Health

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will present a free talk about Lyme disease by Vermont Department of Health Epidemiologist Erica Berl on Monday, October 21 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM in the BMH Brew Barry Conference Center.

This presentation will give an overview of Lyme disease in Vermont, examining the organism that causes the disease, as well as the emergence and prevalence of the disease in the state of Vermont. The life cycle of the deer tick will be discussed and, most importantly, strategies to prevent tick bites will be presented.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced Tony Blofson, MD has been hired as Medical Director of , the hospital’s network of primary care providers and medical specialists.

In this role, Blofson will be responsible for leading BMH Physician Group practices and providers through quality initiatives including improved patient access and patient satisfaction, as well as transitions brought on by healthcare reform.

“Our practices have experienced many changes as a group as they have grown over the past few years. Dr. Blofson’s experience and enthusiasm will serve us well as we continue to evolve,” says Bonnie McKellar, Vice President of Physician Services and Business Development at BMH.

BMH Launches 2nd Annual “BEARDS for BMH” Campaign To Raise Awareness of Men’s Health Issues

Throughout the month of November Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) will once again be sponsoring “BEARDS for BMH” to raise awareness of men’s health issues. The campaign is designed to spark conversation about issues such as prostate cancer screening, erectile dysfunction, testicular cancer and other men’s health concerns.

YOUR DOOR HELPS OPEN OURS!

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) announced the start of the community engagement portion of its Emergency Department capital campaign today. The hospital is seeking to raise $3.5 million to renovate and expand the 31-year-old facility.

Co-chaired by Art Greenbaum and Martha O’Connor, a committee of community leaders has spent the past year working to solicit charitable support from the hospital board, the campaign committee and key supporters, as well as from BMH leadership, physicians and employees. Now that over $3 million has been committed they are asking the community to join them in supporting the facility that impacts every life in the greater Brattleboro area.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced Aaron Shams Helminski, MD, has joined its Department of Hospitalist Medicine.

Dr. Helminski attended University of Vermont in Burlington for both his pre-med and doctoral programs. He completed an internship in internal medicine at University of Hawaii in 2011 and returned to UVM/Fletcher Allen to complete his residency in 2013, where he was chief resident. He resides in Putney.

The Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Community Health Team announced the hiring of Joan Bowman as a Navigator for Vermont’s new insurance exchange program.

As a trained and certified Vermont Health Connect exchange navigator, Bowman’s role is to make sure individuals, families and small businesses in Windham County understand their options and have access to the tools and resources needed to apply for health insurance.

The Center for Cardiovascular Health at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital invites the community to an open house on Wednesday, September 18 from 5:30 to 7:0 PM. Located on the top floor of the Richards Building, the Center provides a single point of care for patients with heart and cardiovascular disease.

According to Medical Director, Dr. Mark Burke, the new Center enhances the cardiology team’s ability to focus first and foremost on caring for the individual and on providing efficient and timely services with improved access both for patients and providers.

“The Center for Cardiovascular Health is new model for care in our community,” says Marcy Rushford, Director of Radiology & Cardiology at BMH. “The team is working together not only in the Center, but across the organization and larger community to improve patient wellness and outcomes. We hope that inviting our community members in, they can learn more about the changing face of healthcare in Southeast Vermont.”

Here’s a summary of the 2014 Vermont Health Connect Plan Designs and Monthly Premiums, as updated on August 23, downloaded from healthconnect.vermont.gov. (see attachment)

I don’t know if this is the final version.

-Adrian Segar-

Two Brattleboro residents, one Dummerston resident and one Putney resident have put their minds together to help other people keep their minds sharp.

The
latest brain research has scientifically revealed that our mind-body connections can have a positive influence on our health. A new class offered by NEPNI, the Northeast Psycho-Neuro-Immunology Institute, explores evidence-based brain research while offering techniques and practices to “Train Your Brain” for the purpose of healing and memory enhancement. Individuals with concerns about memory and brain function as well as professionals looking to diversify and broaden their practices can all benefit from these classes.

If you feel older than you want to or think you should, your joints are getting as swollen as your brain feels some days, or you know someone with chronic pain, do whatever you can to get yourself and everyone you know in the same position to Brattleboro, VT, Tuesday, Sept 3, 6-8pm to hear the latest from international pain expert Devin Starlanyl at BMH in Brew Marry CR 3. Starlanyl, medical researcher and long term patient herself, co-authored new release “Healing through Trigger Point Therapy: A Guide to Fibromyalgia, Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction”. Starlanyl says “Our Primary purpose is to educate the patients and caregivers, and the medical community, of the complexity of chronic pain conditions that when properly diagnosed, may ultimately end a world of suffering.”

Will fund nurse navigation services for third straight year

Officials at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced today that the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) has awarded a grant in the amount of $22,560 to help continue providing nurse navigation services as part of the hospital’s Comprehensive Breast Care program.

The NBCF awarded similar one-year grants to BMH in 2011 and 2012. The amount reflects both the need for nurse navigation services and the benefits it provides for patients with breast cancer.

One of the newly hired navigators for Vermont Health Connect, Peter Sterling working on state-wide enrollment, will provide an overview of Vermont’s new health care exchange on Wednesday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. in Conference Room Two at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

Beginning in 2014 radical changes will be occurring for Vermonters eligible for public health care programs. Catamount and VHAP are being eliminated and about 25,000 of the enrollees in these programs and thousands more who are eligible but not enrolled will for the first time be able to enroll in Medicaid at no cost!

Four Years ago my wife Beverly Beane, a resident of Guilford, was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure.  

We ask your help in finding a compatible live kidney donor – someone with type O blood, under 60 and healthy.  It takes a village . . .   Please take six minutes to watch the video.  If you can’t help, please share. 

Please contact Ed Liebfried for more information.  ed.liebfried@gmail.com  A wealth of info is also available through the Dartmouth-Hitchcock transplant center. 

The Main Entrance of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital re-opened to the public on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, and the new ambulatory entrance for the Emergency Department opened the following day. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is expanding and renovating the hospital’s Emergency Department.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and U.S. Congressional Representative Peter Welch were at the hospital on Monday to help cut the ribbon on the new Hospital and Emergency Department Entrances. Both praised BMH for its leadership and efforts to advance access to high-quality, affordable healthcare in the community.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced it will open its new Lobby Cafe in the newly renovated Main Entrance on Monday, August 26.

The Lobby Cafe replaces the coffee shop that was part of the old Main Entrance. It will be open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 2:15 PM, serving breakfast items, soups, express salads, made to order sandwiches, specialty paninis and various snacks. Green Mountain Coffee and Mocha Joe’s coffee products will also be available. The cafe will also have a gift area with greeting cards, flowers and stuffed animals for purchase.

The Lobby Cafe will offer vegetarian and gluten free options and is open to the public. BMH is a proud supporter of the Vermont Fresh Network and Windham Farm and Food Network.

You can look up the safety rating for a particular hospital or for all the hospitals in a certain city or an entire state at:  http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/

Hospitals are given a grade, such as “A” “B” or “C” and you can also see the detailed breakdown for each category contributing to the overall score. For example, one category is: Surgery Patients Received Appropriate Treatment to Prevent Blood Clots at the Right Time.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital official announced they have hired Bob Rovella to be the new Director of Finance.

Rovella joins BMH after serving as Director of Finance at Central Vermont Medical Center in Barre, Vermont. Previously, he has held similar positions at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts and Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia, New Hampshire. Rovella has an MBA from the UMASS Isenberg School of Business and a BS in Accounting and Business Administration from Connecticut State University.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and AARP are co-sponsoring a Driver Safety program on Saturday, August 24 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the Brew Barry Conference Room.

This driver’s refresher course is for people ages 55 and over and is designed to provide awareness of aging as it affects driving. The class covers normal physical changes associated with aging, provides practical techniques to compensate and review “rules of the road” with an emphasis on defensive driving practices.

Space is limited to 20 participants. The cost is $12.00 for AARP members with a membership card & $14.00 for non-AARP members. Call 802-251-8425 to register in advance. Fee covers materials only. Participants are encouraged to bring a lunch.

Prescription drugs are so commonly used that some mistakenly believe they are harmless. These medications in your home may be easily accessible to youth, who often have a misperception that misusing medications is a safe way to get high. Many prescription medications, especially pain relievers and stimulants, can be extremely dangerous when used improperly, such as in combination with other drugs and/or alcohol. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA), more free time and less adult supervision can make the summertime an exciting time for many young people, but it can also increase the likelihood of exposure to dangers and substance use.

Plans for the 5th Annual Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Touch a Truck event are underway. And we would love for you to participate.

This fun event annually brings over 50 vehicles to the BMH parking lot for kids (and many adults) to look at, climb on and explore. Fire trucks, police cruisers, motorcycles, backhoes, dump trucks, school buses and many, many more converge for a few hours. Last year it is estimated that over 800 children attended.