|
-- This year’s program uses fashion and fun to convey vital messages about reducing the risk of a condition whose complications kill more Americans annually than breast cancer and AIDS combined --
Belleville, New Jersey—Clara Maass Medical Center dedicated March to support and participate in the Coalition to Prevent DVT’s fifth annual National DVT Awareness Month. This year’s program, DVT Awareness by Design, employed elements including community fashion shows and a nationwide sock-design challenge to engage the public and boost awareness of this serious and potentially life-threatening condition. During the month, each Clara Maass nursing unit designed and decorated a pair of DVT Awareness socks. The Laboratory Department took home first place in the Clara Maass Show Us Your Socks contest. The winning socks will be proudly showcased in the Medical Center year-round.
Each year up to two million people in the United States suffer from DVT and approximately 600,000 Americans are hospitalized for DVT and its primary complication, pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT- related PE is the most common cause of preventable hospital death. Certain individuals may be at increased risk for developing DVT, but it can occur in almost anyone.
As part of this year’s DVT Awareness by Design program, professionals at Clara Maass Medical Center helped staff and the community understand more about DVT risks, signs and symptoms as theydesigned, personalized and showcased socks to demonstrate what DVT means to them.
The DVT Awareness by Design campaign also includes a recently launched public service announcement featuring the Coalition to Prevent DVT’s national patient spokesperson, Melanie Bloom, as well as Web and interactive components accessible at the Coalition’s Web site www.preventdvt.org. In addition, the campaign features an alliance with Parsons The New School for Design, one of the world’s leading centers for design education, where students will use uploaded photos of DVT Awareness by Design socks as inspiration to create new legwear designs, from which one will be chosen to serve as the new DVT Awareness icon.
“People need to know more about the signs and symptoms associated with DVT, and we’re proud to be a part of a grassroots initiative that does that in a fun and creative way,” said Mary Ellen Clyne, MSN, RN, CNAA,Vice President, Patient Care Services, Clara Maass Medical Center. “DVT is serious, but we want people to know that the risks can be reduced if they are aware of the signs and communicate their concerns to their healthcare provider. By taking part in DVT Awareness by Design, we will help get that message across to everyone in our community.” DVT occurs when a thrombus or blood clot forms in one of the large veins, usually in the lower limbs, leading to either partially or completely blocked circulation. A DVT blood clot has the potential to move into the lungs and block circulation to this vital organ, creating a life-threatening condition – PE, that requires immediate medical attention.
“Since DVT Awareness Month began five years ago, we’ve raised the public’s understanding of the condition and its complications,” Bloom said. “We’ve made strides in communicating that DVT can and does happen to people in all walks of life, at all ages. Working together, we can bring attention to the prevailing need for reducing risks and treating DVT.”
Clara Maass Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, provides a complete continuum of care to residents of northern New Jersey. Clara Maass Centers of medical excellence include the Women’s Health Center, Nuclear Medicine, the Cancer Center at Clara Maass, Diagnostic Cardiac Services including Cardiac Catheterization, Emergency Angioplasty and Rehabilitation, The Pain Management Center, The Orthopedic Spine & Joint Institute, a Vascular Center, Same Day Surgery, The Clara Maass Wound Center, The Center for Sleep Disorders, Rehabilitation Services, Maternity Services and Parent Education, as well as Pediatrics. For a physician referral or more information about upcoming Clara Maass Medical Center community health events, call 1-888-SBHS-123 or visit www.saintbarnabas.com.
[ back to news menu ] [ top ] |
|
|
