This is Your Year to Quit Smoking

With the start of a new year, comes a new round of resolutions. We've all made them at one point in our lives, and we all know how hard they are to keep. Surveys suggest quitting smoking consistently ranks in the top 10 resolutions people make each year.

There are a lot of ways to quit smoking and many resources to help you. Family members, friends, and co-workers are supportive or encouraging, but the true desire and commitment to quit must be your own.

Diana Molon, an RN and Certified Facilitator for "Freedom From Smoking" (an American Lung Association based program), understands how difficult it is to stop, but also knows that anyone can do it by setting achievable goals and following some useful recommendations:

Create a Plan

• Set a specific quit date. If it is a New Year's Resolution, deciding on a date after the stressful holidays is a great starting point.
• Make a list of top 10 reasons to quit (health benefits, cost savings, etc.). This can be a useful motivational tool.
• Get your family, friends and co-workers involved in your plan. Let them know of your start date

Change Your Lifestyle and Activities

• During the times in which you smoked, take a walk, play a game, solve a crossword puzzle. Activities that involve your hands and brain can curb your urge and distract you from wanting to smoke.
• Remove ashtrays from your home and car.
• Get more exercise. Not only does physical activity help you quit smoking, it also reduces the risk for weight gain.
• Instead of reaching for a cigarette, choose a piece of fruit, vegetables or a stick of gum.
• Frequent public places where smoking is not allowed.

Classes, Support Groups, Medications

• Enroll in a smoking cessation program. St. Anthony offers "Freedom From Smoking" for adults and "Tobacco Free Teens" for teens in middle school through high school. Both programs focus on health risks, behavior and lifestyle changes and the benefits of quitting.
• Call 1-800-QUIT NOW (800-784-8669), the Indiana stop smoking hot line with one-on-one advice.
• Talk to your doctor about prescription medications and/or over the counter medications (such as nicotine patches and gum) that are safe and appropriate for you.
• Find out about nicotine patches, gum and sprays.

Reward Yourself

• Saving the money you would have spent on cigarettes gives you a great opportunity to buy something you have been wanting for a while, or you can donate the money to your favorite charity.

Remember, in order to stick to your plan, take it one day at time. It is easy to get discouraged. If you find that one strategy isn't working, don't give up completely; try something new. So whether you are a lifelong smoker or have recently picked up the habit, now is a perfect time to quit.

For more tips on how to quit smoking and other health and wellness information, read our In-Depth Report on Smoking online at stanthonymedicalcenter.com.

Surgical Weight Loss Seminar - January 5

Learning a healthy lifestyle shouldn't just be about stepping on the scale.

Sometimes you need that extra motivation to develop a healthier life. Whether it's experimenting with a new fitness routine or sampling new foods, a little change can do you good.

If you struggle with excess weight and are looking for surgical assistance through the use of gastric bypass or adjustable laparoscopic band procedures, the Midwest Bariatric Institute is hosting a free surgical weight loss seminar at St. Anthony Crown Point:

Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - 6 p.m.
at St. Anthony Crown Point
Marian Edcuation Center, Room B
1201 South Main St., Crown Point

For more information or to register for either of these programs, call (219) 852-2518.

Holiday Feast Arrives Just in Time

Mike Kenney, a member of the Duneland Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, donated 10 holiday turkeys on Dec. 22, for the second consecutive year on the federation’s behalf, to the St. Anthony Crown Point St. Clare Health Clinic. The clinic provides free services for underprivileged area residents.

Among families receiving the 25-pound birds were Crown Point residents Chris Schriner (shown accepting a turkey from Kenney) and his wife, Sabrina Shriner. Also among recipients was Glenda Thurston, of Cedar Lake, who is standing behind and to Kenney’s right. Looking on are Julie Mallers, clinic manager; Joe Allegretti, St. Anthony Capital Campaign chairman, who arranged the donation; and Jim Larsen, campaign member.

The campaign raised enough funds to build a new clinic earlier this year.

Body Shop Brings Young Patients Joy

Auto Care Body Shop owner Donny Sims, left, and his mother Vicky, second from left, brought toys to patients in the St. Anthony Crown Point Short Stay/Pediatrics unit on Dec. 22. It is the second year the Crown Point business has provided holiday gifts to area hospitals and charitable organizations.

"I have four kids and understand how tough it is out there these days," Donny Sims said.

Vicky Sims said, "We want to do something to help the community."

Shown with the Simses are, from left, Amy Worley, unit clinical resource registered nurse; Kristina Peterson, patient care associate; and Michelle Busse, a licensed practical nurse.

St. Anthony Says Farewell to Longtime Chief Clinical Dietitian

St. Anthony Crown Point bid a fond farewell on Dec. 20 to Dorothy Lindell, who, for 12 years of her 16 years with the hospital, served as chief clinical dietitian.

She has been a dietitian more than 30 years. Dorothy retires on Dec. 22, but not before hospital employees surprised her with a cake, roses, hugs and sharing of fond memories, during a party in the Doctors Lounge.

Dorothy said the best part of working at St. Anthony "was the people." She will now spend time enjoying her grandchildren, traveling and tending to her five horses.

St. Anthony Provides Merrier Christmas for Needy Families

Thanks to the St. Anthony Crown Point family, some 40 St. Clare Health Clinic client-families won’t go without this holiday season.

St. Anthony employees purchased enough gifts to more than fill Santa’s sleigh, wrapped them and presented them to grateful recipients at the hospital’s Marian Education Center on Dec. 17. The effort has been ongoing for about 10 years.

(Pictured, from left: St. Anthony employees Marsha Zaiko, engineering department secretary; Agnes Seitz, mission integration director; Debra Kabella, Human Resources manager; Sister Renee Duplessis, chaplain; Carrie Honeycutt, St. Clare medication program director, along with her son, Nick; and Diane Jansen, St. Clare volunteer coordinator)

St. Clare Health Clinic, along with the Prenatal Assistance Center, both located at 1121 S. Indiana Ave., provide free services for needy families.

Boxer’s Friends Take His Cancer Fight to St. Anthony

The late John Kark was a boxer who became a cancer fighter – and the battle he started is far from the final bell.

Kark, of Merrillville, died of cancer in April, after first knocking out another form of it in 2000. These days, his loved ones and friends are carrying on his battle through the John Kark Cancer Fight Club, which he initiated under the title of Chicago Fight Club, in 2008. The name was changed after his death.

Club members Julie Schroeder, of Chicago, who was Kark’s fiancée, and former longtime neighbor Gretchen Wrobleski, of Merrillville, a cancer survivor, who credits the amateur boxer’s inspiration for her successful battle, recently donated to the St. Anthony Crown Point Burrell Cancer Institute $1,000 from a fundraiser conducted in the city on Dec. 11.

Pictured (left to right): David Ruskowski, St. Anthony President; Gretchen Wrobleski; Julie Schroeder; and Rebecca Grove, manager of the Burrell Cancer Institute and the hospital's Breast Care Center.

Wrobleski said she wanted to help St. Anthony since she was treated for a brain tumor there in 1980. She also recently had a bout with breast cancer.

Schroeder said St. Anthony also was chosen because members wanted to help a Crown Point organization, since the fundraiser took place there.

"It was important to John to help others who have cancer," she said. "We plan to keep the club going and get bigger every year. We want to give back to the community. It also helps us better deal with his loss."

For more information or to donate to the cause, visit: http://www.johnkarkcancerfightclub.org/.

Groups Sew Seeds of Warmth

Nurse practitioner Julie Mallers, far left, manager of St. Anthony Crown Point’s St. Clare Health Clinic, which serves underprivileged area residents, accepts a donation of 100 sets of mittens, hats and scarf sets for children on Dec. 7. The items were sewn and donated by Lenore Hess, second from left, an information security employee for Alverno Information Services, which is affiliated with the hospital; by Sister Renee Duplessis, far right, a hospital chaplain; and by members of St. Stephen Martyr Church in Merrillville, represented by Isabelle Ramirez, second from right. Other St. Stephen members who assisted include Inga Thomas, Margaret Chidester, Ann Wojcicki, Rose Ross and Debbie Ivan. The groups also combined efforts to make and donate to the hospital 38 heart patient pillows and 50 cancer patient comfort pillows. They also donated 50 pillow cases to an orphanage.

Dec. 5-11: National Handwashing Week - Tips and Instructions

December 5-11, 2010, is National Handwashing Awareness Week. ‘Tis the season for colds and the flu, and because they are easily spread, you should always be mindful of when and how you should properly wash your hands. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands. The CDC offers the following recommendations for proper handwashing to prevent illness at home, at school and at work:

When should you wash your hands?

• Before and after preparing food
• Before and after eating food
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
• Before and after tending to someone who is sick
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After handling an animal or animal waste
• After handling garbage
• Before and after treating a cut or wound

When washing hands with soap and water:

• Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
• Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
• Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
• Rinse hands well under running water.
• Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

Remember: If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based gel (at least 60% alcohol) to clean hands.

When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

• Apply product to the palm of one hand, using the amount of product indicated on the label.
• Rub hands together.
• Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.

Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Generous Spirit Warms a Chilly Day

The outside temperature was frightful, but it couldn’t chill the generosity displayed by members of the Gamma Theta Chapter of Tri Kappa on Dec. 2.

The Crown Point organization donated $3,000, which will be matched by a local philanthropist, to the St. Anthony Medical Center Capital Campaign, to support the new home of the St. Clare Health Clinic and its programs, which provide free care and assistance for underprivileged area residents.

Pictured from the left are Julie Mallers, St. Clare manager; Mandy Merkel of Tri Kappa, Mickie Hardin, local Tri-Kappa president and a St. Anthony employee; David Ruskowski, St. Anthony president; Mary Rhee of Tri-Kappa, Terri Williams of Tri Kappa and Joe Allegretti, Capital Campaign chairman.

The funds were derived from a Tri Kappa Kitchen Tour & Tasting program in October. Guests toured eight Crown Point homes where they sampled a featured menu item or favorite dish of 10 local restaurant chefs. The event was coordinated by Tri Kappa member Mandy Merkel, manager of Giovanni’s restaurant in Munster and her husband, Tim, who is a chef there and helped round up colleagues to participate.

Tri Kappa member Mary Rhee, a co-chairwoman of the event, said, "We are aware of the benefits St. Clare Clinic provides the community and are acutely aware of the need here."

The Capital Campaign is raising $4.5 million, including the match. The money has raised funds for a new complex to house the clinic and the Prenatal Assistance Program and is financing construction of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, scheduled to be completed in February, at St. Anthony.

Saintly Patience Earns SAMC Doctor Award

Raymond Drasga’s patience with patients and staff helped earned him the 2010 St. Raphael Award at Saint Anthony Medical Center.

The presentation took place during a physician general staff meeting on Nov. 30 in the Marian Education Center.

Pictured: Carol Schuster, RN, vice president of patient services; and Margo Diaz, RN, vice chair of the Nursing Performance Improvement Shared Decision-Making Council, present the St. Raphael award to Robert Drasga, MD

Drasga, MD, who has been with Saint Anthony for all of his 28 years in the profession -- and is medical director of both the St. Clare Health Clinic and the Burrell Cancer Institute -- was honored by the Nursing Performance Improvement Shared Decision-Making Council.

"He doesn’t rush his patients or the nursing staff. He is a role model for good care for all of us. He often returns after making rounds to talk with patients and their families to assure they are receiving the best care," the council said in presenting the honor.

The award is named for Raphael, an archangel who is patron saint of doctors and nurses. The council has presented the award since 2005.

Drasga, who was among five nominees, said he was honored to receive the award.

"I have always felt my relationship with the nursing staff has been congenial and in the best interest of the patients. There is a great camaraderie here," Drasga said.