Posted in Circling The News by Sue Pascoe-scroll down for link to original post:

​IRENE DUNNE GUILD SUPPORTS DOCTORS/NURSES DURING COVID-19​​

This year, the Irene Dunne Guild’s yearly patron drive funds going are going to help support doctors and nurses at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The drive is a letter-writing campaign from the more than 120 Guild members to friend, families and associates in the community requesting donations.
From the drive so far, movie trailers were rented for the staff, so they were able to shower and change before leaving the hospital for home. Guild funds have also paid for a laundry service to wash the scrubs for the staff and purchased new scrubs to have on hand when needed.
Additionally, 10 new iPads were bought and distributed between intensive care, emergency room and the progressive coronary care unit. One of the iPads was for labor and delivery so the fathers, who cannot be in the hospital, can see their new babies when they are born.
Each year, the Guild, which has about 51 Palisadian members, typically provides more than $100,000 to St. John’s and has funded a natural birthing center, an ultrasound machine, portable childbirth monitors, an OB/GYN table and a Fast Track system for the emergency room.
As well, the Guild has created numerous programs, including a hospital gift shop, a volunteer effort called Angels of the ER, a library of books, CDs and DVDs for patients and waiting loved ones, toys for children in the hospital, childbirth classes, lactation classes and a clothing closet to aid patients.
Founded in 1987, the Guild has raised more than $17 million for Saint John’s vital programs, equipment and special projects.

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​The Irene Dunne Guild generously funds Beauty Bus services at Saint John’s. The Beauty Bus gives compassion, hope to California hospital patients.  Thanks to the IDG, Beauty Bus is at Saint John's Health Center every Tuesday going room to room performing free hair, nail and facial services for patients and their caregivers to bring dignity and compassion to families.  In addition, IDG funding allows Beauty Bus to do a Pop-Up Salon every year for staff caregivers throughout the Health Center to be pampered.

The specimen repository is one of the treasures of the John Wayne Cancer Institute. The repository is a bank of frozen specimens from cancer patients established by Institute co-founder Donald L. Morton, MD, and collected since 1971. The specimens are linked to a database containing records for more than 14,600 patients.

The repository is a gateway to the world of personalized cancer care—treatments based on each individual’s unique genetic and biochemical makeup. Thanks to a generous gift from the Irene Dunne Guild, the Institute will soon purchase a new, state-of-the-art, subzero storage unit for the continued collection of specimens, carrying on the vision of Dr. Morton.

“The guild voted unanimously to donate toward the specimen repository,” says Dolly Niemann, chair of the Irene Dunne Guild resource allocation committee. “We are excited to see the synergy between the Health Center and the Institute, and we want to support the continued success of the researchers at the Institute.”


Click here for original article on Saint John's website.

The Irene Dunne Guild recently announced a donation in excess of $100,000 to Saint John’s Health Center that is being used to help fund the Safe Patient Handling & Mobility Program. The gift enables the purchase of equipment to help lift, position and move patients. Safe patient handling is a term that refers to policies and programs that use technology and techniques to allow caregivers to safely lift and move patients without causing injury or unnecessary physical stress.

“We chose to fund this gift because the program strongly supports patients and caregivers at the same time,” says Kate Prudente, president of the Irene Dunne Guild. “This is specialized equipment that enhances the delivery of compassionate care in a manner that is safer for hospital staff and caregivers.

Among nurses, back injuries are the most common type of work-related accidents, Prudente notes. When used correctly, the new devices will help minimize the risk of injuries to caregivers.

Likewise, patients benefit from being moved in a manner most conducive to their safety and comfort. Safe patient handling has become a prominent issue in acute health care settings, she says, with legislation pending in some states to mandate more of these types of programs.

The guild’s gift is part of a larger patient handling and safety strategy at Saint John’s that will include in-depth staff training and support and a specialized lift team, Prudente says.

“The feedback I hear is that the nurses love the equipment, and the benefits for the patients are substantial,” she says. “The lift team is also very impressed with how easily they can move patients and assist all the nursing units in a more timely manner. This is an important program, and the guild is pleased and proud that we were able to help augment it at the Health Center.”

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A recent gift from a private foundation and a second gift from the Irene Dunne Guild have paved the way for the purchase of two Arctic Sun hypothermia devices for the Saint John’s emergency department. Arctic Sun is a temperature management system that is used to cool a patient’s body temperature in a safe and precise manner by circulating chilled water in pads or blankets applied to the patient’s skin.

Hypothermia treatment has been shown to limit damage resulting from cardiac arrest. Cooling puts the body in a slower metabolic state that curtails the cascade of chemicals released when cells are starved for oxygen. These chemicals can lead to permanent injury.

“The Arctic Sun improves the chances of a full recovery,” says Russ Kino, MD, director of emergency

services at Saint John’s Health Center. “Before Arctic Sun technology, hypothermia treatment was more challenging to administer. We can now manage these patients far more effectively.”

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