FOUNDATION OF SUPPORT

ARAMCO SERVICES COMPANy STRIDES FoR STRoKE

By Gale Smith

Aramco Services Company stepped up to serve as the presenting sponsor of The Methodist Hospital System’s 2010 Stride4Stroke 5K Walk/Run. The company partnered with Methodist in support of its efforts to increase stroke awareness and prevention throughout the local community.

Living its values … corporate citizenship

One of Aramco Services Company’s core values is citizenship. With this in mind, the company actively seeks opportunities to participate in a variety of community outreach programs, which this year included sponsorship of the Methodist Stride4Stroke 5K Walk/Run.

Aramco Services sponsored this important event because it promotes community wellness through stroke awareness and education, and it also provides an opportunity for Houstonians to enjoy a fun-filled day of activities with their family members and friends.

The Aramco team of employees is committed to giving back to the communities in which they live and work. The company is involved in a variety of projects to help advance quality education, safer neighborhoods, affordable housing, a cleaner environment, improved health care and more.

Volunteers often say that the teamwork between their colleagues and community members makes each project especially meaningful and brings a high level of personal and professional reward.

Company volunteers participate in at-capacity numbers for annual projects with Houston Habitat for Humanity to help build new homes so local families can realize their dream of home ownership. The company also digs in to the task of planting trees to help beautify the city through the Trees for Houston program and supports public broadcasting by providing volunteers to help answer calls and accept pledges during the Houston PBS, KUHT-TV Channel 8 telethon.

Aramco Services also provides volunteers to help educate, mentor and inspire students to achieve financial literacy through specialized Junior Achievement programs, and supports organizations such as Crime Stoppers to help ensure safer neighborhoods.

Headquartered in Houston for more than 35 years, Aramco Services is the U.S.–based subsidiary of the world’s leading energy provider, Saudi Aramco. It serves as a vital link between Saudi Aramco and North America to help facilitate the safe and reliable delivery of energy to customers around the world. n

To learn more about Aramco Services, please visit aramcoservices.com.

SM

Every time Jan Flewelling steps in front of an audience, she’s racing against the clock because she knows that for every person she meets, she’s increasing awareness about a disease that strikes every 40 seconds — stroke.

“People need to know the signs of stroke so they can act fast,” says Flewelling, a stroke outreach program coordinator at The Methodist Hospital. Through The Methodist Hospital System Taking Strides4Stroke: Community Awareness Campaign, she and her colleagues strive to beat the odds — educating more than 14,000 Texans about stroke during the past three years.

Established in 2007, and led by the Methodist Neurological Institute’s Eddy Scurlock Stroke Center, the goal of this fiveyear campaign is to create a stroke education program model that can be used by other urban hospitals and communities.

Stroke campaign spreads awareness statewide

The hunger for knowledge

“I’ve traveled throughout Houston and the state of Texas, talking about stroke symptoms, prevention and treatment options, and I can tell you that people are hungry for this knowledge,” says Flewelling, a registered nurse. “The stories they share with me of loved ones affected by stroke remind me that what I teach impacts lives. Knowing that I may be helping people I’ll never meet — that is most gratifying, and it never gets old.”

Now in its fourth year, Strides4Stroke has raised more than $2 million for stroke education and increased stroke awareness by educating and training thousands of health care providers in hospitals and health organizations throughout Texas.

Flewelling has assisted more than a dozen Texas hospitals in enhancing their stroke care programs. Many are now certified Primary Stroke Centers by The Joint Commission or are in the process of becoming certified.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the fourth leading cause of death among Hispanics. Because of the prevalence of stroke in this community and the growth of the Strides4Stroke campaign, Methodist hired a second outreach coordinator in 2009 to focus primarily on Houston’s Spanish-speaking population.

FOUNDATION OF SUPPORT “People need to know the signs of stroke, so they can act fast.”

Methodist stroke community educators Jan Flewelling and Marta Cortes dedicate their time whenever and wherever they are needed to teaching what is known as the FAST assessment:

Face: Does one side of the face droop? Ask the person to smile. arm: Does one arm drift downward? Ask the person to raise both arms.

Speech:

Does their speech sound slurred or strange? Ask the person to repeat a simple phase. time: If you observe any of these signs, then it’s time to call 9-1-1.

Targeting minority populations

In addition to teaching stroke awareness in Houston’s Latino community, Marta Cortes is working with the city’s Chinese community to provide an avenue for needed screenings and education that it would not otherwise receive.

She’s also reaching across the U.S. border into Mexico, where she is working with hospitals in Mexico City to build and enhance their stroke programs, so they can apply for international stroke certifications.

Cortes, a registered nurse who previously worked with heart patients says, “It doesn’t matter what language you speak when it comes to teaching people how to save lives.

“Explaining a brain attack in any language is huge. If we can impress upon them that stroke is an emergency and teach them how to seek help, we’re one step closer to reducing the incidence of this disease.” grant brings campaign to East Texas

In 2008, a $5.8-million-dollar, three-year grant from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation allowed Methodist to partner with Memorial Health Systems of East Texas to bring an advanced stroke program to this region, where stroke mortality is four times the national average. Through this grant and the ongoing Strides4Stroke campaign, Methodist is assisting Memorial Medical Center — Lufkin to advance their stroke program.

Physicians at MMC-L are treating more stroke patients, and the hospital expects to apply for Primary Stroke Center certification with The Joint Commission this summer. The partnership is another step in turning Methodist’s goal of creating a stroke education program that can be successfully replicated by other hospitals into reality.

“I know the deadly power of stroke,” Flewelling says. “But I also know that by teaching others, we have strength in numbers against this disease.” n

Society for Leading Medicine

The Methodist Hospital Foundation appreciates members of the Society for Leading Medicine who are helping transform The Methodist Hospital through contributions of $10,000 or more each year. The following list recognizes the benevolent visionaries of the society in 2009. Their generosity not only allows Methodist to provide the very best in patient care, but also advances its vision of becoming an academic medical center of the first rank. If you wish to know more about how you can ensure the health of future generations by joining the Society for Leading Medicine, please contact Meredith Stasny at 832-667-5838.

Anonymous (7) Dr. and Mrs. Bobby R. Alford The Alkek and Williams Foundation

Alliant Insurance Associates American Society of Echocardiography Dr. Hiram P. Arnold* and Mrs. Gloria R. Arnold

Astros In Action Foundation

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Barrow

Dr. Barbara L. Bass and Mr. Richard S. Marshall, Esq. Mr. and Mrs.Carlton E. Baucum

M.R. Bauer Foundation Carolyn and John Bookout The Bowers Family Fund of the Texas Methodist Foundation

Breg, Inc. The Brown Foundation, Inc. Mr. Charles R. Burnett III Mrs. Judy Campbell Mr. and Mrs. William A. Carpenter Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Philip J. Carroll The P and C Carroll Foundation Catch 25 Foundation Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Y. Chao Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation The Cockrell Foundation Competitor Group, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Michael M. Cone Mr. and Mrs. M. Samuel Daffin

DePuy Mitek, Inc. DermSurgery Associates, P.A. The Doré Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Duncan Jr. Peggy and Gary Edwards The Elkins Foundation

Marvy Finger Family Foundation Jerry and Nanette Finger Foundation The Fondren Foundation Drs. A. Osama and Lillian Gaber Mr. George B. Geary Dr. Leonard H. Goldberg Golfers Against Cancer Mr. and Mrs. Herbert I. Goodman The Blanche M. Green Fund

Mr. and Mrs. John E. Hagale The Hamill Foundation

Hobby Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hollier

Houston Endowment

Houston Texans Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. I.H. Kempner III Mr. Ajay Khurana and Dr. Sapandeep K. Singh Mr. Balwant S. Khurana Mr. and Mrs. Gregory A. Kozmetsky Carole Walter Looke

M.D. Anderson Foundation

MacDonald Family Foundation Mr. Clarence E. Mayer Jr. and Mrs. Jill Mayer The Methodist Hospital Auxiliary Mr. and Mrs. John S. Moody The Moran Foundation

Mosbacher Foundation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Gregory V. Nelson Joe Niekro Foundation Orthopaedic Research & Education Foundation The Oshman Foundation Ms. Chloe R. Pounds The George A. Robinson IV Foundation Roche Laboratories Inc. Mr. Rob Schanen Drs. George and Lynn Schroth Scurlock Foundation Vivian L. Smith Foundation Dr. H. Dirk Sostman and Ms. Maria Preka Ms. Sharon Werlin Staton Cynthia and Don Stevenson T.L.L. Temple Foundation Taub Foundation

Texas Arrhythmia Institute Ms. Ann G. Trammell

Mr. and Mrs. David M. Underwood

Ray Walsh Foundation Joseph C. “Rusty” Walter Martha and Gib Walton

The Honorable Ewing Werlein Jr. and Mrs. Werlein

* Deceased