St. Francis Health Behavioral Health offers support for those dealing with divorce

INDIANAPOLIS – Divorce can reap a heavy toll in myriad ways, and learning to adjust to marital breakups affects not only parents but children.

That’s why Franciscan St. Francis Health Behavioral Health Services is offering a support group beginning Monday Feb. 6. The classes, which are led by counselors DeAnn Harvey and Kristy McNamee, gather at 6 p.m. each Monday through March 12.

The classes are geared for toward parents, teens and youngsters. The parents group will focus on equipping them to help guide their children through divorce. The children’s group encourages youngsters to find healthy expression of thoughts and feelings in response to parental divorce.

All classes are at St. Francis Behavioral Health Services, 610 E Southport Road, Suite 100, at the corner Southport Road and U.S. 31.

To register, call 317-782-7536.

Pre-Super Bowl flag football showdown features war vets, former NFL players

Franciscan St. Francis Health co-sponsors Feb. 1 south side event

INDIANAPOLIS – The playing field at Indy Indoor Sports Park will become a field of honor with the Wounded Warrior Amputee Sports Team taking on the NFL Alumni of Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The doors to the south side facility (6650 S. Bluff Road) open at 6 p.m. with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Presented by Washington National Insurance Company and RBVetCo, the event also is co-sponsored by Franciscan St. Francis Sports Medicine.

The Wounded Warrior squad is made up of amputee veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rocky Bleier, who was wounded during the Vietnam War but went on to play for the Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jeff George, a former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, will lead the team, which is being coached by Maj. Gen. Martin Umbarger, adjutant of the Indiana National Guard, and Wounded Warriors founded David van Sleet.

The NFL team has a roster of current and former professional players, including Jack Youngblood, Bill Romanowski, Ken Dilger, Bill Brooks, Jerry Kramer and other former Colts and NFL stars. Their head coach is Dick Vermeil, who led the St. Louis Rams to the 1999 Super Bowl championship.

“This great event pays tribute to our service members who have sacrificed much in defense of our nation and we are proud to be a part of it,” said Robert J. Brody, president and CEO of Franciscan St. Francis Health. “The willingness of NFL veterans to participate demonstrates their appreciation and respect for those who have gone into harm’s way.”

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a retired Marine Corps officer and veteran of Operation Desert Storm, will officiate the game. And cheerleaders from the Indianapolis Colts and Southport High School will be on hand to cheer the players.

A $20 donation is requested for those attending the game. All proceeds will benefit Wounded Warriors Amputee Sport Team (WWAST) programs. There will be a free autograph session with the players following the game, including a raffle of NFL memorabilia and Indiana Pacers tickets.

To learn more about Wounded Warriors, go to https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/default.aspx?tsid=167. For more information about the game or to set up interviews with the participants, contact Chris Visser at 321-230-6666, or Marc Leonard at 413-885-7522.

Franciscan St. Francis Sports Medicine offers a variety of programs and services. Learn more at http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/Ortho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=54.

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, Michael Painter and Eric Balka have been named the January 2012 recipients of the hospital’s DAISY Awards. Both nurses work on the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Indianapolis.

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

Painter was nominated for his compassionate care of a patient. “Mike understood the stress and emotional turmoil we had been through. I will never forget his kindness,” wrote the daughter of the patient. “He should be the poster employee for customer excellence.”

Balka was nominated by a patient’s family member. “Eric was very knowledgeable, compassionate and understanding,” wrote the family member. “Instead of simply answering our questions, he gave additional information about her condition that helped us to understand what had happened and what was about to happen.” “He gave us comfort through a very difficult time.”

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.

To learn more about nursing careers and programs at Franciscan St. Francis, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/nursing.

Long-time Martinsville physician joins St. Francis Medical Group

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. – Paul E. Broderick, D.O. has joined St. Francis Medical Group (SFMG).

Broderick, the owner of Central Indiana Proctology (formerly known as Laser Institute), has practiced in the Martinsville area since 1995. He specializes in proctologic surgery.

Board-certified by the American Osteopathic College of Proctology (AOCP), he has been affiliated with Franciscan St. Francis-Mooresville and the Mooresville Endoscopy Center since 2005. He has hospital privileges with various medical centers throughout central Indiana.

He will operate his practice at SFMG’s Martinsville Family & Internal Medicine, 49 Bills Blvd. That office also houses internist Dianna Boyer, M.D., and family practitioner Ryan Lacy, M.D., and SFMG’s cardiologists.

Broderick currently serves at Morgan County Health Officer and is the former chief of surgery and chief of staff for IU Health Morgan Hospital. He has held various leadership positions with AOCP and Morgan County Board of Health.

He received his undergraduate degree at Ball State Univeristy and earned his doctorate at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed an internship at Michiana Community Hospital in South Bend and proctologic surgery residency at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Grandview Hospital and Medical Center in Dayton.

Led by President Isaac J. Myers II, M.D., St. Francis Medical Group is a multidisciplinary group of physicians throughout central Indiana. These physicians offer a variety of primary care and specialty care services and all practice at Franciscan St. Francis Health.

To learn more about St. Francis Medical Group, go to www.stfrancisdoctors.org.

St. Francis Auxiliary donation boosts efforts to construct hospice facility

INDIANAPOLIS – St. Francis Healthcare Foundation are one step closer to realizing a long-held desire to build Hospice House, thanks to a donation from the St. Francis Auxiliary.

That group recently presented the foundation with $100,000. The proceeds were generated from the auxiliary sale of uniforms, shoes, books, craft fairs and other items at Franciscan St. Francis Health hospitals in south-central Indiana.

“This generous gift will enable us to move closer to our goal to build Hospice House at our Indianapolis campus,” said Greg Williamson, foundation president. “The free-standing facility will provide a home-like environment with the most compassionate medical care for patients and respite for their loved ones.”

The St. Francis Auxiliary is made up of over 150 volunteers who support Franciscan St. Francis Health through their generous contributions of time and service. The mission of the Auxiliary is to support the hospital by providing fundraising activities, serving within the hospital departments, and encouraging the spirit of volunteerism.

“We have had a long relationship with hospice,” said Paula Curseaden, St. Francis Auxiliary president. “There is a definite need for a free-standing Hospice House. We chose to pledge our funds to promote this project. The Auxiliary raises funds through vendor sales and Franciscan St. Francis employees support these efforts and, without them, we could not have met our pledge.”

The donation was made at a recent luncheon of the auxiliary and foundation, and leadership and staff of the St. Francis Hospice program.

To date, the Hospice House project has raised $2 million, nearly a quarter of the total needed to begin work. It would be the only facility of its kind in south-central Indiana and will serve many surrounding counties.

Hospice House features include:

· 16-suite facility with room for expansion to 32 suites

· Bright gathering areas, kitchen and dining areas

· Garden-like landscaping and a chapel for meditation and worship

· Unlimited visitation from loved ones and family members, including the family pet

· State-of-the-art pain and symptom management 24 hours a day, seven days a week, plus emotional and spiritual support

· Various levels of care, including general inpatient care for intense medical intervention, symptom management and acute care; and respite and assistance to family members and caregivers.

To learn more about the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation, Hospice House and St. Francis Auxiliary, visit www.stfrancishospitals.org/Foundation/Index.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=1.