2nd Quarter 20093 A birthday shared with Alfond5 Women with Cancer Group6 Flu plan in place7 Keys to curbing teen drinking8 Life of Ruth Henry, RN

10 Giving from the heart14 Career Day draws students15 Crosswalk safety16 Hospital glows purple

See Magnet Page 2

w w w. m i d c o a s t h e a l t h . c o m

By Paul Parker, RN Magnet Coordinator

Mid Coast recognized as ‘Magnet Hospital’First community hospital in Maine to receive honor

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Magnet Recognition is the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care that patients can expect to receive from a hospital.

Great news! Lois Skillings, RN, vice president of Nursing and Patient Care, left, and Paul Parker, RN, Magnet coordinator and staff development director, react to a call announcing Mid Coast Hospital’s Magnet Recognition.

Yes! Barb McCue, RN, director of Quality and Patient Safety, responds to the news.

Mid Coast Hospital was nationally recognized May 18, by the American

Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a “Magnet Hospital.”

The notification was received by Lois Skillings, RN, vice president for Nursing and Patient Care Services, amidst a Café and Conference Rooms packed with employees, volunteers, board members, and physicians gathered to hear the news. The call came from Gail Wolf, RN, Commissioner of the ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program.

Mid Coast Hospital is the first community hospital in the state to be awarded this recognition. There are only two other Magnet Hospitals in Maine—Maine Medical Center, a tertiary care facility in Portland, and Acadia Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Bangor.

“This recognition of high quality patient care means a great deal not only to our nurses but to our whole hospital,” says Vice President for Nursing and Patient Care Lois Skillings, RN.

“The criteria on which we have been evaluated measure the strength and quality of our nursing, but providing the very best care would not be possible were it not

for the collaboration of fellow clinicians and doctors as well as administration and support staff.”

Magnet Recognition is an honor shared by only 5% of hospitals in the country, and indicates that the quality of nursing care, working

Hospital addition set to open in September See Page 4

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MAGNET, Continued from Page 1

Mid Coast Hospital among only 5% nationwide honored

environment, and patient outcomes are of the highest caliber. Research has shown that patient outcomes are improved in Magnet hospitals.

The Magnet Recognition Program® was developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center based on nursing research studies in the 1980s that found that certain hospitals, even in the midst of a nationwide nursing shortage, had no difficulty attracting nurses, while many other hospitals could not find or retain nurses as easily.Core elements

The Magnet Program found that certain core administrative elements were consistent across all these “Magnet” facilities: primacy of the nurse-patient relationship, collaborative nurse-physician relationships, responsiveness, visionary nurse leaders, nursing staff control and autonomy over their clinical practice, and a supportive administration.

As a result, the ANCC created the Magnet Recognition Program, to which hospitals may apply to achieve Magnet status. Currently there are 332 Magnet organizations in 42 states, New Zealand, and Australia, out of thousands

worldwide. Magnet Recognition represents a pinnacle of achievement not only for nursing, but for the entire hospital.Four-year effort

Receipt of the recognition by Mid Coast Hospital was the culmination of more than four years work by many individuals and hospital departments.

The hospital formed a Magnet feasibility team in 2004 and made the decision to formally apply October 1, 2006.

A written submission documenting nursing leadership, professional collaboration, professional practice, innovation, and quality results was submitted to the ANCC by Mid Coast’s Magnet Writing Team in October 2008 (2,367 pages in 18 bound volumes!).

In January 2009, we were told that we qualified for a site visit.

“In March, an evaluation panel visited the hospital and spent three days working with us, speaking to groups of nurses and other staff members and even holding an open forum for community members. Prior to that, there was a public comment period as well,” Skillings says. ”The whole process was rigorous to say the least.”

Our appraisers were Stephanie

Goldberg, MSN, RN, CNAA-BC, and Judith Church, PhD (DHA), MSN, RN, CNAA, BC, APRN, BC.

Stephanie is Chief Nurse Executive of the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. Judith is the Director for Nursing Professional Development at Kettering Medical Center.

Both took an easygoing approach to the staff. “We’re not surveyors, we’re appraisers—and included in the word ‘appraiser’ is praise. We’re here to praise you and celebrate what you’ve accomplished!” said Church. Thorough appraisers

Appraisers met with nearly a third of our total nursing staff, including holding early morning breakfast sessions to meet with night shift staff members.

“We saw the process as an opportunity not just to qualify but to take a good hard look at the way we do things at Mid Coast Hospital. No question, we are doing a lot of things very well and this journey gave us a focus for improving some of the things that could be improved even more,” Skillings said.

“In the end,” said Skillings, “earning Magnet Recognition is our contribution to providing the residents of the communities we serve—who are after all our family members, friends and neighbors—with a hospital that is ‘one of the best nationwide’ both in practice and in caring.”

Great daY for Mid Coast! President and CEO Herbert Paris, left, and Mid Coast Health Services Board Chairman Richard Morrell revel in the excitement of the Magnet Recognition notification.

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Magnet Recognition is the ultimate honor for a hospital. And as a Topsham resident, I take pride that Mid Coast is my community hospital. –Steven Michaud, Executive Director Maine Hospital Association

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Published quarterly by Mid Coast Health Services for staff, volunteers, board members, and friends of CHANS Home Health Care, Mid Coast Hospital, Mid Coast Medical Group, Mid Coast Senior Health Center, and Thornton Oaks Retirement Community.

Herbert Paris President & Chief Executive Officer

Mike L’Abbé Director of Communications

Gerry Maraghy Editor

Please submit all items to: Gerry Maraghy, Public Affairs & Publication 11 Medical Center Drive, Suite 2 Phone: 373-6052 or Fax: 373-6066

MID COAST HEALTH SERVICES123 Medical Center Drive, Brunswick, ME 04011

LINEMID COASTx

For our MID COAST HEALTH SERVICES

family

By Michael ToddDirector of Development

Elliette Josephine Musica will someday learn that she shares a birth date with a famously generous Mainer…just 96 years apart.

Elliette, the new baby of proud parents Stacy and Steve Musica of Brunswick, shares her date—March 5—with the late philanthropist, Harold Alfond.

The Musica family enjoyed a gift of Simply Divine Brownies from the Harold Alfond Foundation before departing the Maternity Care Center at Mid Coast Hospital.

An even greater giftThe brownies were delivered

to the family on Mr. Alfond’s birthday to call attention to a much more significant gift Elliette will receive—a $500 grant for a college education through the Alfond College Challenge program.

Believing that all Maine children deserve an opportunity to succeed, Harold Alfond made available $500 for each new baby born on or after January 1, 2009 to start a NextGen account for education beyond high school. Parents (or other family members) must enroll their infant prior to the baby’s first birthday to qualify for this free, no strings attached start on a college education.

It’s easy to enrollTo promote this gift, the

Maternity Care Center provides a brochure which has a reply section the family must fill out before the child’s first birthday. There is also an easy-to-use website:

Celebrating two birthdays… 96 years apart.

Harold Alfond provides $500 college grant —and brownies!—for new arrival

new arrival elliette MusiCa will someday learn that she shares a birth date with Maine’s famous philanthropist Harold Alfond, who established a foundation to provide $500 grants for higher education to each baby born in Maine after January 1, 2009.

To celebrate the mutual birthday, Simply Divine brownies were delivered to the family at Mid Coast Hospital’s Maternity Care Center. Left to right are mother Stacy with big brother Jacob, big brother and deliveryman Joshua, and father Steve with Elliette.

www.500forbaby.org with even more information on how to enroll for the Alfond College Challenge, as well as a phone line, (800)228-3734.

Reaching out to new parentsAccording to the Foundation,

nearly a thousand new babies were enrolled in the first two months of the year, but that is only half the newborn population. The folks at Mid Coast Hospital and at the Harold Alfond Foundation are hoping to increase that. The money can be used for most any education after high school anywhere in the nation.

An enrollment workshop to heighten awareness and help new parents enroll their babies will be held at Mid Coast Hospital.

For more information, call 373-6065.

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New addition shapes up for September opening

See Page 15 for additional photos.

The new addition, below left, remains under wraps that provide weather protection for construction workers and

Under the shrink wrap...

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In the above architect’s drawing, a sweeping canopy covers the walk-in entry to the new Emergency Department. The entrance opens into a lobby with stairway to the second floor and connecting corridor to the ED.

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Architect’s renderings of new addition

the building they are erecting. Beneath the enclosure, an exterior brick wall takes shape. Below right, a crane lifts an air handling unit into place on the new addition’s roof.

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The wraps are expected to come off in June to reveal exterior brick work already in place and the interior work well underway.

The wraps surrounding the new emergency and medical/surgical unit expansion are expected to come off soon with the opening of the new addition now slated for September.

Behind all that weather-protecting shrink wrap, workers have been busy.

Mark Follansbee, project superintendent for H.P. Cummings, the general contractor that oversees the work of 24 subcontractors, said between 60 to 80 workers are inside most days. This includes up to 26 plumbers, 14 electricians, and four masons with tenders.

Among the most visible external work has been the recent use of a 70-foot crane to raise an air handler unit onto the roof.

The unit, the size of a mobile home, contains all the filters and air exchangers for the new addition’s heating and cooling.

On both the addition’s first and second floors, rooms are framed up and dry walled.

Work adjacent to the south entrance is creating a connecting corridor and stairway. The new walk-in entrance to Emergency has its own canopy now in place. (See architect’s drawings at left)

In the back of the addition, the second floor extends 30 feet out over the first floor providing a large sheltered area for ambulances discharging their patients. Two elevators will connect the floors.

The new Emergency Department will have 14 patient examination rooms and two trauma rooms, as well as a spacious waiting area being funded by a $150,000 pledge by the hospital Auxiliary.

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CanCer is a sCarY word for anyone to hear. When you are the person who has been diagnosed with cancer, it becomes even more frightening.

People who have a diagnosis of cancer need to be supported in many ways i.e., by friends and family, their many providers such as physicians, nurses, nurse navigators, and social workers as part of their team.

Often, cancer survivors come together as a group to discuss the day-to-day issues of being diagnosed with cancer, going through treatment, and living with the fear that the cancer will recur. Cancer survivors benefit from others who have “walked the walk.”

A benefit to womenStudies have shown that women

benefit from support groups as they cope with their treatment and the psychological challenges of survivorship.

In the spring of 2008, a group of women from the Mid Coast area decided there was a need for Women With Cancer to get together on a regular basis to discuss and cope with the issues they face and to support each other through their cancer diagnosis. The group was organized by Kay Leiser and Esther Leck, themselves cancer survivors.

Kay succumbed to her disease late last year, but her dream lives on.

Regular get-togethersThe Women With Cancer Support

group meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Boardroom of Mid Coast Hospital. It is led by facilitator Kim Lynch RN, who also led the local Breast Cancer Support Group for nine years.

Kim is the coordinator of the Breast Health Center and the Breast & Surgical Oncology Clinic.

The group is a shared venture supported by the American Cancer Society and Mid Coast Hospital. It is open to any woman with cancer no matter where she has been treated.

The support group is a safe haven where women can share their thoughts, feelings and concerns on a regular basis. Members form a bond and often stay in touch throughout the month via email, phone, and personal visits.

Speakers offer perspectiveIn the future, the group will

have speakers on a variety of topics such as genetic testing, coping with cancer, lymphedema, and integrative health strategies to name a few.

The group is also planning a “couples night” where the group will come together for a dinner, then break off into male and female facilitated groups to discuss issues unique to survivors and to partners who have loved ones with cancer.

Kayaking trip plannedThe group also uses nature to

help soothe the souls in the healing process. Annually in September, the Women With Cancer Survivor Kayak Trip is held on the New Meadows River in West Bath.

The trip is lead by Registered Maine Guides. It is open to Women With Cancer, friends, family, and caregivers. No kayaking experience is necessary, nor does one have to paddle if they are unable or would just like to sit and enjoy the ride. Paddlers are supplied for those who care to go tandem.

For more information about the support groups, its programs and meeting, please contact Kim Lynch, RN, at 373-6546.

Women With Cancer Support Group

A safe haven to share thoughts, feelings, concernsMembers form a bond and

often stay in touch throughout the month via email, phone,

and personal visits.

AnnualKayak Trip

3-4:30 p.m. 2nd Tuesday of the MonthFor more information, contactKim Lynch, RN 373-6546

Esther Leck 882-1180

Support GroupWomen

Diagnosed with CancerIn the Boardroom

at MID COAST HOSPITAL

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H1N1 flu puts hospital plans to the test• Solid preparations were developed four years ago and put into action.

Lorna’s Tips

• If you are sick with flu-like symptoms, being a hero means staying at home not coming to work infecting others. The same is true for young people attending school.

• Learn to cover your cough or sneeze the right way. There is a humorous video on the hospital’s website that provides an introduction to coughing correctly.

• Wash your hands regularly. Clean hands are one of the best measures everyone can take.

• Drink plenty of fluids, eat well, get lots of sleep, and get outdoors.

• Whenever possible, avoid contact with the flu.

The hospital‘s webpage on flu is www.midcoasthealth.com/flu

On the website, there are tips and links to the Center for Disease Control for more information.

Lorna MacKinnon, RN

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As a new strain of H1N1 (swine) flu quickly spread across the nation, hospitals

put their flu emergency plans into action.

As it turns out, large numbers of cases have not been seen in Maine compared to other states such as Illinois, Wisconsin, and Texas. The H1N1 has been more mild than expected so far. While some cases have required hospital treatment, in most cases, care at home is advised with caregivers also protecting themselves.

Nonetheless, Mid Coast departments have been aggressive in implementing flu precautions while the state Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) and hospitals have been constantly evaluating the situation and their needs.

Flu plan in place“Our Pandemic Flu Plan was

added to our Emergency preparedness plan about four years ago, and just last month, we did our annual pandemic flu update for 2009,” says Lorna MacKinnon,

RN, the hospital’s nurse epidemiologist.

“The plan is very encompassing. We involved not just Emergency and clinical personnel at the hospital, but also support

departments that need to be prepared. We involved both primary care and specialist doctors. We had input from community emergency personnel.”

The plan includes supplies needed if there is a surge in number of flu cases, a hospital staffing plan, and much needed information for the public about how to prevent flu from spreading.

According to MacKinnon, the plan is not just about treating people who become ill. “It is equally important to prevent a virus like flu from spreading; this is something that everyone should do all the time.”

“It has never been more important to take proper precautions to avoid the flu,” says MacKinnon. “For people who work in a hospital, these steps are second nature, but they are just as important at home with your family.”

Visitors to Mid Coast Hospital will take notice of many of our precautions. At every entrance, there are hand sanitizer stations. Rest rooms and patient rooms have larger reminder signs to “Wash Your Hands.”

Visitors with flu like symptoms are asked not to visit patients, but rather to send greetings though our “Send a Smile” web mail or by phone.

For our staff, when someone with flu-like symptoms is identified, proper masks are worn and negative pressure rooms are used for patients with flu.

Take precautions at work, homeHere are some simple steps

recommended by Lorna that you can take to curtail the spread of flu.

inCident CoMMander deb MaCleod, RN, leads a regular meeting of staff as part of Mid Coast Hospital’s protocols under its Code 1plan for pandemics and other emergencies.

aCCordinG to tHe 2008 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey (MYDAUS), 75% of local high school seniors report that alcohol is easy to get in our community, and only 39% of high school students think they will be caught by their parents if they do drink.

Which is why Communities Against Substance Abuse (CASA) is encouraging parents to keep track of their alcohol and check in with their kids.

CASA is a local prevention coalition coordinated by Mid Coast Hospital’s Substance Abuse Prevention Project. The goal of this group of concerned parents, law enforcement, youth, schools and community members is to prevent underage drinking by decreasing access to alcohol.

“I think many parents underestimate the influence they have on their child’s choices, especially when they hit those teen years,” says project coordinator Melissa Fochesato.

“When we ask teens what influences them the most, parents continue to come out on top.”

This is why CASA is encouraging parents to step up the monitoring, and start talking early and often about the risks and consequences of alcohol use.

Substance Abuse Coordinator Pat Conner, LCPC, LADC, believes some parents are not fully aware of the effects alcohol can have on teens.

“The new brain research has shown us that the human brain is not fully developed until you are in your early 20s,” said Conner.

“We are finding that kids that begin drinking in their teens have

a much higher rate of alcohol dependence, suffer academically, and have higher rates of depression than those who do not drink or begin in their early 20s.”

In addition to working with parents, CASA is also training retailers and restaurants to adopt strong carding practices, funding enforcement efforts to prevent alcohol from getting into the hands of minors, and working with schools to identify strategies to educate students and parents.

“It’s a community problem that calls for a community solution,” says Fochesato.

For more information, contact Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator Melissa Fochesato at 373-6957.

Keep track of your kids

Keys to curbing teen drinking

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Volunteer Spotlight

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Mid Coast Hospital Café Volunteer Ed Levay, left, has received a Governor’s Exemplary Volunteer Service Award.

The award was presented April 21, by Gov. John Baldacci, right, at a State House ceremony in Augusta.

The annual service awards are made during National Volunteer Week, and Ed was nominated for the “Volunteer of the Year” award.

At 87, Ed donates more than 1,000 hours-a-year to the Café, often arriving at 6 a.m. to begin his duites.

When he’s not volunteering at Mid Coast, he is working at Skillin’s Greenhouse and answering our gardening questions.

Congratulations Ed and thanks for volunteering!

What parents can do to prevent underage drinking

• Limit access – keep track of your alcohol and keep it where it is not accessible to teens.• Network – get to know your teen’s friends, and their parents.• Reinforce and enforce– reinforce the rules and consequences before your teen goes out, and explain the reasons behind the rules.• Check in often – before your teen goes out, ask if parents will be present and if alcohol will be present. Ask your teen to call you from the party.• Be up and be ready – wait up for your teen and talk with them about their night.

When Red Cross Nurse Ruth Henry came to Bath, Maine in 1931, it

is doubtful that anyone knew the adventures and difficulties that preceded her arrival.

A quiet and professional person by all accounts, Mrs. Henry moved into a home for single women and began her community nursing career which spanned over 25 years.

Her work included caring for the sick and post partum at home, holding weekly well-child clinics, and assisting the state physician with tuberculosis and sexually transmitted disease screening and follow up.

In the 1940’s she also drove youngsters with polio to Lewiston for physician care and helped the school nurse with immunization clinics.

When the Red Cross turned to disaster and civil defense pursuits and required communities to take over their Nursing Services, Mrs. Henry was the consistent representative who helped make the transition.

In 1947, the Public Health Nursing Service was formed with the help of community-minded citizens like Mary Guild, John Cary, Anna Sewall, Julie Musk, and others. This organization was the precursor of CHANS Home Health Care (Community Health and Nursing Services), which considers Ruth Henry its foundress.

And what of her earlier life and adventures? Born in Allston, MA, in 1891, Ruth was the middle daughter of Clara Morgan and

The Remarkable Life of a Twentieth Century Nurse

William Weeks. While little is known about this family other than their British heritage, it is likely they had some means and placed high importance on education, religion, or both.

Ruth went to high school at Northfield Seminary in western Mass, a sister school to Mount Herman School, both of which were founded by Evangelical Christian Dwight Moody.

In 1911, she began her nurses training at the Deaconess Training School for Nurses in Boston. The second Deaconess, built in 1907, was considered a “twentieth century hospital in every way.” Graduating in 1914, it is likely she started her nursing career at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.

The world scene took a grave turn in 1914 when World War I consumed Europe. The United States joined the effort in 1917 and, thankfully, many hospital units had been formed at academic centers

around the country. Ruth Weeks was one of 65 nurses

of the Harvard Unit, recruited primarily from “the Brigham” staff and Harvard Medical School, and included as Medical Director Dr. Harvey Cushing.

The unit became the staff of Base Hospital No. 5, leaving New York in May on the SS Saxonia, a transport ship laden with ammunition.

This unit was the “first in France,” arriving nearly a year before the first American troops. Base Hospital No. 5 relieved British hospital staff in Dannes-Camiers for six months, and Boulogne for 14 months.

Nursing care was exhausting and dangerous. Patients arrived in massive numbers with head injury, gas poisoning, trench fever, shell-shock, and self-inflicted wounds. Casualties resulted from the

rutH HenrY, left, talks with a mother during a November 1931 well-baby clinic.

Ruth Weeks Henry, RN

By Marla Davis, RNCommunity Health Improvement

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hospitals being bombed, as well. In this time before antibiotics,

nursing care, based on Nightingale’s concepts learned in the Crimean War, consisted of exquisite wound care, nutrition, and heavy doses of compassion.

Nurses in the war were not commissioned officers, but were tasked with supervising enlisted men. This raised a number of gender issues. The unit’s newsletter gave no hint of this, however, as it outlined the unit’s extracurricular activities including sports and theatre.

Ruth, nicknamed Miss Squeaks, took part and was described by a unit member as an “active little lassie who excels at walking, going to church, and spending money on presents.” The unit returned to the US in spring 1919, bringing to a close Ruth Week’s war-time adventure.

In the 1920’s , Ruth made her way to Fort Myer, Florida where she was a school nurse for five years and “active with a Kiwanis Club that sponsored health services.” This service could have been under the auspices of the Red Cross.

While there, she met and

married Rev. JR Henry, a well known Cumberland Presbyterian minister who had been widowed.

JR was 26 years older than Ruth and unfortunately died of a heart attack in 1930, leaving Ruth a widow and childless at age 39.

Ruth was not discouraged by any of these life difficulties. Her community Red Cross work in Bath, which extended from 1931 to her retirement in 1956 or ’57 at the age of 66, was often reported in local newspapers.

She was at the Red Cross office on Front Street at 7:30 each morning to take phone calls. She worked weekdays as well as Saturday mornings providing direct care, family education, and post- hospitalization follow up, making up to 1,600 visits per year.

Retirement included visiting and playing cards with friends, being a corporator for Bath Memorial Hospital, and caring for her younger sister Dorothy. who suffered from mental illness.

At age 72, Ruth died of congestive heart failure at Bath Memorial Hospital and is buried in the Dr. Langdon Snipe lot at Oak Grove Cemetery.

Ruth Weeks, third from right in front row, among nurses in Boulogne in 1918

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CHANS Home Health Care has a long history of providing healthcare clinics. In that tradition, it has recently begun offering blood pressure clinics at several area locations for low- income individuals and elders.

Currently, Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Project participants and Pejepscot Terrace residents enjoy monthly visits from Avanel Payne, RN. Soon residents of the Westrum House will also be hosting Avanel for monthly clinics.

“Participants loyally show up to the monthly clinics with their blood pressure cards in hand. They really enjoy the opportunity to talk to a health care professional,” Avenel says.

She reports that participants say their doctors love the fact their patients are using the clinics, too!

CHANS Home Health Care’s Community Health Liaison, Amy C. Berube is working with Avanel to expand offerings of blood pressure clinics to other area locations, which will be followed by a very vigorous schedule of flu clinics this fall.

Community outreach grows at CHANS

Giving

Heartfrom the

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By Michael ToddDirector of Development

The recent down economy has taken a toll on any number of businesses

and other types of organizations, including many local not-for-profits. While we remain a community of good-hearted and charitably inclined individuals, many people are struggling to find ways to support their favorite charities.

I have had a number of conversations lately with people who have asked me for advice about how they may continue giving charitable contributions to the causes and organizations that they believe in. While they wish to give as much as they can, they are also concerned about surviving this period of financial turmoil.

Here are a few ideas for how donors may continue to support their favorite charities even in the current down economy:

Prioritize• In the past many people have given various amounts to a vast range of non-profits. From disaster relief for the victims of Katrina or the Tsunami, gifts to large organizations such as the American Cancer Society, to their alma maters, church or community hospital…many donors have spread their gifts widely. • In the current economic environment it makes sense to prioritize which of the charities you support are truly closest to your heart and whose mission you believe in strongly. • Continue giving support to your top 2 or 3 charities to whatever degree you feel you

can afford. You may wish to resume giving to others when brighter days return.

Give Creatively• There a number of ways to fund your donation other than a direct outlay of cash.• Consider selling stock that has lost value. You may write off the stock losses against gains, contribute the sale proceeds to your favorite non-profit and get a charitable gift tax deduction. This method offers two types of tax savings while giving much needed support to charity.• If you are at 70 ½ years of age or older, you can make a donation directly from an IRA or Roth IRA to a charity without taking a negative tax hit. IRAs are not great to pass along to your heirs so consider using them to make charitable donations.• Charitable Gift Annuities are a win-win type of gift for donors and charities. Donors receive lifetime income at a rate that is typically much higher than interest on CDs or other investments. They also give the donor significant tax savings and an opportunity to avoid capital gains taxes. The charity also wins by receiving a sizable donation in time.• Give Monthly: Instead of paying a large lump sum donation to the charity, arrange with your bank to make smaller monthly payments to spread

your giving over the year. You may actually end up giving more to the charity without seeing a big drop in your bank account.• Estate Planning: include your favorite charities in your will. While you may not be able to give them support at this time, they will appreciate receiving your bequest in the future.

Do What is in Your HeartThe most important advice I

can share with you is to do what is in your heart for your favorite charities and you will never go wrong.

Your gifts truly make a difference to them and the people they serve, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have done something good for others.

For information on how you may make charitable contributions to Mid Coast Hospital, call Michael Todd at 373-6065 or email him at mtodd@midcoasthealth.com.

The above information is not offered as financial or tax advice. Always consult a financial professional before making charitable donations.

Giving from the Heart in a Down EconomyThink Local! There are any number of worthy non-profits that struggle to meet essential needs right here in our community. Think about which local non-profits mean the most to your family, your neighbors and friends, and give them the support that they need and deserve.

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art and nature are critical components of healing at Mid Coast, and that is clearly in evidence throughout the new medical office building at 81 Medical Center Drive.

Its two-story lobby atria invites the out-of-doors in and its floor-to- ceiling windows bring cheery warmth to its corridors and gathering places.

Above, a painted wooden carving of a polar bear mom and cubs padding across the ice adorns the wall of the food court.

The work was given by artist Dan Falt in 2008 in memory of his father, Gordon.

Fuzzy-Wuzzy FamilyEarth Day Celebration

CarolYn KoepKe, Medical Quality Review Coordinator, takes in the exhibits at the 2009 Earth Day Fair.

Displays set up by members of the hospital’s Environmental Impact Committee covered everything from Green Cleaning and Composting to Single-Stream Recycling and Ways to Simplify, Simplify, Simplify Your Life.

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lauGHter is tHe best MediCine and Randy Judkins, a Maine comedian with a national reputation, made that point as he entertained Thornton Oaks residents during National Humor Month. Here Judkins poses between Nan and Bruce Amstutz who assisted him, unexpectedly, with good humor. Health Services Coordinator, Ann Marchese, RN, arranged for the program where Judkins emphasized the value of laughter to good health.

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A funny thing happened on the way to Thornton Oaks...

tHe loCal HealtHY Maine partnersHip, ACCESS Health, presented its 2009 Helping Hand Award to local law enforcement agencies.

The Bath Police Department, Brunswick Police Department, and the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department were cited as outstanding community partners in the prevention of underage drinking, supporting the group’s goal of making Maine the healthiest state.

ACCESS made the presentation at its June 9 annual meeting at which it also recognized its many community volunteers and highlighted its accomplishments during the past year.

ACCESS Health honors law enforcement

She will be missed.

Thank You!

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Mid Coast Hospital marked the service milestones of its employees in a recognition that reflected “not only our ability to attract talented and skilled employes, but to retain them.”

Mid Coast President/CEO Herbert Paris made his comments as he, Human Resources Director Coleen Farrell, and department directors presented service-year recognition.Those honored with most senior longevity included: Karen Allard 35 Judi Carver 35 Mary Brewer 30 Eleanor Gainsley 30 Ophelia Reatiraza 30 Roben Booker 25 Cynthia Campbell 25 Susan Jones 25 Vicki Koehler 25 Holly McCole 25 Alma Shevenell 25 Debra Wallace 25 Mary Wallace 25

Mid Coast recognizes years of service

Judi Carver

Karen Allard

As the expansion of Mid Coast Hospital moves forward, we gratefully acknowledge

generous gifts that have been made to help us grow.

Contributions toward the expansion have been received from the Mid Coast Hospital Auxiliary, as well as from individuals and couples that believe in our mission. We truly appreciate their thoughtful support and will further acknowledge these gifts by displaying plaques in the donor’s names in select areas of the expansion.

Additional naming opportunities are currently available in the Medical/Surgical Unit, Emergency Department and Diagnostic

Imaging Department such as in public corridors, nurse’s stations and patient rooms.

Associating your name with our hospital is a meaningful way to demonstrate your concern for the welfare of others, and it may inspire your friends, neighbors and family to follow your example of philanthropy.

For more information on how you can help Mid Coast Hospital grow to meet the healthcare needs of our community, and to learn more about naming opportunities, please call Director of Development Michael Todd at 373-6065.

Help Us Grow!

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linda l. HodGKins, MT, HEW, a 45-year employee and lead medical technologist for hematology in Mid Coast Hospital’s laboratory, died Friday, May 29. She was 64.

She attended Wiscasset schools and graduated from Wiscasset Academy in 1963. A week after graduation, she joined the lab staff at Bath Memorial Hospital, which later merged with Brunswick Regional to form Mid Coast Hospital.

“She was wonderfully artistic,” says Lab Director Sue Ross. “We all have a wreath or ornament she made from lavender and shells she collected from the shore near her Phippsburg home. It was a nice balance to the detailed analytical work she did for us here.”

Linda enjoyed time with family and grandchildren, gardening, cooking, traveling, and basket making.

She is survived by her mother, June Gudroe of Wiscasset; her husband, Kenneth A. Hodgkins whom she married in 1962; son, Duane; and daughters, Julie and Shelley.

She also leaves grandchildren, a brother, sisters, nephews and nieces.

I N M E M O R I A M

Linda L. Hodgkins

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A communication support group offers stroke survivors with speech difficulties an opportunity to exercise their communication skills in a supportive environment.

Family members are welcomed. Attendance at group meetings is free.

WHERE: 81 Medical Center Drive, Brunswick 1st floor conference room

WHEN: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month September to May, 1-2 p.m. NEXT MEETING: September 1

For more information,CONTACT:

Dimitra Toothaker at 373-6175

A S U P P O R T G R O U P

Communicate after Stroke

In 2006, the hospital’s clinical staff flu vaccination rate was 58%. In 2007, it was 77%.

And in 2008, it reached 83% or almost twice the national average of 42%!

As part of the Joint Commis-sion’s National Patient Safety Goals, and in accordance with CDC recommendations, Mid Coast Health Services has made a concerted effort to increase employee flu vaccination rates during the last couple of years.

And the effort succeeded! The Joint Commission lauded Mid Coast for meeting its chal-lenge to exceed the national

By Vicki Koehler, RN, COHN-SEmployee Health Nurse

average, and we even topped the CDC’s target rate of 80%.

Previously, hospitals sought to keep their employees flu-free. The change in focus—to keep-ing our patients flu-free by being vaccinated ourselves—was a key part of our success.

Our campaign began in spring ’07 when we surveyed staff looking for the reasons they didn’t get annual flu shots. We did targeted education based on those results as part of a Mythbuster campaign.

This concept of Herd Immunity (whereby many are vaccinated to protect the vulnerable) is alive and well at Mid Coast Health Services.

Flu shot push succeeds

Nursing ResearchHilary Speare, RN, CAPA, chair of Mid Coast Hospital’s Nursing Research Committee, welcomes visitors to the group’s display promoting nursing research by direct care nurses.

A nurse in the Ambulatory Care Unit, Hilary has a long-standing interest in research: she was a featured speaker at the Sigma Theta Tau’s International Conference on Nursing Research in 2004, and has presented original research at the Magnet National Conference in Atlanta in 2007, among others.

The articles on the table and photo are of her father, who was an academic researcher and scientist and role model for Hilary.

Photo by Mike L’Abbé

Surpasses The Joint Commission’s Challenege

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Career day brings students, career changers to Mid Coast Hospital to meet our staff“The first thing you realize is the variety of jobs that exist in healthcare.”

at tHe seCond session of Healthcare Career Day at Mid Coast Hospital, every

chair in three conference rooms was taken. The early morning session had an excellent turnout as well.

To kick off the day, healthcare professionals gave brief descriptions of their jobs to high school and college students, and to a few people thinking about a career transition.

Students came from area high schools including Morse, Brunswick, Boothbay, Mt. Ararat, Wiscasset, and Catherine McAuley.

One student came from the University of Maine at Augusta and several were accepted at the University of Maine at Orono and the University of Southern Maine. From as far away as Windham, they came to take advantage of the up close and personal look at the hospital’s clinical and support jobs.

Students also learned about volunteer experiences and the availability of health career scholarships at Mid Coast Hospital.

Sue Ross, the director of the hospital’s laboratory, described the work that she does which she calls fascinating—looking for the causes of an illness or disease by looking at blood, tissue, or other specimens under a microscope or treating the samples with other antigens.

Equally interesting is how specialized each of the technologists is in fields like cytology, histology, transfusions,

During a hospital tour that was part of Mid Coast Hospital’s Healthcare Career Day, Pharmacist Sara Nusbaum explains her responsibilities for getting the proper medication, in the proper dose, to the correct patient.

“The doctor checks, the pharmacy double checks, and the nurse double checks. It may seem a little repetitive, but it is very important,” she says. “Graduates of a school of pharmacy almost have a guaranteed job upon graduation. How many majors [field of study] can claim that?” she asks.

and pathology. Ross also unlocked the secrets of those names for the participants.

“Experts are predicting a 10 to 15 percent increase in the number of jobs for medical technologists,” she told the group, “which does not even include the need to replace large numbers of technologists who are reaching retirement age.”

Later in the lab, Kate Lerette greeted the students and opened the special containers where she is growing cultures. Some of the students reacted to the rather noticeable odor when she opened the cabinet door. According to Lerette, the cultures would not survive in oxygen rich air and so they require a special atmosphere.

In the pharmacy, pharmacist Sara Nusbaum discussed the important procedures to make sure the right patient receives the right medicaton at the right time and in the right dose. At Mid Coast Hospital, there is a system of checks and double checks, she explained.

As the participants toured the hospital they got a good look not only of intensive care, medical surgical inpatient floor, diagnostics, and emergency where nurses, doctors, and technologists walk quickly through the halls, but also other areas such as the kitchen, steam generating boilers, and the centralized sterilizer.

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“You were my dietician when I was in the hospital,” one young student told Jill Spillane as they rode the elevator together and talked about dietary needs.

“There are so many jobs in healthcare and some almost guarantee that when you finish a college program, there will be a job waiting for you. You can think about where you would like to locate, and there will be a job,” says Human Resources Director Coleen Farrell.

“Almost every healthcare professional is in demand today, and their jobs are tremendously interesting.

“Right now, people are also paying attention to the fact that healthcare jobs have more than a good probability of continuing to be in demand,” Farrell says.

“Whether you are interested in technology or in direct patient care, there is probably something in healthcare for you. And the employment is steady.”

And it was obvious to those who visited on career day that one place they would be lucky to work is Mid Coast Hospital, where many of the people they talked to began a career, gained important experience, improved their educational record, and moved up.

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Healthcare career path

XXCrosswalk Safety ... is a shared responsibility.Pedestrians—• Always cross at marked crosswalks. You forfeit your rights as a pedestrian if you cross elsewhere.• Obey any pedestrian signals and look left-right-left to make sure the road is clear in both directions before crossing.• If a vehicle approaches, make eye contact with the driver to be sure he or she sees you before you cross.• Look before walking past stopped vehicles. Do not cross just because a driver waves you on. Be sure all lanes are clear.

This Safety Message provided by Facilities Management

Drivers—• Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and at intersections.• Be prepared to stop at all marked crosswalks. Stay alert and reduce speed in areas with crosswalks.• Come to a complete stop if pedestrians are crossing or preparing to cross.• Wait until pedestrians have crossed at least one lane past the lane you are in before resuming travel.• Never pass another vehicle that has stopped or is slowing down at a crosswalk.

New hospital additionContractors at ‘peak’ performanceConstruction workers burnish an architectural peak on the new emergency and medical/surgical unit expansion project left, while others install piping and venti-lation ducts inside. Between 60 and 80 workers are on the job daily.

Photo by Gerry Maraghy Photo by Mike L’Abbé

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Glowing PurpleShining a light on domestic violence

Steeplejack photos by Gerry Maraghy

Night photo by Jeff Morris of The Pierce Studio

stan d’orio of Northeast Steeplejacks makes his way along a narrow ledge70 feet above the Mid Coast Hospital campus May 4 to install purple gels over the lights on the tower. The tower was bathed in a purple glow the nights of May 5, 6 and 7 to raise public awareness about domestic violence. The event was part of a community-wide campaign to end domestic abuse.

Coleen farrell, director of Human Resources for Mid Coast Hospital, is part of the Working Group on Family Violence, one of the sponsoring organizations of the Glowing Purple effort.

When she learned about the coast-to-coast campaign “I immediately thought of our beautiful tower and what a powerful statement we could make if we could somehow use our building to glow purple,” she said.

“As an institution, we stand against domestic violence, and that’s the bottom line,” Farrell said. “You just can’t get enough opportunities to keep that in people’s minds.”

Sharing the Heart Truth

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There’s NO EXCUSE for DOMESTIC ABUSE

salon and spa professionals joined Mid Coast Hospital staff and volunteers at the year’s Go RED! event to raise awareness about heart disease in women.

In Maine and the nation heart disease remains the leading cause of death for women. This year’s event engaged salon and spa professionals creating champions in the community to share the lifesaving Heart Truth message.

These professionals are trusted by women and can share information that improves the health of mothers, sisters, friends, and clients.