Count on St. John's for services to live longer, healthier lives

Thank you again for reading Healthy People magazine. Please feel free to contact us if you find something interesting, have a suggestion or request, or would like to share your own story. Healthy People is online at www.stjohns.com.

Welcome to the spring issue of St. John’s Healthy People magazine.

This issue focuses on living healthy lifestyles and new innovative treatments now available in the Ozarks.We are excited to announce the first ever St. John’s Totally Healthy Senior Retreat. The retreat will be held in Branson at the Chateau on the Lake and focus on important topics such as anti-aging, chronic diseases, alternative medicine and Medicare. There will be a variety of breakout sessions, opportunities to schedule individual consults and many fun-filled social activities.

We are very proud of our co-workers at St. John’s who recently completed the 2005 Weight Loss Challenge. Our co-workers lost over 4,000 pounds in a 12-month period. We are hoping to share this successful program with other businesses in the community so they can improve the health of their co-workers and lower their health care costs.

Patient safety continues to be a major focus at St. John’s. You will find a special “Know your Meds” pharmacy bag inserted in this issue of Healthy People. You will want to use this bag to communicate with your physician and pharmacist about the medications you are taking and their potential interactions. We are also participating in a voluntary, nationwide initiative to save 100,000 lives, sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Other safety initiatives at St. John’s involve a new patient transfer program, robotic drug dispensing system and the “Mercy Meds” initiative, all of which are described in this issue.

Read how a new innovative procedure for a surgically implanted lens improves vision and eliminates glasses for many in the Ozarks. Also in this issue is an article on a new treatment for ovarian cancer. You will read an inspiring story of one woman’s struggle with the disease and her successful recovery.
At St. John’s, we are proud to work with you to improve your health and to offer new exciting programs to the people of the Ozarks. We hope that you enjoy this issue and have a happy and healthy spring!

Sincerely,

Kim Day
St. John’s Health System President / CEO