Elise Rector of Mount Laurel spent 108 days in the ICU fighting H1N1. On Friday, Elise and her fiancé Vincent celebrated their courtship at the place that saved her life six-months ago and welcomed the staff responsible for her remarkable recovery to join in their celebration of love.

Recently-released federal data shows the national Cesarean rate for 2007 to be the highest ever reported, at 31.8 percent of all births, which is an increase of 54 percent from 1996. The Courier-Post published an in-depth article discussing the trend in New Jersey and spoke with Richard L. Fischer, M.D., Head of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, about some of the possible reasons for the substantial increase.

Last week, Rowan University held an undergraduate commencement ceremony for the class of 2010. Former graduate Marque Allen addressed those in attendance while accepting this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. During his speech, Allen and his wife, Yvette, officially presented the University with the first donation to fund a scholarship at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.

Richard Selznick, Ph.D., Director of the Cooper Learning Center, wrote an article featured in the Great Schools Newsletter about seven strategies to help your child climb from struggles to success. Shut-down learners are children who become academically discouraged and disconnected from school over time.

Cooper University Hospital is pleased to have received the Gold Award for the Bridges to Excellence in the 2010 Aster Awards competition. Bridges to Excellence is an evidenced based and peer reviewed publication created by Cooper nurses to recognize nursing excellence and advance the practice of nursing.

We celebrated the opening of our new multi-specialty facility in Willingboro with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour on Monday night. The 11,000 square feet of practice space is in the heart of Burlington County and will offer patients an array of services, including: Podiatry, Vascular Surgery, Urology, Dermatology, Nephrology, Rheumatology as well as Primary Care.

The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Mr. Chris Koniers and his wife Franny, both breast cancer survivors, who participated in this year's walk for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Philadelphia. Last Mother’s Day, Mr. Koniers was just a bystander, supporting his wife as she walked during the annual event. This year, he was a part of the race as a breast cancer survivor himself, walking along side of his wife and thousands of other women fighting for a cure.

Students from Seneca High School were exposed to what day-to-day life is like at a Level I Trauma Center on Wednesday during a three-hour course that included examples of execution-style gunshot wounds, severe burns and suicide attempts as well as simulated trauma cases. The lesson for students - most trauma injuries are preventable.

Congratulations to this year's Spirit of Planetree Physician Champion and Caregiver of the Year: Michael E. Chansky, M.D., Chief, Emergency Department, and Barbara A. McCarty, Director of Child Life Services. The Spirit of Planetree Awards promote patient and family-centered care by recognizing those who personalize and demystify the health care experience for our patients.

Beau Biden, the Attorney General in Delaware and son of Vice President Joe Biden, suffered a mild stroke Tuesday morning. As part of their coverage, CBS3's medical reporter, Stephanie Stahl, spoke with Thomas Mirsen, M.D., Director of the Stroke Program at Cooper University Hospital, for perspective and additional information about stroke symptoms, treatment and recovery.