Tag Archive for: #mariaparhamhealth

Blackwell Named 2022 Mercy Award Winner

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-information courtesy of Maria Parham Health

Maria Parham Health’s Kelly Blackwell has been recognized as the facility’s 2022 Mercy Award winner.

The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of LifePoint Health’s facilities who “profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded,” according to a press statement from Donna Young, MPH’s Coordinator  of Marketing & Communications.

The Mercy Award is an annual recognition program established in 2002 to honor the life and contributions of Scott Mercy, LifePoint’s founding chairman and chief executive officer. The award is considered the highest honor a LifePoint employee can receive.

“At Maria Parham Health we share LifePoint’s commitment to making communities healthier, and we recognize this is supported by the good work and service of our employees on and off the job,” said MPH CEO Bert Beard.

“We are extremely proud to recognize Kelly Blackwell for her efforts on behalf of our patients and our community. She goes above and beyond each and every day to ensure that every person she encounters receives the highest level of care and compassion,” Beard continued.

Blackwell has been a registered nurse for 36 years, working across the spectrum of care and currently working in the hospital’s Cancer Center. Beyond her work in the Cancer Center, Kelly volunteers for mission work, taking her skills to Haiti, Honduras and Uganda multiple times. Blackwell participates in various ministries, including widow’s ministry, children’s ministries, and mission team.

As a member of Maria Parham’s team since 1995, Blackwell’s dedication, empathy and kindness has bonded her to our team and her patients. Her service to the hospital and the community is inspiring to others. She is a leader among our team, and she leads through service to others.

Blackwell and the other Mercy Award winners will vie for company-wide Mercy Award; the companywide winner will be announced later in the summer at a ceremony in Nashville, TN.

TownTalk: Maria Parham Memorial Day Ceremony

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Maria Parham Health was the site Thursday morning for a solemn ceremony to remember all the members of the military who have given their lives in service to the country and to hear read aloud the 77 names of members from the local area who died serving their country.

CEO Bert Beard welcomed those in attendance to begin the “No Greater Love” observance, in which various members of the hospital staff had roles. Pastor Frank Sossamon led opening and closing prayers and members of hospital security presented the colors. Travis Thompson, director of imaging and wound care, led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and Hope Schuler, daughter of MPH employee Lisa VanFleet, sang the National Anthem.

Rickey Padgett, with N.C. Detective Agency and also a member of the hospital staff, shared remarks and reflected on what the Memorial Day holiday means. It’s a time to remember all men and women in uniform, Padgett told the gathering but especially those who sacrificed their lives.

“They paid the price so that we could be here today,” he said. The families of the fallen continue to grieve, so it is also important for us to remember, Padgett said, “and to celebrate the freedoms that we have and the life we are given…to remain grateful and never forget.”

Padgett said he had been friends with one particular man who also was a veteran of World War II. This friend had told Padgett that, upon his death, Padgett would receive something from him. That “something” turned out to be a long, typewritten letter – from a real typewriter, not a word processor – that recounted some of what the man had encountered as a U.S. infantryman in the European theater.

Padgett read excerpts from this letter, which chronicled snowy, muddy conditions on and near battlefields in France and the grim task of recovering soldiers’ bodies strewn along the countryside.

“’I could hear the Germans digging foxholes’” in the snowy landscape not far from where this soldier and his unit were camped, the letter read. “’We had to pick up dead bodies, American and German,’” Padgett continued.

Although he said he has met and talked with many veterans of World War II, Padgett said this letter helped answer a question he had often wondered about: How do the bodies of fallen soldiers make it back home, where they can be laid to rest and receive a proper burial?

Soldiers like the one who wrote the letter and sent it to Padgett, that’s how.

Whether it was from a battlefield in Europe or the desert-like conditions in Afghanistan, members of the military take care of each other until the end.

Padgett said he asked this friend what he did in the war. “He said, ‘I was a soldier,’” Padgett recalled.

A simple answer with layers and layers of meaning.

Listen to the recorded ceremony in its entirety just below.

Click Play

TownTalk: Sam Seifert New Associate Administrator at Maria Parham Health

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Samuel B. Seifert, MHA, FACHE will serve as Associate Administrator starting Monday, June 13 at Maria Parham Health. He is a board-certified healthcare administrator with over 17 years of continuous experience.

The Henderson native most recently served as a Senior Administrator in the Department of Anesthesiology at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. Before moving to Atlanta in 2016, Seifert served in various leadership positions during a 12-year tenure at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem.

In a press release issued by Maria Parham Health, Seifert said, “It is an honor and a privilege to join the team at Maria Parham Health and help advance Maria Parham’s nearly 100-year tradition of providing quality, accessible healthcare to the citizens of Henderson, Vance County and surrounding communities. I’m excited to start in my new role, and my family and I look forward to returning to the area and becoming involved in the community.”

(story continues below audio)

Click Play – John C. Rose of WIZS on Seifert Hire

Maria Parham Health CEO Bert Beard said, “We are very excited to welcome Sam home to Henderson as part of Duke LifePoint and Maria Parham Health. Sam’s extensive healthcare experience and knowledge of the region will be a huge benefit to our team objectives as we continue to progress our mission of making communities healthier. With our growth in services and integration with Duke in the graduate medical education space it is a great time for Sam to join the team. We are as excited as the rest of the community to welcome him home.”

Seifert earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion at Wake Forest University and a Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Sam and Amine, his wife and also a Henderson native, have a daughter and son at home.

American Flag

Maria Parham Health: Memorial Day, No Greater Love

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Memorial Day is coming up, and Thursday, May 26th at 10 a.m., Maria Parham Health will remember fallen heroes. The presentation called “Memorial Day, No Greater Love” will take place at the flagpole, weather permitting, in front of Maria Parham.

The public is invited to the event on the main, Henderson campus as those who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving the U.S. Armed forces will be remembered and honored.

The ceremony will include prayers, speakers, music, the hanging of a memorial wreath and the reading of names In Memoriam.

In the event of bad weather, the ceremony will move to the front lobby of the hospital. Either way, the address is 566 Ruin Creek Road.

CLICK PLAY!

 

MPH Staff Has An Oasis Room To Take Respite

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Maria Parham Health staff now has an Oasis Room, designed just for them as a spot where they can just unplug and recharge – themselves and their phones.

With thanks to the hospital’s facilities team and suggestions from staff to the Resiliency Committee, the room was officially opened today (Thursday) and will open for everyone to enjoy come Monday, according to Kimberly Smith, director of the Cancer Center and member of the resiliency committee.

What once had been a spot with outdated lighting and carpeting that served as a hiding spot for storage racks has been transformed into a soothing, well – oasis – for MPH staff to come enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet during their workday.

There’s a massage chair for relieving stress and a television that will play soothing music, Smith said.

“People can use it as a place to relax a little bit,” said CEO Bert Beard, before returning to the work of saving lives and caring for patients.

There will be snacks and drinks and a single-cup coffee maker for everyone to enjoy. There’s a spot to charge phones and a coloring wall, along with a board where folks can write positive messages to one another.

“We’re very pleased with the way the space turned out,” Beard said. Smith also gave special thanks to Josh Banks, director of the facilities team, for the extra effort they put in to making the room just right. “They just really have a heart to make things happen,” she said.

But that’s not all – Smith said she hopes to create a smaller version of the Oasis room on the patient floors for those nurses and others who aren’t necessarily able to come to the Oasis room during their shift. “Even if it’s a simple recliner,” Smith said, having a mini-oasis on the different floors would allow staff “to get away and reset themselves.”

The Local Skinny! Maria Parham Health To Host Job Fair On Thursday

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Maria Parham Health is hosting a job fair from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 19. There are a variety of clinical and non-clinical jobs available.

Human Resources Director Randy Toscano spoke with John C. Rose on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! and said job applicants could possibly be extended an offer at the job fair.

Applicants should bring a resume and may apply online beforehand, but it’s not necessary, Toscano said. There will be a computer set up in the hospital lobby to apply. There will be information tables from each department set up and the department heads will be available to speak with prospective applicants.

Among the departments that are looking to fill positions are nursing, radiology, registration and labs, he said. Individuals who are interested in a career in the health care industry are encouraged to attend. “You can walk out with a new career,” Toscano said.

There is always a need for phlebotomists, LPNs and RNs, he added, but also in non-clinical areas such as housekeeping, registration and food service.

Register online at https://www.mariaparham.com/

CLICK PLAY!

 

Emilee Johnson New Executive Director of Operations MP Franklin

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Maria Parham Franklin has a new executive director of operations, Emilee Johnson.

Maria Parham Health announced last week, via it’s Facebook page, that Johnson had been named to the position and that she has been with Maria Parham for 19 years.

In her most recent role, she served as senior director overseeing rehabilitative services, security, medical office leasing, dietary and environmental services.

The MPH post indicated Johnson is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and that she has shown exceptional leadership qualities within the hospital and community.

Her volunteer work with the Henderson Family YMCA, Triangle North Healthcare and Adopt-A-Highway are a handful of examples of her outreach and community mindedness.

Congratulations to Emilee Johnson.

(Text and picture published with permission. Information courtesy of Maria Parham Health.)

TownTalk: Low Dose CT Screening Can Catch Cancer Early

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Maria Parham Health is offering low-dose CT scans to screen for lung cancer, catch the disease early and provide appropriate treatment.

Much like mammograms and colonoscopies are routine tools to detect breast cancer and colon cancer, MPH Cancer Center Director Kimberly Smith said the low-dose CT is helpful for early detection.

Long-time smokers between the ages of 50 and 77 who show no signs or symptoms of lung cancer are eligible for the scans, Smith said on Monday’s Town Talk. She and MPH Social Worker Hope Breedlove told John C. Rose they hope that anyone wants to know whether they meet the criteria for the scan will call 252.506.7070 this week to learn more.

“We’re really excited to have this life-saving lung cancer test for smokers and former smokers,” Smith said. She and Breedlove want the community to be educated about what it is, especially because Vance County and the surrounding area has a high rate of lung cancer. In fact, she said, lung cancer accounts for 12.7 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers. In Vance County and the surrounding area, lung cancer is in the top three of all cancer diagnoses.

The phone line will be active through Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. Callers will be asked to leave a message with their name, date of birth, a phone number and insurance information, Smith said. A cancer center staff member will follow up within 2-3 business days and walk prospective patients through a series of questions to determine eligibility.

Insurance will pay for the scans of eligible patients, she added. And there are a certain number of scans available for those without insurance.

Not sure you are eligible? Not to worry, Smith said. “We’ll help you navigate through that.”

“The scans are a really great way for us to find out if a patient has some type of lung cancer,” Smith said. The earlier even a small spot is detected, the earlier a treatment plan can be developed and implemented. “We really want to find (it) earlier,” she said, adding that the cancer center uses a software program that monitors a patient for life.

Breedlove explained that the age range has expanded some in hopes of getting younger people screened. “We want to catch the lung cancer early,” she said.

Smith said COVID-19 has interrupted those routine screenings that are so important at early detection of disease. She encouraged everyone to get those screenings scheduled – not just the low-dose CT scans, but mammograms and endoscopies as well.

“That’s how we save people’s lives,” she said.

TownTalk: Taking Care of Your Heart

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Dr. Mohammed Akhter, an interventional cardiologist at Maria Parham Health is helping promote the American Heart Association’s theme to “reclaim your rhythm” during the February observance of heart health awareness.

No one can deny the impact that COVID-19 has had on our brains and our hearts, Akhter told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. He encourages everyone to focus again on health lifestyles that can have a positive effect on our physical and mental health.

When gyms and restaurants shut down at the onset of the pandemic in 2020, it was more than just an inconvenience, Akhter said.

It’s time to get back in the groove of those lifestyle habits like regular exercise, eating healty foods and enjoying the social interactions with family and others.

During the pandemic, he said, “we couldn’t go to the gym, we were ordering food online and not socially interacting with our loved ones – that has a major effect on our health.”
The AHA made a fundamental plea to the public, he said. “Now is the time to get back to the rhythm – exercise more, eat better and spend more time with your families.”

Those are concrete examples of steps to take to improve health and reduce stress. But  diagnostic tests performed by medical professionals are needed to determine if high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol levels may also be affecting your overall heart health.

Akhter said that 1 in 2 U.S. adults have hypertension – high blood pressure – but only 1 in 4 have it under control.

He recommends that his patients try to consume less than 2 grams of sodium a day, which may mean scrutinizing food labels. In addition, he recommends 30 minutes of exercise most days, limiting alcohol use and taking medicine that is prescribed for hypertension.

Women and African Americans are two groups that are underrepresented in heart studies, he said.

Maria Parham Health promoted National Wear Red Day on Feb. 4 as a way to “express a solidarity with women who are at risk for cardiovascular disease. He said it’s the number one killer in women.

Women may experience different symptoms than men, he said, adding that is a contributing factor to the under-diagnosis of heart disease in women.

Similarly, African Americans are underrepresented in studies of heart health.

The goal is equitable health for all, Akhter said, who said that in his practice, he works hard to tailor therapies to the individual patients.

 

Friday, Feb. 4 Is Wear Red Day To Promote Awareness Of Heart Disease In Women

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Tomorrow – Friday, Feb. 4 – is National Wear Red Day to promote awareness of heart health. Join the employees at Maria Parham Health by wearing red to support awareness of women and heart disease. Donna Young, MPH marketing and communication coordinator said local businesses that participate have a chance to win a free quarter-page ad in The Henderson Dispatch. See the Maria Parham Health Facebook page for details about how your business can enter.

Wear Red Day is just one way the staff at MPH are showing their support of February’s American Heart Month.

The American Heart Association created National Wear Red Day in 2004 with a mission to dismiss myths and raise awareness of heart disease and stroke as the number one killer of women. To support heart health in women locally, Maria Parham employees are encouraged to wear red. Photos of employees will be shared on the hospital Facebook page throughout the day. Community members are also welcomed to wear red and share their photos on social media using the hashtag #MPHWearsRed.

Maria Parham Health has kicked off “28 Days of Heart” as a way to provide a wealth of heart health information each day during February. Visit MariaParham.com each day to learn tips about how to keep your heart healthy, from recipes to fitness.

Maria Parham’s Facebook will have heart-healthy recipes, fitness tips, and medical information geared at keeping your ticker ticking as it should.