Good Help for Our Youngest Patients

St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department, ranked in the nation’s top 5 percent by HealthGrades, has a long-standing reputation for outstanding treatment. But as patient visits increased each year — up to 65,500 in 2010 — it became obvious that expansion was necessary to continue this world-class care. “We do a nationally recognized job in quality … Read More

Mending Broken Hearts

Simply eating used to exhaust John Driscoll. “Chewing food had become an effort for me,” he recalled. Now, thanks to advances in cardiac care at Bon Secours, he’s again a gym regular and his appetite is back. Driscoll, 74, of Amelia, had congestive heart failure for years and his condition was worsening. In September, he … Read More

Changes Give Mothers More Time with Newborns

Few moments compare with watching a baby take her first breaths, counting her tiny fingers and gently holding her body against yours. No one knows that better than the nurses in St. Mary’s Hospital’s Labor and Delivery and Mother and Infant Units. That is why they have worked to make that magical moment last longer. … Read More

Doing Good Makes Good Happen

Submitted by: Sherry Fox, Director and Interim Vice President of Oncology As the Cullather Center marks its fourth anniversary, we are celebrating “good that makes good happen.” The good that started with Jack and Jean Cullather’s vision and their initial financial gift to Bon Secours has turned into one of the most innovative services for … Read More

Big Hearts Doing Hard Work

It is difficult to be put in a position of confronting injustice. We often feel challenged to take an action we know is right, but hesitate because the repercussions are out of our control. Patty Hall, a volunteer with the Regional Hospital Accompaniment Response Team (RHART) since November 2009, and the Forensic Nursing Team at … Read More

Meet Wesley Farnsworth, the man with the bionic heart

In June 2010, Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital discharged our first patient implanted with a Left Ventricular Assist Device or LVAD. The device, dubbed a bionic heart, helps a failing heart pump blood throughout the body. Mr. Wesley Farnsworth’s treatment team included Bon Secours Advanced Heart Failure Center Director Gary Zeevi, MD. Marc Katz, MD, … Read More

I bring a smile, I bring them sunshine, and I bring them food

Compassionate care and healing does not come from doctors and nurses alone. When a patient is in the hospital, compassionate care is the responsibility of every team member. Recently, one St. Francis patient found himself separated from his wife during a critical time. Our patient shared the letter below with heartfelt gratitude to the entire … Read More

How One Patient Used Twitter for Health Care

What would you do if you had cancer? Where would you turn to first? Would you go on the internet to find out more information on your condition? According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, e-patients with a chronic illness use online health resources to manage their illness, look up pertinent information before … Read More