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who provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management, and meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self- Management Education Programs. Programs apply for the recognition voluntarily. This is the second time the HealthAlliance's Diabetes Education Center received the certificate. The Center was first awarded the certifi - cate in 2007. The new certificate is valid for four years. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 9.3 percent of adults in Ulster County were diagnosed with diabetes in 2010 — slightly higher than the national level of 8.3 percent. The risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age who don't have diabetes. For more information about the Diabetes Education Center, call 845-334-4249. The Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the Benedictine Health Foundation, Inc. in support of a new comfort room for inpatient mental health services on the Mary's Ave. campus of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley. A comfort room is a private, tranquil area designed to reduce the use of restraints and seclusion. It helps alleviate patients' aggression, anxiety and distress, and reduces patient and staff injuries. The Benedictine Health Foundation is pleased to partner with Ulster Savings and HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley to support this vital project. The Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation's mission is to assist the local community in the areas of housing, economic development, education, and health and human services. Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center celebrated the opening of its expanded and improved Family Birthing Center with ribbon- cutting ceremony and blessing April 2. The newly expanded maternity wing now features 12 newly constructed private mother-baby rooms — bringing the total number to 31 for the unit, seven labor-delivery-recovery suites, and an additional well-baby nursery and nursing station. Having seen a steady increase in maternity ser - vices since 2000, the maternity unit at Good Samaritan welcomes more than 3,000 babies into the world each year. Weekly tours for the all-new birthing cen - ter are available the first Sunday of every month at 11 a.m. No registration is required. The Benedictine Health Foundation Board of Directors recently ap- proved a gift of $29,000 to HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley for the purchase of 12 Wireless on Wheels (WOWS) laptop carts that offer secure, wireless technology and are compatible with the hospitals' new Electronic Medical Records (EMR) technology, Paragon. "The new carts will offer the nurses the technology they need to more efficiently and effectively care for our patients," says John Finch, Chief Information Officer of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley. "We have been live on our EMR for almost a year, and our clinical staff has found the WOWs to be the most versatile device for clinical documentation." Laptop carts bring critical patient data to the point of care in patients' rooms, the oper - ating room, intensive care unit or emergency room. Clinicians are faced daily with patient care decisions and require all EMR information at their fingertips. Integrated mobile computer carts will facilitate wireless clinical docu - mentation, enabling better care delivery and efficiency at HealthAlliance hospitals. "The Benedictine Health Foundation is pleased to continue our support of HealthAlliance and its commitment to excellence in patient care," states Rich Gillette, president of the Benedictine Health Foundation Board of Directors. Evidence has shown that women in crisis are more likely to entrust a newborn to an EMT rather than to a hospital. To make the process easier and save more babies who might other - wise be abandoned, St. Joseph Hospital part- nered with Hunter EMS to join the fleet of New York state AMT Children of Hope ambulances. This initiative visually identifies ambulances as Safe Haven sites with a logo. The ambulance signage is part of a national campaign to raise awareness of the Safe Haven legislation, which allows women the option of leaving an infant at a hospital or a fire or police station with no questions asked or legal repercussions. Timothy Jaccard, President/Director of AMT Children of Hope Foundation/Baby Safe Haven Program, helped to author New York's Safe Haven bill and was instrumental in the adoption of similar legislation in all 50 states. To date, almost 3,000 babies have been saved. ■ +++++++++++++++++++ + +++ + +++ +++++++++++++++++++ LOCAL NEWS Back Row: Barbara Klassen, Executive Director of the Benedictine Health Foundation; Richard H. Gillette, Benedictine Health Foundation Board of Directors President; David Scarpino, President and CEO of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley; Ronald K. Myers, Treasurer of the Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation; and MaryRose Warcholak, Executive Director of the Charitable Foundation. Front Row: Arnell Tuttle, Nurse Manager of HealthAlliance Mental Health Services; Tammy Gillon, Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation; Laurie Muscari, Administrative Director of HealthAlliance Mental Health Services; and Jennifer Blackmon, Treatment Team Manager 1 8 | Mid Hudson MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M