April 7, 2014 - St. Anthony`s Medical Center

St. Anthony’s
This Week
NEWS
FOR
EMPLOYEES
AND
Monday, April 7, 2014
VOLUNTEERS
‘Aunt Shirley’ transcends grief by treating
the cardiac staff to delectable goodies
Married for 32 years, Shirley and Michael Leono of
Oakville were a close-knit couple. They even enjoyed
cooking together – sort of.
“Mike would sit and serve as the taster,” Shirley
clarified, and chuckled.
When Mike entered St. Anthony’s in the summer of
2012 as a patient in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care
Unit, Shirley was impressed by the quality of care he
received from the doctors, nurses and other employees.
“The staff was just tremendous,” she recalled. “He got
the best care: I can’t say enough about them.”
After Mike died on July 6, 2012, Shirley was
overwhelmed by grief. Her friends suggested she take
a vacation, but Shirley felt that wasn’t the answer. She
thought of the cardiac caregivers, who had become her
Shirley Leono with an
friends.
Easter snack tray.
“I knew they didn’t get to eat a lot when they were
working with Mike,” she recalled. “When I couldn’t sleep at night, I’d go to my recipe
book and think of ideas.”
The ideas came in droves. For the last 18 months, Shirley has used every holiday –
and invented a few, besides– to treat the cardiac staff to everything from finger foods to
full meals with dessert.
The caregivers know her as “Aunt Shirley,” said Brittney Vargas, R.N., B.S.N., Cardiac
Medical ICU.
“She’s always so considerate, always thinking about what she can do for others,”
Vargas said. “She has probably the biggest heart of anyone I’ve met.”
Shirley delivers each spread to St. Anthony’s in large coolers. She has become
friends with the valets, who direct her to park near the entrance while she unloads the
goodies in the break room. Each spread she crafts with the utmost care and detail—from
coordinating napkins, plates and tablecloths to cheerful decorations.
“It’s been good therapy for me,” she explains.
to the Information Services Telecommunications department, which
came to the aid recently of a hearing-impaired employee. Chrissy Jenkins,
Clinical Laboratory Assistant, had been struggling to hear on her ASCOM phone
with her hearing aids. Special thanks to Sharon Kozuszek and the Information Services
Telecommunications department, who worked with Chrissy’s hearing instrument
specialist, Beltone, to get a special Bluetooth-compatible phone that enabled Chrissy to
hear. She now is in a clinical trial with ASCOM.
“The look on her face when she could hear was priceless,” said Sherri Moore, Manager
of the Laboratory.
Rockwell appointed
to CAP advisory board
Congratulations to Renee Rockwell,
St. Anthony’s Laboratory Director, who
recently was appointed to serve on the
Laboratory Accreditation Program
(LAP) Advisory Panel for the College
of American Pathologists’ (CAP)
Council on Accreditation. As a panel
member, Rockwell will advise the CAP’s
accreditation program on a variety of
issues related to LAP topics, including
proposed checklist changes and changes to
the accreditation program.
“This appointment represents Renee’s
hard work, and it also serves as outside
validation by the College of American
Pathologists of the strength of our
laboratory services,” said Eric Appelgren,
M.D., Vice President of Clinical Services.
Rockwell recently celebrated her 25th
anniversary of service to St. Anthony’s.
She said her membership on the panel
will enable the Laboratory to be aware of
upcoming changes to CAP accreditation
checklist changes early in the process,
and to help change CAP policy on future
accreditation checklist items.
Seminars planned on new IncomeFlex option to 401(k) plan
Planning for retirement is a major
challenge. Need some assistance? Perhaps
it’s IncomeFlex, a new funding option for
your SAMC 401(k) Savings Plan. St. Anthony’s partnered with
Prudential to add this new funding
option on March 1. Learn more about it
in 45-minute seminars with Prudential
representatives on April 10 and 23, at both
the hospital and the Landmark Parkway
office. Visit the home page of SAMCare
and click on “This Week extras” to learn
more.
Submit your story for consideration • Robbi.Courtaway@samcstl.org • 314-525-4003
St. Anthony’s
Community
Outreach
in the
department
wants
employees to know how St. Anthony’s is helping
our community. Here are a few of the events we
participated in last month:
Thanks a million, St. Anthony’s volunteers!
Cancer Wellness Day
St. Anthony’s Charitable Foundation
was a bronze-level sponsor for the
Cancer Wellness Day event at the
Edward Jones building on March 1.
St. Anthony’s Cancer Center and
Hospice both had booths. The event
provided cancer patients and their loved
ones with valuable information through
educational programs and interactive
classes, networking opportunities
with professionals and peers, and an
introduction to community cancer
resources in the greater metropolitan
St. Louis area.
Get Up, Get Fit! lecture
Vickie Nesselhauf, exercise physiologist,
discussed the benefits of exercise and
how to safely start an exercise regime
with the 50 attendees at the “Get Up,
Get Fit!” lecture on March 12. Lisa
Galati, registered and licensed dietitian,
discussed healthy eating and a balanced
diet. This was the first of three events
in St. Anthony’s Get Fit! series of
educational events for the community.
The Power of Validation lecture
Kim Estes, licensed professional
counselor, presented to a group of 41
people on the importance of validation
in relationships during a lecture in the
Great Room on March 24. She gave
examples on how to use validation to
build healthier relationships.
Oakville Middle School health
fair
St. Anthony’s Time-Critical Diagnosis
Team from the Emergency Department
provided information to 600 students
on seatbelt safety, distracted driving,
heart attack symptoms, stroke
symptoms and hands-only CPR at the
Oakville Middle School health fair on
March 25.
Congratulations to Jennifer Reynolds,
Radiology Technologist at Southwest
Medical Center, who completed her
mammography certification and passed
the exam on March 31.
Above, Claim volunteer Tom Jaskiewicz
assists people with questions about
their medical insurance. Left, Mabel
Schira and Jacqueline Feissle work in
St. Anthony’s gift shop.
April 6 through 12 is National Volunteer Appreciation Week, and St. Anthony’s extends
a hearty thanks to our 317 generous volunteers. You can find their pink jackets, yellow
polo shirts and navy blue blazers in 55 departments at the medical center. Last year, volunteers between the ages of 14 and 94 years old provided 45,457 hours
of service to St. Anthony’s. The national estimated value of volunteer time is $22.14 an
hour, which means our volunteers’ efforts last year were worth $1,006,418.
April is Occupational Therapy Month
to the more than two dozen Occupational Therapists at St. Anthony’s and
approximately 20 Occupational Therapy Assistants, in Acute Rehab, Acute
Care, Home Care and Outpatient Therapy. These dedicated employees help people of all
ages, and in all circumstances, to participate in the necessary activities of life. They may
help a child with disabilities participate in school, help a person recovering from injuries
to regain skills, or assist an older adult in becoming as independent as possible. For more
information, visit www.aota.org.
Heart Care FUNd Committee fundraiser updates
Cardinals baseball opening day kick-off raffle planned
The Heart Care FUNd committee will host a raffle from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on
Monday, April 7, Wednesday, April 9 and Friday, April 11 in the hospital cafeteria, and
during the evening from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8 in the hospital cafeteria and
9 to 11 p.m. Thursday, April 10 at Café Anthony. If you work off-site or cannot make
it during one of the above times, check with your team captain to see if he or she is
selling tickets. The drawing will be held in the cafeteria at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 11.
Particiapnts do not need to be present to win.
Contact Brandon Koehler at brandon.koehler@samcstl.org. Prizes include two Cardinals
tickets in premium seats, Jimmy Johns gift cards, pizza gift cards, movie passes donated
by Keller Plaza Cine 8 and more!
Join the fun at the Heart FUNd trivia night April 25
St. Anthony’s Heart Specialty Associates will host its third annual trivia night from
7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at Orlando Gardens, 4300 Hoffmeister Ave. in South
County. Proceeds will benefit St.Anthony’s Heart Care FUNd. Doors open at
6:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $25, tables of 10 are $250: soda, beer, wine and well
drinks are included. Premium seating with waitress service costs $350 per table. Wear
red for heart disease awareness and be entered to win a special prize. A silent auction
and a 50/50 drawing also will be offered, as well as a prize for the best-decorated “happy
250th birthday St. Louis”-themed table. To register, email preed@heartspecialty.com or call
(314) 880-6607.
to the Environmental Services Heartbeats, who held a fundraiser at Pottery
Hollow on Friday, March 28. Twenty percent (about $40) of the proceeds
was donated back to the Heart Care FUNd.