Archives for Jeff Parrott

Memorial summer program again invites teens to explore medical careers

When Elizabeth Kuntz attended Saint Joseph High School in South Bend, she was always excited for Thursday afternoons. That’s when she volunteered in the Emergency Department at Memorial Hospital, where her duties included putting charts together, cleaning rooms, answering call lights, and much more. Kuntz ultimately would volunteer there for seven years,...

Black History Month: Recognizing African Americans in February helps “give them a voice”

As patient service representative for speech diagnostics at Memorial Hospital, Darice Ruth is part of a team that helps patients find their voice. Many of the patients have received treatment for cancers in the head and neck areas, affecting the larynx, or voice box. Some have difficulty speaking because of a...

Memorial pharmacist’s helpful act means a lot to COVID patient

Sometimes we can do things for others that seem small to us but are huge to those we do them for. On a recent Friday morning, Brenda Clanton had just learned she had tested positive for COVID-19. The 68-year-old Niles woman was grateful to Dr. Chris Hall, her Beacon Medical Group...

Afghan refugees settling in South Bend area receive health screenings, primary care at E. Blair Warner

As he nears completion of his three-year Memorial Family Medicine Residency program, Dr. Michael Keller has spent a lot of his time caring for South Bend’s at-risk, vulnerable populations. But since December, Dr. Keller, his fellow residents and the providers at Beacon Medical Group E. Blair Warner have started providing initial...

Black History Month: Chekesha Donaldson is “hopeful and optimistic” about diversity initiatives at Beacon

Whether she is reconciling staff credit card purchases, planning managers’ travel to conferences, crafting a monthly newsletter, ordering supplies or organizing new associate breakfasts, Chekesha Donaldson says much of what she does daily at Memorial Hospital is “behind the scenes.” She loves that aspect of her job and doesn’t necessarily want...

Black History Month: Information analyst appreciates Beacon’s focus on diversity, equity, inclusion

Anger over George Floyd’s murder by a white Minneapolis police officer sparked protests across the nation in the summer of 2020, but Ron Bass also remembers feeling some hope then, too, from an email he received as a Beacon Health System associate. In the July 16 message, Beacon CEO Kreg Gruber,...

Black History Month: Tom Johnson reflects on his nearly 40-year career at Beacon

Over his 39 years at Elkhart General Hospital, Project Coordinator Tom Johnson has witnessed plenty of history. For example, when he hired on as a painter/plasterer in 1983 at age 33, Arcade Avenue ran through the hospital site uninterrupted, houses surrounded the building’s perimeter, and the main entrance faced East Boulevard...

Beacon doctors urge patients to schedule COVID-delayed appointments, procedures and surgeries

Beacon Health System physicians are urging patients to start scheduling appointments again, from routine preventive care appointments to procedures and surgeries that are not considered urgent, as the number of COVID-19-positive patients continues to steadily decline in area hospitals and across the region. Many hospitals here and across the country delayed...

Memorial Hospital receives recertification as “baby friendly” from breastfeeding advocacy group

Baby Friendly USA has recertified Memorial Hospital as “baby friendly,” determining again after a rigorous review that the hospital adheres to the highest care standards for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. The standards are built on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, a set of evidence-based practices recommended by the World...

Beacon staff happy to help patient get back on the road after appointment in harsh weather

Four associates at Beacon Medical Group Fulton Street Specialists were not about to leave a patient stranded in a snowy ditch after she had just braved Wednesday’s harsh weather to keep her appointment. As the patient waited to be called back, she explained to staff how she had missed the “driveway.”...