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Great
River Health Systems Distributes
Community Endowment Funds
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 | Thirty-four
area organizations, including the hospital's aeromedical transportation service
Med-Force (above), received financial support from Great River Health Systems'
Community Endowment Foundation. The amount provided by Great River Health Systems
to these organizations totalled $196,579. |
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Thirty-four
area organizations received checks from Great River Health Systems' Community
Endowment Foundation during a reception at the hospital Thursday, May 24. The
amount provided by Great River Health Systems to these organizations totalled
$196,579 — the most funding provided through the program in its nine-year history
— and it is the fifth consecutive year that the distribution amount has been more
than the previous year.
The Community Endowment Foundation was established
in 1999 to foster health-care services that may otherwise not be available to
the community. The foundation was funded by a $1 million grant from Great River
Health Systems Foundation. Since the foundation began, 175 applications have received
funding totalling $766,850.
Great River Health Systems received funding
requests for 64 projects. The Community Endowment Foundation Board of Directors
reviewed all applications and selected this year's recipients based on community
need and relevance to the foundation's health-care and health-improvement mission.
"As a not-for-profit community-based health system, our board of directors
believes that an important part of our mission is to give back to the communities
we serve," said Great River Medical Center President and CEO Mark Richardson.
"It's gratifying to help organizations that provide valuable services to so many
people in the region."
Organizations/projects that received funding support
from the Community Endowment Foundation were:-
Alzheimer's
Association, $3,000, educational program "Beginning the Conversation"
Biggsville Ambulance Service, $5,324, ambulance cot and accessories
Burlington Area Organ Transplant Support Group, $2,000, advertising, projection
equipment, educational videos and materials
Burlington Community School District, $8,994, six automated external defibrillators
Community Action of Southeast Iowa, $20,000, Medication Assistance Program
Dallas City Fire Department, $6,000, Jaws of Life™ equipment
Danville Fire Department, $7,500, LifePak 12® monitor/defibrillator,
automated external defibrillator, manikin and software
Denmark Fire Department, $2,000, rope rescue equipment and full rescue suits
Des Moines County CARES About Children, $2,175, resources and handouts for the
sexual abuse prevention curriculum
Des Moines/Louisa Caring CommUNITY, $3,500, lice eradication project in Des Moines
and Louisa counties
Girl Scouts of Shining Trail Council, $5,000, healthy living program for girls
in southeast Iowa
Gladstone Volunteer Ambulance Service, $9,822, bariatric transport stretcher and
vital sign monitoring device
Hope Have Area Development, $7,300, industrial food processors and other adaptive
medical equipment needs
Iowa Wesleyan College, $5,000, equipment and teaching modules for Anatomy and
Physiology Laboratory
Louisa County Emergency Medical Service Association, $5,000, emergency supplies
for mobile disaster unit
Louisa County Public Health, $1,375, educational materials for new parents and
an Imex Pocket Doppler®
Media, Stronghurst and Terre Haute fire departments, $7,500, automobile extrication
equipment
Mediapolis Public Library, $2,000, CPR Anytime Program
Morning Sun Community Ambulance Service, $786, updated CPR manikins and materials
Nauvoo Fire Protection District, $4,395, advanced life-support manikins
North Hancock County Ambulance, $5,000, equipment and training materials
Prevent Child Abuse Iowa-Louisa County Council, $4,634, health and safety items
for The NEST store
Quad City Helicopter Emergency Medical Service/Med-Force, $7,954, landing-light
safety kits
Quad Township Fire District and West Burlington Fire Department, $7,500, Hot Shot™
extinguisher
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Des Moines County, $3,000, paying mileage
to volunteer drivers
Southeast Iowa Area Breastfeeding Coalition, $5,000, breastfeeding education and
breastfeeding hospital discharge bags
Southeast Iowa Safe Kids Coalition, $2,000, infant care seats
Special Needs Foundation, $10,000, medical equipment for the loan closet
The NEST of Des Moines County, $2,000, health and safety items for The NEST store
Wapello Community School, $4,600, vision screening machine, digital scale and
ice maker
Wapello Fire and Rescue, $3,500, Res-Q-Jacks™ and rescue airbags and accessories
West Burlington Lions Club, $5,200, MTI Photo Screener™
YMCA and YWCA, $14,510, equipment for youth fitness program, automated external
defibrillator, help with prescriptions, and medical and dental care for women
and children who are victims of abuse
Young House Family Services, $3,000, health/hygiene kits for clients
For more information about
the Community Endowment Foundation,
please contact Mark Richardson, president
and CEO, Great River Health Systems, 1221 S. Gear Ave., West Burlington, Iowa
52655; (319) 768-3250. |
Great
River Medical Center Wins National Award
for Eliminating Toxic Mercury
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 | Great
River Medical Center recently received the Making Medicine Mercury-free Award
from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment. The prestigious national award commends
Great River Medical Center for outstanding efforts to eliminate mercury from the
health-care system. |
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Great
River Medical Center has received the Making Medicine Mercury-free Award from
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E). The prestigious national award commends
Great River Medical Center for outstanding efforts to eliminate mercury from the
health-care system.
"By eliminating mercury wherever possible, Great River
Medical Center is demonstrating to its patients, employees and community that
mercury and its associated risks have no place in health care," said Laura Brannen,
H2E's executive director. "There are safe and cost-effective alternatives to mercury.
Great River Medical Center deserves our thanks for addressing this crucial threat
to our health and the environment."
Jointly founded by the American Hospital
Association, Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care without Harm and American
Nurses Association, H2E is an independent not-for-profit organization focused
on improving health care's environmental performance. H2E envisions a health-care
system committed to reduced waste volume and toxicity, efficient energy and water
use, clean air, safe work practices and safe buildings.
One of H2E's
top goals is the elimination of mercury from the health-care system wherever possible.
Mercury —
a potent neurotoxin and developmental toxin —
can impair human health at low levels of exposure, and health-care
facilities can be contributors to mercury air emissions.
The Making Medicine
Mercury-free Award is a one-time award given to facilities that have met the challenge
of becoming mercury-free.
"We believe that our mission to promote the
health of our community includes protecting the environment," said Mark Richardson,
president and CEO, Great River Medical Center. "Making our community healthier
by replacing mercury devices in our facility with safe alternatives just makes
sense. We are proud to be recognized for our efforts."
The leading national
force in helping hospitals with environmental improvement, H2E provides practical
solutions through a Web site packed with resources, regular teleconferences offering
expert help for environmental challenges, and an e-mail-list service that brings
colleagues nationwide together to share best practices and strategies for pollution
prevention. This month, at the 2007 H2E Environmental Excellence Summit in Minneapolis,
H2E honored nearly 130 organizations for outstanding work through its annual awards
program.
To learn more, visit www.h2e-online.org.
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River Hospice Offers Personalized Bricks
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Great
River Hospice is holding a fund-raiser to support its hospice house, which is
under construction on Great River Medical Center's campus. Proceeds from the sale
of personalized brick pavers will support the construction and operations of the
facility for people at the end of their lives and their families.
Bricks
are $125 each. The donation is tax-deductible. Bricks can be bought in memory
or in honor of someone. All bricks will be placed in public gardens next to the
house and near the walking path around the hospital's lake.
Personalization
may include up to three lines with 14 characters (including spaces) per line.
For more information, please call Great River Home Hospice at (319) 768-3392
(West Burlington office), (319) 986-6325 (Mt. Pleasant office) or toll-free at
(877) 404-4766.
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| Hospice
House Enclosed Completely;
Work Continues Inside and Out
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 | Great
River Hospice is holding a fund-raiser to support its hospice house (above), which
is under construction on Great River Medical Center's campus. Proceeds from the
sale of brick pavers will support the construction and operations of the facility
for people at the end of their lives and their families. |
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The
concrete in the hospice house's parking lot has been set. But no one can drive
into the spacious lot. Washington Road, which provides access to the house and
Great River Laundry, is closed for paving. The project will be completed in late
July. In expectation of the closing, most building materials have been delivered
to the site.
The house is completely enclosed.
As windows were installed,
an air-handling system was lowered by crane through an opening in the roof. The
gap was closed and a protective cover was placed on the roof. Installation of
the metal roofing began in June.
Trenches have been dug to connect the
house to the geothermal system's wells next to Kid Zone, the health systems' daycare
facility. The house also will be connected to the hospital's fiber-optic network.
Electrical work has been finished on the lower level, which will contain the Home
Health Care and Hospice offices. Electricians are working on the first floor.
The next step is preliminary sheetrock. Construction of an attached garage for
patient transfers began in June.
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| Great
River Health Systems
1221 S. Gear Ave.
West Burlington,
IA 52655
(319) 768-1000 |
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