Orange Blossoms - California Hospital Association
Orange Blossoms
March 2012
Orange County Council of Hospital Volunteers
President’s Message
I would like to “Welcome” our OCCHV Board Members for the coming year. Yes, some of us did some changing of hats, some stayed. However, it is so exciting to get new
Board Members.
CAHHS Region II
DVS Advisor
Hospitality
Parliamentarian
Student Advisor
CHOC
Garden Grove Hospital
& Medical Ctr.
Newport Beach
Irvine
Huntington Beach
Hospital
Center
Mission Viejo
Laguna Beach
Saddleback Memorial
Medical Ctr.
Laguna Hills
San Clemente
Western Medical Center
Student Advisors, Sandy Pearson & Bob Glassman, Western Med.; Legislation, Dena Saben, St. Joseph
Hospital; Membership, Dottie Dehlin, Saddleback, LH; Gift Shop, Karen Richards & Penny Fellows,
Placentia-Linda; Treasurer; Katherine Schauppner, St. Joseph Hospital; Secretary, Barbara Rose, Hoag
Hospital; DVS Advisor, Victoria Heidelman, St. Joseph Hospital; Vice President, Kathie Mullins, St.
Joseph Hospital; President, Rita Hertlein, Placentia-Linda; Hospitality, Donna Shockley, Hoag Hospital;
Parliamentarian, Doug Campbell, Hoag Hospital; Newsletter, Eleanor Anderson, Hoag Hospital.
Thanks to your meeting evaluations we have some great speakers and interesting topics to present this year. We look forward to serving you and the OCCHV community.
Rita Hertlein
Vice President’s Message
I want to let you know about the program for the upcoming OCCHV General
Meeting on March 19. Our main speaker will be Chris Collins, Certified Fitness Instructor who has been teaching fitness for over 34 years. She currently teaches at 24-Hour Fitness, LA Fit ness, Total Woman and the City of Orange. Her programs include aerobics, step, aqua-aerobics, senior fitness aerobics, among many others. Chris is also very peppy, upbeat and entertaining.
Our program, entitled “Keeping Physically and Mentally Fit Over 55” , will focus on the Silver Sneakers program, a fitness program developed especially for seniors (those 55+) with different levels of fitness. In addition to a speaking presentation, Chris plans on giving a short demo with audience participation. I think your volunteers will thoroughly enjoy this program, in addition to learning the value of exercising, even though we are a little older.
The final date for getting in your reservations is Friday, March 2. The location will be
Grand Catered Events (the “old” Turnip Rose), by popular demand.
Kathie Mullins, Vice President
CALL
Orange County Council of Hospital Volunteers (OCCHV) Spring 2012 Meeting
Monday, March 19, 2012, at Grand Catering Center (Formerly Turnip Rose)
Host: Mission Hospital…Mission Viejo
8:30 AM Registration, Coffee and Tea Available
-Opportunity Drawing Ticket Sales
9:00 AM Breakout Meetings: (All Attendees Welcome to all Breakouts)
-Presidents’ Council—Board Room
-Gift Shop Chairs—TBD
-DVS’s and Student Advisors—TBD
10:00 AM Business Meeting—Champagne Room
-Introductions, Inspirational, Pledge of Allegiance
-Roll Call
-Presentation – Host: Mission Hospital..Mission Viejo
-Breakout Reports--Presidents, Gift Shop, DVS & Student Advisors
-Region V/CAHHS Announcements
11:00 AM Speaker—Chris Collins in the Champagne Room
Certified Fitness Instructor
“Keeping Physically and Mentally Fit Over 55”
12:00 PM Delicious Buffet Lunch with Turnip Rose Staff calling the tables
Opportunity Drawing
1:15 PM Meeting adjourned
LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS DEADLINE: FRIDAY, March 2, 2012
(Note: Please, at least give head count to Katherine Schauppner by March 2, 2012)
PRICE: Only $25.00 per person.
DIRECTIONS to Grand Catering Center (Formerly Turnip Rose)
From the North, take either the 5 Freeway or the 57 Freeway south to Chapman Ave., exit and go east on
Chapman to Flower; then……….
From the South, take the 5 Freeway north to the 57 Freeway north and exit on Chapman, going east to Flower; then….
ALL, Turn right (south) on Flower. The Grand Catering Center (Turnip Rose) is at 300 South Flower, Orange, CA.
Telephone if lost: (714) 385-0085
Please mail with your check(s) made out to OCCHV so that the check(s) are received no later than Friday,
March 2, 2012 to
Katherine Schauppner, OCCHV Treasurer
St. Joseph Hospital
1471 Bryan Avenue
Tustin, CA. 92780
Phone: (714) 544-8978
Gift Shop
The Gift Shop Session, in January, was attended by 13 ladies from 5 hospitals.
The main topic was our past Christmas and Thanksgiving seasons. We discussed our merchandise, pricing, best items of the seasons, and when and how much to discount the seasonal products.
Next was our shop’s staff coverage for the holidays. All the ladies felt the staff coverage was acceptable for the traffic in our shops.
Lastly…the LA Mart Show in mid January and the Las Vegas Gift Show at the end of January.
The shows are a wealth of information for each and every shop. They have new items, new vendors and new suggestions.
Karen Richards and Penny Fellows
Legislation
California
Supporters of a ballot measure that gives State regulators authority to approve health insurance rates are gathering 505,000 signatures to put the measure on the November 2012 Ballot. Health
Insurance companies would have to justify rate hike requests.
Fewer California companies offered Health Insurance to their employees in 2011 and those that offered coverage charged employees more. Employer health insurance plans have increased premium costs 153% since 2002 – more than five times the inflation increase in California.
UCLA Medical Center, in Westwood, and Blue Shield of California are in a contract dispute, with
Blue Shield fighting high prices charged to their policy holders by UCLA. Blue Shield claims and UCLA has acknowledged, that UCLA Medical Center operates on a 17% profit margin, causing Blue Shield to pay higher prices and forcing increases in rates charged to their policy holders. When their contract expired at the end of 2011 Blue Shield of California suspended its relationship with UCLA Medical
Center over their charges for treating patients with Blue Shield policies.
In a complete turnaround, healthcare insurers are now fighting price increases by suppliers so they do not have to pass on these unreasonable higher prices for hospital care and other medical services. In the past five years reimbursements to UCLA Medical Center by Blue Shield have almost doubled. Talks about a new contract are stalled because UCLA is asking for 8% more for most of its services.
Washington, D.C.
Some healthcare providers, who work with Medicare patients, will be able to form Accountable
Care Organizations to coordinate care among Doctors, Specialists and Hospitals to cut down on duplicate tests and medical errors. The providers will receive Medicare reimbursement as they normally do, but also have a chance to share in the savings, if the cost of caring for their patients comes in lower than normally expected.
Also being tested are Patient Centered Medical Homes similar to Accountable Care
Organizations working with a team that may include nurses and physician assistants to manage care.
In the first full year of the new Healthcare Law 3.6 million people in the Medicare Program saved
$2.1 billion on prescription drugs in 2011; Due to the “squeezing of the donut hole” in part D for prescriptions.
Moving to implement a consumer protection clause in the new Healthcare Law, Washington issued regulations requiring Healthcare Plans to describe what they cover in clear, standardized language that is understandable to consumers. Insurers and employers will have to provide a six page summary of basic plan information, such as Deductibles and Co-Pays, as well as costs for using in-network and out-of-network medical services. This is designed to make it easier for consumers to assess how much their care would cost under different insurance policies .
(cont’d on next page)
Legislation (cont’d )
According to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund, at least 29 million Americans – 80% more than in 2003 – are underinsured. “Underinsured” was defined as spending more than 10% of annual income on out-of-pocket medical expenses resulting from high deductibles and co-pays and limits on coverage, over and above their basic premiums. Also, more than 50 million Americans have no health insurance at all.
The Institute of Medicine, a part of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, has found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process for approving medical devices is so unreliable it should be scrapped and replaced; it is a threat to patient safety. Also, the FDA has no method of tracking the performance of the devices once they are approved.
Kay Workman, Legislation
(Based on information provided by Ralph Hillman, Legislation, Hoag Hospital Auxiliary)
AHMC Anaheim Regional Medical Center
Congratulations to the newly elected officers of OCCHV! We at Anaheim Regional appreciate your willingness to serve in this capacity and look forward to another year of sharing and learning how to make our volunteer programs better.
Anaheim Regional Medical Center has 244 beds and we are filled to capacity most all the time.
Our Guild consists of volunteers from the Mended Hearts Department, the Paws Department (Pet
Therapy) as well as all the volunteers servicing our hospital’s needs and the needs in our Cancer treatment area in the medical building. We are always looking for more participants to help the patients and staff.
We had a spectacular fundraiser, thanks to Connie Brinker, our Ways and Means Chairperson.
Masquerade Jewelry vendors were on our campus for two days and our scholarship fund is now over
$2300 richer! Good Job Connie!
Pat Olson, Guild President
Hoag Hospital
The Hoag Hospital Auxiliary meets monthly, alternating with Executive Board Members only and with the larger Board, including committee chairs and chapters. Following our December 2011 meeting, we enjoyed the hospital Christmas party. Our Nightingales Chapter decorates the hospital at Christmas every year. This year there were 10 trees, about 65 wreaths and 100 poinsettias - a fabulous display.
We depend on our committee chairs and co-chairs for keeping our volunteers informed and reporting monthly on procedures and changes to their respective committees. Our Administration
Liaison (DVS) Sherry Sumner will conduct chairperson training in February.
Hoag Volunteers enjoyed hosting the OCCHV January 2012 meeting. We think the Grand
Catering Center was an excellent venue.
Ruth Poole, Auxiliary President
Los Alamitos Hospital
The Hospital growth and change, begun in 2011 is continuing in 2012.
We are happy to announce a new treatment approach to breast cancer. Our “TotalCare Breast
Center” is a multidisciplinary team specializing in surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery and radiology. The Breast Center team is comprised of a female fellowship including a trained breast surgeon and nurse navigators. The nurse navigators assist the patients through their treatment process, as well as additional testing and consultations as needed. Additional services available include genetics counseling, high risk screening and survivorship programs. Our Volunteers also assist in the unit.
Our new Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center is now open. We offer rotating physician specialists and two hyperbaric chambers. The specialists panel will assist the patient community who have problematic wounds, including a certified hyperbaric technician, diabetes educator, dietician, podiatrists, social worker, surgeons, wound ostomy and a continence nurse.
Judy Wagner, Staffing Chairman
Mission Hospital
January and February were busy months at Mission Hospital, especially for our Auxiliary. That was when the Auxiliary President and some of the members of the Board of Directors met with each of the more than 40 Service Chairmen and the volunteers in their Service to conduct Service Update
Meetings. This is our opportunity to discuss things that are going well with each Service and things that may need to be changed or adjusted. Very often, it is also an opportunity for the volunteers to meet and network with the others in their Service, since they may all serve on different days. It certainly kept our calendar filled, but the results are always gratifying.
In addition, we just completed development of a new Auxiliary Policy that addresses accommodations for incoming volunteers with specials needs. Until now, there has not been anything that focuses on this issue, and we are pleased to have a document that gives us guidance within the policies of the Hospital. This Policy is two-fold, and also addresses the process of accommodating, with dignity, those existing volunteers who can no longer fulfill the duties of the Service where they are currently volunteering. We hope to share this Auxiliary Policy with all of you at the March meeting.
We are looking forward to hosting the next OCCHV meeting on March 19th, and we will be there in our “Merlot” uniforms to welcome all of you. We are also anxious to hear about the CAHHS
Conference and what you found most interesting there. See you at the March meeting!!
Vicki Veal, Auxiliary President
Placentia-Linda Hospital
Our Hospital and our Volunteer Guild will be celebrating their 40th year this September. We are continuing with our remodeling, additions and upgrade projects. By the time September rolls around we will be ‘looking pretty’ for our 40th Birthday Party.
Four of the original volunteers are still active, accumulating over 122,000 hours of dedicated service to our hospital, staff and patients. We wish to thank all of our volunteers for their time and kindness in volunteering at Placentia-Linda.
Rita Hertlein
PLH Guild President
St. Joseph Hospital
We have many things happening at St Joseph Hospital and we will get you up to date by the next newsletter! My co-chair, Past co-chair plus the Volunteer Staff were able to attend the CAHHS
Conference and they will have much to report.
Lonnie Dodson, Co-Chairman,
Volunteer Advisory Board
St. Jude Medical Center
The St. Jude Guild members had a real treat at their General Meeting last month. We are on our way to being as healthy as we can. Our speaker, Susan Randolph, M.S., R.D., is the dietician at the Center for
Rehabilitation and Wellness. She spoke about “12 Super Foods” that can help in all aspects of our health.
They are: salmon (2, 4oz. servings per week), blueberries (1/2 cup per day), steel cut oats (½-1 cup per day), broccoli (4, ½ cup servings a week), walnuts (1oz. per day...1/4 cup is a serving), avocado (1/4-1/2 per day), Greek yogurt (at least once per day 6-8 oz), olive oil (2 Tbsp. per day), flax (2 Tbsp. per day- must be ground), soy (daily), dark chocolate (1 oz. daily), and beans (1/2 cup per day). In addition, she reviewed the benefits for each, everything from heart healthy, enriched fiber, weight control, reducing cancer risk, fighting wrinkles, depression, and promoting cognition. We were all on our way to the market with some great tips for a healthy diet.
Stephanie Gayron, Guild President
UC Irvine Healthcare
UC Irvine had a big dedication ceremony for our new entrance and “Porte Cochere” to the main
Douglas hospital here at the medical center. We now have a beautiful grand entrance to our hospital. It is gorgeous and looks like a lobby at a five star hotel! Please come visit our finished grounds. Construction went on for almost two years; taking down the old university hospital, and demolishing the original county hospital that had been here since 1922. We now have a large open space for a healing garden, pathway, great lighting, nice benches and sitting areas; pretty landscape and a new outdoor dining area for our employees and guests!
Like most hospitals, we have been enduring lots of construction over the last few years. The last of the major construction is the expansion and update of our Cancer Center. This seems very manageable now with the bulk of the construction being completed.
For the past several months, we have been working on a shadowing program for our college volunteers.
It has officially been approved and we are very happy to start our first group in the next few weeks. The program is called I.C.E. (Irvine Clinical Experience). It is primarily team shadowing with Residents as they make rounds. This is a terrific opportunity for our students who are interested in going to medical school.
The program is tailored around the same requirements our medical school committee requires for incoming students selected for UCI medical school. The students’ response has been overwhelming. They know how difficult it is to find a true doctor shadowing program. I am pleased to announce that UC Irvine
Healthcare now has this outstanding program to offer our college student volunteers!
Michelle Sinclair, Volunteer Recruiter
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
Helen Keller
Date
Calendar and Announcements - 2012 - 2013
January 16, 2012
January 23, 2012
April 23, 2012
August 27, 2012
November 26, 2012
January 28, 2013
Board of Directors Meetings
Location
Grand Catering Center
Western Medical
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Meetings commence at 10:00 a.m. Plan on arriving at 9:45 a.m.
Agenda and directions will be provided prior to the meeting.
Date
January 16, 2012
March 19, 2012
June 18, 2012
October 15, 2012
January 21, 2013
OCCHV General Meetings
Location
Grand Catered Events
Grand Catered Events
TBD
TBD
Host
Hoag, Newport Beach
Mission, Mission Viejo
Western Med, Santa Ana
St. Jude Hospital
Hoag, Newport Beach
Please note:
The deadline for articles appearing in the June issue of Orange Blossoms is
April 19, 2012 . Please try to keep them to a half page. This is your newsletter and to make it work we need to hear from all of you.
We will be transmitting this and future issues electronically, if you wish to receive them by snail mail, please contact Eleanor Anderson, Editor at 714.557.0989.
The California Hospital Association Political Action Committee (CHPAC) helps ensure hospitals and health systems have a strong voice when decisions are made that impact the delivery of health care. We encourage you to contact the person below for more information:
Bonnie Brown
Phone: (916) 552-7533
E-mail: bbrown@calhospital.org
The Purpose of OCCHV shall be to educate through the exchange of ideas and to inform the public of the philosophy and scope of the hospital volunteer program.
