At Lancaster General, quality healthcare starts before birth with pre-natal programs and continues through physical, emotional, even spiritual care for the elderly. In keeping with our commitment to community benefit, this includes care includes for the medically underserved. Read on to learn about our programs, results – and resources that you may not know about for every life stage.

Healthy Beginnings Plus

Lancaster General helps newborns and their mothers get the care they need. Through Healthy Beginnings Plus (HBP), more than 900 women in 2005 received prenatal care and guidance to ensure a healthy pregnancy and birth. HBP infants are less likely to require care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) than infants born with similar risk factors who are not enrolled.

Nurse-Family Partnership

Lancaster General nurses are working to ensure health and wellness during a baby’s earliest years. The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) works in the home with first-time mothers – from pregnancy until the child’s second birthday. NFP is a joint venture between Lancaster General Hospital and United Way’s Success by Six®. Since its start in December 2001, NFP has boasted the following: 100 percent of babies born have remained in their mother’s care; 94 percent have received regular well-baby checkups; and 88 percent were born full-term as compared to the national average of 78 percent. Lancaster General nurse Ramonita Diffenderfer, RN, was appointed to the NFP’s National Advisory Board.

Reach Out and Read

Through the Reach Out and Read program, Lancaster General helps improve literacy while improving health. Free books are given to children aged six months to five years who receive checkups through our Well Child program. Reach Out and Read is at five sites throughout Lancaster General including: Family Health Services, Family and Maternity Care and, most recently, Walter L. Aument Family Health Center. From January to June 2006, we gave approximately 1,425 free books during 1,926 Well Child checks at these locations.

Safe Kids

Over the past three years, the Safe Kids Coalition of Lancaster County has experienced steady growth. Aided by a Lancaster General staff person, the coalition’s efforts serve children from newborns to adolescents on everything from child passenger and bicycle safety to greater safety at home and on the farm. This year saw the launch of two new initiatives: a community car seat drive and an ongoing Farm Safety Round Table. In addition, 100 smoke detectors were donated/installed by the Lancaster City Fire Bureau in homes across the community. Special events continue to grow as well, including the 13th annual Farm Safety Day (held at the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds and attended by more than 150 people), Child Passenger Safety Week (held February 12-18 with a focus on car booster seats for kids aged 4-8) and National Safe Kids Week (held May 7-13 with a focus on pool safety). These activities are augmented by the continual work of our volunteers who speak to groups around the county about child safety.

Adolescents

Healthcare Careers

Lancaster General continued its partnership with the School District of Lancaster, which introduces students to healthcare careers through Small Learning Communities in Health Sciences. Students in 9th through 12th grades at McCaskey High School learned about career opportunities, shadowed healthcare workers and participated in paid internships or post-secondary programs last year.

Through Think First, nurses from Lancaster General’s neurosurgery center are warning 10th and 11th graders about head and neck injuries. Last year, they visited 1,700 students in nine schools, educating them on the risks of driving without a seatbelt, diving in shallow water and other risky behaviors.

Yolanda's Story

Health Screenings

In addition to HealthyWoman, Lancaster General offers free screenings to men and women of all ages for a variety of health conditions. Detecting disease early is often critical for successful, life-saving treatment.

Disease Detection	People Screened	People Referred
Prostate	298	59   Additional testing
Skin Cancer	70	64   Suspicious lesions
Peripheral Arterial Disease	69	8   Additional testing
Blood Pressure	1000+	100+ Additional testing
Kidney	40	21   May have high blood pressure   26   May have kidney disease

Did you know? Lancaster General also helped publish the Community Life Network’s (CLN) third annual human services directory – an invaluable resource for residents of Columbia. The CLN is a safety net, joining numerous organizations to meet community needs. Its offices are at LG’s Columbia Health Center.

Flu Shots

During fall 2005, Lancaster General, in partnership with the Lancaster County Office of Aging, provided 1,332 flu shots and 247 pneumonia immunizations at no charge for people at high risk for contracting flu. In preparation for the 2007 flu season, additional clinics were held this October and November for seniors and the uninsured.

Support Groups

• Brain Tumor
• Breast Cancer and Lymphedema
• Diabetes
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Journaling for Healing
• Leukemia, Lymphoma & Blood Cancer