Recent Accomplishments
Endowment to bring world-class education to medical residents
Longtime Corvallis physician and Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center Board Member Clifford Hall, MD, recently announced a gift of $100,000 to establish a fund for a visiting professorship in medicine for residents at Good Sam: The Clifford A. Hall, MD, Visiting Professorship in Medicine Endowment.
The gift, from Hall and his wife Gay, will enable Good Sam’s internal medicine training program to host some of the nation’s best-known physician educators.
“This will offer a unique opportunity for residents and faculty to broaden their experience through interaction with world-class physicians and teachers who will make rounds with ward teams, speak at grand rounds and lead faculty development workshops,” Hall said.“Visiting professors will be chosen not only for their clinical expertise, but also for their ability to teach bedside skills and to inspire residents and medical students.”
Hall also hopes the gift inspires other community members, especially young physicians, to give.“I’m hopeful that this will be the beginning of something,” he said.
“I hope this will help young physicians see charitable giving as something that can make a difference — for health care in our community and in their lives.”
Free screenings help thousands identify their heart risks
On a rare sunny Saturday in February, Quinn Griffis spent the morning at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center checking the blood pressure of 142 people at the free heart health screening offered by the Samaritan Heart & Vascular Institute with funding support from the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation.
Griffis kept a friendly rapport going with each patient as she applied the blood pressure cuff, brought the earpieces of the stethoscope to her ears and pumped air into the cuff. After the systolic (maximum) and diastolic (minimum) pressure numbers revealed themselves, Griffis took the time to carefully explain the ramifications of those numbers to each patient. If the numbers were high, she offered information about ways to bring blood pressure down, counseling participants on the importance of diet, exercise and monitoring blood pressure often.
Griffis, the lead exercise specialist in the Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Department at Good Sam, has volunteered at the free heart health screenings each year since she began working for the hospital in 2004.
“It’s nice to see new faces,” she said. “I like to be able to help people understand what their risks are for heart disease, and when appropriate, encourage them to reduce the risks with lifestyle changes.”
The screening serves many patients who are uninsured or underinsured, with limited access to health care. Over the last three years, 414 people have attended the Good Sam screenings.
Foundation brings comfort to patients in ICU
When a patient is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, he or she may be confined to a bed for days on end. Often, patients in the unit are unable to move and are confined by respirator masks, feeding tubes and other equipment. In situations like this, little things make a very big difference. Something as seemingly minor as the quality of the mattress can change how much pain patients experience.
In order to help improve the comfort level for patients at Good Sam, the foundation recently allocated $10,500 to purchase pressure relief mattresses for the ICU. The mattresses have a specially designed core that creates low interface pressure and increases air circulation. They also have a variable density surface that helps with the prevention and treatment of pressure sores.
“We were really thrilled to get the foundation funding for these mattresses,” said Bill Howden, manager of the ICU. “They are making a tremendous difference for our patients. It’s so nice to be able to do something like this that helps them be more comfortable while they’re here.”