Saint Alphonsus Selected as Candidate for the LIVESTRONG Community Impact Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


For more information, contact Elizabeth Duncan.

Finalists will be determined by an online voting campaign; funds will better the lives of people affected by cancer

Saint Alphonsus has been selected as a candidate for the LIVESTRONG® Community Impact Project, which was created to bring proven cancer support programs to communities across the United States. Finalists will be determined through an online voting campaign that began on Wed., Mar. 7 at 10am CST. Applicants with the top votes per region will receive a financial award of support to replicate and implement a sustainable program dedicated to supporting families fighting cancer. Finalists will also receive tools and resources from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the organization established in 1997 by the cancer survivor and champion cyclist to serve people living with cancer and empower communities to take action against the world’s leading cause of death. The foundation is now known publicly by its powerful brand – LIVESTRONG – and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today.

Saint Alphonsus is the only Idaho hospital currently featured as a Community Impact project candidate. The Saint Alphonsus Cancer Care Center has previously received LIVESTRONG funding to launch innovative integrative healing programs on behalf of patients undergoing cancer treatment.

If selected in 2012, Saint Alphonsus would receive $10,000 in funding and technical assistance to further develop its palliative care programming on behalf of Treasure Valley patients living with cancer and other serious illness. These efforts would result in Saint Alphonsus becoming the first Joint Commission-certified, hospital-based palliative care provider in the state of Idaho, ensuring that area patients and families will benefit from the most advanced and effective services available. To date, only a small number of hospitals nationwide have successfully sought this new certification, which was first introduced in 2011.

Palliative services focus on the symptom-management, spiritual, emotional, educational, and social needs of patients admitted to the hospital for treatment of serious illness. Palliative care ensures that patients facing complex conditions, and their family members, are informed and empowered to make choices that are right for them, and which promote quality of life within the limitations of their illness. Palliative care can represent a precious and irreplaceable source of comfort for patients and families who are facing life-changing conditions, end-of-life issues, and profound decisions.

The 2012 Community Impact Project will offer nearly $1.4 million in implementation awards to 90 finalists. This represents the largest number of financial awards LIVESTRONG has granted in a single year in the history of the foundation. LIVESTRONG is committed to supporting community organizations in their efforts to help cancer survivors face the challenges and changes that come with cancer and has invested more than $70 million in community-centered organizations.

Voting ends on March 23, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. CST. For more information about the LIVESTRONG Community Impact Project and to vote, visit http://vote.livestrong.org/.

Saint Alphonsus is one of 5 nominees competing for LIVESTRONG funding in the category of Advanced Certification for Palliative Care in a 6-state region. Because some other featured hospitals are based in larger population centers (such as Phoenix, Arizona), this Idaho hospital anticipates needing every possible vote from the community to ensure that Idaho healthcare is a contender in this campaign!

About LIVESTRONG/Lance Armstrong Foundation


LIVESTRONG serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against the world's leading cause of death. Created as the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the organization is now known publicly by its powerful brand -- LIVESTRONG -- and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. Known for its iconic yellow wristband, LIVESTRONG has become a symbol of hope and inspiration to people affected by cancer around the world. Since its inception, the organization has raised $450 million for the fight against cancer. For more information, visit LIVESTRONG.org.

About Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center


Saint Alphonsus is a 387-licensed bed regional medical center serving people throughout the Northwest. As a not-for-profit medical center, Saint Alphonsus reinvests profits back into the community and works to improve the health and well-being of those we serve by emphasizing care that is patient-centered, innovative and community based. Saint Alphonsus focuses on providing services in a spiritual, healing environment, and is renowned for its state-of-the-art digital environment and pioneering technologies; award-winning clinical services; and the region’s only Level II Trauma Center. Saint Alphonsus is part of Saint Alphonsus Health System, a four-hospital, 714-bed integrated healthcare system serving the full range of the health and wellness needs of the people in southwestern Idaho, eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. Saint Alphonsus Health System is a member of Trinity Health. For information about Saint Alphonsus visit www.saintalphonsus.org.