PEF members find work lively, satisfying
Helen Hayes Hospital younger and better than ever at 100

By M.K. FOTRELL
How would you like to make it to your 100th birthday party, sharper, stronger and more vigorous than ever?
Where better to look for age-defying secrets, than a hospital that clearly has found it’s own fountain of eternal youth.

If you’re skeptical, take time to join in this year’s joyous celebration of Helen Hayes Hospital’s centennial anniversary.
The state Health Department facility in West Haverstraw is world renowned for its pioneering research and achievements in the treatment and rehabilitation of traumatic brain and spinal-cord injuries.
One reason HHH remains a cutting- edge facility after 100 years is because it responds to the times. In 1900, it was founded to treat children with tuberculosis of the bone. Later in the century, the focus shifted to caring for polio patients.

Now, the facility treats patients with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, as well as those with chronic diseases and cardiopulmonary, orthopedic and neurological disorders. And it is an international leader in the study, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis.
PEF members say it’s an exciting and challenging environment to work in.
“What we do is extraordinary,” says PEF Division 226 Council Leader Carolyn Willson, a nurse 2 who handles risk management for the hospital. “We bring patients with traumatic brain injuries out of their comas and back to functioning,” she says.

Constant neural stimulation of the comatose patient speeds recovery and can be accomplished very simply.
“Our staff is very devoted and we include the family as part of our treatment plan,” she adds.
HHH provides many extras to patients and their families that draw patients into the world and living life to its fullest.

“We have rooms where family members can stay. And we offer lots of entertainment and cultural activities for the patients that we also share with the community,” Willson says. “Our recreation program is outstanding.”
PEF member Ellen McDonald, nurse manager of the Spinal Cord Injury Unit, says, “We have a great team here and the team approach works well with our patients and their families who rate us as ‘outstanding’ on patient-satisfaction surveys.”

This extra measure of care follows Helen Hayes Hospital’s 100-year-old philosophy of treating the whole patient — not just the disease or injury. This core philosophy has never changed since Dr. Newton Shaffer established the hospital 100 years ago.

Helen Hayes Hospital Centennial events
• Hospital memorabilia exhibit May to October;
• Musical stage production “Still Standing,” May 5;
• Honor’s Assembly, June 7;
• Patient Reunion, June 24;
• Centennial Gala, November 11.

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