Blogs

Surviving a diagnosis that shakes you to your core is not as easy on the other side as many might think. The words, “You have cancer,” are branded into DNA from that moment on. Your life is forever changed. Being a survivor means the curtain has been drawn. That story is over. However, as survivors have shared, you are never quite sure if there’s another act. “We’re told that it might come back at any time,” shares a member of the Young Survivor Coalition support group that meets at Lovelace Women's Hospital.

Breast cancer patients and survivors often experience uncomfortable symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, decreased range of motion due to scar tissue and weakness. These symptoms are often the result of cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, regular exercise has been shown to improve survival rates and reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. Research has shown that yoga has many physical and emotional benefits for cancer patients and survivors.

Michelle Amaya Schmidt welcomed her first child, a boy, Asher Hunter Schmidt on January 13, 2016. He was born at Lovelace Women’s Hospital after months of anticipation and preparation. Michelle joined the Lovelace Labor of Love program to learn more about what to expect during her first pregnancy, while taking advantage of every opportunity to give her baby the best start possible. “I was immediately drawn to the Labor of Love program,” she says.

Epic to replace 80 software systems and improve care, experience & work environment

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (May 10, 2016) – Lovelace Health System has selected Epic, the industry’s leading provider of electronic health record software, to unite its hospitals, clinics and physician groups under a single information-sharing platform.

ALBUQUERQUE – May 9, 2016 – Lovelace Medical Center has been recognized as a top-performing hospital in the Midas+ Platinum Quality Award program. This award is based on Lovelace Medical Center’s 2015 performance in the Midas+ National Comparative Database for clinical performance in several key areas, including utilization efficiency and clinical efficacy measures and risk-adjusted length of stay and mortality outcome measures.

“I knew nursing was my path,” shares Lovelace Regional Hospital – Roswell CEO Dawn Tschabrun, RN of her 31-year professional career and lifelong interest in nursing. It all began in her South Central Nebraska hometown, where Dawn was introduced to health care through her mother’s job as a materials management tech at their local community hospital. By high school, Dawn volunteered as a candy striper and met a charge nurse named Rita, who took her under her wing and opened her eyes to the field of nursing.

If you watch CBS Sunday Morning, you may have seen Kathy Bates share her story as a breast cancer survivor who experienced lymphedema after her mastectomy. As a spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network, Ms. Bates has shared her journey with medical professionals and with the media.

Empathy is the ability to identify with another person’s feelings. The ability to see and feel things as others see and feel them is central to competent parenting and successful social relationships in all stages of life.

Lovelace Labor of Love is proud to support Roots of Empathy, a curriculum for elementary school children that teaches empathy, social and emotional skills, and reduces aggression.

“Knowing you are not alone is the most important,” shares Darrell Yazza. “There are other people who have been through it and they’re doing well.” Once a month, Darrell brings the perspective only a stroke survivor would understand to stroke patients at Lovelace UNM Rehabilitation Hospital.

Concern continues to build as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a recent report that more than 300 people in the United States have contracted the Zika virus, 31 of those being pregnant women. The majority of cases are travel-associated cases with only locally acquired cases in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) reports one case of a 46-year-old Bernalillo County man who contracted Zika while traveling in Central America.