Next Week's Calendar
of Events:

Welcome

Coming up in this week's issue of The Focus you'll find:

March is National Poison Prevention Month

As part of National Poison Prevention Month, members of FHN Marketing have been visiting elementary school classrooms throughout Northwest Illinois to educate students about the importance of poison prevention and safety.

Poison Prevention Awareness might be more important than you realize. Since 2010, the CDC reports one of the leading causes of unintentional injury and death in children is poisoning. Common items that pose a risk to children are soaps, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies, and detergent. Other products, like detergent pods or prescription medications, may look like candy to children and they may try eating them.

If you suspect a poisoning, Poison Control is available 24/7 at 1-800-222-1222 or visit their website. Both options are free, expert, and confidential. Make sure to visit an emergency room or call 911 if the situation is severe.

Now Scheduling 2023-24 School Physicals

Will your child start Kindergarten, 6th or 9th grade this fall? They will need a school physical to register, so avoid the last-minute hassle and give their provider’s office a call today!

If you need to find a provider for your child, call the FHN Physician Referral Line at 815-599-7060 Monday-Thursday 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Friday 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and we’ll get an appointment scheduled before you hang up!

FHN Celebrating Doctors Throughout March

FHN is proud to celebrate our physicians throughout March, the month of Doctors’ Day. March 30 is National Doctors’ Day, a chance to acknowledge all that physicians do for their communities. On March 30, 1842, in Jefferson, Georgia, Dr. Crawford Long used ether to anesthetize a patient, James Venable, and painlessly excised a tumor from his neck.

All month, FHN is offering the chance to send a message to your healthcare provider – simply click on the “Doctors’ Day” story at online. Messages will be shared with providers and may be featured online (with personal information removed).

FHN Employee Discounts

Help Spread the News: We’re Here, For You!

We have a lot to be proud of at FHN, from our talented, dedicated staff to the many advanced capabilities we offer our patients. We’re working hard every day to be sure we provide excellent care to our patients.

Each week, look to the Focus for good news to share about FHN in the form of downloadable flyers you can print and post or hand out to patients who may be interested. Also look for links to our most recent radio interviews and past interviews to listen to and recommend to others. Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook! Please encourage patients, friends, and family to also take advantage of these FHN information resources. Thanks for your help in promoting FHN!

Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion and Worldwide Health

March is …

Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month

Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month

Myeloma Action Month

National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

National Endometriosis Awareness Month

National Kidney Month

National Nutrition Month

National Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month

Save Your Vision Month

Trisomy Awareness Month

Workplace Eye Wellness Month

Weeks to Note:

National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week March 12-18

Patient Safety Awareness Week March 12-18

National Sleep Awareness Week March 12-18

Brain Awareness Week March 13-19

National Poison Prevention Week March 19-25

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week March 20-26

Days to Note:

World Sleep Day March 17

National Native American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day March 20

World Oral Health Day March 20

World Down Syndrome Day March 21

National Doctors’ Day March 30

March is Women’s History Month in the United States and the United Kingdom. National Women’s History Month began as a single week and as a local event. In 1978, Sonoma County, California, sponsored a women’s history week to promote the teaching of women’s history. The week of March 8 was selected to include “International Women’s Day.” This day is rooted in such ideas and events as a woman’s right to vote and a woman’s right to work, women’s and the U.N. Charter declaration of gender equality at the end of World War II. The day is an occasion to review how far women have come in their struggle for equality, peace, and development. In 1981, Congress passed a resolution making the week a national celebration, and in 1987 expanded it to a full month.

People of the Zoroastrian faith celebrate Gahambar Hamaspathmaedem March 16 – 20. The holiday celebrates the creation of human beings.

St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated March 17, is the death anniversary of Ireland’s patron saint. He used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Christian idea of the Holy Trinity, thus the idea of wearing a shamrock.

March 19 is Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This celebration of motherhood takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Traditionally, children bring gifts of flowers and chocolates to their mothers. Breakfast in bed is also an expectation, as is a relaxing, carefree day. It originated with the Victorian practice of allowing servants to return home to visit their mothers on this day.

Christians throughout most of Italy and in Italian communities in North America celebrate St. Joseph’s Day on March 19. He was the foster father of Jesus and is the universal patron of the Catholic Church. According to legend, when a severe drought struck western Sicily in the middle ages, the people of the area prayed to St. Joseph, asking him to intercede for them and send rain. Their prayer was granted and since then, they honor St. Joseph by helping the needy in their community.

Wiccans celebrate Eostre, a fertility festival celebrating the birth of Spring, on March 20. The word Easter is derived from the Maiden Goddess. Celebrations including lighting fires at sunrise, ringing bells, and decorating hard-boiled eggs, an ancient Pagan custom associated with the Goddess.

People of the Shinto faith celebrate Shunkei-Sorei-Sai on March 20. Ancestors are given reverence at home altars and considered active members of the living family. Gravesites are cleaned and purified.

March 20 in Japan is Shunbun no hi, when Buddhists meditate on the harmony of the universe during the time of the Spring Equinox.

Aboriginal and Maori peoples in New Zealand observe Poutuerangi on March 20. This is the Autumn Equinox and beginning of Fall, when crops are harvested. It is celebrated with great feasting and celebration.

May 21 is Now Ruz (New Year) in Afghanistan and Iran. Now Ruz means New Day and is the traditional celebration of the ancient Persian New Year. (Iranians celebrate it on March 20.) It is also a holy day for Zoroastrian, Sufi, Ismaili and the Baha’i’ faiths. Persians (Iranians, Afghans, and Tajiks) and other Indo-Iranian groups (Kurds, Armenians, Azarbaijanis, and Balochs) start preparing for Now Ruz with a major spring-cleaning of their houses and the purchase of new clothes to wear for the rest of the year. They visit the elders of their family, then the rest of their family and finally, their friends. On the 13^th day, families leave their homes and picnic.

Australia celebrates Harmony Day on March 21. The holiday, which began in 1999, celebrates Australia’s success as a diverse society united by a common set of values.

Our Sympathy

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