Huntsville Hospital recently held a men’s health event at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Jones Valley. People from the community participated in the free health screenings, received free health information, chair massages, donated blood and even operated the daVinci robotic surgery system like a surgeon.

Huntsville Hospital would like to congratulate the winners of the one month free membership to the Wellness Centers ($146 value):

Lifang Li
Kelly Addington
Bill Jones

View photos from the event now.

Modern Healthcare, a national healthcare business news weekly magazine, recently ranked Huntsville Hospital ninth in a list of the largest public healthcare systems in the nation. The list, featured in the June 8 issue, ranked hospital systems by the number of staffed acute-care beds reported in a 2009 survey. Huntsville Hospital was ninth on the list with 912 beds. It was the only system with two or fewer hospitals to make the top ten.

Lite 96.9’s Abby Kay and Nate Adams kicked off the Laugh & Learn event June 16 with a music trivia game at the Huntsville Botanical Garden. Dr. Marco Cioppi, board-certified vascular surgeon, then presented “Hot Legs” about the importance of keeping your legs healthy and options for the prevention and treatment of spider and varicose veins.

View Dr. Marco Cioppo's presentation from the event now.

Learn more about our Laugh & Learn program by clicking here.

Stretch and Stroll, a Huntsville Hospital walking club for new moms and expectant at Parkway Place, had a special guest this month. June 9 Sci-Quest brought their educational display "Terrific Turtles." Kids were able to touch a real turtle, learn about their body parts, what they eat ... and much more! Parents learned about Sci-Quest summer camps, activities and Parent’s Night Out.

To learn more about Stretch and Stroll or other Huntsville Hospital walking clubs visit huntsvillehospital.org/walk.

The 21st annual Huntsville Classic was a tremendous success! Legendary country music star Randy Travis wowed the crowd of more than 5,000 people at the Dinner at the Von Braun Center Arena on May 15. The next day, 280 golfers teed it up for a cure at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Hampton Cove. Proceeds from the Classic will benefit Huntsville Hospital’s Oncology Unit and the Lab and will help provide Vein Viewers, a GeneXpert, and funding toward the Robin Lanier Stewart Memorial Fund, which provides medication assistance for cancer patients in need. Thanks to everyone who made this year’s Huntsville Classic an event to remember! Click here to see more pictures.

Huntsville Hospital recently presented the RN of the Year award to Stephanie McDowell, who has been with the hospital for nearly 28 years. Stephanie works night shifts in PCCU-1 and is known by her coworkers for being “always willing to help,” “never hesitating to teach,” and always finding “the good in every situation.” Congratulations, Stephanie!


The 2009 LPN of the Year is Frances Allen. Frances, who takes care of newborns at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children, has worked here for almost 20 years. According to her numerous nominations for the award, she is “enthusiastic,” “takes ownership for Huntsville Hospital,” and “is loved by all her patients.” Congratulations, Frances!

Congratulations to Lindsey Maples, who was named Huntsville Hospital's Employee of the Month for May. Maples is a Volunteer Assistant in the Volunteer Services Department and has been with the hospital since 2006. Her nomination states, "She is a self-starter and is extremely creative in finding new ways of approaching her work in order to accomplish it effectively and efficiently."

The Marketing Department at Huntsville Hospital was nationally recognized for advertising excellence in the 2009 Aster Awards. The hospital received a gold award for its newcomers campaign launched in 2008.

The Aster Awards, one of the largest competitions of its kind, is hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today and Creative Images Inc. The national program recognizes outstanding healthcare professionals for excellence in their advertising/marketing efforts.

The 2009 Aster Awards consisted of approximately 3,000 entries from across America. Participants’ entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their category. Entries must score at least in the top 85 percent to receive an award. Judging criteria includes creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.

“Huntsville Hospital is among the top in the nation for healthcare advertising expertise…specifically scoring in the top 5 percent. It was an honor to have Huntsville Hospital participate in the 2009 Aster Awards,” said Melinda R. Lucas, Aster Awards Program Coordinator. “They exceeded the judges’ expectations.”

Entries in the Aster Awards were judged by a diverse panel of healthcare marketing experts. All winners are posted on AsterAwards.com and will be published in "Marketing Healthcare Today," a national healthcare marketing magazine.

For the tenth year in a row, the Breast Center at Huntsville Hospital has earned a perfect score as the result of a Food and Drug Administration inspection conducted May 1. The center performed more than 30,000 mammographies last year, making it the largest single-site facility in the state.

FDA inspections are an important component in ensuring compliance with the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992, said Breast Center Manager Kathy Burroughs. The law requires breast centers to meet stringent guidelines. Standards cover equipment performance, quality control, personnel qualifications, medical record keeping and outcome audits.

“The FDA found that the Breast Center at Huntsville Hospital is in complete compliance with national mammography quality standards, and it had no recommendations for improvements,” said Burroughs. “We're delighted with these results.”

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States, and one in eight women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime.

The American Cancer Society recommends that all women over the age of 40 have a mammogram every year and should continue to do so as long as they are in good health. Women at high risk should get a breast MRI and a mammogram every year, and women at moderately increased risk should talk to their doctors about the benefits and limitations of adding MRI screening to their yearly mammogram.

In addition to mammography and breast MRI, the Breast Center at Huntsville Hospital offers bone density testing and breast health education, including group presentations, individual counseling and resource literature.