Covenant's Newsletter: NewsLink (October/November)

AROUND THE SYSTEM

Covenant Health Systems established "Helping Hands of St. Marguerite," a private home care company providing personal care, housekeeping, and companion services for individuals and their families in their homes, as well as to residents of assisted living and retirement communities. Daniel H. Dougherty has been appointed Executive Director and has 20 years of health care experience having been a Community Health Registered Nurse and Clinical Manager at the Home Health VNA/Home Health Foundation of Lawrence, MA. Helping Hands of St. Marguerite's office is located at Covenant's affiliate, Sancta Maria Nursing Facility, in Cambridge.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their newly-established Mont Marie Senior Residence, a 49 unit independent living residence funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 202 program, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Department of Housing and Community Development, the City of Holyoke HOME funds and Holyoke Gas & Electric.
St. Mary Health Care Center (Worcester) received Worcester Business Journal's Book of Lists Award for Top Nursing Homes 2008.
The Greater Nashua Dental Connection (GNDC) awarded St. Joseph Hospital the 2008 Golden Tooth Award for their commitment to the clinic's mission and their continued support toward the oral health care needs of disadvantaged citizens from the Greater Nashua community. St. Joseph Hospital made it possible for GNDC to provide oral health services to children from 18 area schools. This year the school program served nearly 250 children in the community. In total, GNDC has provided oral health services to more than 2,715 children and 2,614 adults since inception.
St. Joseph Hospital (Bangor, ME) received the Loyalty and Endorsement Award representing a still-higher achievement: recognition of attaining the highest score in the nation, regardless of hospital bed size, in patient loyalty and patient endorsement of the hospital to others. "St. Joseph Hospital has earned the greatest compliment possible by patients -- the affirmation that they would recommend you to friends and neighbors, and that they would return themselves if care is needed in the future," said Dr. Michael Everett, CEO of Avatar International.
St. Mary's Villa (Elmhurst, PA) recently treated their board members to a "locally produced feast." In fact, the meal came from the Villa's own vegetable garden that residents, staff and members of the Green Team planted in the "back yard" earlier this spring. The salad consisted of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers from their garden. They served a zucchini appetizer, a fruit salad which included watermelon from the garden, and apple pies made with apples from their orchard. Earlier this year, the mainteance staff pruned the apple trees, and they are now reaping the benefits of locally grown apples to make homemade applesauce and apple pies.
St. Mary's Health System (formerly known as Sisters of Charity Health System of Lewiston, ME) won AHA's Nova Award for their Nutrition Center Program including the Lots to Gardens program as well as the Nutrition Center Kitchen. This was the second award this year that St. Mary's has received for this program -- the other award was the Achievement Citation Award from the Catholic Health Association.
St. Mary's Medical Center (Lewiston, ME) celebrated the launching of three new projects aimed at enhancing the care provided to their community including breaking ground on their Emergency Department expansion, a renovation of the Transitional Rehab Unit at St. Mary's d'Youville Pavilion, and an Outpatient Medical Facility building in Auburn. The ceremony commemorating these three endeavors included third graders from Trinity Catholic School as a symbol of St. Mary's investment in the future. The children joined in prayer by helping with a special Blessing of the Builders and Blessing of the Land.
The Boston Avon Walk for Breast Cancer raised $6.9 million to advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. The Walk drew 2,900 participants from 33 states, including 200 breast cancer survivors, who joined together to raise lifesaving funds and awareness for breast cancer. At the event's closing ceremony at the UMASS campus, Carol Kurzig, Executive Director of the Avon Foundation, announced a total of $3,025,000 in initial grants would be awarded to seven local organizations, ensuring that the funds raised would immediately benefit the community. St. Mary's Regional Medical Center (Lewiston, ME) received $500,000 for state-of-the-art equipment upgrades in mammography and ultra-sound as well as the expansion of patient navigation services. Other recipients included: Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA); Lifespan Foundation (Providence, RI); Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA); Boston Medical Center (Boston, MA); Cambridge Health Alliance (Cambridge, MA); and the Silent Spring Institute (Newton, MA).