Your Hospital. Welcome.

In a hallway at Salem Hospital, in large brass letters, you’ll find this quote by Albert Schweitzer: “Here at whatsoever hour you come you will find light and help and human kindness.”

We’re here to help you when you need it, whether it’s for treatment, testing or classes. We’re here to help you be a confident healthcare consumer through our Web site and the Messenger.

To be confident you must have information you can trust and understand. This issue is devoted to providing you
with tools to help you in that endeavor.

We’re focusing on cancer because it’s one of the areas Messenger readers told us they wanted to learn more about, and it’s one of our major services.

But even if you aren’t interested in cancer, you’ll find information in this issue that can help you. The more knowledgeable you are, the easier it will be to make decisions and the better you’ll feel.

We are your resource for healthcare and health information. We encourage you to take advantage of the tools we have to offer.

What’s New

Race for the Cure. Join us for the 13th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, in Portland, Sunday, Sept. 19. Avoid pre-race traffic—board the free Salem Hospital-sponsored bus in the parking lot of the Woodburn Company Stores or Regal Cinema in Wilsonville. Watch for ads or visit the “Cancer Services” section of our Web.

Want to run the race? Join the Salem Hospital team! Call Beverly Smith in Radiation Oncology at 503-561-5294 to learn more.

Help to stop smoking. National data shows that people who stop smoking with the help of a healthcare provider are more successful than those who do it alone. In an effort to improve the health of our community, Salem Hospital now offers counseling and tools to patients who want to quit.

Of the nearly 100 patients Salem Hospital respiratory therapists interview each month, 90 want help with quitting. Therapists offer counseling, help develop a quit plan, follow up, and even provide nicotine patches when needed. Consistent with national results, half of the patients who quit while at Salem Hospital have maintained their freedom from smoking one month later.

Building for the future. Salem Hospital leaders are currently developing plans to gradually upgrade and replace the main hospital facility. The improvements will ensure facilities are modernized, and provide adequate support for projected bed, diagnostic and treatment needs.

A plan for the future. In June, Salem Hospital launched a new strategic plan to carry out the mission of improving the health and well-being of the people and community we serve. Among the plan’s elements are five Core Commitments: Quality, Service, People, Performance, and Community. For more information, visit the “About Us” section on our Web site.

Good food in Dallas. Looking for a nice café in Dallas with good food and a friendly staff? Check out West Valley Hospital’s Café West, open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., for breakfast, lunch, snacks and coffee. Enjoy homemade meals and the best prices in town in a beautifully remodeled space.

On the Web. Check out the newly upgraded “Rehabilitation Services” section of our Web site.

Doctors at the hospital. Plans for a new “hospitalist” program are currently being finalized. The program will attract talented new physicians to the Marion and Polk County communities.

Hospitalists are either on-site or available 24 hours per day, and initially serve as physicians for ER patients who don’t have doctors. Over time, hospitalists become available to help local physicians by seeing their hospitalized patients.

Something to pass the time. We’re making it a little bit easier to wait while you’re visiting Salem Hospital.

Volunteers are touring the waiting rooms and patient floors with an activity cart, offering crossword puzzles, coloring books with crayons, magazines, books, and playing cards, donated by Spirit Mountain Casino, to our visitors. Even finger puppets are available! If you’d like to contribute time or materials to the activity cart, please call Volunteer Services at 503-561-5277.

Need a place to stay? If you or a family member is receiving care at Salem Hospital and need to stay overnight, visit Walton Guest House. A $20 donation per night is requested, but guests unable to pay will not be turned away. The Walton House exists through generous community donations. To learn more, call the Social Services Department at (503)561-5279.

New nurses. Eighty-five recent nursing grads joined the Salem Hospital family this summer, thanks to the hospital’s close partnerships with nursing programs such as the one at Chemeketa Community College. Salem Hospital is a great place to work—if you’re considering a career in healthcare, or you’re an experienced nurse interested in direct patient care, check out the “Jobs” section.

Psychiatry visit. Psychiatric hospitals from as far away as New Jersey are visiting Salem Hospital’s Psychiatric Medicine Center to learn how they can adopt the unique model that has virtually eliminated the use of seclusion and restraint in treatment. By training staff to address a patient’s needs and reactions to stressful and upsetting situations, the Psychiatric Medicine Center has developed a system that is more therapeutic for both patients and staff.

And the Winner is....

Debra Cook of Salem was the lucky winner of the prize drawing for a mountain bike and helmet from Santiam Bicycle.

Congratulations Debra!

We’d asked Messenger readers to share their thoughts about the new look of the Messenger, what they thought about the stories we published, and the kind of stories they wanted to read about in the future.

So, what did they say? Overwhelmingly they told us that the stories were easy to read and informative. They also liked the look of the new Messenger, with its use of color and photographs.

Of the topics we listed as possible future content, they wanted it all! Two highly rated areas were cancer and men’s health, which we’re covering in this issue. They also wrote in that they wanted information about diabetes (so be sure to check out this month’s recipe and the diabetes courses in the class listing).

Most of the respondents said that as a result of the information they read in the Messenger they were planning on being more careful in the sun, shop at a farmer’s market for fresh food, and be more active.

Thanks again to everyone who responded.

Your Resources

Looking for a Career in Healthcare?

Check out our Employment Opportunities.
If you need assistance with your application, contact your local job and career center:

Job and Career Center
605 Cottage St. NE, Salem
503-378-4846 ext. 284

Winema Job and Career Center
4001 Winema Pl. NE, Suite 200, Salem
503-399-2300

Polk County Job and Career Center
580 Main St. SE, Suite B, Dallas
503-831-1950

The Messenger is published three times per year by Salem Hospital’s Marketing and Community Relations Department. If you have a disability and need this publication in an alternate format, please let the editor know. Please direct questions or comments about the publication to: Messenger Editor, PO Box 14001, Salem, OR 97309; by e-mail at cr@salemhospital.org; or call 503-561-5269.