|
Our Next Meeting Will Be Tuesday, Jan. 10th.
What Happened at
our Nov. 8th Meeting
Twenty three people attended our November meeting, including three people attending the grouup for the first time. Half of our meeting time was devoted to responding to questions brought by these and other ostomy patients.
We also had a presentation by Sriram Somanchi, the person who created the PocketMedi application for managing the information and support related to a person going through a major medical crisis. This is a very useful product that can be used on the web, or by using their iPhone, iPad, or Android device (Android version will become available by mid November on the Android Market. iPad and iPhone are available through the App Store.
What Happened at
our Oct. 11th Meeting
Twenty one people attended our October 11th meeting at O' Connor Hospital. Among those in attendance were two people who had Ileostomy surgery within the past two months. The focus of our meeting was of responding to issues and needs of persons within the group. The group discussed both issues related to ostomy care and issues regarding the needs of care givers.
What Happened at
our Sept. 13th Meeting
We met, as usual, at the Sister Rosalie Rendu Conference Room at O'Connor Hospital. Thirty five people were present at the meeting. We began with a celebration of SVOSG member, Paul's, 50th anniversary of his Ileostomy surgery.
Peggy then did introductions and we got into the main part of our meeting. Part of the meeting was giving support to Lis who's father has surgery for rectal cancer. She came to learn how she can best care for her father. Another new attendee was a person who receently had ostomy surgery but was only able to stay for a short time.
We also had a report out on the UOAA National Conference, which was held last month in Reno. A number of SVOSG members attended this event and reported on their experiences at the event. One of the fun events was a fashion show to which we will soon make a link. The classes and workshops were of very high quality. Participants brought back samples of the materials from the conference for inclusion in our library and display materials. It sounded like a really successful conference.
Robyn
Home, an Ostomy and Wound Care Nurse employed by Coloplast, brought a person from Packard Children's Hospital who demonstrated an I-phone I-pad, Blackberry and Android application called PocketMedi, which is under development. It is an application designed to help manage patient care information related to a major illness. We will include more information at this location in near future.
What Happened at
our Aug. 9th Meeting
After taking the month of
July off, we resumed meeting, monthly, on August 9th. Meeting at our at O'
Connor Hospital's De Paul Conference room (normally we meet at the Rendu
Conference Room).
We had 28 people at the meeting,
including a number of new attendees with us, and one person who has to make a
decision as to what type of surgery they will be having as a result of their
bowel disease. After s short time for introductions, the group divided into sub
groups based upon types of ostomy surgery, and each group responded to concerns
within their group.
What Happened at our June 14h Meeting
Your webmaster was out of state for our June 14th meeting. We thank our Vice President, Henry, for the following summary of the evenings activities.
We met from 7-8:30 p.m., in the Sister Rosalie conference room. There was no guest speaker at the June meeting. Our president Peggy Martinez conducted the meeting. There were 33 people in attendance. This was an open meeting and the membership exchanged issues that they were having with their health and questions regarding their ostomy appliances.
Again it was encouraged that anyone having problems to view our Silicon Valley Ostomy Group Home Page, The Phoenix publication for people who have intestinal or urinary diversion and our SVOSG library at our monthly meetings for additional information.
Several issues were brought by the membership on gas, the method on
control odor (see item above), cleaning of bags and hernias. Note: Peggy mentions that anyone going to the National UOAA Convention in Reno, August 7-11, to get reference information, so we could pass it on to the membership via our Web Master.
What Happened at our May Meeting
Your webmaster was at a meeting out of the State when the group met in May. As soon as he receives details regarding this meetings, they will be inserted in this place.
What Happened at our April 12th Meeting
Once more our President, Peggy, brought us to order at our O'Connor Hospital meeting room. Twenty six people were with us for the meeting including a couple3 who were with us for the first time.
Helynn Rueda from Shield Healthcare was our Guest Resource Person for the April 12th meeting. Shield Healthcare has the Kaiser contract to supply Ostomy supplies to Kaiser Patients. She provided some very helpful information about how they can work together with Kaiser wound care and ostomy nurses.
Robyn
Home, an Ostomy and Wound Care Nurse employed by Coloplast was also with us for the meeting. Robyn introduced a new colleague, Bethany Henkea. Robyn also brought a large stuffed Easter bunny, shoopping bag filled with candies, and three buckets of candie. She conducted a drawing award those items to four lucky attendees.
What Happened at Our March 8th Meeting
Our President, Peggy, was out of town for our March Meeting, so our Webmaster, Paul, presided over the meeting. We had a somewhat smaller group at our meeting, 24 people were present, and there were no first time visitors for the first time in many months.
So, we spent most of the evening giving support to attendees who were seeking specific information regarding conditions which they are currently experiencing.
One person asked if any of our members were familiar with a product called the Stealth Belt. None of those present had knowledge of the product. Then the webmaster's copy of the March 2011 issue Phoenix Magazine arrived the next day. On page 54, there is an article about Richard Hamil, the Ostomy patient who invented and now markets the Stealth Belt. To learn more about the Stealth Belt, click here.
The March issue has a number of interesting articles, including an article by an ileostomy patient, telling about her illness and then tells the story about her pregnancy that resulted in the birth of her healthy twin daughters.
To learn more about The Phoenix, click here.
We look forward to our April Meeting, when Peggy will be back as our leader.
What Happened at Our February 8th Meeting
On February 8th, the Silicon Valley Ostomy Group again gathered in the Rosalie Rendu Conference Room at O'Connor Hospital. Twenty-three people were present, including two ostomy patients who were here for the first time.
This meeting was devoted to sharing and support with no special speakers, but that was fortunate for there were a number of people who had questions and were able to get support through the group.
What Happened at Our January 11th Meeting
On January 11th, we held our first meeting of the new year, 2011. Peggy, our President presided over the meeting. With us for this meeting was
Robyn
Home, an Ostomy and Wound Care Nurse employed by Coloplast. Robyn is working with Lucille Packard Children's Hospital to plan a special event for chi8ldren who have had Ostomy surgery. The event is being planned for Saturday, March 26, and is meant to serve Children from Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco. It will probably be held at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose. More information will be placed on this site, once the final arangements have been agreed upon. The event will be held at O'Connor on March 26th.
Peggy also presented information about the August UOAA Convention that is being held in Reno, this year. Click here for more information about the Reno Event. We also discussed issues related to TSA screening changes in recent months. The major part of the meeting was devoted to responding to questions brought by new ostomates and persons experiencing special needs.
A topic that the group discussed was that of dating and when should one disclose the fact that they have an ostomy to someone they are dating. Since that time a very timely article appeared in the Bay Area Newsgroup papers.. see article
We had 32 people present at our meeting, including a number of first time attendees.
|
