Fulfilling our mission in Bensalem While helping members of our community achieve and maintain good health is a priority for St. Mary, providing other essential services – like food and clothing – to the underserved is also part of our mission. Through strategic partnerships with businesses, foundations, and other non-profit organizations, we are able to provide for many people in need at our Bensalem Ministries. One such organization with which we recently partnered is The Baby Bureau. The Baby Bureau is a non-profit, volunteer program that helps underserved moms by providing clothing for their newborns. Each “Baby Bundle” is made up of at least 30 seasonally appropriate outfits, onesies, sleepers, bibs, a hat and a new rattle. All of the clothing is donated and either new or gently used. The bundles are wrapped in donated blankets or quilts and delivered to community social service providers like St. Mary to distribute to families in need. Fran Wasserman, Executive Director of The Baby Bureau, stopped by the Children’s Health Center on March 31 with a special delivery. “I was so honored to deliver the first of many Baby Bundles to the clinic this morning. Being able to personally give one to this darling one-week old little girl was truly a Mission Moment for me. I thank you for that!” she said of her visit. In addition to the individually packaged bundles of clothing, the Baby Bureau also contributed gently used books to entertain older children in the Mother Bachmann and Children’s Health Center waiting rooms. Thank you to Fran and the generous donors and volunteers at The Baby...
A Shared Partnership of Caring Wrapping patients in love at the St. Mary Regional Cancer Center The mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. LLS exists to find cures and ensure access to treatments for blood cancer patients. They serve as a voice for patients as well as a listening ear; advocating on their behalf while helping to identify treatment options and navigating through them. In addition, the LLC drives and funds research focused on finding cures for blood cancers and fosters relationships with organizations and institutions whose missions and visions regarding cancer care align with their own. Subaru of America and St. Mary are two such organizations. The month of June is Subaru of America’s “Loves to Care” month. Visitors to participating Subaru retailers across the country were given the opportunity to share personalized messages of hope to members of their local communities who were fighting cancer. These messages were then attached to large, soft, chenille blankets to be distributed to patients undergoing cancer treatments to help provide comfort and warmth. Representatives from the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society arrived at the St. Mary Regional Cancer Center on July 6th, to deliver several cases of individually boxed blankets and messages from visitors to Reedman-Toll Subaru. Colleagues from the Cancer Center, Infusion Room and Oncology Unit joined staff from the Foundation in welcoming them to St. Mary and accepting the donation on behalf of our patients. Meredith Ortlieb, Senior Campaign Manager, Light the Night,...
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Enhancements to services abound at St. Mary! The St. Mary Foundation’s Ambassador Circle met on Friday, April 26th for lunch and their quarterly meeting at the Northampton Valley Country Club. After welcoming remarks and opening prayer, Dan Drake, Vice President of Continuing Care, gave a brief presentation on LIFE St. Mary and plans for serving the aging population in Bucks County through this year and into the future. Dan reported that this group presents both a challenge and an opportunity for St. Mary. Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation for population over 65 years of age. Just over 16% of Bucks County residents are over age 65 and we possess the highest percentage of residents over 85 in the whole state. In 2009, St. Mary opened a Program for All-Inclusive Care for Elders (PACE) called Living Independently for Elders (LIFE) St. Mary, to serve this growing population. While in the LIFE St. Mary program, participants receive personalized healthcare services based on their specific needs. Enrollment in the LIFE program allows individuals to remain living in their own homes instead of a nursing home facility. Last year, the LIFE program, which is located in Trevose, had 220 Medicaid/Medicare eligible participants aged 55 or older. All participants resided in one of 16 approved Lower Bucks County ZIP code areas. This year, LIFE St. Mary has experienced a small growth spurt and is now serving 235 participants from 30 approved ZIP code areas. Should any LIFE St. Mary participant or other elderly Bucks County resident require a hospital stay, St. Mary is equipped with the only geriatric-friendly unit in the area. Nurses on...
Take Me Out to the Ballgame Donors demonstrate their St. Mary team spirit The St. Mary Foundation hosted our 9th annual night out at Arm & Hammer Park honoring members of the Legacy and 1973 Societies on May 12. Nearly 50 guests gathered in the Yankee Club Suite to watch the Trenton Thunder take on the Reading Fightin’ Phills for a standing room only crowd! Ballpark staff and the team celebrated hospital professionals’ night by welcoming St. Mary’s own Jeannette Bernacki, BSN, Interim Service Line Administrator for Oncology as well as Jamison Jaffe, DO and Justin Harmon, DO, of Comprehensive Urologic Specialties onto the field to recognize them all for their dedication to serving the healthcare needs of our patients. Special guests Boomer and Cloudman from the Thunder and the Philly Phanatic joined them for a photo opportunity before clearing the field for the first pitch. What exactly is the 1973 Society? The 1973 Society was formed to honor and engage those working to support the vision of the Sisters of St. Francis who founded St. Mary Medical Center in 1973 as a City of Hope and Healing. An invitation to participate in this group is for those special donors who have demonstrated that the four pillars of the 1973 Society– healing, hope, charity, and community– are of utmost value to them too. The 1973 Society enables community members to support St. Marys unique delivery of patient-centered healthcare in a world that has become disconnected from the human spirit and sees patients not as people, but as numbers. St. Mary brings state-of-the-art healthcare to our local community while attracting...
