Traditions Winter 2011

In This Issue:

• Chaplains Bring Light and Hope to Miriam Patients and Staff

• A Special Reflection

• The Miriam Names Director of Behavioral and Preventive Medicine

• Words of Gratitude

• Celebrate, Honor and Remember Your Loved Ones at the Holidays

Chaplains Bring Light and Hope to Miriam Patients and Staff

“May the work of your hands bring healing to all the people you touch. May your hands be guided and blessed to be instruments of healing and comfort. May you be blessed in all that you do.”

Hundreds of Miriam staff members heard these words as chaplains held their hands for the hospital’s first “Blessing of the Hands.”

“The work of The Miriam staff is often so emotionally intense that we wanted to provide some appreciation and spiritual nourishment,” says Rabbi Janie Hodgetts. “We hope to make this an annual tradition.” Read more > >

The Miriam Names Director of Behavioral and Preventive Medicine

Encouraging healthy behaviors to promote health as well as to prevent and manage disease is central to The Miriam’s patient-focused mission. But how can our physicians best communicate new habits that will nourish not only the body but also the mind and the spirit? After all, change is seldom easy.

Research holds the key, and in an important and bold move, The Miriam Hospital welcomes clinical psychologist Michael P. Carey, PhD, as its new director of the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. Carey comes to The Miriam from Syracuse University, where he founded its Center for Health and Behavior in 1989. He also serves as a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Read more > >

A Special Reflection

“I don’t go to church normally, but I am grateful for the spiritual care I received during my most recent stay at The Miriam Hospital.

Rabbi Janie Hodgetts was like a friend coming to visit me. If I thought a prayer should be said, that’s what we did. It was uplifting to see her walk through the door.

I could easily talk to her. I had two different types of breast cancer and was also diagnosed with leukemia. When my oncologist at The Miriam told me I was in remission and recommended that I have a bone marrow transplant, I didn’t think I was up to it after having gone through so much with chemo and radiation, but Rabbi Janie and I openly discussed options. She didn’t try to make my decision for me; she wasn’t invasive. She helped me believe I could do it. We talked about my daughter and my three grandchildren, and I expressed an emotion I hadn’t before: I started to cry.

I knew I wanted to be around for my grandchildren as long as I could. I had the transplant on September 2 and was able to go home the next day. I’m thankful to Rabbi Hodgetts for giving me a sense of hope when I needed it most.”

—Barbara Wood,
patient at the Leonard and Adele R. Decof Family
Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Miriam Hospital

Dear Arthur Sampson,

On June 29, I suffered a cardiac arrest. By all accounts, I should not be here, or at least should have suffered brain damage. Fortunately, thanks to the compressions delivered by my mom, the emergency responders and your staff, I am not only on the road to recovery, but have no brain damage.

For the first part of my 11-day stay in the hospital, I was in a medically induced coma. Although it was scary for my loved ones, they have nothing but great things to say about your staff ’s caring hearts and professionalism, as well as the way they treated those who came to visit and pray for my recovery.

Words cannot express my gratitude for the treatment I received from every member of your team. I know people have no problem making themselves heard when things go wrong. Well, I would love to make sure you and everyone who took care of me know how truly grateful I am for all they did and how they treated me, my family and friends.

Lynette M. Lopes
Providence, RI

Celebrate, Honor and Remember Your Loved Ones at the Holidays

This holiday season we’re all thinking about our family members and loved ones. To honor these special people and make an impact on health care in your community, it’s not too late to give.

A Gift in Celebration to mark a special anniversary or occasion and let friends and loved ones know you’re thinking of them. A Gift of Honor to show your gratitude to a caregiver, or a team of caregivers, for their committed and compassionate service.

A Gift in Memory to show your sympathy while also helping us deliver the best care possible. Many people make these gifts in lieu of flowers. The Miriam will send a letter to the honoree, or to the next of kin, to acknowledge your generosity.

To make a gift in tribute or memory to The Miriam Hospital, please contact Holly Palermo at 401-793-2004 or hpalermo@lifespan.org.