Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Spring 2021

A focus on education Connect with us www.facebook.com/BartlettRegionalHospital www.twitter.com/BartlettHosp Provider directory: www.bartletthospital.org/providers 3260 Hospital Drive Juneau, AK 99801 Standard U.S. Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 2901 It’s been over a year since COVID-19 turned our world up- side down and our “new normal” began. Although we were masked and socially distanced, met via Zoom, and began to get vaccinated, the BRH Foundation’s work on behalf of Bartlett Regional Hospital continued. Of major importance to us is ensuring adequate train- ing opportunities are afforded to professional staff. In 2019, the BRH Foundation funded coursework and certification in Labor and Delivery, which resulted in 10 Bartlett RNs receiving advanced certification—increasing the depart- ment’s advanced certification level from 23% to 85%. This year, as we go to press, the BRH Foundation board has approved a matching grant to Bartlett Beginnings that will lead to increased levels of safety and excellence in the care provided to mothers and their babies in Juneau. In April, up to 30 Juneau nurses—midwives, medevac flight crews and, potentially, other personnel at clinics throughout Southeast Alaska—will be able to take coursework leading to certifica- tion in obstetrics and electronic fetal monitoring. Regardless of the pandemic, births throughout the region continue, and keeping those in the field certified with advanced skills is a major plus! Speaking of education and springtime, my thoughts must turn to the Edelman endowed scholarship fund. Thanks to the generosity of Phil and Grace Edelman, the BRH Foundation has awarded more than $130,000 in financial assistance to students seeking a degree in the health sciences who plan to return to the region to practice. For more information about the endowment, which provides up to $5,000 per award, visit www.BRHFoundation.org — and keep your ears and eyes on local media for more infor- mation when the application period opens. In addition to the education of those in the medical profession and those studying to join it, we also have a com- mitment to the community at large. That’s why the BRH Foundation continues to offer support to Bartlett’s Health Matters program, a Bartlett/Cooperative Extension part- nership. The program, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, strives to provide people diagnosed with prediabetes with the tools they need to live a healthy lifestyle and potentially fight off diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Plans are now underway to create a virtual course to serve the region, as well as to reinstate a Juneau program again early next year. Maria Uchytil Executive Director Bartlett Regional Hospital Foundation FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit the BRH Foundation website at www.BRHFoundation.org .