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.

On Sunday, September 17th, the Irene Dunne Guild community gathered at the California Yacht Club for the Fiesta 2023 event. The Fiesta event, held annually in August or September, is a highly anticipated social gathering for IDG members and their partners. This fun-filled event features a delightful dinner and is a joyous celebration of the genuine camaraderie and friendships that define the Irene Dunne Guild community.
​Thank you to Kathy Yawitz and Debi Bishton, Fiesta co-chairs, and their committee for organizing such a beautiful event this year!

​In 2022, through the generous donations to the Annual Patron Drive, the Irene Dunne Guild funded the following equipments and programs, providing a total of $ 118,536.25 in gifts!

Massages for Caregivers: Addresses burnout among hospital staff, providing 10 minutes massages to caregivers monthly.
 
Flowater Refill - Cancer Center: Provides accessible clean water to caregivers and patients and reduce the environmental footprint encouraging water bottles’ refills.
 
Locker Room Refresh - ICU & PCCU: Redo of the Nurses' locker room with new furniture.
 
Electric Gurneys - PreOP and GI departments: Electric gurneys to transport patients.
 
Cardiac I Stat Machine – Kenny and Carol Minerd Heart Institute: The machine provides lab results for patients (like blood panels and respiratory status).
 
Biocon Bladder Scanner - Cancer Center: The machine provides 3D images to determine if catheterization is needed, lowering the rate of cauterizations and thereby the associated urinary infections.
 
Portable Battery Headlight - Heart and Vascular Institute: It is a highly sought-after equipment that allows nurses and surgeons to see more accurately.
 
Wireless Fetal Monitoring System - Women’s Health & Wellness Institute: The device allows women in labor to walk around the floor instead of being tied to a fetal monitor; the movement benefits the labor experience.
 
Irene Dunne Guild Nursing Scholarships: The scholarships help Saint John’s nurses with Associate degrees complete their BSN requirements; they were provided by the Irene Dunne Guild and matching gifts from the hospital. The current five awardees have been selected from the Intensive Care, Neonatal Intensive Care and Preoperative units.

Please consider a tax-deductible gift to our Patron Drive so we can give even greater support Saint John's.  

​​SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, October 18th, 2023 and plan to attend!

Power of Pink Luncheon honoring our fellow Guild member, Mary Flaherty, Trustee, and former Chair of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, with the Ruth Well Spirit of Hope Award. Mary, one of the original founders of the Irene Dunne Guild, has been supporting Saint John's for YEARS in countless ways.  Congratulations, Mary!   

For more information, contact SpecialEvents@providence.org. or Tess Csiszar at (310) 829-8168.

It was terrific to see so many of you at our Think Pink for Women's Wellness event held at the Upper Bel Air Bay Club on May 10th.

We thank Saint John's Health Center Foundation and Irene Dunne Guild President Stephanie Weston for their leadership and support, our Co-Chairs Susie DeWeese and Lorena Craven and their organizing Committee for their dedication, the event’s speakers for their engaging and valuable insights and information, the boutique vendors and the wonderful attendees for their support and participation in making Think Pink a huge success.
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​To learn more about Think Pink, click here.

We are especially grateful for all the speakers at this year's event for generously sharing their valuable and informative insights and information with us. 

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Meena Said, Endocrine surgeon & Founder Wellness Worldwide

Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, Obstetrics and Gynecology Co-Founder of Perelel, a pre/post natal focused vitamin company

Dr. Amir Vokshoor, Neurosurgery and Spine Specialist minimally invasive surgical treatment of adult cranial and spinal disorders

Dr. Manali Shendrikar, Primary Care Medicine, Santa Monica Family Physicians

Megan Webber, Co-Founder, Know the Glow

Please reach out to them directly to learn more about their projects and services. 

By Sue Pascoe of Circling the News
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“Think Pink for Women’s Wellness” is an Irene Dunne Guild annual event, that focuses on health education and awareness for women and their families.  This year’s event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10, at the Upper Bel Air Bay Club.

The event features break-through lectures with notable physicians and speakers. Over the years, topics have included healthy brain aging, addiction, urology, dermatology and breast health. The event culminates with a luncheon held in the dining room of the Upper Bel Air Bay Club overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Boutique shopping is available throughout the event with net proceeds benefitting programs, equipment and services at Providence Saint John’s Health Center.
Co-chairs Lorena Craven and Susie DeWeese said this year’s featured speaker is Dr. Meena Said, an endocrine surgeon, who will speak on “Wellness Worldwide: Treating Children with Cancer 8,000 Miles Away.”
Said’s family fled Afghanistan as refugees when she was a baby and lived in Germany for 18 months before moving to the U.S.

The doctor graduated summa cum laude from UCLA and then attended the UCLA School of Medicine, receiving the highest honor bestowed upon a medical student, The Deans Merit Scholarship. After graduating in 2006, Said completed an internal medicine internship at UCLA before pursuing her general surgery residency at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. She completed an Endocrine Surgery Fellowship at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Said has founded a humanitarian nonprofit called Wellness Worldwide to  provide healthcare as well as educational and social support to vulnerable populations, first in Afghanistan, but then, she envisions, in the neediest communities around the world. In a 2021 interview “She Saved My Life. And so Many Others,” the doctor said, “Every human life has equal value. Every man, woman and child deserve a chance to live — irrespective of gender, religion, political beliefs, ethnicity or race.”

Through Wellness Worldwide, she and a network of volunteer doctors deliver medical care and run a family clinic in a refugee camp in Nangarhar. “As a surgeon who operates on cancer patients, I know how desperate and vulnerable cancer patients can be,” she said. “In Afghanistan, there are no cancer facilities for adults or for children. There’s not a single radiation facility in the entire country.” A statistic Said quotes is that 75 percent of the world’s operations are performed on 25 percent of the world’s population.

In America, survival for all cancer children is 80 percent. In the low- and middle-income countries — Afghanistan is one of the five poorest countries on earth — that statistic is flipped: a 20 percent survival rate for children with all cancers.

The Irene Dunne Guild is celebrating its thirty-sixth year as a major support group of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation in Santa Monica. The guild has more than 100 members committed to finding innovative ways to fundraise, comfort patients, educate the community and nurture the mission of providing compassionate care click here.
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The public is invited to attend this event. Tickets are $175 per person. For more information, call (310) 829-8424. Co-chairs Craven and DeWeese said, “We would be thrilled to welcome you to Think Pink 2023.”

Please click here to view original post in Circling the News 

“Think Pink for Women’s Wellness” Event to Take Place in May “Think Pink for Women’s Wellness”, an Irene Dunne Guild annual event that focuses on health education and awareness for women and their families, will take place Wednesday, May 10th, from 8:30am-3:00 pm at the Upper Bel Air Bay Club. The Irene Dunne Guild, a support group of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, created Think Pink over 18 years ago as a gathering meant to educate women on important health issues. The event features breakthrough lectures with notable physicians and speakers. Over the years, topics have included healthy brain aging, addiction, urology, dermatology, and breast health. The event culminates with a luncheon held in the dining room of the Upper Bel Air Bay Club. Boutique shopping is available throughout the event with net proceeds benefiting programs, equipment, and services at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. Think Pink Co-Chairs are Lorena Craven and Susie DeWeese. Tickets are $175.00 per person. Visit www.irenedunneguild.org for more information. 
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Click here for original article on page 6 of the Beverly Hills Weekly