02
Oct
29
Sep
Beacon discharges 1,000th COVID-19 patient, a retired Elkhart elementary school teacher
The staff at Elkhart General Hospital lined the hallway, cheering and applauding for a retired elementary school teacher. Bennie Payton, too, threw her arms up in the air after learning she was the 1,000th COVID patient to be discharged from Beacon Health System. “I’m truly blessed,” said Payton, 74, who spent nearly...
24
Sep
Faces masked, prayers raised: Hospital chaplains balance compassion with COVID realities
This original post was written the summer of 2020 and Beacon was experiencing the angst of COVID that had gone on for 6 months. Now we are experiencing that same angst but it has gone on for 18 months. And staff is tired, society is tired, and we are all...
22
Sep
Impatient babies no match for these Memorial Hospital nurses
Two expectant moms this summer didn't quite make it into Memorial Hospital before their babies were ready to be born. Luckily, long-time nurses Becky MacDonald and Kristin Roush were on hand for these special deliveries. Becky delivered a baby just outside the Childbirth Unit in Lafayette parking garage. About a month later,...
18
Sep
Sense of purpose, personal connection motivates EVS associate during pandemic
Maggie Alvarez is an Environmental Services associate at Memorial Hospital. When COVID started, it was scary. We were seeing a lot of elderly people dying of it. We wore masks and shields and glasses and were still afraid to breathe. I didn’t want to touch anything, even with gloves on. Or...
17
Sep
Project HOPE awarded $1 million grant to fight substance abuse in Marshall County
In August 2020, the Health Resources & Services Administration under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Beacon Health System a 3-year, $1 million grant to assemble and support a collaborative coalition within Marshall County to address opioid and substance abuse, which resulted in Project HOPE. Project HOPE...
16
Sep
Pandemic helps Elkhart EVS associate realize, “This is what I am supposed to be doing”
Tori Stack is an Environmental Services associate at Elkhart General Hospital. "In the early days of the pandemic there was an overwhelming amount of new information and policy changes for the entire hospital. As an Environmental Services associate, we break the chain of infection keeping patients, family members and clinical staff...
16
Sep
Long-time Beacon Children’s NICU nurse reflects on privilege of caring for babies
Sharon VanDeWielle, BSN, RNC-NIC, celebrated 40 years in July at Memorial Hospital of South Bend. She has spent more than 20 of those years working as a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. "I feel blessed to play a small part in what the NICU makes possible for our babies...
15
Sep
“Adopt a Pet” helps normalize pediatric experience during COVID
Pediatric patients oftentimes miss their friends and family members who aren't able to visit them at Beacon Children's Hospital during the pandemic. And while visitor restrictions remain in place, children are also missing snuggles with their favorite volunteer therapy dogs. This is where Jessica Lewin and the other Beacon Child Life...
09
Sep