Mercy Health Foundation invites you to Discover Mercy.  One-hour informational sessions are scheduled in September and October for interested Affinity and community members.  These are not fundraising events, but opportunities to get acquainted with Mercy.  You will hear from Bill Calhoun, president of Mercy Medical Center, individuals who have experienced the Personalized Care at Mercy, and tour hospital departments like the cardiac catheterization procedure room, Michael D. Wachtel Cancer Center, or outpatient rehabilitation area which houses the Fitness for the Physically Challenged Program.  The upcoming Discover Mercy dates are:   

If you would like to join us for either of these sessions, call Janet Pavelack at (920) 223-0522 to make a reservation.

The Mercy Health Foundation Board of Trustees approved three new grants totaling $22,541 at its July meeting.  The first, in the amount of $4,400, will cover the cost of purchasing and installing hearing loops in Conference Rooms A and B at Mercy Medical Center.  Hearing loops deliver broadcast sound directly to the hearing aids of individuals with hearing loss, bypassing extraneous noise that can make it difficult to hear clearly.  The two conference rooms are used extensively for internal meetings and training as well as by the community for programs such as hunter safety training and health support groups.  Click here for more information on hearing loops.

A second grant of $6,141 will cover half of the cost of research to study physician and staff satisfaction with Affinity's two medical home primary care practices.  Dr. Mark Linzer of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Dr. Erik Emaus, president of Affinity Medical Group, are leading the research project which will compare job satisfaction at AMG's pilot medical home practices in Oshkosh and Kaukauna with AMG primary care practices that have not transitioned to the new model.  The study's findings will provide guidance in fine-tuning the existing medical home practices and expanding the model to other AMG clinics.   Click here for more information about Personalized Care at AMG medical home practices.

A final grant of $12,000 will support replacement of obsolete training equipment for the Program in Radiologic Technology at Mercy.  The program has trained 80 to 90 percent of the radiologic technologists currently working at Mercy and St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Mercy Health Foundation and St. Elizabeth hospital Community Foundation shared a $10,000 award received by Affinity Health System for its use of information technology (IT) in the Call it Quits smoking cessation program.  McKesson Technology Solutions annually sponsors five VIP awards to organizations that demonstrate vision, innovation, and performance in the use of IT.  Affinity's NurseDirect is using McKesson's RelayHealth call center software to provide support for participants in the Call it Quits program.  The software allows NurseDirect to be available at all times to offer support to individuals enrolled in the program as well as to contact them during important milestones and encourage them to continue.  Participants are automatically notified of new education opportunities.  Affinity has exceeded the national average for cessation rates and achieved high satisfaction with the program.  Read More

                                                             

The Clark Family Health Science Library at Mercy Medical Center is cited as an excellent example of a hospital-based consumer health information library in a new textbook, Introduction to Health Science Librarianship, by M. Sandra Wood.  The citation is part of Chapter 18 "Consumer Health Information" written by Catherine Arnott Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  She visited the Clark Library several times and met with librarian, Michele Matucheski.  Michele said the author was particularly interested in the involvement of three generations of Clark family physicians.  Click here to access resources and services in the Clark Family Health Science Library.

A new Thomson Reuters' Top Hospitals:  Health Systems Quality/Efficiency Study report, recently released to Modern Healthcare, places Affinity Health System in the top 20 percent of 252 health systems across the country that were analyzed.  Five measures of performance were used to evaluate systems:  mortality, complications, patient safety, length of stay, and use of evidence based practices.  The study based ranking on performance in each of the criteria using information for 2007 from two public databases:  Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare. 

Nationally known composer, performing, and recording artist, Mary Beth Carlson, brought her piano orchestral renditions to St. Raphael Catholic Church, Oshkosh, Sunday afternoon, July 26, 2009 for a concert to benefit the Fitness for the Physically Challenged Program at Mercy Medical Center.  The concert was sponsored by the Mercy Medical Center Auxiliary through the generosity of Thomas Feavel and Margaret Bekkers of Oshkosh.  The free event raised over $800 through a good will offering.

September 9, 2009 
    4:30-5:30

 

October 3, 2009  
    1:30-2:30

 

For more information, read the Discover Mercy article to the left.

Two community golf outings raised almost $17,000 for cancer care at Mercy Medical Center this summer.  The Greater Divot Open, which is now in its tenth year, selected the Michael D. Wachtel Cancer Center and the Phyllis Leach Breast Center as two of the recipients of its 2009 outing proceeds.  The event was held on June 20, at Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course and Westhaven Golf Club with a capacity turnout of 288 golfers. 

Since 2004, Lois Koepke and her family have hosted a golf outing on Memorial Day weekend in honor of her late husband, Bill, at Utica Golf Course.  Lois has consistently directed a share of the proceeds to the Michael D. Wachtel Cancer Center as a memorial to Bill.  

Thank you to all who golfed for a great cause this summer!

 

 

P: (920) 223-0520
F: (920) 223-0508
mhf@affinityhealth.org