PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center’s Birth Center team assisted in delivering more than 800 new babies in 2018. Local families selected a variety of names for their babies, including some old favorites and popular new choices.

For boys, the most popular name in 2018 was Jackson (also spelled Jaxon and Jaxson) which has been a top-5 popular name for several years.

1. Jackson
2. Grayson
3. Liam
4. Mason
5. Owen
6. Carter
7. Wyatt
8. Oliver
9. Lincoln
10. Bentley

The most popular girls’ name at PeaceHealth St. John in 2018 was Paislie, a name that has surged in popularity after never having appeared in the Top-10 list in prior years.

1. Paislie
2. Charlotte
3. Harper
4. Everleigh
5. Evelyn
6. Adalyn
7. Sophia
8. Scarlett
9. Willow
10. Olivia

PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center's elegant Birth Center offers 12 spacious private suites, along with the very best care from our outstanding Birth Center team. For more information contact our Birth Center staff at (360) 636-4853.

PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center is a 193-bed acute care hospital and Level III trauma center located in Longview, Washington. Recognized nationally as a Top 100 Hospital, PeaceHealth St. John provides a full range of outpatient and inpatient diagnostic, medical, and surgical services. The region’s health care leader for more than 70 years, PeaceHealth St. John is one of ten medical centers in the PeaceHealth System.

PeaceHealth Medical Group is a multi-specialty medical group comprised of general and specialty medical providers.  

PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a multi-specialty medical group practice with more than 800 physicians and providers, a comprehensive laboratory system, and nine medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of its founding Sisters and continues to serve communities when invited to do so with a spirit of collaboration and stewardship. This is The Spirit of Healing—The Spirit of PeaceHealth.

Visit us at www.peacehealth.org.

VANCOUVER, Wash. – PeaceHealth now supports Health Records on iPhone, which brings together hospitals, clinics and the existing Apple Health app to make it easy for patients to see their available medical data from multiple providers whenever they choose.

Now, patients will have medical information from all PeaceHealth facilities and other participating organizations coordinated into one view, including allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures and vitals. After setting up their account, patients receive notifications when their data is updated. Health Records data is encrypted and protected with the user’s iPhone passcode, Touch ID or Face ID.

“At PeaceHealth, we know that empowering patients to view and track their health information can help them get and stay engaged in living a healthier lifestyle,” said Will Weider, senior vice president and chief information officer.

PeaceHealth is among a growing list of healthcare organizations across the country to participate in Health Records on iPhone since it launched in January 2018. Previously, patients’ medical records were often held in multiple locations, requiring patients to log into each care provider’s website and piece together the information manually. Apple worked with the healthcare community to take a consumer-friendly approach and created Health Records based on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), a standard for transferring electronic medical records.
 
“Our PeaceHealth patients now have even easier access to their health records, which supports our heritage of fostering community health while meeting the needs of our communities,” said Weider.
 
For more information on Health Records, visit: https://www.apple.com/healthcare/health-records/.

About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 1,200 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.

Karen Santangelo

Karen Santangelo has been named PeaceHealth Columbia network’s Chief Development Officer.

Replacing Carol Van Natta who is retiring, Santangelo joins PeaceHealth after spending the past 10 years as the executive director of Providence Children’s Health Foundation. There, she served a pivotal role on the regional leadership team, raising upwards of $45 million annually, providing oversight to 10 foundations.

With nearly 25 years of fundraising experience, Karen brings with her expertise in streamlining processes and developing efficiencies across multiple foundations, creating new funding sources, aligning funding with strategic priorities and managing teams through organizational change.

“Her mix of philanthropic expertise, leadership acumen and strong history of relationship-building is what PeaceHealth was seeking,” said Sean Gregory, Chief Executive of the Columbia network that includes PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver and PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview. “Both facilities are currently undergoing major fundraising campaigns and we are confident Karen will continue the momentum of those efforts.”

“It's an honor to represent the Columbia network of PeaceHealth,” said Karen. “Through philanthropic support and under the leadership of the foundation boards, I will continue the work to enhance programs and initiatives for the many patients who seek their care at PeaceHealth Southwest and St. John Medical Centers.”

Santangelo will begin her new role on Jan. 28, 2019.

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About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a nonprofit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a multi-specialty medical group practice with more than 1,200 physicians and providers, and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.

Architect's rendering of the Heartfelt House entry

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – The Heartfelt House, an $8.4-million project, has sparked the imaginations and pulled at the heartstrings of a diverse group of donors, including individuals, corporations and community service clubs.

Entirely funded through philanthropy, the house is emblematic of the region’s tremendous generosity. So far, more than 600 donors have contributed from $10 to $1 million, raising a total of $5.8 million.

Set to open in June, the Heartfelt House will offer comfortable, affordable lodging to out-of-town families of patients at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield and University District in Eugene. The 20,208-square-foot house will be just a five-minute walk from RiverBend.

Lions Clubs International and local Lions Clubs have raised $220,000 for the Heartfelt House. Lion Ed Gear has witnessed that generosity first-hand as he has talked about the Heartfelt House at clubs throughout the Willamette Valley, coastal and southern Oregon. 

“I have not had to work hard to get that kind of donation,” Gear said. “They just immediately started contributing and very much wanted to be a part of it.”

The cause resonates with people, Gear said, adding that many Lions either know people who have stayed at a patient guest house somewhere in the country, or they’ve used one themselves.

A guest house lessens the financial burden of being away from home, but even more important, it can help ease the anxiety when a loved one needs hospital care.

So much can’t be controlled when a family member is in the hospital, Gear said. “This part is in our control,” he said. “We can help provide a warm bed, a kitchen and a place to let down.”

The project is especially close to Gear’s heart because of his role in bringing the Patterson Street patient guest house to Eugene. As a Lions Clubs International director in the late 1990s, Gear toured a guest house the Lions had helped establish in Christchurch, New Zealand. He and other club members saw the need for one in the southern Willamette Valley. They raised $280,000 to help launch the Children’s Miracle Network/Lions Patient Family Guest House on Patterson Street near the University District campus.

More than 20 area Lions Clubs have contributed to the Heartfelt House, including those in Eugene, Springfield, Alvadore, Junction City, Cottage Grove, Elkton, Sutherlin, Florence, Yachats, Mapleton, Coos Bay, Jefferson, Monmouth-Independence, West Salem, Brownsville, Halsey and Albany.

Many other groups and individuals also are generously supporting the Heartfelt House. One example is Oregon Community Credit Union (OCCU), which created a foundation earlier this year to deepen its involvement in community service. The foundation’s inaugural gift was $500,000 to support the pediatric wing of the Heartfelt House.

“We have a longstanding relationship and are a longtime supporter of Children’s Miracle Network and believe that investing in the health and well-being of the youngest in our community is a good way to support the strength of the entire region,” OCCU President and CEO Ron Neumann said.

The 20-room guest house will have a 10-room pediatric wing and an a 10-room adult wing. It will be a collaboration between PeaceHealth, which will own the land and building, and Ronald McDonald House Charities, which will oversee day-to-day operations. Guests will pay from nothing to a modest fee, depending on their circumstances. But no one will be turned away because of inability to pay.

“It’s our hope that the Heartfelt House will provide a place where families in our region can be loved and receive the support that they desperately need during their most challenging times,” Neumann said.

There are still opportunities to give to the Heartfelt House, which anticipates serving up to 1,500 families a year. More information about the project and how to donate is available here. 

About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 900 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.

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PeaceHealth, a nonprofit Catholic healthcare organization, and the ACLU of Washington have settled a lawsuit involving coverage of transgender healthcare services under PeaceHealth’s employee medical plan.

Enstad v. PeaceHealth was filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington in October 2017. In 2016, prior to the filing of the Enstad lawsuit, PeaceHealth began the process of updating its employee medical plan. Effective January 1, 2017, PeaceHealth’s employee medical plan was changed to cover medically necessary transgender surgery as determined under Aetna’s Gender Reassignment Surgery policy, a nationally-recognized guideline.

PeaceHealth is committed to an inclusive healthcare environment for all and does not discriminate based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. Throughout our 127-year heritage, we have been dedicated to embracing and celebrating the diversity of our communities, our caregivers and the individuals we are privileged to serve.