Sally Clark, RN, one of AAMC's volunteers, hugs a patient who is recovering from surgery.

This December, AAMC staff Miemie Van Rooyen, RN, Sally Clark, RN, Lily Oliva, RN and Ed Zebovitz, MD were part of a team of Surgeons for Smiles volunteers who traveled to Bangladesh – just about half way around the world – to operate on children who have cleft lips and/or palates.

These children and their families have little to no access to health care and no means of paying for any services they receive. In their determination to be seen by this team of medical professionals, many of them traveled for eight or more hours by bus to get to Savar, Bangladesh, the site of the Center for Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed.  

Our team was comprised of three oral-maxillofacial surgeons, two anesthesiologists, three RNs and one “public relations/overall-organizer-of-all-of-us-and-our-logistics” person, who arrived with 25 large bags of surgical supplies and equipment that enabled us to operate on over 70 young children. 

After their surgeries, all of these little patients and their mothers or other female family (fathers and other males were allowed in the room only on a limited basis) stayed in one big room with approximately 35 mattresses on the floor. 

The women all helped each other through the recovery process with their children and worked in conjunction with speech-language therapists to re-teach the children how to eat, swallow and speak. It became its own healing community that bonded together to help and support each family and patient. 

For those of us who are so fortunate as to have jobs and careers in which we are able to give to others in need like this, it’s an amazing process to watch life-changing surgeries take place and to see these children to grow and thrive.  -Sally Clark, RN

Check out the amazing photos of this trip on AAMC’s SmugMug page: http://annearundelmedicalcenter.smugmug.com/

The IOM’s Future of Nursing report has been called “groundbreaking,” “a revolutionary call to action,” and “an evidence-based road map.” What do you need to know about these recommendations? What is it going to take to satisfy future demands for care? How does AAMC measure up? How can you be a leader in this? Why is this so important right now and over the next ten years? What does this mean for you?

Come to Nursing Grand Rounds on Friday, Feb. 24 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Doordan Institute.

Guest speakers will be:

Lunch and registration begin at 10:30 a.m. RSVP to clinedu@aahs.org or call 443-481-1527. MNA contact hour approval pending. 

Due to the rapid number of changes in health care requiring advanced knowledge, an increasing number of nurses are recognizing the need to achieve higher levels of education and to become nationally certified in their specialty areas.

AAMC’s Nurse Executive Council is interested in identifying the number of nurses who have future plans to attain their BSN, become nationally certified, and/or enter the Clinical Ladder within the next five years. We are also interested in identifying what assistance and resources you need to achieve your career goals. This information will be used to develop our blueprint for the future of nursing at AAMC.

Please take a few minutes to answer this confidential, three-question survey between Wednesday, Feb. 1 and Friday, Feb. 17. Click here to go directly to the survey.

Thank you in advance for your participation. If you have any questions, please contact cley@aahs.org.   -Cathaleen Ley, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., B.C

AAMC Foundation will award twelve $5,000 scholarships this year! Scholarship applications are now being accepted. Deadline to submit is March 1, 2012. 

Here’s another testimony from Jan Clemons, RN, who works on the Oncology Unit (pictured on the right with donors). Jan was awarded the Balfe Clifford Nursing Scholarship in 2011:

“I am finished with four of my seven semesters in the Health Management and Leadership Master’s at University of Maryland. Classes are wonderful and very interesting. My planned date of graduation will be Dec. 2012. The scholarship has provided my home with a new computer, thanks to the scholarship I can manage multiple online classes efficiently.”

”For scholarship eligibility and guidelines, read Are you in nursing school? Apply for a Nursing Scholarship!

Applications are available via the Nursing Web site. Contact Sandy Fox at sfox@aahs.org with questions.

In celebration of Heart Month and to accommodate those with 12-hour work shifts, the following select Energize℠ classes are being offered for free during the entire month of February. Come join us at:

No prior sign-up is required. Call the Wellness Office at x5360 for more information.

On Wednesday, Jan.25, we celebrated National IV Nurses Day. We honor the dedication and professionalism of Vascular Access and Infusion Nurses in this important, demanding and ever-growing specialty.

I have been recently asked about how the IV team started here at AAMC and after doing a little research, I found some answers.

Until the mid 1950’s, physicians or medical students started all IVs at Anne Arundel General Hospital. They used straight steel needles that, in those days, were often sharpened and sterilized for re-use.

In the late 1950’s, the use of IV therapy really started to increase at the hospital. Recognizing the need, a woman named Alice Banks started the first IV Team at Anne Arundel. It was a one person team staffed by Melba Wodifoldt. She was responsible for starting IVs, drawing blood and maintaining the infusion equipment, including the glass IV bottles and needles.

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A heartfelt letter of thanks from a happy patient. We can’t get enought of these!

I wanted to express my appreciation for your excellent staff during my recent stay at the Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Several months ago, I entered the hospital for surgery to remove a kidney due to a tumor. Dr. Robert Hanley performed the surgery. From the moment I entered the hospital until I was discharged three days later, I was treated with excellent care by everyone on your staff with no exceptions. From the volunteer who took me to the surgery prep area to the young lady who wheeled me out to the car, everyone was just great. The nursing staff could not do enough to make me comfortable.

This was my first hospital stay in about thirty years and, needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive. Not that I’d like to do this again, but if I do, it will be at your facility. Thank you and you excellent staff for seeing me through this.

AAMC Foundation will award twelve $5,000 scholarships this year! Scholarship applications are now being accepted. Deadline to submit is March 1, 2012. 

Here’s another testimony from Tina Wilkerson, RN, who works in the Outpatient Infusion Center (pictured on the right with Commander Vittek). Tina was awarded the Al & Mary Vittek Nursing Advancement Fund in 2011:

“I am currently working on my BSN degree through Drexel University’s online program. Returning to college has put a financial strain on my family, so it has been a relief to receive financial support from the generous donors. With the scholarship, I was able to stay on path with my education goals – taking two classes a quarter and maintaining my 3.5 grade point average. I still have several classes to take before graduating, but the support from the managers, my colleagues, and the administration at AAMC has been fantastic. The foundation scholarship is a tremendous program that helps people like me to reach my personal and professional educational goals.” 

For scholarship eligibility and guidelines, read Are you in nursing school? Apply for a Nursing Scholarship!

Applications are available via the Nursing Web site. Contact Sandy Fox at sfox@aahs.org with questions.

Nurses. We’re on our feet for hours at a time.  Standing, lifting, walking and carrying.  Delivering smiles, meds and sometimes a lost teddy bear to patients in need.  Nursing is a demanding profession utilizing all our physical, mental and spiritual abilities.  We love what we do and we do it well.  But it can take a tremendous physical and emotional toll if we are not careful to nurture ourselves, too. 

“We give so much to our patients,” said Sherri Morgan-Johnson, Clinical Director, Care Management.  “Nursing takes a lot of strength, and we need to remember to renew our bodies and souls so we can continue to be effective caregivers.  Getting a massage is a great way to replenish your mind, body and spirit.”

Running off to the spa for a day may not be in your budget or your busy schedule.  Who has the time?  But you can find a half-hour during your week for a healing massage right here on campus!  Campus massage therapy is an affordable, easily-accessible alternative to the traditional costly spa outing.  And the benefits are priceless.

“I absolutely love our campus massage therapist, Janet Dubovsky,” Sherri said recently.  “Her healing hands and quiet, restful demeanor really help me de-stress and relax.  Massage has now become an integral part of my wellness regimen, just like exercise and good nutrition.  I hope many of my fellow nurses will give it a try!”

Janet Dubovsky, our resident massage therapist pictured on the right, is located right here on campus in the Breast Center in HSP.  Employees receive a 20% discount on all services, which means that a half-hour massage is only $40 and an hour massage is $68.  A variety of massage therapies are offered, including Swedish, deep tissue, prenatal and reflexology.

To book your massage today, call x5360 or book online at www.aamcevents.org (click Massage) and take good care of yourself.  You deserve it!  -Christa Grim

Do you know how to get additional help if a medical emergency or cardiopulmonary arrest is identified?

Beginning Feb. 15, AAMC’s new Emergency Response Teams policy will go into effect. There are some new and exciting things included in the policy.

As part of our commitment to a culture of safety, anyone can call the Rapid Response Team for help. Yes, that’s right, ANYONE – patients, family, employees, visitors and volunteers. 

The team can be activated by dialing 1111. Information will be included in the patient guide given to patients on admission but please make sure this information is included in the room orientation.

Emergency Response by campus location on campus is as follows:

• Code Blue and Rapid Response Team (Both teams -1111): Hospital, Clatanoff, Edwards Pavilions and Donner Pavilion Radiation Oncology Inpatients only

• EMS (911) and Security (6911): Wayson, Donner, Health Sciences and Sajak Pavilions, including all outpatient regulated space and all campus parking areas. Outpatient regulated space can still call the Hospital Operations Coordinator at 5909 if they need additional assistance to bridge the gap waiting for EMS arrival

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