For 85 years, St. Rita's Medical Center has been committed to serving others in their time of need. Since opening the doors to the Medical Center ahead of schedule to care for patients during an influenza epidemic, the mission of helping the poor, the elderly and the community achieve and maintain better health has remained steadfast.
Still today the mission continues, but working to improve the health of our community takes teamwork.
St. Rita's Development Council is a group of volunteers who assist the Medical Center by developing community education and service programs which result in greater visibility and increased philanthropic support. The Development Council plays an important role in assuring the future of St. Rita's as a leader in healthcare.
This year the Development Council is "Taking Our Mission to the Next Level" by launching a campaign to raise $2 million for new technology, programs and services over the next two years. To support the "Taking Our Mission to the Next Level" campaign is to endorse the community strength of St. Rita's Medical Center and to underscore the need for quality healthcare to be available for everyone. The projects selected for this fundraising effort have been carefully chosen based on the strengths of the Medical Center and their importance to the community.
Dental Sealant Van
Allen and surrounding counties have a disproportionate amount of economically disadvantages children and adults going without critical oral health services. To fill this unmet need, St. Rita's opened the MED-CARE Dental Clinic in 1998. As the Clinic grew, the staff realized how important it was for children to be educated about good oral hygiene early in life to establish healthy habits for lifetime. So they embarked on a new program to teach children basic dental care techniques, provide education about preventing tooth decay and offer cavity and plaque fighting sealants to eligible children.
"There is no other program of its kind in the 10-county region," says Dr. William Searcy, MED-CARE Dental Clinic dentist. "With the cooperation of school nurses, administrators and parents, more than 90% of all eligible children in Lima City and Perry schools have been served by the dental sealant program."
St. Rita's Development Council is working to secure funds to purchase a 27-foot van for the Dental Clinic to improve the implementation of the sealant and oral health outreach programs.
The addition of a van for dental activities will provide a permanent and comfortable environment for treatment. A mobile treatment area will also create less disruption for the schools who would otherwise have to move things to accommodate dental visits.
"The dental sealant van will allow us to provide even better services for the students we serve," says Ann Lovejoy, RDH, dental hygienist at the Dental Clinic. "The van will have all the comforts of an actual dental office complete with an adjustable chair and adequate lighting. We'll be able to provide more educational opportunities for the students with less disruption to their school day."
"Our long term goal is to encourage a lifetime improvement in dental health," says Dr. Searcy.
St. Rita's Hospice
 In the past 20 years, more than 3,600 patients and their families have been touched and comforted by the compassionate staff at St. Rita's Hospice. Without the assistance of hundreds of donors, St. Rita's would not be able to provide quality end-of-life care for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. The Hospice staff is dedicated to providing physical, emotional, social and spiritual support to patients and their families. The staff is there to ensure the patient's final days are lived in dignity and as pain free as possible.
"There are many different feelings and issues that arise as a patient approaches end-of-life," explains Herb Wilker, MSW, LSW, Hospice manager. "St. Rita's Hospice recognizes all of these changes and works with the patient and their family to help them cope and adjust to everything that's happening."
St. Rita's Hospice also provides support to families after a loved one has passed. The Young Widow-Widowers Support Group provides emotional support for people near the age of 49 who have lost a spouse. Grief Journeys is a group that meets to assist adults who have lost a loved one with the grieving process.
"Grief is too much for any one person to do alone," explains Wilker. "The various support groups St. Rita's Hospice offers provides real help for those who are grieving."
"I went to a Young Widow-Widowers Support Group meeting because I was lonely after losing my wife," recalls one young gentleman. "My family was dealing with their own feelings and I didn't want to burden them. But my day-to-day living had been affected and this group gave me an outlet to get used to these new feelings."
The needs of children coping with a loss are also important and for them Hospice offers Trails. The day camp is for school-aged children and in a camping environment provides a place where children can feel safe to express their feelings, make new friends, participate in hands-on activities and simply, be a child.
Living one's final days with dignity is a basic core value at St. Rita's Medical Center and we believe strongly in providing this service to the entire community. "Taking Our Mission to the Next Level" efforts will ensure all those who need this service will have access to the compassionate and understanding hearts of our Hospice staff.
MRI Expansion
St. Rita's Medical Center is proud to be the region's most technologically advanced Medical Center and continues to set the pace in areas such as diagnostic imaging. By detecting health conditions early, the Medical Center is able to effectively treat disease and help people return to their everyday living more quickly. Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is one important piece of technology physicians use in diagnosing illness and injury.
MRI uses magnets, radio frequencies and a computer to produce three-dimensional images of organs and structures inside the body. Currently the Medical Center operates both a high field MRI and open MRI.
The high field MRI provides quick answers and high quality images to physicians working to make a diagnosis and develop a course of treatment. The MRI provides speedy examination times and clear images. The open MRI provides added patient comfort for those who feel uncomfortable in closed spaces.
The addition of a third MRI will provide greater convenience for our patients and physicians. Both inpatients and outpatients will be able to have their scans completed quicker so physicians can view their results and begin treatment immediately.
Auxiliary Conference Center Upgrades
St. Rita's Auxiliary Conference Center serves as a gathering place for meetings, community service organizations, support groups, educational classes and much more. Not only does the Center provide dedicated space for physicians, nurses and other Medical Center personnel to be further educated about how to care for patients, the Center also provides an easily accessible location for community organizations to meet and a place where our patients can come for classes and support groups.
The Center accommodates upwards of 300 people and can be conveniently divided into three separate rooms for smaller meetings. Each room is furnished with the proper equipment for personal computers and LCD projectors for video presentations to be played directly from a computer. Each 10-foot projection screen makes presentations enjoyable for everyone and microphones provide quality sound for big and small groups alike.
To keep pace with the changing times, ceiling mounted projectors and a complete sound system will be installed into the Conference Center as well as a VCR and DVD player for multi-media presentations in each of the three rooms.
Nursing Scholarships and Continuing Education
At St. Rita's, our nurses work together with patients and their families to provide quality, compassionate care. We remain steadfast in our commitment to achieving and maintaining the best possible outcomes. Patients come first at St. Rita's and our nurses are empowered to be assertive - making decisions with the patient's best interests in mind. St. Rita's Medical Center encourages the professional development of our nurses and strives to support their personal and professional growth.
Advanced education is important in maintaining a workforce that remains on the cutting edge of technology and training. The "Taking Our Mission to the Next Level" initiative will help to support St. Rita's nurses with continuing education and assist their efforts in achieving advanced degrees. Campaign funds will be set aside to send nurses to state and national workshops and training.
The "Taking Our Mission to the Next Level" initiative is also providing incentives today to make certain highly skilled and qualified health professionals are trained for tomorrow. St. Rita's is working collaboratively with area high schools, colleges and universities to provide students with exciting firsthand experiences in the healthcare field. We are also forging innovative partnerships to provide scholarships to traditional and non-traditional students seeking a career in medicine.
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