26th Annual Teddy Bear Clinic at North Country Hospital
Merrilyn Barry weighs and measures the favorite stuffed animals of area kindergarteners at the Teddy Bear Clinic
Newport, VT – As adults we know that growing up includes the distasteful necessity of getting a variety of shots, from immunization series to flu shots. While the tiny pick can be a bit of a surprise, it is mostly the unknowing that makes the little ones edgy. To help combat this, North Country Hospital has, for the past 26 years, conducted what is called their annual Teddy Bear Clinic.
Over 225 kindergarten students from a number of the area schools visited the Teddy Bear Clinic at North Country Hospital. This year the clinic included crews from the Newport Ambulance Service who explained the reason for ambulances and how they are often part of getting people back on the road to being healthy. The children learned that, while getting shots isn’t exactly fun, it isn’t that bad either. They met ‘George” the skeleton where they could see, and were told about, bones and muscles. They heard about being careful around pools as well as the reason for wearing bike helmets. They heard why they needed to buckle up and about just being safe in general. This all came from the very people who will attend to them should they have an accident or need to visit the hospital for some reason.
Kindergarten kids learn from Newport Ambulance staff at the North Country Hospital Teddy Bear Clinic.
“While this is an educational trip for these little guys, we hope that they see us in a more friendly way. This is actually fun for us. To see those little guys bring in these special friends, teddy bears, horses, snakes, monkeys, or what-ever to get these shots, is pretty amazing,” said Merrilyn Barry, the hospital’s director of volunteers.
Barry, along with RN’s Rachael Geoffrey, Ann Edgerly, and ER-LPN Donna Dopp celebrated their 26th straight year greeting and staffing the ‘little people’ clinic. After surviving her first year as coordinator of the Teddy Bear Clinic, Rita Bennett, nursing administration, has already begun planning for next year.
Rachel Geoffrey, RN, Ann Edgerly, RN, Rita Bennett, Nursing administration, Merrilyn Barry, and Donna Dopp, emergency RN, led a successful 26th annual Teddy Bear Clinic at North Country Hospital
Brattleboro Retreat Wins 7 NESHCO Awards at Annual Conference
From left: Jeffrey Whitcomb, Peter Johnson, Julia Sorensen, Dr. Rob Simpson, Jeffrey Kelliher, Kim Canon
BRATTLEBORO, VT-The Brattleboro Retreat took home seven Lamplighter Awards from the New England Society for Healthcare Communications’ (NESHCO) 2010 Annual Conference.
The Retreat was honored with the Gold Award in the category of “Marketing/Total Effort: Under $50,000 Total Budget,” for its campaign promoting mental health and addiction services for children and adolescents. The Retreat also received an Award of Excellence in the same category for its overall marketing campaign to promote the hospital’s innovative new treatment program for Uniformed Service Professionals (police, fire, military, etc.).
In the category of “Direct Mail Publications” the Retreat received a Silver Award for its series of direct mail postcards targeting clinicians and referral sources in southern New England.
The Retreat’s 2009 Annual Report to Stakeholders & Friends, its 2010 Wall Calendar and its print ad campaign for Uniformed Services Professionals received Awards of Excellence, as did its campaign in the Special Events category for promotional materials developed in support of the hospital’s 175th Anniversary Celebration held in September 2009.
Communicators Group, a Keene, NH-based advertising agency with extensive healthcare marketing experience, collaborates with the Retreat on all marketing efforts that support the hospital.
“It’s terrific to work with a client like the Brattleboro Retreat that truly embraces the role branding can play in moving an organization forward,” said Jeff Whitcomb, president of Communicators Group. “It’s not just about ads, a web site, direct mail pieces. It’s about creating and reinforcing a brand message that truly differentiates you-and connects with the soul of the organization. That’s what makes marketing pay off.”
“Our close working relationship with Communicators Group is one of the driving forces behind these awards,” said Julia Sorensen, director of marketing for the Brattleboro Retreat. “As our agency of record they have been a tremendous resource in the Retreat’s re-branding efforts over the past few years.”
NESHCO is the northeast’s leading professional association for marketing and communications in the field of healthcare.
NMC Reaches Half Way Milestone in EMR Implementation
Pharmacytraining: Debbie Timmerman (left) of the NMC Pharmacy discusses a component of the Meditech system with NMC Pharmacists Debbie Desautels and John Chesarek, as well as Wade Herrick, Meditech Specialist (in front), during training on the system this week.
St. Albans, VT – Northwestern Medical Center (NMC) has reached an important milestone with its Electronic Medical Record (EMR) implementation. Last week, the Meditech training environment was officially transferred in seamless fashion from a hosted location at Dell/Perot to the NMC data center following the arrival and installation of NMC’s new hardware and software. This transition marks the mid-way point in the implementation process.
According to Kelly Barland, NMC’s Chief Information Officer, the EMR implementation is on a nine month implementation schedule. The project earned final approval by the State of Vermont in December of 2009. In order to meet NMC’s desired October 1, 2010 go-live date for the system, Dell/Perot agreed to host the environment while the equipment needed for the system was on order.
Barland says that the build of the system itself is about 75% complete. “Over the next few months, we’ll complete the build, and then there will be testing, modification, and training before the October 1 go-live,” said Barland. “After we go-live, we’re going to have one integrated system. The value for that will be the seemless interaction between departments.”
Barland says that NMC has temporarily shifted approximately 60 staff members from their everyday job assignments to work on the build of the system. “Here at NMC, staff who are directly providing care are the ones who are building the system,” said Barland. “This will provide for the best end result.”
Leanne Medor, RN, a Medical Surgical staff nurse, couldn’t agree more. Medor is one of the staff who is temporarily working on the Meditech build. “I’m very excited about this. We’re going to build the system to work for us,” she said.
Sandy Robinson, NMC’s Chief Nursing Officer/Director of Clinical Services, has been impressed with the level teamwork that has occurred during the build process. “It’s really called for a high level of collaboration,” she said. “Every department’s work impacts others. Information Technology is enabling the hospital to run a more streamlined business. It’s all about getting information to the right person at the right time to take the best care of our patients.”
Medor agrees that the system will help clinical staff take care of patients. “This is going to keep us at the bedside with the patients more,” she said. “We’ll be able to document everything at the bedside. We’ll be able to spend more time with the patients because of this system.”
Following the successful go-live of the Meditech system on October 1st, 2010, NMC will begin Phase II of implementation, which will implement Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) in 2011. CPOE will allow physicians to enter orders and document care directly into the EMR. Phase III will include the build and implementation of the Emergency Department system into the Meditech product in 2012.
’Visions of Vermont’ now in Gifford Gallery
RANDOLPH, VT – Nature photographs by Bethel’s Jesse Orr are on display in the Gifford Medical Center art gallery through Aug. 4.
In a show titled “Visions of Vermont,” Orr depicts Vermont landscapes and wildlife.
Orr got his start in photography when his grandparents gave him a digital camera as a graduation gift. He started taking pictures wherever he went, and then he started sharing those photos with family and friends.
“Why don’t you enter your pictures at the Tunbridge fair?” those friends urged. He did and went on to create “Visions of Vermont” cards for the Bethel Farmers Market. Orr has been a vendor at the Bethel Farmers Market since its inception in 2006.
He enjoys “hometown” showing, he says. In addition to his show at Gifford, Orr’s works are also currently hanging in Bethel at Ketner’s CafŽ. He also participates in local shows at the Bethel Public Library and previously had his works featured at the Frog Hollow Craft Shop in Middlebury.
Orr captures his works while driving to work, touring back roads near his Bethel home, in the air from his grandfather’s plane and walking in the yard, garden and by a pond. See Orr’s latest show – deemed by some as his best yet – now in the Gifford Gallery. The gallery is located just inside the hospital’s main lobby.
