Fairview Health Services

When an M Health Fairview EMS team responded to a house fire in Scandia, Minn., last month, they found Pearl, a dog struggling to breathe from severe smoke inhalation. Paramedic and dog-lover Steven Greenhow and his team leapt into action, improvising a makeshift oxygen mask to fit over Pearl’s snout using a McDonald's cup threaded with an oxygen hose. Thanks to the team’s quick thinking, Pearl recovered and got a clean bill of health from her veterinarian. During a touching reunion yesterday, Pearl and her owners Nate Meidl and Katie Faragher thanked the EMS crew who saved Pearl’s life. "The biggest thing I want to come out of this is just to let the public know how hard our first responders work, and to make sure they get recognized for the heroism they do every day, not just with saving Pearl." said Faragher. "Every single day they help people and change lives." KARE 11 has their full reunion.??? https://mhfv.care/3CB0mcz #EMS | #EmergencyRescue??

“I just want to be able to do for someone else what I would want done for me if I were in their shoes.”? For over 30 years, Carol Harms has been a steady, welcoming presence at M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood. Starting in 1994, she was an emergency department nurse. After she retired in 2013, she knew St. John’s was the place she wanted to continue giving back to as a volunteer. Now, she volunteers in our hospital’s surgery department and cardiac specialty care, greeting patients as soon as they arrive, escorting them through our halls, and comforting them if they are nervous. “It’s really important to me to engage with patients and their families. Making sure they know it’s safe to ask questions and to let me know what they need.” Sometimes, patients don’t even need to ask. Carol’s experience as an ER nurse gives her a keen ability to anticipate what a patient or a family might need – whether it’s reducing their anxiety, sharing helpful resources, or even just changing the channel on the TV to something more soothing. Another part of volunteering she loves? Getting her steps in! “I get to walk almost 9,000 steps during my shift. I love being active so it’s just perfect for me.”? Join us in thanking Carol for all she does supporting patients and families. ?? #HospitalVolunteer | #Volunteering

“Taking care of these precious little ones is a dream job.” Linda Graeve, APRN, is a neonatal nurse practitioner at M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital. Caring for premature babies and watching them grow is one of the best parts of her job.? “I work with an incredible group of people,” she said. “The NICU family is a strong, supportive family that endures and perseveres through very amazing and very difficult outcomes.” Making a difference for these families goes beyond bedside care. Graeve is also passionate about quality improvement and always looks for ways to make healthcare for our tiniest patients the best it possibly can be. In addition to being a leader in the St. John’s #NICU, she is also part of the new Point of Care Ultrasound group that is working on improving NICU care through ultrasound use in many areas of neonatal care. During #NursePractitionerWeek, we’re celebrating the incredible daily expertise and passion NPs like Linda bring to our patients and families. #NursePractitioner | #NICU | #HealthcareProvider

We are committed to a supportive and safe healthcare experience for every patient. That’s why we now offer patients the option to hide weight information and BMI in their after-visit summaries. Patients can also decline weight-related discussions if they find them unhelpful. This update is especially meaningful to patients who may be experiencing eating disorders, body image, and weight stigma concerns. Carol Peterson, Ph.D, LP, a psychologist and professor at University of Minnesota Medical School was part of that group that implemented the change. “For people with eating disorders, weight can be a number that’s extremely triggering,” Peterson said. “So it was important to allow that choice.” For Peterson, working on this project was important to her because of the impact it had on people who were once fearful of going to the doctor. Learn more about the update here:?https://mhfv.care/4enlaRL

Elissa Butler, MD, a pediatric general surgeon with M Health Fairview Pediatrics, loves guiding families through life-changing moments. "I have always loved kids," she said. Butler, newly hired to our team in September, provides compassionate care to children from newborns to 18 years old, treating everything from appendix removals, hernia repairs, to complex congenital conditions with the chest or abdomen. She loves the feeling of getting to “fix the problem and help these kids move on with their lives.” Originally from Texas, Butler felt coming back to Minnesota was a “homecoming.” Shaped by her positive experience at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she is now an assistant professor, Butler is looking forward to expanding our general surgery offerings, making it easier for Minnesota families to get the care they need closer to home.? As a long-term goal, Butler is excited to advance our minimally invasive and robotic surgery offerings for children and adolescents, providing better outcomes for patients and their families. Learn more about general surgery at M Health Fairview Pediatrics:??https://mhfv.care/4fgUuDJ #PediatricSurgeon | #Pediatrics | #ChildrensHealth

A special shoutout to all our team members who took time out of their busy schedules to volunteer with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity this week! Over 60 volunteers from across our health system signed up to help with construction of The Heights project, creating stable, affordable housing for St. Paul’s East Side. This work is a continuation of what began earlier this month when leadership across Fairview participated in Habitat for Humanity’s 2024 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project where we helped launch The Heights construction – Twin Cities Habitat’s largest-ever development. These efforts are a testament to our health system’s unwavering commitment to investing in accessible housing helping keep our communities safe and healthy. Learn more about our housing initiatives here:?https://mhfv.care/3TRYjq2 #HousingisHealth | #HealthEquity

What do a deer, a scuba diver, and a superhero all have in common? They’re celebrating their first Halloween in our NICU! Newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital are making waves this Halloween with the cutest costumes around! Every year, our NICU teams go above and beyond to make the holiday special for our patients and their families. Let’s help them celebrate by wishing them all a Happy Halloween! #HappyHalloween | #NICUHalloween

Honoring Francisco Ramirez, who was recently recognized as one of Twin Cities Business’s 2024 Notable Hispanic Leaders for his unwavering commitment to advancing health and wellness in the Latine community. ?? Ramirez, Community Advancement education and outreach supervisor with M Health Fairview, has made it his mission to break down health barriers facing the Latine community by educating and advocating for critical health issues – including colon cancer prevention, heart health, and vaccinations. In 2014, he launched the Colorectal Cancer Prevention Program at Fairview, providing free colonoscopies to uninsured or underinsured adults. Since it’s launch, the program has performed 345 free procedures – an intervention that has the potential to save lives. “Prevention is key,” Ramirez said. “Education is a great need and it’s crucial for building healthier communities. Our team goes to different places during the week and over the weekend, working and building trust with our communities. Then we keep educating the community where they are, where they feel safe, but not only once a year, we do it continuously. This work has to be consistent to see positive outcomes.” ? Join us in thanking Ramirez for making such a profound impact in the lives of so many families and communities every day. Learn more about his work: https://mhfv.care/3NLrk3w #HealthEquity | #HealthcareLeaders | #HealthAdvocate

There’s a known link between mental health and substance use. A new intensive outpatient program at M Health Fairview Northland Medical Center is helping teens overcome these challenges by treating mental health and addiction together. “You really can’t separate substance use from depression or anxiety,” said Nicole Herlofsky, manager of outpatient programs at M Health Fairview. “So we treat those things simultaneously. We’re one of the few programs in the state offering this specialized care, filling a critical care gap for families in rural Minnesota where there are often fewer options for treatment. Through comprehensive skill building, therapy, and education, teens receive the tools they need to return to their lives stronger than before. Find out more:?https://mhfv.care/3YJaMhJ

After giving birth, Jill Kaiylethe didn’t think her headache was harmful. But a home monitoring app tracking her blood pressure recognized the signs of postpartum preeclampsia, alerted her care team, and advised Jill to go to the hospital – which ended up saving her life. Bethany Sabol, MD, maternal-fetal medicine physician with M Health Fairview and assistant professor the University of Minnesota Medical School says the postpartum period is a high-risk time for new parents to experience complications of high blood pressure. She created the Home Observation of Postpartum Elevated Blood Pressure (HOPE-BP) program at the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center so new parents stay safe and feel supported from the comfort of home. For Jill, this was life-changing. “In the moment, I don’t think I realized that having such high blood pressure had been so dangerous for my health,” she said. “But after being admitted and realizing how serious the situation was, I’m really so thankful that I’m here and can take care of my kids and be a healthy mom.”? Read more:??https://mhfv.care/4dVqbAR