Jim Fiorenzo, president of UPMC Hamot, says the hospital has made considerable strides in prevention and wellness, as Bob Warren, president of The Warren Company in Erie, undergoes a vascular screening performed by Ron Keene, a cardiac nurse and sonographer at the UPMC Hamot Heart and Vascular Institute. The hospital has expanded the vascular program through targeted screenings and education.
Working With You as a Team Toward Better Health
Bob Warren is a father, a businessman and a man who lost both his grandfather and great-grandfather to heart attacks at an early age.
UPMC Hamot’s 400-member medical staff and 3,100 employees is to serve its patients and communities in a tradition of quality, health, healing and education.
At 47, Warren isn’t taking any chances with his health, by seeing his doctor regularly and taking advantage of vascular screenings, a recommendation based on his family’s medical history.
“Population management, population health are the new buzzwords in health care,” explains Fiorenzo. “That all goes along with making sure that patients get screened; they get seen in the office — women for annual mammographies and colonoscopies every five years, the whole drill. Today, it’s all about making sure that you manage the population, and you’re measured against your performance in managing that population. You’re graded on how well you’re able to get people into the queue to have their testing done.”
The safe, non-invasive test is used to measure the thickness of the walls of the carotid arteries. The screening helps physicians identify patients with atherosclerosis — hardening of the arteries that can lead to heart attacks, stroke and impaired blood flow to the legs. “My dad had been paying attention for years to the signs of a heart attack, which at the time, were pain in your right arm and shoulder, shortness of breath and those kinds of things. He was 52 when he had his first open heart surgery,” notes Warren. “So each year past 48, he’d say, ‘I beat you, Dad.’ ” Warren’s father, who ultimately lived a full life and passed away of pancreatic cancer in 2008, is a reminder to Warren of how important it is to take care of his health. The president of The Warren Company, a steel warehouse and fabrication service center in Erie, hopes he can encourage others to take advantage of vascular screenings, as well.
With changes in the health-care landscape, organizations that move quickly toward a population health model are expected to better navigate coming changes in reimbursement — a move from fee for service, which is regarded as a major reason for the nation’s
“You need to set a baseline earlier in life, and this gives you a point to start from. Then, as you go through those preventative care measures, through your personal health-care provider, you can see if there are changes that are being made,” Warren notes. “This is what can help you do that. Here’s the information that’s available. Here are the services that are out there.”
Focused on Community Health, Wellness
Jim Fiorenzo, president of UPMC Hamot, says the hospital is making significant strides to increase awareness of the resources available for both prevention and treatment. In fact, the mission of 10 < www.mbabizmag.com < February 2015
As a leader in health care, UPMC Hamot has invested in cutting-edge technology, including two 3-D breast cancer tomosynthesis systems to improve imaging of breast tissue.