Growing alignment

GROWING ALIGNMENT How Ascension’s cardiovascular service line is enhancing quality, boosting physician engagement and fostering efficiencies

Three years ago, Ascension introduced its first national service lines to improve patient care by enabling service line physicians to collaborate as a community.

The aim was to advance Ascension into the forefront of the nation’s healthcare providers — on par with other national leaders — through dynamic, unified service lines that allow physicians from individual markets to collaborate with colleagues Systemwide — pooling knowledge, skills and experience to better serve patients with higher quality and an exceptional experience while advancing growth and reducing unnecessary costs.

The initial System-wide service lines were established around cardiovascular, oncology and orthopedic services. Success would be measured by improving the health of individuals and communities through quality care and an improved patient experience delivered at a lower cost.

How service lines work Drawing on their varied perspectives and experience, service line physicians share information, ideas and best practices; pose and answer questions and problems; and lay down plans for continually improving care.

“The psychology of medicine has changed, and healthcare today is best supplied by ecosystems of physicians, nurses and other care providers working seamlessly together,” said Richard Fogel, MD, an Indianapolis-based cardiologist who serves

as Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, Clinical & Network Services, Ascension. “Service lines, with their shared vocabulary of expertise and caring, are a cornerstone of the Ascension ministry. They represent a structure and process that can improve the care we deliver. System-wide service lines are supercharged versions of our local lines.”

Through service lines, patients receive all services — preventive, diagnostic, medical, surgical and follow-up — from a consolidated group of professionals operating in direct interaction. Among their goals, service lines work to reduce unneeded variations in care, promote physician engagement and attain financial savings through bulk purchases of supplies — among other steps. To make it all happen, big thinking and the power of collaboration are encouraged.

“National service lines spread the collective knowledge of our thousands of superb physicians System-wide, creating superior results for all of our patients at all of our hospitals,” said Mark Whalen, Chief Strategy Officer, Clinical & Network Services. “We also want to improve both clinical quality and access to care, and as a Catholic mission, to pay particular attention to the poor and vulnerable. National service lines are an excellent way of doing all of this.”

Mark stressed the importance of physician engagement in the service lines: “We want to ensure that Ascension is a great place for clinicians — both directly employed and affiliated — to work. Therefore, our national service lines are led by experts in the local markets, empowering them to champion and implement enhancements to the kinds of care that they themselves deliver. It’s a terrific opportunity to acquire a System-level view and contribute to fortifying care nationally.”

Ascension’s cardiovascular service line Launching first, the cardiovascular service line is the most mature of the national service lines. It includes cardiac surgeons, electrophysiologists (who treat heart rhythm problems), interventional cardiologists (who provide catheterbased testing and treatment), and structural heart specialists (who treat defects in the heart’s valves, walls and chambers). “One of our goals is to identify common practices in high-performing local cardiac markets and expand their use System-wide,” said Edward Fry, MD, who heads both the cardiovascular service line at Ascension Indiana and the System-wide cardiovascular service line. “With our unified national cardiovascular service line, we have every reason to look to the future with confidence and optimism. We’ve built the new line, we’ve backed it, and patients are benefiting from it.” A key step is gathering and comparing System-wide data on such key services as cardiac catheterization (which helps evaluate heart function), angioplasty (when an implanted mesh stent keeps a damaged artery open) and bypass surgery (when blood vessels from other areas of the body help reroute blood around blocked heart arteries). The findings are then compared to national data to identify areas of strength as well as those needing improvement.

Same-day discharge Since most patients would rather recuperate at home, the cardiovascular service line works to increase same-day discharges whenever it’s safe to do so. This makes patients and family members happier and lowers the risk of hospital-acquired infections. Additionally, policies from the federal government and private insurers emphasize reducing unnecessary hospital length-of-stay.

One tool for accelerating discharge is to perform cardiac catheterization and angioplasty through the wrist artery instead of the main leg artery — a less invasive approach. The cardiovascular service line developed protocols to help determine which patients qualified for this model. Following implementation, wrist-based procedures increased from 35% to 46% last year — eliminating about 4,400 patient days across Ascension and saving $4.4 million.

Transformation of care Transformation of care, which emphasizes home-based care and monitoring, has become a priority. It is championed by Mary Walsh, MD, director of the heart failure and cardiac transplantation programs and of nuclear cardiology at Ascension St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis. “Transformation of care allows us to manage patients more closely than three or four checkups at the office each year, as was done in the past,” Dr. Walsh said. “At Ascension we’ve long placed a priority on teams, so transformation of care, which relies on nonphysicians a great deal, is a natural progression.”

Transformation of care features frequent in-home visits for patients with congestive heart failure by cardiac nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. It also includes remote care monitoring, through which patients are taught to provide their weight, food and water intakes, and blood pressure via cellphones to nurses who monitor the information and contact physicians when necessary.

Pharmacists also play a key role. Using medication reconciliation, they compare physician orders for all medicines and supplements patients are taking. The aim is to find inaccurate

doses and expired orders, detect omissions and duplications, and identify potentially dangerous interactions. In a recently published study, a pharmacist-led reconciliation project at Ascension was associated with a 30-day readmission rate for heart failure patients of 10.5%, compared to 17.3% in a control group that did not receive reconciliation.

Transformation of care is paying off in a big way: Congestive heart failure readmission rates were reduced by about 8,000 across Ascension last year.

More cardiovascular service line improvements in 2019 • Two proven-safe national initiatives that increase the number of potential heart donors and reduce wait times are now available at Ascension: hepatitis-C-positive donation and donation after brain death (when patients have severe, permanent brain injury but do not meet conditions for a formal diagnosis of brain death). Nearly 60 patients benefited from more eligible donors. • Ventricular-assist devices, which push blood from a damaged heart to the rest of the body, helped 80 patients. • A total of 150 patients underwent innovative FFR-CT imaging, which detects coronary artery disease before invasive and possibly unnecessary catheter-based testing. • New policies reduced blood transfusions during bypass surgery, lowering the risk of adverse reactions and trimming the needed inventory of blood products. Measures contributing to this improvement included obtaining consensus between cardiac surgeons and anesthesiologists and establishing common thresholds for blood cell counts before transfusions can occur. As a result, transfusions were cut from 39% to 32% — significantly better than the national average of 40%. Readmission rates for open-heart surgery patients were also 15% below the national average, and the risk-adjusted 30-day survival rate for open-heart procedures was 20% better than the national number. • New guidelines were introduced for reducing the time that bypass-surgery patients spend on ventilators upon arriving at the intensive care unit to no more than six hours. For the remainder, the target is a maximum of 24 hours. As a result, ventilator usage extending beyond the guidelines fell to 6.4% System-wide, compared to a national average of 7.6%. This means fewer complications and potentially fewer deaths. • A new device to treat certain types of atrial fibrillation has been introduced throughout Ascension — helping approximately 200 patients in 2019. The self-expanding apparatus reduces the danger that heart-based blood clots will enter

Marketing builds consumer awareness

To support the individual and cross-market needs of Ascension’s national cardiovascular service line and to better serve our patients, Ascension’s Marketing and Communications team provides ongoing promotion of cardiac services and specialists to the community. “Following research into what consumers value in heart care, a key finding revealed that consumers want a doctor who listens to understand and provides care that’s right for them personally,” said Nick Ragone, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Ascension. “And online, consumers want to read patient reviews and their personal stories.”

For many of the nation’s top healthcare providers, consistent branding and naming is an important element of reaching consumers with clear messaging, positioning and advertising, along with defining key differentiators. At Ascension:

• More 1,000 cardiovascular physicians are connected across our national network (400-plus Ascension employed). • Together, we perform more than 10,000 cardiac surgery procedures annually, more than twice as many as our closest competitor. • We perform thousands of complex heart procedures each year on the toughest cases. –More than 230 heart transplants and ventricularassist device procedures. –More than 4,500 coronary artery bypass graft procedures. –More than 22,000 percutaneous coronary intervention procedures.

Together, this approach is giving lift to the reputation of our collective cardiovascular programs across Ministry Markets and creating awareness of Ascension as a leader in national cardiovascular care.

the bloodstream and cause a stroke. It is especially helpful for patients who can’t tolerate treatment with warfarin, a standard blood thinner.

Upcoming national cardiac service line initiatives include enabling patients with atrial fibrillation to transmit mobile electrocardiogram results via their Apple Watch directly to cardiologists, and possible expansion of a targeted clinic developed by Woodrow Corey, MD, an Ascension cardiologist in Indianapolis, for patients diagnosed with both cardiovascular disease and diabetes. A major feature of the clinic is cutting risks by encouraging patients to eat better, exercise more and regularly take their medications as instructed.

Navion Healthcare Solutions, an Ascension subsidiary, is a key collaborator in the cardiovascular service line. Navion gathers anonymous data from patients’ medical records to track hundreds of key cardiac variables. This allows the cardiovascular line to monitor how Ascension’s cardiac patients fare both within the System and compared to national providers. The process has proved so effective that plans are underway to track similar data for the national oncology and orthopedic service lines.

Service line savings In addition to improving overall care, national service lines generate savings that help Ascension provide more care for those who are poor and vulnerable. For example, since the lines use the same best practices System-wide, vendors are often willing to offer discounts for the large volumes of items needed to provide care. With the work of The Resource Group, which manages and reduces nonlabor expenses for its participants through innovative contracting and supply chain management, Ascension benefits from this bulk buying as well as such novel techniques as e-auctions. Examples of recent System-wide savings include: • 33% reduction in costs for stents for the cardiovascular service line (32,000 of the devices are inserted annually). • 30% reduction in costs for chemotherapy and anti-nausea drugs for the oncology service line. • 5-8% reduction in costs for supplies for the orthopedic service line, including replacement hips, knees and shoulders; finger and toe implants; and plates, nails and screws for surgery.

“At Ascension, we are committed to improving care, increasing physician engagement and driving down costs by turbocharging our service lines,” Dr. Fogel said. “Expanding our service lines helps us gain a wider grasp of the potential solutions we need in order to achieve the upward advances our patients deserve and which we are committed to providing.”

Your heart beats quietly. Heart problems can be quiet, too.

Even if you are healthy and active, it’s a good idea to ask your doctor if you’re at risk for heart disease. Ascension ® care teams listen to understand your health history and your concerns. By knowing you better, we can make sure you’re getting the care that’s right for you.

Get the heart care that’s right for you at ascension.org

ALABAMA

Hospital recognized by magazine Ascension St. Vincent’s in Birmingham was voted Best Women’s Health Facility, Best Birthing Suites, Best Hospital in Which to Give Birth and Best Hospital NICU by Birmingham Magazine for 2019.

Dual role for chief medical officer Ijaz Iqbal, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer, Ascension Providence in Mobile, was selected to also serve as Chief Medical Officer of Providence Medical Group. In this dual role, Dr. Iqbal serves as the clinical leader responsible for helping to create stronger relationships between the medical practices and hospital and leading quality initiatives across Ascension Providence.

AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK

Collaborations offer healthy food For the past year, volunteers from St. Mary’s Healthcare, Catholic Charities, Centro Civico and other mission-based agencies have distributed free food and supplies to those in need. More than 2,000 residents of Fulton and Montgomery counties have received aid since December 2018. St. Mary’s also worked with Catholic Charities to launch the Mobile Outreach Vehicle Extension (MOVE) RV. The MOVE RV is at each event, offering space for personal counseling and health education information.

BALTIMORE

Healing Hands welcomes inductees Each year Ascension Saint Agnes honors physicians who have served the hospital with clinical excellence, innovation, leadership and service to the community by inducting them into Healing Hands. The 2019 Healing Hands class included Jeffrey Chinsky, MD; Sapna Kuehl, MD; Dean Meadows, MD; Natarajan Ravendhran, MD; and Jeffrey Seibel, MD, PhD.

BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK

Hospital named green champ Ascension Lourdes was named a Fiscal Year 2019 Green Champion and a Best-in-Class winner in the Waste Management category by Ascension’s Environmental Stewardship Champions Award program. The hospital achieved the highest recycling rate, making it a top performer. The program is a way to recognize and celebrate our hospital Green Teams. Award categories include Energy, Waste Management, Pulse Oximeter medical device collections and Overall Participation.

FLORIDA

Top 50 cardiac ranking Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola was named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by IBM Watson Health. The recognition is based on IBM Watson Health’s annual study that spotlights the top-performing cardiovascular hospitals in the U.S., based on a balanced, objective scorecard of publicly available clinical and operational data. This is the third time

AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale and AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet provide improved access to free food for Northern Illinois residents with the Rx Mobile Food Pantry.

in the past five years the hospital has been recognized.

New community ERs to open Ascension St. Vincent’s is opening two community emergency rooms in Jacksonville. Open 24/7, the facilities will provide the same services as a hospital emergency department. Both locations are scheduled to open this summer.

Hospital trialing new cardiac pacemaker Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside in Jacksonville was the first Florida hospital to participate in a trial for the world’s only wireless cardiac pacing system for heart failure. The hospital is one of only two locations in the state to offer the device. The grain-sized pacemaker was designed for patients who do not respond to more traditional treatments for heart failure.

ILLINOIS

Hospitals pilot mobile food pantry Two AMITA Health hospitals are addressing chronic medical conditions by improving access to free, nutritious foods through a pilot program offered by the Northern Illinois Food Bank. AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale and AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet are providing area residents access to the Rx Mobile Food Pantry.

Behavioral Health expansion begins A 15,000-square-foot expansion will allow AMITA Health Behavioral Health Hospital’s Intensive Outpatient Services to grow, helping to serve patients with anxiety, eating and mood disorders. It will provide more group rooms, an art therapy wing, a demonstration kitchen to assist patients with eating disorders, and added room for clinicians to collaborate and meet one-on-one with patients.

INDIANA

Associates increase downloads of Ascension Online Care In less than 24 hours, associates at Ascension St. Vincent Evansville increased enrollments of Ascension Online Care by 30% during four Town Halls. Associates participated in mass downloads of the Ascension Online Care mobile application, and several associates shared firsthand accounts of their experiences with successfully using Ascension Online Care.

Neurosurgical collaboration expands care Ascension St. Vincent expanded its longtime collaboration with Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine (GCBS) to increase access to care and grow neurosurgical capabilities for adult and pediatric patients in central Indiana. A new Neurosurgical Center of Excellence for advanced surgeries will be established. GCBS is one of the nation’s largest, most progressive independent neurosurgery practices. This collaboration is an innovative example of how health systems and independent practices can successfully join forces to improve care for patients.

KANSAS

Updates offer improved outcomes, safety Completed renovation of Ascension Via Christi Rehabilitation Hospital in

Ascension Providence Rochester leaders, along with the Ascension Michigan Mission Integration leadership team, gathered to celebrate Mass and participate in a blessing. This was the final step on the hospital’s journey to becoming a fully Catholic ministry.

Wichita provides 30 private rooms, modern decor, and a state-of-the-art gait and balance system designed to improve patient outcomes and safety. “Our goal is to help patients regain functional independence following a major illness, trauma or surgery,” said Cyndi Hagerty, Chief Nursing Officer for the hospital. Ascension Via Christi now has 48 private inpatient rehabilitation beds, including 18 at Ascension Via Christi Hospital St. Teresa in west Wichita.

Heart catheterization lab growing To keep up with growth in the need for cardiovascular services, Ascension Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita is expanding available recovery space for patients following a procedure in one of its five heart catheterization labs. When completed in early 2021, the project will create 18 modernized, state-of-the-art bays, up from the current eight bays.

MICHIGAN

Hospital celebrates milestone in Catholic journey Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital celebrated the final step on its journey to become a fully Catholic hospital. The consecration of the hospital chapel as an oratory and celebration of its first Mass were conducted by Most Rev. Gerard W. Battersby, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Detroit. Leader wins international peace prize Gary Dunbar, PhD, Executive Director of the Field Neurosciences Institute, part of Ascension St. Mary’s, received the Gusi Peace Prize International Award. Dr. Dunbar traveled to Manila, Philippines, to accept the honor at the Gusi Peace Prize International 20th Annual Awards Night. He was one of 18 recipients selected for the award and was chosen because of his global contributions in both the educational and research domains of neuroscience.

Emergency care center under construction Ascension St. Mary’s in Saginaw broke ground on a new Emergency Care Center. Nearly 300 people attended the event including board members, community leaders, associates, physicians and media. The expansion will add 12,600 square feet; renovate existing space; increase capacity; improve efficiency; and improve access for ambulances, patients and families. It’s slated to open spring 2021.

Collaborations create stronger community Ascension Genesys teamed up with the Genesee Health Plan, Consumers Energy and Huntington Bank on emPOWER Genesee, a new program to help people connect with community resources while they pay their utility bills. Resources include aid with utilities, financial assistance, healthcare and enrollment.

Hospitals recognized for quality For the third consecutive year, Ascension Standish Hospital received a quality rating of 5 stars from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as reported on the Hospital Compare website. The hospital also was recognized with 2019 Performance Leadership awards in Quality and Outcomes from The Chartis Center for Rural Health and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. Ascension St. Joseph Hospital in Tawas City was named as one of the Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health for the third consecutive year. It also received a 2019 Performance Leadership Award in the category of Outcomes from The Chartis Center and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. Ascension St. Joseph Hospital was designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Hospital launches ECMO program Ascension St. John Hospital launched Ascension Michigan’s first extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program. Establishment of the ECMO program was a nine-month collaborative effort among many departments.

Patio creates peaceful setting for patients An outdoor rooftop patio is providing a unique healing environment for behavioral health inpatients at Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital, Warren Campus. The patio was created to enhance the care environment for vulnerable behavioral health patients who tend to spend eight to 10 days on the unit.

OKLAHOMA

Medical Mission serves community Ascension St. John Jane Phillips held its first Ascension Medical Mission, serving residents of the Bartlesville and Nowata communities. More than 260 volunteers and healthcare professionals delivered medical and dental care, vision, hearing and bone density screenings, foot care, ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, flu shots, lab tests, and behavioral assessments to nearly 200 individuals. Pet therapy, car seat checks, prayer and spiritual counseling were also offered. Participants also received donations such as coats, gloves, scarves, socks, diapers, baby formula and hygiene items, provided in part by Ascension St. John associates.

Ministry connects with area leaders Ascension St. John held its first Community Connection, a program to engage and inform key stakeholders in government, business, healthcare, faith and nonprofit organizations about local and System initiatives. “We see this as a real opportunity to connect with community leaders in an intentional way, to not only deliver our message but to garner their feedback and to make sure those lines of communication are wide open,” said Jeffrey Nowlin, FACHE, Senior Vice President, Ascension, and Ministry Market Executive, Ascension Oklahoma.

TENNESSEE

BEST for Babies recognition Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown and Rutherford hospitals received the Tennessee Department of Health’s 2019 “BEST for Babies” award. Facilities are selected based on year-to-year success in increasing breastfeeding initiation rates, minimizing instances of premature delivery and promoting healthy sleep practices for babies. “BEST” stands for “breast-feeding initiation, early elective delivery elimination, safe sleep education and modeling for Tennessee babies.” “We will never take for granted the immense privilege of bringing new life into this world,” said Kristen Toth, Vice President of Women’s, Children’s, and Oncology Services, Ascension Saint Thomas.

Nursing Corps supports veterans The Ascension Saint Thomas Nursing Corps, a collaboration with Middle Tennessee State University, announced its first member: Martinna Young, veteran and senior nursing major. The program supports veterans through employment opportunities and mentorship while also giving life to a robust pipeline of strong registered nurse candidates to meet the health needs of the community.

TEXAS

Collaboration advances care for kids Dell Children’s Medical Center began a collaboration with Texas Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to provide a mobile clinic for primary pediatric healthcare for children who do not have a medical home. The mobile unit is staffed with experts in pediatric care, including board-certified pediatricians, a registered nurse, a medical assistant and social work service providers. “Every child deserves high-quality healthcare. At Dell Children’s, it’s our honor to work with WIC and broaden our reach to an underserved community. This monthly service will ensure that more children have direct access to comprehensive, ongoing healthcare services,” said Chris Born, President, Dell Children’s Medical Center.

Veterans recognition program begins Ascension Providence in Waco unveiled a new program to honor patients who are veterans and a new Veterans Memorial & Healing Garden during a Veterans Day ceremony. “Ascension Providence is honored to serve and employ veterans, and we are thankful for their service to

our nation,” said Philip Patterson, President, Ascension Providence.

Hospital is first to offer cardiac diagnostic tool Ascension Seton is the first health system in Central Texas to implement artificial intelligence technology to transform diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. The technology allows clinicians to use a resting coronary CT scan on a patient to create a personalized 3D heart model to better evaluate the impact a blockage has on blood flow and determine the best treatment. The test results in a color-coded map that aids clinicians in determining, vessel by vessel, if sufficient blood is reaching the heart.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Open house and health fair Providence held a community open house and health fair to re-engage with the community, highlight current services offered and discuss its transformation to best serve the needs of the community. The “Welcome Back to Providence” event was attended by more than 250 community members, who talked with representatives of local organizations; heard information from Providence providers and leadership; and took part in health screenings, a group fitness class, a kids’ corner and more.

WISCONSIN

Ascension Medical Mission in Milwaukee North Division High School was transformed into a medical center with help from 500-plus volunteers as hundreds of healthcare professionals spent their Saturday delivering free care, including more than 600 medical and 147 dental services to 230 individuals, at an Ascension Medical Mission event in Milwaukee.

Madelyn Kennedy, APRN-CNP, Ascension Medical Group St. John, provides checkups to children and adults at the Ascension Medical Mission in Oklahoma.

New health center planned Ascension Wisconsin is planning to open a new health center in the Village of Menomonee Falls, providing access to primary, specialty, hospital and emergency services. Construction begins this spring, with a tentative opening date of April 2021. The health center project is expected to create 50 to 70 jobs.

ASCENSION CARE MANAGEMENT

Medicare Advantage plans launched In collaboration with Centene, Ascension Complete was created to develop Medicare Advantage solutions for seniors in Jacksonville and Pensacola, Florida; Wichita, Kansas; and Chicago in 2020. These plans are shaped by Ascension physicians and focus on delivering quality care to seniors while creating the best member and physician experience possible. Nearly 2,000 members currently participate in Ascension Complete Medicare Advantage programs, and plans call for expansion into new markets in 2021.

ASCENSION GLOBAL MISSION

Fund continues work for migrants, women religious Global Solidarity Fund (GSF) leaders met with representatives from the Regional Bureau for the Americas at the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last fall. UNHCR has a mandate to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. GSF will continue conversations with UNHCR as its Ethiopian strategy to deliver holistic programs is further developed. GSF also met with leaders of eight African congregations of women religious to explore opportunities to support leadership programs for women religious.

ASCENSION INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Executive presents at Healthcare Forum David Erickson, Chief Investment Officer, spoke at Neuberger Berman’s 2019 Healthcare Forum in December on the topic of disruption in investing. David also hosted a breakfast at a large national institutional investor conference in January attended by chief investment officers of significant healthcare institutions.

ASCENSION LEADER INSTITUTE

Second ASPIRE group begins program ASPIRE welcomed its second cohort in 2019. Thirty-two emerging leaders are connected to a career sponsor, attend

monthly virtual sessions with executives throughout Ascension, and work on projects to apply critical learnings. The new cohort — made up of Amy Arnold, Bithiah Barber, Kevin Baum, Jeremy Biltz, Seth Bothwell, Michelle Cleven, Hayley Craft, Renee Dittmar, Sean Doll O’Mahoney, Kate Garza, GinaMarie Geheb, Neidra Harrison, Laronica Humphrey, Elizabeth Kamhieh, Alonzo Kindred, Grace Lee, Jaclyn Lopez, Shemeka Major, Sarah Martin, Damian McFarlane, Dana Muntz, Maram Omari, Gregory Poirier, Bernice Rector, Amity Rees, Cody Rodriguez, Melissa Sparks, Salim Street, Jeremy Swaw, Alicia Urbanovsky, Margaret Wolfred and Zahra Young — will graduate in fall 2020.

ASCENSION LIVING

National magazines cite centers Four Ascension Living skilled nursing and rehabilitation communities made Newsweek’s Best Nursing Homes 2020 list and 15 were named to the U.S. News & World Report Best Nursing Homes 2019–2020 list.

ASCENSION MEDICAL GROUP

Wellness tool supports clinicians Since its introduction in March 2019, the Well-Being Index has supported more than 1,900 physicians, residents and advanced practice providers. This assessment allows clinicians to measure their level of burnout anonymously and immediately provides access to resources tailored to their individual results. The tool was adopted by Ascension Medical Group to provide a validated measure of clinician engagement and well-being. ASCENSION TECHNOLOGIES

Telesitter program earns honor AvaSure, which produces the “telesitter” product that powers Ascension’s e-Sitter solution, has named Ascension one of the winners of the AvaPrize for having the most complete telesitting program, after successfully adding more than 450 cameras at over 50 of its hospitals. Within Ascension, telesitting is currently used to monitor patients who are a fall risk or to address patients when they have issues with their medical equipment.

ASCENSION VENTURES

Investments show continued growth Ascension Ventures has made several follow-on investments in its portfolio of companies, including Imperative Care, Olive, Reputation.com, Syapse and

Get the care you need, when and where you need it

Get the care that’s right for you at Ascension. Check in online, anytime for walk-in and emergency care. Schedule routine care online with an Ascension doctor. Or see a doctor online 24/7 — from wherever you are — with Ascension Online Care. Now covered by SmartHealth medical plans and available in all 50 states.

Find it all at ascension.org

©Ascension 2020. All rights reserved.

Primary Care | ER Check-in | Online Care | Walk-in Care

VisitPay. In addition, UnitedHealth announced the acquisition of Vivify Health, an Ascension Ventures portfolio company and Ascension vendor. Ascension Ventures is excited by the numerous adoptions by Ascension of companies that it has referred over the years. There have been nearly 400 to date, spanning the investment focus areas of healthcare services, healthcare information technology and medical devices.

CLINICAL & NETWORK SERVICES

Ascension Complete launches with 2,000 members This year approximately 2,000 members are taking advantage of Ascension Complete Medicare Advantage programs across Ascension Florida, AMITA Health in Illinois and Ascension Kansas. The plan is designed to provide Medicare patients with a simpler, more personalized experience with affordable, predictable costs. Ascension Complete also supports Ascension’s strategy of finding new ways to increase patient engagement and provide better care coordination among clinicians and staff across the continuum.

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

Arkansas named Patient Centered Medical Home DePaul Community Health Centers in Arkansas earned recognition from the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient Centered Medical Home. The NCQA is an independent nonprofit organization that works to improve healthcare through the administration of evidence-based standards, measures, programs and accreditation. This recognition program provides healthcare practices information about organizing care around patients, working in teams, and coordinating and tracking care over time.

MEDXCEL

Real estate added to services Medxcel took a big step toward greater efficiencies and delivering one voice to Ascension markets by welcoming the Real Estate Group into the Medxcel portfolio. Real Estate offers five service lines: property management, transaction management, development, strategy and lease administration. The integration will further streamline communications and business processes.

THE RESOURCE GROUP

IT contracting team added In October 2019, The Resource Group initiated the buildout of a dedicated information technology contracting team based out of the Ascension Technologies Chicago offices. The addition of this team is an exciting step that will drive value in the IT space through enhanced collaboration between The Resource Group and Ascension Technologies and leverage each group’s expertise for optimal results.

Stay connected with Ascension

@ HOME, @ WORK, @ YOUR FINGERTIPS

Twitter: @ascensionorg Keep up with Ascension tweets. Follow Ascension.

Facebook: facebook.com/ascensionorg Like our Ascension page and get the latest updates on your newsfeed.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/ascensionorg Stay up to date with organization news and connect with other associates.

YouTube: youtube.com/c/ascensionorg Watch videos about Ascension on an array of topics.

Instagram: instagram.com/ascension_org Check out the latest Ascension posts by following Ascension.

Learn more about Ascension at ascension.org. Good Day Ascension / Spring 2020 - Issue 12 Good Day Ascension is published by Ascension Marketing and Communications for associates and family members across our integrated national health ministry. Stories in Good Day Ascension support our One Ascension journey and reflect the commitment of associates, providers and volunteers across the health ministry to provide compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Executive Editor: Nick Ragone, Esq., nick.ragone@ascension.org Editor: Ted Siegel, ted.siegel@ascension.org Design and Production: dcpubs.com To share comments, ask questions or suggest articles for Good Day Ascension, please email GoodDay@ascension.org, or send a note to Editor, Good Day Ascension, Ascension Marketing and Communications, 101 S. Hanley Road, Suite 1100, St. Louis, MO 63105.

All content copyright 2020 Ascension. Republication or any other use of the contents of Good Day Ascension without the express written consent of Ascension is prohibited. Any reference to or depiction of a product or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by Ascension. Online version available at Ascension.org/goodday.

101 South Hanley Road Suite 450 St. Louis, MO 63105

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Oakland, CA Permit No. 1584

WE ARE ASCENSION

Melissa Weston Director, Associate Growth The Resource Group Ascension

Melissa Weston believes she might have one of the best jobs in Ascension. “The moment I started this role was when I stopped ‘working,’” she said. “This is truly an opportunity where my passion meets purpose, and I love it.”

Since 2015, Melissa has worked for The Resource Group, an Ascension subsidiary of 515 associates that operates the second-largest resource and supply management organization in healthcare delivery by focusing on effective change management and the caregiver experience. President & CEO Scott Caldwell saw the need to place intentional focus on culture, professional development and associate orientation and asked Melissa to lead the effort two years ago.

“The Resource Group’s Leadership Program Lead From Where You R empowers each associate to be a leader in their own way,” Melissa said. “Lead From Where You R creates a community for associates to connect and share best practices from varying perspectives. The experiences shared within the community is where we see the most growth in those who participate.” She is now working to expand the program to include field associates and has reinvigorated Accelerate U, an internal educational program of The Resource Group that offers associates courses such as business writing and healthcare finance. Melissa was among the 24 associates who graduated from the inaugural cohort of Ascension’s ASPIRE program last fall. ASPIRE is an innovative platform that accelerates the development of emerging leaders. “My experience in the ASPIRE program was transformative and has positively impacted my professional journey at The Resource Group greater than I could have ever imagined. ASPIRE allowed me to understand what kind of leader I want to be and elevated the work I do and the work I’m capable of achieving,” Melissa said.

“One of the best parts of my job is being able to help fill the cups of others. I am blessed to work in an organization that allows me the freedom to invest in others through heart and spirit.”