MHS In the News

MHS In the News

Read about Mercy Health System with links to local, regional and state online news outlets and also articles in national trade publications.

›› On the Record With Heather Mueller | Northwest Herald
Heather Mueller might be a beauty queen, but she spends more time wearing scrubs than tiaras.
Mueller, a 21-year-old Crystal Lake resident, works at Mercy Woodstock Medical Center as a medical assistant in the dermatology office. Last year, she was crowned state royalty in the National American Miss pageant. Miss Illinois 2009 spends most of her time working and volunteering at local nonprofit organizations. She volunteers with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, at local health fairs and faith nights. She also has helped raise money for McHenry County PADS, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis research.

›› Mercy Breaks Ground for Expansion | Advance for Nurses
Mercy Health System announced $45 million expansion plans for Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center in Lake Geneva, WI. The laboratory, radiology department, physical therapy department, optical and vision departments, pharmacy and durable medical area will be expanded. The number of surgical suites will increase from two to four and plans are in the works for two new procedure rooms, a sleep disorders lab and a renovated emergency department.

›› Mercy begins expansion work | McHenry County Business Journal
Mercy Health System broke ground earlier this month on the expansion of its Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center at Highways 50 and 67 in Lake Geneva, Wis. The nine-phase project is expected to be completed by 2013 at a cost of $45 million. The hospital system said the expansion would more than triple the existing hospital, from 60,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet, and quadruple the inpatient beds from six to 25.

"This project is one example of the many ways Mercy strives to fulfill our mission of providing exceptional health care services resulting in healing in the broadest sense," Mercy President and Chief Executive Officer Javon R. Bea said in a news release.

›› Mercy breaks ground on $45 million Walworth Hospital expansion | The Beacon
After years of planning, negotiating with municipalities and acquiring property, Mercy Health System broke ground June 3 on a $45 million expansion of its Mercy Walworth Medical Center and Hospital. The facility is located at the intersection of highways 50 and 67 in the Town of Geneva. Mercy Health Systems CEO Javon R. Bea addressed a large crowd that had gathered to witness the official groundbreaking ceremony. "Today, we kick off the beginning of a $45 million building expansion dedicated to the future of this area, and we continue Mercy's goal of bringing serious health care services close to home," said Bea.

›› Area hospitals, clinics expand | Wisconsin State Journal
In Lake Geneva, Mercy Health System is expanding Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center to include labor and delivery, obstetrics services, intensive care, upgraded surgical suites, an expanded laboratory, a renovated emergency department, specialty care and other services.

›› Construction begins on Mercy's $45 million expansion | Lake Geneva Regional News
With bulldozers and shovels ready last week, Mercy Walworth Medical Center officials unveiled the details and artist renderings of a $45-million expansion. A traditional groundbreaking ceremony started the construction project on what is now a dirt and grass lot next to the current facility at the intersection of highways 50 and 67.

›› Schools, health providers soar past barriers to nursing program | The Janesville Gazette
Imagine: Mercy Health System, Dean/St. Mary's and Beloit Memorial Hospital all working together. Then add two other sometimes-rivals to the mix: Blackhawk Technical College and UW-Rock County. No need to imagine. All four of those entities have been working for two years to create a program that allows students to stay at home in Rock County while getting a bachelor's degree in nursing.

›› Summertime safety tips | Beloit Daily News
"In the summertime, you want to have fun and be active," said Dr. Emarcia Peete, a new pediatrician with Mercy Beloit Medical Center. Still, kids need to be aware of certain safety precautions during the day when they are out of school. Peete, along with Beloit Police Chief Norm Jacobs and Beloit Fire Captain David Ferger, offer their tips to ensure a safe, fun summer.

›› Helping the homeless | WKOW TV News
Kathy Schumacher, Mercy employee and volunteer, is July's Jefferson Award recipient and 'Someone You Should Know.' Kathy spends one night a month away from her own comfortable bed to help others down on their luck. The Jefferson Award recognizes volunteers who go above and beyond in their community. Each month WKOW highlights someone in our area doing just that.

›› Despite current economy, local hospital projects allude to healthy future | Walworth County Today
A tough economy hasn't deterred plans for hospital construction and expansion in the area.

›› Mercy Walworth expansion among three major health-care projects | Walworth County Sunday
A tough economy hasn't deterred plans for hospital construction and expansion in the area...Mercy Health System started a $45 million expansion of Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center on Wisconsin Highway 67 in Geneva Township east of Delavan. Mercy Walworth's project will triple the size of the current facility, boosting the number of hospital beds from six to 25, and increasing square footage from 60,000 to 200,000 according to the details of the plan, revealed at a June 3 groundbreaking ceremony.

›› Mercy Health to expand Lake Geneva hospital | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Mercy Health System has begun work on a $45 million expansion that will more than triple the size of its Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center in Lake Geneva. The hospital is projected to employ 350 people, up from 280 now, and generate revenue of $80 million a year once the expansion is completed, said Javon R. Bea, president and chief executive of Mercy Health.

›› Mercy Walworth County expansion under way | The Janesville Gazette
Mercy Health System wants to grow with the community and its needs and offer people quality health care close to home.The health-care provider on Thursday officially broke ground and revealed details about its $45 million expansion of Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center.

Bulldozers pushed dirt at the site under the bright, beating sun. Mercy officials, local elected officials and medical staff dug ceremonial gold and silver shovels into the ground.

›› Fueled Up For Running Season | McHenry County Magazine
After a big morning workout, Grosvenor often will eat a breakfast of Egg Beaters, spinach and chicken. At lunch he'll typically eat a salad with some chicken, then a mid-afternoon snack of some sort of energy bar. Dinners are typically light, perhaps some type of lean meat and vegetables, he says. "It's better to have several small meals versus three gigantic meals a day," says Jennifer Paul, a dietician at Mercy Harvard Hospital. "You don't want to go too long without eating."

›› Janesville gardeners provide fresh produce to Mercy Hospital | The Janesville Gazette
The produce sprouting from the ground on Merle and Shirley Storck's farmette is destined to feed hundreds of local hospital patients and employees. Row after row, the couple walked through their garden pointing to the varieties of vegetables they've planted-and what they have yet to plant. At harvest time, the fruits and veggies are delivered to Mercy Hospital to feed visitors and employees in the cafeteria, patients and Meals on Wheels recipients.

›› Crazy Legs special to Janesville woman after heart attack | Channel 27 News - Madison
It's controlled chaos as school lets out at Harmony Elementary in Janesville. And Terry Schober is right in the thick of it. She works full-time in the office and helping the kids. She manages a busy family. And she works part-time at Mercy Hospital, helping patients in the ICU. Three years ago on April 7th, she ended up in intensive care. "I had an artery that collapsed and they were able to get medication in there which opened it up," says Terry.

›› Practicing bicycle safety tips | The Beloit Daily News
Learning hand signals to alert drivers, wearing a helmet and watching out for others are all ways kids can stay safe when bicycling. Helmets can significantly reduce the chance of injury in serious accidents. According to literature provided by Mercy Health System, bicycle helmets are 85 percent effective in preventing head or brain injury during falls.

›› Timeless Beauty | McHenry County Magazine
Ladies, after years of caring for your children, husband, family and friends, it's time to do something for you. The concern is common: a woman who has spent years being a mother and doting on others is unhappy with her appearance, but feels ashamed and guilty for wanting to do something about it. That concern is echoed among many clients who come to see Paul Dillon, MD, F.A.C.S. with Mercy Health System.

›› Mercy Health System presents injury prevention program to area schools | The Beacon
Something new, and valuable, has been added to the third grade curriculum at Eastview and Star Center elementary schools in Lake Geneva this year. And it didn't cost taxpayers a cent. Mercy Health System is presenting ThinkFirst, an injury prevention program dedicated to the prevention of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Developed by the National Injury Prevention Foundation, the program, which consists of five 50-minute sessions, uses enjoyable activities to focus on behavior changes and the importance of good decision making.

›› [PODCAST] Webinar planned to prevent sexual assault | The Janesville Gazette
The social and emotional difficulties related to discussing the topic of sexual assault is prompting Mercy to offer the webinar to assist victims. Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program Coordinator Jackie Friar says the goal is to offer assistance in an anonymous atmosphere. The privacy offered through a webinar may help those reluctant to discuss the issue openly, get the answers they seek.

›› Second marriages bring men in to reverse vasectomies | The Janesville Gazette
Todd was the first patient in Wisconsin to have a reverse vasectomy using a robot. Dr. Nicholas Gianitsos, urologist and medical director of Mercy's Men's Health Center, performed the surgery earlier this month.

›› Successful meal program turns 40 years old | The Janesville Gazette
Today, an average of 115 people receive hot meals, compared to the program's original nine subscribers. Meals are prepared by the food service staff at Mercy Hospital, which receives $3.40. The association of volunteers gets the remaining 10 cents to pay for replacement of food carriers, postage for billing customers and covering meals for those who don't have the ability to pay, said Marie Bilek, director of volunteers.

›› Mother Nature increases tree allergies | The Janesville Gazette
"Conditions have just been perfect," said Ronald Ragotzy, allergist/immunologist at Mercy Health System. "In past years, people have gotten used to not having a good tree season. I think the trees are making up for it this year."

›› Reported sexual assaults on the rise in Rock County | The Janesville Gazette
Rock County had 300 reported sexual assaults in 2009, compared to 250 in 2008, officials said. In 93 percent of the cases, victims knew and trusted their attacker.

›› [VIDEO] Rock County Officials See Increase In Sex Assaults | Channel 3000
In a park across from Mercy Hospital in Janesville, 300 pinwheels each represent a reported sexual assault in 2009.

›› Community organizations work together to combat sexual assaults | The Janesville Gazette
Chief David Moore says few crimes are more horrendous or personal. Moore joined the Rock County Sheriff, District Attorney, and representatives from the YWCA and Mercy Health System's Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program at Wedge Park in Janesville Tuesday morning to call attention to Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

›› [PODCAST] Open Mic / Sexual Assault Awareness | Stan Milam Show
Jackie Friar from Mercy Health and Det. Dennis LeCaptain from the Janesville Police Department have information on Pinwheels for Awareness, a sexual assault awareness event, Tuesday 10am-11am at Wedge Park near Mercy Hospital.

›› Procrastination is a learned behavior | The Janesville Gazette
"Habit is a good word," said Joseph Fairbanks, licensed professional therapist at Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center in Geneva Township. "It's a habit that comes about through the way we've learn to live our lives. It's a behavior that might help us in some way or give us some reward."

›› Mercy Health will build $45 million addition in Geneva | Milwaukee Business Journal
Mercy Health System is planning a $45 million expansion of its Walworth County hospital. The project will increase the size at Mercy Walworth Hospital & Medical Center in the town of Geneva from 75,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet and increase the number of hospital beds from six to 25.

›› Bair shows leadership in the armed forces | The Janesville Gazette
Day job: registered nurse at Mercy Walworth in Lake Geneva. Weekend job: brigadier general in the Wisconsin Air National Guard. Life's work: serving her country.

›› Area hospitals move toward using only electronic records| Northwest Herald
Electronic medical records have been a key component of health care overhaul. Mercy Health System, which includes Mercy Harvard Hospital, also has made important strides with electronic records, information systems manager Laurie Hallmark said. Mercy clinics already have started using electronic records. Hospitals are expected to join those efforts by an April 2011 deadline. Thereafter, all of Mercy's records - from primary physicians, hospital doctors, and specialists - will be in the same place.

›› Candy hunt reveals some sweet truths | The Janesville Gazette
On Saturday morning, Mercy Clinic East hosted an Easter candy hunt on its front lawn. The event was a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes-we'll get to that irony later-and, for those who were watching carefully, it revealed many of life's absolute truths.
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›› As Video Games Become Ubiquitous, So Do Hand Health Problems| Yahoo News
"Most people initially complain of numbness and tingling in their hands, usually in their 'radial' three digits: thumb, index finger and long finger," reports Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Dana Tarandy of Woodstock, IL.

›› Experience Key in Scoliosis Brace Decision | TodayinPT
When Cindy Marti, PT, president of Spinal Dynamics of Wisconsin, is questioned about whether bracing is effective in treating scoliosis in adolescents, she can't help but think of one of her first scoliosis patients. Her patient was a teen with a 33-degree curve in her mid back and a 35-degree curve in her lower back. Her pelvis was shifted right, and she had a right rib prominence. Despite wearing a traditional scoliosis brace, her scoliosis had worsened before seeing Marti, and the girl was worried.

›› Juvenile Depression | The Beacon
Children and adolescents are developing human beings who are susceptible to all the variety of human ailments. Depression is one of those ailments. It is one of the lesser-recognized and more deadly ailments of children and adolescents. Suicide, which is often associated with depression, is the third leading cause of death for adolescents. Recognizing and treating the disease of depression is essential to the health and future of all children and adolescents.

›› [PODCAST] Public health may benefit from use of Webinars | WCLO Radio
The Internet may be helping Mercy Health System promote better public health. PR and Marketing director, Tom Jensen says the recently introduced use of Webinars on health topics is rapidly gaining a following.

›› Brain awareness week begins | Beloit Daily News
Think before you act. That's the intention behind Mercy Health System's ThinkFirst program, a nationwide initiative that teaches younger people how to avoid or reduce their chances of being injured. "Street Smart is our safety super hero. He comes to events and high-fives kids," said ThinkFirst instructor Terry Michel.

›› Save money, hassle on worker's compensation costs | McHenry County Business Journal
There are three elements to successfully managing a comprehensive workers' compensation policy: Primary prevention that decreases job injury risks, secondary prevention that helps you avoid injuries, and tertiary prevention that helps injured employees regain optimum health. Workers' compensation cases can be very complex and costly. In these cases, having an occupational medicine physician on your case-management team would be beneficial. These "OM" physicians, who deal with the prevention and treatment of diseases and injuries occurring at work, focus on getting workers back to full-time duty safely and in a cost-effective manner

›› Building for the Future: Healthcare | Northwest Herald, Multimedia

›› Mercy Harvard Care Center: skilled nursing in a homelike setting | The Beacon
Mercy Harvard Care Center may be one of the stateline's best kept secrets. With just 34 beds, it is McHenry County's smallest skilled nursing facility. But, according to administrator Kathy Kus, that means residents and patients receive personalized care and attention. Established more than 20 years ago, the Care Center is located within the confines of Mercy Harvard Hospital.

›› Woodstock nurse helps Haiti relief | The Woodstock Independent
Brenda MacDonnell, a nurse at Mercy Harvard Hospital and a Woodstock resident, returned Feb. 13 from a week-long aid trip to Haiti. "I saw more traumas there than in my 18 years in the intensive care unit," said MacDonnell. In addition to helping victims of the earthquake that killed 200,000 people in Port-Au-Prince, she treated victims of gunshot wounds, stabbings and automobile accidents.