A Vote for Women's Health this holiday season

The Festival of Trees at Westfield Southlake Mall is in full swing, and among the entries is Franciscan Alliance’s “Spirit of Women” tree. The public is encouraged to vote for their favorite tree, and the winning nonprofit group will receive a $1,500 donation to the cause of its choice.

If awarded a donation from Westfield Mall, the Franciscan Alliance Foundation will divide the funds equally between St. Clare Health Clinic in Crown Point and Catherine McAuley Clinic in Hammond. Both of these clinics are mission programs of Franciscan Alliance and operate as free primary care clinics to the working uninsured and underinsured throughout Lake County. The money will be used to provide free digital mammograms to women who are deemed financially unable and ineligible for federally funded breast programs, as well as those who are uninsured.

The trees are located in the center court area on the main level. To vote, shoppers can take the escalator up to the Westfield Concierge Desk, located on the upper level by Macy’s, where they’ll find a voting box and ballots. Only one vote per person will be accepted, and the deadline to vote for the tree is Dec. 24.

Staying Connected During the Holiday Season and Beyond

Submitted by Jamie Monday, Clinical Therapist with the Employee Assistance Program of Franciscan Alliance - Northern Indiana Region

You walk into a restaurant and you notice a couple seated near you. And you observe that they really are not enjoying this opportunity to be together, because one is patiently waiting for the other to stop talking or texting on the cell phone.

It’s not that technology is inherently bad. It actually helps us connect with people in many positive ways. However, our electronic communication has become an easy way to escape genuine communication. Our ability to connect easily through the web, social media and through cell phones is causing many of us to forget the importance of conversation in developing strong relationships.

Through our relationships we experience laughter, companionship, teamwork, friendship, stress-relief, support, a sense of belonging, love, the list goes on and on. Investing in our relationships is crucial.

During this holiday season when you are spending time with family and friends practice working on interactions with each other that promote face-to-face communication. Boundaries like the ones below help establish a strong family value: When you’re with someone, that relationship is your priority!

Setting Boundaries for Mobile Technology:

1. No Devices at the dinner table - Dinner time should be reserved for conversation.
2. No phones at restaurants - We all need to find time daily to disconnect from all the information and reconnect with our families. Maybe even leave your cell phones in the car.
3. No texting someone when you’re both at home or in the same room - Don’t laugh it happens all the time!
4. No texting or talking about really important issues over the phone - This should be done face-to-face unless it is something that can’t wait. You can’t fully understand what that person really means unless you hear the tone of voice or see their face and a lot can be taken the wrong way.
5. Regulate use of devices on vacations - Set limits that force the family to interact with each other.

Outpatient Surgery latest to be named Most Valuable Team

Congratulations to Outpatient Surgery for winning Franciscan Physicians Hospital’s Most Valuable Team award!

Outpatient Surgery is a great example of what MVT is all about. The staff in this department have gone above and beyond in their everyday jobs to make FPH a better place. Patients and other staff members alike have been positively affected by the Outpatient Surgery team. From the Friends in Need luncheon to the surprise Founders Circle donation, the employees in Outpatient Surgery have truly pulled together to Make a Difference.

Thank you, Outpatient Surgery. Way to go!

Blessing program celebrates merger of Medical Specialists, Franciscan Alliance

Check out video highlights from the blessing and commitment ceremony for Franciscan Medical Specialists in Munster, Indiana.



Medical Specialists, a longtime Northwest Indiana health care organization of 69 health care providers who offer a wide variety of primary and specialty care services, has joined Franciscan Alliance, which has four hospitals in Lake County and nine others in Indiana and in south suburban Chicago, as well as numerous offsite specialty centers and clinics.

Wishing you and your family a Holy Advent and a Blessed Christmas

“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
(St. Augustine)

Dear Friends,

In every cell of our body and in the DNA of our souls there is always an ache and longing for something yet to come. We long for becoming a better person, having better health and being in better shape, a better home, a better community, better financial performance. Entertainment industry thrives on our longing for becoming leaner or more beautiful, winning The Voice, X-Factor, American Idol, Next Top Model or the Super Bowl…  We ache in a way that often leaves us dissatisfied and restless inside.

The Season of Advent, which begins this coming Sunday, celebrates that human longing and restlessness. It asks us not to deny them, but to enter them, deepen them, widen them. Longing shapes our souls in many ways. Longing carves out a trough, creates a space within us where something new can be born, where God can be born.

And Christmas is God’s answer to that human longing and restlessness. But God’s answer didn’t exactly meet our expectation. What our world expects is a superstar, someone charismatic, someone rich and famous, a superhero, someone with extraordinary talent, sharpness and muscle-power to out-gun everyone. God’s answer to that: a baby lying helpless in the straw – Jesus, our Savior! Like a baby, God does not out-muscle anyone, outgun anyone, threaten anyone, or overpower anyone. Instead, the power of God revealed in Christmas is the power of a baby, nothing more, nothing less – innocence, gentleness, helplessness, a vulnerability that softens hearts, invites us in, has us hush our noise, teaches us patience, brings us love, joy and peace, and calls forth what’s best in us. Such is the way of God in re-birthing a New You, re-creating a Precious You in His image and likeness. This is the message of Christmas.

As we continue Baby Jesus’ healing ministry in our Franciscan tradition, may we serve each other and our patients with a renewed vigor of gentleness, love, compassion, patience, peace and joy. Wishing you and your family a Holy Advent and a Blessed Christmas.

MISSION AND SPIRITUAL CARE TEAM

'Be Dazzling' appeals to Spirit of Women

Marci Crozier, regional director of marketing and sales for Franciscan Omni Health and Fitness - Schererville, served as mistress of ceremonies for “Be Dazzling,” a free offering of Franciscan Alliance’s Spirit of Women program, a community health education effort, which took place Nov. 8 at Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton. Nearly 300 people were on hand.

Attendees took advantage of health screenings for varicose veins, bone density, blood pressure and blood glucose. Health information also was offered at a Dessert with the Docs segment. A photo booth and professional bra-fitting were available, along with shopping, gifts and refreshments.

Hurricane Sandy Receives NWI Donations

Franciscan Physicians Hospital employees Mary Beth Kosiba, Kari Wall and Robin Rossner hit the road Monday, November 19 in a Uhaul/trailer combination filled with donations and equally important, hope, for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Hospital employees head out with the Uhaul/trailer
combination, both filled with donations.

A multi-facility collection of needed items brought in massive donations from canned goods and pet food to diapers and hand sanitizer. At the donations close, rental of a larger trailer was required to transfer the seemingly endless items.

"Over eight million people were affected by Sandy," says Kosiba, manager of the hospitals Sleep Disorders Center. "The basics we take for granted, they now need to survive. We can't thank the public and employees enough for their generosity."

Traveling together, Kosiba, Wall and Rossner headed to St. Vincent DePaul, a non-profit assistance organization located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where items were transferred and taken to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Donations filled the Uhaul from floor
to ceiling.

Natalie Reisen, community outreach specialist with Franciscan Physicians Hospital, organized the collection. 

"In the aftermath we saw lots of people pulling together," says Reisen. "The worst is over; now we can help those affected get their lives back on track."

Rossner, who works at the Sleep Disorders Center, was moved by the trip. 

"The trip was a wake up call for me. Next time I want to complain or feel that I need something, I can think about those people who are sleeping on cardboard boxes, barely able to provide for themselves without the essential resources to do so."

Donations weren't the only provision given by by hospital employees and donors. Lori Postma, PACU charge nurse at Franciscan Physicians Hospital, attended first-hand to help those in need.

Postma, who departed November 9th, assisted victims in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

"I appreciate all that the hospital does to help it's employees flourish professionally and personally," states Postma. "It has always been important for me to earn my right to breathe and I thank the hospital for allowing me to follow my own mission."