Subject: April Newsletter: Spring is Here!

Celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week: April 17-23

Annual Garden of Life Planned for May in Hospital Grand Avenue Park

Community members are invited to join the annual Garden of Life planting in Spencer Hospital's Grand Avenue Park. Each donation for the Garden of Life campaign that is given to the Spencer Regional Healthcare Foundation in memory of a loved one or in honor of a special caregiver will be represented by a blooming plant.

Garden of Life

April is National Donate Life Month

Donate Life is the national symbol for the cause of organ, eye, and tissue donation. National Donate Life Month is celebrated every April - a time to provide education and encourage Americans to register as donors and consider living donations. This is also a time to celebrate those who have saved and healed lives through the gift of donation.

Did you know?

More than 100,000 people are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants.
More than 41,000 organ transplants from 20,300 donors brought new life to patients and their families in 2021.
More than 85,600 corneal transplants help restore sight each year.
More than 2.5 million tissue transplants heal lives each year.
More than 170 million people are registered organ, eye, and tissue donors.
One deceased donation - organ saves up to 8 lives, eyes restore sight to 2 people, and the tissue heals the lives of more than 75 people.

To learn more and register to be a donor, visit: DonateLife.net or RegisterMe.org

Donate Life

You Said "NO", now say "Yes" to Professional Support

SANE: Nurses Specifically Trained to Help Survivors of Sexual Assault

You said “No.” Yet, the sexual assault happened anyway. Although you may feel alone at the moment, you’re not. Clay County has an active SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) consisting of caring professionals ready to help and provide support.

The Clay County SART team consists of the experts in the fields of medical care, law enforcement, prosecution, and community support services through CAASA (Centers Against Abuse and Sexual Assault). All services are confidential and provided at no cost.

Spencer Hospital certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Jessica Dirks, shares insight about assisting survivors of sexual assault in her latest blog below.

Professional Support for Sexual Assault

Become a SHIIP Volunteer; Provide Counseling & Education Services for Medicare Beneficiaries

Want to make a difference? Become a SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) volunteer for our region! Trained SHIIP volunteers across Iowa assist thousands of Iowans each year to understand their Medicare options and fight Medicare fraud through FREE individual counseling sessions, community education, special projects and making connections in their communities. The State of Iowa Insurance Division is looking for counselors to help with these sessions in Clay County.

More information about volunteering and how to sign up is on the Iowa Insurance Division's website below. Or, drop an email with questions to marketing@spencerhospital.org - we can connect you with a local counselor to help answer your questions!

Become a SHIIP Volunteer

The Most Common Cause of De Quervain's Tenosynovitis

Have you ever wondered, what did I do to my thumb/wrist last night in my sleep? You woke up this morning and now you can’t open a jar, open a door, can’t lift your child, can’t wash your hair, can’t pick up or hold your cell phone, and many more routine tasks because now your thumb and wrist hurt.

You might be suffering from an overuse of two tendons in your thumb that cross into the wrist. Those tendons go through a tunnel and with repetitive motion, the tunnel becomes inflamed, which makes the opening smaller for the two tendons to slide through and results in swelling and pain.

Continue reading from Karin Hogge, Spencer Hospital Occupational Therapist, in her latest blog about de Quervain's Tenosynovitis.

De Quervain's Tenosynovitis