The Latest News

FHN Wound Center Honored for Clinical, Patient Satisfaction Achievement

September 17, 2024 – The Center for Wound Healing at FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport has earned RestorixHealth's Clinical Distinction and Excellence in Patient Satisfaction Awards.

The Clinical Distinction Award presented to RestorixHealth wound center partners that demonstrate exceptional success by meeting or exceeding clinical benchmarks, and the Excellence in Patient Satisfaction Award recognizes wound centers that have demonstrated superior performance in overall patient satisfaction.

"The Center for Wound Healing at FHN Memorial Hospital is proud to be recognized for not only its dedication to healing but also its dedication to patient satisfaction," said Administrative Director Roland Tolliver, DPM, FACFAS. "We are proud to be the recipient of these awards that recognize the hard work and dedication of our team."

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.

No referrals are needed for care at the Center for Wound Healing at FHN Memorial Hospital. For more information on the Center and the services available there, call 815-599-7410.

Learn About Healthcare Career Options at Free Event

September 16, 2024 – Explore the many career opportunities related to healthcare at FHN's free Healthcare Career and College Fair Oct. 2.

The event's Exhibition Hall, with representatives from area colleges and universities available to discuss their programs and curriculum, will be open from 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 on the lower level of FHN Memorial Hospital, 1045 W. Stephenson Street in Freeport.

Throughout the day, healthcare subject matter experts will be on hand to discuss the variety of healthcare career options, including:
• Nursing
• Medical Assisting
• Rehabilitation
• Imaging
• Clinical Lab Sciences
• Respiratory Therapy
• Pharmacy
• Surgical Services

This free event is designed for high school and college students as well as community members interested in a healthcare career. No registration is necessary.

For more information on the FHN Healthcare Career and College Fair, call 815-599-6706.

Nine Schools Get FHN Miles and Minutes Cash

September 12, 2024 – Nine area schools received checks from FHN this fall, thanks to their dedicated fans who counted their exercise minutes through the summer with FHN's Miles and Minutes program.

Together, exercisers logged enough activity (for the contest, miles were normalized to help ensure a more level playing field for schools of all sizes) to equate to 177,738.5 miles - that's the equivalent of more than 7 times around the Equator!

FHN's Miles and Minutes encouraged participants to be active and log various types of physical activity to win prize money for the school of their choice.

Miles and Minutes winners were chosen in two main categories - miles per school system (normalized based on the number of students in each school system to help ensure that all schools had an equal chance to win, no matter their size or how many participants they enlist) and average miles per participant. The winners are:

Miles per School System:
Tri-County Christian, with 80,152.85 miles ($2,000)
Immanuel Lutheran, with 32,063.14 miles ($1,000)
Dakota, with 12,536.19 miles ($500)

Average Miles per Participant:
Pearl City, with 310.88 miles per participant ($2,000)
Lena-Winslow, with 255.30 miles per participant ($1,000)
West Carroll, with 238.22 miles per participant ($500)

Schools that did not win a prize in the two main categories were eligible for Sweepstakes prizes. This year's winners are:
Warren - $500
River Ridge - $400
Eastland - $300

The free program had 283 participants who logged all types of exercise from May 27 through August 25.

FHN Sports Physicals Return $16,525 to Area Schools

September 9, 2024 – FHN's series of sports physical clinics, held throughout the spring and summer, helped save time and hassle for many area parents, and raised more than $16,000 for area schools. All proceeds from the $25 physicals are donated back to the schools by FHN.

A total of 14 sports physical clinics were held at FHN offices across northwest Illinois this summer, providing 661 physicals and raising $16,525 to donate back to 11 area schools.

Learn About Sepsis at FHN September Speaker Series Event

September 3, 2024 – September is Sepsis Awareness Month. What can start as a small infection can trigger a chain reaction in the body that can be a life-threatening medical emergency.

Learn more about sepsis at a free special FHN Speaker Series program at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 18 at the FHN Family Healthcare Center - Burchard Hills, 1010 W. Fairway Drive in Freeport.

FHN Clinical Nurse Leader, Stroke and Sepsis Coordinator Tracy Love, MSN, RN, CNL and Quality Department Clinical Abstractor Kristina Stadermann, BSN, RN will talk about which infections most often lead to sepsis as well as how it can be prevented, how to recognize sepsis symptoms, and available treatment options.

There is no charge to attend this event, but registration is requested. Visit www.fhn.org/sepsis or call 1-877-600-0346, ext. 901 for more information and to register.

FHN Implements Post-Birth Alert Program

August 26, 2024 – Women in the first six weeks after delivering a baby are at higher risk of dying from pregnancy and birth complications, and the FHN Women's Health Team is taking action to keep its postpartum patients safe.

"In 2022, the CDC reported that 817 women died of maternal causes in the United States," FHN Memorial Hospital Perinatal Quality Nurse Danielle Wittig, BSN, RN C-ONQS said. "33 percent of those deaths were substantially preventable, and another 36 percent were moderately preventable. We have partnered with our community EMS providers and the Emergency Department, and have also reached out to other area hospitals to help recognize and treat those complications to reduce maternal mortality."

The FHN Post-Birth Alert Program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, is focused on giving new mothers an orange bracelet to wear as an alert. Alert bands are worn for six weeks, until the mother's postpartum appointment with their provider. The patient and her support person also receive focused education, utilizing the AWHONN (Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses) Post-Birth Warning Signs guidelines, emphasizing the importance of the Post-Birth Alert band and recognizing when to seek immediate care.

"If a woman has a medical emergency and isn't able to communicate, the bracelet will inform providers and emergency personnel of her postpartum status,” said FHN OB Service Line Perinatal Educator Keri Schubert. “That fast identification can be crucial in saving that woman's life."

Women in the six-week period after giving birth are at increased risk of a number of serious complications, including:

• Hypertensive disorder in pregnancy and after - preeclampsia or eclampsia
• Venous Thromboembolism, or blood clots
• Sepsis
• Cardiomyopathy, the thickening of the heart's walls
• Perinatal depression
• Substance use disorder

The FHN Post-Birth Alert Program team has information available on postpartum risks, as well as program materials for EMS and medical professionals. Call the FHN Labor & Delivery department at (815) 599-6221 for more information.

FHN Memorial Nationally Recognized for High-Quality Cardiovascular Care

August 20, 2024 – FHN Memorial Hospital has received five American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines® achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital.

Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke or heart attack, and heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in the United States, respectively. Studies show patients can recover better when providers consistently follow treatment guidelines.

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines.

As a participant in Get With The Guidelines programs, FHN Memorial Hospital qualified for the awards by demonstrating how their organization has committed to improving quality care.

“FHN is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines initiatives,” said FHN Stroke Program Coordinator Tracy Love, MSN, RN, CNL.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and this award demonstrates our commitment to ensuring patients in our community receive care based on nationally recognized clinical guidelines.”

FHN Cardiology Clinical Nurse Leader Laura Mack, MSN, RN, CNL, HF-CERT, says the program results in better patient health: “Using GWTG helps us track and measure our performance in providing quality cardiac care. These awards are the result of collaboration between FHN clinicians and other staff to implement processes that ensure we are meeting the guidelines that lead to better outcomes for our patients.”

This year, FHN Memorial Hospital received these achievement awards:
•Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure SILVER PLUS
o Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll
o Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
•Get With The Guidelines® - Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI - SILVER
o Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
•Get With The Guidelines® - Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Referring Center - BRONZE
•Get With The Guidelines® - Rural Stroke SILVER
•Get With The Guidelines® - Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI BRONZE

“These awards show FHN's commitment to caring for those in their community who need cardiovascular care,” said Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the American Heart Association Quality Oversight Committee and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern Medicine. “By following the American Heart Association's quality improvement protocols, FHN and FHN Memorial Hospital can help realize our shared vision of improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates - a win for health care systems, families and communities.”

About Get With The Guidelines®
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.

FHN Healthcare Career Scholarships Deadline is Sept. 6

August 5, 2024 – Pursuing a career in healthcare begins with passion and education. In continuing to encourage ambitious students in our community, FHN is proud to offer multiple scholarships for students in the FHN service area who are pursuing careers in healthcare.

Several scholarships will be offered this year, each with different application criteria:
Healthcare Career Scholarship Program for up to three $1,000 scholarships
Diversity Healthcare Career Scholarship Program for one $1,000 scholarship
Volunteer Resource Scholarship Program for one $1,000 scholarship to an active member of the FHN Student Volunteer Program with a minimum of 40 volunteer hours

The deadline for all applicants is Friday, Sept. 6. For more information and application forms for each scholarship, visit www.fhn.org/scholarships.

FHN Affected by CrowdStrike Outage

July 19, 2024 – An overnight global Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage affected computer systems around the world, including the FHN computer system.

No protected health information was compromised. This is not the result of a cyberattack, however, FHN's information technology (IT) system is expecting temporary outages and slowdowns.

As the FHN IT team works to restore the system, there may be slight delays to non-urgent and non-emergent patient care. All of our clinics, as well as FHN Memorial Hospital and its Emergency Department, remain open and are able to provide patient care.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.