Shriners Hospitals for Children – Greenville is renovating our lobby! The fountain is staying, but everythng else is going! The new lobby is expected to be complete in June.

Shriners Hospitals for Children® — Greenville is celebrating National Hospital Week! All week long, patients, families, and staff will be celebrating the hospital’s mission.

Shriners Hospitals for Children has a mission to:

•Provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment.

•Provide for the education of physicians and other healthcare professionals.

•Conduct research to discover new knowledge that improves the quality of care and quality of life of children and families.

This mission is carried out without regard to race, color, creed, sex or sect, disability, national origin or ability of a patient or family to pay.

Celebrate National Hospital Week with us by leaving a comment and sharing the story of your experience at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville.

Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville is proud to announce surgical services nurse Steve Lorch, RN, BSN, has been named GSA Business’ Nurse Healthcare Hero 2012. GSA Business says the Healthcare Hero awards honor “the men and women who volunteer their time and go beyond the call of duty on a daily basis for the betterment of their communities.” Steve was nominated for the award by his coworkers.

Steve believes healthcare is not only about treating an illness; he believes it is often just as much about prevention. Serving as a triage nurse on a medical mission trip in 2003, Steve saw more than 800 patients in three days. He noticed nearly 85% of the people were suffering from medical problems related to poor water quality.

Upon returning home, Steve began taking classes on water drilling. After learning about low-tech water solutions, he began inventing a low-cost, non-electric, non-motorized water system to deliver clean water. Steve says, “I knew if these people had access to clean water, most of their illnesses could be prevented. I didn’t just want to develop a water system; I wanted to invent a water system that would be sustainable by the locals in the country.” With this in mind, Steve and his wife founded the company Hydromissions. Hydromissions is centered around the couple’s Christian faith. With Hydromissions, Steve has traveled to more than 30 countries in the last ten years bringing the ability to produce clean water to small villages. When Hydromissions comes to an area, the group educates the locals about all aspects of the water cycle, including water acquisition, drilling, filtration, treatment, irrigation, hygiene, and sanitation. Today, Steve’s sustainable water well drilling system is being used by mission groups and relief agencies all over the world.

The Hydromissions water well drilling system is not Steve’s only invention. He says, “Inventing is in my nature. When I see a problem, I want find a solution for it.” For more than 15 years, he has worked full-time caring for children in Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville’s operating rooms. During this time, he has developed several tools now used in orthopaedic surgery. His first orthopaedic invention, the “foot pusher,” helps with intraoperative loading films to simulate a patient standing or walking. Steve says, “With the foot pusher, orthopaedic surgeons can better evaluate if their correction is effective before the patient leaves the operating room.” He also invented a “pin spreader” for other corrective foot procedures. Steve’s most recent orthopaedic invention is the “rotractor.” Working alongside a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon, Steve developed the rotractor to be used when rotating the bones in children with cerebral palsy. Steve says, “Many children with cerebral palsy have thigh or lower leg bones that are misaligned. This can make walking difficult and sometimes painful. Realigning the bones can help.” Until the rotractor was invented, orthopaedic surgeons had to realign the bones by eye. There was no tool to determine how far the bones were being rotated. The rotractor validates the surgeon’s assessment and improves the accuracy and outcomes for patients.

Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville is proud Steve Lorch was named GSA Business’ Nurse Healthcare Hero because of his work as a nurse and inventor at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville, and also his commitment to help bring clean water to villages around the world.

Watch Steve receive his award!

Many families will spend lots of time at the lake or beach this summer. But, if your water plans include using a personal watercraft (PWC), such as a jet ski, there are a few things you should know. While they can provide hours of thrilling fun, PWCs are definitely not toys. Each year, Shriners Hospitals for Children^® treats kids who were seriously injured in PWC accidents. Before a driver takes off at a high speed across the water, remember children can easily lose their grip and slip off the back of the watercraft. However, passengers should never ride in front of the PWC driver. Here are a few tips to make sure you are having safe fun in the sun:

• The operator and every passenger must wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket.
• Always attach the engine cutoff lanyard to your wrist to make sure your PWC stops if you fall off.
• Scan the waterway constantly for people, objects, and other watercrafts.
• Know the boating laws for your state, including speed limits.

SC Governor Nikki Haley with Pam Reynolds and her twin sister Sue

Shriners Hospitals for Children – Greenville is proud to announce patient and volunteer Pamela Reynolds was recently honored by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. In a ceremony at the Statehouse, twelve-year-old Pamela was presented with the 2012 Annual South Carolina Governor’s Volunteer Award in the Youth Individual Volunteer category.

Pamela has volunteered at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville for more than four years. When she was just 10 months old she contracted a form of meningitis called Meningococcemia. Meningococcemia is a potentially life-threatening infection where the blood clots, backs up, and eventually cuts off circulation. In order for her to make a full recovery, nine of Pam’s fingers and both of her legs had to be amputated.

Pam began coming to Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville when she was two years old. Since that time, Pam has come to the hospital every 8 to 10 months for a new pair of legs. So far, the hospital has custom made her 13 new pairs of legs.

Knowing she wanted to give back to the hospital and help other kids going through difficulties, Pam joined the hospital’s Patient Ambassador Program. As a patient ambassador, she has joined hospital staff at events, spoke on behalf of the hospital, represented the hospital in the media, mentored patients, and modeled for portraits to be used in brochures and posters. Her dedication to the hospital was especially seen following her most recent surgery. Pam had complications from the surgery, but she did not let those complications stop her from her Patient Ambassador duties. She appeared at several events on behalf of the hospital during this time including a National Shriners Convention and even a walk-a-thon. Unable to walk on her prosthetic legs, Pam attended in a wheelchair.

Even though Pam lives more than five hours away from Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville, she is always willing to help and is ready to make appearances at a moment’s notice. Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville is proud Pam received a Governor’s Award for her dedication and commitment to volunteering at the hospital.

This is the second year in a row a Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville patient has received this honor. Last year, sixteen-year-old Brooklynn Myers received the award from Governor Nikki Haley.

April is Occupational Therapy month. Occupational Therapy is a medical profession that provides care for all ages and all conditions. At Shriners Hospitals for Children^® — Greenville, the Occupational Therapy department provides comprehensive evaluations of upper extremity and hand function. These evaluations may include video studies or other developmental assessments of visual-motor and developmental function.

Occupational therapy evaluates the child’s ability to do self-care in activities of daily living including feeding, dressing, hygiene, toileting, and bathing. Once the evaluation is complete, a plan of care is established with the medical team. Interventions may include rehabilitation after a specific surgery, with treatment based on the doctor’s protocol and the child’s needs. The occupational therapist may also provide custom hand splints and documentation for new wheelchairs or other equipment to assist in mobility and care.

Staying on the cutting edge of medicine, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville’s occupational therapy department is well known for developing an evaluation tool known as the Shriners Hospital Upper Extremity Evaluation or SHUEE. SHUEE is a video based evaluation tool that is now recognized and used by occupational therapists throughout the world. To learn more about SHUEE, click here: http://www.greenvilleshrinershospital.org/?p=747

The Occupational Therapy staff at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Greenville provides out-patient occupational therapy on a regular basis for children who need training and exercises based on the treatment plan of care.