Category Archives: Women's Health

500 women will be helped by donations to Borgess Tree of Love

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Posted by admin on November 19, 2010 – 7:15 pm
Filed under Borgess Foundation, Borgess Health, Events, Women's Health

More than 500 low-income women without health insurance will receive free mammograms at Borgess as a result of a special campaign at Borgess Health. The 25th Borgess Tree of Love campaign has set an ambitious goal to raise more than $40,000 to provide the needed mammograms.

The annual campaign is sponsored by Borgess Volunteers and the Borgess Foundation, a not-for-profit organization created to accept gifts on behalf of Borgess Health programs.

Since it was started in 1985, the Borgess Tree of Love campaign has helped countless women at Borgess receive mammograms and biopsies to identify breast cancer.

This campaign also provides an opportunity for donors to sponsor lights on the holiday trees which make wonderful tributes for employees, colleagues, family and friends. The names of donors and those receiving this special tribute will be listed in honor rolls near the trees, and honorees receive an acknowledgement card in the mail.

People can make tax-deductible donations on-line at treeoflove.borgess.com. Donor forms are also available for those who wish to contribute by mail by contacting the Borgess Foundation at (269) 226.8100.

Every $5 donation helps a woman receive a mammogram at Borgess Medical Center while allowing the donor to honor or remember someone special. Every $50 donation sponsors a mammogram for a woman and allows the donor to honor or remember up to 10 people.

Borgess Health’s annual Borgess Tree of Love campaign is marking its 25th year by expanding to three locations for Tree Lighting ceremonies.

* 6 p.m. December 3 at Borgess-Pipp Hospital, 411 Naomi St., Plainwell
* 6:30 p.m. December 7 in the Atrium, Borgess Medical Center, 1521 Gull Road, Kalamazoo
* 1 p.m. December 8 in the Rotunda, Borgess at Woodbridge Hills, 7901 Angling Road, Portage

Breast cancer affects many members of our community. In the United States, one in eight women, during their lifetime, will develop breast cancer. Every 69 seconds a woman dies of breast cancer and every hour 23 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women and affects approximately one million women worldwide.

It is estimated that one in every five women does not have insurance that covers breast cancer detection services such as mammography. A number of studies have shown that mammograms can reduce a woman’s risk of dying of breast cancer.
 
For additional information on the Borgess Tree of Love campaign, call (269) 226.8100.

Borgess Foundation receives March of Dimes Grant to support Borgess Women’s Health CenteringPregnancy® Program

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Posted by admin on May 18, 2010 – 1:31 pm
Filed under Achievements, Borgess Foundation, Borgess Health, Innovation, Women's Health

The March of Dimes Michigan Chapter has awarded the Borgess Foundation a $25,000 Chapter Community Grant for use in supporting the Borgess Women’s Health CenteringPregnancy® program.

“We are honored to receive the support of the March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health,” said Megan Deibel, CNM, Borgess Women’s Health. “The focus of the CenteringPregnancy program is threefold: assessment, education and support. Each woman learns to effectively monitor her well-being and the well-being of her baby. Participants take ownership of their experience during their prenatal care, which helps build confidence in parenting.”

Only 10 projects, including the CenteringPregnancy program at Borgess Women’s Health, received funding via the March of Dimes Michigan Chapter Community Grant. With the award, Borgess Women’s Health hopes to achieve the following objectives/outcomes by the end of 2010:

  • Receive official site approval for the CenteringPregnancy program by the Centering Healthcare Institute
  • Realize a prematurity rate of less than or equal to 10 percent (for program participants)
  • Help 86 percent of program participants initiate breastfeeding and 50 percent of program participants continue breastfeeding through their six-week postpartum follow-up visit

 In a group setting, the CenteringPregnancy program gives those expecting added time, attention and guidance. Along with receiving prenatal checkups and care in groups, women also spend additional time with their health care provider and other expecting mothers, giving them greater opportunity to learn more about pregnancy, childbirth and parenting.

“A key benefit of this program is that women form relationships with other expectant moms,” Deibel said. “Research has shown that CenteringPregnancy decreases preterm birth and low-birth weight babies, because participants empower themselves to make better health decisions.”

For more on the CenteringPregnancy program or the complete gynecologic and obstetric care available at Borgess Women’s Health, visit women.borgess.com.