Swans Grace Patients of Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center

Sept. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- (DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.) – Two new arrivals are gracing employees, patients and community members alike at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center. They are not patients. They are not even human. But rather, they are swans.

Nancy Lohman, member of the Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center Governing and Foundation Boards of Directors, and her family generously donated two male swans to swim the pond in front of the hospital’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.

As owners of Lohman Funeral Homes, Lohman and her family created a garden, complete with a lake and their very own swans, five years ago at 1423 Bellevue Avenue in Daytona Beach.  

“For five years, we’ve had families tell us how peaceful, tranquil and serene the swans made them feel at our garden,” Lohman said. “When my husband, Lowell, and I toured the Comprehensive Cancer Center and saw the infusion room that overlooked the lake, we thought that the cancer patients would appreciate that same beautiful, tranquil feeling the swans bring.”

Lohman was right.

“While the lake has always served as a place of serenity and peace for our patients receiving infusions and chemotherapy, the swans have added a new dimension of life,” said Luis Chanaga, Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Executive Director. “Now it is more than a beautiful panoramic view, but a place for patients to view nature. When they see the swans, they are immediately filled with happiness and joy.”

In their excitement over the new arrivals, both the employees and patients of Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center submitted their ideas for what to name the pretty pair – 216 suggested pairs of names in total. Members of the executive team selected their three favorite pairs of names, and the final decision was made in an employee vote. And thus, the names Faith and Hope were given to two newest members of the hospital care team.

“Hope and Faith are not only key elements of care at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, but they are also team members here at our Comprehensive Cancer Center,” said Chanaga.

About Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center
Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center consists of two campuses, a 277-bed hospital in Daytona Beach and a 119-bed hospital in Ormond Beach. Our specialties include cardiology, emergency, hospice, home health, imaging, laboratory, oncology, obstetrics, neurology, physician practices, rehabilitation and women’s services. Florida Hospital Memorial was recently named one of America’s 50 Best hospitals for 2010 by HealthGrades®, an independent healthcare ratings organization. Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is among the top one percent of all hospitals nationwide for quality outcomes. For more information, visit www.floridahospitalmemorial.org

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Florida Hospital Volusia/Flagler is a nonprofit hospital system with a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ. With five hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties, Florida Hospital is the largest hospital system in the area, with nearly 800 beds and 4,700 employees, and caring for nearly 650,000 patients every year. Florida Hospital Volusia/Flagler specializes in a wide range of health services for the entire family, including nationally recognized programs in cardiology, cancer, women’s medicine, neurology, diabetes, orthopaedics and rehabilitation.