FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shelli Dankoff/Media Relations Specialist

(July 6, 2009) – The Children’s Hospital of Illinois is pleased to announce that Michele Astle, RN, BSN, CPON, of Washington has successfully renewed her pediatric oncology nursing certification.

Astle works in the Pediatric Intermediate Care Unit at the Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria.

To earn the status of certified pediatric oncology nurse an applicant must pass a written exam; have a current, unrestricted RN license; have a minimum of 1,000 hours of pediatric oncology nursing practice within the two-and-a-half years prior to application, and have completed a minimum of 10 hours of continuing education in the specialty of oncology nursing or an academic elective in oncology nursing. There are more than 1,500 nurses worldwide who hold the CPON credential.

Astle earned her RN from St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, IL and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing in Peoria. She is pursuing her Masters degree as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and is an instructor in Pediatric Palliative Care and Pediatric Advanced Life Support. Having been an RN for thirty years, Astle recently celebrated her 20th year at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Illinois.

Astle and her husband live in Washington with their two sons.

Endowed Directorship to Support Pediatric Oncology Care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jim and Katie Owens

(Peoria, IL / March 30, 2009) – Through the generosity of Jim and Katie Owens, Children’s Hospital of Illinois has established the James W. and Kathrine M. Owens Endowed Directorship in Pediatric Oncology. This Directorship will assist Children’s Hospital of Illinois, the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate, and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria in remaining at the forefront of pediatric oncology care.

Jim Owens is Chairman and CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar, Inc. In addition to the Owens’ one million dollar gift, the Caterpillar Foundation has generously agreed to a matching gift, which will help provide the ancillary services, equipment, and resources needed to complement the various research projects conducted under the Directorship. Together, these gifts will make a direct impact on the health of the children of central Illinois.

“We are delighted to have the funding provided by Jim & Katie Owens’ generous gift, which will be used to improve the care of central Illinois children with cancer by promoting clinical projects in a variety of areas, including supportive care and family-centered care,” said Dr. Kay Saving, Medical Director at Children’s Hospital of Illinois.

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center CEO Keith Steffen echoed those sentiments. “We are thrilled and overwhelmed with this generous contribution that will provide ongoing funds for both Children’s Hospital and the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate, both of which are major components of the Milestone project. This Directorship will help ensure that Children’s Hospital and St. Jude remain at the front of cutting edge pediatric oncology/hematology treatment, thus continuing our commitment to providing outstanding care for our young patients and fighting this dreaded disease known as cancer.”

The St. Jude Midwest Affiliate diagnoses approximately 40-45 new pediatric cancer patients a year. Last year, the Midwest Affiliate had more than 2,500 pediatric outpatient oncology visits, with pediatric cancer patients spending nearly 1,400 days admitted to Children’s Hospital for chemotherapy, surgical procedures, and/or treatment of infections and other complications related to their cancer therapy.

Jim and Katie Owens have both been actively involved in Children’s Hospital of Illinois and OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Jim currently serves on the OSF Saint Francis Community Advisory Board, and Katie serves on the OSF Saint Francis Foundation Council.

RE-DESIGNATED MAGNET HOSPITAL IN RECOGNITION

OF NURSING EXCELLENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shelli Dankoff/Media Relations Specialist
(March 16, 2009) – The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program® for excellence in nursing services has once again designated OSF Saint Francis Medical Center as a Magnet hospital.

““This was a unanimous decision of the Magnet commission; it sounds like you have a wonderful hospital,” said Gail Wolf, head of the Magnet commission during a congratulatory phone call to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center staff. “You just got into the two-percent club because only two percent of the hospitals in the country have been able to do what you’ve done and get re-designated.  Very few organizations are as well-developed as yours,” Wolf added.

“It’s a pretty elite group, and we really do have reason to be proud,” said Keith Steffen, President and CEO. “Magnet has become well-embedded in our culture.  This is how we provide nursing care at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Illinois. We have always been proud of our nursing excellence and nursing care, but it means a lot when an outside organization validates that.”

According to the ANCC, the leading nursing credentialing organization in the United States, Magnet designation is widely accepted as the gold standard of patient care.  The Magnet Recognition Program recognizes excellence and professionalism in nursing.  Applicants undergo an extensive evaluation, and members who are awarded Magnet status must continue to maintain rigorous standards as part of their four-year designation.  To reapply for and receive Magnet status for an additional four years is confirmation of the hospital’s resolve to deliver the highest level of care in nursing today.

Research shows that Magnet hospitals are more effective at attracting and keeping quality nurses.

“It really takes a team, from the housekeepers to the physicians; each caregiver partner supports our excellent nursing care”, said Lori Wiegand, Chief Nursing Officer in congratulating her staff.

Chief Operating Officer Sue Wozniak concurred: “I had absolutely no doubt we were going to get this. We are fortunate to have the talent and commitment of all our staff. We tend to take our excellent nursing care for granted because it is so ingrained in our culture, and then when an outside organization like Magnet recognizes us, it makes us aware that we stand out.

MARCH IS EYE DONOR MONTH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shelli Dankoff / Media Relations Specialist

David Hearn / Illinois Eye-Bank Watson Gailey

(March 17, 2009) -  With March being Eye Donor month, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is pleased to be the leading center for eye tissue donations in the Illinois Eye-Bank Watson Gailey service area, which includes approximately two-thirds of the state of Illinois.

The Illinois Eye-Bank and the Illinois Eye-Bank, Watson Gailey are divisions of Midwest Eye-Banks,
a charitable, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of sight. They recover, evaluate
and distribute human eye tissue for transplantation and research.

In 2008, the Illinois Eye-Bank had approximately 1,000 recipients of eye tissue, with 72 donors at
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. The cornea is the most frequently transplanted part of the human body, and more than 90 percent of cornea transplants performed in the United States are successful. Anyone can donate eyes. If the corneal tissue is not transplantable, due to age or medical condition, the donation can be considered for research and education.

In addition to helping secure eye tissue for donation, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has one of its own who has benefited from life-changing cornea transplants. Carol Linett, 6 Sigma Black Belt, underwent two separate cornea transplants in 1994. She had a condition known as kerataconus which caused her vision to deteriorate to the point it was unable to be corrected by glasses or contacts. Carol’s failing eyesight increasingly affected how she lived until a cornea transplant became the only real option to give Carol the vision she needed at the time when she needed it the most – when she was working and active. Carol is forever grateful for the gift from the donor families in their time of grief. Carol would be happy to share her story in an effort to encourage others to sign the donor registry. Please contact Shelli Dankoff in Public Relations to schedule an interview.

Contact: Shelli Dankoff/Media Relations Specialist

(March 16, 2009) – FertilityCare Centers of America (FCCA) has designated the week of March 22 – 28, 2009 as worldwide FertilityCare Week.  The centers affiliated with FCCA, including the one at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, provide professional instruction in the Creighton Model FertilityCare™ System and the reproductive science of NaProTechnology.

With all of the recent attention surrounding the birth of octuplets by a California woman, fertility issues have risen to the forefront of media attention.

The Creighton Model FertilityCare System provides a natural approach and is 99% effective in avoiding pregnancy. It offers couples who are experiencing infertility the hope of pregnancy without artificial reproductive technologies.  Natural Procreative Technology (NaProTechnology) is a newly emerging science that uses the standardized tracking of a woman’s signs of fertility and infertility to assist in identifying indicators of physiological and hormonal problems.  When these are confirmed by their healthcare practitioner, treatments can be prescribed that are founded in an understanding of what is actually occurring in the woman’s cycle.

Paul Kortz is coordinator of FertilityCare for OSF Saint Francis Women’s Services and is immediate past president of the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals.