LLU Medical Center news
July 23, 1998 [TODAY, July 23, 1998]
Delegation from Syria visits Loma Linda University, Medical Center, and Community Medical Center
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| Members of the delegation pause for a casual picture with new friends from Loma Linda. They are, from left to right, Odette Johnson; Rob Johnson, MD; His Eminence Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim; Razek Syriani; Joan Coggin, MD, special assistant to the president for international affairs; Mekhael Asaad; and Fayiz Hnein. |
The group was accompanied by Bert B. Beach, PhD, director of inter-church relations for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
The Syrian delegation was visiting LomaLinda in the interest of establishing cooperative health ventures between the Syrian Orthodox Church and Seventh-day Adventistmedical institutions.
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| His Eminence Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim tries out a treadmill on a tour through Drayson Center. Pictured behind him is Bert Beach, PhD, director of inter-church relations for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. |
In addition, they met with various administrative and staff groups to gain information on hospital construction.
After leaving LomaLinda, His Eminence Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim and his delegation traveled to Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and Florida Hospital in Orlando.
"For the Syrian Orthodox Church it is a new day to have a relationship with the Seventh-day Adventist Church," said Metropolitan Ibrahim."We need to work to develop better relationships between Christians."
Earlier this year, His Eminence Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, who is a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, met with President Robert S. Folkenberg, chief executive officer of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, at the Church's headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Few Christian denominations can claim the antiquity of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, the foundation of which can be traced back to the very dawn of Christianity.
The Syrian Orthodox Church is unique for many reasons.
First, it presents a form of Christianity which is Semitic in nature, with a culture not far from the one Christ Himself experienced.
Second, it employs in its liturgy the Syriac language, an Aramaic dialect akin to the Aramaic spoken by Christ and the Apostles. Third, its liturgy is one of the most ancient since it has been handed down from one generation to another.
Fourth, and most important, it demonstrates the unity of the body of Christ by the multi-ethnic nature of its faithful.
The Syrian Orthodox Church has been a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960 and is one of the founding members of the Middle East Council of Churches. Today, the Syrian Orthodox Church has members not only in the Middle East and India, but in Europe, the Americas, and Australia.
SRRSH starts the first chapter of
AACN in China; Chicago chapter sponsors Chinese nurse to attend AACN meeting
in Los Angeles
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| During her stay on the Loma Linda campus, Zhuang Yi Yu "April," director of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China, critical care department and president-elect of the Hangzhou Chapter of AACCN (left), met with Anne Berit Petersen, RN. Ms. Petersen recently accepted a position with SRRSH, becoming the newest Western member of the hospital's nursing division, and had traveled to LLUMC from Michigan on her way to China. |
According to Jan Zumwalt, RN, MS, MBA, executive director, medical/surgical nursing, the idea to form the chapter was that of Darlene Bradley, RN, MSN, CCRN, clinical director, emergency department, LLUMC.
Ms. Bradley contacted AACN with the request, and began the paperwork necessary to form the AACN Hangzhou Chapter.
According to Ms. Bradley, LLUMC nurses donated money and held fund-raisers to pay membership fees for ten SRRSH nurses to become members of the organization.
Karen Tingwall-Cao, immediate past critical care director at SRRSH, became the chapter's first president.
According to Ms. Tingwall-Cao, the chapter's goals include "providing advanced knowledge and skills for SRRSH critical care nurses. The chapter is also interested in public service, and will provide time for community education."
AACN membership also helps nurses keep informed about the most recent research and trends in the field. This is important in critical care nursing, for as the nurses assess and observe their patients, they need to be aware of the many signs and symptoms that accompany the critically ill patients under their care.
According to Ms. Zumwalt, a sister AACN chapter located in Chicago donated $1,000 to sponsor a Chinese nurse to come to the United States and attend the organization's National Teaching Institute in Los Angeles.
Zhuang Yi Yu "April," director of SRRSH's critical care department and president-elect of the Hangzhou Chapter of AACN, traveled to California to attend the meeting, which was held at the end of May.
While in the United States, Ms. Zhuang spent three months on the LLU&MC campus.
After receiving nursing training in China, Ms. Zhuang completed additional nursing training in Singapore, and she speaks excellent English.
"While in Loma Linda," says Ms. Zumwalt, "April was immersed in activities organized to show her how the Medical Center operates. She also attended Nursing Management, a six-hour course for senior nursing students in the School of Nursing.
While at LLU&MC, Ms. Zhuang's objectives included observing patient care areas and ancillary departments. She also observed the relationship between nursing units and departments including pharmacy, clinical lab, housekeeping, security, dietary, dispatch, and central service.
Ms. Zhuang also requested to spend some time observing the Medical Center's hospice program. "The thing that impressed me most," she says, "is the concept of quality of life-that a patient can, instead of becoming angry, or denying they are terminally ill, decide to enter the hospice program accepting that they may not have long to live. It is also important to help family members accept this concept."
The most important idea that Ms. Zhuang will take to the SRRSH nursing staff is the importance of providing patients with emotional support.
Ms. Zuang says"recently, a 38-year-old female patient at SRRSH who had been ill and suffering for 20 years had given up. She wanted her husband to take her home to die.
"She came from a very poor family, with no money for medication or treatments. A SRRSH nurse talked to her for 45 minutes, providing emotional support. The patient's mind was changed, and eventually went home to her family happy, with a trach tube."
During her visit, Ms. Zhuang found LLUMC to be a beautiful, well-organized hospital. "The intensive care units and treatment techniques at SRRSH and LLUMC are very similar," she observes.
"However, there are cultural differences between the two countries. For instance, when a person is ill in China, many family members and extended family members visit the patient. So many people want to see their loved one that it sometimes makes it very challenging for the nurses and hospital workers.
The Hangzhou Chapter of AACN is sharing news about the most recent critical care therapies through a journal club.
"Each month," says Ms. Zhuang, "one to two articles from the AACN's journal, Critical Care Nurse, are translated into Chinese. Our chapter invites nurses from SRRSH and area hospitals to read and discuss the information."
Not only AACN Hangzhou Chapter members, but all SRRSH ICU nurses are interested in the journal club. Nurses from local hospitals also attend the meetings.
According to Ms. Zhuang, critical care nursing is a relatively new area in China, having begun in the 1980s-and not all hospitals in China have an intensive care unit.
Future plans for the Hangzhou Chapter of AACN include hospital-wide orientation and training seminars, instituting mock codes, and reaching out to the public with health-related classes.
While at the National Teaching Institute, Ms. Zhuang attended a luncheon where she accepted the 1998 AACN President's Award for her chapter.
The award included a commemorative plaque and $1,000, which the chapter has decided to use toward next year's membership dues for its members.
She also attended an awards breakfast at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, where she met with fellow award winners, as well as AACN Board members and corporate sponsors.
"I would like to thank LLUMC," says Ms. Zhuang, "for what
the Medical Center's nurses have done for nurses at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital.
I am very grateful to Karen Tingwall Cao, who introduced AACN to us. The
Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital nurses have benefited greatly from the association."
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New director of Hand Center is appointed
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| Ben J. Childers, MD |
The newest faculty member in the division of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children's Hospital, his interests in plastic surgery are broad. Specific interests include microsurgery, hand and upper extremity surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, and congenital hand surgery.
Dr. Childers graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, in 1989. He received general surgery training at Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His plastic and reconstructive surgery training was completed at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
During his residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery, he developed a special interest in hand and microsurgery. With this special interest in hand surgery, a one-year fellowship in hand and microsurgery was completed at Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Dr. Childers is board eligible for both plastic and hand surgery.
He is a qualified medical examiner (Workers' Compensation) for the State of California. He is a candidate member of both the American Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons and American College of Surgeons.
His research interests have been directed toward wound healing, reconstructive flap design and applications, and necrotizing fasciitis.
Dr. Childers' greatest pleasure is spending time with his wife, Ellyn,
and daughter, Ashley.
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LLUCI hosts 'Celebration of Life' program in June
On Sunday, June 7, 1998, two programs were held at the University Church to celebrate cancer patients who have survived the disease.
Almost 900 people attended the programs for adults and children. Jann Cady Marks, RN, MBA, executive director of Loma Linda University Cancer Institute hosted the adult program; she introduced several speakers to the accompaniment of slides displaying tropical scenes. To begin the program, Norman McBride, MBA, vice president of the Medical Center, welcomed the guests and offered an invocation. Wil Alexander, PhD, director, Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness, interviewed his wife, who is a cancer survivor. Sheryl McWilliams, RN, provided special music. Her vocal solo was titled "What A Wonderful Day." The song was composed especially for a cancer survivor group.
A unique presentation on the latest advances in cancer treatment and detection was given by Leslie Yonemoto, MD, assistant professor of radiation medicine in the School of Medicine.
A highlight of the adult program was the presentation of the Courage to Care award to Mariel Chan. Ms. Chan was honored for her continued dedication to cancer patients and high-quality care at the Medical Center.
The children's program featured a slightly different format. Ms. Cyndee Pelton served as master of ceremonies. A special song composed by Michael Durbin for his son, Michael Durbin III, when he was undergoing cancer treatment at the Medical Center, was performed by the senior Mr. Durbin.
Betsy Jabola, entertained the program's young audience with a puppet show that was a delight for both children and adults. The Moy Lani Polynesian dancers were on hand to put on an exciting hula show accompanied by lessons. In addition, computers and games were housed in the Fellowship Hall, adjacent to the church for the children to enjoy.
After the program a delicious tropical dinner was served complete with Hawaiian music, leis for sale, and commemorative tee-shirts to go around. Though cancer is still a major health challenge in the United States, more and more people continue to beat the odds and survive this dreaded disease.
Some of these people were gracious enough to share their stories with
the public through programs such as "Celebration of Life." They
are living reminders that cancer can be survived with grace, style, humor,
and courage. Most of all, they are reminders that life is indeed something
to celebrate.
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23, 1998][News and media page]
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