Sacred Heart Health System will provide free flu shots at three sites in the  Pensacola area and one in Gulf Shores, Ala., in December, as well as several screenings for heart health and one screenign for osteoporosis. Sacred Heart's Mission in Motion program targets persons who are poor, uninsured or elderly.

A limited supply of the flu vaccine will be available at the following locations:

Dec. 2 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Clinic, 140 W. Government St.

Dec. 3 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Westwood Homes, 4400 Westover St.

Dec. 4 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Gulf Shores, Ala., 309 E. 21st Ave.

Dec. 5 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Beulah Seniors Center, 7425 Woodside Dr. in Beulah

To receive the flu vaccination, individuals must follow these guidelines: be at least 18 years old; be fever free; must not have an allergy to eggs, egg products or chicken protein; and must not have had a serious reaction to the influenza vaccine in the past. Women who are pregnant must present an order from their physician before they can receive the vaccine.

In addition, the following free heart-health screenings will be provided to measure blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol and blood count. These screenings are helpful in diagnosing conditions that put people at high risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes and other health-related problems. The schedule is as follows:

 ·        Dec. 11 from 7 to 9:30 a.m. at Chumuckla Elementary School, 2312 Hwy. 182 in Chumuckla. Heart-health screening

·        Dec. 16 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Hair Trends, 9389 Chumuckla Highway in Pace. Heart-health screening

·        Dec. 17 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Century Council on Aging, 6025 Industrial Boulevard in Century. Heart-health screening

·        Dec. 18 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Cobb Center, 601 E. Mallory St. Osteoporosis screening only.

·        Dec. 19 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 10650 Gulf Beach Hwy. in Pensacola. Heart-health screening

     Mission in Motion is a community service provided by Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola. The mobile unit's free services also are made possible by support from the law firm of Kerrigan, Estess, Rankin and McLeod, as well as the Gannett Foundation and other community donors. For more information, call (850) 416-7826.

The holidays are often the best time for shopping for toys for all the little ones in your life.

To make sure that you have safe and healthy holiday season, Sacred Heart Children's Hospital has some important tips on how to choose safe and age-appropriate toys.

• Sign up for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) regular email announcements - go to their website at www.cpsc.gov and choose the categories you're interested in (like infant/children's products, sports equipment, household products, etc.). 
•  Search the CPSC's site to see if any of your new or used items have been recalled.
• Go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) site at www.cdc.gov for a list - with pictures - of toys, crafts, and children's jewelry recalled for lead concerns (from as far back as the 1970s). Enter "lead recalls" in the search box then click on the first link.
• Choose toys that aren't too loud. The noise of some rattles, squeak toys, and musical or electronic toys can be as loud as a car horn - even louder if a child holds it directly to the ears - and can contribute to hearing damage.
• Look for safety-minded language on labels and packaging:
  o age recommendations (to ensure that toys are age- and stage-appropriate)
  o "flame resistant" or "flame retardant" for toys made of fabric
  o "washable" for stuffed toys
  o "nontoxic" or "ASTM D-4236" for art materials (which means that they've been evaluated by the American Society for Testing and Materials)
  o "UL" for electric toys, UL, meaning they meet safety standards set by Underwriters Laboratories
  o CPSC or Snell certification for bike helmets
  o choking hazards warnings for kids under age 3. (You can also buy a "choke tube" designed to be about the same diameter as a child's windpipe. If an object fits inside the tube, then it's too small for young kids.)

 Also, keep in mind that secondhand toys and kids' items (from friends, family, thrift or consignment shops, or community yard sales) may look gently used or even brand new, but they may not meet current safety standards and may be so worn from play that they can break and become hazardous.

For more information on services at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital, please call (850) 416-1600 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.

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Local Sacred Heart Children's Hospital patient Asher Chmiel has been chosen to represent the state of Florida in this year's national Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Champions Across America campaign.

Presented by Wal-Mart, this program honors remarkable children who have triumphed despite severe medical challenges. Because of their courage and perseverance, these children have been selected as national ambassadors for the 17 million kids treated each year at Children's Miracle Network children's hospitals.

Seven-year-old Asher was diagnosed at birth with a rare brain malformation of the cerebellum and the 4th ventricle known as Dandy-Walker malformation (DWM). Patients with DWM can have abnormally high pressure within their skulls and swelling of the head, which can lead to neurological impairment.

Because of this disease, Asher suffers from a potentially life-threatening seizure disorder that has led to many unexpected visits to Children's Hospital.

In March 2009, Asher will join the 49 other young ambassadors at the Children's Miracle Network Celebration at Walt Disney World, to share the message that his life-and the lives of millions of children just like him -are better because of the tremendous work of children's hospitals. They will also spread the word at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and hopefully again at The White House.

For more information, please visit www.sacred-heart.org or call Sacred Heart Foundation at (850) 416-4660.

About Sacred Heart Children's Hospital
Since 1969, Sacred Heart Children's Hospital has provided quality, compassionate care to children across the Gulf Coast, regardless of their ability to pay. Located in Pensacola, Fla., our state-of-the-art, 119-bed hospital is the only dedicated children's hospital in Northwest Florida.

About Children's Miracle Network
Each year the 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of kids overcome diseases and injuries of every kind. To do so, these children's hospitals depend on community support. Children's Miracle Network-the alliance of premier hospitals for children-is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals.  To learn more go to www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org.

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Sacred Heart Hospital will be holding a public Christmas treelighting ceremony to celebrate the start of the Christmas season on Monday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. at the corner of 9th Avenue and Bayou Boulevard.

The 60-foot artificial tree is one of the largest and most visible in Pensacola.

"Each year at Sacred Heart Hospital, we light a Christmas tree to celebrate this Sacred Season," said Patrick Madden, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Health System. "It's our way of saying 'thank you' to the community for its support of our healthcare mission."

The festivities also will include Christmas carols by the Sacred Heart choir, hot cider and cookies, the lighting of the Christmas tree by a Sacred Heart Children's Hospital Miracle Child, and a special visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus. Afterwards Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit the patients in Children's Hospital.

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Sacred Heart Hospital is the first hospital in the nation to implant the newly FDA-approved Endologix Powerlink XL minimally invasive stent graft to treat larger abdominal aortic aneurysms.

The new device is able to effectively treat abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients whose aneurysm size made it too risky previously to consider minimally invasive treatment.

"The procedure with Powerlink XL was very successful, and we are pleased to have this new technology available to treat our patients with large-diameter aortic necks," said (name of physician) Dr. Stuart Harlin, a vascular surgeon at Sacred Heart Hospital who first performed the procedure.  "The system enables us to effectively treat AAA patients with challenging anatomy and lower the risk of complication."

Through a small incision in the groin, Dr. Harlin inserts the one-piece graft through a catheter into the aorta, a major vessel leading from the heart. The stent graft is placed into position within the blood vessel so that the main body of the stent is positioned in the aneurysm.  The stent is then expanded within the aorta to reinforce its walls and to allow blood to flow through to the legs.

Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida is the first hospital to implant this device since its FDA clearance.  Dr. Harlin was assisted by vascular surgeon Dr. Christopher LeCroy and interventional radiologist Dr. Christopher Bosarge in this innovative procedure. 

An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a weakened blood vessel. It can develop slowly over years as a blood vessel weakens, or it can happen suddenly as the result of an injury. If an aneurysm bursts, it can lead to excessive bleeding and even death. Aneurysms can happen anywhere in the body, but occur most frequently in the aorta.

Aortic aneurysms occur in the aorta, which is the large artery that leads away from our heart. The most common aortic aneurysm is an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which occurs in the lower part of the aorta, below the diaphragm. More than 1.7 million Americans have AAA, and ruptured AAAs are the 13th leading cause of death in the United States.

Sacred Heart Health System has established itself as Northwest Florida's most preferred hospital and its leader in providing high quality health care to children and adults.  Key services of the 449-bed hospital in Pensacola include: our Regional Heart and Vascular Institute, Children's and Women's Hospital, a Level II Trauma Center, Cancer Center, a home health agency, a 120-bed nursing home and a network of primary care and specialty doctors 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 58-bed community hospital in Walton County, east of Destin.
 
For more information, call 850-416-7000 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.

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Sacred Heart Women's Hospital has recently purchased a state-of-the-art newborn simulator to teach new and expectant parents the damage shaking a baby can cause.

This life-sized simulator is equipped with technology that can measure the force on the brain when shaken. The simulator's head is made up of a transparent vinyl cover with LED lights on the brain that indicate the damaged areas of the brain in real time. The simulator can also simulate an infant's cry, which becomes more shrill and high-pitched the longer it is on. Once the simulator is shaken, the simulator begins to stop crying as more brain damage occurs.

"We felt that by educating our patients and their families with this very visual simulator that we could make an impact on decreasing the number of infants that fall victim to this tragic occurrence," says Niki Dey, patient care manager for the newborn nursery and postpartum services at Sacred Heart Women's Hospital.  "So many times, a family or caregiver does not realize how easy it is to injure a child by shaking them, and this is a great way to provide preventive education."

Sacred Heart plans to introduce this simulator into its childbirth preparation and newborn parenting classes to show parents the dangers of shaken baby syndrome.

Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is a form of inflicted head trauma that can be caused by direct blows to the head, dropping or throwing a child, or shaking a child. Head trauma is the leading cause of death in child abuse cases in the United States.

Unlike other forms of inflicted head trauma, SBS results from injuries caused by someone vigorously shaking a child. Because the anatomy of infants puts them at particular risk for injury from this kind of action, the vast majority of victims are infants younger than 1 year old. The average age of victims is between 3 and 8 months, although these injuries are occasionally seen in children up to 4 years old.

The perpetrators in these cases are most often parents or caregivers. Common triggers are frustration or stress when the child is crying. Unfortunately, the shaking may have the desired effect: although at first the baby cries more, he or she may stop crying as the brain is damaged.

SBS often causes irreversible damage. In the worst cases, children die due to their injuries.

Children who survive may have:
. partial or total blindness
. hearing loss
. seizures
. developmental delays
. impaired intellect
. speech and learning difficulties
. problems with memory and attention
. severe mental retardation
. cerebral palsy

Sacred Heart Women's Hospital is Northwest Florida's only dedicated women's hospital, serving the needs of women in all stages of life. Sacred Heart is also the area's childbirth leader, with over 3,700 babies born each year.

For more information on services at Sacred Heart Women's Hospital, please call (850) 416-1600 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.

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The holiday season can be a difficult time for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola will offer three grief support sessions on Thursday, Nov. 20. Sessions will meet at the following times and also are open to caregivers:

1 - 3 p.m. in the Women's & Children's A & B Conference Room, First Floor

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. in the Women's & Children's A & B Conference Room, First Floor

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. in the Women's & Children's C & D Conference Room, First Floor

Grief support sessions are free of charge. Anyone who has lost a family member or friend is invited to participate. Facilitator will be Ronnie Gonzalez, a local bereavement specialist/educator who is bilingual in English and Spanish.

To register, call the Palliative Care Department at Sacred Heart at (850) 416-7705.

The Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club (GPAC), a non-profit, parent-run swim organization, recently presented a $1,000 check to Children's Miracle Network to benefit Sacred Heart Children's Hospital. Over 100 GPAC swimmers ranging in age from five to nineteen raised the money at their annual Splash for Cash fundraiser. 

Swimmers spent two weeks collecting pledges from friends, family, and area businesses who sponsored them on a per lap basis or with an outright gift.  The day of the event, the swimmers took to the water to swim as many laps as they could in two hours. 

GPAC is comprised of nearly 160 swimmers coming from as far as Alabama to participate in its programs.  It emphasizes team building, sportsmanship, and individual achievement while teaching proper technique and skills to help build each athlete's abilities and confidence.

Sacred Heart Children's Hospital provides a wide range of services to infants and children across the Gulf Coast, including the only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Northwest Florida.  They also offer dental services, a pediatric clinic, and developmental services, in addition to specialized pediatric emergency care and inpatient facilities for infants, toddlers, and school-aged children.

For more information on Sacred Heart Children's Hospital, please call (850) 416-7000 or visit us online at www.sacred-heart.org.

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Sacred Heart Hospital is the first hospital in the nation to implant the newly FDA-approved Powerlink XL minimally invasive stent graft to treat larger abdominal aortic aneurysms.

The new device is able to effectively treat abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients whose aneurysm size made it too risky previously to consider minimally invasive treatment.

"The procedure with Powerlink XL was very successful, and we are pleased to have this new technology available to treat our patients with large-diameter aortic necks," said (name of physician) Dr. Stuart Harlin, a vascular surgeon at Sacred Heart Hospital who first performed the procedure.  "The system enables us to effectively treat AAA patients with challenging anatomy and lower the risk of complication."

Through a small incision in the groin, Dr. Harlin inserts the one-piece graft through a catheter into the aorta, a major vessel leading from the heart. The stent graft is placed into position within the blood vessel so that the main body of the stent is positioned in the aneurysm.  The stent is then expanded within the aorta to reinforce its walls and to allow blood to flow through to the legs.

Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida since its FDA clearance.  Dr. Harlin was assisted by vascular surgeon Dr. Christopher LeCroy and interventional radiologist Dr. Christopher Bosarge in this innovative procedure. 

An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a weakened blood vessel. It can develop slowly over years as a blood vessel weakens, or it can happen suddenly as the result of an injury. If an aneurysm bursts, it can lead to excessive bleeding and even death. Aneurysms can happen anywhere in the body, but occur most frequently in the aorta.

Aortic aneurysms occur in the aorta, which is the large artery that leads away from our heart. The most common aortic aneurysm is an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which occurs in the lower part of the aorta, below the diaphragm. More than 1.7 million Americans have AAA, and ruptured AAAs are the 13th leading cause of death in the United States.

Sacred Heart Health System has established itself as Northwest Florida's most preferred hospital and its leader in providing high quality health care to children and adults.  Key services of the 449-bed hospital in Pensacola include: our Regional Heart and Vascular Institute, Children's and Women's Hospital, a Level II Trauma Center, Cancer Center, a home health agency, a 120-bed nursing home and a network of primary care and specialty doctors 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 58-bed community hospital in Walton County, east of Destin.
 
For more information, call 850-416-7000 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.

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Dr. Jeffrey Lord, a specialist in weight-loss surgery techniques, will present "Weight Loss Surgery: Is It Right for You?" on Thursday, Nov. 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Hospital Conference Center in Pensacola.

The seminar is sponsored by Sacred Heart's Institute for Surgical Weight Loss.  Sacred Heart offers 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.

In addition, Sacred Heart now offers the Stomaphyx procedure for bariatric patients needing revision of their previous gastric bypass surgery due to stomal dilation. Stomaphyx is a surgical method of fastening tissue and creating large folds in the gastrointestinal tract without incisions. It can be done safely, quickly and comfortably, and most patients can return to work the next day or within several days of their Stomaphyx procedure. 

Dr. Lord, who has advanced fellowship training in weight-loss surgery, serves as director of the Sacred Heart Institute for Surgical Weight Loss. Dr. Lord and 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/ 

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Sacred Heart Hospital has begun the first phase of  construction of a $31.5 million Cancer Center that will provide the most advanced cancer treatment to patients in Northwest Florida.

The new 90,000 square-foot center will be built on the west side of the Sacred Heart Medical Park at Airport Boulevard and College Parkway in Pensacola. Construction of the new Sacred Heart Cancer Center is scheduled for completion in late November 2009.  Construction crews have dug up some of the parking area next to Sacred Heart's facility on Airport Boulevard to make room for the Cancer Center.

 "Our vision is to be the region's premier cancer center. The facility will combine excellent diagnostic and treatment technology, great doctors and staff, a healing environment, and individualized patient care supported by the latest knowledge and research," said Patrick Madden, president and CEO of Sacred Heart.

The new facility will consolidate and expand Sacred Heart's cancer services. Those services include radiation and medical oncology, outpatient chemotherapy, lab and pharmacy services, patient education and support services, and cancer research staff. 

Sacred Heart Hospital is affiliated with M. D. Anderson Physicians Network®.  As a result of this affiliation, Sacred Heart cancer patients can gain access to the latest clinical care guidelines and quality initiatives developed by teams of specialists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the nation's leader in cancer care. The guidelines are founded upon research to determine the best known outcomes for patients receiving cancer treatment.
Experts at M. D. Anderson regularly communicate with Sacred Heart physicians via teleconferences where they discuss the cases of individual patients and share knowledge based on research.  Physicians Network also provides Sacred Heart with ongoing rigorous review of its standards and practices.

For more information, call 1-877-904-HOPE or visit www.sacred-heart.org. 

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