Health
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Every newborn at St. Helena Hospital Clearlake is “wrapped in love,” thanks to the Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild.
It’s become somewhat of a tradition, according to guild member Marlene Brudvig, who estimates the group – about 110 members strong – has sewn some 2,000 quilted baby blankets over the past nine and a half years.
As a volunteer stationed at the St. Helena Hospital Clearlake reception desk, Brudvig often hears someone call out, “Look, there’s the quilt lady!” — music to her ears.
“This project is an absolute joy for us,” said Brudvig. “We want to make sure no newborn leaves for home without a quilt.”
Today the guild delivers about 25 quilts a month to the hospital’s Women’s Care Unit.
“The moms go crazy over our little quilts,” added Brudvig. “Some of them have told us this is the only new thing they have for their baby.”
“It’s a wonderful service for our new mothers,” said Leeann Darby, RN, director of Surgical Services and Women’s Care Unit at the hospital. “The baby quilts are beautiful, and very high quality. Our patients absolutely love them.”
“This is a terrific example of the community coming together to give warmth and love to our newborns,” added Darlene Hamm, RN, who works the Women’s Care Unit night shift. “We literally wrap them with love.”
Brudvig and project co-chair Lel King are continuously on the hunt for material that “looks baby.”
After purchasing material, they deliver quilt kits to the members, who then sew them. Most quilts have cotton tops with flannel backing, and some members add quilted designs as an extra personal touch.
Brudvig noted that members often donate materials, and many make quilts on their own to donate in addition to the kits.
“Choosing a quilt is often a family affair,” said Hamm. “Sometimes brothers and sisters help make the selection. We can see that the quilts become heirlooms for some families, who bring in a quilt received for a previous family delivery to wrap the newest member in. They are well used and loved.”
Every year the hospital holds an appreciation tea for the guild. Last year the hospital staff donated fabric and raised $300 to help the guild with project expenses.
To help underwrite the costs of this and other projects, the guild holds a variety of fundraisers including an annual raffling of an opportunity quilt. The quilt travels to local festivals, farmers' markets and other events, where guild members man tables to sell tickets.
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Andreas Sakopoulos, MD, is among the first cardiac surgeons in the U.S. to use Angioslide’s Embolic Capture Device, which was FDA-approved in March for use in the U.S.
During angioplasty, a surgeon inserts a balloon in an artery to remove a blockage and restore blood flow to the heart or legs.
“The process, however, can result in damage and split fragile diseased arteries causing debris to break off,” explained Angioslide company spokesman Todd Crandell. “The debris then washes downstream into the artery forming a clot. If the patient already has poor blood flow the resulting clot can lead to heart attack, stroke or amputation. Our device creates a kind of vacuum, allowing the surgeon to capture and contain the debris from the body much like a syringe plunger.”
Cutting edge cardiac surgery with a major focus on patient safety is nothing new to Dr. Sakopoulos and his colleagues John Jacobson, MD and Emmett Tetz, MD.
Over the course of a recent three-year clinical research project led by St. Helena Hospital cardiovascular surgeon Andreas Sakopoulos, MD, the surgeons performed 227 consecutive coronary artery bypass surgeries with no strokes using another groundbreaking device called a HEARTSTRING.
“Since 2004 we have been utilizing this tool on virtually all patients undergoing beating-heart coronary artery bypass operations with no strokes,” Dr. Sakopoulos said. Beating-heart surgeries are performed without the assistance of heart-lung machines. “Low stroke rates are found in the best heart surgery programs.”
About being an early adopter of new like the HEARTSTRING and Angioslide technologies, Dr. Sakopoulos noted, “There are many new fads that come and go in all aspects of our lives, including medicine. It is important to have the wisdom to understand which are true advances and adopt them. These clearly offer benefits to our patients.”
For more information, visit www.sthelenahospital.org.
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Festivities begin with a reception from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., followed by a variation of the traditional groundbreaking from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., in which hospital executives and physicians wielding golden sledge hammers break through a symbolic emergency department wall, signaling commencement of the long-awaited renovation project.
Participants in the ceremony will include Jennifer Swenson, Vice President of Operations, members of the hospital’s governing board and medical staff, and St. Helena Hospital President and CEO Terry Newmyer.
"This will be a very exciting event for us, and we want to share it with everyone,” said Newmyer. “A modernized and expanded emergency department is a critical milestone in our commitment to delivering excellence here in our community.”
The renovation will create twelve state-of-the-art patient monitoring rooms, two of which will be for trauma patients.
The project will also improve the configuration of the emergency department, providing a private ambulance entrance, a welcoming entrance for walk-in patients and visitors, and a pleasant, comfortable environment in the larger remodeled waiting area.
The triage area will be redesigned so that patients can go directly from the emergency department lobby to a private bed, if necessary.
For more information, visit www.adventisthealth.org .
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The clinics are held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Hospice Services of Lake County, 1717 S. Main St., Lakeport.
Healing touch is an energy therapy addressing pain, stress and wholeness.
Appointments are requested and emergency walk-ins are encouraged.
There is no need to disrobe.
Donations are accepted to pay for gasoline for the “healers.”
The clinics are supervised by a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner. Distance healings are available.
For more information call 707-355-1110.
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