Family Health Page
Welcome to the Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital Family Health Page! Here we post current articles regarding your children's health and safety. If you have an idea for an article, please send it to us!
PROVIDENCE ANNOUNCES LIMITS ON HOSPITAL VISITATION IN OREGON
Contact: Barbara Ayers, 541-387-6342
At first glance, they look like nice, easy going people. They give of their time and their talents. They perform a variety of tasks - everything from planning parties to greeting patients at the door and knitting baby booties. They are the volunteers at Providence Hood River’s hospital, clinics and senior facilities. And the impact on local health care really adds up – nearly $300,000 in 2009.
In November, the hospital auxiliary team, led by its vice president-elect Nancy Hubert, delivered a $25,000 check to Ty W. Erickson, Providence Hood River’s chief executive. The amount was generated by hospital gift shop sales in 2009, and helps buy additional equipment for the hospital’s expansion.
Earlier in 2009, Providence volunteers awarded $25,000 to support the hospital foundation’s The One Campaign, advancing clinical education and funding a “sim baby,” which simulates a living, breathing infant in distress. The volunteers also donated $6,500 this year to support health care scholarships for five hospital employees.
They give their time nearly every day of every year. Last year, they logged 26,479 hours, worth $235,000.
Volunteers at Providence Hood River are the first to greet patients, residents and their families and to offer support in times of need. These volunteers hold fundraisers, sell jewelry, baked goods, books and other products – all in the name of giving back. At Providence’s assisted living center, Brookside Manor, senior companion volunteers organize resident activities. Volunteers also serve at Providence hospital and clinics, working at welcome desks, escorting visitors and staffing a weekly free blood pressure clinic.
The volunteers represent a wide range of ages and backgrounds. Teenagers greet expectant families in the hospital’s Family Birth Center. A spunky senior, now retired from work at a surgeon’s office, nurtures patients and their families in the ER. And one volunteer isn’t even human – she is a therapy dog, who visits bedridden folks, offering licks and love.
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At Providence Hood River, young people are helping to build a new hospital addition with their bare hands.
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Local Columbia River Gorge children, in cooperation with the nonprofit Columbia Center for the Arts “Summer Art Experiences” program, have begun to transform a plain grey wall, five feet high and 22 feet long, into a colorful Gorge mosaic. Commissioned by Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, the project is the brainchild of local artists Shelley Toon Hight and Mark Nilsson.
With the “tap, tap, tap” of hammers, the kids break glossy tiles into smaller pieces and mix them into pleasing palettes of color. Under the watchful eye of the professional artists, the kids use glue guns loaded with construction cement to cover a grey cement wall with vibrant tiles. It’s a dirty job - but results will be stunning.
“This is the coolest thing I have ever done,” said one young artist, whose fingertips were covered with sticky glue gun leftovers.
The mosaic design represents a sweeping view of the Gorge area and includes curling waves, vibrant windsurfers, multi-colored pears and a panorama of spectacular scenery. The wall is located outside Providence Hood River’s new entrance on 12th Street. The mosaic is visible both inside and outside the hospital.
“This is such a treat, to watch as the art unfolds before our very eyes,” said
Ty W. Erickson, Providence Hood River’s chief executive. “We wanted to get local kids involved because this wall is a permanent part of our new hospital. Visitors will enjoy the art for years to come and the design will delight all generations,” Erickson said.
In the next few weeks, artists Nilsson and Toon Hight will add professional touches and then Providence employees will get involved in the project.
The wall mosaic is the 16th art project created this year as part of the hospital’s new 36,000 square-foot addition in Hood River.
With the expertise of 10 local artists, more than 700 students from Columbia River Gorge classrooms, from Hood River, Cascade Locks, The Dalles and White Salmon, created 15 gallery-quality projects through a partnership with the schools and nonprofit Columbia Gorge Arts in Education program inside the new Providence hospital building.
“Local children and artists throughout the Gorge put their hands and their hearts into creating our healing art gallery,” Erickson said. “They are helping to bring comfort, peace and inspiration to our patients, our visitors and our community,” he said.
Providence Hood River has a long history of working with area schools, children. artists and community groups on a variety of meaningful projects in its 77 year history. Each year, the not-for-profit hospital incorporates local healing art into its facilities.
Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital was recently awarded Oregon State’s 2009 Outstanding Community/School Partnership Award for its longstanding support of school programs with Hood River County School District.
Kids are the future – the future of our community, our health care and our world,”
said Erickson. “Many of these kids were born here, and so were their relatives and friends. This hospital is their hospital, in more ways than one.”
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Women's Health
Dr. Robin Hensen, MD
“We love working with women, being involved with families and helping to promote healthy lifestyles.” Henson said. “We want to collaborate with our patients to provide the best gynecological services in the area.”
To schedule an appointment, please call 541-387-8940 or visit www.providence.org/hoodriver.
Michele Bouche, CNM
Michele Bouche, a certified nurse midwife, joined Providence Women’s Clinic in February. Bouche graduated from Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in Hyden, Ky., and is certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives. She has initiated and developed four midwifery practices and a private practice in Springfield, Ore., and for 30 years has worked alongside doctors and nurses as part of a comprehensive health team dedicated to patient health.
In describing her personal style as a family and birthing provider, Bouche said she believes in promoting health in a nurturing and supportive environment for families.
“I am excited to work for Providence and use my expertise to contribute to the healing and well being of the families I care for,” Bouche said. “I feel honored to be part of the extraordinary birthing experience and thrilled to be part of this amazing community.” To schedule an appointment, call 541-387-8940.
Dr. Elaine Adsit, MD
Elaine Adsit, M.D., knows all too well the challenges, and joys, of being a mom-to-be.
Not only has Dr. Adsit worked in women’s medicine since 1989 and in Hood River since 2004, she and her husband are the parents of 5-year-old twins-- a boy and a girl. And working with expecting mothers and other patients as part of the Providence Women’s Clinic in Hood River, which she’s done since September, has been the icing on the cake.
“It’s been good working for Providence,” she said happily. “I like having the freedom to simply practice medicine without having to worry about running a business at the same time. I also like the people I work with at Providence. They have really good priorities about taking care of patients.”
Dr. Adsit is fully qualified to do surgery if a C-section or laparascopic procedures are called for. It’s a part of her practice she particularly enjoys. “I like the fact that in my field you can have patients who stay with you for a long time, and yet I still get chances to perform surgery,” she said. “And I enjoy taking care of women who are going to have babies.”
She added, “I can help them through significant medical events in their lives. It’s very fulfilling.”
Dr. Adsit loves biking, skiing and windsurfing, and spending time with her family.
All Women's Clinic staff members are passionate about promoting high quality medical services and empowering women to become partners in their health care. To schedule an appointment, call (541) 387-8940.
