Samaritan Albany General Hospital

Congratulations to Aimee Brakefield, one of Samaritan Albany General Hospital's Five-star Champions of Service. 🌟 Aimee's infectious personality and incredible sense of humor have been a ray of sunshine for our patients. Her exceptional care and remarkable ability to boost morale is truly inspiring. Aimee has gone above and beyond, supporting our patients' mental and physical wellbeing. We're so proud of her!

To nominate a Shining Star visit, samhealth.org/ShiningStar.

Congratulations to Steve Forrester, one of Samaritan Albany General Hospital's Five-star Champions of Service. 🌟 Steve went above and beyond to ensure a patient received the best possible care by catching a potential issue with a medication refill. His attention to detail and proactive approach to problem-solving made a huge difference for a family with a young child. Thank you for your dedication to patient safety and satisfaction!

To nominate a Shining Star visit, samhealth.org/ShiningStar.

Congratulations to Felicia Seymour and Melissa Thornton, two of Samaritan Albany General Hospital's Five-star Champions of Service. 🌟 These incredible CNAs went above and beyond to care for a patient, demonstrating exceptional compassion, dedication and teamwork. They spent over two hours providing sensitive and thorough care in an incredibly challenging situation. Their commitment to patient privacy and safety is truly inspiring. We're incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication!

To nominate a Shining Star visit, samhealth.org/ShiningStar.

Our employees enjoyed Samaritan Day at The New Lincoln County Fair, the Linn County Fair & Expo and the Benton County Event Center & Fairgrounds this summer. We had a blast and enjoyed showing our support as a sponsor!

Samaritans from all over the system gathered for a night of baseball and fireworks at the Corvallis Knights baseball game on Saturday. Samaritan's Chris Blakely, vice president of clinic operations, had the honor of throwing out the first pitch as 450 Samaritan employees and family members enjoyed a warm summer night at Goss Stadium.

We're proud to have all five Samaritan Hospitals in Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties be recognized by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association for our accomplishment in the Get With The Guidelines quality program. 💙 Join us in congratulating our clinicians and quality improvement professionals for turning stroke treatment guidelines into lifelines. 🙌

🌟 Exciting news! 🌟 We're thrilled to announce that Samaritan Health Services' Diabetes Education program has been accredited once again by the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists! This renewal underscores our commitment to providing top-notch quality and service to our community. It means we're better equipped than ever to support Medicare recipients and everyone impacted by diabetes across Benton, Lincoln and Linn Counties. Thank you for trusting us with your health and well-being! 🩺💙

🎉 The annual Samaritan Scramble golf tournament raised over $146,000 for the Samaritan Foundations Patient Support Program! 💸

A big thank you to the 29 businesses that supported Samaritan’s mission! Your help is making a huge difference.

In 2023, over 1,440 patients got help with things like transportation, medical equipment, prescriptions and food. 💙💛

Pictured are some highlight from the day 📸:
1️⃣ First place winners CDW Corporation
2️⃣ Our CEO Doug Boysen celebrating!
3️⃣ $20,000 Presenting Sponsor: Gallagher team

Thanks to everyone who made this an amazing event ! ⛳️🏌️‍♂️

Congratulations to Julie Johnston, one of Samaritan Albany General Hospital's Five-star Champions for June. 🌟 Julie is a respiratory therapist in Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehab and shines brightly with her immense heart for those in our community who are struggling. The multiple Shining Stars she's earned are a testament to her dedication to going above and beyond. We're incredibly grateful for Julie's compassion and willingness to make a difference.

To nominate a Shining Star visit, samhealth.org/ShiningStar.

Come see us at Albany Pride! We’ve got lots of giveaways and representatives from different departments. Talent Acquisition is even here for those interested in joining our team!

Congratulations to Shannon Winterton, one of Samaritan Albany General Hospital's Five-star Champions for June. 🌟 Shannon, RN, works at Hospice Outpatient and consistently goes above and beyond for her patients, as shown by the multiple Shining Stars she's received! Her positive attitude and willingness to help wherever she can are a true inspiration to her colleagues. We're so grateful to have you, Shannon!

To nominate a Shining Star visit, samhealth.org/ShiningStar.

🎉 A huge thank you to Willamette Valley Bank for supporting the Reach Out and Read program through the Albany General Hospital Foundation! Their help is making it possible for kids to get a new book at each doctor's visit. We love to see our littlest patients grow through reading! 📚

Can you guess how much caffeine our dedicated staff at Samaritan Albany General Hospital went through in a week back in 1977?

☕ The cafeteria brewed a whopping 672 cups of tea and a staggering 2,688 cups of coffee – that's enough to fill over 10 bathtubs!

☕ It took 64 pounds of coffee to keep everyone energized! ️

☕ Switching to a 15 cent price (after it used to be free) was thought to be a steaming hot issue, but it never steeped that much - just perked for a few days.

Here's to our amazing staff, past and present, who keep the hospital running smoothly, one cup of tea or coffee at a time! 💙

Pictured: Donna Steckly, radiologic technologist (left) and Marta Carnegie, scheduling coordinator, enjoying their tea break.

Last week we had a great turnout for our Samaritan Regional Scholarly Symposium, which showcased poster presentations of 30 quality improvement and empirical research projects that were recently completed by Samaritan Health Services residents, as well as College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific – Northwest and Oregon State University Students.

Samaritan Albany General Hospital is proud to announce that April McKiernan, RN, has been honored with a DAISY Award for her compassion, dedication and intelligence. April was nominated by a patient who appreciated her empathetic and devoted care.

We couldn't be more thankful for superstars like April! Thank you, April, for your hard work and dedication. You truly make a difference in the lives of those you care for. 💚

May is Stroke Awareness Month, The Stroke Coordinators from Samaritan Health Services wanted to make sure the community knows how to rapidly recognize strokes. To help easily recall the symptoms of a stroke they use the acronym B.E.F.A.S.T. B stands for Balance/Dizziness, difficulty walking, listing to one side. E Stands for eyes, blurred vision, double vision or loss of vision. F is for facial droop, or numbness on one side of the face. A is for arm, is one arm weaker than the other? If one arm is weaker than the other, check the strength in your leg as there may be some weakness as well on the same side as your arm. S is for Speech, this could be slurred speech, mumbling/garbled speech, inappropriate words, or the inability to speak at all. T is for Time. Call 911 and make sure to take note of when the symptoms started. Time is Brain, for every hour you are having a stroke you lose 3.6 years of brain function. There are a few emergent treatments available, head to the nearest hospital immediately.

Throwback to 1957, when Samaritan Albany General Hospital made some big changes to expand services to the community. A modern addition was joined to the original 1924 building (located on the right), extending along Elm Street. At the same time, the Albany Hospital Association was formed with membership by contribution of $100 or more. This incredible community support allowed us to increase our capacity to 69 beds and better serve the Albany area. 💙

Join us today until 5 p.m. for a free Memorial Day bouquet event happening at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice. 🌻

Stop by, build your bouquet and take it somewhere special for your loved one or home to share sweet memories for those who are always on your mind and forever in your heart. ❤️

Thank you to the florists who generously donated flowers for today's event:
🌷 Steve Yutzie Floral Company
🌷 Stargazer Premier Florist
🌷 Stems & Stuff
🌷 Flowers-N-More

We had such a great time during Celebrating Samaritans Week! Yesterday, Samaritan Albany General Hospital staff enjoyed some sweet and salty treats and a fun ArtsCare project! 🍿

It is not Celebrating Samaritans Week at Samaritan Albany General Hospital if there isn't the famous SAGH taco bar! 🌮🥑🎉

Day two of Celebrating Samaritans Week was full of treats at Samaritan Albany General Hospital! The West Albany High School Jazz Band performed while our staff enjoyed cupcakes and tiramisu! 🎶 🧁

Samaritan Albany General Hospital kicked off Celebrating Samaritans Week with some delicious churros! We can't wait to spoil our people all week long! 💙💛

Congratulations to the Samaritan Albany General Hospital Five-star Champions for May. Continue reading to learn why their peers nominated them for this special recognition. 🌟

Customer Service Champion: Leslie Arpin, MD, Imaging Services (pictured right) and Catherine Russell, mammography technician, Mammography Department

🌟 “Dr. Arpin and her technician, Catherine, got me through this exam and were the only reason I was able to go to the appointment. I have a severe long-standing fear of needles and most things medical related. I have never felt so supported and protected. Catherine was truly amazing. She went all out to help me control my panic. Both of these ladies are everything that is needed in medicine. My sincere thanks to both of them.”

Can you believe this is what Samaritan Albany General Hospital used to look like in 1924? We've come a long way in 100 years, but one thing remains constant: our dedication to providing exceptional care to our community. Here's to another century of healing! 💙

Congratulations to the Samaritan Albany General Hospital Five-star Champions for May. Continue reading to learn why their peers nominated them for this special recognition. 🌟

Patient Safety Champion: Ashley Spence, pharmacy tech, Elm Street Pharmacy

🌟 “During the recent Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident, our retail pharmacies became back logged with delayed prescription refills. This led to mountains of work that felt overwhelming. Ashley volunteered to come in on her day off to help a pharmacy (that was not her home-site) tackle their mountain. In the hours they spent on a Sunday, they were able to complete nearly 1,000 prescriptions! This demonstrated such teamwork and dedication to patient care. Thank you, Ashley!”
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Many thanks to the sponsors and attendees who attended the Samaritan Evergreen Hospice Benefit Luncheon. Samaritan Evergreen Hospice has served over 1,800 patients in the past year through the outpatient program and Evergreen Hospice House located in Albany. Donations from the event will be used to fund equipment and continue current programs for patients and families such as massage therapy, music therapy and pet therapy. Even if you were unable to attend, there's still time to show your support!

Samaritan Evergreen Hospice Albany General Hospital Foundation

Congratulations to the Samaritan Albany General Hospital Five-star Champions for April. Continue reading to learn why their peers nominated them for this special recognition. 🌟

Customer Service Champion: April McKiernan, RN, ICU-CCU

💫 “April is an amazing nurse full of compassion and dedication. I recently was admitted with a severe case of pneumonia requiring five days intubation and almost two weeks in the hospital. My family can't say enough about how well April kept them in the loop about my condition as well as assisting in visits with me. Once extubated, April continued to be my nurse for the next few days, and I saw the same compassion and dedication my family had spoken of. She treated me with kindness and respect making sure I had all that I needed and was comfortable. After laying in the hospital bed for several days, my hair had become extremely matted. April, grabbed some detangler (which she had purchased out of her own pocket) and a brush, did her best to work through it, and tie it back until I was able to shower. April goes above and beyond to take care of her patient's and I can't say enough how much my family and I appreciate her being there for us. We all felt the love and care she puts in to caring for her patients and their families. I credit my being alive today to the excellent care and compassion she and the rest of the team gave to me. Thank you, April. My family and I will always be grateful and will never forget you!”