Medical Camps Offer Hands-on Approach to Learning

Photos by Ciao Bella Photography
During the June 12 Level 1 Medical Camp, Mackenzie Hoover learns how to intubate a patient.

FauquierHealth is celebrating its 11th year of offering summer Medical Camps for middle and high school students.

The camps provide students 14 to 18 years old with hands-on experience and insight into possible medical careers, drawing children from around the East Coast. Some medical camp graduates are now in medical school, nursing school or exploring other healthcare professions.

The camps offer two levels of hands-on activities during which students learn and practice skills essential to patient care. Acceptance into the camp program is competitive, and applications are available every year in early February. This summer, 115 students will be participating.

First-time campers attend the Level 1 Medical Camp, learning skills like typing blood in the lab, how to intubate a patient, how to suture, starting an IV, mixing medications in the pharmacy, and seeing how X-rays are performed. Students participate in a mock code in the Emergency Department, learn how to triage patients, take blood pressures and harvest a cornea from a human eye.



On June 19, Kayleigh Trent and
Makayla MacWelch
performed CPR during a mock code
in the Emergency Department.

Level 2 Medical Camp activities include all of the following on the first day: applying a cast to a partner’s arm (and cutting the cast off using the cast saw); placing internal sutures and closing skin incisions with staples, and extricating a patient from a vehicle using a cervical collar and backboard. On the second day, students learn to do injections and blood draws, in addition to other learning activities. Students must have participated in a Level 1 camp in a prior year to be eligible for the Level 2 camp. The first Level 2 camp will be July 10 and 11; a second session will be held July 17 and 18.

Registered nurses Wendy Greenwood and Tamela Jenkins teach some of the modules and facilitate the clinical activities, enlisting the help of dozens of nurses, physicians and other staff members, as well as professionals from Blue Ridge Orthopedics and the Old Dominion Eye Foundation. Meredith Wingo is the community coordinator of the Medical Camps. Wingo said, “These folks provide the students with a unique hands-on experience they otherwise wouldn't have until well into their college careers. We are grateful that these staff members and volunteers dedicate so much of their time and expertise to Medical Camp each summer.” 

Surgeon Joe Brown Joins Fauquier Health Wound Healing Center Team

Dr. Joe Brown, general surgeon

General surgeon Dr. Joe Brown will be joining the Wound Healing Center’s physician panel beginning June 15. He’ll be joining the current physician panel, which includes Dr. Tam Ly, Dr. Joseph David, Dr. Lynn Samuel, Dr. Jorge Minera and Dr. Jeffrey Abrams.
 
Board certified in general surgery, Dr. Brown specializes in minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques. Dr. Brown also has a clinical interest in the diagnosis and treatment of all types of breast disease and hernia repair. As a general surgeon, Dr. Brown will bring a unique skill set to the Wound Center panel.
 
The Wound Healing Center focuses on aggressive treatment of chronic wounds using advanced treatment modalities. Referrals are now being accepted to schedule with Dr. Brown.

Fauquier Hospital Receives Gold Certification from Planetree International

Fauquier Hospital has been awarded Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by

Planetree International. The certification represents the highest level of person-centered care, which prioritizes the active participation of patients and their families throughout the healthcare process with an emphasis on partnership, compassion, transparency, inclusion and quality.

Fauquier Hospital was first awarded designation as a Planetree hospital in 2007, and is one of only 77 healthcare organizations worldwide to receive the Gold Certification. Chad Melton, chief executive officer, said, “Planetree has been an important part of our culture for more than a decade. As the healthcare landscape has changed, Planetree’s emphasis and standards have evolved to include empirical data on patient satisfaction and quality of care measures. This hard-won certification is a testament to our staff’s continued commitment to person-centered care.”

“The Planetree certification is the only award that recognizes excellence in person-centeredness across the continuum of care,” said Susan Frampton, president of Planetree International, a not-for-profit organization that has been at the forefront of the movement to transform healthcare – from the perspective of patients – for nearly 40 years. “This gold certification signals to its patients and community that Fauquier Hospital is an organization where staff partner with patients and families, and where patient and family comfort, dignity, empowerment and well-being are prioritized as key elements of providing top-quality clinical care.”

The criteria that Fauquier Hospital satisfied to achieve Planetree Gold certification address components of a person-centered healthcare experience, including the quality of patient-provider interactions, access to information, family involvement and the physical environment of care. The criteria also focus on how the organization supports staff, opportunities for staff, patients, and families to have a voice in the way care is delivered, and the ways that Fauquier Hospital is reaching beyond its walls to care for its community.

As part of the certification process, which included a site visit by representatives from Planetree, discussion with recent Fauquier Hospital patients, families and current staff, validated that specific person-centered policies are in place. This includes non-restrictive visiting hours and a shared medical record policy, that staff members at all levels are involved in the implementation of person-centered care, and that the organization’s physical environment supports patient and family engagement in their care.

Fauquier Health Wound Center Earns Center of Excellence Distinction

Fauquier Health physicians, leaders, and clinicians gathered recently to celebrate the Robert A. Warriner III, M.D., Center of Excellence award.

Fauquier has achieved patient satisfaction rates higher than 92 percent and a healing rate of at least 91 percent in less than 30 median days to heal, for a minimum of two consecutive years.
The center was awarded this prestigious honor by Healogics, the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services. Of 700 Healogics managed centers, only 268 were honored with this award. 

The award is named for Dr. Robert A. Warriner III, a pioneer in wound care and the former CEO for Healogics. 

The Fauquier Health Wound Healing Center is a member of the Healogics network. 

The center offers highly specialized wound care to patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections and other chronic wounds which have not healed in a reasonable amount of time.
Advanced treatments include negative pressure wound therapy, bio-engineered skin substitutes, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, biological and biosynthetic dressings and growth factor therapies. 




New Physician Added to Wound Healing Center Team
General surgeon Dr. Joe Brown will be joining the Wound Healing Center’s physician panel

Dr. Joe Brown

beginning June 15th. He’ll be joining the current physician panel which includes Dr. Tam Ly, Dr. Joseph David, Dr. Lynn Samuel, Dr. Jorge Minera and Dr. Jeffrey Abrams.

Board certified in general surgery, Dr. Brown specializes in minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques. Dr. Brown also has a clinical interest in the diagnosis and treatment of all types of breast disease and hernia repair. As a general surgeon, Dr. Brown will bring a unique skill set to the panel.

The Wound Healing Center focuses on aggressive treatment of chronic wounds using advanced treatment modalities. Referrals are now being accepted to schedule with Dr. Brown. 

Medical Imaging Office Temporarily Closed

Fauquier Health's Medical Imaging location at the Warrenton Professional Building (493 Blackwell Road, Warrenton, VA 20186) is temporarily closed. It is not known how long the office will be closed.

Full medical imaging services are available at Fauquier Hospital (500 Hospital Drive, Warrenton).

Visiting Restrictions Lifted at Fauquier Hospital

Temporary restrictions on Fauquier Hospital’s open visitation policy have been lifted. Restrictions were put in place in January to help prevent the flu from spreading. 

According to the Virginia Department of Health, visiting restrictions at the hospital are no longer necessary.

Conversation in Ethics Focuses on Web-Based Medical Information

Fauquier Hospital will host a community Conversation in Ethics from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18 in the hospital’s Sycamore Room. The topic will be Pearls and Perils of Internet Medicine.

 

Patients around the world use the Internet to compare medical symptoms, learn about illnesses and explore treatment options. While some sites present objective, evidence-based information, others may  be outdated or offer unsubstantiated information -- or advice.

 

Speakers Dr. Chris Chang, ENT; Dr. Jeffrey Abrams, hospitalist; and Debbie Hayes, RN FNP-C

will discuss how to determine whether a website is reliable, current and appropriate. The availability of data from peer review journals or websites will be discussed. The speakers will also explain how the patient/provider relationship can be helped or hindered, depending on the reliability of the information the patient finds through other sources. In addition, speakers will go over some do’s and don’ts of social media.

 

Attendees are asked to call for reservations at 540-316-4490. Lunch will be served.

 

Come join the conversation.