Posts Tagged ‘hospital’

As we all know the weather in Vermont can change drastically at a moment’s notice. With the weather quickly getting colder, it’s important to keep cold weather safety in mind. Though it may seem innocuous, cold weather can be dangerous or even deadly for those caught off-guard. Here are a few simple safety tips from your Grace Cottage family to keep you out of harm’s way during this, and any other, cold snap.

Home Safety

1. Make sure you have emergency supplies such as fresh water, extra food, and emergency supplies like a first aid kit, batteries, and a fire extinguisher.
2. If your home has gas, make sure you have a carbon monoxide monitor in place and that the batteries are working. If you feel lightheaded or nauseous, don’t hesitate to call 911 and leave the house.
3. Learn to turn off your water valves in case a pipe bursts – and if you can, check the insulation around pipes to keep them from freezing at all.
4. Make a Family Emergency Plan – if you or another loved one is separated from others when a storm or cold snap hits, you need to be sure you have an established method of communication.
5. Remember that going outside should be limited to when its absolutely necessary – don’t make any trips you don’t have to.

Personal Safety

1. Limit exposure to the cold. In cases of extreme cold, don’t go outside unless you must and never travel alone.
2. Wear several layers of clothing rather than one bulky layer – more layers insulate your skin better — and make sure to cover your head, hands, and other exposed areas. Also, wear wool, or other wicking materials, instead of cotton to help remove sweat and moisture, which can freeze on your skin and make you colder.
3. Stay physically active when outdoors to help your body produce more heat. However, avoid over exerting yourself to minimize sweating and prevent aggravating any existing respiratory condition, which can be compounded by the harsh cold air.
4. Pay attention to your own condition, and know the symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia.

The symptoms of frostbite include:
- feeling uncomfortably cold
- feeling tingling or aching in your extremities
- finding blisters or color changes in your skin

The symptoms of hypothermia include:
- feeling extreme shivering
- pain, fatigue or stiffness in your limbs
- failing or slurred speech
- poor coordination

Both conditions require immediate attention, and might need medical treatment.

Staying safe in the cold doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep these safety tips in mind, and don’t be afraid to ask one of our knowledge doctors or nurses for advice. Be smart, and be safe!

Grace Cottage Hospital has been named one of the most advanced hospitals in the world for its use of comprehensive Electronic Medical Records (EMR), a key factor in providing the safest, highest-quality patient care possible.

According to HIMSS Analytics, Grace Cottage Hospital is currently at “Stage 6” for adoption of EMR. Only 397 of more than 5,300 hospitals in the United States have achieved this status; Fletcher Allen Healthcare Center in Burlington is the only other Vermont hospital that has reached Stage 6. HIMSS Analytics, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) scores hospitals based on their progress in completing eight stages (0-7) towards creating paperless patient records.

“Becoming the second hospital in Vermont to earn this recognition is a significant achievement,” said Grace Cottage Hospital CEO Mick Brant. “As the smallest hospital in Vermont, Grace Cottage is committed to giving our health care providers the most advanced tools available in order to provide our patients with the best possible care.”

Grace Cottage is well known for having the highest overall patient satisfaction scores in the state of Vermont and, in partnership with Cerner Corporation, has spent the past two years preparing for and implementing a facility-wide Electronic Medical Record system, a $2.5 million investment that is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“The entire staff has worked very hard to make this happen,” Brant adds. “Achieving Stage 6 in HIMSS Analytics is a major milestone in the 64-year history of this hospital, so all of our employees deserve to be very proud of what they’ve accomplished for our patients. Now, we’ll work towards Stage 7.”

More information about Grace Cottage’s HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 designation is available at http://www.gracecottage.org.

ABOUT GRACE COTTAGE:

Founded in 1949, Grace Cottage Hospital is a Critical Access Hospital offering a variety of health care services, including: a 19-bed hospital with a 24/7 emergency department; an imaging department with digital X-ray, CT scanner, bone densitometer, and ultrasound; a full-service lab; a rehab department with physical, occupational, and speech therapy services for inpatient and outpatient treatment; an outpatient rural health clinic with family practice doctors and a mental health department; a community wellness center hosting a variety of classes; and a full-service pharmacy open to the public. http://www.gracecottage.org

ABOUT HIMSS:

HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded 50 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations are headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. HIMSS represents more than 38,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 540 corporate members and more than 120 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. To learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause, please visit our website at http://www.himss.org.

On behalf of the Grace Cottage Hospital Rehabilitation Department, I would like to thank the staff, community members and establishments who helped make this year’s 14th Annual Physical Therapy Month Poker Walk such a big success. This year over 100 walkers/runners, completed the 2-mile course on Wednesday, October 10, despite the cold and rainy weather.

I would like to thank the following donors for their generous contributions to our raffle: Grace Cottage Hospital, Grace Cottage Community Wellness Center, Grace Cottage Foundation, Messenger Valley Pharmacy, Patty Winter, Siobhan Young, Flo Burt, Jim Heal, Archer Mayor, Wayne’s Auto and Jeep, Newfane Greenhouse, and Mary Meyer.

A big thanks also to Snow Goose Inn of West Dover, VT, for again contributing our “Grand Prize,” a one-night stay for two, which went to the community member with the best poker hand. Thanks also to the Last Chair Restaurant of West Dover, for contributing the employee “Grand Prize,” a voucher for dinner for two.

We were well hydrated and fueled with water and granola bars donated by C & S Wholesale Grocers, who was also our event lead sponsor, thanks to a generous financial donation. Thanks so much.

This year we were once again fortunate to have the Windham County Sheriff’s Department and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), who did an excellent job with traffic control. We really appreciate it. Also, a big thanks to Grace Cottage’s volunteers, the “Grace Greeters,” who cheerfully helped handing out cards at the stations despite the weather.

Once again, thank you, Tammy Claussen and Tom Russell, for bringing your students out. Leland and Gray is a huge part of the event.

Great job everyone! See you next year for the 15th Annual Physical Therapy Month Poker Walk.

Sincerely,

Sindy Hassig
Grace Cottage Hospital Physical Therapist

Life is about being happy and healthy. Here at Grace Cottage Hospital it’s our job to help encourage patients, friends and the community to practice wellness to be able to enjoy life to the fullest. It’s also important to have fun. That’s why we’re teaming up with Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and the Brattleboro Retreat to present the first-ever Wellness in Windham Health Festival on Saturday, September 22, 2012.

From 11:00am to 2pm, the Brattleboro Retreat lawn will be transformed into an interactive festival ground, all in the name of wellness. The event is free, family-friendly and promises to include lots of activities for all ages, many surprises and some great entertainment. The Wellness in Windham Health Festival will give you access to many different sources of information so that you and your loved ones can lead healthier, more active lives.

Kicking off this year’s Wellness in Windham Health Festival is the Fun Trail Run on the Retreat Trails on Saturday morning at 10:00am. This activity is free and open to the public. Everyone who enjoys a fun, relaxed run through the woods should join us. The trail run will be approximately 1.5 to 2 miles and runners will have the option of being timed. Register for the Fun Trail Run between 9:15-9:45am in the Front lawn of the Brattleboro Retreat, 1 Anna Marsh Lane, Brattleboro, Vermont.

After the trail, visit exciting and interactive exhibits to visit, snack on healthy food concessions and enjoy a host of activities focused on fitness, stress management and mindfulness practices. There will even be live entertainment including a performance by a local belly dancing troupe. What could be better? How about free parking, free admission, prizes, giveaways and information about some key ways to improve your health? We’re just getting warmed up, but to find out about everything the Health Festival has to offer, you’ll just have to be there. So mark your calendars for Saturday, September 22 and join us for a great day of fun, which, after all, is good for your health.

For more information about the Wellness in Windham Health Festival, visit www.wellnessinwindham.org

Sergeant George Badgley in the Dunking Booth.

Every year, hundreds, even thousands of people turn out for the annual Grace Cottage Hospital Fair Day on the Townshend Common. It’s a great local tradition and a wonderful way for families, neighbors and even complete strangers to come together and have fun, while supporting our small country hospital. In an effort to keep the crowds coming back year after year, we try to offer fun activities and events that will draw audiences from near and far.

Fair Day organizer and Auxiliary President Stan Holt had this to say about this year’s Fair Day action:

“By about the tenth time that Deputy Sergeant George Badgley of the Windham County Sheriff’s Department went into the water, we knew the Celebrity Dunk was a big success. It was a new event at this year’s Grace Cottage Hospital Fair Day. Mick Brant, Grace Cottage CEO, and Pharmacist Jim Heal also took the plunge, multiple times. We praise them for being good sports and helping to raise money for a great cause. Not to mention, it must have felt refreshing.

Grace Cottage CEO Mick Brant helps Pharmacist Jim Heal up out of the dunking booth.

Other volunteers staffing the booths, parking cars and fetching items for the auction weren’t as fortunate. They had to bear the heat and humidity without relief, but their endurance paid off and Fair Day raised over $70,000! Kit Martin and Art Monette performed their usual magic in the auction tent raising over $35,000. We salute the hundreds of volunteers who lent a hand throughout the day – we couldn’t have done it without you. Also, thanks to the Auxiliary Committee, who spent hours preparing the Fair, and to the hospital maintenance staff that made it all happen.

Congratulations to the winners of the mega raffle: $1,000 to Michelle Flynn of Newfane; a weekend in Maine won by Tim Kenney of Bozrah, CT, a handmade quilt by Christine Cathcart, won by Susan Fiske of Jamaica, and the Mary Meyer teddy bear, won by a five-year-old girl in Decatur, GA (her mother plans to surprise her when the big box arrives in the mail!).

Thanks again to everyone who came out and helped make this year such a big success. Have a great winter and we’ll see you at Fair Day next year, Saturday, August 3, 2013!”

On Tuesday, June 5, Grace Cottage Hospital became the 371st hospital in the nation to sign a Healthy Food in Health Care pledge, created by Health Care Without Harm.

“By signing this, we agree to improve the health of our patients and our community through nutrition, while also doing whatever we can to protect the environment,” said Denise Choleva, Grace Cottage’s Dietary Department manager.

“We’re working with farmers in our area to increase the use of locally-produced foods, we’re cutting down on food and packaging waste as much as possible, and we’re increasing our offering of fresh fruits and vegetables on our salad bar and on patient trays. We want Grace Cottage to be a model of healthy eating for the community that we serve!”

Watch a video of the Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge Signing Ceremony, below.

Video courtesy of Zach Stevens/Brattleboro Reformer.

On April 25, 2012, Rick Kenyon picked up a friendly hitchhiker named Joe Chagnon as he traveled through Brattleboro, Vermont. What happened next, neither could have anticipated.

It may sound cliché, but the world certainly does work in mysterious ways. Rick and Joe are living proof. Fate brought these two men together and now Joe is a patient at Grace Cottage Hospital, where Rick’s wife, Cindy is his Physical Therapist. This is their story…

What an amazing weekend we had for the 3rd Annual “Tee Up for Health” Golf Benefit on June 10. We had beautiful weather, for the first time in 3 years, and 104 golfers on 26 teams turned out for the event on a truly breathtaking day at the Tater Hill Golf Club in Windham, Vermont.

With the help of our golfers, sponsors, auction contributors, bidders and winners, volunteers and the staff at Tater Hill Golf Club we raised over $20,000 for the expansion of Grace Cottage’s Messenger Valley Pharmacy.

Congrats to the winning team of golfers: Doug Ward, Tom Dannemiller and Lynn Bucossi.

The winners for the Silent Auction are listed on the auction website, along with the final amounts that each item went for. Congrats to all of our high bidders. There were some really awesome prizes up for auction this year.

We enjoyed a fantastic cake made by Grace Cottage Hospital employee Kristina van Dusen. Yum!

We’d also like to offer a special thanks to our many event sponsors: Cerner Corporation , Architect Vance Hosford, and WKVT; the Dinner Sponsor was Elizabeth Walker; Silver Sponsors were Brunelle & Son, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and People’s United Bank; Hole Sponsors were Brattleboro Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Delta Dental, Durand Motors, e-PharmPro, Dr. Walter Griffiths, H.D. Smith Wholesale, Hickey Alignment & Repair, Homestead Landscaping, Howard Printing, Dr. Susan Lemei, Dr. David & Dr. Kim Liebow, Joan McConnel, Mount Snow, Primmer, Piper, Eggleston & Craemer, The Richards Group, and The Windham Foundation.  Tee Sponsors were Amerinet, Greater Falls Pharmacy, Merrill Gas Company, Dr. Timothy Shafer & Dr. Deborah Luskin, and Trend Business Solutions.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make the 2012 Golf Benefit such a great success. Don’t forget to save the date for next year’s “Tee Up For Health” Golf benefit.

WHEN: Sunday, June 9, 2013

WHERE: Tater Hill Golf Club

See you then!

- Andrea

It’s time to dust off the golf clubs and start practicing your swing, because the 2012 “Tee Up For Health” Golf Benefit is just around the corner. As always, we’re leading up to this great event with the Silent Auction, where you can bid on anything from vacation getaways, to massages, local arts and crafts, even your name being featured in a novel by local author Archer Mayor. Take a look at what’s on the auction blog by clicking HERE.

In addition, there will be prizes at the golf benefit on June 10 at Tater Hill Golf Club. Prizes will be awarded for team finishes, longest drive, closest to the pin and more. You could even win a new car for hitting a hole-in-one! Check out the teaser below for more information and we’ll see you on the course!

WHEN: June 10, 2012, Noon – shotgun start

WHERE: Tater Hill Golf Course

WHY: Grab your friends, family or co-workers and join us for a fun day of golf to support “TEE UP FOR HEALTH!”

Planning on joining us? Don’t forget to register and RSVP to our Facebook event.

For more details call Jim Heal at (802) 365-3624

We’re nearly there. It gives us great please to report that we’re now within just 8 percent of our total goal. Here’s a special word from our CEO Mick Brant about the current fundraising efforts and what lies ahead for our small rural hospital.

“I’d like to thank all (literally over 1,000 of you) whose gifts helped to make the Medical Imaging Suite addition and technology upgrades possible. With your generosity, we’ve almost achieved the fundraising goal of $800,000.

Medical Imaging Suite Fundraising Campaign - We're nearly there!

Now it’s time to prepare for the next key projects to improve patient care. All of Grace Cottage’s projects are part of the hospital’s five-year Master Plan that was approved by the Board of Trustees in 2009.

Thanks to an initial grant from The Fanny Holt Ames and Edna Louise Holt Fund towards this project, Grace Cottage’s Messenger Valley Pharmacy will receive a much-needed renovation this year. Architect Vance Hosford has agreed to donate his expertise again (as he did for the Community Wellness Center two years ago) and ServCorps, that wonderful group of volunteers from Hartford, Connecticut, will come to Townshend for two weeks in September to work on construction (as they did for the Community Wellness Center).

The footprint of the Messenger Valley Pharmacy won’t change, but the barn behind the pharmacy will be renovated for pharmacy use. This renovation will help accommodate the tremendous increase in services that the pharmacists provide to customers on a daily basis. Over the past 14 years, the number of prescriptions filled at Messenger Valley Pharmacy has increased by 216% to 56,000 prescriptions per year, and the medication counseling services that pharmacists provide, including the Medicine-on-Time program, have also increased.

Another grant from the Holt Fund will enable Grace Cottage to start planning for the renovation of the Emergency Department, also part of the hospital’s five-year Master Plan. More details about planning for this project will follow in future issues of Cottage Door.

The intent of Grace Cottage’s Master Plan is to enhance the community’s health care in the future, with continued focus on what Grace Cottage does best: delivering high-quality, patient-focused primary care.”

Mick Brant, CEO

For more information about our fundraising campaign or to make a donation,  please click here. As always, thank you for your support.