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Published: November 25, 2009 09:29 pm
Union Hospital Foundation selects departments for annual drive
Special to the Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Union Hospital Foundation has launched its Friends of Union Hospital Annual Drive for 2009. The foundation’s Annual Drive committee selected Maternal and Child Services and Hux Cardiovascular Center as this year’s featured departments for the drive. The funds would specifically be directed toward cutting-edge medical equipment in these areas.
According to Annual Drive chair John Dinkel, “Every year the foundation consults hospital physicians, nurses and administrators in order to determine causes that are current and vital to Union Hospital’s mission of providing compassionate health care of the highest quality.”
Union Hospital has been going through a positive transformation with the building of Union East and is about to embark on the next phase of advances at the Terre Haute campus with extensive renovations to Union West. Two of the departments remaining in Union West are Hux Cardiovascular Center and Maternal and Child Services, including Labor and Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Obstetrics and Pediatrics. These two departments will undergo space expansion and upgrading of technology and equipment. Union Hospital Foundation wants to help these two departments in their quest to be the best by encouraging the Friends of Union Hospital to designate their Annual Drive gifts for baby warmers for Labor and Delivery or for a heart and lung machine for the Hux Cardiovascular Center.
“Please join us in making the first days of our newborns’ lives comforting and assist us in prolonging the lives of our family members, friends and neighbors.” said Dinkel.
He noted that while the foundation’s recent “Distinctive Past, Exceptional Future” capital campaign garnered overwhelming support, many needs still exist. The foundation is placing extra emphasis on this year’s Annual Drive with the understanding that many in the community already have made contributions to the highly successful capital campaign. “While the hospital is experiencing a multitude of changes, what remains at its core is quality care for patients. That’s what this new equipment enables us to continue to provide.” said Dinkel.
Maternal and Child Services
In 2008, 1,614 babies were born at Union Hospital. Keeping healthy babies healthy is an important task for the nurses of the hospital’s Labor and Delivery Unit, where they work to balance human touch with medical technology. Utilizing advanced equipment enables nurses to spend more time interacting with parents and helping to make the birth a wonderful experience.
Union Hospital Foundation has set a goal of $100,000 to provide five GE Panda Baby Warmers for the delivery rooms. These bathe the baby in soothing warmth and keep the caregiver cool and comfortable at the same time. The nurse can turn on the Panda Warmer well in advance of delivery and know that the newborn’s first bed will be warm when the infant arrives.
Hux Cardiovascular Center
To expand the surgical capabilities of Hux Cardiovascular Center, Union Hospital Foundation has set an Annual Drive goal of $135,000 to purchase an additional cardiopulmonary bypass machine for the center. During open-heart surgery, a procedure performed more than 242 times at Union Hospital in 2008, this machine, also known as a heart-lung machine, is used to take over the functions of the patient’s heart and lungs. It keeps oxygen-rich blood flowing throughout the patient’s body, so the surgeon can carefully stop the heart while the vital organs continue to receive blood and oxygen. The heart-lung machine allows the surgeon to perform very delicate, life-saving procedures without interference from bleeding or the heart’s pumping motion.
Although two departments are featured this year, donors may choose to make gifts to any area of the hospital through the Friends of Union Hospital Annual Drive. In years past, funds given by generous donors have greatly affected areas such as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Hux Cancer Center, Clara Fairbanks Center for Women, and Pediatric Therapy.
“I proudly invite [community members] to participate in the Friends of Union Hospital Annual Drive,” Dinkel said.
For more information, contact Jackie Gustafson, director of development for the Union Hospital Foundation, at (812) 238-7534 or by e-mail at jmgustafson@uhhg.org.
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