Your Health Today June 2013 - St. Anthony's Medical Center

special delivery:
SimMom makes debut at St. Anthony’s
Pregnancy-related deaths will claim 15
of every 100,000 women who give
birth in the United States, according
to federal statistics. That’s more than double
the all-time low of 7.2 deaths per 100,000
births reported in 1987. Similarly, the rate of
Ken Forinash of Laerdal Medical instructs Kelly Evans, left,
and Karla Herrington as they tend to a newborn “SimBaby”
delivered in a simulated high-risk situation.
severe complications during and after delivery has
doubled in the last decade.
To battle those numbers, educators at St. Anthony’s
have taken a proactive approach to training their
Labor and Delivery nurses for high-risk deliveries,
and preparing their staff for real-life emergency
situations. Laerdal Medical’s SimMom, an
advanced, full-body, interactive birthing simulator,
joined the Education department recently through a
$50,000 donation from the Dana Brown Charitable
Trust to St. Anthony’s Charitable Foundation. The
medical center is one of only a few in the region to
have SimMom.
“SimMom has a small, newborn-sized baby that
she delivers, creating a very realistic event,” said
Shelly O’Malley Robinson, staff development
educator and coordinator of the Nurse Residency
Program. “We can talk about these procedures
in a classroom, collaborate on care and have
nurses take a written test. But when you perform
the procedure, replicating reality, it becomes
hardwired. That’s when learning truly occurs.”
Charitable Foundation’s video discourages heroin use
St. Anthony’s anesthesiologist Joseph M. Forand, M.D., wants
potential users to know heroin’s chilling effects. Dr. Forand is
the executive producer of The Heroin Film Project, a 15-minute
video that features interviews with local doctors, experts and
recovering heroin addicts.
The film was produced with unanimous support and financial
assistance from St. Anthony’s Charitable Foundation’s Physician
Ambassador Board, a group of 23 physicians who share the
mission to improve the health of the community through
fundraising and grant support. Produced by the Charitable
Foundation and Pelopidas Media, the video also was funded in
part by the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists.
“My goal with the film is to keep people from trying heroin,” said Dr. Forand.
To view the video: Contact St. Anthony’s Charitable Foundation at (314) 525-7330 or aliciacummiskey@samcstl.org.
4 | YOUR HEALTH TODAY | JUNE 2013