Staff announcements
HCA Florida Bayonet Hospital, 14000 Fivay Road in Hudson, announced Ken Holder has joined its team as the director of Communications and Community Engagement.
Holder comes to the facility with 45 years of experience in professional federal and corporate communications, strategic communications and public affairs/community outreach, and most recently worked for Vistra Communications.
His career including tours of duty with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Headquarters Department of the Army, U.S. Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (USASDDC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and Installation Management Command.
He is the recipient of many honors, including Department of Defense awards, the Public Relations Society of American Silver Anvil, the USACE Public Affairs Officer of the Year Award and the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Awards (three times).
Holder also was selected by the Under Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to head up communication efforts following the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the Northeast.
The hospital also has named Adam Copher as its new chief nursing officer. Copher will provide strategic leadership for the hospital’s nursing department, manage clinical quality and patient safety, and direct the recruitment, training and professional development of its growing nursing staff.
The Bayonet facility continues to add registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and other essential staff. The hospital this year has hired 111 full-time nurses.
Prior to joining Bayonet Point Hospital, Copher served as chief nursing officer at HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg.
Copher joined HCA Healthcare in 2017 as a nurse director for multiple acute care units at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville. He was later promoted to associate chief nursing officer at HCA Florida Trinity Hospital.
Caregiving survival tips
The holidays add expectations to the average person — preparing holiday meals, buying gifts for the family, traveling to visit loved ones — which can put a strain on caregivers who plan the celebrations for their loved one’s needs.
Setting realistic expectations for the holidays is important because increased demands can lead to burnout. It is important to remember the holidays may never look the same and to create new traditions.
Jennifer L. FitzPatrick, founder of the full-service health care education organization Jenerations Health Education Inc., has more than 20 years of experience in health care, according to a news release. She is a gerontology instructor at Johns Hopkins University’s Certificate on Aging program. Her mission is to help health care organizations and professionals grow while empowering patients and their caregivers, the release says.
FitzPatrick offers these tips for caregivers during the holidays:
- Buy pre-prepped food or food already prepared.
- Plan flexibility into your holiday schedule.
- Keep celebrations small so as not to overstimulate your loved one.
- Be patient.
- Watch for signs of cognitive decline in loved ones you haven’t seen.
- Plan extra time for loved ones to get dressed in their best.
- Have a backup plan if your loved one isn’t feeling up to it.
- Make arrangements with care homes, hospitals or doctors in advance.
- Prepare food your loved one can eat ahead of time if they have dietary restrictions.
- Anticipate any other guest’s experience, such as autism, grief, allergies, etc.
- Make time for yourself and your needs.
- Instruct guests on accommodations, such as putting things in certain places for blind family members or avoiding sudden loud noises that could trigger meltdowns.
- Don’t take your loved one’s reaction to the holidays personally.
