Al Stubblefield
President & CEO
Baptist Health Care

I’ve worked at Baptist Health Care for 25 years and it amazes me when I reflect on our history. More than 62 years ago, community leaders stood on a vacant property in North Hill and planned to build a hospital for Pensacola area residents. Baptist Hospital sits on that property today.

Growth on both Baptist and Gulf Breeze hospital campuses will help our community in more ways than just health care. These projects will provide numerous jobs for people in our community during a time when jobs are difficult to come by. We’ve also hired local contractors to lead the charge. Construction updates will encourage safer neighborhoods and create a sense of pride for those living nearby.

When we talk about "meeting a growing demand of people who need health care" not only does that mean to expand access to more services. That also means that we must learn, grow and stay ahead of the curve in providing quality, innovative care to everyone in our service area.

This construction project is bigger than new paint and furniture. Our Baptist family is giving something back to our community that we can be proud of.

Gary Bembry
Senior Vice President, BHC President, Lakeview Center Inc.

Gulf Coast Enterprises’ food services contract in Tacoma, Washington, is making significant progress toward its September 1 start-up date, which is just a little more than six weeks away.

The joint contract with Fort Lewis Army Base and McChord Air Force Base is among the largest in GCE’s history. At least 300 people are expected to be hired; many of them will have a disability.

In June, a targeted employment specialist was hired to network with agencies working with people with disabilities in the Tacoma, Washington, area, where the bases are located. In early July, job offers were made to about 75 persons; background checks and other screening processes are under way for this group. Next week Lakeview Center human resources personnel will return to Tacoma for another session where applicants will be interviewed and job offers will be made.

Mark Faulkner
Senior Vice President, BHC President,
Baptist Hospital Inc.

Safety is an issue affecting hospitals across the nation. A recent article published in USA Today reported that "more and more violent crimes are occurring in America’s hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities." The article went on to share a number of contributing factors to include: failing to follow policies and procedures, flawed observation and communication breakdowns.

Our culture is centered on comforting patients and visitors. I commend you for the compassion and calm you show. But I also encourage you to pay close attention to campus surroundings, unfamiliar people, conversations and behavior.

I invite you to attend forums to learn more about additional steps we’ve recently taken to increase campus security. In the meanwhile, please practice the following key rules of safety.

• Never prop open doors.
• When you leave a building after visiting hours do not hold open the door for others to enter. Kindly redirect them to the emergency department entrance to sign in.
• Call the security department and report suspicious activity such as visitors "hanging around."
• Immediately alert security if you discover an unlocked exit door after 9 p.m.

Let’s keep our Baptist family and those in our care safe. For all safety concerns call the security department at extension 4717. They are available 24 hours a day.

Kent Skolrood
Senior Vice President, BHC
President,
Baptist Medical Group

Baptist Medical Group is pleased to welcome Tom Patton, M.D., M.P.H., to our team of oncologists. Dr. Patton is a caring, compassionate physician specializing in gynecology oncology, a field of medicine that focuses on cancers of the female reproductive system.

In the United States 82,000 women are diagnosed with gynecologic cancer each year, making it the fourth most common type of cancer in women. It was important that Baptist Medical Group bring someone with outstanding expertise in that field, like Dr. Patton, to our community.

Dr. Patton is one of only two gynecologic oncologists now in our area, and the only one at Baptist Health Care.

Dr. Patton will begin treating patients in the Baptist Medical Towers on July 21. He will be working alongside medical oncologists Drs. German Herrera and David Mann and radiation oncologist Dr. Henry Amos. To learn more about Dr. Patton, I encourage you to visit BaptistMedicalGroup.org.

Sherry Hartnett
Chief Marketing & Development Officer
Baptist Health Care

The Gulf Coast oil spill is very personal to the residents of our community. Livelihoods have been disrupted and people are unsure about the safety of our environment. As the community’s health care system, Baptist Health Care feels a sense of ownership for the well-being of those who may be experiencing distress.

Lakeview Center is partnering with local organizations to reach out to our community. Marketing is working to coordinate radio, broadcast and print messages to help answer questions and direct people to resources that can help them cope with the mental health effects of this disaster. A HelpLine also is available at 850.438.1617 for health-related information and referrals in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

Marketing has published resources on the BHC Web site that provide information about hazardous substances, public health issues and general information. Located at www.eBaptistHealthCare.org/OilSpill/ the site includes links to the Florida Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Santa Rosa County Citizen Service Center.

We want the community to know that we are there for them as their neighbor and locally owned community health care system.

Bill Perkins
Vice President, BHC
Administrator, Atmore Community Hospital

We are now offering a new procedure at Atmore Community Hospital for people with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). G. Travis Paul, M.D., general surgeon, is one of the few specialists in our area trained and certified to perform transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF).

In addition to freeing patients from long-term dependency on reflux medications that can harm bone density and increase risk of esophageal cancer, benefits of this a minimally invasive surgical procedure include shorter hospital stays and recover time, less discomfort and no visible scars.

Dave Rappa
Vice President, BHC Administrator, Baptist Manor

Baptist Manor recently completed renovations of the skilled rehabilitation area. Now another exciting change is under way. We have renamed the unit the Andrews Institute Rehabilitation at The Manor to better reflect our role in the continuum of services offered by Baptist Health Care.

This section of our facility is a designated skilled rehabilitation center where patients spend an average of two weeks in our care. The 50-bed capacity unit primarily is focused on orthopaedic and neurological rehabilitation, but continues to be accessible to all patients requiring rehab for conditions related to cardiac, pulmonary and post-surgery.

As in the past, Baptist Manor continues care for long term care residents in the 120- bed traditional nursing home side of the facility. We encourage you to visit our facility for a tour.