Join the Fight Against Heart Attack and Stroke

Last month, I discussed Florida Hospital’s goal to encourage employees and the community to live to a Healthy 100. This month, I want to tell you about a special employee wellness event across all campuses that is designed to increase awareness about heart attack and stroke.

Employees are encouraged to get their blood pressure checked and learn how they can protect themselves from the deadly attacks. I am eager to participate because I have a family history of high blood pressure, which is a leading risk factor for heart attack/stroke. This subject is extremely important and our manager is encouraging us to attend because her family has lost a loved one from a heart attack.

The theme of the event is to “Join the Fight Against Heart Attack and Stroke”. And, although this is a serious topic, the events are fun. We get to munch on heart-healthy snacks, kick our feet up and enjoy chair massages, and test our fighting power in a game of Wii Fit Boxing. There is even a chance to win a Wii gaming system and a pair of boxing gloves!

Below are the dates/times for the campus events:

Altamonte – January 18, 1-3pm

Apopka – January 25, 11am – 1pm

Celebration – January 19, 11am – 1pm

East – January 11, 11am – 3pm

Kissimmee – January 28 11am – 1pm

Orlando – January 29, 11am – 1pm

Winter Park – January 20 11am – 1pm

Maitland – January 27, 11am – 1pm

The event at my campus is this week, and I am looking forward to competing with my fellow employees to win the Wii!

If you would like to be a part of an organization that recognizes the importance of employee health and wellness, please visit: www.floridahospitalcareers.com.

Reward Yourself with a Referral

Do you ever feel like you spend more time at work with your colleagues than at home with your family and friends? I do. Thankfully, Florida Hospital wants you to refer your family and friends to work here because they realize the importance of working with individuals you value and respect.

“You are the most familiar with the environment you work in. So, what better way to enjoy your job than to recruit the individuals you know would be a fit for the organization and carry your same values,” says Elizabeth Philcox, Referral Program representative.

In 2009, Florida Hospital revamped its Employee Referral Program. The concept of the program is to, “Reward Yourself with a Referral.” Employees who refer their family and friends to work at any of our eight hospital locations earn points that can be redeemed towards over 1,300 gifts. We have even created a website specifically for employees to log on and refer individuals, http://www.myfhrewards.com/.

Recently, Shannon Crawford, RN (pictured above), had a friend who was moving to the Orlando area. The two previously worked together in a hospital in Detroit, MI. Shannon encouraged her friend, Sheila Clay, to apply to the Winter Park Memorial Hospital ICU. She even asked her boss if she could give Sheila a walk-through tour of the unit while she was visiting.

“I didn’t even look at it from a recruitment standpoint; I just wanted my friend to work with me at a place like Florida Hospital,” said Shannon.

We are pleased to announce that Sheila was hired at Florida Hospital! Because Shannon referred her friend, she was able choose her reward: a 22” flat screen TV/DVD combo courtesy of Florida Hospital!

If you are looking to work for a place that recognizes and values your relationships, please visit www.floridahospitalcareers.com.

Pray for Haiti

So many of us were shaken by the news of the earthquake in Haiti last week. I have personally felt compelled to help various organizations during this emergency.

There are many individuals at Florida Hospital who are dealing with the grief of losing loved ones in Haiti. During this crisis, Florida Hospital recognizes three things we can do now to encourage those around us: 1. Support those immediately in our community who have suffered losses in Haiti. 2. Offer our prayers. 3. Donate money to legitimate organizations that directly contribute to the relief efforts.

The following link is from our FHTV News broadcast, which is a part of our internal communications. The video brings awareness to the efforts Florida Hospital leadership are involved in and how we can offer support and prayers for our colleagues who are hurting and distressed.

http://www.fhtvnews.com/alerts/haiti-update

Florida Hospital has offered its resources to the State Department to assist in the relief effort as well as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), which is the Seventh-day Adventist international relief organization.

Laughter Yoga

Have you ever been stressed or overwhelmed? Just the other day, I was worrying about something completely insignificant - how was I going to get the house cleaned and start dinner before our company arrived? I had just gotten back from the grocery store and as I was unloading the groceries, I realized I had forgotten the most important ingredient for the meal – chicken. At that point, I started laughing.

A famous author once wrote, “Laughter is by definition healthy.” The Old Testament also states that, “Laughter is the best medicine.” In my case, laughing at myself calmed me down and decreased my anxiety.

Scientific studies have shown that laughter has both therapeutic and preventative health benefits. As you laugh, your body decreases cortisol (a stress hormone), lowers blood pressure, and improves circulation and respiration. It also releases endorphins and enhances alertness, memory and creativity. There is even evidence that frequent laughter can increase longevity and boost the immune system.

Last month, 15 Florida Hospital employees chuckled and giggled their way to lower stress levels and better health during the first ever Laughter Yoga session. Patricia Conklin, BS, from our Leadership Development department is a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader. The one-hour class combined simple laughter exercises with playfulness and yoga-style diaphragmatic (or “belly”) breathing techniques.

“Together, the laughter and yoga breathing help to flush stale air from the lungs and bring more oxygen to the body and brain,” Conklin said as she described the benefits to the Laughter Yoga.

Jane Mulberry, BS, RN is a nursing supervisor at Winter Park Memorial Hospital. She was one of the initial 15 participants said that, “The Laughter Yoga class was great fun! Now, some of the nurses and I laugh as we greet each other (just like we did in the class). I enjoyed the class so much that I’d like to see it incorporated in our diet on a regular basis because it would make some of the stress at work decrease. Laughter is powerful medicine—and something we all get too little of!”

The next Laughter Yoga class is taught February 1st and under the class description the requirement states: “No sense of humor required – only a willingness to laugh!”

If you would like to work for an organization that seeks to invest in their employees through innovative means, please visit http://www.floridahospitalcareers.com/.

Nominate a Nurse Hero

I wanted to post a reminder about the 2010 Nursing Excellence Awards nomination deadline.

Do you know a nurse hero who should be recognized for their extraordinary contributions to their patients, fellow nurses, and the nursing profession?

Well, now is the time to submit a nomination for the 2010 Nursing Excellence Awards sponsored by Nursing Spectrum, NurseWeek, and Nurse.com. Nominations are based on a nurse's clinical care, service to the community, advancing and leading the profession, management, mentoring or teaching.

http://www.nurse.com/nursingexcellence/

The deadline to nominate a nurse hero is Monday, January 18, 2010.

I will make sure to let you know which Nurse Heroes from Florida Hospital are finalists! In addition to nominating Nurses through the Nursing Excellence Awards, you can always recognize a Nurse Hero on a comment below.

Time Out Procedure

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be recognized by a national organization? Well, the Florida Hospital Surgery Team does! 

Florida Hospital nurses value setting examples and motivating others. Jeanette Bartos, RN, MSN, CNOR, Clinical Manager, Surgical Services, Kathy Scott, RN, Clinical Nurse Manager, Sherry Joyce, RN, Elizabeth Andrus, RN, Sharon Ceruti, RN, Dr. Steve Knych, Dr. Mac Axelrod and Tiffany Reefer, CST collaborated on the creation of a video submission to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to help demonstrate the surgical Time Out procedure to other OR professionals. Their submission was selected as one of the TOP TEN videos for the AORN National Time Out Day Contest. The videos were evaluated based on compliance with the World Health Organization Surgical Safety check list and components of the Universal Protocol. 

This video certainly taught me what I should expect when preparing for any surgical procedure. I am constantly impressed by our Nursing Heroes and how they go above and beyond to set an example in patient safety.

This is their video:

If you would like to be part of a team that focuses on motivating others, please visit our careers website: http://www.floridahospitalcareers.com/.