Final talk in series focuses on funerals, estates and what to do with all that stuff.
RANDOLPH – Over the past several months at Gifford Medical Center, community members have gathered for an educational series on death and dying, loss and love. First, they started the conversation, talked about “a good death” and then found the beauty of love in loss with “Grief: The Price We Pay for Love.”
Now, the series concludes with a practical discussion about funerals, settling estates and what to do with all that stuff an individual accumulates over a lifetime.
“Afterwards: The Business Side of Death” will be held in the Randolph hospital’s Conference Center on May 16 from 5-6:30 p.m. The event includes presentations by funeral director Randy Garner and attorney Steve Webster, both of Randolph.
Garner will share what happens after someone dies and the choices available to families. “There a lot of options possible in Vermont that are not available in other places,” notes Cory Gould, a Gifford mental health provider and the organizer of this end-of-life series.
Webster will discuss settling a person’s estate, and Gould will pose questions for discussion on dealing with checking and other accounts, post office boxes, rental agreements, heating oil contracts and more. The talk, says Gould, will attempt to answer the question “Now what do I do?” “It’s really focusing on the practical, the pragmatic matters, after someone dies,” she says.
Attendance at previous discussions is not required to attend this latest talk. No registration is required, and it is free. Gould can be reached at (802) 728-7100, ext. 7, to answer any questions.
The talk will be held in the Gifford Conference Center. The Conference Center is on the first floor of the hospital and marked with a green awning from the patient parking area. For handicapped access, take the elevator from the main lobby to the first floor. For directions to the medical center and more, visit www.giffordmed.org.
Gifford also offers a Grief Support Group on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month from 4-5 p.m. in The Family Center beside Gifford Ob/Gyn and Midwifery.
Class focuses on chronic disease self-management and peer support
RANDOLPH – A new Healthier Living Workshop series begins May 15 and continues Wednesdays through June 19 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Chelsea Health Center.
Healthier Living Workshops are six-week classes for people with chronic conditions and their caregivers. They are offered for free – along with chronic pain workshops – throughout the year by Gifford as part of the Vermont Blueprint for Health.
The workshops are led by trained facilitators and are designed to help improve strength, flexibility and endurance. They also provide tips for managing medications, eating healthier and improving communications with family and friends.
The goal is to help people better manage their health conditions and deal with the frustration, fatigue and pain that can accompany a chronic disease.
Participants also benefit from meeting other people with chronic conditions, learning how they cope and enjoying the camaraderie of knowing that they are not alone in how they’re feeling, notes Gifford workshop coordinator Susan Delattre.
According to the Vermont Department of Health, past participants report increased energy, reduced stress, more self-confidence and fewer doctors’ visits as a result.
Gifford Healthier Living Workshop participants have called the series “very relaxed and you really felt free to express yourself” and said they most enjoyed “meeting people who understand what I am going through.”
To register or for more information, call Zach Bean at Gifford’s Blueprint office at the Kingwood Health Center at (802) 728-7100, ext. 6.
The workshop will take place at the Chelsea Health Center at 356 Route 110 in Chelsea.
Hospital VP receives ‘Patriot Award’ for support of citizen soldiers
David Wheel, executive director of the Vermont Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve presents Gifford Medical Center Vice President of Surgery Rebecca O’Berry with a Patriot Award. Joining in receiving the award are, from left, Gifford Surgery Nurse Manager Jamie Floyd, Gifford Surgical Services Office Manager Bethany Osha, Wheel, O’Berry, Guard specialist and Gifford health care assistant Marc Truedson, and former Guard member and Gifford registered nurse Caitlyn Bushey. Truedson nominated O’Berry for the award. (Provided: Robin Palmer)
Marc Truedson’s commitment to serve the country as a specialist in the Vermont National Guard means time away from work as a health care assistant at Gifford Medical Center. Truedson’s employer supports his time away, filling shifts so that he can serve.
Recently Truedson discovered a way to thank Gifford and his senior manager, Vice President of Surgery Rebecca O’Berry, for that support. He nominated O’Berry for a Patriot Award through the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).
The ESGR is a Department of Defense operational committee that, with the help of volunteers, promotes and enhances civilian employer support of citizen soldiers.
On Monday afternoon, Vermont ESGR Executive Director David Wheel delivered the award and many kind words to O’Berry and her team. Continue reading →
RANDOLPH – Gifford Medical Center, in collaboration with the Vermont chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Clara Martin Center, is hosting a May 1 free educational program called “Living with Bipolar Disorder.”
The 5:30-7:30 p.m. event in Gifford’s Conference Center features a film by the same title with a discussion to follow. The 43-minute film features an introduction by actor Joe Pantoliano, a review of the illness by clinical expert Dr. Joe Calabrese of Case Medical Center in Cleveland and stories of people who have bipolar disorder or have been affected by it. Continue reading →
Experienced orthopedics physician assistant Bradford “Brad” Salzmann has joined Gifford Medical Center’s orthopedics team in Randolph.
Salzmann grew up in primarily Massachusetts and had two careers – first as a carpenter and then as a hospital-based paramedic – before becoming a physician assistant.
He also did ski patrol along the way and through his role as a ski patrol director got to know a physician assistant who ran a local clinic. Salzmann was inspired. He decided to pursue the “up and coming” profession.
He attended Springfield College in Massachusetts, earning his bachelor’s degree and physician assistant certification in 1996.
He went on to work as physician assistant in orthopedics at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., from 1996-2012 and at Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer, Mass., since 2000. He also worked in hospitalist medicine for a year for IPC Hospitalist of New England.
In addition, he has a master’s degree in disaster medicine and management and as part the Disaster Medical Assistance Team based in Worcester, Mass., responds to government requests for assistance in national disasters.
As part of this group, he’s responded to hurricanes in Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and the earthquake in Haiti. He was also recently part of the Hurricane Sandy response team.
His decision to come to Vermont was prompted by his love for the state.
“One of the reasons I’m here is we have family property and a little cabin in Stockbridge, so I’ve been coming here all of my life,” said Salzmann. “I love it here.”
Increasingly, he was excited to travel to Vermont, and reluctant to leave.
Now here to stay, Salzmann is living in Royalton, enjoying the Vermont outdoors and working full-time at Gifford seeing both outpatients and assisting Gifford’s two orthopedic surgeons in surgery.
“I like it. I’m really excited to be at Gifford,” he says, noting he turned down an offer at a larger hospital for the opportunity to work in a small hospital setting. “It’s personable. You get to know people and make more of a difference.”
Salzmann is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. He is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Physician Assistants in Orthopaedic Surgery.
This compassionate caregiver with a quick smile describes his practice style as respectful and truthful. He works with patients to explore options, such as therapy, injections or a visit to the chiropractor. “There are some things,” however, he notes, “that don’t get better without surgery.”
Call Salzmann at Gifford’s Randolph orthopedics office at (802) 728-2455.
Selfless community members give 16,524 hours to non-profit hospital
Susan O’Malley of Randolph
Gifford Medical Center recognized its 120 volunteers at an annual appreciation luncheon on Wednesday.
Volunteers gave 16,524 hours in 2012. That’s 2,066 eight-hour workdays or the equivalent of eight full-time employees, noted Ashley Lincoln, director of development and marketing. “That’s a pretty incredible number,” Lincoln said. “We really appreciate the smiles that you bring, your enthusiasm, and your willingness to come when you’re called.”
Arlene Conant of Randolph Center and Robin Rafuse Gurney of Randolph
Volunteers give of their time throughout the medical center, at its clinics, at the Adult Day, through chaplaincy, as part of the Board of Trustees and through the Gifford Auxiliary at the Thrift Shop. “We have a far reaching volunteer group and I thank all of you,” said Volunteer Services Coordinator Julie Fischer to the group of about 75 in attendance.
The volunteers were treated to live music by Thom Goodwin, quality and infection prevention manager at Gifford and a
Chris Furmeister of Randolph
musician. Gifford’s chefs prepared a meal based on the event’s Texas barbecue theme. Gifford staff volunteering as servers donned Western attire. And door prizes from generous local businesses, including Onion Flats, Randolph Village Pizza, Blue Moon Boutique, Belmains, Bud and Bella’s Bookshop, Dandelion Acres, Central Supplies, Chef’s Market, Holiday Beauty Salon and Tozier’s, were given out.
Major salutes
One volunteer in particular received a standing ovation after it was announced that the hospital has nominated him for a senior service award. Major Melvin McLaughlin, 95, has been volunteering at Gifford for more than 40 years.
Lincoln read the hospital’s nomination, which describes McLaughlin’s service and hospital staff members’ regard for the long-time volunteer. “We at Gifford love Major. He is a brilliant and beautiful light in the day. As one nurse put it, ‘A day without Major is a day without sunshine.’ He is the personification of what we are as an organization – warm, compassionate, supportive, humbled and blessed to be able to care for others. Introduce a new staff member, patient or nursing home resident to Major and we have just told them everything they need to know about us. We care. We’re family. We’re here for you.”
Nap and Agnes Pietryka of Randolph
The text of the full nomination is available online at www.salutetoseniorservice.com. Hospital administrators are hoping staff, volunteers and community members visit the site between April 15-30 to vote for McLaughlin, a Randolph resident since 1967.
McLaughlin, a member of the U.S. Marines for 25 years, saluted his fellow volunteers as they cheered him.
Volunteers also offered their thanks for the opportunity to give of their time at the medical center, an experience so many find extremely rewarding.
The event concluded with a presentation from LaRae Francis of Gifford’s Blueprint Community Health Team, who explained the team’s work to connect Gifford patients with needed community services and to help them better navigate the health system. The program is aimed at helping the chronically ill better manage their diseases by reducing barriers to care. The team has had 600 referrals since it began in February of 2011.
Community members wanting to access the program to receive help and learn about available community services can call (802) 728-2499. For information on volunteering at Gifford, call Fischer at (802) 728-2324.
A loon done in pastel, “Morning Solitude,” is part of Jan Rogers’ show at Gifford.
Jan Rogers brings her “X-pressions” graphite, pastel and colored pencil works to the Gifford Medical Center art gallery March 27-May 29.
Rogers of Williamstown uses various sizes of compressed paper stumps to apply graphite, pastel, and colored pencil to Bristol board, mat board, and pastel and vellum papers. Values, tones, and textures are constructed by drawing and blending to create depth and shading, resulting in a combination of lights and darks making the works almost “photo-realistic.”
“Most of my work is done in the fine line drawing method using a soft touch, subtle elimination of lines, and acute attention to detail,” says Rogers. “These skills can turn a drawing into a painting.”
“Graphite is my choice of medium because of the detail that can be achieved,” Rogers adds, noting that she uses pastel and colored pencil with some of her graphite works to enhance a single area.
Jan Rogers’ “Careen” is done in graphite on vellum with a colored pencil accent.
Rogers has been drawing and painting most of her life. She attended workshops at the Ashton Art Institute in Connecticut on fine line drawing, and works out of a home studio on commissions and inspirations for upcoming shows.
Her paintings have been exhibited in galleries and shows in Connecticut, Arizona, California, and now Vermont, where she is a member of the Paletteers art group. She has won awards for her unique method and also designs one-of-a-kind notecards that are sold in Gifford’s Garden Gate Gift Shop.
Her show at Gifford is free and open to the public. Works can be purchased in the Gift Shop.
The Gifford Gallery is located just inside the hospital’s main entrance at 44 S. Main St. (Route 12) in Randolph. The Gift Shop is on the south end of the hospital near the entrance to the nursing home and Birthing Center.
To learn more about this show or displaying your work in the gallery, call Volunteer Coordinator Julie Fischer at (802) 728-2324.
RANDOLPH – Gifford Medical Center employees have raised $495 for the March of Dimes by wearing “Blue Jeans for Babies” on Friday.
The Randolph medical center and its clinics participate each year around St. Patrick’s Day in the fund-raiser, which allows employees who donate $5 to the March of Dimes to wear jeans to work for the day.
This year nearly 100 employees participated.
The March of Dimes is the nation’s leading non-profit organization for pregnancy and baby health. It raises funds through a variety of events to help prevent birth defects, premature births and infant mortality.
“Gifford is pleased to be able to partner with the March of Dimes on initiatives to support prenatal and infant health,” said Robin Palmer, a member of Gifford’s Marketing Department who organized the hospital’s effort. “Employees appreciate the opportunity to both support a great cause and wear jeans to work.”
Roger Clapp, March of Dimes Vermont Chapter director, thanked hospital employees for their participation and noted that with this support Vermont has become the leading state in the nation in reducing premature birth. “Your support is paying off for thousands of Vermont families who are welcoming home stronger, healthier babies,” he said.
Other businesses wishing to wear “Blue Jeans for Babies” can contact the March of Dimes here in Vermont at (802) 560-3239.
RANDOLPH – For more than 40 million Americans, Medicare provides their health insurance. Across the nation and here in Vermont, more Americans become eligible each day, leaving big questions about the federal insurance program and just what it covers.
Gifford Medical Center is aiming to help answer some of those questions for its employees and the public in a free talk this April.
“Medicare – Ready or Not… ” is being held on April 11 from 6-7 p.m. in the Randolph hospital’s Conference Center. The talk will feature a presentation from Acadia Benefits Inc. health insurance specialist Scott McKee on Medicare parts A through D, eligibility and resources. Continue reading →
Gifford series opens conversation on death and dying to grief and how it transforms us.
RANDOLPH – During a memorial for the British victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Queen Elizabeth II called grief “the price we pay for love.”
Gifford Medical Center explores that theme in the third part of a free educational series on death and dying on April 4 from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Randolph hospital’s Conference Center.
“Grief: The Price We Pay for Love” will feature chaplains The Rev. Tim Eberhardt of Gifford and The Rev. Mary Lewis Webb of the VA Medical Center as well as stories from several community members on personal loss and grief.
Organized by Gifford mental health practitioner and Advanced Illness Care Team member Cory Gould, a licensed psychologist, the discussion, she says, is not about the stages of grief or evidence-based interventions. “It’s really about what grief means, why we grieve, how we grieve and how grief might transform us,” Gould says.
“In the grief process, you get to experience the depth of feelings you had for the one you lost. At its best, grief has the power to deepen our lives.”
Someone who is grieving might ponder questions about “what is life?” and “what is death?” Considering these questions is where change can happen and individuals can grow from their loss, says Gould.
At a minimum, talking about grief normalizes and validates how an individual is feeling. It also becomes easier to talk about death and loss the more we do it, Gould says.
st several months at Gifford Medical Center, community members have gathered for an educational series on death and dying, loss and love. First, they started the conversation, talked about “a good death” and then found the beauty of love in loss with “Grief: The Price We Pay for Love.”
