Archives for Heidi Prescott-Wieneke

Mom shares emotional account of watching her hospitalized toddler struggle with RSV

Michelle Walden talks candidly about her 3-year-old son, Elias (El-ias), and his hospitalization with RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). Elias had spent 287 days in the Beacon Children's Hospital NICU in 2018. Last Friday started like any other day. My son, Elias, went to school and had a normal day. He and...

Memorial ICU assistant follows her heart and the “call to serve” amid nursing shortage during pandemic

Karri Weber is a unit assistant at the Memorial Hospital ICU and a 2021 Beacon Health Foundation nursing scholarship recipient. She believes "there is no greater honor to be someone's nurse."  Find out why, below. Every day I see how hard nurses work and it is an honor to work next...

COVID survivors, like cancer survivors, are “forever changed, physically, mentally and emotionally”

Dr. Joseph Caruso, a family physician at Beacon Medical Group Schwartz-Weikamp in Mishawaka, offers his perspective on working with COVID patients during the pandemic. I knew the office visit would be difficult, but I was not prepared to hear my patient say, "I got my husband into hospice this morning." He is...

Elkhart General unit assistant wants to be a nurse “more than I ever have” after working during pandemic

Stacey Griffin is a Unit Assistant in the Elkhart General Intensive Care Center. Below, Stacey describes why she is pursuing a career in nursing. She is a 2021 Beacon Health Foundation Nursing Scholarship winner.  "I started my journey in healthcare at just 16 years old. Through the years, I have run...

Nursing student who started in Environmental Services pursues dream during pandemic at Memorial Hospital ICU

Alicia Rogers is a Unit Assistant in the Memorial Hospital ICU. Below, Alicia describes why she is pursuing a career in nursing. She is a 2021 Beacon Health Foundation Nursing Scholarship winner.  "I have always taken care of others, so I know this is what I am meant to do with...

Reading to babies takes center stage at Beacon Children’s Hospital during national NICU Read-a-Thon

Laura Meyer loves so many things about being a Newborn Intensive Care Unit nurse and taking care of the hospital's tiniest patients. 'Bath night' and reading are two of her absolute favorites. "When I walk down the halls and hear families reading aloud to their babies, it makes me smile because...

Elkhart General native remembers hospital workers with kind gesture 50 years later

Julie Parrott Karrer has no problem recalling how she felt on her milestone birthdays. The Elkhart native remembers the feeling a sense of despair when she was still single and turning 30. A wife and mother of five children, she cried when she turned 40. She decided she wanted 50 to be different. "I...

Third dose of mRNA vaccine dose recommended for people with compromised immune systems

The CDC and the Indiana Department of Health now recommend that people whose immune systems are compromised moderately to severely should receive an additional, third dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after the initial two doses. Beacon Medical Group patients who meet the criteria should contact their primary care physicians' office. The...

CHA ACO, LLC improves care for Medicare patients, saves Medicare $6.4 million

CHA Accountable Care Organization (ACO), LLC, operated by Beacon Health System, improved care for nearly 12,300 Medicare beneficiaries in Indiana and southwest Michigan in 2020, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. As part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, accountable care organizations that meet quality and cost goals...

Beacon nurse describes emotional toll of caring for COVID patients as pandemic rages on

In his own words: Ian Klein is a Registered Nurse who holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and works at Memorial Hospital in South Bend. “I want to describe what goes on in a medical worker’s life right now. These are all my own personal experiences.” Patient 1: Woman is...