A hot-air balloon ride for an end-stage cancer patient. A video-gaming system for an isolated, homebound patient who had lost the ability to speak. One final Valentine’s date for an elderly married couple living together in a nursing home.

These three wishes all became a reality over the past year because of a special fund sponsored by the Memorial Medical Center Foundation that helps make wishes come true for hospice patients and their families.

The goal of hospice is to focus on quality of life for every patient. As a team, hospice works to enhance this quality of life physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

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Memorial employees broke ground today, May 14, on the front lawn of the medical center to launch our historic expansion project, Advancing Care by Design, which will transform both interior and exterior features on the campus.

A quick look at the numbers tied to the expansion includes:

• 3 new patient floors, which will accommodate a total of 114 private rooms designed with specific “zones” for the patient, family members and nursing staff to optimize care giving;
• 6 new operating rooms, for a total of 23, in our soon-to-be-expanded lower-level Surgery Center;
• 2 additional lanes of traffic in our main drive, for a new total of 3, to improve flow of traffic;
• 1 new Memorial Center for Learning & Innovation, a three-floor building that will enhance learning and training opportunities for Memorial employees as well as our medical partners.

Every parent wants their child to be happy and healthy. They want to see their child playing with buddies and laughing about something silly that happened at school. They want their kid to be carefree. Unfortunately, for children and adolescents who suffer from depression, that isn’t always possible.

Today, May 9, is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and a perfect opportunity for parents to speak to their children about emotional and behavioral health.

“From birth, we are developing skills to regulate our emotions and behaviors,” said Kari Welch, a licensed clinical professional counselor with the Children’s MOSAIC Project, a program of The Children’s Center. “As a parent, it is critical to respond to an upset child without judgment or criticism for what they are feeling, and help them recognize healthy ways to express uncomfortable emotions.”

Many women mistakenly think that heart disease primarily affects men. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. According to the National Institutes of Health, one in four women in the United States dies of heart disease, while one in 30 dies of breast cancer, and an astonishing 80 percent of women ages 40 to 60 have one or more risk factors for heart disease.

“Early identification and management of risk factors for heart disease through a healthy diet, weight management, exercise and stress management, can greatly reduce a woman’s risk for heart disease,” said Paula Harwood, RN, BSN, and manager of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and heart failure at Memorial Medical Center.

 Harwood suggests women take these steps to reduce their chances of developing heart disease:

Nurses are thought of as compassionate care providers who are the eyes and ears of the physician. While this is certainly true, a nurse’s job description doesn’t end there.

Nurses seek to care for patients beyond the bedside in ways that often go unseen by patients and their families. Patient safety and comfort are two of the driving factors that lead nurses to seek new processes and best practices that ultimately transform the care delivered to patients.

In recognition of Nursing Excellence Week, May 6-12, here’s a look at 10 outstanding innovations in patient care that were implemented or achieved great results at Memorial in 2012, all of which Memorial nurses contributed to significantly.

The roles and responsibilities of Memorial Medical Center’s volunteers may have changed over the past 50 years, but one thing has not: each volunteer’s commitment to making Memorial a great place to receive care.

“Nobody has volunteers like those at Memorial,” said Dee Clump, who served as director of the Department of Volunteer and Community Services from 2004 to 2007. “They’re there because they want to be there – they just want to make a difference. They just love the hospital.”

Summer is approaching, which means warm weather, lots of physical activity and paying more attention to keeping your body hydrated.

“Water is the body’s fluid of choice,” said Christina Rollins, a registered dietitian at Memorial Medical Center and spokesperson for the Illinois Dietetic Association. “But other beverages—and foods, too—also can help you meet your daily needs. All beverages supply fluid, though some may come loaded with calories or caffeine.”

How much fluid do you need? An average adult needs about 2 ½ quarts (10 cups) daily to keep the body running smoothly and to replace fluids lost throughout the day. If you lose more water, such as through heavy perspiration, you’ll need even more. You can meet your needs by drinking water and other beverages, and you can also get water from foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Rollins offers these tips for making smart beverage choices to get in the flow of good health:

Are you or someone you know struggling with unemployment? You aren’t alone. During the past year, the unemployment rate throughout central Illinois, including Springfield, Decatur and Peoria, has increased.

Losing a job can lead to challenging times for many people. The loss of an income is significant, but unemployment can also cause stress, which can bring about emotional and physical problems.

 “Unemployment can cause a sudden shift in roles within a family, and that can have a negative impact on someone psychologically,” said Trish Fehr, a licensed clinical professional counselor with Memorial Counseling Associates. “When someone who saw themselves as an employee and wage earner suddenly finds themselves standing in the unemployment line, it’s common for a grief process to begin because of the loss of employment status and their loss of status within their family and society.”

Billy Ruyle, Transplant Recipient

When Billy Ruyle could not sign his name at work or even grasp the pen, he realized he had a problem that was bigger than just a cold.

Billy grew up in a small town, just south of Springfield. After high school, Billy married “the most amazing wife” and together they had three boys and one girl and now have lots of grandkids. He worked as a full-time truck driver until just a few years ago when he took a part-time job hauling beans in Waverly.

“There is a lot of dust when you haul beans. At first, I thought I caught some sort of cold from the dust, and I just kept getting weaker and weaker,” he said. “I should have stopped working right then, but I didn’t because there was a job to finish.”

“When I got home later that day, I told my wife what had happened and we knew then something was seriously wrong.”

Need a low-impact exercise to compliment your cardio and strength-building exercises?

Just say, “om.”

Yoga — a set of body movements intended to stretch parts of the body while also focusing on breath control —is a great way to enhance your workout routine, said Gabriel Stinson, MS, PES, a sports enhancement specialist with Memorial SportsCare.

“Moving through and holding the various positions of yoga focuses on improving strength, flexibility and cardiovascular function,” Stinson said. “It’s also a great stress reliever. It provides a great workout while refreshing the mind and body.”