Articles

Hip-Hop brings patients bouncing into Saint Francis!!

The Total Joint Center at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco celebrated its first year of operation this January. Headlining the momentous occasion was our first annual Hip-Hop dance party. “Medical Director, Tom Sampson had the idea before we ever got off the ground”, stated Spine and Joint Center Manager Eric Swift. “He not only loved the name, but loved the thought of having our patients dancing once again”, Swift added.

Director of Marketing, Linda Gillespie sealed the idea when she suggested inviting not only the staff and patient graduates of the program, but seminar attendees as well. People with arthritic joints living in pain could be brought together with patients who had the same trouble less than a year ago who are now back on their feet again living an active lifestyle.

With over 350 seminar attendees from 6 months of seminars and nearly 100 total joint patients, we were certain to have a successful event, and that we did. Clinical Manager and principle educator of all patients in the program, Judith Bolker, added a nice touch to the event: each graduate patient was awarded a bronze medal with the inscription, “Freedom from Pain” and the Total Joint Center logo embossed on it.

The patient’s individual surgeon placed the medals around his or her neck. This ceremony that not only brought excitement from the patients, but giant smiles acknowledging that their lives were now back on track and they were free from the pain that left them disabled just months earlier. Ms. Bolker noted that many patients were unable to attend the celebration because they were now traveling the world. “There were so many people I wanted to see, but the fact is, they are out living their lives”!

“The event was the talk of the hospital for weeks”, adds Bolker. The Hip-Hop also featured a dance instruction duo that made sure our patients were up and hopping. Administrative liaison, Veronica LaBeau did a fantastic job with the details of the event and transformed a dull cafeteria into what looked like Cole Porter’s Lounge.

By the time the sun went down, you thought you were in a nightclub. “It was certainly easy to forget you were at work,” staff conveyed. With the inclusion of so many disciplines connected to the development of this program, as well as our patient attendance, this turned out to be one hoppin' party!