Over the years, it’s been rewarding to know I played a small part in changing people’s lives. This became a personal experience when a dear friend of mine was at Solvay Hospice House. Seeing first hand the care that my friend and her family received from the staff was such a blessing. The beauty and peace of the grounds and the facility offered solace to everyone there.

Now, with Amberwing, I can only image the difference that will be made in our community! I’ll continue to support all the awesome work that the Miller-Dwan Foundation does for our patients and our community.

Post written by Kristie Draeger, Admitting Specialist for Essentia Health

Last year, more than $94,000 was given by employees, volunteers and physicians. Their gifts make an incredible difference to patients and families every day. We are so thankful and proud of their generosity.

For more information, or to make a gift if you’re an employee, volunteer or physician, visit our Employee Campaign page, found under the “Ways to Give” tab on our website or click here.

CRISIS AT 30,000 FEET
By now many of you may have heard about the crisis that took place on board Jet Blue Flight 191 from New York to Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 27th. The co-pilot noticed the pilot acting in a confused and erratic manner and managed to lock him out of the cockpit. The pilot’s behavior became even more erratic to the point where he had to be forcibly subdued by passengers. Local police are calling it a panic attack, the FAA describes it as a medical emergency, but it is too soon to tell exactly what caused this crisis at 30,000 feet. What we do know is that preparation and training can help us manage such a crisis wherever it takes place and offer support to someone to avoid a crisis in the first place. In fact, you are more likely to come in contact with someone having an emotional crisis than someone having a heart attack or choking on a piece of food.

The reality is that panic attacks can be the result of a diagnosable and treatable mental illness, and mental illnesses are real and common, just like physical illnesses. People who experience panic attacks may display signs of intense fear and stress that may be frightening to others, but the attack itself is often a physical reaction to stress or worry they themselves are experiencing.

Recent studies by the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration show that one in five Americans will experience a mental illness in any given year, or more than 50 million of us each year. In addition, workplace stress increases the risk of developing a mental illness, and a recent CBS News poll showed that commercial airline pilots have one of the most stressful jobs of those surveyed. With 732 million passengers boarding flights just this year, and more than 377,000 employees involved in commercial aviation in the United States alone, experiencing a mental health crisis in the air is a possibility we should all be prepared for.

While we still don’t know for sure what the JetBlue pilot was experiencing, there is a way for people to take proactive steps to head off crises and deescalate crisis situations.

Mental Health First Aid is a novel public education program that teaches people to recognize and respond to people with mental health problems or in a mental health crisis. The innovative program teaches people a five-step process to assess a situation, select and implement appropriate interventions, and help a person in crisis or developing the signs and symptoms of mental illness. The program equips people to provide initial help until appropriate professional, peer, or family support can be engaged. Participants also learn about the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addiction.

The program has not only expanded people’s knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, but it has helped to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by helping people understand and accept mental illness as a medical condition.

More than 50,000 people nationwide are now certified in Mental Health First Aid – from a wide range of professionals to lay people who just want to be ready to help.

Mental Health First Aid does not teach participants to diagnose or treat mental illness, but it does teach one how to recognize some signs and symptoms of mental illness, provide comfort, and if appropriate, refer someone to services. Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable on your next flight knowing that the person in the seat next to you was trained to help if you experience a panic attack?

More about Mental Health First Aid: www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org

Interested in taking the Mental Health First Aid 12-hour certification course? It will be offered in Duluth on April 26, May 3, May 10 and May 17. You must attend all four classes in order to receive certification. Pre-registration is required, as space is limited. The cost to attend is $100. Please contact Joanna at jcarlson6@mdfoundation.org to request a registration form. (This course is sponsored by the Miller-Dwan Foundation and Lutheran Social Service.)

Grab your friends and family and stop by this weekend! The Cafe is serving up brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Some of their delicious menu items include peppered biscuits with sage-maple sausage gravy, huevos rancheros, blackberry compote crepes and house made granola. Specialty mimosa drinks include freshly squeezed grapefruit, raspberry, habanero, or a poor man’s version made with locally brewed Dubrue pub ale.

If you go:
Location: Zeitgeist Arts Building, 222 East Superior Street in Duluth
Dates: Saturdays and Sundays in March and April
Times: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Menu: Click here to view the Zeigeist Arts Cafe brunch menu

Session Three: Becoming an Advocate for Change
Speaker: Ron Lake, MSW, LICSW, Climate Coordinator, ISD 709
• Overview of issue/definitions of bullying
• Understanding behavior as functional and communicative
• Using the Tool Kit to advocate for change

If you attend:
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012
Location: Great Lakes Ballroom at the Radisson (505 West Superior Street in Duluth)
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm. An optional “Listening Circles” session will take place prior to the presentation, from 5:30 to 6:15 pm, for those who are interested in sharing their concerns with group facilitators and other attendees.
Registration Fee: The cost to attend is $10 per session. You may register at the door, online at www.slhduluth.com/classes-programs (select Class Information & Registration), or mail a check payable to St. Luke’s Hospital to Education Department (Bullying), St. Luke’s Hospital, 915 East First Street, Duluth, MN 55805. For more information, please contact Lynn Devlin at 218-249-5694. ]]> http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/2012/03/bullying-continuing-the-conversation-part-three-of-three/feed/ 0 http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/2012/03/upcoming-free-seminar-a-young-war-veteran%e2%80%99s-struggle-to-cope-with-ptsd/ http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/2012/03/upcoming-free-seminar-a-young-war-veteran%e2%80%99s-struggle-to-cope-with-ptsd/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:00:28 +0000 jcarlson http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/?p=577 On Thursday, March 22, the College of St. Scholastica and the Miller-Dwan Foundation will host a free educational seminar given by Iraq war veteran and college student, Bryan Adams. As a member of The Heard, the nation’s premier young adult mental health speaker’s bureau, Bryan travels the country to share his story about post traumatic stress disorder with college students and community members, in an effort to represent the young adult mental health movement and empower people to join him in changing the conversation about mental health.

More about the speaker: Hailing from a small New Jersey town, Bryan joined the U.S. Army after high school and soon found himself on a year-long deployment as a sniper in Tikrit, Iraq. While deployed, he was shot in the leg and hand during an ambush and was subsequently awarded a purple heart. Just 21 years old when he returned home, Bryan struggled to reintegrate back into society and was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Bryan is now a senior studying business at Rutgers University. He is featured in the public service announcement “Alone” for the Iraq and Veterans of America’s Veteran Support Campaign with the Ad Council. (Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDbqLul97Fg)

If you attend:
Date: Thursday, March 22, 2012
Location: Mitchell Auditorium at the College of St. Scholastica (1200 Kenwood Avenue in Duluth)
Time: 6:30 social hour followed by 7:00 presentation
RSVP: no RSVPs required; this session is free to attend

Grab your friends and family and stop by this weekend! The Cafe is serving up brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Some of their delicious menu items include peppered biscuits with sage-maple sausage gravy, huevos rancheros, blackberry compote crepes and house made granola. Specialty mimosa drinks include freshly squeezed grapefruit, raspberry, habanero, or a poor man’s version made with locally brewed Dubrue pub ale.

If you go:
Location: Zeitgeist Arts Building, 222 East Superior Street in Duluth
Dates: Saturdays and Sundays in March and April
Time: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Menu: Click here to view the Zeigeist Arts Cafe brunch menu

Session Two: Understanding Power and Abuse
Speakers: Nathan Kesti and Ed Heisler, Men as Peacemakers
• Overview of issue/definitions of bullying
• Understanding power, control and abuse
• Creating communities free from bullying and abuse

If you attend:
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012
Location: Great Lakes Ballroom at the Radisson (505 West Superior Street in Duluth)
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm. An optional “Listening Circles” session will take place prior to the presentation, from 5:30 to 6:15 pm, for those who are interested in sharing their concerns with group facilitators and other attendees.
Registration Fee: The cost to attend is $10 per session. You may register at the door, online at www.slhduluth.com/classes-programs (select Class Information & Registration), or mail a check payable to St. Luke’s Hospital to Education Department (Bullying), St. Luke’s Hospital, 915 East First Street, Duluth, MN 55805. For more information, please contact Lynn Devlin at 218-249-5694. ]]> http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/2012/02/bullying-continuing-the-conversation-part-two-of-three/feed/ 0 http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/2012/02/scrapbooking-event-to-support-solvay-hospice-house/ http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/2012/02/scrapbooking-event-to-support-solvay-hospice-house/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:40:44 +0000 jcarlson http://blog.millerdwanfoundation.org/?p=570 On April 21, the Young Survival Coalition Duluth (YSC Duluth) will hold the 5^th annual Scrap for Survival, the area’s only scrapbooking event for breast cancer. Over the past four years, this event has raised more than $40,000 for programs for young women with breast cancer. Scrapbookers, quilters, card makers and crafters of all levels of expertise will gather together at Marshall School for fifteen blissful hours of uninterrupted crafting time.

This year, in addition to raising money for YSC Duluth, donations of scrapbooking materials will be collected to benefit Solvay Hospice House, where staffer Jody Draper has created a special tradition of crafting remembrance scrapbooks to commemorate each and every patient who has spent time at Solvay. She collects obituaries, researches each person’s favorite hobbies and interests, and strives to make every page a very personal monument to every individual whose memory has become a part of the hospice house forever. What started as an endeavor to help staff honor their patients has turned into something that is just as important to the residents and their loved ones as it is to Jody and the staff at Solvay.

We are so grateful to YSC Duluth for supporting this memory making effort and helping to ensure that Solvay staff can continue to create these special scrapbooks for many years to come. To register or learn more about the event, visit http://ysc.convio.net/scrap2012.