2017 HAVE Award Winners

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Community Service Programs

Camp Charlie
Abington-Jefferson Health
Willow Grove, PA
Margaret McGoldrick, President

Camp Charlie is a free expressive arts bereavement camp run by the volunteers and staff of Safe Harbor, Abington-Jefferson Health’s peer support program for grieving children, teens and families. The five-day camp for youth who have lost a parent or sibling is an intensive experience for healing held each June featuring activities related to music, art, drama and movement. The curriculum focuses on four tasks of grieving: acknowledging the death, saying good-bye, reliving memories and memorializing loved ones. In the first 10 years, Camp Charlie, which began in 2007, served 550 grieving children and teens. The first camp had 33 participants. In 2016, with the help of 30 volunteers, the camp served 65 campers and peer buddies. After attending the camp, 96 percent of the children and teens reported feeling more hopeful about the future and 79 percent indicate it is easier to talk to their families about the death of their loved ones. Many shy, unsure campers have found new friends and courage through the gentle support of their teen buddies. Campers leave camp knowing they are not alone in their grief, recognizing that despite continuing to miss their loves ones, it is okay to be a child who laughs and plays.

 

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Community Outreach and/or Collaboration

AOMC Poison Prevention Program
Arnot Ogden Medical Center
Elmira, NY
Dr. Robert Lambert, President and CEO

Volunteers empower young children to take an active role in personal safety through education presented in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade classrooms. Through an enthusiastic presentation of a simple message, the volunteers aim to leave every child with a lifetime reminder: “If you don’t know what it is, stay away.” The curriculum was created at the prompting of emergency department nurses at a time when accidental child poisoning was more prevalent. Since the Poison Prevention Program was launched in 1994, the curriculum has reached more than 68,000 children through 3,700 presentations. A hospital volunteer and former educator incorporated poison prevention messages into an original story featuring fictional characters: “Twitch and Twiggle Learn to Stay Away from Poison.” The stories and activities include warnings not only about drinking under-the-sink poisons and pills, but also laundry detergent pods and e-cigarette flavorings. In the 1950s, an average of three child poisonings was reported in the area per week. In 2015, Arnot Health recorded no cases for the entire year.

 

 

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Fundraising

Friends of the Heart
Doylestown Health
Doylestown, PA
Jim Brexler, President and CEO

Friends of the Heart Institute is an all-volunteer organization consisting of dedicated community members and caregivers who are committed to ensuring patients and their loved ones have access to the very best cardiac and vascular care close to home. Since its founding in 1978, Friends of the Heart Institute raised more than $1.6 million for state-of-the-art medical and surgical equipment, for patient-friendly exercise equipment used for cardiac rehabilitation, and for staff training and continuing education for the cardiac and vascular clinical teams. Friends of the Heart Institute also focuses on community wellness and prevention by funding “Walk With A Doc,” a monthly exercise program which encourages physical activity and community camaraderie. Friends of the Heart Institute raises funds through annual memberships, donations and special fundraising events like the popular spring Heart Brunch, now in its 17th year, and the always-fun Cardiac Cook-Off, which pits teams of cardiologists and local top chefs against each other in a heart-healthy friendly competition.

 

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In-Service Hospital

Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP)
Clara Maass Medical Center
Belleville, NJ
Mary Ellen Clyne, President and CEO

HELP volunteers engage with patients ages 70 and older to prevent cognitive and functional decline. After staff assess the patients for their risk of cognitive/physical decline utilizing evidence-based screening tools, individualized interventions are implemented. Patients are screened for falls, pressure ulcers, frailty, disorientation and incontinence. Volunteers then engage the patients in activities related to cognitive orientation, therapeutic techniques (board games, relaxation and music therapy), mobilization and range of motion exercises, hearing and vision aids, feeding assistance and fluid repletion. In a recent two-year period, 577 patients were enrolled in HELP. With the volunteers’ assistance, 48 percent of the patients improved their baseline functioning and 45 percent maintained it. In addition to aiding the patients physically, HELP volunteers often establish an emotional connection with the patients, alleviating their anxieties and fears of the unknown. The program has volunteers with many of the backgrounds, languages, cultures and religions as the patients. Some 19 HELP volunteers donate 150 hours per week working with patients. Many of the volunteers are students, who use their volunteer service as a means of exploring health careers.

 

 

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2017 HAVE Award Finalists

Community Service

Literacy Bags for Students and Families
Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas
Rogers, AR
Eric Pianalto, President

Volunteers distribute “Literacy Bags and Students and Families” to first graders to help maintain literacy skills during the summer break. The bags include books, puppets, pencil pouches, crayons, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers and activity books activity books. Volunteers hand sew the bags, puppets and pencil pouches. In the first three years, some 180 bags were distributed. The hospital auxiliary conducts fundraising events to provide funds for the supplies.

Contact Christy Blackshear at cblack58@hotmail.com or 479-659-4436

 

Step by Step
New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
Brooklyn, NY
Dr. Richard Liebowitz, President

The goal of Step by Step is to empower parents and caregivers of children ages 9 months to 30 months with knowledge to increase early identification and intervention of children with developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders. Trained volunteers share learning tools, such as checklists, during one-on-one visits with parents and caregivers in the waiting area of the outpatient pediatric clinic. The discussion is an effective way to help gauge where children are in meeting developmental milestones, shape possible questions or concerns for parents to make the most of their doctor visits, and provide parents with knowledge and charts they can use to follow their child’s growth at home. The program was developed in collaboration with physicians and a literacy alliance. In a recent year, volunteers saw almost 600 patients. An evaluation concluded that almost half the parents and caregivers who participated increased their understanding of developmental milestones.

Contact Wendy Froede at wlf9001@nyp.org or 718-780-5399

 

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In-Service

“At Your Service” Volunteer Intern Program
Temple University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA
Verdi J. DiSesa, MD, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer

Temple University Hospital’s (TUH) “At Your Service (AYS)” Volunteer Intern Program was developed in 2014 to improve patients’ and their families’ perceptions of staff responsiveness and in turn, increase HCAHPS Responsiveness of Staff Domain scores. TUH partnered with Temple University to recruit students with healthcare-related majors to become volunteer interns. Volunteers serve as nurse extenders on all inpatient units by answering call bells and proactively rounding in both inpatient and outpatient areas. Volunteers respond to patient requests and partner with the care team to escalate clinical requests. As a result, HCAHPS Responsiveness of Staff Domain scores have seen a statistically significant increase since the program began. The demand for more AYS Volunteer Interns continues to grow; the program expanded from 50 volunteer interns in 2015 to 80 volunteer interns in 2017. The program has even expanded to other hospitals within the Temple University Health System and has been nationally recognized many times as an innovative, industry best practice.

Contact Danielle London at Danielle.London@tuhs.temple.edu or 215-707-3219

 

 

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Fundraising

Tree of Life Campaign
Marshall Browning Hospital
Du Quoin, IL
Dan Eaves, Chief Executive Officer

Since 1996, The Marshall Browning Hospital Auxiliary has invited the community to make donations in memory of or in honor of loved ones. Each donation is recognized by lighting a bulb on the Christmas tree on the hospital grounds. Donations made to the Tree of Life Campaign are designated each year to purchase equipment to maintain and/or improve on the health services offered to the patients of Marshall Browning Hospital. The campaign has raised approximately $400,000 for the hospital.

Contact Lucille Smith at lucillesmith024@gmail.com or 618-542-1042.

The Second Hand Rose Thrift Store

Valley County Health System
Ord, NE
Nancy Glaubke, Chief Executive Officer

Volunteers operate an all-volunteer thrift store in this rural county seat, which has a population of 2,100. Proceeds from sales help purchase equipment for the hospital. Between 2005 and 2016, more than $240,000 was donated to the hospital. Volunteers clean, wash, mend and repair all donated items before they go on sale. The store is open six days a week.

Contact Becky Ries at bries@valleycountyhealthsystem.org or 308-728-4299

 

 

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Community Outreach and/or Collaboration

Dementia Friendly Business Initiative

HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital
Chippewa Falls, WI
Joan Coffman, President and Chief Executive Officer

The goal of the Dementia Friendly Business Initiative is to educate local businesses on how to provide the best possible customer service for patrons afflicted with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Some 18 trained volunteers educate the business community, such as restaurant staff and hair stylists, on how to recognize signs of dementia and support customers with compassion and understanding. The initiative is a Wisconsin community outreach collaborative involving the Partners of HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Chippewa County Department of Aging, Disabilities and Resource Center, Chippewa Falls Main Street Association and the Alzheimer’s Association. It began at the request of a Partner member whose daughter was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. The volunteers’ efforts helped result in a state grant to support part-time staff to coordinate local trainings.

Contact Brandalee Sikora at brandalee.sikora@hshs.org or 715-717-7439