2008 Impact Report

Head_Impact2009

Bill Trojan, Program Director of Oncology,
explaining SRS technology and equipment to guests

Cancer Care

Frameless Stereotactic Radiosurgery — With nearly $1 Million in donor support, St. Mary Medical Center became among the first in the region to offer Frameless Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) as a breakthrough treatment to fight cancer. Frameless Stereotactic Radiosurgery is a one-time application of a large-dose radiation precisely targeting a tumor. In addition to Frameless SRS, the St. Mary Regional Cancer Center offers the most advanced technology along with expert knowledge and leading-edge medicine to treat even the most complex cases.

Cancer Center — Donations to St. Mary supported...

  • An extensive electronic staging process redesign to further improve physician efficiency, reporting compliance, and tumor registration, a process that documents and stores all significant elements of a patient’s history and treatment.
  • A Cancer Center Resource Library that will provide patients, their families, and St. Mary colleagues access to online and print materials dealing with all aspects of living with cancer.

Breast Center — Gifts to the Breast Center Excellence Fund and Colleague Campaign were used to purchase a motorized stretcher chair for use in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, enhancing patient treatment and comfort.

Healing Ministries — As a faith-based healthcare institution, we believe in a level of care that heals and supports the mind, body and spirit. Through community support, over 350 holistic sessions, including therapeutic massage, were provided to cancer, stroke and other patients who might not otherwise receive this care.

Heart and Vascular Care

Since the early 2009 opening of state-of-the-art procedure rooms in a completely new cardiovascular catheterization suite, physicians were able to perform 130 additional catheterizations.


Generous donor funding in 2009 allowed St. Mary to...

  • Construct and furnish a dedicated cardiology inpatient waiting room. Patients now have a peaceful room in which to read, sleep, watch TV, or visit quietly with family while going through the potentially long testing process.
  • Outfit the Cardiac Rehabilitation department with four new Landice Club Pro Treadmills.

First Footsteps Preschool

Community Ministries

More than $351,000 in gifts allowed the St. Mary Foundation to allocate funds to Community Ministries programs that serve more than 5,000 low-income families and individuals each year.

Mother Bachmann Maternity Center — The Center welcomed 382 babies in 2009. Donor funding supported...

  • Certified nurse midwife salary support.
  • Medical equipment including Dopplers for fetal monitoring.
  • New social work services to the women cared for in our clinic, addressing issues such as substance abuse, anxiety, domestic abuse, and legal and financial problems.
  • Nutrition counseling for gestational diabetes and other pregnancy complications.
  • Group breastfeeding classes.

Children’s Health Center — The St. Mary Children’s Health Center cared for 2,640 children in 2009. Donor funding supported...

  • Pediatric nurse practitioner salary.
  • Medical equipment including a special refrigerator to store immunizations.
  • New treadmills, exercise bicycles, and elliptical machines in the expanded Family Wellness Center.
  • A Technology Center offering free computer access and training.
  • Donor gifts continued to provide funding for St. Mary’s Breast Health Initiative for outreach and community education. St. Mary has provided hundreds of mammograms to women who would not otherwise have been able to afford them.
  • The proven KidShape pediatric weight management program at St. Mary Medical Center has helped over 200 families adopt healthier lifestyles.

Family Resource Center — Over 1,000 low-income families take advantage of the Center’s wraparound human services and self-sufficiency training each year. Donor funding supported...

Community Health — Each year, St. Mary embraces the Bucks County community, offering free educational seminars, classes, and family activities.

LIFE St. Mary patient transports

LIFE St. Mary — LIFE (Living Independently for Elders) St. Mary is an innovative model of long-term care that offers disabled and frail older adults the option of remaining at home with dignity and independence. LIFE St. Mary will open in early 2010.

  • Four LIFE St. Mary buses for patient transport.
  • Start-up expenses for the LIFE Center — commercial kitchen appliances, medical and dental equipment, and physical therapy and occupational therapy equipment.

Parenting Center — Donor funding allowed us to launch the new Home Safe Home Childhood Injury Prevention Program, which provides low-income families with safe new car seats and cribs and helps them identify and prevent home injury risks.

Kidzpace video entertainment unit

Emergency Services

St. Mary is fortunate to have received one quarter of a million dollars in funding through private and public grants as well as through generous donations to enhance the services and technology available in our Emergency/Trauma Department. This funding has allowed us to...

  • Purchase 4 Kidzpace video game entertainment units to brighten the Emergency Department experience for ill or injured children.
  • Add Point of Care Testing for rapid laboratory results to obtain rapid laboratory results that accelerate treatment decisions.
  • Utilize new patient monitoring equipment.
  • Offer Therapeutic Hypothermia Therapy, one of the most promising new therapies in the treatment of cardiac arrest which is only offered at 30% of hospitals nationwide. This cooling technology protects brain function and improves survival rates.
  • Continue participating in the Federal Hospital Preparedness Program.

Maintaining the high level of clinical care to patients

Mother Baby

In April 2009, the St. Mary NICU became the first neonatal intensive care unit in Bucks County to have board-certified neonatologists in-house 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, recently purchased warmer beds incorporate the latest in monitoring technology and equipment. These are used in the NICU to ensure that the care given to St. Mary’s smallest patients is state-of-the art.

Hospital Wide

The Foundation provided funding for professional development for colleagues to allow St. Mary to continue to provide the highest level of clinical care to our patients. Departments that received training include Access, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and the Heart and Vascular Center.

Endowment

In the early 1970's, our founders, the Sisters of St. Francis, made a promise to fill a critical gap in Bucks County healthcare by creating St. Mary Medical Center, a hospital devoted to the compassionate care of body, mind and spirit for the entire community.

In 2009, the generous lead gift from an anonymous donor allowed us to establish an endowment that will help sustain St. Mary’s unique blend of healthcare and compassion. It will also permit future generations to share fully in the benefits of the St. Mary experience.