A night for women’s health

With hors d’oeuvres and a focus on health topics specifically for women, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center is hosting “Amazing Woman: Be Your Best Self” on Thursday, April 5 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at U.S. Airways Center.

The “Amazing Woman” event will have six breakout sessions covering all sorts of topics from headaches, healthy weight, and digestion to dealing with stress, being a successful caregiver and the newest hysterectomy treatments.

Keynote speaker is Abby Rike, a former contestant on “The Biggest Loser.” After Rike lost her husband and two children in a car crash in 2006, she decided to search for healing on NBC’s reality show in 2009. Her 2011 book, Working It Out: A Journey of Love, Loss, and Hope, starts with her life before the accident and documents her steps to recovery from traumatic loss.

The event is $15 and parking is free. To register, call ResourceLink at 1-877-602-4111. — Amy Vogelsang

Carrasco honored as “Health Care Hero”

Berdette Carrasco.

Berdette Carrasco, a registered nurse at Arrowhead Hospital in Glendale, was honored as a “Health Care Hero” Aug. 18 at the 10th annual Health Care Hero Awards breakfast at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix.

The event, sponsored by the Phoenix Business Journal and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, honors “the Valley medical community’s best of the best.”

Carrasco was named 2011′s Health Care Hero in the category of Community Outreach for her work with the MISS Foundation’s CARES (Comfort and Resource Enhancement Services) Program. Carrasco works with colleague Dana Southworth to support families expecting babies with life-limiting health problems, offering perinatal hospice services throughout one of life’s most difficult and tragic experiences.

The loss of her 5-year old son Jacob in 2007 from a brain condition inspired Carrasco to help other families facing such challenges. In her acceptance speech, Carrasco thanked her husband along with her three living children “for sharing their mommy with other families in need.”

Carrasco went on to cite her reasons for choosing a career in health care, adding, “For me, to accept the loss of my child as part of a bigger plan has been a difficult journey. I have come to understand that without the experience of caring for my child with special needs…I would not understand the needs of the families I service to the extend that I do. I am proud to say that because of Jacob, I stand before you today.”

Carrasco has been featured in two articles for Raising Arizona Kids: “House of Hope,” about Ryan House (October 2008) and “Finding Purpose in Grief” When Birth and Death Merge”, about perinatal hospice (March 2011).

Finalists and winners were chosen from several other categories, including Physician, Education, Nursing, Dental and Researcher/Innovator and more.

The staff of Raising Arizona Kids extends gratitude and congratulations to Carrasco and all of her fellow 2011 Health Care Heroes for their tireless efforts and dedication to make a difference in the Valley’s medical community. — Mary Ann Bashaw

Valley teens volunteer at Banner medical centers

More than 85 teens from all over the Valley have chosen to spend their summer giving back to the community while exploring potential careers in the medical field. Banner Boswell and Banner Del E. Webb Medical Centers offer eight-week volunteer programs for teens ages 14-18 with an interest in medicine and healthcare.

Seventeen-year-old Corinna Cluckey, who hopes to one day become a surgeon, has volunteered in the program at Banner Boswell for the past five summers. This year, she is working in the surgery department’s family waiting room, interacting with and comforting surgery patients and their families. Interacting with patients and their families is honing this future surgeon’s bedside manner.

Corinna Cluckey volunteers in Banner Boswell’s surgery family waiting room.

Lauren Harrell, 15, works on a program called “Life Stories” at Banner Del E. Webb, where she interviews patients about their lives, then writes up their stories to place in bedside frames. The stories provide nurses and other caregivers with personal perspectives about a patient before he or she was admitted into the unit. Lauren hopes to be a physician assistant and work in a neonatal unit one day.

After interviewing patients, Lauren creates a “life story” narrative, which helps Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center staff better understand their patients.

For more information on volunteer opportunities, visit bannerhealth.com or call the Volunteer Services departments of Banner Del E. Webb at 623-214-4058 or Banner Boswell at 623-876-5382. — Sadie Smeck

Spring cleaning? Bring gently used items to Kohl’s

Kohl’s Department Stores and Swift Charities for Children have launched a Valleywide campaign to collect gently used clothing, shoes and soft good household items to raise money for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Donations will be collected at any Kohl’s location.

Simply bag and tie your donations and drop them in the Swift Charities for Children donation box located on all Kohl’s parking lots through April 30. Swift charities will weigh the collected items, sell them by the pound and donate the net proceeds.

Items that will be accepted include clothing (all sizes), accessories, paired shoes, small household items (including books) and linens.

Swift Charities for Children is the only 100 percent not-forprofit program with Valleywide collection sites that allow the community to make contributions to a variety of local children’s organizations, including Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Phoenix Children’s is one of the 10 largest children’s hospitals in the country and provides specialty and sub-specialty inpatient, outpatient, trauma and emergency care to patients throughout Arizona and other Southwestern states.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Great Scottsdale name Youth of the Year

Olga Fernandez and Steve Davidson, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.

Scottsdale resident and Saguaro High School senior Olga Fernandez was selected as the 2011 Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.

Olga has been a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale for the past 10 years and has been involved in a variety of educational and community service programs. She credits Club technology programs like Techathalon and Club Tech for her academic success at school. Olga maintains a 4.1 GPA and plans to attend Arizona State University’s Barrett, The Honors College, in the fall and will eventually pursue a career in medicine.

As the 2011 Youth of the Year from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, Fernandez will represent the organization at the state competition held on Tuesday, April 19, at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix. The state winner will advance to the Pacific Region competition. Then, five regional finalists will vie for the national title of Boys & Girls Clubs of America 2011 Youth of the Year.

The 2011 Youth of the Year announcement was made at the organization’s annual Celebrate Youth Gala & Auction held on Saturday, March 26, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale. Fernandez will receive a $5,000 scholarship from General Dynamics C4 Systems, $750 American Express gift card, and new laptop computer from Network PC Engineering.

The Youth of the Year program has been an integral part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for more than 60 years and is the highest honor given to members of the organization. Finalists are chosen based on their dedication to the Club, community and family, academic performance, moral character, life goals, leadership, poise and public speaking ability.

Below is the award-winning speech that Fernandez gave at the event:

Me siento triste. No tengo con quien hablar. Nadie me entiende. I am feeling sad. I have no one to talk to and am not being understood. Those were the exact thoughts that went through my mind on my first day at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale. I was a lonely, Spanish-speaking 7-year-old who thought nothing good could come out of this move to America. I believed that the club was just going to be a temporary fixture in my life but was I wrong. Little did I know that it would become a place where I felt accepted and at liberty to just be me; a place where I would build lasting relationships and learn to express myself; a place where I would gain the confidence that I so desperately needed and a place where I learned that my differences were not so different.

The fairy tale club life that I live today is a far cry from how it was ten years ago. I was a second grader who wanted nothing to do with this so called “club”. I felt alienated and in result misbehaved, desperately seeking attention. I once remember, sprinting out of the Hartley & Ruth Barker Branch just to cause commotion. When the staff sat down and tried a different approach to handling me, I slowly began to feel secure and change my ways. I began to think positively and appreciate the Boys & Girls Club for what it had to offer. It soon became that place where I could be accepted.

Not long after, I moved to a new school and a new Boys & Girls Club, the Rose Lane Branch. My first day at Rose Lane, I was determined to have a fresh, positive start with a new attitude. I immersed myself into all the programs the club had to offer. One program in particular was Smart Girls. It taught me to have confidence in myself and embrace the woman I am becoming. The more programs that I participated in; the more I discovered my love for the club. I realized how being an individual did not mean being an outsider. I finally had people who understood and believed in me.

I am glad that I had role models to help me through my struggles and I can honestly say that without them, I would still be that misinterpreted, vulnerable 7-year-old. Instead, today I am a young person committed to do her best, an upcoming college student at Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College but most of all a courageous individual who is determined to succeed despite the odds of any given situation. This would not be possible without the help Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale. Gracias…Thank you.

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Since 1954, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale has provided more than 100,000 Northeast Valley youth with a positive, supervised environment to explore the power of their potential. The organization’s nine branches and 12 outreach sites are located in Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Hualapai Indian Community and other Northeast Valley neighborhoods. The Club offers more than 100 youth development programs emphasizing five core areas: the arts; character & leadership development; education & career development; health & life skills; and sports, fitness & recreation. For more information visit bgcs.org.