CONNECTIONS March 2019
An award-winning newsletter for Orange Regional Medical Center employees, physicians and volunteers
From The President & CEO I have received much positive feedback from staff and patients about our recent increased security enhancements. We make safety a top priority and have taken many proactive steps to enhance safety for our patients, staff, and visitors. As a part of our new management system, we have installed metal detectors and increased security presence in the Main Lobby. Employing safety measures, especially those that have the ability to detect weapons, is a proactive step, and an industry best practice, that can help to prevent incidents from happening. Thank you to our Security and Guest Services staff for your help and support with our new welcoming process. I’m also proud to announce that we had a positive annual survey which was conducted early in March by our accrediting agency, the DNV. The DNV survey team was quite impressed with our organization, noting that we represented “best in class” service. Surveyors remarked that every department they surveyed represented the common theme of organizational excellence. They were particularly impressed with our recent security enhancements, which they stated they had only seen in one other hospital in the nation. It was also noted that we were the only hospital they surveyed who held an America’s 250 Best Hospital™ distinction by Healthgrades®. Thank you for your commitment to safety and quality patient care. Sincerely,
Scott Batulis, President & CEO
GHVHS Named One of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere for the Second Time The Greater Hudson Valley Health System (GHVHS) has been recognized as one of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This marks the second consecutive year that GHVHS received this prestigious distinction. The organization is one of only six honorees in the non-profit healthcare providers industry, underscoring our commitment to leading with integrity and prioritizing ethical business practices. Congratulations to our physicians and staff. You have earned this designation through your commitment to delivering exceptional care and service.
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Greater Hudson Valley Health System Medical Group Update CRMG Opens Fifth Location in Sullivan County
From L to R: Brynn McKeon, PA-C; Pat Karell, Medical Biller; Dawn Boswell, MA; Dr. Imran Ahmed; Raven Roser, RN; Jessica Marshall, MA, Receptionist; and Jason King, Practice Manager.
at the Hospital. As a member of the Medical Staff at Catskill Regional Medical Center since 1993, he has served as the Chair of the Credential Committee and Vice President of the Medical Staff. He is currently a Member of the Medical Executive Committee and a Member of the Utilization Management Committee. He is also a member of the Greater Hudson Valley Health System's Board of Directors.
Catskill Regional Medical Group (CRMG) has a new facility, located at 1522 State Route 17B in White Lake, New York. Catskill Regional Medical Group – Bethel, is the fifth location for CRMG which also has offices in Harris, Livingston Manor, Monticello and Callicoon. CRMG has added Dr. Imran Ahmed and his staff from Bethel Medical Family Practice, P.C. to form the new office: Catskill Regional Medical Group - Bethel.
Catskill Regional Medical Group – Bethel is comprised of seven medical professionals including Dr. Ahmed and Brynn McKeon, PA-C. They provide services at the office on Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For an appointment, call (845) 583-5620.
Imran Ahmed MD, FAAFP, MPH is an established Family Practice physician with over 30 years of medical experience. He has been caring for the patients in our region for over 20 years at Bethel Family Medical Practice and is an important addition to Catskill Regional Medical Group. Dr. Ahmed serves patients of all ages, both in the office and
Showing Our Heart
Lauren Roman, MD and Greater Hudson Valley Health System Medical Group President, Gerard Galarneau, MD represented Catskill Regional Medical Group at Catskill Regional Medical Center during the 41st Annual 98.3 WSUL Heart-a-thon presented by the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association.
From L to R: Lauren Roman, MD; Mary Kate Revella; Gerard Galarneau, MD; Jodi Goodman; Paul Ciliberto
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Welcome New Employees Jim Grigg, Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed to serve on the Dutchess County Board of Health.
Dr. Pamela Murphy, Vice President of Emergency Medicine and Observation Care, has been appointed to the Orange County Board of Health.
Mary Kate Revella, GHVHS Director of Cardiology Services, has been selected as this year’s American Heart Association Tri-County Heart Walk Chair.
Brian Tew, Vice President of Professional Services and CIO of Greater Hudson Valley Health System, is featured on Becker's Hospital Review 2019 Edition of the "100 hospital and health system CIOs to know" annual list. Orange Regional received the New York State Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NYSPQC) Safe Sleep Project’s Quality Improvement Award. This award is given in recognition of the hard work and dedication of staff to improve safe sleep practices for infants. As a participant in the NYSPQC Safe Sleep Project, Orange Regional worked to increase the following: documentation of caregiver safe sleep education during the birth hospitalization, modeling of a safe sleep environment during the birth hospitalization and infant caregivers’ understanding of safe sleep educational messages. Congratulations on this exemplary work.
Organizational Changes The operational and clinical oversight of the Clinical Decision Area (CDA) has transitioned to Dr. Pamela Murphy, Vice President of Emergency Medicine and Observation Care. She can be reached at pmurphy@ghvhs.org.
Debora Snyder has been promoted to Senior Administrator of Emergency Services and Observation Care. She was formerly over both the Emergency Services and Behavioral Health Departments. Debora can be reached at dsnyder@ghvhs.org.
Ashley Alston Julia Ashworth Tyler Atwood Daniel Bradford Velda Bryan Lauren Byrne Marissa Coyne Carlos Cruz Paul DeFrancis Olivia Dion Mirana Fayez Aziz Frank Ferdinandi Dawn Freeman Kristian Harris Kandice Haughton Chris Heib Alysha Jayne Nicole Jimenez Mollie Kennedy Emilie Lauritsen William Leonick Tracion Levy Lindsey Macio Melissa Malizia Jessica Marin Marne Mayfield Reggie McCoy Deanna Moriarty Jennifer Newton Joseph Nunziato Sara Oquendo Renee Resto Nerissa Rios Emmani Robinson Becky Romero-Marte Tanya Sutherland Jonathan Timothee Danielle Watts
Justine Geisler has been appointed as Director of Observation Care. She will retain her role as Nursing Director over the CDA as well as oversee the implementation of the 2 West Observation Unit. Justine is Board-certified in Medical Surgical Nursing and is certified by ANCC as a Nurse Executive. She has a dual Master’s degree in Nursing and Health Administration. She can be reached at jgeisler@ghvhs.org.
Jennifer DiMascio has been promoted to Nurse Manager of 5 South. Jennifer began her career as a medical surgical nurse in 2004 at Arden Hill hospital. In January 2017, she became Clinical Coordinator of 5 South and the CDA. Jennifer is Board-certified in Medical Surgical Nursing and has a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. She can be reached at jdimascio@ghvhs.org. 3
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Orange Regional is one of America’s 250 Best Hospitals™ On February 27, we celebrated our designation as one of America’s 250 Best Hospitals™ by Healthgrades®. Our employees’ dedication to exceptional patient care is unprecedented and allowed us to receive such an incredible award. Check out some scenes from the party.
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Enhancing Hospital Safety
Certified Nurses Day
Orange Regional is providing a safer environment for guests and staff members by adding metal detectors as part of its visitor management system. According to Gregg Hough, Director of Security and Emergency Management, implementing safety measures, especially those that have the ability to detect weapons, is a proactive measure, and an industry best practice, that can help to prevent incidents from happening. The metal detectors are located in the Main Lobby Entrance. All visitors, patients and off-duty employees who are entering the building through our Main Lobby Entrance are required to pass through the metal detectors. On-duty employees are expected to use employee entrances when entering and exiting the main Hospital building. Orange Regional began using a visitor management system in its Main Lobby earlier this year. The new, hi-tech ID card scanning system produces a visitor badge that must be worn at all times. Upon entering the hospital, visitors will go through metal detectors and belongings will be scanned. Then each first-time visitor will be asked to present their state or federal governmentissued identification card. Identification is for photo comparison and no additional visitor data is gathered. The new visitor management system scans the ID and automatically produces a visitor badge with a photo as well as the individual’s name, date, time of entry and destination. No data is shared with any outside organization or authority. For more information, visit www.ormc.org/visitors.
AMERICAN NURSES CREDENTIALING CENTER
Orange Regional celebrated Certified Nurses Day on March 19 by honoring our Board-certified nurses. This year, over 425 nurses were recognized for their professionalism, leadership and commitment to excellence in patient care. Board certification of nurses plays an increasingly important role as it assures high standards of care for patients and their loved ones. While a registered nurse license provides general nursing practice, the requirements to be certified necessitate extensive education, as well as a strong personal commitment to excellence by the nurse. Orange Regional encourages national Board certification for all its nurses. Board certification recognizes nurses who have gone beyond the registered nursing license and passed the Board certification exam. We congratulate our Board-certified nurses for their dedication and commitment to higher education.
Community Health Team Attends State Health Summit Members of our Community Health team, Amanda Langseder, Director of Community Health, and Andrew Oni, Program Coordinator, attended the recent New York State Health Summit VI to learn about the newly released New York State Prevention Agenda Priorities. They were joined by Orange Regional Resident, Nithin Varughese, who is completing a rotation in Population Health. The New York State Health Summit brings together hospital systems across the State, including Orange Regional and Catskill Regional, to learn about changes and newest additions to the Prevention Agenda. This agenda outlines evidence based interventions and strategies which we incorporate in our community service plans to improve the health of our community.
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Thank You A special ‘thank you’ to our friends at O'Toole's Pub for a generous donation to the Orange Regional Child Life Program. The pub collected $2,500 in donations from patrons and presented it to Michelle Ferguson, Child Life Coordinator, pictured left with O'Toole's Pub staff and owners. To learn more about ways to give, please visit www.ormc.org/giving.
American Heart Association’s Cycle Nation Spin-A-Thon
On February 28, employees participated in the American Heart Association’s Cycle Nation Spin-A-Thon. The evening was full of energy, exercise and fun. The Orange Regional team had some stiff spirit competition, but still won an award for “best team spirit.” Congratulations to all who participated.
Patient Safety Awareness, A Vital Part Of Healthcare For Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 10-16) we reflected on how we increase awareness about patient safety and culture by engaging healthcare staff. We also celebrated any harm we have avoided and the lives we have saved. During this week, many important patient safety discussions occur locally and globally and inspire action to improve the safety of health care systems – for patients and for employees. Actions For Developing A Stronger Culture Of Safety Strong leadership is needed for a patient safety program to be successful. Leaders must make patient safety a priority and consistently communicate that message through words and actions. All staff should feel safe speaking up and feel that their voice in doing so is valued. Leaders should foster trust with timely feedback and when mistakes and errors occur, leaders should use those experiences to promote learning and performance improvement. Education and training should be provided and encouraged on a wide variety of patient safety topics for staff and physicians in all disciplines and settings. 7
CONNECTIONS
March Of Dimes March For Babies
Blood Drive
First Wednesday of the month 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
April 28, 2019 8:00 a.m. Registration, Walk starts at 9:00 a.m.
The American Red Cross Donor bus will be located outside of the Main Lobby Entrance at ORMC
Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
National Healthcare Decisions Day
American Heart Association Heart Walk
April 16, 2019 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
May 5, 2019 Check-In at 9:30 a.m. Walk starts at 10:30 a.m.
Orange Regional Medical Center Conference Center - Ground Floor Orange Regional Medical Group, Outpatient Building - 3rd and 4th Floors
Lake Welch Beach, Harriman State Park
Auxiliary Vendor Sales Program Sales take place on the ground floor of the Main Campus in the Conference Center Lobby. April 3
Eleanor Jewelers
April 12
MnR Enterprises
April 4
Applause Fashions
April 15
Simple Treasurers
April 5
Dana's Funny Doggies
April 19
D & D Jewelry Designs
April 10
Robin's Nest
April 26
Jazzy Traveling Boutique
April 11
Kids Stuff
April 29
J & M Stern Sports
Unexpected Delivery
Employees Dress in Blue
Our patients enjoyed the sight and smell of some beautiful flowers - courtesy of Stonehenge Farms in Bullville - when over 200 long stem flowers left over from Valentine’s Day were delivered unexpectedly to the Hospital. Thank you, Stonehenge Farms!
On March 1, Orange Regional’s staff participated in Dress in Blue Day in collaboration with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Wearing blue brings awareness to colorectal cancer, supports the mission to end the disease and honors all who are impacted by it.
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