Adventist Medical Center recently launched a new wound healing and hyperbaric medicine program to benefit patients with chronic wounds. The new program will be located on Portland hospital’s main campus and will feature hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hyperbaric therapy is effective in the treatment of a variety of wounds and involves patients entering a specially designed pressurized chamber where they breathe 100 percent oxygen. This leads to an increase in the amount of oxygen delivered to the tissues, which helps the body’s response to infection and promotes healing of damaged tissues. The program, which opened in December 2005, is only the second hospital-based hyperbaric oxygen program in the state of Oregon.

Walla Walla General Hospital has opened a new breast health center in an effort to provide information, support and hope to Walla Walla Valley residents dealing with breast cancer. The new center will feature education on prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment. It will also coordinate communication between primary-care physicians, surgeons and radiologists. In addition, breast health specialists will be on hand to educate and support patients and their families.

Melody Ayers, development director at Tillamook County General Hospital, recently helped secure significant funding for public safety agencies in Tillamook County. Thanks to Ayers’ work, the county was awarded a $1,122,842 grant from the Oregon State Homeland Security program. The money will benefit the county-wide emergency communications system, emergency planning, mass casualty medical response, Justice Center security enhancements, and community education response teams.

Adventist Medical Center and Walla Walla General Hospital were winners of the Premier Quality Award for the treatment of heart failure. Both facilities were given the highly distinguished, nationally recognized award, which honors excellence in quality care and operational efficiency. The Premier Award for Quality program is uniquely based on quality and efficiency indicators, making the award an important benchmark for recognizing clinical excellence in the health-care industry.

Adventist Health recently received a $500,000 grant from Aetna to provide educational assistance for ethnically diverse nursing students. The educational assistance plan will cover tuition, books and supplies over a two-year period, and recipients will commit to working at an Adventist Health hospital for a minimum of three years after graduation.

Four Adventist Health hospitals were selected to be a part of the program based on their nurse vacancy rates and their locations in communities with large minority populations. The facilities include Hanford Community Medical Center in Hanford, Calif.; Paradise Valley Hospital in National City, Calif.; San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif.; and White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif.