The Latest News
IMAGINE-a-bowl to Benefit Pediatric Therapy at FHN
March 20, 2023 –
The FHN Foundation is pleased to present an evening of bowling in support of improvements to FHN Memorial Hospital's pediatric therapy department.
IMAGINE-a-bowl will be held Thursday, April 27 at 4 Seasons Bowling Center, 1100 W. Galena Avenue in Freeport. Check-in begins at 5 p.m. with the first ball thrown at 6 p.m.
Teams of 6 bowlers are encouraged to bring out their inner child and dress up for the evening; individuals may raise or donate the $50 entry fee. Those who raise at least $100 will receive a Striking Success for Children t-shirt, and individuals who raise $250 or more will receive a Striking Success for Children t-shirt and sweatshirt. Please submit your donations to the Foundation by April 10 to receive your shirt(s) the night of the event.
All proceeds raised will go toward room renovations, a new storage area, and equipment for the pediatric therapy area at FHN Memorial Hospital.
For more information or to register, visit www.fhn.org/strikingsuccess or contact the FHN Foundation at 815-599-6900 or cseal@fhn.org. Those who cannot attend may donate to the pediatric therapy department renovations at the link above.
League of Women Voters and Local NAACP Host FHN Presentation on Regional Healthcare Needs, Including Emphasis on Minority Care
March 17, 2023 –
The League of Women Voters of Freeport and the Freeport branch of the NAACP are hosting a presentation from FHN outlining local healthcare needs as identified in the FHN Community Health Needs Assessment in December 2022. The event will take place from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28 at FHN Family Healthcare Center - Burchard Hills, 1010 W. Fairway Drive in Freeport.
FHN Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Nursing Officer Kathryn J. Martinez, DHA, MSN, RN, FACHE will review the results of the FHN Community Health Needs Assessment, a Federally required data collection and survey project that must be undertaken every three years, and FHN's planned activities to address those needs. There will be plenty of time for questions, which will be answered by Martinez as well as FHN Family Nurse Practitioner Tamisha Bonvillain, FNP-BC, IBCLC. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this important session.
Input for FHN's Assessment was collected from area leaders as well as the community at large across a broad range of demographics and interests. Topics addressed included perspectives on a range of issues that affect the area's health and well-being, such as community resources, barriers to care, and reasons for various types of disease and mortality. Areas for focus that were identified were prioritized into three primary categories by FHN's Care Transitions Steering Committee: community identified needs, health and well-being, and chronic disease management. Specific tactics for the next three years have been slated for implementation to address these focus areas.
Recognizing that the national healthcare system should provide a basic level of quality care at an affordable cost for all residents, ensuring quality healthcare for all Americans is one of nine priorities identified by the National League of Women Voters. Basic care includes disease prevention, primary care (including prenatal and reproductive health), acute long-term care, and mental health care, as well as health promotion and education. For more information on this priority and how to help, as well as the other eight outlined by the League - including topics such as voting rights, immigration, climate challenges, and gun violence - visit the national website at https://www.lwv.org/blog/lwvus-priorities-new-biden-administration.
Center For Wound Healing at FHN Receives Patient Satisfaction Award
March 16, 2023 –
FHN is pleased to announce that The Center For Wound Healing at FHN Memorial Hospital has received a Patient Satisfaction award from RestorixHealth. Recipients of this biannual award have met or achieved a patient satisfaction score of 96 percent or higher.
“We are very proud of this achievement, as it reaffirms our commitment to the patient experience,” said Wound Center Director Nurse Practitioner Carrie Wright, FNP-BC, WCC.* “We are proud to be recognized for the quality of care we offer our patients every day.”
The Center for Wound Healing, located in the FHN Specialty Care - Stephenson Street clinic at 1036 W. Stephenson Street in Freeport, offers state-of-the-art wound care treatments from advanced products and dressings to hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOt) to help patients dealing with chronic wounds. The Wound Center's team of multidisciplinary specialists includes surgeons and podiatrists and achieves some of the best healing rates and fastest healing times in the nation.
For more information on The Center for Wound Healing at FHN Memorial Hospital, visit www.fhn.org or call 815-599-7410.
FHN Celebrating Doctors Throughout March
March 8, 2023 –
FHN is proud to celebrate our healthcare providers throughout March, the month of Doctors' Day.
March 30 is National Doctors' Day, a chance to acknowledge all that physicians do for their communities. On March 30, 1842, in Jefferson, Georgia, Dr. Crawford Long used ether to anesthetize a patient, James Venable, and painlessly excised a tumor from his neck.
All month, FHN is offering the chance to send a message to your healthcare provider - simply click on the "Doctors' Day" story at www.fhn.org. Messages will be shared with providers and may be featured online (with personal information removed).
FHN Regional Locations Closed or Closing Early Due to Weather Conditions - Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023
February 16, 2023 –
Please note: FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport remains OPEN.
Due to inclement weather, all FHN regional locations will close at noon today and reopen at their regular times tomorrow. These locations include:
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Forreston
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Lanark
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Lena
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Mount Carroll (already closed)
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Pecatonica
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Savanna (already closed)
FHN Jo Daviess Family Healthcare Center, Stockton
In Freeport, the affected locations include:
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Burchard Hills
FHN Family Healthcare Center - Highland View Drive
FHN Community Healthcare Center
Leonard C. Ferguson Cancer Center at FHN Memorial Hospital
FHN Specialty Care - Stephenson Street
FHN Specialty Care - Harlem Avenue
FHN Family Counseling Center
FHN Celebrating Heart Month with Special Price on Cardiac Tests
February 14, 2023 –
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. FHN is celebrating American Heart Month in February with special pricing on two heart health tests.
Call 815-599-6860 by Tuesday, Feb. 28 to schedule a Standard Walking Treadmill Stress Test or Calcium Scoring CT Heart Scan and pay just $124 for the test.
“The treadmill stress test is a screening test for determining a patient's heart health when they are able to walk and have no history of heart trouble,” said FHN Director of Imaging and Cardiac Services Katie Alvarado, MBA, RT(R)(N), CNMT. “The patient walks on a treadmill while a specially trained registered nurse monitors how his or her heart is working with an electrocardiogram. This test helps determine your exercise capacity and the circulation to the heart, which is helpful in determining the cause of unexplained fatigue, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats during exercise or existing or borderline high blood pressure.”
“Another simple screening test that FHN offers is a CT scan to detect plaque in the arteries,” Alvarado said. “The test is non-invasive and is used to predict the probability of future heart problems. Like the treadmill test, it doesn't take long to complete.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 815-599-6860. Tests must be scheduled by Tuesday, Feb. 28 and performed by Friday, May 26, 2023 to qualify for the special rate.
These tests do not replace consultations with your healthcare provider. If you do not have a primary healthcare provider, FHN will work with you to determine how to handle your test results when they are communicated to you. Payment for the tests is due (cash, checks and credit cards accepted) at the time of service.
Youth Alcohol Use, Vaping Trend Down; Marijuana Use Up
January 25, 2023 –
The results of the 2022 Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) have been reported, with a mixed picture of youth drug and alcohol use in Stephenson and Jo Daviess counties.
The confidential, self-reported survey has been offered to area students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades by the University of Illinois every two years since the late 1990s.
The IYS provides schools and local health agencies current data from students to understand youth attitudes and behaviors that can impact social problems and academic success. The survey covers a variety of topics including bullying, physical activity, nutrition, substance use/misuse, perceptions of school climate, and mental health.
The IYS data is used by schools and health agencies to help plan prevention programming to help reduce youth alcohol and drug misuse and also for grant funding opportunities. The schools can share the IYS data with local coalitions and other stakeholders to encourage and support collaborative efforts.
Although past-year alcohol use is between 24 “ 31 percent in the 10th grade, it increases to 44 “ 52 percent in the 12th grade, with more than 50 percent of the students who drank reporting that they received the alcohol from their parents.
The percentage of alcohol use has been declining over the past four years, but the past-year use of marijuana is now between 23 “ 25 percent of 12th grade students.
Research over the years has identified the following risk factors for underage alcohol and other substance misuse: Antisocial behaviors, perceptions of peer substance use, low perceived risk of harm, poor family-youth relationships, and parental acceptance of substance use, school absenteeism, and availability and marketing of substances to youth.
FHN has been the recipient of the Illinois Department of Human Services Substance Use Prevention Services (SUPS) grant. The grant provides funding for community and school-based programs to help decrease youth alcohol and other substances misuse. Some of the services include comprehensive communication campaigns and multi-session youth prevention education programs in the middle and high schools.
For additional information, please visit the FHN/SUPS website at https://www.fhn.org/SUP.asp to view and download the 2022 Jo Daviess County and the 2022 Stephenson County State of our Youth booklets. For additional information about the Illinois Youth Survey visit https://iys.cprd.illinois.edu/.
FHN Awards Four Healthcare Scholarships
January 20, 2023 –
Four area students have been awarded scholarships to help cover the cost of healthcare education. An outstanding group of students applied for the Healthcare scholarships and Diversity scholarship this year.
The students wrote an essay about their career path along with strengths and personal goals to support the healthcare needs of FHN's service area, and the top candidates were selected for face-to-face interviews.
After the interviews, three Healthcare Scholarship applicants were chosen to receive a $1,000 scholarship and one Diversity applicant was chosen to receive a $1,000 scholarship. All of FHN's scholarships are funded through donations to the FHN Foundation.
The 2022 Healthcare Career Scholarships winners are:
• Keegan Koester of Freeport, who is pursuing an occupational therapy degree at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa
• Joe Namio of Freeport, who is pursuing a nursing degree at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa
• Breanna Schneider of Shannon, who is pursuing a degree in nursing at Highland Community College in Freeport
The 2022 Diversity Scholarship winner is:
• Crystal Gonzalez of Kirkland, who is pursuing a BSN degree through Walden University's online program
A video of this year's awards presentation is available at fhn.org/scholarships FHN awards Healthcare Career, Diversity, and Volunteer Resources scholarships each year; the application period opens early each summer. For more information, visit the link above.
