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.

OSF Saint Francis is piloting a first-of-its-kind Animal Assisted Therapy program in Peoria and is currently seeking dogs and owners interested in volunteering.

Animal Assisted Therapy dogs and their owners will visit the hospital and bring comfort to patients, reducing stress, anxiety and blood pressure, and increasing patient social interaction and communication.

Dogs and handlers must meet specific requirements. Dogs must be at least one year old, be able to demonstrate proficiency in basic obedience, and be up-to-date on inoculations. Dogs must have lived with their handlers for a minimum of one year.

Dog handlers must be at least 18 years old, and be dependable and prompt, with good communication skills.

Dog and handler teams are currently being recruited and will be selected based on their applications, interviews and temperament testing. Once selected for the program, the team must complete a three-day training program which includes 12 hours of combined classroom and mock lab training. During training, dog handlers will perform supervised site visits with the dogs for certification.

If you and your dog would like to be considered for this program, please go to www.osfsaintfrancis.org and apply online for a volunteer application. Temperament testing for dogs is scheduled for May 3, 2009. Those who pass temperament testing will be accepted into the program and undergo training at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center on June 7, 13, and 14.

For more information about the program, contact Shelly Cunningham, Animal Assisted Therapy coordinator at 309-258-7146.

CRUISE-IN—ENTERTAINMENT BY COOKIE BANNON—MAGICIAN GORDON SNOW PERFORMING—THE “ALL ABOUT CLOWN” TEAM DOING PUPPET SHOWS, FACE PAINTING & BALLOON TWISTING—INFLATABLES—GAMES—CONCESSIONS

VENDORS—CELEBRITY LOOK-A-LIKE CONTEST—NGW WRESTLING—RAFFLES—50/50 DRAWING & MORE

$5.00 PER FAMILY

IF YOU’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CRUISE-IN, THE CELEBRITY LOOK-A-LIKE CONTEST—SET UP IN THE VENDOR AREA—GIVE A MONETARY DONATION OR DONATE SOMETHING FOR THE RAFFLE, PLEASE CONTACT: KATHY CAMPBELL—309-241-0732
E-MAIL: kcampbe4@amfam.com

OR

BILL REAGAN—309-241-4123
E-MAIL: breagan@dragonsdome.com

A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS GO TO THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF ILLINOIS