Paradise Valley Hospital Hosts Launch of National Health Campaign

The Department of Health and Human Services recently launched a national campaign at Paradise Valley Hospital to help reduce the high rate of Type 2 diabetes among Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. The campaign, which includes public service ads and education materials about how Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, kicked off with a press conference at the hospital. Along with hosting the launch of the national campaign, the facility will help distribute educational materials to South San Diego’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

White Memorial Medical Center Opens New Medical Office Building

White Memorial Medical Center recently held a festive grand opening for its new medical office building. The event, which took place in early fall, drew nearly 400 attendees from its East Los Angeles community. Guests enjoyed catered refreshments, tours and a variety of drawings and prizes. The White Memorial Medical Plaza II boasts 90,000 square feet of office space and includes orthopedics, cardiology, hematology, oncology and ophthalmology. The plaza also houses an information center where the community can come and get screened to see what health services they qualify for such as Medicare, Healthy Families and Healthy Start.

Membership Votes Reappointments for Adventist Health Governance

Adventist Health’s annual membership meeting, held in September, reappointed three board members to the organization’s board of directors. Christine Friestad, Esq., Don Livesay and Wes Rippey, M.D., were all reappointed to three-year terms on Adventist Health’s board. Friestad is managing partner at Friestad & Giles, a law firm in San Diego, Calif. In addition, she serves as a member of the Paradise Valley Hospital (National City, Calif.) board. Livesay serves as president of the Oregon Conference, and Rippey is on the medical staff at Adventist Medical Center (Portland, Ore.) where both serve on the board. The day-long event also highlighted operational, financial and mission activities throughout the system

Adventist Health Ranks Among Top Tech Innovators

Adventist Health was recently named among the top 500 companies for IT innovation, according to Information Week (Sept. 20, 2004). The 16th annual list, compiled by the industry publication, tracked the IT practices of the nation’s largest and most innovative IT organizations. The report examines the best IT and business practices of these organizations across core areas of operations, including IT budgets, technology deployment, E-business operations, customer-knowledge practices, IT infrastructure, and business and technology strategies. According to Brett Spenst, vice president and CIO for Adventist Health, it’s an honor to be part of the list and to be recognized by such a significant IT publication.

St. Helena Hospital Focuses on Latino Health

St. Helena Hospital hosted its annual Latino Health Fair drawing nearly 100 members of the Napa Valley’s Hispanic community. The eighth annual health fair, sponsored by the Latina Advisory Board, featured health information booths and various health screenings. Participants took advantage of several free screenings including vision, hearing, dental, height, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, HIV and more. In addition, a delicious, complimentary lunch was served to participants.

San Joaquin Community Hospital Offers Nursing Education

San Joaquin Community Hospital proactively combated the national nursing shortage by helping new nursing graduates obtain licenses. For the third time this year, the hospital hosted an intense, three-day review to help prepare Bakersfield, Calif., nursing candidates for their licensure exams. The course, which drew more than 30 people, taught attendees how to apply skills and information they learned in school to real life situations.