Memorial Regional Medical Center is building a Healing and Community Garden designed to raise awareness of the importance of environment and provide a place of healing to the community. Patients, visitors and staff can find spending long hours in a hospital stressful. The natural setting allows them a place to go and reflect. It offers a quiet space for spiritual nourishment and healing.

In addition to spiritual nourishment, the garden is designed to provide physical nourishment through fruit bearing edible trees, plants and herbs that will be used in preparing healthy meals for patients and guests, as well as provide an opportunity for community health education.

Getting involved

Gardens thrive because of the care and upkeep they receive. If you would like to volunteer to help with the garden’s maintenance, please contact Rob Herndon, Director of Volunteer Services at Memorial Regional, at Robert_Herndon@bshsi.org.

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Dr. Roberts, currently accepting new patients, is located at St. Francis Family Medicine Center. He attended Mary Washington College for his undergraduate degree. Dr. Roberts received his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia and completed a Family Practice residency and Sports Medicine Fellowship at Duke University Medical Center, where he worked in the Sports Medicine Department and Urgent Care. Dr. Roberts is board certified by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine.

For additional questions or to schedule an appointment, call 804-739-6142.

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“Bon Secours is something different,” said Morales who is an hourly worker at St. Francis Medical Center. “It’s amazing. I really enjoy working for the hospital.”

Morales, a native of Bolivia who has been in the U.S. for 21 years, works in the St. Francis café and helps with the delivery of patient meals. Her mother, Elsa Barrientos, works in St. Francis housekeeping/environmental services and encouraged Morales to leave employment at Willow Oaks Country Club and join Bon Secours.

“Working here is different,” said Morales, who is a single mother to a 3-year-old daughter. “Bon Secours is giving me the opportunity to reach my own personal goals.”

Enrolled in Bon Secours’ School at Work, Morales is sharpening her skills through the program that helps entry- level employees prepare for more advanced studies and a career in health care. After completing School at Work, Morales wants to further her education and one day become a social worker.

“I want to teach my daughter that I can be a single mom and work and get an education and be a good example for her,” Morales said. “Bon Secours is giving me the chance to grow up as a person. I can get an education for me that will also help my daughter.”

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As part of this sponsorship, Bon Secours has donated the planting of two trees and staffed an exhibit at the event. Health system representatives passed out apples — with the message “an apple a day is the Bon Secours way” — encouraging wellness and environmental responsibility.

“Ecological stewardship is an important part of the mission of Bon Secours,” said Jason W. Smith, Ph.D., a Bon Secours Healthy Communities Liaison. “As a system, we recognize that healthy people and healthy communities cannot be separated from the health of all creation. Bon Secours’ support of Arbor Day is one example of how we work with others in the community to promote awareness of the well-documented connection between ecology and health.”

At the event, activities included educational discussions on trees, gardening advice, information on the connection between wildlife and native plants, and music and entertainment.

“Events like Arbor Day give Bon Secours an opportunity to share information about green initiatives within our facilities and in the community at large,” Smith said.

Due to the health system’s commitment to environmental stewardship, Bon Secours Richmond has received the Partner for Change Award from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization for environmentally focused health care institutions.

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Ms. Lumpkin, currently accepting new patients, is located at Commonwealth Internal Medicine Associates. She received her undergraduate degree from Old Dominion University located in Norfolk, Va., and her Physician Assistant degree at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences located in Roanoke, Va. Ms. Lumpkin maintains current certification with the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and is licensed as a Physician Assistant in the state of Virginia. Prior to joining Bon Secours Medical Group, Ms. Lumpkin has been working as a licensed physician assistant for the past 6 years.

For addition questions or to schedule an appointment, call 804-560-8838.

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Now with nearly all Bon Secours Virginia hospitals certified through the Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center program, staff and physicians can more quickly identify and treat patients with acute stroke symptoms. That’s essential, because for every second during a stroke, 32,000 brain cells are lost.

“That’s the crucial piece of the whole puzzle — recognizing that something is not right and getting to the nearest Certified Primary Stroke Center immediately. There is a short time frame where we can provide treatment to open the blocked artery,” said Kimberly Pinna, RN, Neuroscience Coordinator for Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center and Richmond Community Hospital.

The Joint Commission’s program recognizes centers that provide exceptional care and outcomes for stroke survivors. Dr. Timothy Shephard, Vice President, Bon Secours Neuroscience Institute, saw the potential in Bon Secours Virginia developing a statewide stroke network. His vision is an integrated system with all stroke centers functioning together.

“No matter which facility the patient goes to, they’re receiving the same excellent standard of care required by The Joint Commission,” said Pinna.

Bon Secours Virginia has seven certified Primary Stroke Centers and all BSV facilities will be certified by the end of the year.

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Bon Secours has the pleasure of welcoming General Surgery at St. Francis to the Bon Secours Medical Group!

Bon Secours General Surgery at St. Francis, currently accepting new patients, is located on the campus of St. Francis Medical Center. The practice specialize in general surgery and provides the highest quality of surgical care to their patients and services to our colleagues.

To schedule an appointment or for additional questions, call 804-423-8467.

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You can handle stress better when you are as healthy as possible, so eating nutritiously is a good defense against stress. The tips below focus on using nutrition to reduce the symptoms of stress.

• Avoid or limit caffeine. Coffee, tea, some soda pop, and chocolate contain caffeine. Caffeine causes you to feel “wound up,” which can make stressful situations seem more intense. If you drink a lot of caffeine, reduce the amount gradually. Stopping use of caffeine suddenly can cause headaches and make it hard to concentrate.
• If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. If you are feeling very stressed, you might be turning to alcohol for relief more often than you realize. If you drink, limit yourself to 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women.
• Make mealtimes calm and relaxed. Try not to skip meals or eat on the run. Skipping meals can make stress-related symptoms worse. You may get a headache or a tight, tense feeling in your stomach. Eating on the run can cause indigestion. Use mealtime to relax, enjoy the flavor of your meal, and reflect on your day.
• Avoid eating to relieve stress. Some people turn to food to comfort themselves when they are under stress. This can lead to overeating and guilt. If this is a problem for you, try to replace eating with other actions that relieve stress, such as taking a walk, playing with a pet, or taking a bath.

For more information about eating right, see the topic Healthy Eating on the MyBonsecours web site. Visit www.mybonsecours. com and click Health Library under the myhealth tab.

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Life’s complicated. Today’s patients need easy-to-use, high-quality health care provided with customer service standards — convenience, location, selection, free parking, same-day service — that make good health simple to maintain.

We know that the Bon Secours St. Francis Watkins Centre will be this for the 18,000-20,000 patient visits that are expected in the first year of this free-standing emergency department and diagnostic center. The Watkins Centre is being constructed at Route 288 and Midlothian Turnpike in western Chesterfield County, near St. Francis.

Bon Secours is healthy and growing and excited to open this new facility in November 2011. Look for the job postings for Watkins Centre on www.bonsecours.com this month and apply!

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Thank you for all you do. Without you, countless many would not receive timely care. Thank you for being on call, for driving fast when it matters and for making quick decisions. Thank you for holding our hands, for helping with our pain and for always caring.

This week, we celebrate EMS week. Please join us by taking a few minutes out of your day to thank the amazing EMS crews who show up first when it all counts. You can leave a note of thanks in the comments on this blog or on our Facebook wall. Better yet, when you see an EMS worker, stop and say thanks in person, give them a hand shake or a hug.

To celebrate our EMS partners’ efforts and their impact on our community, Bon Secours is hosting EMS picnics at our area hospitals. All week long, you can nominate your favorite EMS worker at www.ipowerrichmond.com/category/contests.

Click to View Our EMS Tribute Video

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