global outreach saves a life -...
TRANSCRIPT
Bringing Together the Saint Joseph Health System Family
Summer 2010
Global Outreach Saves a LifeJamaican Patient Receives Heart Surgery
Win a $75 Visa Gift Card! See Details Inside
Fast Labor in the Fast Lane
Who’s a Big Loser?
Spotlight Lexington
Inside Our Family A note from Gene Woods Dear Saint Joseph Family,
Summer is here, and I hope that you have set aside some time for rest and relaxation with your families and loved ones. As we enjoy time with our Saint Joseph family as well, we have a great deal to celebrate this season as we begin our new fiscal year.
Excitement is building in London, as the brand new Saint Joseph - London will open on August 19. This incredible new patient-centered facility features all private rooms with beautiful surroundings, and the exemplary team will continue to deliver the outstanding, award-winning care that is now synonymous with that hospital. Also next month, we will celebrate the opening of the new Flaget Cancer Center.
This fall, Kentucky will welcome visitors from across the globe as Lexington will be the site of the very first American-hosted World Equestrian Games. Tens of thousands will attend the Games at the Kentucky Horse Park, and we at Saint Joseph Health System are proud to not only be the exclusive sponsor of the broadcast coverage on WLEX-TV, but we are also the presenting sponsor of Spotlight Lexington, which takes place simulta-neously with the Games.
As you will read more in this issue, Spotlight Lexington is a free 17-day downtown multi-faceted event from September 24th through October 10th that will celebrate the arrival of the Games as well as highlight all that Lexington and central and eastern Kentucky have to offer. Since we are the area’s largest health care system, it only seems fitting that we are working closely with the organizers of the event to ensure that
all Saint Joseph Health System facilities are well represented and are available to educate the community about living healthier lives.
As always, in this issue of Common Thread, you will read about the extraordinary work that so many of our employees are doing at our hospitals and in our communities, including: the team at Saint Joseph Hospital who recently provided a life-saving surgery to a Jamaican patient who otherwise would not have been able to receive the care; a Saint Joseph - London mother and daughter duo who work side by side in telemetry; how Flaget’s Sister Eva Kowalski helps Hospice patients during a time when they need it most; the healthy lives of Saint Joseph Hospital’s “Biggest Loser” participants; how nutritional services’ Rose Harris adds the special ingredient of love to all of her recipes; and Saint Joseph - Jessamine’s Mila Zhurko welcomes us to her world in the environ-mental services department.
The work that each of you are doing across our eight facilities continues to be recognized by the communities we serve through awards and coverage in the media. But all of these accolades are simply a result of what matters most: extending our ministry to our patients by delivering the highest quality care possible in a compassionate manner. Thanks for all you do.
Gene WoodsCEO
PublisherSaint Joseph Health System
Executive EditorJeff Murphy
EditorKara Fitzgerald
Production CoordinatorLiz Sword
Editorial ContributorsSue Andrews
Angela Florek
Neva Francis
Katie Heckman
Sharon Hershberger
Tonya Lewis
Stephanie Sarrantonio
Kevin Smith
Contributing WritersKym Russell
Kathie Stamps
Amy Taylor
PhotographersGordon Morioka
Lee Thomas
Tim Webb
SJHS President’s CouncilGene Woods, CEO, SJHS
Ed Carthew, CHRO, SJHS
Gary Ermers, CFO, SJHS
Mike Garrido, VP, Mission Integration, SJHS
Jackie Kingsolver, Associate Counsel, CHI
Jim Parobek, VP, Physician Enterprise, SJHS
Mark Streety, CIO, SJHS
Daniel Varga, MD, CMO, SJHS
Virginia Dempsey, President, SJL
Greg Gerard, President, SJB
Ken Haynes, President, SJH/SJE/SJJ
Bruce Klockars, President, FMH/SJMS
Kathy Stumbo, President, SJM
Common Thread is published quarterly by
the Communications/Public Relations/
Marketing department of Saint Joseph Health
System for employees and their families. Visit
SaintJosephCommonThread.org to submit news,
story ideas or photos. Or, write to
us at Saint Joseph Hospital,
C/O Kara Fitzgerald, 1590
Harrodsburg Rd., Lexington, KY
40504. You may reach our
office at 859.313.1845.
Gene Woods at a Spotlight Lexington press conference, alongside Mayor Jim Newberry.
SGS-COC-003492
A $75 Visa gift card could be yours if you can answer this question correctly:Who lived in Sacramento, Calif., before moving to Kentucky? Somewhere in this issue of Common Thread you’ll find the answer. Submit your answer at SaintJosephCommonThread.org. Correct answers will be entered into a drawing on September 10 for a chance to win one of three $75 Visa gift cards. Only employees can enter this challenge. Congratulations to previous winners Rebecca Rains (Saint Joseph - London), Michael Christian (Saint Joseph Hospital) and Bryan Rowlett (Saint Joseph - Berea).
Reader RewardTo submit your story ideas or news to Common Thread, visit SaintJosephCommonThread.org.
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10 Global Outreach Saves a Life Donna Stephenson traveled from Jamaica to Lexington for a life- saving heart surgery.
12 Spotlight Lexington SJHS sponsors a 17-day festival during the World Equestrian Games.
14 Side by Side Mom and daughter go from study buddies to colleagues.
table of contents2 Earth Day Cleanup View snapshots of SJHS employees rolling up their sleeves for a campus-wide Earth Day cleanup.
4 New Threads Keep informed of late-breaking news.
6 Healthy Spirit SJH emergency department employees take charge and get fit!
7 Welcome to My World Ukrainian Mila Zhurko makes a new home in Kentucky.
8 Health Care Hero Rose Harris uses love as “secret ingredient” when preparing her homemade meals.
9 Mission Moments Eva Kowalski, SCN, sees Hospice patients’ grace, dignity and beauty.
16 Photo File View snapshots of SJHS employees at various commu- nity events and internal celebra- tions throughout the system.
18 Common View Read about Maureen Maxfield’s mission of social justice.
19 Patient Matters A mother recalls her high-speed race to deliver at SJJ.
Summercommon thread
On the cover: In April Saint Joseph Hospital donated surgery space, services and care for Donna Stephenson, a 36-year-old single mother of two from Jamaica. Michael Sekela, M.D., provided his surgical services to replace an aortic and mitral valve for Stephenson. Read about her journey to Lexington for a life-saving heart operation on page 10. on
the
cove
r
Volume 3, Issue 4
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Saint Joseph - London’s brand new facility opens August 19th.
Visit SaintJosephLondon.org for more details.
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Employees who pitched in during the Earth Day
Cleanup received a special Saint Joseph Health
System Working Green, Living Green team T-shirt.
Saint Joseph Hospital’s nutritional services
employees were among those who volunteered.
Employees in the pain center at Saint
Joseph - London were among the
numerous groups of employees who
helped rid the hospital’s campuses of
482 pounds of debris. Thanks to everyone
who helped the planet, and improved the
health and beauty of our hospitals.
Saint Joseph E
ast employees c
ollected more th
an
72 pounds of
debris on th
eir campus. Items
found inclu
ded carryout cont
ainers, cigar
ette
butts (a popu
lar find on every h
ospital campus)
and discarded
makeup.
earth daycleanup
Tim Livesay, EVS directo
r; Dana Stephens; infection
prevention and co
ntrol director; a
nd Allen Clark, safety
and security manager, (
left to right) led th
e Saint
Joseph Hospital team in colle
cting 462 pounds of
debris on campus and su
rrounding streets. A
mong
the most interesting find was a shopping c
art.
Dan Andrews, ED unit manager, and Stacie Back,
operations manager, (left) rallied Saint Joseph
- Jessamine employees together to search for
recyclables such as cans and plastic bottles.
Saint Joseph
- Berea employees,
led by Pres
ident
Greg Gerard
(left), SJHS Working
Green, Living
Green
team champion,
strategized
before hea
ding outdoor
s
to collect
more than 50
pounds of
debris on
campus
and surroun
ding streets
.
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A Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling em
ployee
painstakingly sifted
through blades of grass
to pick up loose cigare
tte butts, a common
problem found on every Saint Joseph Health
System campus.
Saint Joseph
- Berea employees,
led by Pres
ident
Greg Gerard
(left), SJHS Working
Green, Living
Green
team champion,
strategized
before hea
ding outdoor
s
to collect
more than 50
pounds of
debris on
campus
and surroun
ding streets
.
Saint Joseph Health System celebrated Earth Day April 22 by
asking its employees to roll up their sleeves for a campus-wide
cleanup at each facility. Spearheaded by the Working Green,
Living Green team, employees collected more than 1,326
pounds of debris. Items recycled from the cleanup included
plastic bottles, aluminum
cans and paper.
Marilia Dias Campbell filled her bag with cans
,
paper, cigarette
butts and natural debr
is as she
hiked through the surrounding gr
een space at
Saint Joseph - London.
Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling employees banned
together to rid their campus of trash and
cigarette
butts. They collected 70 pounds of debris and
recycled three pounds of aluminum cans.
Armed with brooms, dustpans and trash bags,
managers at Saint Joseph - Martin and President
Kathy Stumbo (far right) swept through their
campus and surrounding streets collecting 160
pounds of debris.
Flaget Memorial Hospital employees collected 20
pounds of debris, including cans, cigarette butts
and candy wrappers, on their sprawling campus.
NewThreads Stay informed on the latest Saint Joseph Health System news by reading “New Threads” in every issue of Common Thread.
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InitiativesKentucky’s First “No Wait” ERsSaint Joseph Health System (SJHS) has introduced ground-breaking No Wait ERs, now at Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East and Saint Joseph - Jessamine. The remaining five SJHS hospitals (in London, Bardstown, Martin, Berea and Mount Sterling) will implement the new program (the first of its kind in Kentucky) later this year.
With the new process, emergency care begins within five minutes of a patient’s arrival time. A doctor examines the patient within 30 minutes. This time frame will allow the hospitals to provide a better experience for patients, while continuing to deliver the same high-quality care that patients expect from SJHS. Learn more at SaintJosephHealth-System.org.
GrowthSaint Joseph - London The new Saint Joseph - London facility opens August 19. Both employees and patients will officially move in to the new hospital on this date. Non-patient care and/or administrative offices will start moving the week of August 9.
The new 340,000-square-foot hospital is located just off Interstate 75 on a 52-acre campus. To learn more, visit SaintJosephLondon.org.
Flaget Cancer Center On August 5, Flaget Memorial Hospital will hold a ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration for Nelson County’s first full-service cancer center. The Flaget Cancer Center will include another first for the community:
radiation cancer therapy.
The event will be held next to the medical office building on the hospital campus starting at 10 a.m. Refreshments will be available. Employees and the public are invited to attend and tour the new cancer center, located inside the medical office building.
The center features a new Elekta Synergy machine that is the only one in Kentucky equipped with Precise Beam Dynamic technology, allowing clinicians to see tumors at the precise moment of treatment.
TechnologyOnline Health EncyclopediaSaint Joseph Health System (SJHS) has licensed the A.D.A.M. Multimedia Encyclopedia and other A.D.A.M. health tools for its Web site, SaintJosephHealth-System.org.
A.D.A.M. offers one of the world’s largest continually-enhanced online consumer health information libraries and a host
of other products and tools that will help SJHS provide more robust online health and wellness information to its communities, while empowering people within those communities to lead healthier lives and make more informed decisions about their health care.
The extensive suite of health-related information and tools enables visitors to access medically accurate information and illustrated content about a multitude of diseases and conditions, along with general health and wellness. With
more than 3,900 unique articles and 3,000 medical illustrations and images, SJHS is now offering one of the world’s
largest online consumer reference libraries of health information.
SJHS Quality Report Beginning this July, Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS) is increasing its transparency and public reporting by launching a new online Quality Report at SaintJosephQuality.org.
Employees and consumers can access performance information for all SJHS facilities at this user-friendly site, which will be updated quarterly to reflect how SJHS scores against a multitude of nationally-validated measures arranged by medical condition or surgical procedure.
SJHS is the first in its market and the second in the state to offer this high level of transparency, which will allow the public to understand exactly how each SJHS facility is performing. Transparency encourages conver-sations among potential patients and doctors about health care issues, and gives consumers power in their decision-making.
Saint Joseph - JessamineSaint Joseph EastSaint Joseph Hospital
Introducing NO WAIT emergency rooms.Care begins within 5 minutes. See a doctor within 30 minutes. 5 30
Flaget Cancer Center-Nurse’s Station
Stay informed on the latest Saint Joseph Health System news by reading “New Threads” in every issue of Common Thread.
New ServicesSenior Renewal Center Saint Joseph Senior Renewal Center opened in May at both Saint Joseph - Berea and Saint Joseph - Martin, offering outpatient counseling services. Visit SaintJosephHealthSystem.org for more information.
Wound Center Saint Joseph Wound Center now has two convenient locations: Saint Joseph - Berea and Saint Joseph Hospital. The new center in Berea opened in April. Saint Joseph Wound Center specializes in the treatment of chronic wounds and non-responsive conditions and offers hospital-based outpatient wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy as well as lymphedema and diabetes care. Visit SaintJosephHealthSystem.org for more information.
Sleep Wellness Center Saint Joseph Sleep Wellness Center opened at Saint Joseph - Martin in March. Saint Joseph Sleep Wellness Centers are located across the system at Saint Joseph - Berea, Saint Joseph East, Saint Joseph - London, Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling and now Saint Joseph - Martin, along with Flaget Sleep Disorders Center, to offer expert diagnosis and treatment
of sleeping and waking disorders. Visit SaintJosephHealthSystem.org for more information.
AwardsBest of London AwardFor the second consecutive year, Seton Home Health, a service of Saint Joseph - London, has been selected for the 2010 Best of London Award in the Home Health Service category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).
The USCA recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. These local companies enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community. Nationwide, only 1 in 70 (1.4%) 2010 award recipients qualified as two-time award winners.
High-Quality Respiratory Care Several facilities within Saint Joseph Health System have earned Quality Respiratory Care
Recognition under a national program aimed at helping patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available
in hospitals.
Saint Joseph Health System hospitals that received this recognition in 2010 are Saint Joseph - Berea (2004-2006, 2009-2010), Saint Joseph Hospital (2007-2010), Saint Joseph - London (2008-2010), Saint
Joseph - Martin (2009-2010), and Flaget Memorial Hospital (2010). Saint Joseph East and Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling did not apply this year; Saint Joseph - Jessamine does not have a respiratory care department. A full list of hospitals having this designation is available at YourLungHealth.org.
KODA Award Flaget Memorial Hospital (FMH) and Saint Joseph Hospital (SJH) both received the Tissue Donation Performance Award from KODA, Kentucky Organ Donor
Affiliates, in March. FMH and SJH were two of 23 hospitals out of 112 in the KODA service area to receive this recognition.
The award was based on a conversion formula which required that a hospital have ten or more suitable cases in 2009, and that of those ten, at least 20 percent be released to use for donations. At FMH in 2009, fifteen cases were deemed suitable for tissue donation and four were released for donation. At SJH in 2009, 45 cases were deemed suitable for tissue donation and 14 were released for donation.
LeadershipViolence Prevention CoordinatorJohn Kim has been named Violence Prevention Coordinator for Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS). In this newly created role, he will develop and coordinate SJHS’s Mission and Ministry Fund Violence Prevention Grant strategies and activities. This grant was awarded by Catholic Health Initiatives.
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Saint Joseph - London President Virginia Dempsey (holding award, right) presented the “Best of London Award” to Seton Home Health. This is the second year in a row they have received this recognition.
Who’s a Big Loser?
healthy spirit
SJH emergency department employees take charge and get fit! By Kathie Stamps
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Continued on page 21
Television has a bad reputation for causing a
sedentary lifestyle for many Americans. Occasionally it can do just the opposite and inspire wise decisions about health and wellness. “The Biggest Loser” is one example. The show debuted on NBC in 2004 and has motivated thousands of people to eat right and exercise, including employees at Saint Joseph Hospital.
Right after Christmas 2009, Liz Morris, RN, started a weight-loss competition in the emergency department (ED). “The TV show was on and I thought if we were working as a group we would do better,” she said. For monetary motivation, everyone who participated had
to contribute a nonrefundable $20. The rules for the 12-week contest were to make changes in diet, nutrition and exercise. No pills were to be used. Participants had to be weighed weekly, on the same scale in the triage area, where pounds lost and percentage of body weight lost were posted. Morris figured out the percentages and kept up with all the paperwork.
Whoever lost the greatest percentage of body weight by April 5 would receive 75 percent of the $260 pot. The remaining 25 percent was saved for the re-weigh in June, for the person who reached his or her goal weight. Of the 13 people who started, nine stuck it out to the end.
Jennifer Mullins, RN, was the
contest
winner – loser, rather – and bought some summer clothes with her winnings. She lost 11.65% of her body weight at an average of two pounds per week. “I lost six pounds the first week and there were at least two weeks when I didn’t lose any,” she said. She watched what she ate, quit eating late at night and exercised more than usual on the treadmill. The competition was fun for Mullins. “It was something to keep you motivated and honest when you knew you had to get on a scale.”
Marilyn Swinford, director of emergency services, came in a close second with a body weight loss of 10.91%. “We just decided there was much more success in force than in isolation,” she said. She is appreciative of the weekly encouragement by Morris and others. “I am not gaining
weight again,” she declared.Swinford followed the Weight
Watchers points system online. In keeping with the format of the TV show, she even brought in tempting treats for the break room and walked away from them. “My teammates did not appreciate that,” she said, laughing. Swinford and her husband enjoy ballroom dancing at Arthur Murray Dance Studio as a form of exercise. She was thrilled with her weight loss. “I can fit into clothes I hadn’t fit in for a long time,” she said.
In third place, with a loss of 9.81%, was ED tech Allie Williams, who had a baby last September. She eagerly accepted the challenge when Morris coordinated the contest. Williams worked out three or four times a week to a Jillian Michaels DVD (one of the trainers on the NBC show)
Biggest Loser Participants % of body(who finished the contest) weight loss
Jennifer Mullins ........................................11.65%Marilyn Swinford ......................................10.91%Allie Williams .............................................9.81%Kris Caldwell .............................................8.87%Liz Morris ...................................................8.66%Kat Vaughn .................................................7.33%Rachel McIntosh .......................................4.72%Pat Jarnagin ..............................................3.26%Miranda Hill ..............................................2.22%
These percentages reflect body weight loss at the end of the contest in April. Several of these employees had goals to lose even more body weight, so these numbers are sure to have changed. Congrats to all the contestants for taking charge of their health!
Jennifer Mullins, RN was the “biggest loser,” losing 11.65% of her body weight.
welcome to my world
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One of the smiling faces in the environmental
services department at Saint Joseph - Jessamine RJ Corman Ambulatory Care Center (SJJ) is Mila Zhurko. She met her “Prince Charming” in the Ukraine and married him in Sacramento, Calif., where they had three sons. They moved to Nicholasville, Ky., last year.
What makes you good at your job?
I do a thorough cleaning every day in the ER rooms and offices, and not just wipe around things. SJJ is my home away from home and that is how I treat it. It is kept the way I like my home to be.
What is a typical day for you?
I wake up at 6:45 a.m., get my boys up for school, prepare breakfast and see them off on the school bus. Then I’m off to SJJ, reporting at 8:30 a.m. I greet everyone with a smile and a “good morning.” I proceed with my daily chores. I leave at 5 p.m. and I’m back to being a wife and mother.
What do you do away from work?
Of course, my family comes first. Our church at Ukrainian Pentecostal Church in Brannon Crossing is a large part of our lives. I sing in the church choir and attend weekly practice, which is like therapy for me.
I enjoy cooking and baking. My day wouldn’t be complete without doing the familiar CLEANING at home; with three boys there’s always a lot to do. I enjoy reading (all I need is more time). I read a book for the blind. Sharing family stories with my boys is a part of my daily agenda, as well as reading the Bible and discussing the various verses. I want them to grow up knowing as much as they can about their heritage, ancestors and God. They are very accepting and eager to hear all the words I have to share with them.
What do you like about living in Kentucky?
Right from the onset, people were friendly, helpful and courteous. Our children made friends easily, as did we. This truly feels like home to us now. My parents visited recently and they commented on the similarity of Kentucky to the Ukraine.
What inspires you? “Whatever you do, work
at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23). I was raised with this precept and I am instilling it in my boys, William, James and Timofey.
Why do you enjoy working at SJJ?
When I first started, the employees and entire staff
motivated me. They made me feel welcome and part of a team, not an onlooker. This is a large motivator. If you feel like you are part of a team you will perform as such. I would like to thank everyone I come in contact with at SJJ. You have no idea how much your friendship, kindness and
welcoming means to me. God bless you all!
Welcome to My World provides a brief walk in another Saint Joseph employee’s shoes. Do you know someone who is outstanding in his or her job? Nominate them at SaintJoseph-CommonThread.org.
HomeUkrainian Mila Zhurko makes a new home in Kentucky By Kathie Stamps
Awayfrom Home
8
Rose Harris’ secret to her famous breakfast orange cake recipe is out.
But, it’s doubtful anyone can bake it exactly like she does.
Surprisingly, she starts with a prepared mix that is first baked and served as orange muffins. “I usually have enough batter left over to make something special to take to the doctor’s lounge. I add flavoring, a little bit of vanilla, a bit of lemon, and oranges. And, you know, I add a little love, to make it different,” Harris confided.
The extra ingredient, a little love, is evident in all Harris does as the caterer and baker in the nutritional services department at Saint Joseph East. She exemplifies the core values of Catholic Health Initiatives in her daily work so well that she received the Heart of Saint Joseph Award in March.
“No one was more shocked than I was. It was really an honor,” said Harris as she recounted the day she received the award. “I didn’t realize that I met these high standards because I just do my job from my heart. That’s just me as a person. I go in every day and try to do
my best and give my best.“The day I got the award I was working
my normal job and my supervisor asked me to come with her. I said, ‘What about the doctors? It’s time for me to take the doctors their food.’
“So, we leave the kitchen and we go to the doctor’s lounge. I walk in and everybody is there, my department head, the president, the hospital adminis-trator and some of the doctors. I was so overwhelmed. I was really appreciative from the bottom of my heart. I told them how thankful and grateful I was to be recognized.”
Harris doesn’t take all the credit for the extraordinary food at Saint Joseph East. She said, “My co-workers are important. It’s a team-effort. We’re family and we work together.”
She handles a myriad of responsi-bilities in her role as caterer/baker. The pace of a routine day is packed: from baking breads, pastries and desserts to making her special loaded salads and sandwich wraps for the cafeteria and menus for hospital meetings or preparing patient meals.
But, it’s the doctor’s lounge that Harris favors. She thinks of herself as the concierge, keeping the lounge stocked and serving up her best culinary skills for them. Her orange bread and peach muffins are a huge favorite. And, she often makes ham or turkey salad from scratch.
Harris has worked in nutritional services for six years. As for the future, she reveals another secret. When she retires, she hopes to start a small catering business of her own. If her rave reviews at work are any indication, she already has the recipe for success.
Mighty like a Rose
health care hero
Rose Harris uses love as ‘secret ingredient’ when preparing her homemade mealsBy Kym Russell
Extra Service:
Excerpts from Rose Harris’ Heart of Saint Joseph Award nomination
Rose sincerely cares about the physicians and patients who eat her
food, and it is clear that she views her job as a ministry – providing physicians with the energy they need to treat patients and providing patients with the energy they need to heal.
It is in excellence that Rose most stands apart. Rose regularly prepares extra dishes (from scratch) that are not on the nutritional services menu in order to ensure that physicians and patients are happy with their meals.
-Eric Gilliam, Administrator of Saint Joseph East
I think I can speak for our entire medical staff when I say that she is a pleasure to be around and that she makes a positive impact on each day.
-John Little, MD, anesthesiologist
The day that Rose came back from some time off, she was in the doctor’s lounge and I was present. I have never seen physicians carry on and make over an employee. It really takes time and effort to establish relationships such as she has with our physicians.
-Beverly Arthur, nursing administration
Dr. John Little enjoys Rose Harris’ home cooking, along with numerous other physicians at Saint Joseph East.
Some Hospice of Nelson County volunteers prefer
to visit a certain type of patient – maybe someone who can hold a conversation, or a patient who shares a similar background in quilting or fishing or music-making.
For Eva Kowalski, all patients are the right kind of patient. After decades of lovingly caring for homeless youngsters and AIDS sufferers, the Sister of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) never asks questions – and never says no – when asked to take on a new hospice case.
“There’s no patient nobody wants,” according to Kowalski, who demonstrates her belief every day.
That’s how the 66-year-old has ended up taking on three patients, an unheard-of volunteer caseload in the Hospice that’s part of Flaget Memorial Hospital in Bardstown. Most volunteers are content to visit one person at a time.
Kowalski is special in a number of ways, from her easy acceptance of being called “Eva” instead of “Sister,” to her tanned, trim figure that shows her love for golf, to her joyful
attitude toward dying patients,
no matter their circumstances.
She credits a lot to the quiet, loving strength she learned from her coal miner father, now gone, and to the zest for life she learned from her mother, “who is 93 and as chipper as they come.” She and her brother learned much about love from their parents, who took in six foster children over the years.
“That was a great experience,” Kowalski said. “It taught me that kids might do bad things, but there are no bad kids; only good kids. We have to touch their innate goodness and show it to them.”
After Kowalski was educated by the SCN’s, she joined the order in 1962. Then she spent
18 years at St. Thomas-St. Vincent in Louisville, a home “for children who couldn’t be with their parents. It was short-term residential care.” When that home closed, she worked five years at Home of the Innocents, an emergency shelter for children.
Kowalski found that the most difficult youngsters offered her the greatest chance to love.
“I loved every minute of it,” she said. “I loved the challenge of dealing with children in crisis. I always had hope that every child could leave a little
bit happier, and a little closer to being the person God called them to be. You never, ever, EVER give up on a child. Never, ever.”
When her work in Louisville was done, Kowalski, who has a master’s degree in counseling psychology, moved to Florida to work in a shelter for runaway and homeless youth for 13 years.
“Some of the kids had AIDS,” she said. “Some of the boys and girls were prostituting themselves. Though I was coordinator of intake, I was very interested in outreach – that’s when we walked the beaches, went under bridges, or went to sleazebag motels looking for kids to invite them
to come in for ‘three hots and a cot,’ we called it.”
While on sabbatical, Kowalski was led to serve
a Catholic Charities “buddy
Sister Eva’s Loving
mission moments
Eva Kowalski, SCN, sees Hospice patients’ grace, dignity and beauty By Amy Taylor
Strength
9
Continued on page 21
Sister Eva (right) visited with one of her Hospice patients.
In April 2010 Saint Joseph Hospital (SJH) donated surgery space,
services and care for Donna Stephenson, a 36-year-old single mother of two from Jamaica. Michael E. Sekela, M.D., provided his surgical services to replace an aortic and mitral valve for Stephenson, who had rheumatic fever as a child.
It sounds like a simple story: give a patient an operation free of charge. But, as you know, surgery involves a lot more than paperwork. It took teams of people to make this life-saving procedure a reality for Stephenson, who is immensely grateful for the care she received in Lexington from the surgeon, hospital staff and her
host family. Throughout the process her faith was evident. She spoke of her trust in God, knowing that all things work together for good to those who love God.
One morning last summer, in her village of Mount Salus outside of Kingston, Jamaica, Stephenson’s heart condition worsened and she went to a doctor for help. “She tested me. She heard a murmur. I went back again and she heard a murmur even more,” said Stephenson, who was sent to Dr. William A. Foster, a
consultant cardiologist in Kingston. “When he did the echo, he said, ‘My word!’ and he said I had to have surgery.” The cost for a replacement valve would have been $3,360 U.S. dollars. As a domestic helper, Stephenson makes $33 a week.
Dr. Foster knew her heart was failing and he promised to search for help. By January he had connected with Dr. Sekela in Lexington, who agreed to donate his surgical time and postoperative care if it was OK with SJH. It was.
There were time-consuming challenges with the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica and it took an additional three
months to have a temporary
visa granted. Mike Garrido, vice president of mission integration for Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS), along with doctors Foster and Sekela, and SJH all petitioned the embassy on the patient’s behalf. In April the temporary visa was granted.
On-X Life Technologies, based in Austin, Texas, agreed to provide $10,000 worth of heart valves for the procedure, as it turned out she required two instead of one. Dr. Foster paid the airfare for Stephenson and her cousin (no traveling alone!) to Lexington. Now there was the matter of finding a host family for Stephenson before and after her hospital stay, plus meals and transportation. Her
Global Outreach Saves a Life
10
Stephenson’s host family, Louis and Beverly Jaquith, provided support before and after her hospital stay.
cousin, who already had his passport, returned to Jamaica the day of Stephenson’s surgery.
To find a host family, SJHS’s Garrido contacted Christ the King Cathedral. “We reached out as a Catholic organization to another Catholic organi-zation,” he said. “They’ve been wonderful in responding to the need.” Debbie Goonan, director of outreach at Christ the King, put a notice in the bulletin one Sunday and Beverly
and Louis Jaquith called the next day. “They were the only call I got, as if God had a plan,” said Goonan, who visited Stephenson while she was at SJH. “Donna was thankful to God for all the people he put in her path. Her children wouldn’t have had a mom without this surgery.”
The Jaquiths hosted Stephenson from
April 23 until her surgery on the
26th and after her release May 4th through the 13th. “I would do it again,” Beverly Jaquith said. “Everybody said, ‘you didn’t know her?’ That’s beside the point. She needed help.” After Stephenson was released from SJH, the Jaquiths made sure she was following doctor’s orders by walking three times a day and doing her exercises. They drove her around Lexington to see some of the local sights,
including Thoroughbred Park, UK, Keeneland and horse country. Stephenson took lots of pictures as mementos of her stay in Lexington.
“She wanted to be able to take care of her children,” Dr. Sekela said. He has donated his service multiple times over the years for people who don’t have the resources to pay for life-saving surgeries. “It’s not about necessarily giving money to people,” he said, “but
Global Outreach Saves a Life
11
Continued on page 20
Donna Stephenson traveled from Jamaica to Lexington for life-saving heart surgeryBy Kathie Stamps
Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS) has a history of offering outreach to the poor and underserved, here at home and in other countries. In fiscal year 2009, SJHS provided more than $63 million in outreach care to Kentuckians.
12
Equestrian athletes and visitors from around the
world are coming to Lexington for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). FEI stands for Fédération Equestre Internationale; it’s the governing body of the international equestrian sport, headquartered in Switzerland. The World Equestrian Games have been held every four years since 1990 in Europe. Until now. The 2010 Games are taking place at the Kentucky Horse Park Sept. 25 through Oct. 10.
In addition to the pageantry and thrill of eight different equestrian competitions at the Horse Park, a portion of downtown Lexington will be blocked off for a free 17-day festival called Spotlight Lexington. The presenting sponsor of Spotlight
Lexington is Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS).
“We are so proud to have Saint Joseph Health System as our presenting sponsor of Spotlight Lexington,” said Krista Greathouse, WEG liaison in the Office of the Mayor. “As one of our outstanding corporate citizens and a part of our community for 130 years, Saint Joseph is helping us to put our best foot forward for the visitors that will visit Lexington this fall during the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.”
There’s going to be something for everyone during the Spotlight Lexington festival downtown: music, entertainment, food, children’s activities and fun. The festival area runs from Jefferson to Midland and from High St. to Second St. The three major
venues are Cheapside Park, Triangle Park and the main stage at Courthouse Plaza. A vendor village will be at Phoenix Park on Main St.
Blues, jazz, swing, bluegrass, dance, acoustic, Broadway show tunes – all kinds of musical entertainment, along with merchants and food vendors, will be at Cheapside Park and Courthouse Plaza each day of the festival. You’ll find Kentucky Proud products, juried artists and Kentucky craft vendors at Triangle Park. The Family Art Paddock will also be at Triangle Park on Saturday and Sunday each weekend, with lots of (free!) arts and crafts for kids.
Spotlight Lexington is the most ambitious festival in Lexington’s history. “It’s our understanding that the Spotlight Lexington event is the largest and longest domestic celebration a city has hosted, excluding the Olympics,” said Jeff Murphy, regional director of marketing, communications and public relations for SJHS. As presenting sponsor, SJHS has been involved in a good deal of the planning for the event itself. “It’s going to be a time of celebration,” Murphy said.
Spotlight Lexington is expected to attract about 250,000 people from central Kentucky, the region, the
SpotlightLexington
presented by
SJHS sponsors 17-day festival during World Equestrian GamesBy Kathie Stamps
nation and the world. The public will see SJHS people, not just sponsorship banners, throughout the festival. Hospital dietitians are working with Kentucky Proud and Lexington Farmers’ Market vendors to prepare healthy meals. For a particular event that will draw a largely female
audience, one of Saint Joseph Hospital’s breast center physicians will talk about the importance of early detection and mammograms. “We don’t want to be intrusive; we want to integrate our presence into the fiber of the event,” Murphy said.
Employees at each SJHS
facility are certainly invited and welcome to attend as many Spotlight Lexington events as your schedule allows. If you’d like to volunteer in any way, check with your supervisor and contact Angela Florek at [email protected].
SJHS is also sponsoring the broadcast coverage of
the World Equestrian Games on WLEX-TV. In addition to NBC’s national coverage of WEG, WLEX will broadcast the opening ceremonies the evening of Sept. 25, closing ceremonies on Sunday afternoon Oct. 10, and each day from the Horse Park during their morning and evening news programs.
Years from now, what will you say about the WEG experience in Kentucky? How about “It happened in my own backyard and I was there!” It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and there are at least three ways to experience the WEG event: attend the equestrian competitions at the Kentucky Horse Park, watch daily highlights on NBC and/or walk around the festival atmosphere of Spotlight Lexington downtown. Enjoy.
SpotlightLexington
13
A sampling of Spotlight Lexington events:09.24 Opening party Courthouse Plaza09.25 Jazz / WEG Opening Ceremonies Courthouse Plaza09.26 Reel World String Band Cheapside Park09.26 “Celebrating the Equine Spirit” parade Courthouse Plaza09.27 The City Courthouse Plaza09.28 The Stella Vees Cheapside Park09.30 Zydeco Bon Cheapside Park10.01 Laura Bell Bundy at Courthouse Plaza Courthouse Plaza10.02 Swinging on Main Cheapside Park10.03 David Garrard’s Magic Show Triangle Park10.03 The Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra Courthouse Plaza10.04 Broadway Showcase Courthouse Plaza10.06 The Big Maracas Cheapside Park10.07 The Swells Brass Band Cheapside Park10.08 JD Crowe & Sam Bush Courthouse Plaza10.10 Finale with fireworks Courthouse Plaza
The Spotlight Lexington calendar is updated constantly. Check out the latest information at SpotlightLexKy.com.
Employees at each SJHS facility are certainly invited and welcome to attend as many Spotlight Lexington events as your schedule allows. If you’d like to volunteer in any way, check with your supervisor and contact Angela Florek at [email protected].
14
Sandra Brown and Angie Hacker aren’t just two
registered nurses who attended school together, graduated together, and are now working at the same hospital – in the same unit – on the same schedule. They are also mother and daughter.
A loving relationship is what made it possible for Hacker, the daughter, and Brown, her mother, to support each other through nursing school, and to continue to support each other through their workdays in the telemetry unit at Saint
Joseph - London.“We are very close,”
28-year-old Hacker said. “Growing up, my Mom was very strict, but she treated me well. She was a single mom who worked two jobs, yet she always had time to go to all my softball games and soccer games, and to my brother’s football and baseball games.”
What also helped was having devoted grandparents nearby, Hacker said.
“They were there to take care of me and my brother when Mom was working. They were
just great.”The daughter won a soccer
scholarship to Lincoln Memorial College in Tennessee. Hacker will never forget the day her mother dropped her off at her college dorm for her first semester.
“That was a heart-wrenching experience for both of us,” Hacker said.
After a time the daughter dropped out of soccer because “it was hard for me to do the best in my education and in sports. I wanted to do my best in my classes. I knew I wasn’t
going to be a pro soccer player.”For a few years, Hacker
floated from major to major, unable to decide what she wanted to do with her life. Her mother had always worked in medical offices, and had always wanted to go into nursing. One day the mother asked her daughter to attend nursing school with her.
“I had more doubts about my succeeding in the nursing program,” the daughter said. “Mom always worked for doctors and wore the scrubs. When I was a kid, I thought
by SideMom and daughter go from study buddies to colleaguesSide
Left, Angie Hacker; Right, Sandra Brown
By Amy Taylor
15
she WAS a nurse. I doubted myself at first, but I decided it was an excellent idea.”
Hacker had great respect for her mother’s courage, she said.
“Going back to school when she was 40-something – that meant a lot to me,” the daughter said.
By that time Hacker had a husband, Brent, and a nine-month-old boy.
“When I started nursing school, I felt I put Daddy and Baby on hold,” Hacker said. “Daddy and all of our family members were so supportive. They are my heroes.”
At school Brown, who was a certified medical assistant, helped her daughter with her knowledge of anatomy and patient assessments and medicines.
“But when it came time to pop out a 15-page research paper, Mom was like, ‘Do I use the typewriter?’ I was like, ‘No, Mom, you use a computer.’” Hacker was able to help Brown learn vital skills, such as doing
research on the Internet.Brown was terrified of tests,
according to her daughter.“During nursing classes she
would have panic attacks and break out in rashes. I’d be the one trying to calm her down.”
Yet when it came time to take their state boards, the daughter was the one who needed help, Hacker said.
“I was so nauseated all the way to Knoxville, Tennessee, where we took the boards,”
Hacker said. She had to ask her mother to pull over so she could get out and vomit.
After the test, the mother cried all the way home, Hacker said.
“The test is all on computer.
You have no idea how many questions you’ll finish before the computer clicks off. My mom came out crying, convinced that she’d messed up. We had taken a course that prepares you for the state boards. It cost $300. When the computers were clicking off so early, we thought, “What have we done with our money?”
Then there was waiting for the results – “the longest weekend of my life,”
Hacker said.Brown was on the phone
to her daughter at 5 a.m. that Sunday with great news – the pair had passed!
“I fell out of bed,” Hacker said.
Brown is grateful that she got to realize her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse, and grateful to have studied with her daughter, she said.
“I had a real fear of failure,” the mother said. “But I had somebody to study with, somebody to bounce questions off of. She has always soaked up information like a sponge.”
Today many patients and staff members at Saint Joseph - London don’t realize that two nurses in telemetry are mother and daughter. Hacker and Brown call each other by first name at work to maintain a professional relationship. When people do know, “they love it,” Brown said. “They don’t believe we get along so well.”
It’s a great satisfaction for Brown to see what kind of nurse her daughter has become, she said.
“She’s an amazing nurse. She really builds a rapport with her patients. It makes me so proud of her.”
Going back to school when she was 40-something – that meant a lot to me.”
“
16
Photo FileFavorites
Desktop
Left to right, Saint Joseph - Berea (SJB)
employees Vicki Hamilton, Flora Washburn
and Jessica Grant (with son Hunter) won first
place in the 8K trail run in their age divisions
during the 2nd Annual Get Healthy Berea
event June 5. SJB Foundation, in partnership
with SJB, presented this community-wide
event to raise awareness of health issues,
emphasizing healthy living and living green.
Saint Joseph - Jessamine RJ Corman
Ambulatory Care Center (SJJ) hosted a free
community health fair June 5 offering health
screenings, educational resources, vendors,
tours of safety vehicles by the Jessamine
County EMS, giveaways and fun activities for
kids. Pictured are SJJ employees Jill Marion
(left) and Jennifer Kirkland (center) with Moe
Nethery, RN Flight Nurse from Air Methods
Kentucky, who gave tours of a rescue
helicopter during the fair.
Saint Joseph Health
System employees
are captured at
various community
events and internal
celebrations
throughout the system
in this photo gallery.
Thanks to everyone
who volunteered
and/or participated
in these events.
Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS) and
the American Heart Association (AHA)
teamed up with the Lexington Legends
for “Go Red with the Legends” night June
12 at Applebee’s Park. Employees, families
and community members wore red and
supported women’s heart health while
enjoying an evening of baseball. Pictured
are Saint Joseph Heart Institute and AHA
employees who provided health education,
screenings and heart tattoos for the kids.
SJHS is the central Kentucky sponsor of the
AHA’s Go Red for Women movement.
17
Yolanda Willoughby, cath lab at Saint Joseph East, was among the numerous Saint Joseph Heart Institute employees involved in this year’s American Heart Association Heart Walk April 24 at Commonwealth Stadium.
Saint Joseph East’s surgery department participated in National Time Out Day June 16, furthering its commitment to patient safety practices in the OR. Time out allows the entire surgical team to verify the correct person, procedure and site.
During Hospital Week, Saint Joseph - London held its annual karaoke contest, which revealed some hidden talent among employees. Pictured is one of the groups that performed—Estie Ellavation & The Stentsations (cath lab employees).
Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling employees signed the final construction beam before it was placed on top of the new hospital structure. The hospital is expected to open next summer.
More than 500 employees from Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East and Saint Joseph - Jessamine and family members participated in the American Heart Association Heart Walk April 24. Pictured are a few of our walkers.
LaJava Chenault (center), vice president of nursing, celebrated with nurses at Saint Joseph Hospital during a Nurse’s Week reception with food, gifts and vendor displays.
Saint Joseph - Martin held a “Go Big Blue” fashion/talent show during Hospital Week. Pictured are first place winners, “Cal’s Gals”: Melinda Stumbo, Vickie Fry, Mary Martin, Angie Salisbury, Judy Salyer, Samantha Stratton and Mary Little.
Flaget Memorial Hospital received the Tissue Donation Performance Award from KODA. Accepting, left to right, are Karl Lusk (chaplain), Sr. Ann Kernen (chaplain), Phyllis Bowling (chaplain), Dixie Kimberlin (hospice chaplain) and Ben Wiederholt (VP of Mission).
18
W ith a background in men-tal health, social work,
adult education facilitation and leadership development, Mau-reen Maxfield is vice president of SC Ministry Foundation in Cincinnati, an organization that promotes the mission and ministry of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. She has been a member of the Saint Joseph Health System board of directors since 2008, where she serves on three committees: Finance, Strategic and System Development, and Physician Transaction Review.
Maxfield has a B.A. in psychology from Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky., and a master’s degree in social administration from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
“I have been affiliated with the sisters since 1986,” she said. She spent a decade in the mission department at Sisters of Charity Health Care Sys-tems, one of the first member health systems of Catholic Health Initiatives. It was in 1995 that three Catholic health systems – based in Cincinnati,
Oh., Omaha, Neb., and Aston, Pa. – consolidated to form CHI.
“They all came together to assure the healing ministry of Jesus into the future,” said Maxfield, who was involved in facilitating the transition of the merger.
She feels blessed to be work-ing for SC Ministry Foundation in Cincinnati, just over the Kentucky line. “Kentucky is
my home, my roots, my love,” she said. She lives on a farm in Taylor Mill, Ky., a small city near Covington where she spends her free time with her kids, both of whom are UK graduates.
One of Maxfield’s guiding principles is “Give back as God has given me.” This was taught to her by her parents when she was growing up. “Giving back is also giving forward,” she said. “It’s making a difference not just for myself but for future generations. We have an obliga-tion to give back and in a small way I can be part of that.”
Another piece of family advice she received was to be aware of social justice. “What is morally and ethically the right thing to do, and to maintain the dignity of each person, no matter what their circum-stances are, because we’re all children of God.”
The mission of justice, expressed in loving trust, is harmonious with the mission, vision and values of the SC Ministry Foundation and Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS). “There’s such synchronicity there, it’s been an utter joy,” said Maxfield, of her experi-ence serving on the SJHS board of directors. She volun-teers with homeless services in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky and for the past four years has served as a volunteer tax preparer most Saturdays during tax season for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA). She also donates her time and skills with ad-hoc projects and special events for nonprofit groups related to the Sisters of Charity.
common view
Giving Back, Giving ForwardMaureen Maxfield’s mission of social justice By Kathie Stamps
Giving back is also giving forward. It’s making a difference not just for myself but for future generations.”
“
On his first birthday this May, Emory Dix visited
Saint Joseph - Jessamine RJ Corman Ambulatory Care Center (SJJ) and treated the staff to cupcakes. He made an appearance, along with big sister Elise and mom Regan, to say thank-you for a great start in life.
Regan Dix said Emory’s story is like an over-the-top, TV sitcom of a mom in labor and dad’s mad dash to the hospital. Too bad the TV cameras weren’t rolling that day.Emory’s exceptionally prompt arrival could be a contender for Best Comedy.
Below is their real-life story, and how SJJ played a vital role:
On the morning of May 3, 2009, expectant mom Regan Dix reminded her husband that it was their baby’s due date, knowing that only 1 in 20 babies are actually born on their due date. A short time later, she called him on his cell phone and said, “I think our baby is 1 in 20, I’m in labor. Grab a trash bag.”
Just getting into the car, Dix was already in excruciating
pain. “But, I had the clarity of thought to tell Justin to grab a trash bag. That proved very fortunate. After five minutes in
the car, I told Justin we weren’t going to make it to Lexington.”
The couple was driving from their Garrard County home. Dix’s shrieking convinced her husband that he was going to have to stop at SJJ.
“So, we’re racing around the bypass. I’m riding along, hanging on to the handles above the door, suspending
myself over the front seat screaming like a banshee,”
Dix recalled. “I said, ‘Oh! I think I’ve
got to push!’ Justin said, ‘What are you doing?!’ I said, ‘I’m having a baby!’”
Dix begged her husband
Fast Labor in the Fast Lane
patient matters
A mother recalls her high-speed race to deliver at SJJ By Kym Russell
Continued on page 21
19
From left, Regan Dix and son Emory; Stacie Back, SJJ operations manager; Elise Dix; and Dan Andrews, SJJ ED unit manager.
20
yourself, whatever it is you do.” His grand-father, an immigrant from northern Italy, was a carpenter who would build things for people who needed them.
Dr. Sekela prepared for the five-hour surgery by accessing the patient’s diagnostic studies online. “I pulled them up on my home computer,” he said. Stephenson met her surgeon the night before the surgery. “He’s very nice, comforting and warm,” she said.
Sister Laura Hardage, staff chaplain at SJH, said of the patient, “She’s a woman of deep faith. It meant a lot to her to have a chaplain with her, to pray with her numerous times, to sit and be with her.” (Sister Laura retired in June.)
The hospital staff and nurses also spent time with Stephenson. She rested a lot, and when she was awake she always wanted to talk. She enjoyed communicating with people.
According to Dr. Foster in Jamaica,
Stephenson has the fortitude to persevere, despite her challenges. She has attended the New Testament Church of God in her village at Mount Salus for the last seven years.
“When she was in Kingston she cried all the time because she was scared,” Beverly Jaquith said. “She was frightened before we went to the hospital, then she was relaxed and calm and felt very comfortable there.”
“Our core values are very important: reverence, integrity, compassion, excellence. It’s pretty extraordinary here,” Sister Hardage said. “Anybody who has spent any amount of time on this earth knows how important it is to experience compassion in your life, to be treated with integrity, to have quality care.”
For Donna Stephenson, her surgical experience was a miracle. “What got me here was faith, hope and charity.”
Donna Stephenson returned home to Jamaica on May 13.
Global Outreach Saves a LifeContinued from page 11
Stephenson kept a favorite photo of herself (center) with her two children nearby during her hospital stay.
From left, Sister Laura Hardage, Dr. Michael Sekela, Mike Garrido, and Beverly and Louis Jaquith all played a special role in helping Stephenson recover.
Code at 30,000 Feet
Continued from page 12
welcome to my worldKing of Hearts Mission Moments
Continued from page 9
program” for dying AIDS patients.“They had a right to have somebody with
them when nobody else wanted to be with them,” she said. “Some had support, but many, when they told their families about their AIDS, were ostracized. Overall, I loved their courage and their spirit.”
Then cancer hit Kowalski in 1994. The example set by her AIDS patients helped sustain her, she said.
“I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon and liver cancer; 80 percent of my liver
was cancerous. At first I refused chemo treatments. Then I went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota,” where doctors convinced her to undergo chemotherapy.
Doctors told her that after chemo, she would require surgery to remove the remaining cancer. Surgery was never done. After chemo, it wasn’t needed.
“I’ve been cancer-free for years,” Kowalski said. “I shouldn’t be alive. It’s called a miracle.”
Cancer taught her two vital lessons, the volunteer said.
“One: I’m not afraid to die. The other: I never knew how much I was loved. I take those two things with me everywhere I go.”
Today, after moving back to Bardstown to be closer to the SCN community, Kowalski takes those lessons to three Hospice of Nelson County patients every week.
“They’re all so radically different,” the volunteer said. “‘Nell’ is an intellectual. ‘Helen’ is a country person, full of wisdom about nature. ‘Rose’ has severe dementia, so she can’t talk or walk, but she loves to hold hands, and enjoys rides in her wheelchair.”
Hospice patients are dying – but “they still have grace and dignity and beauty,” she said. “I can live a good day or a bad day. You wake up every day and choose how to deal with suffering, illness and death.”
to pull over on the shoulder. But, he was weaving through traffic, dead-set on getting medical care.
“The baby was coming as we were pulling into the parking lot,” Dix said. “Justin hopped out and was yelling and waving his arms for help. He looked at me and said, ‘I’m just going to have to pull the baby out.’”
Dix gave a little push and out baby Emory came. She wrapped her shirt around him with one hand and honked the car horn with the other.
“I’m honking and screaming! Justin is flailing around and yelling. The next thing we know, here comes Dr. Carroll with a wheelchair and some nurses,” Dix said.
Dr. Tim Carroll, an ER physician at SJJ, remembers the scene well. “It was kind of
funny. I saw the dad sort of freaking out, twirling in circles in front of the car. I saw the mother was holding the child in her lap. At that point, I wanted to get her covered with warm blankets.”
Dr. Carroll admitted it was a little frantic at first. “We had an emergency OB pack but we never had needed it. We got an IV with pain medication going. The mother was doing well. And, the baby was doing great. I clamped the umbilical cord and let the dad cut it. I think everybody was proud to have been there to help deliver the little boy.”
Autum Haynes, RN, added, “It was exciting but scary, too. With a pregnancy, you don’t have one patient, you have two patients. It was my role to take care of that family. But, we all worked as a team. We’re very experienced nurses with ER and critical care backgrounds. Often, we’re trying to save lives. This emergency was helping deliver a new life. A birth is a
happy, joyous time.”When the EMS arrived to take them on
to the hospital, everybody was smiling and laughing. “We talked about it for weeks!” Haynes said.
“Everybody was so great, so compas-sionate,” Dix said. “My family was touched by that. We can’t express our gratitude enough. I cherish Emory’s story.”
Emory’s story was covered by the Lexington Herald-Leader, The Advocate-Messenger in Danville, The Jessamine Journal and LEX 18. His delivery marked the first and only one to date at SJJ, which opened in January 2009. SJJ is the only full-service, 24-hour emergency room in Jessamine County, and proudly features a “No Wait ER.” Regan and Justin Dix estimated a 35-minute drive to Lexington from their Garrard County home. Their detour to SJJ trimmed a 20-minute trip to 12 minutes.
Patient MattersContinued from page 19
Continued from page 6
To submit your story ideas or news to Common Thread, visit SaintJosephCommonThread.org. 21
Healthy Spirit
and changed her eating habits to consume no more than 1,400 calories a day. She has lost six more pounds since the end of the contest in April (as of this publica-tion’s print date). Having a weight-loss contest at work is something she would recommend to other people. “It’s not really the competition as much as having other people who were doing it too,” she said.
Williams is in training to run a 5K race on July 31 following the “Couch to 5K” plan.
“It was great having people to lose weight with,” said contest catalyst Morris. She finished “in the middle of the pack” by following Weight Watchers strategies. Another participant, Miranda Hill, used techniques from Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG program.
Tim Carroll, M.D., is known for his hilarious sense of humor in the ED. “I was going to win until the nurses outlawed pharmacological assistance,” he said.
“There was a conspiracy to keep me out of the winner’s circle.” His original plan was to join four different gyms and win the contest. In reality, he went one time. “I think I lost two pounds,” he said. “But I feel better.” And that’s what a healthy lifestyle is all about, after all.
We Want to Hear from You!Visit SaintJosephCommonThread.org and tell us your news and story ideas, plus upload your photos.
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Ducklings RescuedMargaret Proctor helps save 14 ducklings stuck in a storm drainBy Kathie Stamps
On April 26 at 7:30 a.m., Margaret Proctor arrived for work at Saint Joseph Office Park in Lexington, thinking it would be a typical Monday for her as a registrar in the Saint Joseph Outpatient Diagnostic Center. Before she even entered the building there was a terrible noise and she knew something wasn’t right. A mother duck was hollering up a storm. Proctor investigated and saw some little ducklings stuck in a storm drain. “Somebody’s got to help them!” she thought.
Proctor and a security guard called the Humane Society. And the city. And Lexington-Fayette Animal Care & Control. And the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government sewer system department. A couple of hours later, a co-worker remarked to Proctor, “You’re not your cheerful self today.” The trapped ducklings were weighing
heavily on her mind and she mentioned it to a patient, who had a son in the fire department. “I called upon the Lord and he sent that woman at the right time,” Proctor said.
During her lunch break, Proctor watched as members of the fire department and the other agencies worked to rescue 14 ducklings. Reporter Stacy Ellison was there from
WKYT-TV to record the action. The crews used a search cam, an iPhone with duck sounds on it, a rescue net and a plastic bucket to gather the ducklings, which weren’t much bigger than one of the firefighter’s hands. “The high-tech gear included a search camera on a scope, like they use for searching for a child,” said Allen Clark, manager of safety and security at Saint Joseph Hospital. It took about an hour and a half (in the rain) for the ducklings to be rescued.
The mother of the firefighter called Proctor later that after-noon to say, “I am so thankful there are people like you. You represent Saint Joseph very well.” For the past four years, Proctor has been feeding the ducks at Saint Joseph Office Park every morning with corn her husband gets at a feed store. As to her compassion and involve-ment in the rescue attempt, Proctor said, “I just did what anybody else would do.”