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Dedicated, Caring Providers Highlights

Dedicated, Caring Providers — from a calming voice and a caring touch, to outstanding volunteerism and community outreach, Backus Hospital is comprised of a team of compassionate providers who are dedicated to the people they serve.

Highlights 2006

Desiree Diaz, RN, and her son, Emanuel, thank the Backus care team that provided compassionate care following a serious car crash.

Backus Hospital has a reputation for a team of dedicated, compassionate healthcare providers.The letters from grateful patients tell us so.

What the letters don't generally indicate is how often staff can be found outside the walls of the hospital, in the communities they live in, providing healthcare,support and education for those who need it.

Here is a sampling from the past year:

Norwich students learn about healthy lunch choices with Wendy Kane, a Registered Dietitian at Backus.

• Hundreds of Backus employees, friends and family participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, the Rocky Neck Heart Walk, the Diabetes Walk and many other good causes.
• The Endocrinology,Diabetes and Metabolism Center, hospital dietitians and others offered several healthy cooking classes in the Backus Outpatient Care Center's Community Kitchen, focusing on eliminating salt from the diet, healthy eating and cooking foods that can help ward off cancer.
• With grant money from the Norwich Rotary Club,Backus launched a "Healthy Kids,Healthy Minds"program in which Backus dietitians, in conjunction with UConn dietetic students,educate students, teachers and parents about the importance of healthy food choices.
• The Be Aware Program,which focused on educating high school students about the dangers of drinking and driving, celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
• Hundreds of people flocked to the hospital's annual Safety Camp, in which fun and learning are combined to promote summer safety.
• The hospital's Center for Healthcare Integration (CHI) continues to offer massage,pet therapy and other complementary therapies to Backus patients and the community. Acupuncture and reflexology were added in the past year.
• The hospital's car seat clinic, conducted monthly in conjunction with several other local partners, celebrated its one-year anniversary.
• Remembrance Day is held in conjunction with the hospital's support group for parents who have lost children during pregnancy or early infancy.
• To deal with the changing demographics in the region, the Nursing and Community Education Department conducted a "Caring for People of Different Cultures" series.
• The Mobile Health Resource Center van, which is available because of the contributions of philanthropist Harold Ross, continued its outreach efforts by offering screenings in shopping center parking lots, healthcare services at the soup kitchen, blood pressure screenings at health fairs and many other community events.