St. Francis Health-based Senior Promise gears up for Fall Health Festival

INDIANAPOLIS – Senior Promise is hosting its 19^th annual Fall Health Festival, Friday, Oct. 12, at The Atrium Banquet Hall, 3143 E. Thompson Road.

The annual event, which is from 9 a.m. to noon, is geared for those 50 and older, people with diabetes, caregivers and those seeking community resources for seniors and people with disabilities. There’s adequate parking at the wheelchair-accessible facility.

The festival offers information on a variety of medical topics and health screenings, including cholesterol, blood pressure, oral cancer, balance assessment, vision, diabetes foot, and lung/air capacity.

The Visiting Nurse Service at St. Francis will be on hand to offer free flu and pneumonia shots to those receiving Medicare Part B or having Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance. The flu vaccine is $35 and pneumonia vaccine is $70 for non-Medicare enrollees and non-Part B Medicare beneficiaries.

The festival is attended by an estimated 600 each year, one of the largest senior health fairs in Central Indiana.

Launched in 1987, Senior Promise, a program based at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Indianapolis, provides its 22,000-plus members a variety of meaningful services and benefits for people age 50 and older throughout the year.

For more information about Senior Promise call 317-528-6660.

Brownsburg Girl Scouts good deed will help families in need

INDIANAPOLIS – Needy families struggling to provide for their newborns won’t be leaving St. Francis Hospital, empty-handed, thanks to the hard work of Girl Scouts Troop 1731 of Brownsburg.

Trucks and cars pulled up to the entrance of the Women and Children’s Service at the hospital’s Indianapolis campus June 3 and the Scouts, accompanied by Troop Leader Darlene Smith, began unloading several boxes of baby-related items. Their donations were for the St. Francis’ Newborn Pantry, a family-assistance program

SUPER TROOPERS: (l to r) Courtney Sanzone, Sarah Pfettscher, Abby Dragon, Corinne Huls, Darlene Smith (troop leader) and Sydney Fleck.

Each Scout contributed to the project in a special way. Sydney Fleck assembled “goodie bags” for mothers and babies and coordinated publicity for the project; Courtney Sanzone made fleece blankets; Corinne Huls collected toys, assembled toy gift bags and made soft-sided play blocks; Abby Dragon collected clothing, made hats and baby booties; and Sarah Pfettscher collected diapers, wipes and bottles and made hooded towels

Troop 1731 began collecting the items in the Brownsburg earlier this year and made it part of their community service project. They also received a grant to purchase new items.

“This was a tremendous expression of generosity and the efforts of these young ladies will benefit many families who have nowhere else to turn for help,” said Mischelle Frank, a St. Francis manager who helped establish the pantry late last year.

It’s estimated that 40 percent of babies born at St. Francis hospitals are in families who are struggling financially, have limited resources or receiving charity care.

The Newborn Pantry is just one of the many community outreach initiatives at St. Francis. The hospital’s Neighborhood Health Center near Garfield Park also operates the BABE store, providing a wide range of items for infants, children and mothers.

To learn more about St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers community benefits and service, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=421.

‘Heart Matters’ when it comes to women and their health; program open to public

INDIANAPOLIS – With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it’s clear the life of a mother is anything but a holiday: Taking care of kids, running errands, working straight through the day and skipping lunch. Women often are so busy taking care of others they forget to care for themselves, perhaps ignoring or being unaware of signs of their risk of heart disease.

That’s why the St. Francis Heart Center is offering "Heart Matters: What Every Woman Should Know About Heart Disease." The program, which is free to the public, is 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 8.

Cardiologist Babu Doddapaneni, M.D., of the Indiana Heart Physicians is the featured presenter. He will discuss risk factors and heart disease, how women’s symptoms for a heart attack differ from men’s, less-invasive surgical procedures that benefit women, blood pressure and cholesterol, and how diet, weight and physical activity are important in preventing heart disease.

The program is at the Heart Center’s community center on the St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis campus, 8111 S. Emerson Ave.

The program is free; registration is requested. To register online go to http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/Heart/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=38 or call (317) 782-4422.

More information about the St. Francis Heart Center is at http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/Heart.

Center Grove students prep for rounds at St. Francis Hospital

INDIANAPOLIS – A select group of high-school students at Center Grove High School will get a front-row seat to the many career opportunities in health care through a St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers program.

About 100 students will visit the hospital for a daylong slate of activities and presentations at St. Francis Hospital-Beech Grove, Friday, April 18.

“What makes the program unique is students get to see first-hand that health care encompasses more than physicians and nurses,” said coordinator James W. Dix III, manager of organizational development and training. “Even though these two professions are integral parts of a hospital’s operation, this introduction to the world of health care demonstrates there are myriad other opportunities in the industry.”

Students will visit specialists in various areas, including respiratory therapy, radiology, surgery, physical therapy and the emergency department’s ambulance and clinical sections.

A St. Francis physician and nurse will brief students on their work and job trends and top administrators will explain their role in hospital operations

This marks the 10th year St. Francis has offered the program to Indianapolis-area schools.

“The field trip acquaints my anatomy and physiology students to the health occupations field in a typical hospital setting,” said CGHS teacher Judy Lines. “Often they make valuable contacts while visiting there, and then they are able to go back on week-ends or in the summer to shadow a professional for a period of time.”

St. Francis gift program shares with needy in season of giving

Publication Date: November 30, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact:
Joe Stuteville
Media Relations Manager
317-782-7986
317-946-9930 (cell)
317-909-0079 (pager)
Joe.Stuteville@ssfhs.org

St. Francis gift program shares with needy in season of giving

INDIANAPOLIS – While one song hails the holidays as the “most wonderful time of the year,” for many families it’s a season of struggle.

That’s what continues to drive the Gift-a-Family program, coordinated by the Service Excellence and Volunteer Services at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. The annual program serves residents primarily on the city’s south side.

While the referral and selection of families for this year’s program has ended, St. Francis employees and their respective departments recently began “adopting” families and collecting new clothing, small household items and children’s toys and gifts.

“Each year we identify families who have been referred to us, and while they have different backgrounds they all share a common denominator – they’re needy and often in desperate situations,” said Sherri Walker, director of St. Francis’ Service Excellence and Volunteer Services. “And in the spirit of St. Francis, our employees step forward with generosity and compassionate concern to help them.”

St. Francis employees are expected to assist 76 families during the upcoming holidays.

The hospital also provides the families with food baskets, with food items coming from the hospital’s pantry. This year’s food baskets will be blessed Dec. 19 by St. Francis clergy before they are delivered with the gifts.