Annual Report - Winthrop University Hospital

Winthrop-University Hospital 2011 Annual ReportRespecting traditionWinthrop’s Pastoral Care and Education Program serves thespiritual needs of patients and families by offering healingministry, spiritual support and pastoral care. Our chaplains mayhelp by contacting clergy of a patient’s faith or by ministeringdirectly through discussion, prayer, rituals and sacraments.Chaplains assist patients and their loved ones as they copewith illness, and provide support during times of grief andbereavement 24 hours a day, seven days a week.To accommodate the needs of families of observant Jewishpatients, Winthrop offers a variety of services, including aSabbath House. This facility may house up to five families andoffers a kitchen equipped for kosher food handling and lightsthat turn on automatically in the afternoon and shut off at nighton the Sabbath.Within the Hospital setting, there are numerous resources forJewish patients and visitors. These include a Sabbath elevator,which stops at each floor on the Sabbath and Yom Tov, andalso Glatt Kosher patient meals.Quality of life and end-of-life careRespect, comfort and dignity are essential for those nearing theend of life. Winthrop has on staff three board-certified palliativecare physicians, something not generally found at other institutions.As a result, our patients and their families can be assuredthat every effort will be made to alleviate the stresses of thisdifficult time.Our surgeons are developing tomorrow’s proceduresPhysicians at Winthrop-University Hospital have made a significantbreakthrough in minimally invasive surgery, treating aserious condition of the esophagus by passing an endoscopethrough a patient’s mouth, thereby avoiding an incision.When a child is diagnosed with diabetes, management of thecondition becomes a family affair. Taylor Rosenking enteredWinthrop’s Pediatric Diabetes Program at age four when shewas diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition inwhich the body produces little or no insulin.“Discovering that my daughter had diabetes was scary,” says Taylor’smother, Carol, “but by the time we left Winthrop, I wasn’t scared anymore.” Themulti-disciplinary team in Winthrop’s Pediatric Diabetes Program, which servesmore than 1,000 children in the tri-state area, monitors and treats patients,and, equally as important, works to educate their families and communitymembers such as school nurses about effective management of the condition.“The simplest things, like going on a field trip, aren’t simple for children withdiabetes,” explains Jean Corrigan, RN, MA, Program Director. “They have tomake sure that they have all of their equipment with them, that they will be ableto eat if they need to, and, if they eat, that they will be able to see nutritioninformation and count carbs in order to manage their blood glucose levels andinsulin therapy.”Today, Taylor is an active teenager who loves to dance and who uses aninsulin pump to continuously deliver insulin subcutaneously. The pump eliminatesthe need for insulin injections, gives Taylor greater flexibility with hermeal plan and allows her to live and enjoy a full life.“I remember how I felt when I first was diagnosed with diabetes and howmany challenges I faced,” she says. “I want kids to know that they are notalone, and that they can’t let diabetes stop them from anything.”23