Reaching Out To Our Community

As part of our mission, we are committed to providing the services our community needs. That's not just for when they come to the hospital, it's a year round commitment that makes us a part of their everyday lives. Here are just a few of the ways we like to give back to our community:

• Annual United Way campaign, giving employees the opportunity to make contributions and support affiliated programs
• Time off with pay for our employees to fulfill their civic obligation through Jury Duty
• Diabetic support group
• "Love Your Heart" cardiac exercise classes offered free to the community
• Senior Friends club and activities
• Women's Health and Prenatal Classes
• Participation in the BeANurse@HCA career program designed to educate and encourage young people to pursue a career in healthcare

Upcoming Community Programs

Alleghany Regional will be holding two free community programs over the next few weeks. On Wednesday, March 18, Dr. Paul LaBrie will present a program on the prevention of colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women in the U.S. The program will be followed by a question-and-answer session about the signs, symptoms and prevention of colorectal cancer

On Wednesday, April 1, Dr. Ziyad Al-Ola and Dr. Dina Dabaj will present a similar program and question-and-answer session on the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.

Both programs will be held at the Alleghany Highlands YMCA and will begin at 11:30 a.m. Both are also free and open to the public; to ensure adequate seating, please reserve your seat by calling 877-2HCA-DOCS (877-242-2362).

Go Red with ARH

The American Heart Association's annual "Go Red for Women Day" is Friday, February 6, this year; so ARH is teaming up with the Alleghany Highlands YMCA, CVS Pharmacy and the Alleghany Highlands Red Hat Belles to offer the entire community free blood pressure checks and information on preventing heart disease.

Everyone's invited to stop by the YMCA between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. On the hour at 9, noon and 6, cardiac rehab nurse Sandy Kemper will be presenting a special program entitled "Women and Heart Disease".

Helping the Environment

In November, ARH diverted 637 pounds of plastics from Virginia landfills, saving over $700 in the process. By participating in the reusable sharps container program, which thoroughly sterilizes sharps containers and redistributes them among participating hospitals in the state, ARH alone has kept over 27,000 pounds of plastic out of landfills.

Christmas Bake Sale and Basket Raffle

With tremendous outpouring of interest and support coming from all departments of the hospital, this year's bake sale raised over $3,000! The money will be split even between the Covington and Clifton Forge Food Pantries, with each one receiving a total of $1,556.11.

ARH Employees Helping the Environment — and Each Other!"

Facing escalating gas prices, ARH employees are being urged by the Employee Advisory Group to start carpooling. Not only does carpooling help lighten the burden of fuel costs, especially for those who make the trek to work from across the border in West Virginia, but it also helps the environment by reducing the amount of exhaust that is let into the atmosphere in the beautiful mountainous region surrounding the hospital.

ARH Helps Give Free Physicals to Area HS Athletes

Throughout the month of June, healthcare providers from ARH joined forces with other community members to provide free physicals to student athletes at both Alleghany High School and Covington High School, including the entire AHS football team. Together, they provided over 175 physicals free of charge. Those ARH employees who participated were happy to offer their time and expertise to help the community's youth reap the positive benefits of participating in sports activities.

BINGO Raises Money for ACS

ARH recently held a BINGO event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Thanks to everyone who participated, ARH was able to raise more than $800 to support their Relay for Life Team and the ACS. Barbara Gum, Barbara Wolfe and Joan Sizemore coordinated the event.

Program on Women's Health

Pam Crance, FNP, offered a talk on May 14 entitled "Women's Nutrition and Bone Health". The informative program, held at the Alleghany Highlands YMCA, was free and open to the public. Keep your eye here for more free programs in the future!

Sustaining the "Go Green" Initiative

In a further effort as part of their "Go Green" Initiative, the ARH Employee Advisory Group has placed recycling bins for used aluminum cans in the cafeteria, conference room B, the emergency room and the main lobby. These are in addition to the newspaper and magazine recycling program that began recently.

Free Advance Directive Help and Info

On April 16, 2008, ARH will be participating in National Healthcare Decisions Day, which is a time for healthcare professionals to stress the importance of communicating and documenting your healthcare decisions for the future.

The hospital will be offering free advance directive forms and information about living wills. Representatives will be on hand in the hospital's main lobby from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. to answer any questions you may have and to assist with completing the forms. The advanced directive forms will be available to residents of both Virginia and West Virginia.

Please take advantage of this opportunity to document and express your wishes now so that, in the event you cannot express them later, healthcare providers will know and honor your wishes.

Going Green for Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, the ARH Employee Advisory Group is sponsoring the planting of a flower garden outside the cafeteria. Also, a new recycling effort has begun; Jackson River Enterprises will be collecting and recycling newspapers and magazines from the hospital's loading dock.