This is the fi rst issue of Hendricks Regional Health Chronicles, a newsletter designed with our associates in mind. Chronicles celebrates achievements and will share the stories that connect all of us.

You will fi nd feature stories about associates, physicians, patients and more. This is YOUR newsletter and if you have a great story to tell, please share it. You can submit story ideas on the Hub, or by emailing HRH News.

Did you know that HRH has a Diversity Council? This group celebrates the diff erences that unite us. The mission of the Diversity Council is to increase the awareness of diff erences in others to create an environment where patients and staff can feel safe and comfortable in receiving and/or delivering individualized care.

In the coming months, you will get to know a few HRH associates and what makes them,

and their families, diverse. Watch for those stories right here, in Chronicles.

Diversity Council is always looking for new members. If you are interested in joining the Diversity Council, please contact Lynn Turner at LMTurne@Hendricks.org or Lynn Devich at LEDevic@hendricks.org.

Over the past decade, Dr. Bruce Inman and his wife, Dr. Margaret Inman, have participated in at least 10 mission trips to impoverished countries in Central and South America and Africa. For the past three years, the couple has been deeply involved in a development in Uganda that is transforming a small village and providing hope to thousands of local residents. The project, called Restoration Gateway, is building a new community to provide housing, education and healthcare for orphans, and job training and skills development for adults.

Restoration Gateway’s overall goal is to provide new opportunities and teach this growing community to, eventually, be self-sustaining. The village has been built from scratch and now includes a dental facility, the Oaks of Righteousness School and 30 homes for orphans, their caregivers, compound employees and the many physicians, dentists, teachers and other professionals that come to volunteer their time to help the community. A 180-bed hospital is also being constructed in the community and should be operational by January, 2016.

Planning for the village began in 2005. Restoration Development Foundation was formed to help raise funds and awareness for the Uganda project; the Foundation purchased 700 acres of land along the Nile River in northern Uganda.

The Inman family has made three trips to Uganda, and they are planning a fourth trip in January. They help provide medical services and perform other odds jobs as needed. “On our last trip, we stayed for fi ve weeks,” says Dr. Inman. “There were days that, in addition to providing medical care, I taught science classes, fi xed toilets, did electrical work and made repairs to the solar panels that power the water pumps.”

For now, medical services are performed in the dental clinic and are limited to wound care, primary care services and treating patients for malaria, HIV, leprosy, typhoid and other diseases common in the area. When the hospital is complete, visiting physicians will be able to perform surgeries in well-equipped surgery suites. The hospital is highly anticipated, as there are no other suffi cient healthcare facilities to serve the surrounding community. A major goal is to train locals to become nurses and physicians that can staff the hospital in the future.

Though improving every day, conditions are still primitive by American standards. The land on the compound is rugged and dotted with 8-to-10 feet tall termite mounds. The soil in those mounds is useful and can be mixed with concrete to make bricks. This year, the Inman family purchased a bulldozer for the compound to help scoop the termite aggregate and to help with various construction needs in the village. Other recent purchases for the village, made possible by donors, have included two motor bikes to maneuver the primitive roads and a water ambulance.

Uganda, in partnership with Sinohydro Group, Ltd. of China, is in the process of building a new hydroelectric power plant along the Nile, not far from the Restoration Gateway village. Uganda will eventually move its capital city closer to that source of power. Within the next several years, the population of this tiny village is expected to skyrocket. Missionaries that work in the area are hoping that growth brings good jobs and educational opportunities; they are taking measures to curb the rampant rates of alcoholism and prostitution that are currently hampering the advancement of the area.

While Restoration Gateway is improving lives of locals, Dr. Inman says he and his wife are involved because, “We get a good feeling

from doing it. We get more out of it than the patients do.”

The project in Uganda has inspired many people to step up and help. Here at HRH, Dr. Chris Sofi anos and Jennifer Hillis, RN, have also made trips to the village, and Don Stewart, Crystal Majors, Anne Salerno and Diane Smith have helped secure older equipment, textiles and materials that have been donated by HRH. Anyone who is interested in participating in this mission can learn more at restorationgateway.org. Restoration Gateway will host a fundraising event on November 14 at the Indianapolis Colts Complex. Tickets can be ordered soon at restorationgateway.org. Proceeds help fund eff orts in Uganda.

HENDRICKS REGIONAL HEALTH CHRONICLES | VOL. 1 - ISSUE 1 | HENDRICKS.ORG

October, 2015

UPCOMING EVENTS

* VOLUNTEER OPORTUNITIES

FROM INDIANA TO UGANDA

WELCOME TO CHRONICLES DIVERSITY COUNCIL

2015 ZOO BOO*Friday, October 9Booth Hours: 2-7 P.M. (Set up at 1 P.M.)Indianapolis Zoo

FAMILY PROMISE HOST*Sunday, November 1 – Sunday, November 8Shifts: 5-8:30 P.M. and 8:30 P.M.-7 A.M. (each day)HRH Danville

GIVING THROUGH HEALTH & FITNESSSaturday, November 7, 8 A.M.-12 P.M.HRH Danville

Cancer navigator, Lianna Willhite, RN, serves an important role in cancer care at HRH. Being the Women’s Center nurse, Willhite becomes involved with patients before their diagnosis and can start the bonding process with patients at a critical point in their care.

“The journey with the patient begins before a breast cancer diagnosis,” says Willhite. “I work with any patient that is having breast issues or abnormalities and help educate them about their breast problems or any procedures they may need. I sit down with patients and walk them through the process, I’m there with them during their biopsy, and we talk about “what if” scenarios to prepare them for possible outcomes. Sometimes I’m also the one that shares the news of their diagnosis and I work on their behalf to make sure they get the follow-up care they need.”

“One of the most rewarding aspects of what I do is being able to provide the support and help our patients need, especially through those first few days when they feel like their world is spinning out of control and they want to know what to do next,” says Willhite. “For most people, learning more about their diagnosis and possible treatment helps them regain some control and start to cope. This is a very crucial point, and our assistance at this point sets the stage for how things play out for them... it can have a positive or negative impact.”

“I want to make it as positive as possible because it does make a difference, and that’s important to me.”

Willhite’s role as an advocate for cancer patients has encouraged many patients to stay with HRH throughout their treatment. “Many patients who need mastectomies go to other hospitals for breast surgeries. Those hospitals work really hard to keep our patients in their system for follow-up treatments. Developing a good rapport with our patients allows them to see that we are here to support them and that encourages patients to stay with us throughout their cancer treatment.”

Cancer has personally touched Willhite’s life and she uses her experience to help others stay calm, overcome their fears and learn how they can fight the disease. “Like many people, cancer has touched my life in several ways and has affected the person I am today. I am passionate about my role as navigator and my personal goal is to provide patients with reassurance and guidance when they are facing one of the most devastating things in their lifetime.” She adds, “Cancer is scary. It evokes a multitude of emotions, but mostly fear of the unknown and one’s life. When you hear you have cancer, it’s hard to not think of it as a death sentence. The best way to overcome fear is to learn more about what you’re dealing with. I try to break it down for patients and help them conquer their fears. I treat others the way I would want to be treated on a cancer journey,” says Willhite.

“I can’t say enough about the Women’s Center team we have,” says Willhite. “We’ve made a lot of progress in our cancer care

and I think we have the potential to make it one of the best cancer programs around. Everyone here on our cancer team, from the front desk receptionists to the radiologists, is very supportive of our patients.”

Every patient needs an advocate, no matter what condition they are dealing with. Breast cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to the mental anguish that can accompany a cancer diagnosis due to, sometimes, drastic changes in their appearance and their sense of self. Women who lose one, or both, breasts and who go through chemotherapy often don’t recognize the image staring back at them in the mirror. “When you go through cancer, you lose a lot of yourself along the way,” says Willhite. “It takes a while to get yourself back. Sometimes being a cheerleader, someone to talk to that understands what they are going through, is just what a patient needs to keep going.”

The passion to help patients through their cancer journey is what drives Willhite to work in such a mentally taxing field. She believes in honesty and empathy and reminds patients that no one deserves cancer. HRH patients are blessed to have such an incredible advocate on their side.

In mid-November, 2014, Sara Willhelm was just weeks away from delivering her fourth child when she found a suspicious lump in her breast. Sara’s OB-GYN, Dr. Anita Mazdai, ordered an immediate ultrasound and biopsy. Within a few days, Sara’s worst fear was confirmed --the lump in her breast was cancer.

The first step in Sara’s cancer journey was to deliver her baby, a healthy little boy she and husband, Greg, named Pete. On November 23, Greg’s co-workers in the physical & occupational therapy department helped make the family’s trip to the Childbirth Center eventful by putting together gift bags for the three older Willhelm children. Sara recalls Pete’s birthday with fondness, not only because they welcomed him into the world that day, but also because they were surrounded by the love and prayers of their HRH family.

Sara wanted Pete to get off to the healthiest possible start, but she wasn’t sure how long she would be able to provide him with breast milk. Childbirth Center director, Deb Case, had milk delivered from a milk bank to help ease Sara’s mind. Over the coming weeks and months, nurses and doctors from HRH put out the word that Pete needed breast milk and, through donations, Sara has been able

to feed Pete breast milk for nearly a year.

Sara only had about a week to recover and enjoy her new baby before the really hard part of her cancer journey began. She had her first chemotherapy treatment on December 1. Her body didn’t tolerate the treatment well and she ended up being hospitalized for a couple of days with complications. Over the next 15 weeks, she endured seven rounds of chemotherapy, followed by surgery to remove both breasts. Sara did get encouraging news during this process—her PET scan revealed that her cancer was contained in the breast, it had not spread to any other location in her body. In addition, the margins after her bi-lateral breast removal were clear and radiation was not necessary. Other tests revealed that her cancer is unlikely to return.

Gaining peace of mind, Sara moved forward with reconstruction. Two more surgeries, involving expanders and implants, have helped Sara look and feel like herself again. She has now returned to an active lifestyle, playing catch with the kids, swimming, running and walking for exercise. Sara is very appreciative of the meals, gifts, well-wishes and support she and Greg received from everyone at HRH. She would like to extend a special thank you to the Physical & Occupational Therapy Department; Speech Therapy; her physical therapist, Katrina Mendenhall; pharmacist, Cindy Burns and the Oncology center; Deb Case; doctors Robert Manges, Jen Caswell, Stacy Williams, Joe Hunt, Stanley Givens and Frederick McFall. Sara also gives special kudos to Greg, who was working all day at HRH and was up most nights feeding Pete so she could sleep and focus on regaining her health. Sara credits Greg for being both mom and dad to their four beautiful children for weeks on end.

Everyone at HRH who has met Sara is proud of her progress and happy she can put cancer behind her and look forward to a full, long life with her wonderful family.

OCTOBER, 2015

BEATING BREAST CANCER

AN ADVOCATE FOR PATIENTS

OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

For more than 30 years, the U.S. has gone pink during the month of October for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Everyone from high school students to NFL players wear pink in support of sisters, moms, grandmothers, aunts and friends who have fought breast cancer. The third Friday of October is always National Mammography Day-- this year, on October 16, women are reminded to call and schedule their annual mammogram. If you are over 40, call today and schedule your appointment. Your breasts will thank you for it.