FHN Focus

August 8, 2024

Next Week's Calendar
of Events:

August 8

Blood Pressure Screening
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Salvation Army, 106 W. Exchange Street, Freeport
Open to the public; no cost or registration required.

Breastfeeding Support Group
2 p.m.
Freeport Public Library, 100 E. Douglas Street, Freeport
Bring your baby and join other moms to share knowledge and talk about the most up-to-date breastfeeding information. Discussions will be led by lactation experts from the FHN/SCHD Breastfeeding Task Force. This group is open to all moms and free to attend; visit fhn.org/breastfeedingtaskforce for more information.

August 9

Sports Physical Clinic - Pecatonica
10 am - 2 pm
FHN Family Healthcare Center – Pecatonica, 1301 Main Street
Call 815-239-1400 to schedule an appointment. Forms must be printed, completed, and signed prior to arriving for physical. $25 fee (cash or check only) will be donated back to the school. These exams meet Illinois eligibility requirements for all sports and are good through the 2024-25 school year. These exams also meet Wisconsin eligibility requirements.

August 10

BLS for Healthcare Professionals
8 a.m. - noon
FHN Memorial Hospital Globe Room, lower level, 1045 W. Stephenson Street, Freeport
For healthcare professionals only; this hands-on program focuses on high-quality CPR and basic life support skills Registration is $40, which includes the BLS Provider Manual (contains BLS reference card) and BLS certification card valid for 2 years. For more information or to register, visit fhn.org/basic-life-support.asp .

Walk with a Doc
8 a.m.
Krape Park, 1799 S. Park Boulevard, Freeport
Free family- and pet-friendly walk and chat led by FHN providers and health professionals. Meet the group by the concession stand for this safe, fun, and FREE way to spend 30-45 minutes as you get some steps, learn about health, and meet new friends. Visit fhn.org/WWAD for more information and a schedule.

August 12

Living Through Grief
6 p.m.
FHN Memorial Hospital Deaconess Room, 1045 W. Stephenson Street, Freeport
This group helps participants learn more about the grief process, share stories of loss, and regain hope for healing. For more information, contact FHN Hospice 815-599-7240.

August 13

Breastfeeding Class
6 - 8 p.m.
FHN Memorial Hospital Globe Room (lower level), 1045 W. Stephenson Street, Freeport
Instructor is Annette Gielenfeldt. For more information or to register, visit fhn.org/ob or call 815-599-6221.

Sports Physical Clinic - Freeport
5-7 pm
FHN Family Healthcare Center – Burchard Hills, 1010 W. Fairway Drive, Freeport
No appointment necessary; students are asked to come during the time scheduled for their sport. Forms must be printed, completed, and signed prior to arriving for physical. $25 fee (cash or check only) will be donated back to the school. These exams meet Illinois eligibility requirements for all sports and are good through the 2024-25 school year. These exams also meet Wisconsin eligibility requirements.

August 14

Blood Pressure Screening
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
St. John’s Lutheran Church, 625 Country Lane, Lena
Open to the public; no cost or registration required.

August 15

Blood Pressure Screening
11 a.m.-1 p.m.
New Jerusalem Soup Kitchen, 4 E. Iroquois, Freeport
Open to the public; no cost or registration required.

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View past issues of the Focus

Welcome

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

FHN Hosting Blood Drive August 12
FHN Healthcare Career Scholarships Deadline is Sept. 6
Social Media Safety - Best Practices
Rx Renewal Available on MyFHN
FHN Career Corner
Help Spread the News: We’re Here, For You!
Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion and Worldwide Health

FHN Hosting Blood Drive August 12

One in three people will need blood at some point in their lifetime. Please consider joining us for a Rock River Valley Blood Center (RRVBC) blood drive Monday, August 12 at FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport.

Appointments are available to donate between noon and 5 p.m. in the Globe and Deaconess rooms on the lower level of FHN Memorial Hospital. (Donors should enter the hospital through the east atrium entrance and follow signage to the event.)

Visit https://donor.rrvbc.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/55710 to make an appointment or for more information about donating blood. Walk-ins also will be welcome.

Persons at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent) who weigh at least 110 pounds and are in good health can donate blood. The process is relatively quick and painless and can save lives. If you are not sure if you are eligible to donate, call RRVBC at 815-965-8751.

The RRVBC is the only supplier of blood and related services to FHN Memorial Hospital as well as all 4 Rockford hospitals and the UW Carbone Cancer Center of Rockford.

FHN Healthcare Career Scholarships Deadline is Sept. 6

Pursuing a career in healthcare begins with passion and education. In continuing to encourage ambitious students in our community, FHN is proud to offer multiple scholarships for students in the FHN service area who are pursuing careers in healthcare.

Several scholarships will be offered this year, each with different application criteria:
• Healthcare Career Scholarship Program for up to three $1,000 scholarships
• Diversity Healthcare Career Scholarship Program for one $1,000 scholarship
• Volunteer Resource Scholarship Program for one $1,000 scholarship to an active member of the FHN Student Volunteer Program with a minimum of 40 volunteer hours

The deadline for all applicants is Friday, Sept. 6. For more information and application forms for each scholarship, visit www.fhn.org/scholarships.

Social Media Safety - Best Practices

Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok are some of the most popular social media applications and they need more security than keeping your password safe. The bad guys will use these sites to see what you are up to and to see what they can exploit.

Here are some ways to help keep you and your data safe on these sites:
• Make accounts private and adjust the limits on what people can see when they view your profile.
• Keep profile private
• Hide friends list
• Hide posts from the public
• Disable searchability for search engines
• Don’t publish personal information or travel plans.
• Don’t post your locations on social media (check-ins at restaurants, geotags on Snapchat, posting you’re going to Walt Disney World Resorts for two weeks)
• Don’t use social media on a public Wi-Fi connection. Use a VPN whenever you can to stay secure.
• Use two-factor authentication for accounts.
• Make sure passwords are strong, don’t use the same one for multiple accounts.
• Watch out for suspicious messages, they may not be friends and might want your personal information instead of an online connection.

Be careful with what you share on the internet. Take a minute to review what you are posting and consider what the post reveals and who might be affected by it.

Several other links that take about being safe online:
https://staysafeonline.org/resources/online-safety-basics
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/staying-safe-social-networking-sites
https://services.pitt.edu/TDClient/33/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=42

Rx Renewal Available on MyFHN

The MyFHN Patient Portal has become even more convenient!

Patients can now – in addition to calling their pharmacy – request to have their prescription renewed using the MyFHN Patient Portal. It’s easy, just click on the Medications tab, then click on the medication you need refilled, and request renewal. This will notify your provider and they will message you back once the refill has been sent in.

If you don’t already have the MyFHN Patient Portal, enroll online using one of two processes (depending on whether or not you have an email address on file with us and know your medical record number). If you need assistance, please ask the staff, call the MyFHN Coordinator at 1-815-599-6907, or email [email protected].

Register today and let your fingertips keep you on top of everything related to your healthcare! Already signed up for MyFHN? Download the app! Instructions available online.

FHN Career Corner

There are many career opportunities within FHN. If you or someone you know is interested in new challenges go to our Career page, displaying the latest open positions.

FHN Team Members
Friends and Family

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!

Have you heard the latest radio interviews? Catch up on our Radio Broadcasts page!

Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion and Worldwide Health

August is …
Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month
Digestive Tract Paralysis Awareness Month
Gastroparesis Awareness Month
National Breastfeeding Month
National Immunization Awareness Month
Psoriasis Action Month

Weeks to Note:
August 4 – 10 is National Health Center Week
August 12 – 18 is OSHA’s Safe and Sound Week

The July–August Sun Dance Ritual takes place at this time. For many tribes of the Plains Indians, the Sun Dance was a major communal religious ceremony. Generally held in early summer, the four-day dance ceremony involves sacrifice and supplication to ensure harmony between all living beings.

This is also the time of the July–August Green Corn Ceremony, performed by some Oklahoma tribes as a time of renewal. The ceremony involves participation in sweat lodge ceremonies, dances, offerings, and fasting.

Members of the Northern Cree, Ojibwa, and Algonkians tribes celebrate the last full moon in August with the August Native Wild Rice Harvest.

The August Hopi Snake Dance requires two weeks of ritual preparation and snakes are gathered and kept watch over by children. The dancers then take an emetic and dance with the snakes in their mouths, with an Antelope priest in attendance. After the dance, the snakes are released to carry their prayers.

The Zoroastrian celebration of Fravardeghan is August 8–17. It is a preparation for Now Ruz for those who follow the Shenshai calendar. Ancestors are memorialized during this time.

August 12 is the United Nations International Youth Day. It is a day to increase awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, which calls for action in 10 areas; education, employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young women, and full and effective participation of youths 15–24 years old in society.

People of the Jewish faith observe Tish’a B’Av on August 13. The day mourns the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and 70 A.D. It is a day of mourning and fasting.

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