Your Foundation Dollars at Work
FOUNDATION DOLLARS AT WORK
TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE
COVINGTON - Soothing heat therapy for arthritis patients, a program that provides pediatric patients with books and stuffed bears, and a red-leather lift chair for patients undergoing cancer treatment are among new hospital equipment and programs funded by the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation.
Thanks to those dollars, St. Tammany Parish Hospital occupational therapists now provide hand therapy using newly acquired Fluidotherapy equipment. The system uses heated wood shavings to ease discomfort and aid movement in the hands of arthritis patients.
The outpatient therapy program also has acquired an adjustable-height treatment table to help therapists treat children and an upright stationary bike for orthopedic patients.
“These are all being put to good use by therapists in treating patients,” said Michelle Fell, director of outpatient rehabilitation services.
In the hospital’s pediatric unit, a new touchscreen system in the play area offers dozens of games for patients from infants to teens.
A first-of-its-kind “Books & Bears” program also will provide comfort and entertainment to pediatric patients. Money raised through the Foundation’s 2014 Heart and Night of Fashion events allow the pediatric program to purchase the books and stuffed bears placed on hospital beds to greet patients, who are invited to choose from an array of children’s books. Both items will return home with the children when they are discharged.
“We realized that some of the children we see don’t have a book of their own, and this is one way we can help empower them during their stay,” says Nicole Norris, department head for pediatrics. “The bears give them something to hold on to for comfort.”
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at St. Tammany Parish Hospital is yet another recent beneficiary of Foundation donors with the acquisition of a red-leather lift chair in the infusion suite. The family of Joe Abrams, a longtime STPH employee and legendary football coach in Madisonville who received treatment at the Cancer Center, purchased the chair in his memory.
Abrams was an Arkansas football fan, and the chair’s red color celebrates his passion for the team, says Chryl Corizzo, cancer program director.
“It’s in use and providing comfort to patients,” Corizzo said.
###
A full-service acute care facility committed to providing world-class healthcare and the latest technology, St. Tammany Parish Hospital delivers today’s life-improving procedures with the utmost care to area residents with emphasis on wellness, preventive care and disease management close to home. STPH is a self-supporting not-for-profit community hospital; it receives no tax funding. STPH.org