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Dr. Shallman's Latest Adventure
January 8 - Dr. Richard Shallman launching his paraglider at Mt. Bachelor.
In Memory of Dr. Gladson Vaz
December 2011 - It is with deep sadness to announce that we announce the passing of our dear Dr. Gladson Vaz. God is aware of the many contributions Dr. Vaz has made to the patients entrusted to his care throughout his career, and we are confident in God’s promise that Dr. Vaz and his family will one day be reunited with Christ in their heavenly home. Thank you for your continuing prayers and especially for the family of Dr. Vaz.
How safe are we? The Role of Vaccines in Protecting your Community
Order yours today by calling: 1-866-389-5532 or watch it below.
Lourdes FertilityCare™ Center Offers Appointments via Skype
September 30th -KEPR-TV recently featured the FertilityCare™ Center at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco that uses a unique approach to help couples conceive. Now we've learned the clinic is so popular, it's even seeing patients online from out of state. Most patients are still local, but nearly a third are from out of town, including California, Indiana and even Florida. Lourdes says it offers a new, natural approach to infertility. And by allowing patients to meet with a doctor over Skype, it can maximize one-on-one time. The patient from Seattle, Anna Buenvenida told us, "We were kinda leery about it at first, but now we tell all of our friends about it because its been such a great experience for us. If the level of care you seek is halfway across the state, at least we have a way of accessing it." There is a down side... technology isn't always reliable and disconnections make for some frustrating appointments.
Happy 95th Birthday Lourdes Health Network!
September 24th - In the early 1900s, with the establishment of the Northern Pacific Railroad station in Pasco, the boom in land values, and increasing population, a great need of a medical facility became evident. Father Bender, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Parish and some local doctors were successful in their request that the Sisters of St. Joseph come to Pasco from Lewiston, Idaho to establish the first hospital in the Mid-Columbia region.
Sister Mary Augustine Lennegar and five sisters opened Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in a rented hotel at 110 South Fifth Street in Pasco on September 24, 1916. By 1918 it became apparent that a new and larger hospital facility was needed. The Northern Pacific Railroad sold an entire block of land to the Sisters for the sum of one dollar. This land became the site of the new hospital. Through the years, responding to the needs of the community, the Sisters, Administrators and our Boards have made courageous decisions to expand our services.
There is so much to remember and celebrate as we commemorate our 95th Birthday, especially the courage, creativity and zeal of all those who have built Lourdes Health Network into the excellent health care organization it is today. We pray that the vision and pioneer spirit of the early years will continue to live in each of us.
To celebrate our 95th Birthday, Holy Mass will be offered in Lourdes Medical Center all week with special intentions for each day, praying in thanksgiving for all those who make up the family of Lourdes.
Everyone is invited to join in the celebration of our 95 years, so please watch for details. May we continue to minister after the example of Jesus, with compassion, care and excellent - years and years into the future.
September 20th - Lourdes Rehabilitation Services has announced its activities for the 2011 National Rehabilitation Awareness Celebration held each September. Lourdes joins more than 6,500 facilities nationwide in observing the occasion which is designed to promote the value of rehabilitation; highlight the capabilities of people with disabilities; to salute the professionals who provide service to people with disabilities; and to renew our nation's commitment to fulfill the unmet needs of people with disabilities.
Activities begin throughout the month of September and include:
• Special activities for rehabilitation staff including Medical Director, Don Dicken, MD; nurses; physical, occupational and speech therapists and other who work directly with patients receiving rehabilitation services to celebrate our rehabilitation professionals.
• Special recognition to our partners who refer patients to Lourdes’ services.
• Custom coffee sleeves at the Lourdes Medical Center Espresso Bar educating the public of stroke symptoms and to allow them to celebrate rehabilitation month with us.
• FREE Dinner with the Doctor featuring Dr. Donald Dicken on Thursday, September 29th, 6 pm at the Pasco Red Lion who will speak about Stroke Recovery. A complimentary meal will be served and RSVP’s are being taken by calling 509-546-2307.
Lourdes Health Network’s Rehabilitation Services include:
• A 10-bed inpatient unit providing rehabilitation for major injury, trauma, stroke, neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and more. Patients of the unit receive a minimum of 3 hours of physical, occupational or speech therapy.
• 2 outpatient therapy locations – Lourdes Medical Center on 4th Avenue in Pasco and Lourdes Physical Medicine Center just off Road 100 in Pasco for patient convenience. Both locations offer physical, occupational, speech and massage therapy (offered only at Road 100) for outpatients.
For further information about rehabilitation services at Lourdes, please contact: Cynthia Gomez-Hodges, Director of Rehabilitation Services
(509) 546-2299 or cgomez-hodges@lourdesonline.org
LCC Children's Day Program on KNDU
August 30th - The Lourdes Children's Day Program was recently highlighted on the KNDU.com website. Dr. Pe, from Lourdes Counseling Center, was also featured and explained the benefits of the program.
Dr. Pe says the program combines education with fun activities and the result is therapeutic. He explains, "This is like school, although it could be more fun because it's a smaller group of kids. They get more individual instruction. There's a feeling of being accepted and understood."
MAKOplasty® Receives National News Coverage
August 16th - The CBS Network picked up an exciting MAKOplasty® story titled "Breakthrough in Knee Replacement Surgery." This piece originally aired in the Sacramento market. CBS further aired on their morning show and it has run in many local markets.
In addition, Lourdes Medical Center is the ONLY hospital offering the MAKOplasty® procedure in Eastern Washington. MAKOplasty® is an innovative new treatment option for people with early to mid-stage osteoarthritis of the knee. For more information about MAKOplasty® visit the Lourdes Orthopedic Institute website.
Lourdes FertilityCare™ Center Designated a National FertilityCare™ Center of Excellence
August 11th -Lourdes FertilityCare™ Center has been evaluated by the American Academy of FertilityCare™ Professionals (AAFCP) and has met all of the standards of the Academy for providing the highest quality of FertilityCare Services. Using the Creighton Model System™ and NaProTECHNOLOGY® has proven very effective in helping couples achieve pregnancy and overcome fertility obstacles. Most major insurances cover the services because the program focuses on women’s health and not conventional infertility treatments.
“Lourdes FertilityCare™ Services is the only center in the region to offer education and counseling with the guidance of a board certified OB/GYN, Dr. Elma de Leon, who is also a certified FertilityCare™ Medical Consultant,” explains Shira Wise, Supervisor of Lourdes FertilityCare™ Services. “We are also the only center offering long distance services in Spanish.” Dr. deLeon is the only OB/GYN in the Northwest to have this certification, and sees patients currently from Montana, Idaho and Oregon in addition to Washington for NaProTECHNOLOGY® treatment.
Because of their long distance teaching capabilities, Lourdes FertilityCare™ Center provides consultations to couples from all over the country who are interested in using the system to easily and objectively monitor biological markers so that they can maintain their reproductive health and plan their families. “We have counseled couples from Anchorage, Alaska to Bloomington, Indiana all with excellent results,” she adds. “The conferencing over the internet via Skype gives the same face to face experience our local couples receive. There is no difference in the patient relationship or quality of service received.”
Anyone interested in learning more about Lourdes FertilityCare™ Services can visit the Lourdes FertilityCare™ page or call Lourdes FertilityCare™ at (509) 542-3036.
A Gift to the Community
July 25th – Just imagine – you are 45 years old, have no health insurance and have a history of breast cancer in your family. You struggled last week to buy groceries, and you know you need a screening mammogram. Who do you turn to?
Lourdes Foundation and Lourdes Health Network have been reaching out to uninsured women in our community through their Free Mammogram Program in an effort to save lives for many years.
Breast cancer is the most common site of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths among women ages 40-55. Early detection is the key to survival and better treatment options, and mammography is among the best-known methods of early detection. In Benton and Franklin counties alone, more than 36,000 people are uninsured, thus presenting a medical challenge when it comes to prevention, screening and treatment.
Over the last four years, Lourdes has screened more than 400 uninsured women. 34 women have required additional follow-up diagnostics of which 10 women were found to have breast cancer. As a result of the funding received, not only was Lourdes able to provide the free screening, but also the additional diagnostic and follow-up services that those women needed. States Connie Gillispie, Chief Development Officer of Lourdes Health Network, “The Free Mammogram Program is an example of a highly leveraged and meaningful community partnership that is making such a tremendous difference in the lives of uninsured women.”
Lourdes Health Network offers free mammograms for uninsured women by appointment several times throughout the year at Lourdes West Pasco’s Diagnostic Imaging Center, 7425 Wrigley Drive, Suite 101 in Pasco. Lourdes West Pasco houses state-of-the-art digital diagnostic mammography machines as well as a pampered environment in which to receive services, all designed with the patient’s comfort at the heart of the care provided.
The Mission of Lourdes Health Network is to serve our community with respect, compassion and care and to respond to the healthcare needs of our community with a Christian spirit. Lourdes has been so blessed by the many gifts received to care for those who are underserved and works to provide services like the Free Mammogram Program as a gift back to the community.
Lourdes Hospitalists First in Community to Accomplish Specialized Certification
June 7th - Lourdes Medical Center is pleased to congratulate Maylin Padayatty, M.D. and Suresh Piryani, M.D. who are now Board Certified in Internal Medicine with a focused practice in Hospital Medicine as recognized by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Padayatty and Piryani are two of just 119 physicians in the country with this prestigious certification and the first in our community.
Both physicians are currently associates of Lourdes Medical Center in Hospitalist roles. Hospitalists are physicians who are specialized in the care of patients in the hospital and typically only see patient during their hospital stay. Both physicians were Board Certified in Internal Medicine. However, the additional attainment of Board Certification with a focused practice in hospital medicine is a major accomplishment for a physician. “This significant milestone is a demonstration of our medical staff’s commitment to our patients.
Both Drs. Padayatty and Piryani want the best possible care for their hospital patients and they wanted to further their education and attain the highest certification possible,” John Serle, President & CEO of Lourdes said. Janet Wright, Vice President of Patient Care Services added, “We are delighted that Drs. Padayatty and Piryani have obtained this advanced certification.”
Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon Nets $50,000 for Lourdes Foundation
Pasco, WA – Friday, June 3rd at the annual Lourdes Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, Lourdes Auxiliary presented Lourdes Foundation with a check for $50,000. Nearly 70 volunteers and Lourdes Health Network staff attended at the Pasco Red Lion Hotel. Each year during the luncheon, Lourdes Auxiliary presents a check to Lourdes Foundation from their past year’s fundraising activities. Lourdes Foundation will utilize the donation to assist in funding the purchase of new cardiac monitors for Lourdes Medical Center’s Emergency Department.
In addition to the large donation, Lourdes Auxilian, Vicki Calapristi of West Richland, was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award. Auxilian CeCee Farrare was presented the Outstanding Service Award.
Lourdes Auxiliary hour pins were also awarded along with appreciation certificates. Some noteworthy achievements included: Lorraine Boddy – 29,697 hours of service (over 30 years) Pat Crabb – 15,746 hours of service Joyce Best – 9,242 hours of service
A fiscal year to date (10 months) total for volunteer hours donated to the Network is at 31,451 hours – an estimated value to the Network of $679,970.
At the luncheon John Serle, Lourdes Health Network President and CEO spoke to the volunteers and said, “Exceptional people are the heart and soul of this organization and the volunteer impact is not just on our patients, but also on our leadership. We are driven by your spirit and your dedication to Lourdes and the people we all work so hard to serve.”
Door prizes donated by Lourdes Health Network departments were presented to the auxiliary members as an appreciation.
Leadership Tri-Cities & Lourdes Counseling Center Host Open House
PASCO, WA – Tuesday, May 24th, 4 pm, at Lourdes Counseling Center, Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen will be the keynote speaker at an open house and tour to celebrate the conclusion of Leadership Tri-Cities Class XVI project. The event is free and open to the public. Lourdes Counseling Center is located at 1175 Carondelet Drive in Richland.
Each year, the Leadership Tri-Cities class chooses a worthwhile project in the community. This class selected childhood mental illness. Their goal – to bring awareness to the issue of childhood mental health and to strengthen resources for local children. The class has worked to raise funds, build community awareness, and make needed improvements for the Children’s Day Program.
Lourdes Counseling Center offers multiple programs for children, however, the Leadership class focused on the Children’s Day Program. This specialized and unique program is for children struggling with mental health who can no longer function in a traditional classroom setting. Without this program, local children with mental health problems would have nowhere else to go for help towards their recovery.
Leadership Tri-Cities is an educational program that provides valuable experiences and tools to develop knowledgeable leaders to serve our community. The course is made up of nine sessions that focus on various issues and aspects of our region.
For more information about the partnership between Leadership Tri-Cities and Lourdes Counseling Center call 509-542-3062.
Lourdes Foundation Earns Award
One of the most exciting moments at the Ascension Council on Philanthropy Annual Conference is the presentation of the Sister Mary Walter Boyle Excellence in Philanthropy Award. This prestigious award recognizes a significant accomplishment of a hospital, foundation, or healthcare institution affiliated with Ascension Health. It is named in honor of Sister Mary Walter Boyle, DC, one of the pioneering development professionals in healthcare philanthropy.
Lourdes Foundation and Health Network received the cash award for Lourdes Counseling Center’s Children Summer Day Treatment Ministry. For the past several years, we have sought funding through grants, service clubs, associates and physicians to sustain the program. The staff at Lourdes Counseling Center is extremely dedicated to this program. They work through the school year with these children and dedicate their summer months to ensuring the program not only meets each child’s therapeutic needs, but also provides a place for summer fun, recreation, games, summer outings and each child is taught the important life lesson of giving back to the community through the summer service project.
The plight of children and their struggling families is a special call for all of us as we work to help those who marginated in society and unable to help themselves. Our goal is to help these children grow into responsible and mature individuals recognizing that a contribution to each child becomes an essential contribution to our civic community.
Lourdes Marketing Department Wins Aster Awards
The Lourdes Marketing Department was recently awarded two gold Aster Awards – one for excellence in photography (via Kim Fetrow at Imageworks) and the other for the 2010 Doctor's Day internal campaign (above). View the winning photos in the Imageworks Lourdes Photo Gallery.
The Aster Awards Program is an elite competition recognizing the nation's most talented healthcare marketing professionals for outstanding excellence in advertising. The winning entries, judged by a diverse panel of experts, are published in the Marketing Healthcare Today magazine. A Best of Show Trophy, Judge's Choice Awards, as well as Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates are granted to winning entries exemplifying excellence.
Sister Mary Ferguson, CSJ Remembered
May 24, 1918 – April 25, 2011
Up to the last few years of her life, Sister Mary was a great reader. In her free time, when she wasn’t out walking, or driving around the Northwest with her friend Sr. Anne Josephine in her big red car, or baking for the hospital Auxiliary bake sales, you could find her in her big chair reading. She was a writer, too, in touch with her family and friends.
Sister Mary was born in St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Diego to Francis Joseph Ferguson and Mary Isabel Davies. Her father, a civil engineer, was working for the Southern Pacific Railroad east of San Diego when he encountered the Davies family living down on the border in Campo, and married the youngest of the four daughters, Estella. After their son Francis was born, Estella died of spinal meningitis. Several years later, Joseph married another of the daughters, Isabel, and settled in Campo. When their daughter was born and joined her half-brother Francis, they named her Catherine.
After she finished grammar school, her parents came to two conclusions: 1) she needed to learn more about her religion, and 2) her carefree, tomboy life required some refinement. So, at great financial sacrifice, they enrolled her as a boarder at Our Lady of Peace Academy in San Diego. She soon admired the wonderful women who were her teachers and friends. The blend of fun, dedication and serious learning of these women unwittingly inspired and directed her to the choice of religious life as a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Catherine entered the community at St. Mary’s Academy in Los Angeles on September 18, 1936, and at her reception on March 19, 1937, received the name of Sister Francis Joseph. She made her first vows on March 19, 1939, and her final profession on August 15, 1942. Later, in 1968, she changed her religious name to Sister Mary.
For the next 31 years, Mary ministered as teacher and frequently principal in all areas of the Los Angeles Province. One of her happiest missions was at St. Joseph’s Academy in Prescott, Arizona, where she taught 7th and 8th grade and “participated in all the aspects of the life of first through twelfth grade students, both boarders and day pupils, for five wonderful years.
In September 1977, she enrolled in the CORPUS program at Seattle University, which included Clinical Pastoral Education with clinical experience at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. This was a year of “firsts” and radical changes in her life — living in a college dorm, working in a hospital, and experiencing the beauty of the great Northwest, and the exacting challenge of college classes.
She became certified by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains, and served as staff chaplain at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. In 1983, the opportunity to minister to the patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Pasco became available, and she joined the community there.
Sister Mary served at Lourdes Health Network for 23 years as chaplain, then director of the Pastoral Care Department. A generation of patients, employees, administrators, and parishioners of St. Patrick’s Parish remembers her as a professional and loving presence in their lives. Even after she gave up the responsibility of Director of Pastoral Care, Mary continued to visit employees and patients at Lourdes and remained an active member of Lourdes hospital community.
In 2006, her declining health led Mary to make the decision to move to Los Angeles and become a member of Holy Family Community. She had so much to say goodbye to when she left Pasco — her walks and picnics every Friday at the river, her many friends in the Tri-Cities, and the frequent visits with her “cluster”—the sisters in the Northwest. In her last years, Mary suffered from a tragic debilitating disease which gradually took away her ability to read and write, and finally even her power to speak.
May our dear Mary finally rest safely and in peace.
August 11th -
July 25th –
In addition to the large donation, Lourdes Auxilian, Vicki Calapristi of West Richland, was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award. Auxilian CeCee Farrare was presented the Outstanding Service Award. 
Leadership Tri-Cities & Lourdes Counseling Center Host Open House
One of the most exciting moments at the Ascension Council on Philanthropy Annual Conference is the presentation of the Sister Mary Walter Boyle Excellence in Philanthropy Award. This prestigious award recognizes a significant accomplishment of a hospital, foundation, or healthcare institution affiliated with Ascension Health. It is named in honor of Sister Mary Walter Boyle, DC, one of the pioneering development professionals in healthcare philanthropy.
Up to the last few years of her life, Sister Mary was a great reader. In her free time, when she wasn’t out walking, or driving around the Northwest with her friend Sr. Anne Josephine in her big red car, or baking for the hospital Auxiliary bake sales, you could find her in her big chair reading. She was a writer, too, in touch with her family and friends.