Use Caution When Visiting Loved Ones This Flu Season

Officials at Pinecrest Manor, our long-term care facility, are urging caution this flu season!

If you or your family members are exhibiting flu-like symptoms, please stay at home until the symptoms have passed. Those who are not exhibiting flu-like symptoms but have not received a flu shot must wear a face mask at all times while visiting someone at Pinecrest Manor. Masks are available at the Pinecrest Manor reception desk.

For more information, call Pinecrest Manor at (814) 788-8488.

The Future is Now

Construction on our new floor is complete, and we're inviting you to celebrate with us! 

Come to Elk Regional Health Center on Friday, January 11 between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. for an open house celebration, and we'll show you what the future of patient care looks like. 

See you there!

Elk Regional Urges Caution During Flu Season

Elk Regional Health Center urges local residents to use good judgment during this year’s flu season when visiting family or friends in a hospital or nursing home facility like Pinecrest Manor. 

If you or a family member is currently ill, please refrain from visiting until you feel better. By following this simple guideline, those hospitalized will have a greater chance of avoiding the transmission of your illness. The Health Center would also like to share some health care information to help you cope with the flu season.

Influenza, or the “flu,” is a contagious respiratory illness that is caused by the influenza virus. When people with the flu cough, sneeze, or talk, droplets of moisture from these actions can be inhaled and can infect people up to six feet away.

Unlike the common cold, the flu can come on abruptly.  Flu symptoms include a high fever of up to 104 degrees and extreme fatigue. An individual may also suffer from a sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, muscle aches and a cough. Some children may exhibit vomiting and diarrhea.

Most individuals who get the flu will recover in a few days to less than two weeks, but some individuals will develop complications, such as pneumonia, as a result of the flu. Pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections are three examples of complications from the flu. When complicated by pneumonia, flu is the fourth leading cause of death in patients 65 and older. In nursing homes where the elderly and chronically ill live in close quarters, fatalities can range as high as 30 percent of those infected by the virus.

Individuals in the following high-risk groups should take extra precautions during the flu season: 

• anyone 65 or older;
• residents of long-term care facilities;
• adults or children with chronic pulmonary or cardiopulmonary disorders;
• adults or children with metabolic disorders, hemoglobinopathies or renal dysfunction;
• immunosuppressed children or adults, such as premature infants and cancer patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy; and 
• children and teenagers on long-term aspirin therapy. 

Hand washing plays a very important role in prevention of the flu. Individuals should wash their hands frequently for at least twenty seconds using soap and warm water. If soap and water isn’t available you should use an alcohol based hand sanitizer.     

In the event that you catch the flu virus, it is recommended that you get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids. If the symptoms prevail, consult your family physician or get treatment at Elk Regional’s Med Express Center in Ridgway that is open from 9 am until 7 p.m., seven days a week; or Q Care that is located on the St. Marys campus in the Medical Office Building. Q Care is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  

Our goal at Elk Regional Health Center is to keep our patients safe from the flu and prevention is the key.

Elk Regional Makes Little Faces Light Up for Christmas

Christmas is coming, and the employees at Elk Regional Health Center took the opportunity to make a donation to the "Project Gifts for Elk County" toy drive! Through the hospital’s "Elk Regional Gives Back" program, employees from each department filled an entire van with new, unwrapped gifts for children of all ages. 

From left are Roni Wehler; Krista Nelson; Trooper Bruce Morris; Greg Bauer, the President and CEO of Elk Regional Health System; Bob Roberts; Colette Herzing; Kristen Johnson; Dennis Trunzo; Caroline Smith; and Stew Corl. 

Auxiliary to Hold Jewelry Sale

If you're looking for a few last-minute Christmas gifts, you won't want to miss the Auxiliary's jewelry sale on Monday! For sale will be a huge variety of jewelry, including Premier Design, Magnability, Pandora Light bracelets, Swap Watches, and much more! The sale will run from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Conference Room B at Pinecrest Manor.

Proceeds will benefit our Auxiliary, which has made a $250,000 pledge to The Elk Regional Capital Campaign in support of our building project. We'll see you there!

Start 2013 off on the right foot with "Drop 10 in 10"

2013 is quickly approaching. Let us help you start the new year off on the right foot! 

Registration is now open for Drop 10 in 10, a 10-week guided weight management and healthy lifestyle program designed to help participants lose 10 percent of their body weight, or 10 pounds, in 10 weeks.

The first class will be Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. in the Education Center at our St. Marys campus. If you've got Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, the cost is less than $20! 

To register, call us at (814) 788-8833!