hospital.  For more information about volunteering, please visit our website at www.smgsi.com.

 

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On Wednesday, April 3, Robert I. “Bob” Schueler was honored for his generous philanthropy and support of St. Mary’s Hospital.  St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation recognized Schueler by renaming the Same Day Surgery unit the Robert I. Schueler Same Day Surgery, and a reception was held in his honor.

Mr. Schueler has been a resident of Centralia since the late 1990’s.  Over the years, he has become quite impressed with St. Mary’s Hospital.  “People here like St. Mary’s Hospital. I know it has a good reputation in Centralia,” says Robert “Bob” Schueler, “I know I am not just throwing my money away for something that doesn’t do anything good.”  With the belief that quality health care is important to the community, he continues to help the hospital and his community. 

In 2005, Schueler made an initial generous contribution of $860,000. This gift helped fund the technology and construction of the $2 million Same Day Surgery unit that opened in 2006.  In 2010, he contributed another $25,000 to support construction of the new Intensive Care Unit, which was completed in late 2011.  In 2012, he became a sponsor of the Foundation’s annual golf tournament, and in 2013 he made another gift of $50,000 to assist the hospital with the renovation of its Telemetry unit.  To date, Mr. Schueler has gifted nearly $1 million to St. Mary’s Hospital.

Throughout the years, Schueler has become a close friend of St. Mary’s Hospital, its employees, physicians and volunteers.  “Perhaps the most amazing thing about Robert Schueler’s generosity is his philosophy that drives it – ‘I would like to live well and die broke’.  He is a very special and humble philanthropist.  It is with sincere appreciation for his support of the hospital’s mission, ’to continue the healing ministry of Jesus Christ,’ that we say thank you and honor him today,” says Bruce Merrell, President St. Mary’s Hospital.

 For more information on St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, please call the Foundation Office at 618.436.6455 or visit smgsi.com.

Bruce Merrell, President St. Mary’s Hospital, Robert I. “Bob” Schueler, Dr. Maryann Langenfeld, Foundation Board Member, Scott Niermann, St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation Director, Rev. Ron Johnson, Foundation Board Chairman and Phil Gustafson, President and CEO St. Mary’s Good Samaritan

Dr. Maryann Langenfeld helps tell Schueler’s story of generously giving to St. Mary’s Hospital and the community of Centralia.  Schueler was honored in a naming ceremony and reception at the hospital on Wednesday, April 3.

Bruce Merrell, President St. Mary’s Hospital and philanthropist Robert I. “Bob” Schueler stand in front of the newly renamed Same Day Surgery unit at St. Mary’s Hospital.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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May 6 – 12 is National Nurses Week, and St. Mary’s Good Samaritan is honoring the men and women who serve faithfully as nurses and stewards to help better our community. These medical professionals are greatly valued and respected for their good works and dedication in its hospitals.

                                                                                                                                  

National Nurses Week begins on May 6 with National Nurses Day and ends on May 12, the birthday of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.  On May 8 this year, both National Student Nurses Day and National School Nurse Day are celebrated.

 “I would like to thank all of our nursing personnel for their care and dedication to our patients.  To be in this noble profession is certainly rewarding,” stated Virginia Telford, Vice President of Patient Care Services at St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia. 

 Nurses will be honored throughout the week by physicians and staff at both St. Mary’s Hospital and Good Samaritan Regional Health Center.  Over 650 nurses are employed at both campuses.

 “The nursing staff is excited and honored to bring health care for patients in our local communities to a new level. We celebrate Nurse’s Week and want to recognize each and every member of our Patient Care Services team for their contribution,” commented Jan Becherer, Vice President of Patient Care Services at Good Samaritan Regional Health Center. 

 For more information about St. Mary’s Good Samaritan please visit smgsi.com or call 888.257.6098.

 

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