When Michele Swisher's daughter Kristen, 12, was hospitalized in Richmond in April, she kept friends, family and her co-workers at Mary Washington Hospital informed through a personalized Web site at caringbridge.org.
The site was so useful that employees at Mary Washington decided they needed something similar.
Lisa Lucas, director of cardiac services at MWH, approached the hospital's foundation about funding for the project. On July 18, caringbridge.org was up and running at the hospital.
Caringbridge.org allows the patient or the patient's family to create a Web site they can use to post updates about their condition.
The sites feature a journal, a guest book and a place to upload pictures, among other things.
The creator of the site chooses a name for it, which can be given to family and friends.
"The nice thing about CaringBridge is that the patient has control over the information they want to share with their family and friends," Lucas said.
For Swisher, the site cut down on the massive number of phone calls she and her husband were getting every day.
"It was a great way to not have to keep repeating the same information over and over," Swisher said.
CaringBridge was founded by a woman whose close friend suffered a life-threatening pregnancy in 1997.
The sites are free and are available to anyone at the hospital.
Computers are available in three places in the hospital to create and update the sites. Two are in the intensive care unit waiting area; one is in the palliative care unit; and one is in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Lucas said brochures have been placed near the computers to publicize the sites.
Lucas said CaringBridge sites not only help keep friends and relatives informed, but also serve as a keepsake for the patient after he or she gets out of the hospital.
"It gives a memory book for the patient," she said. "Once the patient gets out of the hospital, they can go on and see everyone who visited their site."
To reach JESSICA SCHONBERG:
Email: jschonberg@freelancestar.com