On May 8th, 2024, the Irene Dunne Guild hosted the annual Think Pink for Women's Wellness event at the stunning Bel Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades. This beloved event, known for selling out every year, provided a beautiful opportunity to celebrate mothers, daughters, and friends while also learning about the latest in women's health through informative sessions, shopping at a carefully curated boutique, and indulging in a delicious luncheon.
A big thank you goes out to the Saint John's Health Center Foundation, Irene Dunne Guild President Kathy Yawitz, Think Pink organizing committee co-chairs Suzanne Caldwell and Lorena Craven, the event's speakers, Shop Pink boutique organizing committee and the vendors, all the dedicated Guild volunteers, and the fantastic attendees for contributing to the immense success of Think Pink 2024! "The brand new, innovative Women's Health and Wellness Institute (WH&WI) is opening at Providence Saint John's Health Center. The soft opening of WH&WI is scheduled for May 6, 2024. Several weeks earlier, on March 22, 2024, a group of us members of the Irene Dunne Guild, which supports Saint John's, got the opportunity to take a Pink Hard Hat tour of the Institute. The group consisted of me, Kathy Yawitz (President of the Irene Dunne Guild), Stephanie Weston (Newsletter Chair), Lorena Craven and Suzanne Caldwell (Think Pink Chairs), Janis Gallo (Liaison to WH&WI), Jill Robertson (Allocation Chair), Maria Arechaederra (Fundraising and Sponsorships Chair, along with Fran Flanagan, who coudn't join us that morning), and Susie DeWeese (Patron Drive Chair, along with Evelyn Guerboian, who also coudn't join us that morning).
We started our morning at Saint John's Health Center Foundation, where Joni Chroman, the Executive Director of WH&WI, gave us a PowerPoint presentation and answered questions. We learned that WH&WI consists of McAlister Maternal & Newborn Services and Margie Petersen Breast Center, located at Providence Saint John's Health Center, and the new Women's Health & Wellness Center, located at the 1301 20th Street building, which will start with three clinical care programs and progress from there. We then walked over to the 1301 20th Street building, put on our pink hard hats and toured the new Women's Health & Wellness Center, which has a beautiful lobby with views, a boutique area, and various rooms for services that will be provided by the many medical doctors and healthcare professionals that will work at WH&WI." Kathy Yawitz Irene Dunne Guild, President On March 21st, at the IDG general meeting, our guest speaker, Dr. Jason Tarpley, M.D., Ph.D. spoke to the IDG members on the topic “Women and Stroke Risks”. Dr. Tarpley is the Director of the Stroke and Neurovascular Center at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI). He gave a very engaging and informative presentation filled with useful facts and tips. Our members really enjoyed this talk and had lots of questions for him.
He taught us to BE FAST when we suspect someone is having a stroke. Balance: is the person showing loss of balance? Eyes: is the person experiencing loss of vision in one or both eyes? Face: is the person's face drooping? Arm: is one arm weaker than the other? Speech: Difficulty with speech? Time: Call 911 immediately Think Pink for Women's Wellness is held every year in May, previous to Mother's Day.
This is one of our Guild most known event, always a sell out. A beautiful day to celebrate Mothers, Daughters and Friends and learn latest in Women's Health through morning lectures sessions, shop a curated boutique and enjoy a delicious luncheon. This year’s event is Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, (8:30am-3:00 pm), at the Upper Bel Air Bay Club. On Saturday, February 3, 2024, some members of the Irene Dunne Guild attended the 11th Annual Women's Heart Symposium held at Hotel Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica.
The event, organized by the Saint John's Health Center, the Pacific Heart Institute, and the Women's Heart Center, provided useful information about women's heart disease, risk prevention, and a healthy lifestyle. It also encouraged people to get regular checkups with their healthcare provider and be proactive in addressing high blood pressure and other concerns. The video reply of the 11th Annual Women's Heart Symposium is available here. For more information, please visit the following websites: https://www.haveaheartsaveaheart.org/library https://www.pacificheart.com/ Photos: IDG President Kathy Yawitz and Guild members Kate Prudente, Stephanie Weston, Lorena Craven. The Irene Dunne Guild general meeting in January 2024. “On January 25th, we held our first general meeting of the Irene Dunne Guild of 2024, and my first general meeting as the President of the Guild, at Flaherty Commons on the second floor of Providence Saint John’s Health Center. I had the pleasure of presenting our officers and new board of directors, including the chairs of our various committees and our liaisons to various departments and institutes at Saint John’s, several of whom gave updates as to the action items and events on which we are working. It is truly uplifting to work together to support Saint John’s as it provides leading edge and compassionate care to its patients.
We will friend raise and fundraise through our many events and meetings, including informative and interesting presentations by healthcare professionals, throughout this year and will continue to engage our community. Our general meeting in January included a great presentation by Dr. Sheryl Bourgeois, the President and CEO of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, as well as presentations by several caregivers at Saint John’s on the items and programs for which the Irene Dunne Guild most recently allocated funds in 2023. I look forward to many more opportunities for us to gather together at meetings and events throughout this year. Best, Kathy Yawitz President of the Irene Dunne Guild” On November 16th, the Irene Dunne Guild members held their Annual Luncheon at the California Yacht Club and elected the new officers for 2024.
The Guild members have been dedicated to supporting Saint John's Health Center since its establishment in 1987. They have consistently raised funds to support various programs, equipment, and special projects. The newly elected officers bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the guild, ensuring its continued success. Their passion for philanthropy and service is an inspiration for others to get involved in the Guild and make a difference. We extend a warm welcome to the new officers! Officers of the IDG Board of Directors fo 2024: - Kathy Yawitz, President - Lucy Fisher, Vice President - Janie Coolidge, Treasurer - Mary White, Recording Secretary - Katie Harding, Corresponding Secretary In 2023, through the generous donations to the Annual Patron Drive, the Irene Dunne Guild funded the following programs and equipment:
Massages for Caregivers: Saint John's Health Center ($33,600): Surveys show that burnout is common for hospital staff members. The IDG program provides massages to caregivers on a monthly basis, with the goal to addresses burnout among hospital staff. Acute Care: Diagnostic Radiology Department ($10,000): Every year, 500 patients leave Saint John's with a PICC line, to be used for home intravenous infusions, and they need to know how to keep the line dry when taking a shower. Patient kits will provide a brochure with care instructions, shower covers, Curos caps and fabric arm sleeves. Brain Health Boosters for Healthy Aging, Virtual Fit-Brain: Pacific Neuroscience Institute ($10,000): "Brain Health Boosters” is a 90min presentation. It includes cognitive training exercises for healthy aging of the brain. The presentation is intended for senior centers and other similar organizations such as the Wallis Annenberg GenSpace. "Virtual Fit-Brain" is gaming software designed to improve cognitive functioning. IDG will provide $5,000 in funding to each. RQI Station for ASC Port "Body in a Box": Clinical Education Department ($3,424): The RQI Station device assists in real time feedback and adaptive learning. For $2,500, students are provided feedback through a laptop. Body in a Box is a low cost ($924) compact training model for the teaching of IVAD. Bladder Scanners (2) OR and PACU: Prepoerative Services ($22,474): Scanners are an integral part of medical practice. They reduce the need for urinary catheters in preventing post-urinary retention. AccuVein: Preoperative Services ($6,505): "AccuVein" assists nurses to find veins in patients with difficult veins who need IV's placed or blood drawn. Decreases the number of sticks for the patient. Accuvein AV500: Oncology & Caritas Suites ($6,505): This device digitally displays a visual map of the vasculature on the surface of the skin in real time, allowing clinicians to verify vein patency and avoid valves or bifurcations. On September 14th, the Irene Dunne Guild hosted its annual "Treats for Caregivers" event at Saint John's Health Center. The event is organized to show gratitude and appreciation to all the employees at Saint John’s Health Center and thank them for delivering compassionate care to patients. The photos of the successful event, taken by photographer Glenn Marciano, are published below. This year's event was co-chaired by Diane Morgan, Cathy Singh, and Pam Kogan. Thank you! In the past, the Guild would distribute healthy snacks and treats to various hospital departments on a monthly basis. Guild members would work together to purchase large bags of apples, small cheeses, sweets, and other treats, which they would then bring to designated staff lounges at Saint John's. Since 2014, the Guild has also sponsored hospital-wide Ice Cream Socials for all the caregivers at the Health Center. Photo Credit: Glenn Marzano. |
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