Variety of free heart health, nutrition classes offered throughout March

INDIANAPOLIS – Franciscan St. Francis Health Heart Center is offering a full range of free educational classes focused on cardiovascular health and wellness throughout March.

Call 317-782-4422 or go on-line at MyHeartCare.net to register for any of the classes, which include:

Aneurysms: Pay attention before it’s too late

Charles Kiell, MD

Thursday, March 6, 6:30 p.m.

Decatur County Memorial Hospital,

720 N. Lincoln St. Greensburg

Abdominal aortic aneurysms, also known as AAA, are uncommon but usually deadly. They develop slowly and usually have no symptoms, but when the weakened walls of the artery collapse, there is little recourse.

That’s why knowing your risk for AAA is so important. In some cases, the condition is genetic, but if you smoke, have high blood pressure or cholesterol you may be at risk as well. Franciscan St. Francis Heart Center vascular surgeon, Charles Kiell, MD, will discuss risks and symptoms of AAA and how he is monitoring patients at risk and is using innovative technology to repair aneurysms before they rupture.
Register online.

Coronary Calcium Scoring: Identifying cardiac risk

Ryan Daly, MD

Thursday, March 20, 6:30 p.m.

Franciscan St. Francis Heart Center (8111 S. Emerson Ave., entrance #1)

Coronary arteries can become blocked with calcium-containing plaque that can cause heart attacks. Coronary calcium scoring is a high-tech way of detecting calcium build-up in the arteries and identifies your risk for heart disease. Franciscan St. Francis Heart Center and Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians cardiologist, Ryan Daly, MD, will describe this test and answer your questions about other heart attack risk factors. 
Register online.

Change of Heart classes offered in Spring 2014

Healthy Eating

Wednesday, March 5, 6:30 p.m. at the Heart Center (Register online.)

Tuesday, March 11, 6:30 p.m. at Franciscan St. Francis Health – Mooresville (1201 Hadley Road) (Register online.)

Healthy eating leads to a healthy life!  Find out how much a “serving” is and how to manage a healthy weight.  Discover how fats, carbohydrates and protein affect our body.  Do you know how much salt, fiber and sugar are in the foods you buy?  This class offers the foundation for a healthy future!

Reduce Stress

Thursday, March 13, 6:30 p.m. at the Heart Center

Negative stress causes changes in lifestyle and behavior, which may lead to unhealthy choices.  Learn to identify the causes of stress in your life and techniques to decrease your stress which can improve your health.
Register online.

Quick Meals at Home

Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 p.m. at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville

Some days, we just don’t have the time – or the desire – to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  But that doesn’t mean we need to sacrifice eating well at home.  Learn how to fix quick and easy nutritious meals you and your family can enjoy.

Register online.

Savvy Shopping

Wednesday, March 19, 6:30 p.m., Southport Meijer

With all the new and changing products on the shelves, grocery shopping can be overwhelming.  Learn where to find the healthy foods and how to avoid packaging tricks commonly used to market foods.  Discover how food labels make you a smarter shopper.

Register online.

Fitness Tips

Tuesday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Heart Center

Being fit is more than being thin. Research shows that no matter what you weigh, increasing your fitness helps your heart. Discover that exercise can be healthy and fun. Learn how to set up a schedule for yourself.

Register online.

Healthy Dining Out Tips

Wednesday, March 26, 6:30 p.m. at the Heart Center

Americans eat nearly half their meals away from home. How can you control what you eat when you don’t cook for yourself? Learn how to make wise menu selections and eat smart while dining out.

Register online.

Meatless Cooking Tips

Thursday, March 27, 6:30 p.m. at the Heart Center

Meatless meals may help you live longer. Adding more meatless meals to your diet is easy with new products now on the market. This class will help you with menu planning and recipes so you can incorporate more meatless meals into your daily life.
Register online.

Mooresville orthopedic surgeon named among best in North America

MOORESVILLE, Ind. – Orthopedics This Week magazine has named Michael Berend, MD, one of the “Top 22 North American Knee Surgeons.”

Berend is a surgeon with Franciscan Physician Network Joint Replacement Surgeons, affiliated with the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery at Franciscan St. Francis-Mooresville.

“When knee surgeons discuss their exemplary colleagues, these are the ones they are talking about … the super elite in the knee world,” the magazine said.

   

The magazine called the listed surgeons “the most impressive knee surgeons in the country” and noted that “This information was obtained via a telephone survey of thought leaders in the field. The information in quotes is what we heard about these surgeons.”

   

The magazine further wrote of Berend: “He has done a tremendous amount of research and is a leader in partial knee replacement and also understands what factors correlate with long-term success or failure of primary total knees.”

Berend’s brother, Keith, also was recognized as one of the Top 22. He is an orthopedic surgeon with Joint Implant Surgeons in Columbus, Ohio, and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at The Ohio State University.

Franciscan St. Francis Health nurses earn Daisy Award for exemplary patient care

CHRISTA HAGIST

INDIANAPOLIS – Two registered nurses at Franciscan St. Francis Health have been praised by patients and peers for going above-and-beyond the call in caregiving.

Registered nurses Brenda Copas and Christa Hagist have been named the February 2014 recipients of the hospital’s DAISY Awards. Copas works in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, while Hagist works in the Adult Intensive Care Unit at the Indianapolis campus.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is a national program that honors compassionate care and clinical excellence. Franciscan St. Francis adopted the program in 2010 to recognize its nurses for their achievements.

BRENDA COPAS

Copas was nominated for her special kindness toward a patient who was going to spend his 59^th wedding anniversary in the hospital.  With a cake, a song and many other special touches, Copas was able to create a special moment for the patient and his wife.

Copas “goes the extra mile, beyond nursing care, to relationships with patients and families that forever touch their hearts and make then smile,” wrote a co-worker. “We have a nickname for Belinda, Saint Belinda. She passes blessings onto others without evening thinking it. It is just what Saint Belinda does.” 

Hagist also was nominated by a coworker for an extraordinary act of service.  She helped an ill patient provide a Christmas smile for his wife. Too sick to get out of bed and leave the hospital and with the gift shop closed, the husband had no Christmas card for his wife. Hagist created a card for her patient to give to his spouse.

“She truly made their day,” wrote the co-worker who nominated her for the DASIY award.

The DAISY Award was established by the DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died at 33 of an auto-immune disease. His family was so impressed by the clinical skills, caring and compassion of the nurses who cared for him that they created this national award to say “thank you” to nurses everywhere. For more information, go to www.daisyfoundation.org.

Franciscan St. Francis Health nurses honored for extraordinary patient care

INDIANAPOLIS – Two registered nurses at Franciscan St. Francis Health have been praised by patients and peers for above-and-beyond the call in caregiving.

Registered nurses Joe Schnepp and Chris Hyman have been named the January 2014 recipients of the hospital’s DAISY Award.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is a national program that honors compassionate care and clinical excellence. Franciscan St. Francis localized the program in 2010 to recognize its nurses for their achievements.

Schnepp, who works on the critical care unit, was nominated for his exceptional, supportive care of a patient and the family. “Joe was very attentive to our father and performed above and beyond to make sure he was cared for as comfortable as possible,” wrote the daughter of the patient. “Joe was exceptionally supportive during this time.”

Hyman, who works on the adult intensive care unit, was nominated by several co-workers for the DAISY award. He provided compassionate care to one of his recent patients. “Chris sat with a dying patient so she wouldn’t have to die alone. He held her hand, sang to her and was so nice to her as she passed away,” wrote one co-worker.

The DAISY Award was established by the DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died at 33 of an auto-immune disease. His family was so impressed by the clinical skills, caring and compassion of the nurses who cared for him that they created this national award to say “thank you” to nurses everywhere. For more information, go to www.daisyfoundation.org.

Study probes effects of environmental chemicals on developing fetuses

Gerber grant funds Franciscan St. Francis Health neonatologist-led research

PAUL WINCHESTER

INDIANAPOLIS – Do commonly used chemicals in the environment   imprint our babies’ DNA?  Can they be linked to premature birth, birth defects and other adverse outcomes?  Can they induce -- as they do in animals -- diseases which appear later in life and are heritable across multiple generations?

That’s the focus of a study under way at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Indianapolis. The research is made possible by a $295,000 grant from the Gerber Foundation to Franciscan Alliance Foundation St. Francis Health.

Paul D. Winchester, MD, medical director of neonatal intensive care unit at Franciscan St. Francis, and Michael Skinner, PhD, professor of molecular biology at the Washington State University, seek to determine if maternal exposure to these environmental chemicals may change human genes in subtle but serious ways in utero and contribute to preterm births, birth defects, reduced fetal growth, and the onset of adult diseases.

The study will also attempt to determine if the negative DNA imprinting changes seen in animals exposed to environmental contaminants are also measurable in humans.

 “If animal findings regarding epigenetic imprinting translate into humans, we expect a groundbreaking transformation in our knowledge of disease prevention and environmental risks,” said Winchester, who also is professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine  and widely published for his research.

While virtually all  pregnant women in the United States now test positive for the presence of insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides, very little data exists related to these commonly found environmental contaminants and their impact on the DNA of developing human fetuses.

Established in 1952, the mission of the Fremont, Mich.-based Gerber Foundation is to enhance the quality of life of infants and young children in nutrition, care, and development. The primary focus of foundation grant-making is on health and nutritional issues affecting infants and young children.

Franciscan Alliance Foundation St. Francis Health is a not-for-profit, philanthropic organization established in 1995 for the purpose of raising funds in support of the programs and services provided by Franciscan St. Francis Health.