How to throw a party for 500 friends.

If you have been to a GRMC Blue Jean Ball, you know that it is a fun party. When the idea first came up, GRMC staff and volunteers were talking about hosting another great GRMC Gala fundraising event. However, we were all in the middle of some tough economic times five years ago and we thought it was time for the popular GRMC Gala to get out its blue jeans and get a little casual.

The ball is held in the fall and in 2011 it went hand-in-hand with the Grinnell Optimists’ annual fly-in breakfast. It took an army of community volunteers from sun up into late the next morning to host both events at the Grinnell Municipal Airport. Just over 300 guests bought incredible auction items, danced to The Dweebs, and partied into the night with the hangar door wide open on a lovely September evening.

In 2013, the event moved to the Grinnell Athletic and Recreation Center at Ahrens Park. Those who had a blast in 2011 told all their friends what a great party it was. Nearly 500 tickets were sold and the GARC hosted the entire function along with our new best friends, The Dweebs. More than $32,000 was raised that night for GRMC.

We’re not the only ones who think the Blue Jean Ball is a fabulous event! It’s now won two national awards!

GRMC’s second Blue Jean Ball earned a bronze award from the Thirty-First Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards out of more than 3,700 entries. A national panel of judges reviewed entries based on creativity, quality, message effectiveness, consumer appeal, graphic design, and overall impact. Gold awards were given to 297 entries; silver awards to 279 entries; and bronze awards to 252 entries.

Other Iowa winners included the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, Unity Point, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Mary Greeley Medical Center. National winners included AARP, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Johns Hopkins HealthCare.

Award-winning graphic design by Jennifer Hawkins,
GRMC's graphic designer

The event also won silver in the Aster Awards, hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today Magazine and Creative Images, Inc. This program recognized outstanding healthcare professionals for excellence in their advertising/marketing efforts for the calendar year 2013.

The 2014 Aster Awards received nearly 3,000 entries from across the United States as well as Canada and South America. All entries are judged by industry experts and are scored on multiple criteria with a possibility of 100 total points. Participant’s entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their specific groups and categories.

Best of Show – Only 1 issued in 2014

Guests bid on more than 60 auction items at BJB 2013

Judges Choice – Score of 100% (only 8 issued in 2014 – top 1%)

Gold Awards – Score of 95 to 99 (top 5% in the nation)

Silver Awards – Score of 90 to 94 (top 12% in the nation)

Bronze Awards – Score of 85 to 89 (top 16% in the nation)

Awards were issued for entries that received top marks from judges placing them in the top 16% of the nation for advertising excellence. Submissions were scored on multiple criteria which included creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.

Honorary co-chairs for GRMC's Moving at the Speed of Life
comprehensive campaign at BJB 2013. Addison Jones for
the late Marion Jones, Jewel Kintzinger Day,
Leila Maring, and Waldo Walker.

Here’s the thing. Most of the hospitals and healthcare systems receiving these awards had external advertising agencies doing the work. GRMC is one of the few hospitals in the country with our own internal “advertising agency.” All our ads, our quarterly Healthletters, brochures, are designed and often printed in house or printed by local printing businesses.

We know that this award is a testament to the volunteers who helped plan this event. It is truly a labor of love that takes a lot of effort to make it a success.

BJB 2013 Emcees Ben Latimer and Mike Pearson.

And now we have big news!

The Dweebs are coming back for Blue Jean Ball 2015!

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Harris Center, Grinnell College

We’ll start planning the event later this fall for next year. Be watching for more information on the event over the next year and get ready for Blue Jean Ball 2015.

 

Preparing for School Includes Vaccinations

Very soon, the store aisles that now display sunscreen, pool toys, and beach towels will be filled with notebooks, pencils, and glue sticks.

As you go through the lists of things your child needs to return to school in August, make sure that their vaccinations are updated. It will be much easier on everyone if you get those taken care of now during the hazy, lazy days of summer instead of waiting until the week that school starts.

This is especially important for children entering kindergarten and seventh grade as there are special requirements for children at this age.

That first day of kindergarten is a big day and parents naturally want it to go very smoothly for their child. But if there’s no current documentation of immunizations on file with the school, the child cannot attend their first day and might end up getting their shots instead. Not a great way to start off the school year for anyone.

If your child attends a licensed child care center or is home schooled, these requirements apply as well. And while the Iowa Department of Public Health immunization requirements do not extend to college students, many colleges and universities have their own list of vaccination requirements for students.

Getting all the recommended vaccines is one of the most important things parents can do to protect their children’s health. Immunizations not only help prevent their own child from getting ill and missing school, but they are also protecting the wider community. Pertussis, also known as “whooping cough,” can be deadly for newborns and infants.

Why Vaccinate?

Immunizations create a shield of protection at school and at home. Given recent outbreaks, parents can protect children with a vaccine from dangerous and highly contagious diseases like pertussis and measles.

Many parents have never witnessed the damaging effects of a vaccine-preventable disease. As a result, they are not aware of the continued importance of getting all children vaccinated.

Diseases like measles are only a plane ride away. Measles epidemics are occurring in the Philippines with nearly 32,000 cases as of April 2014.

When a child comes down with a disease such as whooping cough, chickenpox or the influenza, he or she may miss a lot of school while recovering. And, someone will need to stay home to provide care and make trips to the doctor.

In Iowa school districts, children are required to provide proof of immunizations by the first day of the school year.  Your student will not be admitted to school on the first day without this proof. Parents should request a copy of their child(ren)’s immunization records from the primary care provider and give a copy to the school district. Vaccinations can be administered at several primary care clinics or at the Grinnell Regional Public Health Clinic.

To schedule an appointment for immunizations at the public health office, call 641-236-2385. Grinnell Regional Public Health is located in the Light Center for Community Health at 306 Fourth Avenue in Grinnell.

Make a plan to start the new school year in a healthy way.  Many serious infectious diseases still exist and can be preventable through vaccination. Visit with your healthcare provider or call us for more information.

Information on immunization requirements for all ages can be found here . http://www.idph.state.ia.us/IDPHChannelsService/file.ashx?file=48B83034-AB88-4E48-877E-5F6F60F9023F

Or, visit the Iowa Department of Public Health, Bureau of Immunizations and TB, at http://www.idph.state.ia.us/ImmTB/Immunization.aspx?prog=Imm&pg=Laws.

Make Safety the Guest of Honor at Your Independence Day Party

No one wants a great Fourth of July celebration to end in the emergency room, yet thousands find themselves doing just that every year. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that in 2013, more than 11,400 people went to the ER with injuries sustained from fireworks. Sixty-five percent of those visits were within the 30 days surrounding July 4. 

Children under 15 made up about 40 percent of those patients.

The National Safety Council reports that children between the ages of 10 and 14 are three times more likely to suffer an injury due to fireworks than the rest of the general population. And this comes from the use or misuse of small firecrackers, bottle rockets, and sparklers.

We think of sparklers as being “safe” for children, when in fact they burn between 1,200 and 2,000 degrees. That’s hot enough to melt glass and some metals.  Consider glow sticks for little ones. Still fun but not dangerous.

The best advice is to leave it to the professionals. Make plans to enjoy a community fireworks display instead of doing your own. Most fireworks are illegal in the state of Iowa per city codes and state laws.

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, GRMC’s emergency department is here for you. Play it safe this holiday weekend.

For more tips, check out these websites.

https://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/121339/012.pdf

http://www.nsc.org/news_resources/Resources/Documents/Using%20Fireworks%20Safely.pdf

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Fireworks/