Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

Here are today’s updates:

• Big Night for SVH Team at Bramlage Coliseum
• Blog Highlight: Pain Management
• “To Your Health” on WIBW-TV Tonight – Walk with Dr. Mary Franz
• Spreading Love Project
• Take a Walk to Support Mental Health

Big Night for SVH Team at Bramlage Coliseum

The Kansas State men’s basketball team’s exciting victory over Oklahoma last night was a great venue to spotlight the Stormont Vail design and construction team attending the game and Keith Griffin, System Director, Facilities Services, and his 8-month-old granddaughter, Ellie Mae, accepting the game ball at half time.

Stormont Vail Health and Kansas State University have partnered to created the  Powercat Health Partnership to help empower the health of the community. As part of that partnership, Stormont Vail was recognized at last night’s game with Keith representing us at half time and Mary Martell, Vice President and Regional Administrator, doing a live radio interview with Wyatt Thompson, the Voice of the Wildcats. Mary provided updates on our Manhattan campus construction to be completed this summer and all the healthcare services we provide in the region to care for our communities. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas is also part of the Powercat Health Partnership.

The game ball signed by Coach Tang that Keith accepted on behalf of Stormont Vail has been given to the Stormont Vail Foundation. It will be one of the online auction items offered during the upcoming annual Employee Giving Campaign during the week of April 3. The campaign helps to fund Care Line expenses, scholarships and provide for programs, services and equipment throughout our health system.

Blog Highlight: Pain Management

The Stormont Vail Health Pain Management team knows that keeping our patients safe and healthy means offering pain relief through opioid-free alternatives. Read this week’s blog here at stormontvail.org to learn what this particular team does for our patients on a daily basis and how their work changes lives.

“To Your Health” on WIBW-TV Tonight – Walk with Dr. Mary Franz

It’s time to think spring – and how to live healthy during retirement. Stormont Vail’s Dr. Mary Franz will share some health tips for retirement on tonight’s “To Your Health.” The segment will air at 10 p.m. on WIBW-TV, Channel 13. The segment will typically repeat at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Fridays on 13 News This Morning and be posted on wibw.com.

Dr. Franz will also be leading the March Walk with a Doc event at Washburn University. The walk will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 18, on the east side of the Washburn campus by Lee Arena. In addition to the walk, it will be a way to also celebrate Dr. Franz’s upcoming retirement.

Spreading Love Project

A Topeka group is “spreading the love” through the community by making and distributing small hearts with a tag that say, “You Are Loved.” They crochet, stitch and make cloth hearts and have done so since the COVID-19 pandemic. Carol Myers, who organizes this effort, said the hearts have gone to schools, through Meals on Wheels deliveries and in blessing boxes in the community. She said she has always wanted to provide hearts to healthcare workers.

That desire became reality when Carol and her group recently provided 350 hearts to Stormont Vail to share with our team members. Those hearts have been distributed across our system to various departments, including inpatient areas, clinic teams and support services, and Carol plans to bring more. Carol said that healthcare workers are greatly respected and valued for all they have been through and still do. “We want them to feel the love!”

Any crocheters or stitchers who would like to be a part of this effort may Carol Myers at [email protected].

Thank you to Carol and her group for sharing these hearts with our team. It is a very heartfelt gesture and her thoughtfulness has touched many of our team members.

Take a Walk to Support Mental Health

It’s that time of year again! Stormont Vail Health is inviting team members to participate in NAMIWalks Kansas. NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMIWalks promotes awareness of mental health, raises funds for NAMI’s free, top-rated programs, and builds community by letting people know they are not alone. Walk with NAMI Kansas will be May 20 at Topeka West High School. You can help by creating a team or making a donation. Learn more here.

We together,
Dr. K