Thursday, February 22, 2007
Rebels with a Cause to Benefit Sacred Heart’s Miracle Camp
Dust off your poodle skirts and grab your saddle oxfords for Sacred Heart Foundation’s “Rebels with a Cause,” benefiting Sacred Heart’s Miracle Camp, on Saturday, March 3, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Museum of Commerce, 201 E. Zaragoza Street.
The night will feature live entertainment and rock and roll music by the Modern Eldorados, a great dance floor and a mouth-watering menu featuring hot dogs, burgers and root beer floats by McGuire’s Irish Pub. Fifties attire is optional.
There will also be a silent auction and a live auction. At the live auction, participants can bid on a Rolling Stones guitar signed by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts, a hockey jersey signed by Wayne Gretsky, a flat panel, high definition TV, and a Mikimoto Pearls in Motion necklace from Jeweler's Trade Shop.
The regular auction will feature a New Orleans Saints football signed by Reggie Bush, a Portofino weekend getaway, a mountain top vacation in Georgia, beautiful works of art from local artists, baseball pitching lessons from former pro Chuck Stanhope, golf outings, food, jewelry, and much more!
This year’s Diamond Sponsors for Rebels with a Cause are Adcox Imports, Cox Communications, John S. Carr & Company and MY 107.3.
The event will benefit Miracle Camp, a retreat center located on a 40-acre nature preserve in Escambia County. The camp is designed to provide an enriching experience for those coping with a variety of physical and/or emotional challenges, regardless of financial barriers or physical concerns.
Tickets for Rebels with a Cause are $40 each or $300 for a table of eight. Ticket price includes food and two drink tickets and reservations are required. Guests must be at least 21 years old to attend and must bring a photo ID. To make reservations or for more information, please call the Sacred Heart Foundation at (850) 416-4660.
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Labels: Foundation, Miracle Camp, Rebels witha Cause
Sacred Heart Can Help Smokers Find Freedom from Smoking
Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola will offer its “Freedom From Smoking” program starting March 6 and March 7 to help with the physical, psychological, and habitual components of nicotine addiction.
Participants can choose to attend the seven-week course at sessions in the afternoon or evening. The classes will be held:
- Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. starting March 6
- Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting March 7
All classes will be held at Sacred Heart Hospital and will cost $75 per person. However, the orientation class is free and a limited number of scholarships also are available for the entire program.
Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Please call (850) 416-7764 for more information or to register.
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Labels: Classes
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Community Invited to 8th Annual Spirit of Women Awards Gala
Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital will host the 8th annual Spirit of Women Awards Gala on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007 at the Saenger Theatre in downtown Pensacola. The Gala will honor women from Northwest Florida and South Alabama who are making a difference in their communities.
Over 140 women have been nominated by the community for the awards. Eligible for nomination are “unsung heroes” who are making an extraordinary difference in their neighborhoods or communities, such as healthcare workers, volunteers, businesswomen, educators, or other women working to make Northwest Florida a better place to live.
The festivities will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 7 p.m. The guest speaker at this year’s ceremonies will be Capt. Lee Little, USN (Ret.)
Capt. Little graduated from Florida State University in 1979. After teaching school for two years, she joined the Navy and was commissioned in 1981. Upon selection for flight training, she reported to Pensacola, where she earned her Naval Flight Officer wings in 1984.
After working her way up through the ranks, Capt. Little was named Executive Office in September 1996 of Training Squadron Ten (VT-10) in Pensacola and assumed command of the Warbucks of VT-4 in 1997. Following command, she reported to the Commander, Carrier Group Size (CCG-6) on board USS John F. Kennedy where she served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Information Warfare. During that tour, the Battle Group completed an Arabian Gulf deployment, and Capt. Little qualified as Staff Tactical Action Office and Battle Watch Captain. Following retirement from the Navy, Capt. Little has become a training consultant and plans to open an international learning center for children.
During the Feb. 27 awards gala, three women will be named as this year's Spirit of Women Award winners: one in the youth category, one in the community category, and one in the healthcare provider category. A special award also will be given to honor women in the military.
Tickets are $5 and are available in advance. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the Sacred Heart Marketing Department at (850) 969-0682.
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Labels: Spirit of Women, Women's Hospital
New Childbirth Training Tools Delivers Baby
 Expectant “mom” Noelle delivered her baby recently at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola -- repeatedly throughout a two-day training session. Noelle and her baby are life-size plastic mannequins that can be pre-programmed to simulate certain childbirth complications.
Simulation systems like Noelle and her baby are part of a nationwide trend that gives healthcare professionals critical hands-on experience.
Sacred Heart is among 11 hospitals selected by Ascension Health, its parent organization, to receive this $20,000 high-tech training tool as part of Ascension’s nationwide Perinatal Safety Initiative. Noelle also will be used at Providence Hospital in Mobile and later this year to train staff at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast near Destin. The Destin hospital will be launching its own women’s services/childbirth program in the fall of 2007.
Noelle and her baby aid in teaching basic and advanced skills, such as insertion of IVs, fetal monitoring, and resuscitation. The system’s nine pre-programmed emergency scenarios include situations in which the baby’s shoulder gets stuck, the cord gets wrapped around the baby’s neck, the baby turns blue, the mother hemorrhages, etc.
A laptop allows the instructor to change scenarios at a moment’s notice, requiring trainees to respond to changes in the conditions of both mom and baby.
“Students learn how to communicate with each other in crisis situations and how to develop an immediate plan of action,” said Linda Fricke, RN, clinical nurse specialist at Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital. “As the Regional Perinatal Center, we receive high-risk pregnancy referrals from throughout the area, so the more we can train for emergency situations, the better prepared we are. Practice makes perfect.”
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Sign Up for Free Newsletter for New Parents!
 Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital offers a free newsletter for expectant and new parents that provides information specific to a woman’s stage of pregnancy or the age of the parent’s infant.
The hospital’s New Parent eNews, delivered via email, provides subscribers with articles and advice related to their stage of new parenthood -- from the first trimester of pregnancy through the first two years of parenthood. The newsletter contains useful information about health, nutrition, pregnancy, and a broad assortment of parenting issues.
Expectant or new parents can easily subscribe to New Parent eNews by visiting the Health Info for Kids and Parents section of this web site.
“Becoming a new parent is one of the most joyous and often most stressful times in a person’s life” said Hella Ewing, director of women’s services at Sacred Heart. “We want to help provide a one-stop destination for complete pregnancy and newborn information. We also want to help anxious new parents receive the information they need on a regular basis.”
Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital delivers more babies than any other hospital in Northwest Florida – more than 3,000 per year. For more information on the hospital’s services, click on the Services section of our web site or call (850) 416-1600.
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Thursday, February 08, 2007
Sacred Heart Presents Baby Steps to the Future Conference
The 7th annual Baby Steps to the Future Conference for health care professionals will be held Thursday, March 8, and Friday, March 9 at the Sacred Heart Hospital Conference Center.
This two day conference will offer information concerning preterm labor, the high risk OB patient, the at-risk newborn and neonatal intensive care. Presented in part by Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital and PEDIATRIX Medical Group, faculty will address therapy and management issues and present evidence-based data on pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital management of the medically complex newborn.
The following are health professionals speaking during the conference and their discussion topics:
• Dr. Paul S. Berger, serving as conference director, opening introductions and a NRP update
• Dr. Stephen Lye, on prevention of preterm labor and the impact of laboratory research on patient care,
• Dr. William Lile on community stabilization of the high risk OB patient
• Dr. Jon Nagel on community stabilization of the newborn
• Dr. Fawn Lewis, covering early management of surgical issues in the neonate
• Dr. Stephen Kendall on fetal and neonatal consequences to maternal methadone use during pregnancy
• Dr. Jason Tanner on post-discharge outcome of the medically complex neonate
• Dr. Richard Grimm discussing strategies for reducing infant mortality rates
• Dr. Peggy Gordin, RNC, MS on creating a safe and reliable NICU, also speaking on reducing bloodstream infections in the NICU
• Dr. Carolyn Lund, MS, RN on improving neonatal skin care through evidence-based practice
• Dr. Alan R. Spitzer on reducing retinopathy of prematurity and the role of cerebral function monitoring in the routine care of neonatal patient
For questions or information concerning registration, please contact the Medical Educational Council of Pensacola at (850) 477-4956 or please visit www.mecop.org
Sacred Heart Expands Radiology Service to Port St. Joe
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Sacred Heart Health System has opened a new radiology clinic providing general x-ray services in Port St. Joe.
The radiology clinic will be staffed by a Sacred Heart employee and located inside the Gulf County Health Department Building on Garrison Avenue.
“Sacred Heart is pleased to provide a service that is not readily available in Port St. Joe,” said Sidney Scarborough, vice president of ambulatory care with Sacred Heart Health System. “Digital x-rays will be sent online to our radiologists for interpretation, with electronic reports provided back to referring physicians within 24 hours.”
The service is available weekdays for walk-in patients and scheduled patients. The Gulf County Health Department purchased digital x-ray equipment with foundation money obtained by the City of Port St. Joe from the Stafford L. Barke Trust. In addition, a major donation was made by Monica Ward Stone, widow of the late Dr. Albert Ward who was instrumental in establishing the county Health Department. Gulf County Health Department donated space for the clinic, while Sacred Heart has agreed to provide x-ray services to indigent patients in the county.
“This partnership brings desperately needed radiological specialty care services to our community,” said Doug Kent, director of the Gulf County Health Department. “Digital radiology is a real time event which allows local doctors who have internet connection to be able to view the images in their offices. There are no large, ungainly x-ray folders to be carried around - only a CD that can be taken to doctors outside Gulf County and viewed in their offices.”
The new x-ray clinic is the first of many new health care services that Sacred Heart plans to provide to the community. The Pensacola-based health system plans to begin construction later this year on a 25-bed hospital and medical office building in Port St. Joe.
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Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Sacred Heart’s Senior Services to Host Tax Tips Seminar on Feb. 15
Sacred Heart’s Senior Services program is hosting a Financial Matters Seminar Thursday, Feb. 15, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Home Care in downtown Pensacola, 213 E. Wright St. The seminar is designed to provide tips on curbing taxes and ways to avoid passing on debt to one’s heirs.
Annalee Leonard, president of Mainstay Financial Group, will present this educational workshop.
“We all know taxes are an integral part of our society and although they do provide necessary benefits like social security and funding for public school systems; some of us are paying more than our fair share,” said Leonard.
Seating is limited. To register, or for more information, please call (850) 416-1620 or toll free at 1-800-877-1620.
This seminar is part of a 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 this program for seniors, visit www.sacred-heart.org.
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Monday, February 05, 2007
Sacred Heart Home Care Named Among Top in Nation
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.
Dental Community to Hold Bowl-A-Thon to Benefit Sacred Heart’s Pediatric Dental Clinic
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Shehee & Callahan Family Orthodontics and the Pensacola area dental community will be holding a Bowl-A-Thon on Monday, Feb. 12, as part of the Operation: Healthy Smiles program to benefit the Sacred Heart Pediatric Dental Clinic.
The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Liberty Lanes on 3200 North Palafox Street in Pensacola.
Registration is $40 for a four-person team, and lane sponsorships are available for $100 each. In addition, area dental offices are encouraged to collect donations at their offices and donate supplies and volunteers to the dental clinic.
The Operation: Healthy Smiles program was created by Shehee & Callahan Family Orthodontics to help provide necessary dental care to children in our community who cannot afford it. According to Dr. Ed Shehee, a local orthodontist, the daily reality for children with untreated oral disease is often persistent pain, inability to eat comfortably or chew well, embarrassment at discolored and damaged teeth, and distraction from play and learning
Dr. Shehee’s partner, Dr. Chad Callahan, agrees.
“There’s nothing more valuable than a child’s smile,” said Dr. Callahan. “Not many people realize it, but the health of a child’s teeth can have a major impact on them throughout the rest of their life. Sacred Heart is providing such a great service to the children of our community, and we want to make sure that they could continue their mission.”
The Pediatric Dental Clinic, located on 8390 N. Palafox St. in Cantonment, provides dental care to children throughout our region who qualify for Medicaid or do not have the ability to pay for necessary dental care. In 2005, the Pediatric Dental Clinic saw 1,008 new patients and scheduled more than 6,000 appointments. New applicants can apply for treatment every three months.
For more information on the Bowl-A-Thon or to register your team, please call Shehee and Callahan at 478-8844 or email smile@shehee.com.
For more information on the Sacred Heart Pediatric Dental Clinic, please call (850) 416-7000 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.
New Web-based Technology Allows Stroke Specialists to Extend Care Across Region
 Sacred Heart Hospital’s Regional Stroke Center is launching an innovative use of the Internet and videoconferencing technology that will extend the hospital’s stroke expertise hundreds of miles to smaller hospitals that do not have neurologists on site.
Sacred Heart has acquired a telemedicine system that allows its stroke experts in Pensacola to do an online examination of patients at other hospitals to diagnose stroke and recommend treatment.
“Essentially, we are there without being there in person,” says Dr. Rodney Soto, a vascular neurologist and director of Sacred Heart’s certified Stroke Center. “The patients can see us and we can see them. We can talk to a physician or nurse on the other end. We can determine the type of stroke by looking at the patient and results of the brain scan.”
Dr. Soto adds: “This is a wonderful opportunity to provide the expertise of our stroke specialists 24 hours a day to smaller community hospitals in Northwest Florida and South Alabama. This will expand our regional ability to provide rapid assessment for stroke patients and others with acute neurological injuries.”
Sacred Heart now can provide remote evaluation of stroke patients at its hospital near Destin (Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast). The Stroke Center in Pensacola hopes to expand the program to serve small community hospitals throughout Northwest Florida and South Alabama.
The web-based computer system acquired by Sacred Heart means Dr. Soto and his partner, Dr. Terry Neill, can see and talk to the stroke patient, his family and the local Emergency Department physician via a web camera. They can perform the online consultations from a portable lap top computer, even when they are at home or on the road.
The online evaluations also will allow Dr. Soto and Dr. Neill to quickly make recommendations to emergency department physicians at remote hospitals. In some cases, the recommendation will be to transport the patient via ground ambulance or air ambulance to a stroke center.
In the case of stroke, time saved in transporting patients is especially critical, as the sooner a patient receives proper treatment for stroke, the better the chances for recovery.
Most strokes or “brain attacks” are caused when a blood clot travels to small blood vessels in the brain and block blood flow to the brain. There are procedures and drugs that can remove the clots, but the treatments must begin within a few hours of stroke symptoms.
As a result, many hospitals have been unable to utilize one of the treatments for stroke – a drug called tPA – because it must be given within a three-hour window. Also, the clot busting drug is not recommended unless the diagnosis is made by a physician with expertise in the diagnosis of stroke, including expertise in reading CT scans of the brain. That’s where Sacred Heart’s new system will help patients in small hospitals that don’t have stroke expertise.
Dr. Neill said Sacred Heart’s Stroke Center will adopt the REACH system (Remote Evaluation for Acute Ischemic Stroke) that was developed three years ago at the Medical College of Georgia. The system is one of the few in operation in the entire United States.
“The system’s computer software is able to combine live web-based conferencing, CT imaging and patient data so we can remotely improve the quality of stroke care at rural hospitals throughout Northwest Florida,” Dr. Neill said. “It is a low cost way of bringing the stroke specialist to the patients, even if the patient is far away.”
"Sacred Heart evaluated several programs for remote stroke care and decided to partner with REACHMD, as it was designed to eliminate geographic barriers to stroke care through a web-based system that will bring specialized neurological care to hospitals in our region,” said Dr. Paul Baroco, chief medical officer for Sacred Heart Health System. “REACHMD has been operational at the Medical College of Georgia for three years and has improved stroke outcomes in that region since its inception."
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Cardiologists Expand Practice to Sacred Heart Medical Park in Pace
PENSACOLA, FL – Cardiology Consultants, Northwest Florida’s largest group of cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons, is expanding its services to Sacred Heart Medical Park in Pace.
The group’s cardiologists who practice at Sacred Heart Hospital will visit the Pace office on a rotating basis. They will see patients on the third floor of the Pace Medical Park starting Feb. 8. Cardiology Consultants will occupy 5,200 square feet of office space that includes four offices, six exam rooms, and complete, non-invasive diagnostic testing for heart and vascular problems.
“We will provide residents of Santa Rosa County with the latest technology in digital echocardiography in order to perform ultrasound imaging of the heart,” said Andrew Radoszewski, administrator of the practice. “Our diagnostic services include routine EKGs, regular exercise stress tests, nuclear stress tests, as well as ultrasound imaging of the carotid arteries and veins in the legs and arms.”
He added that another service will be a Coumadin clinic to monitor patients who require this medication.
Sacred Heart Medical Park at Pace opened a year ago and has been steadily expanding services since then.
The health services now available at the Pace facilities include:
• A new outpatient Surgery Center
• Laboratory
• Imaging services such as an MRI and CT scanner, ultrasound and x-ray
• Rehabilitation services including physical and occupational therapy
• Obstetricians/gynecologists and family practice physicians with Sacred
Heart Medical Group
• Other physicians including specialists in orthopedics, pain management,
gastroenterology, general surgery, vascular surgery, and ear, nose and throat
surgery.
For more information about Sacred Heart Medical Park, call 416-5800. More information about Sacred Heart’s cardiac and vascular services can be found online at www.sacred-heart.org.
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
Sacred Heart Home Care Pharmacy is First of Its Kind in Northwest Florida
 Sacred Heart Home Care IV (Intravenous) Infusion Pharmacy has made more than $300,000 worth of renovations to its downtown Pensacola offices to include a state-of-the-art IV infusion pharmacy – the first of its kind in Northwest Florida. Sacred Heart Home Care is located at 213 E. Wright Street in Pensacola.
These renovations, which also include the addition of new equipment, have been made in accordance with new United States Pharmacopeia (USP) federal patient safety standards that govern the compounding of sterile drug products administered by infusion. Sacred Heart Home Care is the first in the area to make changes to comply with the new standards. USP is the official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and other healthcare products manufactured and sold in the U.S.
Home Care’s new IV Infusion Pharmacy is designed to provide a sterile environment for drug compounding for patients diagnosed with acute and/or chronic conditions. The new, cutting-edge pharmacy allows for the preparation of medications in a highly controlled, sterile environment, resulting in enhanced patient, employee and product safety. This new pharmacy exemplifies Sacred Heart Health System’s goal to exceed national standards of quality patient care.
Renovations include the addition of a positive pressure room for compounding antibiotics and drugs administered by injection or infusion. The air flow of the pressure room is designed to ensure the sterile integrity of the product. These drugs are compounded in new dual mobile isolation chambers to meet standards for patient and pharmacy staff safety.
In addition, a negative-pressure room has been added to allow for compounding of chemotherapy drugs in a single mobile isolation chamber. In the negative pressure room, there is absolutely no escape of particles when compounding the chemotherapy drugs. This is a safety guard for employees working with these chemicals. The mobility of these chambers is critical in situations of potential disaster so that they can be easily relocated to safer shelter.
 Sacred Heart Home Care’s new IV Infusion Pharmacy is staffed by six healthcare professionals including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Their combined experience in the field of pharmacy totals nearly 50 years.
SHHC 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.
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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