www.mercycare.org SUMMER 2015 BREATH OF NEW LIFE SPROUTING LOCAL SUPPORT Farm-fresh fares well with patients, p.17 GOOD DOG, SISSY A little schnauzer’s big journey to Mercy, p.4 Y ERC T M OGIS NOL G LMO AVIN PU IFE-S ES L NS, MAK CTIO NNE CO .10 FAST ACTIONS p FOUGHT RARE INFECTIONS, P. 14 Proud Partner in the KEEP IN to uch® The Mercy Touch magazine features insightful and practical medical information, The Mercy Touch ® warm human interest stories, medical magazine is published as a triumphs, medical breakthroughs and new community service for the technologies at Mercy Medical Center. friends and patrons of Mercy Medical Center, 701 10th St. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 2 A HEALTHIER TOMORROW (319) 398-6011. THROUGH INNOVATIONS TODAY Mercy Medical Center provides healthcare services 4-7 SISSY THE SCHNAUZER FINDS 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of race, creed, “MOM” AT MERCY sex, national origin, disability, age or ability to pay. 8-9 MEET MERCY’S NEW PROVIDERS Tim Charles President and CEO 10-13 PULMONOLOGY PATIENT’S Kelli Sanders Managing Editor Lead Writer NEW LEASE ON LIFE Kelly DeGroot Art Direction/Design 14-16 THE MERCY TOUCH SEES FAMILY Sherry Crawford THROUGH RARE ILLNESS Karen Vander Sanden Contributing Writers 17-18 FRESH FARE GROWS Mike Schlotterback Photography COMMUNITY SUPPORT The information contained in this magazine is not intended to constitute 19 TRAVEL VACCINES A MUST individual medical advice. It is given for general informational purposes only. 20-22 MERCYCARE TELEHEALTH THE You should consult your healthcare provider to NEW TREND IN HEALTHCARE determine the applicability of such information to your situation. 23 EFY FUND HELPS YOUNG MOM 24 CELEBRATING THE SISTERS Copyright © 2015 Mercy Medical Center Find out how you can get involved. Visit mercycare.org /services/family-caregivers-center 2 SUMMER 2015 www.mercycare.org THE MERCY touch 3 MERCY When Sissy the schnauzer walked through the automatic doors of Mercy’s 10th Street Entrance in the early morning hours of February 7, she turned out to be a bit of a secret shopper, hopeful about finding good customer service and a way to carry out her presumed mission. Perhaps what she discovered was that The Mercy the 10th Street lobby, where Samantha was quickly able to Touch ® extends even to a dog and her family. intercept her. Sissy was wearing identification tags and As security camera images revealed, Sissy — tail Samantha called the inscribed phone number, connecting with wagging and with her nose to the ground — trotted into Sissy’s frantic “dad,” who had been worrying about his Mercy that day seeming curious about what lay beyond the beloved pet for more than four hours. At that moment, Dale front door and, perhaps more important, looking to find made the connection: He told Samantha he was sure Sissy owner Nancy Franck, who was hospitalized after cancer had traveled to Mercy in search of her “mom,” Nancy! surgery. The Reunion It seems Sissy did experience The Mercy Touch (albeit Samantha knew just what she needed to do for Sissy from a dog’s perspective)that day, which is a good thing and her family. given the amount of time and effort she expended getting “I’m a dog lover myself, and just hearing what the there. patient was going through and what the dog went through to Sissy’s Adventure get there, I just really wanted to get them together to see Sissy disappeared from her southeast Cedar Rapids each other,” she says. home when Nancy’s husband, Dale, let the couple’s two When the Franck’s daughter, Sarah Wood, arrived at miniature schnauzers outside for a bathroom break. Sissy Mercy to retrieve the dog a short time later, Samantha had didn’t come back in the house. Instead, she ventured away already begun making arrangements for Sissy to complete her and apparently made a determined 20-block trek to Mercy mission and visit Nancy, who was in a patient room on the Medical Center. fourth floor. Mercy Security Guard Samantha Conrad was on duty in Samantha contacted Mercy’s House Supervisor and also the Security office when she looked up and saw Sissy on the spoke with the Nurse Supervisor working on Nancy’s floor. hospital’s surveillance cameras. The dog had wandered into They all agreed: Sissy needed to visit Nancy. When daughter SISSY THE SCHNAUZER, PICTURED HERE WITH HER “MOM” NANCY, WON HEARTS ALL OVER THE WORLD AFTER SHE SNIFFED OUT HER OWNER AT MERCY MEDICAL CENTER – 20 BLOCKS FROM THE FAMILY’S HOME. 4 SUMMER 2015 www.mercycare.org THE MERCY touch 5 Watch Sissy in the national spotlight and see Mercy’s surveillance footage at youtube.com/ MercyMedicalCenterCR Sarah showed up in her mom’s room with an excited and wiggly Sissy in her arms, Nancy suspected Sarah had smuggled the dog in. “My mom said, ’Did you sneak her in here?’ And I said, ‘No, she snuck herself in!’” Sarah says. Nancy was thrilled to see Sissy, who describes her two dogs as her “kids,” now that her own children are grown and away from home. Media Sensation Given the combination of time and distance traveled, Sissy’s apparent mission to visit her ailing “mom” and the images of the dog on Mercy security cameras, the story quickly became a media sensation, capturing the attention — and affection — of people around the world. Sissy’s story aired on news and entertainment programs across the country and beyond. Plus, Mercy’s social media postings and those of the media that picked up the story all went viral. Mercy’s video of the security footage had more than 13,000 views on YouTube from 104 different countries in just the first five days of posting! Fond Memories Sadly, five weeks after Nancy was released from the hospital, her husband passed away unexpectedly. The family mourns Dale’s passing, but says they’re glad he was able to be part of Sissy’s great adventure and the happiness the story brought to so many people. “He really enjoyed it,” Nancy says. “He got the chance MERCY SECURITY GUARD SAMANTHA CONRAD WENT THE EXTRA MILE TO UNITE SISSY WITH NANCY. to talk to people all over the world about it, including a television station from Japan. I know he enjoyed all the coverage and he was very proud of her (Sissy).” Nancy is also grateful to Samantha for going above and “I just really wanted to get beyond the typical duties of a security guard by creating the opportunity for the joyful bedside visit with Sissy, and a long- them together to see each other.” lasting memory. Samantha Conrad, Mercy Security Guard “I was glad she went the extra mile and got the approval for me to see Sissy,” Nancy says. “That’s obviously what Sissy wanted. She was crazy excited to see me and it really boosted my spirits.” 6 SUMMER 2015 www.mercycare.org THE MERCY touch 7 MAKE MERCY YOUR Your MercyCare physician knows your health history. When serious illness strikes, your provider can seamlessly coordinate your care with Mercy’s network of specialists – to get you better, fast. Meet our new MercyCare providers and Mercy specialists, each with individual medical interests as unique as your health needs and ready to help you build your medical home at Mercy. MEDI CAL H MJACQUELYNE ZILLMAN, PA-C, DR. KUMAR, DR. CETINDAG, DR. REYES, DR. TAEGER, DR. PENTICO, FAMILY MEDICINE FAMILY MEDICINE FAMILY MEDICINE FAMILY MEDICINE PULMONOLOGY GENERAL SURGERY Pascuala Reyes, DO, has been practicing medicine MercyCare North Liberty – Family Practice Todd Pentico, MD, has been practicing medicine Jacquelyn Zillman, PA-C, has been practicing Abhishek Kumar, MD, MPH, winner of the 2012 Bulent Cetindag, MD, has joined the experts at for 18 years. She obtained her Doctor of Osteopathic welcomed Vince Taeger, MD, to the staff in February for nearly 15 years. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine family medicine since 2010 and joined Dr. Pentico and ACP New York Chapter Tri-state Young Physicians’ Mercy General Surgery Clinic. Dr. Cetindag received his Medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic 2015. Dr. Taeger received his Doctor of Medicine from from the University of Iowa and completed his family staff at MercyCare Mount Vernon in June 2015. Award, joined the Mercy Pulmonology Clinic this Doctor of Medicine from Ege University School of Medicine and completed her residency in family the University of Iowa and completed his residency in medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Jacquelyn earned her Master of Physician Assistant summer. Dr. Kumar studied medicine at Bangalore Medicine in Izmir, Turkey. He completed his general medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. family medicine there as well, nearly 15 years ago. Pentico arrived at MercyCare Mount Vernon in March Studies degree from Des Moines University. As a Medical College and Research Institute in Bangalore, surgery residency at Southern Illinois University School In the fall of 2014, she joined the staff at MercyCare He’s interested in the full spectrum of family care, 2015, bringing along his interests in obstetrics, certified physician assistant, she prescribes medications Karnataka, India. He has a Master of Public Health from of Medicine and a fellowship in surgical critical care East Post Road. Dr. Reyes specializes in family medicine including pediatrics, geriatrics and sports medicine. dermatology, internal and sports medicines, and in addition to performing physical exams and minor Harvard University. He completed his residency at from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Division of and emergency care. She’s also bilingual – Dr.