Car Control Clinic for New Drivers

There is still time to sign up for the latest Car Control Clinic for New Drivers. A classroom session will be held at 7 p.m. at Fauquier Hospital on Friday, May 17. Teen drivers and parent teams can choose a behind-the-wheel session Saturday, May 18 or Sunday, May 19, either in the morning or the afternoon. 

It's a great class and will teach your teenager how to handle some difficult driving scenarios. Cost is $179. Visit www.carcontrol.com to register. Here's a link to a story about the class, which ran in the Fauquier Times-Democrat the last time the course was held.

Fauquier Health Stars in AHA video

Volunteer Dave Mailler greets patients and families at the front door of  Fauquier Hospital.

Bruce Edwards, physical therapist, works with patient (and director of Patient Access) Melissa Finley.

Julie Ross was generous enough to share her newborn daughter with the camera.

April Robinson is a nursing student, being mentored by Jammie Hall, RN, in the Family Birthing Center.

Dr. Alirezza Tajick, Fauquier Hospital hospitalist, is a great doctor, and always photogenic.

Below you'll find a link to a video produced by the American Hospital Association for its annual meeting. If you are alert, you will see some familiar faces. The AHA visited Fauquier Hospital (the ED, physical therapy, the Family Birthing Center, etc.) a couple of weeks ago and shot some footage for this presentation. As always, our staff members were very generous with their time and talents.

It’s very cool. See if you can pick out our stars!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_65mJy7EKI

Sharon O'Neill Retires after 30 Years with Fauquier Health

Sharon O'Neill is congratulated by Linda Sharkey, Vice President of Patient Care, on her more than three decades of service to Fauquier Health.

Sharon O’Neill, IS Clinical Analyst, will be retiring this month from Fauquier Health, after a little more than 30 years of service. 

Sharon began her career with Fauquier Hospital on November 6, 1982 as a radiology technician. Bernice Pearson, who worked with Sharon in those early years, remembers that she always provided courteous and compassionate care to her patients. She had an amazing focus on customer service and treated her patients as if they were her own family members. She was a team player, and always willing to help out a patient or a coworker, said Bernice. Sharon also spent several years as an office manager in the Radiology Department.

In 1999, Sharon transitioned to an analyst role in the IS Department, and was an integral part of the team that brought up the new Meditech system. She translated the caring attitude she had for patients into a passion for building the system to be effective for end-users and for teaching her supported departments the most efficient ways to use the system. She trained all levels of users and was known for her patient and confidence-building approach. Sharon assumed responsibility for more modules within Meditech and was soon sought out by others for her global understanding of the highly integrated system.

Dr. Jeffrey Joseph Heading to Africa for Third Mission Trip

   Dr. Jeffrey Joseph, of the Fauquier Hospital Emergency Department, is hearing the call of Africa once again, and once again he’ll be traveling there in July to lend his medical expertise to a new endeavor. This will be the good doctor’s third mission trip. As a seasoned veteran, he knows more or less what to expect – few amenities, blazing heat and many, many patients who need medical attention and education.
   
Dr. Joseph will be traveling to Kisumu in western Kenya to help establish a new medical clinic for villagers who do not have any access to healthcare. Sally Lunetta, an organizer for the clinic, says that the facility is not up and running yet. “We have the buildings and are busy collecting all the supplies we need to get it opened before June.”
 
Dr. Joseph will be spending his time in Kisumu working with patients, educating Kenyan doctors and nurses – and learning from them about the particular needs of their patients. The clinicians will also help the clinic venture out into the community to do some outdoor clinic days -- setting up an area in and around the clinic buildings where villagers can come and get free medical care.
   
The clinic will not be able to accomplish surgeries, but clinicians hope to offer immunizations, HIV testing, treatments for various common local diseases (like malaria, typhoid, etc.) and perhaps some well baby care.
   
Medical supplies and medicine are scarce, so Dr. Joseph has taken on the task of gathering as much as he can to help stock the shelves. He is actively fundraising for trip expenses and for medical supplies.
   
Dr. Joseph’s excitement about his upcoming journey is palpable; he knows from previous trips how rewarding the experience can be. After his first adventure in Africa, he wrote this: “It was a great, great trip. I relive some part of it every day...it has profoundly affected me and my life.” Then he quoted an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
   
Words to live by.

Jr. Chefs Program Debuts

The Junior Chef program got off to a great start Saturday. Twelve students got a cooking lesson that included good information on healthy eating as well.

Above, Natalie Ramos, director of Nutrition Services for Fauquier Hospital, works with Paige Ramirez and Sydney Baker on a lemon thyme shortbread cookie recipe.

The next Jr. Chef class will be held Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the Bistro. The cost is $45 per student. Call 540-316-3588 to register, or go to www.fauquierhealth.org.

DAISY Award Will be Announced April 30

Fauquier Hospital will honor its extraordinary nurses at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, in the Bistro on the Hill. The celebration will recognize nurses who have displayed exceptional compassion to patients and their families. One nurse will be chosen as the recipient of the DAISY Award for Compassionate Nursing.

Nominees are chosen every quarter, and one nurse is named the Daisy Award winner. On April 30, the celebration will be particularly meaningful because the founders of the DAISY award, Mark and Bonnie Barnes, will join us for the ceremony.

The public is invited to help us honor our wonderful nurses.

   Looking for a family-friendly place to eat on Sunday mornings? Beginning April 14, the Bistro on the Hill at Fauquier Hospital will be offering an all-inclusive Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with lots of choices and a special price for children.

   Families can enjoy selections from the grill (made to order eggs and pancakes) with all the fixings (like bacon, sausage and breakfast potatoes) or fruit and salad bar. A homestyle station will offer one carved selection and another traditional lunch-style entrée. Pizza is on the menu too, in kid-sized slices, and a pasta station will include a choice of two sauces. Muffins, scones and breads will be available, and for those thinking ahead to Sunday dinner, whole pies and breads may be purchased to bring home.

   The cost for adults is $9.95; kids 12 and under are $3.95 and children under 4 eat free. Fountain drinks, coffee and tea are included in the price, but bottled drinks are extra.

   Natalie Ramos, director of Food and Nutrition Services at Fauquier Health, said that the idea for a Sunday brunch came from a desire to provide a variety of healthy, freshly made foods that families could enjoy together. “I won’t say that kids are picky eaters. I’ll say they have definite ideas about what they like. Our brunch will offer plenty of variety for children – and their parents.”