Help The Borgess Tree(s) of Love Shine Beyond The Holidays

Filed under Borgess Foundation – January 23, 2012 – 5:09 pm

Sondra Kidd (left), Corporate Executive Secretary, 15-year breast cancer survivor, with Karen Spaude (right), Borgess Medical Center Tree of Love lighting ceremony speaker, 11-year breast cancer survivor and wife of Borgess CEO & President, Paul Spaude.

KALAMAZOO, MI – Thanks to the community support for the 2011 Borgess Tree of Love campaign, hundreds of low-income women without health insurance will receive potentially lifesaving gifts in the New Year—free mammography services.

“Because of the generosity of area residents, we exceeded our goal of $50,000 ($51,001),” said Kim Loftus, CFRE, development officer, Borgess Foundation. “While more women than we expected will be helped by this extraordinary kindness, we encourage those who still wish to contribute to do so. The holidays may be officially behind us, but the need for support of these vital services continues to grow.”

The actual goal was “topped” through a generous donation from Dr. Dean J. Copely, who also served as one of the campaign’s physician champions.

Major sponsors of this year’s campaign included Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Cole Buick-GMC-Cadillac; Hall Render Killian Heath &Lyman; Kalamazoo Amusement; Miller Johnson, Attorneys and Counselors; Sanford Tolchin, MD; The Surgical Group of Southwest Michigan; The Tyler Little Family Foundation; and Julia and William Van Domelen.

Since 1985, the Borgess Tree of Love campaign has helped countless women receive free mammography services to identify breast cancer. The campaign also provides an opportunity for donors to honor employees, colleagues, family and friends. The names of donors and those receiving this special tribute are listed on the Web site, and honorees receive an acknowledgement card in the mail.

The Borgess Foundation still welcomes tax-deductible donations at treeoflove.borgess.com. Donor forms are also available for mail-in contributions by calling (269) 226.8100. CJ’s Pub (1027 Schuster, Kalamazoo) will also hold its annual breast cancer dart tournament on Saturday, January 28, beginning at 4 p.m. Proceeds will again benefit the Borgess Tree of Love. To learn more, call (269) 343.4577.

Every $8 donation to the Tree of Love campaign helps a woman receive a mammogram, while allowing the donor to honor or remember someone special. Every $80 donation sponsors a mammogram for a woman and allows the donor to honor or remember up to 10 people.

It’s estimated that one in every five women does not have insurance that covers breast cancer detection services, such as mammography. Several studies have shown that mammograms can reduce a woman’s risk of dying of breast cancer.

Borgess Lee Medical Group To Offer Free Prostate Screenings February 10

Filed under Borgess-Lee – January 11, 2012 – 3:34 pm

DOWAGIAC, MI – To help combat the second-leading cause of cancer death in men, Borgess Lee Medical Group will offer free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and digital rectal exams (DREs) Friday, February 10, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital, second floor (420 West High Street, Dowagiac).

“The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 34,000 American men will lose their lives to prostate cancer this year,” said Anthony R. Gauthier, MD, board-certified urologist with Borgess Lee Medical Group. “The good news is that more than 2 million men in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive today. If prostate cancer is detected early through simple and painless testing, it can often be successfully treated.”

What is a PSA Test?

A PSA test is a painless screening that measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen, a substance released into a man’s blood by the prostate gland. Low amounts of PSA may be found in a healthy man’s blood; however, this substance typically increases as the prostate enlarges with age. PSA may also increase due to inflammation of the prostate gland or prostate cancer.

Dr. Gauthier and Joe Mashni, family nurse practitioner (FNP), Borgess Lee Medical Group, will provide the free prostate cancer screenings. Testing is recommended for men 50 and older. Test results will be confidentially mailed to participants, and if requested, their physicians. To learn more or register for this free screening event, call (269) 783.3053.

The five most popular names for girls and boys born at Borgess Medical Center in 2011

Filed under Borgess Birthing Center, Borgess Medical Center – December 19, 2011 – 9:28 am

KALAMAZOO MI–Below are the five most popular names for girls and boys born at Borgess Medical Center in 2011.

Girls names
Lilly
Brook
Ella
Olivia
Sophia 

Boys names 
Cameron
Braydon
Lucas
Jaxson
Aiden

Borgess-Pipp Hospital To Hold Emergency Operations Drill

Filed under Borgess-Pipp – December 13, 2011 – 5:06 pm

WHAT:

Borgess-Pipp Hospital will hold an emergency operations drill on December 21. The hospital will partner with Borgess Family Medicine, Plainwell Public Safety, Allegan County Emergency Management, Allegan County Sheriff Department, Gun Plain Fire Department, Otsego Fire Department, Plainwell Area EMS and Michigan State Police Explorers for the completion of this drill.

Given the rise in the number of violent acts inside hospitals, The Joint Commission has emphasized the training and implementation of emergency response plans associated with active shooter incidents and workplace violence. The main focus of the Borgess-Pipp Hospital exercise will be an intruder brandishing a weapon who enters Borgess Family Medicine.

Note: Residents and visitors to the community should be advised—while there will be many law enforcement and emergency personnel participating in this exercise, it is only a drill.

WHEN:

Wednesday, December 21, beginning at approximately 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Borgess Family Medicine and Borgess-Pipp Hospital.

WHY:

To ensure the safety of hospital patients and residents of Plainwell in the event of an active shooter emergency. This exercise will test the abilities and training of medical staff to operate under this emergency threat, respond to an influx of critical patients into the emergency department, work closely with outside agencies, react in a calm, controlled manner, and follow orders using the Hospital Incident Command System.

CONTACT:

Borgess-Pipp Hospital, (269) 685.4505.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: a treatment for complicated wounds

Filed under Borgess Medical Center – December 9, 2011 – 2:02 pm
David Davenport, MD, Medical Director, Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center stands in front of two hyperbaric chambers located at the center.

KALAMAZOO MI–A specialized treatment using 100 percent oxygen therapy can help the five million Americans who have a non-healing or chronic wound. The treatment, called hyperbaric oxygen therapy, is available at the Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center, Suite 202, North Professional Building, Borgess Medical Center. The service is a partnership with Candescent Healing, a national leader in hyperbaric medicine.

“Body tissues require oxygen to thrive,” said David Davenport, MD, Medical Director, Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center. “When tissues are injured, more oxygen is necessary.

“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves placing a patient in a pressurized chamber where they breathe oxygen,” Dr. Davenport said. “Compression allows the oxygen to enter smaller blood vessels and tissue than possible under normal atmospheric conditions. We deliver two or three times more oxygen than someone could take in by breathing in a non-pressurized setting.

“The patient’s blood carries this additional oxygen throughout the body promoting the recovery process and healing wounds that are often resistant to other forms of treatment,” Dr. Davenport said. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be an effective option for complicated wounds such as diabetic ulcers, post-surgical foot wounds, bone infection, failed skin grafts/flaps, damage from radiation therapy, arterial wounds and other types of wounds.”

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments are painless and the oxygen is odorless and tasteless. They typically last 90 minutes at optimal pressure, five days a week, for six weeks. Patients recline in a comfortable, clear chamber, watch television, listen to music, speak with staff professionals, or even sleep.

The Borgess Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center works with doctors in vascular medicine, radiology, reconstructive surgery and other specialties.

“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is part of the total wound treatment regimen, not a stand alone cure,” Dr. Davenport said. “We work with other doctors as a team to assist with challenging, possibly tissue compromising cases.”

For more information about the Borgess Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center, contact Mary Beth Kaiser, NP, WOCN at (269) 552.0014.

WomenHeart: Former Borgess Heart Institute patient helps launch support group network

Filed under Heart Institute – December 2, 2011 – 9:54 am
After receiving life saving treatment at the Borgess Heart Institute, Amy Swager now takes part in launching the area’s first support network for women living with heart disease.

KALAMAZOO MI–Amy Swager suffered a serious heart attack in her hometown of Climax three years ago. She was taken to the Borgess Heart Institute after receiving CPR and emergency responders from the Climax Township Fire Department shocked her heart back into rhythm with an automated external defibrillator. At the Borgess Heart Institute, Swager received an automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator to monitor her heart, and if necessary, deliver an internal shock to correct abnormal rhythms.

First support network for women living with heart disease

Amy Swager and Sherry DeDitius are launching a branch of WomenHeart, the area’s first support network for women living with heart disease. The initial WomenHeart meeting is an open house for women and professionals. It will be held 6:30 pm, Thursday, December 8, in room 123 of the Borgess Lawrence Education Center. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for 6:30 pm, the second Thursday evening of each month. Most meetings will take place at Borgess Medical Center.

“Amy and I both have experienced heart disease,” Sherry DeDitius said. “Living with heart disease can mean facing many medical and emotional obstacles like social isolation. We want to help other women with heart disease by sharing information we learned in our training as community educators at the WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic.

“The Red Bag of Courage Program is one element of  WomenHeart we will bring to southwest Michigan women,” DeDitius said. “It places educational information on heart disease directly into the hands of women living with or at-risk for heart disease.

“We invite area women to join us, DeDitius said. “Our mission as ‘Heart Champions’ of the WomenHeart program is to ensure that every woman has access to heart disease prevention and early detection, accurate diagnosis, and proper treatment.”

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States and more women than men have died from heart disease every year since 1984. There are more deaths in this group from heart disease than from all cancers combined, including breast cancer. WomenHeart is a national coalition for women with heart disease founded in 1999. WomenHeart patient support groups help women in 27 states.

For more information on WomenHeart, contact deditius@comcast.net or WomenHeart.org.

Borgess Diabetes Center patients benefit from Touchdown for Diabetes contributions

Filed under Borgess Diabetes Center – November 16, 2011 – 9:00 am
Paul Spaude, President & Chief Executive Officer, Borgess Health, (left) accepts a $60,000 check from Joe Badalamenti, Chair, Touchdown for Diabetes, for support of uninsured and underinsured diabetes patients. Also pictured (from left to right, Cheryl Tenenbaum, Borgess Diabetes Center Clinical Manager, Linda West, Cole Automotive, Dale Martinson, Treasurer, Touchdown for Diabetes, and Robert Schauer, Vice Chair, Touchdown for Diabetes, and Associate Manager, Ameriprise Financial.

KALAMAZOO MI– Dennis Channells found out he had diabetes during a most difficult moment: While having a heart attack.

Channells didn’t have health insurance and he can thank, in part, Touchdown for Diabetes, (an annual fundraising event established by Cole Community Solutions, Inc., a non-profit organization established by Cole Automotive Group) for the lifesaving heart and diabetes care he received at Borgess Medical Center.

Cole Community Solutions, Inc., recently presented a $60,000 check to the Borgess Foundation. Cole Community Solutions, Inc. has donated $175,000 to the Borgess Diabetes Center in support of uninsured and underinsured diabetes patients since 2009.

The 57-year-old rural area resident was in an ambulance on his way to Borgess Medical Center in the spring of 2010 when the paramedics discovered that he had a blood sugar level of 350, well above safe levels.

Bypass surgery then care from Borgess Diabetes Center professionals

Channells underwent emergency heart bypass surgery at the Borgess Heart Institute and soon thereafter was referred to the Borgess Diabetes Center where he learned how to keep his serious case of diabetes under control. “Borgess saved my life twice,” said Channells, a retired welder.

“When I went to the Diabetes Center and saw Dr. Michael Valitutto, (Medical Director, Borgess Diabetes Center) they immediately started to take care of me,” Channells said. “I didn’t have any health insurance then and they got me the insulin and the medicines and the needles–everything I needed. The people there were wonderful. I owe a lot to Borgess–I owe my life to Borgess–for how well they took care of me.”

“Often the underinsured don’t know they have diabetes until they have a complication, like a heart attack,” said Dr. Valitutto. “About 22,000 Kalamazoo area residents have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and the disease is most prevalent among those with the lowest education and those with the lowest income levels.

“Diabetes can lead to heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and other complications,” said Dr. Valitutto. “Without appropriate care, including medications, the resulting cost of diabetes can be costly emergency intervention and too often devastating consequences for the patient.” Cole Community Solutions, Inc. organizes Touchdown for Diabetes each year. The event includes a silent auction and a drawing for $20,000.

For twelve years, Cole Buick-GMC-Cadillac (formerly Cole-Gilmore Cadillac-Pontiac-GMC Truck-Nissan) co-sponsored a fundraiser with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to raise money for diabetes across the country. In 2009, with the economic downturn, they felt it more important to focus on the needs of the local community, resulting in a new affiliation with the Borgess Diabetes Center. All Touchdown for Diabetes contributions now stay within Kalamazoo County.

For more information on the Borgess Diabetes Center, visit diabetes.borgess.com.

Sandy Burden Retires After 29 Years Of Dedicated Service

Filed under Borgess-Lee – November 11, 2011 – 5:16 pm

DOWAGIAC, MI-Sandy Burden has retired from Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital after 29 years of dedicated service.

“It has been an honor to know and work with Sandy,” said Joy Strand, administrator and chief operating officer, Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital. “Her skill, professionalism and kindness will be greatly missed. We wish her a happy and fulfilling retirement.”

Burden spent most of her career at Borgess-Lee as a charge nurse in the operating room. During her tenure, she also worked on 2 North as a charge nurse, as well as in the special care unit (SCU). “I will always keep in my heart working with Drs. Patel, Wierman, Zaman and Chang, and my wonderful coworkers. We were a very professional team.”

In her retirement, Burden and her husband, Dan, will make a special pilgrimage to visit Paula Deen’s famous restaurant in Georgia. She has plans to spend more time with her grandchildren, attending many of their sporting events and activities. For some fun and recreation, she and her husband will also participate in aqua aerobics classes at the Niles YMCA.

Specialist in sleep disorders and pulmonary medicine joins Borgess

Filed under Borgess Medical Center – November 5, 2011 – 11:00 am

KALAMAZOO MI–William Katz, MD, a specialist in Sleep Disorders and Pulmonary Medicine, has joined Borgess Health. Dr. Katz provides care to individuals with conditions of the lungs and respiratory system, as well as diagnoses and treats sleep disorders.

A graduate of Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Dr. Katz completed his Internal Medicine residency at Blodgett Memorial Medical Center (now a part of Spectrum Health) and St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. Dr. Katz’ previous experience includes serving as Medical Director of the Metro Health Sleep Disorders Laboratory and as a Critical Care Specialist for Spectrum Health.  For nearly two decades, he also served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine for Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

Dr. Katz is accepting new patients. Please call Borgess Pulmonary Medicine at 345.1161 for an appointment or for more information.

Lee Memorial Foundation Seeks Donations To Help Tree Of Love Shine

Filed under Borgess Foundation, Borgess-Lee – November 4, 2011 – 4:38 pm

DOWAGIAC, MI-When detected early, breast cancer is often more easily treated and women live longer. With this in mind, the Lee Memorial Foundation announces a new community fundraising campaign called the Borgess Tree of Love.

Community donations to the Borgess Tree of Love will help low-income, uninsured women receive mammography services at Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital. Mammograms are crucial in detecting breast cancer early, when it’s most treatable.

Breast cancer claims the life of one American woman every 69 seconds. According to national data, it’s estimated that about one out of every five women in Cass County does not have insurance to cover breast cancer detection services like mammography.

In 2011, the Lee Memorial Foundation plans to raise $5,000 to support the Tree of Love campaign. “Through the generosity of our community, we hope to see our tree (located in Farr Park near the hospital) truly shine with thousands of pink lights,” said Karen Judd, chair, Lee Memorial Foundation Board of Trustees. “Every contribution counts. Your donation could provide a mammogram to an area woman—a relative, a friend, a neighbor—who can’t afford one, and that could save her life.”

Every $8 donation to the campaign will help a woman receive a mammogram, as well as allow donors to honor or remember someone important in their lives. (Each honoree will be mailed a special “tribute” card.) Every $80 donation will sponsor a mammogram for a woman and allow donors to honor or remember up to 10 people. To make a donation or learn more, call the Lee Memorial Foundation at (269) 783.3083.

The lighting of the Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital Tree of Love will take place on Wednesday, December 7 at 5:30 p.m. Separate lighting events will also take place in December at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo and Borgess-Pipp Hospital in Plainwell.