Overcoming Stigma of Substance Use Disorder, Patient Service Award: Seacoast health news

Conchita Castilla, LNA, receives Exeter Hospital’s 2022 Patient Service Award 

EXETER – Conchita “Connie” Castilla, LNA, Progressive Care Unit (PCU) at Exeter Hospital has been named the 2022 winner of Exeter Hospital’s Susan Burns-Tisdale Memorial Award for Patient Service.

Susan Burns-Tisdale served as Exeter Health Resources’ Chief Nurse Executive for 12 years prior to passing away from cancer in 2020. A hallmark of Susan’s career was her unwavering focus on patients and her extraordinary commitment to inter-professional team collaboration to better serve patient needs. This monetary award is dedicated to her memory, and recipients exemplify Susan’s vision for ideal patient care. Three recipients are announced each quarter, with one of the 12 selected as the award winner for the year.

Connie was nominated by Liz King, one of the PCU Clinical Leaders. In her written nomination, Liz says, “Connie shows up to work every single day with a smile on her face and her running shoes on (literally!)…Connie spends all of her day in patient rooms. Connie takes her own initiative to work to the top of her nursing assistant license without requiring direction from nursing…Connie has an amazing affect and empathy towards her patients. She is a comforting hand and ear to all of them. The moment (literally the moment) a call bell goes off, Connie is heading straight towards the room… As a coworker, Connie is striving towards the next level of collaboration with fellow staff and nurses…She simply just thinks about everyone around her, and her caring demeanor is not only shown to patients…I cannot think of anyone more deserving or harder working than Connie. Our organization and patients are so lucky to have her providing exceptional care.”

The Susan Burns-Tisdale Memorial Award for Patient Service was created by philanthropists Bill and Mary Schleyer and was additionally funded by donations as part of the Together We Can campaign. Learn more at unitedinwellness.org.

York Hospital to offer webinar on Overcoming Stigma of Substance Use Disorder

YORK, Maine — Recovery from addiction is possible, yet many people with alcohol and drug problems do not seek help. Research shows that one reason is the shame and stigma they face in the community. Join the York Hospital Recovery Center and special guests for an informative “lunch & learn” webinar on Tuesday, April 25 from 12 to 1 p.m. via Zoom with certified drug and alcohol counselors, prevention experts, and people in recovery. Hear their personal stories and learn ways to reduce stigma and help support people in recovery. Join this discussion and be part of the solution for creating recovery-ready communities in York County.

Presenters include:

·         Eric Haram, LADC, director of the York Hospital Recovery Center

·         Susie McKenna, recovery coach and advocate

·         Sally Manninen, director of the Choose To Be Healthy Coalition

·         Lacey Bailey, certified drug and alcohol counselor with Sweetser

There will be a short Narcan/naloxone training at the end of the presentation, and free Narcan will be available to participants upon request. To receive the overdose antidote, simply provide a shipping address when registering for the program.

To reserve your spot, sign up at www.yorkhospital.com/events. Can’t join us live? Register anyway and you will receive a link to view the recording on the hospital’s YouTube channel following the event.

Dartmouth Health marks Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month with research and education symposium

LEBANON – April marks Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month, and April 11 is World Parkinson’s Day. Both are opportunities to spread awareness for a neurological condition that impacts more than half a million Americans and their families. Parkinson’s disease affects nerve cells in the brain and impacts the way a person moves, causing tremors, slow movement, stiffness, and problems with balance and gradually getting worse over time. While numerous treatments are effective at slowing and decreasing the symptoms of Parkinson’s, there is no known cure.

As one of just 47 Centers of Excellence nationwide designated by the Parkinson’s Foundation, and the only one in northern New England, Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center is a leader in the treatment of Parkinson’s and provides extensive resources to Parkinson’s patients and their families in New Hampshire and beyond. As part of our commitment to this patient population, DHMC will mark Parkinson’s Awareness Month with a patient-centered symposium on April 28. “Frontiers in Parkinson’s Disease Research: What’s New for You” will address the latest research on Parkinson’s, current studies on the disease, and how patients can be part of finding a cure.

Panelists for this symposium will include:

• Mary S. Feldman, DO, co-director for the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Program at DHMC and director for the residency program for Neurology at DHMC

• Stephen L. Lee, MD, PhD, co-founder and co-director of the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center and a movement disorders specialist in the department of neurology at DHMC

• Matthew C. Havrda, PhD, associate professor of molecular and systems biology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

• Karl Biggs, BS, a PhD candidate focusing on neurodegeneration, cell biology and proteomics at Dartmouth’s Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies

“Frontiers in Parkinson’s Research” will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 35 N. Labombard Road in Lebanon from 12-5 pm. Registration is free but limited. To register, visit events.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/event/parkinsons-research/.

Dartmouth Health receives multi-million dollar gift to support inclusive excellence

LEBANON — Dartmouth Health has received a $2.5 million gift from generous donors and former Dartmouth-Hitchcock Trustee Barbara Couch and her husband, Dick, to establish the Couch Endowed Fund for Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellowships at Dartmouth Cancer Center. The Couches’ gift is magnified by matching funds from long-time donor Dorothy M. Byrne’s recent gift that established the Byrne Family Cancer Research Institute, bringing the total endowment for Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellowships to $5 million.

This historic gift to Dartmouth Health is the largest philanthropic investment to date in support of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) at Dartmouth Cancer Center.

The fund will support the recruitment and retention of up-and-coming cancer clinician-scientists from under-represented groups in medicine – particularly those exploring health disparities and healthcare inequities.

“This gift was inspired by our belief that the educational and research mission of Dartmouth Health and the Dartmouth Cancer Center is greatly enhanced by a diverse faculty,” said the Couch family. “We believe in the medical center’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment necessary to retain the diverse faculty that this gift is designed to recruit and support.”

"Part of Dartmouth Health’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging journey is recognizing its importance and making a concerted effort to increase diversity among our faculty and staff, to make our community even more welcoming and inclusive,” said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and President of Dartmouth Health. “This generous gift from Barbara and Dick is an important step towards that goal, and will benefit our patients and our overall ability as a system to deliver care, excel in research and integrate DEIB values into all we do.”

Couch Faculty Fellows will receive protected academic time and resources for discovery, research, and collaboration supporting both short- and long-term efforts centered on inclusive excellence.

“This gift is central to Dartmouth Cancer Center’s focus on inclusion and belonging,” said Steven D. Leach, MD, Director of Dartmouth Cancer Center, a joint partnership of Dartmouth Health and Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. “Establishing a force of diverse cancer scientists will help us further foster an environment for innovative thinking and purposeful engagement. This gift arrives at a critical juncture for our organizations as we increase our level of intersection not only through the important scientific research we undertake but also as a way of fostering shared community, and our ability to attract diverse cultures and people.”

"This generous gift is critical to accelerate our efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in our community," said Duane Compton, PhD, dean of Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. “A diverse biomedical workforce is essential to help us reduce healthcare disparities among many populations in our country and globally.”

“A strong DEIB presence at Dartmouth Health can do wonders for employee morale and patient outcomes,” said Teresa Dean Malcolm, MD, FACOG, MBA, vice president of DEIB at Dartmouth Health. “Delivering culturally compassionate care today and in the future can be achieved through investing in people with the cultural background and experience that represent the very communities we want to reach. A gift of this magnitude affirms the fact that diverse and inclusive teams foster community, connection, and innovation and will advance Dartmouth Health’s commitment to inclusive excellence.”

Known throughout the Upper Valley region for their philanthropy and spirit of giving, Barbara and Dick Couch are longstanding supporters of Dartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine. Among their many volunteer leadership roles, they have served as directors of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, where Barbara now serves as chair. Barbara also served as a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health trustee from 2010 through 2019 and a member of the Geisel School of Medicine Board of Advisors from 2012 to 2019.

Beyond establishing the Byrne Family Cancer Research Institute, the Byrne family’s substantial generosity over the past 15 years includes annual matching dollars to increase funds raised at Dartmouth Cancer Center’s largest annual community fundraiser, The Prouty, and a $10 million gift in 2014 that created the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care at DHMC.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Overcoming Stigma of Substance Use Disorder webinar: Seacoast health news