Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Cholesterol is Topic of Seminar on Feb. 7
Sacred Heart Hospital's Senior Services program will present a free seminar on "Cholesterol Health and You" in Pensacola on Wednesday, Feb. 7, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Greenhut Auditorium on Sacred Hearts Ninth Avenue campus.
The seminar will be presented by Dr. Darrell Pugh, a board-certified family medicine physician. The seminar will help attendees understand the signs and symptoms of high cholesterol, as well as prevention and methods of treatment and management of the disease.
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in blood and in all the of the human body's cells. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), a certain amount of cholesterol is necessary for good health, but too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to clogged arteries and is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Registration is required and seating is limited. To register, call (850) 416-1620 or 1-877-416-1620.
This seminar is part of the monthly series of free health education programs sponsored by Sacred Heart SeniorSpirit! Sacred Heart SeniorSpirit! is a free program for persons 55 and older. Benefits include free screenings, seminars, special in-patient benefits such as a free daily guest meal ticket and newspaper delivery, a monthly calendar of events detailing all SeniorSpirit events, and a quarterly newsletter containing health and event information.
For more information on cholesterol health or Senior Services at Sacred Heart Hospital, visit online at www.sacred-heart.org .
Lap Band and Other Weight-Loss Surgery Techniques are Topic of Seminar on Feb. 13
Dr. Jeffrey L. Lord, a specialist in laparoscopic weight loss surgery, will present “Weight Loss Surgery: Is It Right for You?” on Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Hospital Conference Center in Pensacola.
The only board-certified bariatric surgeon in Northwest Florida with advanced fellowship training in weight loss surgery, Dr. Lord serves as director of the Sacred Heart Institute for Surgical Weight Loss. He has special expertise in minimally invasive surgical weight loss procedures. Dr. Lord and the Institute for Surgical Weight Loss can perform two types of weight loss surgery that use small incisions. The first is laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, which involves a permanent rerouting of the digestive system that leaves patients with a small stomach pouch. The surgery creates a bypass that reroutes food around a portion of the small intestine.
The second, newer approach performed at Sacred Heart is adjustable gastric banding. Using a laparoscope, the surgeon places an inflatable band around the stomach, creating a small upper pouch at the top, with restricted passage to the rest of the stomach. This pouch fills quickly and creates a feeling of fullness.
Dr. Lord and his staff provide comprehensive evaluation of clinically obese patients to determine their candidacy for these life-changing procedures as well as extensive patient/family education to create a foundation for a healthy lifestyle.
Reservations are required for this free seminar. To make a reservation or to obtain more information, please call (850) 416-1628 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.
St. Baldrick’s Foundation announces $50,000 grant to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital for Childhood Cancer Research
PENSACOLA, FL – Children with cancer in Florida received a helping hand today from those who were brave enough to go bald. As part of its ongoing campaign to Conquer Kids’ Cancer, the St. Baldrick's Foundation has announced a $50,000 grant to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital to maintain their excellent childhood cancer program. The grant will be used to fund the new position of a clinical research coordinator for the pediatric cancer research program at Sacred Heart.
St. Baldrick’s began as a challenge among friends and has grown into the world’s largest fundraising event for childhood cancer. Because treatment typically given to youngsters causes their hair to fall out, volunteers are recruited to have their heads shaved in public in return for pledges of financial support. Participants find that shaving their head is a small sacrifice in comparison to what these children endure and want to raise money to help find a cure for children with cancer now and in the future.
“The people of Florida have shown a deep commitment to our Foundation and childhood cancer research,” said Kathleen Ruddy, Executive Director for The St. Baldrick’s Foundation. “We’re proud to honor the groundbreaking work of Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital by supporting their efforts with this grant.” Volunteer organizers are already working on events throughout Florida including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Lake Worth and Ocala. The first event in Pensacola is being held at the Flora-Bama on March 17, 2007.
St. Baldrick’s Foundation research grants help fill crucial funding gaps at medical institutions nationwide where children are treated for cancer. In 2006, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation granted over $4 million to a network of 230 institutions that work together to develop the most advanced treatment techniques. The Foundation also granted more than $1 million to other hospitals for research fellowships and projects to cure childhood cancer.
ABOUT THE ST. BALDRICK’S FOUNDATION
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises money for childhood cancer research primarily through head-shaving events. The mission of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is to raise awareness and funds to cure kids’ cancer by supporting cancer research and fellowships. The foundation is an independent, IRS approved, 501(c)(3) organization, Federal ID # 20-1173824. For a listing of St. Baldrick’s events near you and for more information, please visit www.StBaldricks.org or call 888-889-BALD.
ABOUT SACRED HEART CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
As the only children’s hospital in Northwest Florida, Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital has taken care of sick and injured babies and children for over 37 years – regardless of their ability to pay. For more information on children’s services at Sacred Heart, please cal (850) 416-7000 or visit ww.sacred-heart.org.
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Sacred Heart Selects Air Methods to Operate Air Ambulance Service
PENSACOLA, FL January 30, 2007 – Sacred Heart Health System has selected Air Methods Corporation to operate its AIRHeart air ambulance service serving Northwest Florida and parts of South Alabama.
Effective January 1, Air Methods, in coordination with Sacred Heart Health System, commenced operations in Northwest Florida under the AIRHeart name. Sacred Heart will continue to employ flight nurses and paramedics that serve on the AIRHeart flight crews. Air Methods will provide the helicopters, pilots, mechanics and all maintenance and billing services.
“We are pleased to bring in an outstanding company to operate our AIRHeart service,” said Ron Mosley, flight program director for AIRHeart. “Air Methods is the largest provider of air medical transport services for hospitals in the world.”
David Dolstein, Air Methods’ senior vice president of the LifeNet Division stated, “AIRHeart will use BO105, EC135 and EC130 helicopters. We are pleased to include the AIRHeart program with our Florida operations, and are excited that the transition includes plans to expand the geographic coverage of our air ambulance service in Northwest Florida and South Alabama.”
Air Methods Corporation, based in Denver, is one of the world's leading airborne healthcare companies, providing emergency transportation and medical services throughout the United States. The company’s LifeNet division is the largest community-based provider of air medical services. The Products Division specializes in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. The Company's fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features over 180 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
AIRHeart serves communities across Northwest Florida from two bases in Walton County and Marianna, Fla. In June of this year, the AIRHeart base in South Walton County will be relocated to the DeFuniak Springs Airport. AIRHeart flight manager Ron Mosley said most of AIRHeart’s flights in Walton County have been going to the central and northern parts of the county, so the move to DeFuniak Springs will bring the helicopter base closer to where it is needed most often.
Sacred Heart Health System is Northwest Florida’s most preferred hospital and the region’s leader in providing high quality, compassionate health care to children and adults. Key services at Sacred Heart’s 458-bed hospital in Pensacola include: a Regional Heart and Vascular Institute, Children’s and Women’s Hospital, a Level II Trauma Center, a Cancer Center affiliated with M.D. Anderson Physicians Network,, a home health agency, and a large network of primary care doctors and specialists that stretches from Foley, Alabama to Panama City Beach, Florida. In 2003, the Health System also added Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, a 50-bed community hospital in Walton County, east of Destin, Fla.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Sacred Heart Expands Intensive Care Nursery
 NICU Dedicates New “Quiet Rooms” for Critically Ill Newborns
Sacred Heart Home Care, the home healthcare division of Sacred Heart Health System, is listed among the top 25 percent of the most successful home healthcare providers in the United States. This list, 2006 HomeCare Elite, is created by OCS, Inc. and DecisionHealth and is based on several levels of criteria.
OCS is a healthcare information company with the nation’s largest and most comprehensive set of measures from clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction to operational indicators and financial performance.
Sacred Heart Home Care services are comprehensive and include skilled nursing, rehabilitation, respiratory care, home medical equipment, and infusion pharmacy services. The service area covers Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton counties in Florida and Baldwin and Mobile Counties in Alabama. Sacred Heart Home Care has offices in Pensacola, Niceville and Mobile. In Alabama, Sacred Heart Home Care is licensed for durable medical equipment and pharmacy services only.
The HomeCare Elite list is a review of Medicare-certified agencies. Data used for analysis was compiled from publicly available information. Selections are based on criteria that include quality of care, quality improvement, and financial performance. The entire list can be viewed by visiting the OCS web site at www.ocsys.com
For more information about Sacred Heart Home Care and its services, please call (850) 470-9288 or toll free at 1-877-470-9288.
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