Blue Mountain Health System

Health Images

Health Images is Blue Mountain Health System's weekly television program, which airs on Blue Ridge Communications. Current health care issues are discussed by health professionals affiliated with the hospital. On occasion, guest speakers are invited to discuss health-related topics of regional and/or national interest.

For more information, contact Lisa Johnson, director of public relations and marketing at (610) 377-7148 or email at pr@blmtn.org.

Scheduled Showing Times:

• Tuesday - 8 am
• Wednesday - 4:30 pm
• Thursday - 8 am and 8 pm
• Friday - 7:30 pm
• Saturday - 9 am

Staff Development — Blue Mountain Health System is an American Heart Association Training Center which provides traininbg for all levels CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to the organization and the community, as well as Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). BMHS is also a provider of continuing nursing education, approved by the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Other types of courses are offered and may be open to the public. For more information, call 610-377-7184.

Nutritional Services — Blue Mountain Health System offers individualized outpatient nutrition counseling. Nutrition evaluations, diet instruction and plans for weight loss or lowering cholesterol are among the many services offered. A team of registered dietitians provides nutrition assessment and consultations for inpatients with special nutrition needs.

Pastoral Care Visitors — Blue Mountain Health System offers pastoral care visitors who are community volunteers from various local churches who visit newly admitted patients between 4 and 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, weekly. They wear a blue jacket and badge for identification and are specially trained for their work. They will ask if you want your clergy notified of your hospitalization and if you would like one of the volunteer chaplains from the hospital to visit you. Volunteer chaplains are clergy from throughout the Carbon County area who volunteer to serve as the hospital's chaplain for a particular time during each month (usually one day per month). All pastoral care services take seriously the patient's personal preferences and make every attempt to involve representation of all faith traditions.

Support Groups—Support groups provide the opportunity for people to talk with others who have had similar experiences or problems and to share their knowledge. The realization that you are not alone is a great comfort, and someone who has "been there" can offer a special kind of understanding not available anywhere else. For many human problems there are no easy answers, but there is an alternative to coping alone. For this reason, Blue Mountain Health System offers several support groups for individuals experiencing various medical conditions.

• Family Caregiver Support Group
  Join Blue Mountain Health System's Family Caregiver Support Group, which meets from 7 to 9 pm on the fourth Wednesday of every month. Meetings feature a guest speaker on topics related to elder care as well as time for sharing concerns among caregivers. Free care is available for older family members so that caregivers may attend. Please call 610-826-1160 to arrange for care. The group meets at the Blue Mountain Health System Community Services Center, 217 Franklin Ave., Palmerton and is sponsored by the Adult Day Services Center.
• Better Breathers Club
  People with chronic lung diseases are welcome to join this support group which meets on the fourth Thursday of the month at 1 pm in the Community Services Center, 217 Franklin Ave., Palmerton. For more information and for this month's topic, please call 610-826-1142. The better breathers club is sponsored by the Blue Mountain Health System Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program.  
• Breast Cancer Support Group
  The breast cancer support group presents an opportunity to help yourself as well as helping others who are facing breast cancer. The meetings are held at 3:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of every month in the ground floor community room of the Gnaden Huetten campus of the Blue Mountain Health System. If you think you might be interested in attending the support group, please call Liz at 610-377-7029.
• Gastric Bypass Surgery Support Group 
  The gastric bypass surgery support group of Sacred Heart Hospital offers support to those who had or are thinking about having gastric bypass surgery. The meetings are held at 7 p.m. the third Thursday of every month in the conference room of the Blue Mountain Health System Community Services Center located at 217 Franklin Ave. in Palmerton. If you think you might be interested in attending the support group, please call (610) 776-4928.

All support groups are offered free of charge.

Volunteer Services — Volunteers from communities throughout our service area generously give their time and energy to help us better serve our patients by performing various tasks throughout the hospital, including delivering flowers, escorting patients, assisting at the information desk and running our gift shop. Volunteers also donate their time to the various areas of the hospital, such as Next Step Acute Rehabilitation, laboratory, physical therapy and at The Summit Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. Our volunteers are part of the Hospital Auxiliary. For more information about volunteer services, please call Human Resources at 610-377-7088.

The Palmerton Hospital Auxiliary
Was formed in 1912. Its purpose is "to assist the Palmerton Hospital through ways and means approved by the Governing Boards of the Auxiliary and the Hospital." Their various fund-raising activities have raised more than a million dollars over the years. The money has been used to purchase equipment for the hospital as well as support various renovation projects. In addition to the fund-raising activities, the auxiliary is also involved in a service capacity, providing many hours of support services in the hospital.

Hospital volunteers help in a variety of ways, such as:

• Delivering mail throughout the hospital
• Performing clerical tasks in various hospital departments
• Working with clients at the Adult Day Services Center
• Staffing the "Owl's Nest" gift shop and the "Nearly New" thrift shop
• Working as nursing volunteers
• Decorating the hospital at Christmas time
• Serving as officers, chairing committees and providing assistance when a special need arises in the hospital

Enthusiastic men and women comprise the organization. If you would like more information on how you can be a part of this rewarding organization, please call 610-826-1342.