Inside Inspira Newsletter April 2022

April 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic began just over two years ago and the vaccine became available in late 2020. Since then, through vaccine clinics and community outreach, Inspira has administered more than 145,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

A Message From Warren E. Moore Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Inspira Health family – In my 2021 recap email, I closed out with what we are doing to move forward in 2022 and beyond through Operational Advantage. In February we put this plan in motion through a Leadership Kickoff. This kickoff meeting was a chance for leaders to examine each of the domains in our strategic plan and discuss in detail this tactical roadmap that sets the course for Inspira’s growth and development.

Where our strategic plan focused on the strategy of how to achieve our network goals over the next three years, Operational Advantage ensures we are leveraging the right tactics to realize these goals through six different functional categories.

Operational Integrity Operational Integrity is in essence a reminder of our ongoing work and development that we continue to do every day. This category focuses on efficiency of care and growing the programs that exist already. Here, we will also continue to look into and maintain our financial performance, as we need to be financially healthy to be able to support the great work that is being done (now and in the future) to meet our goals.

Some key components of this category include business development and strategic partnerships; focus on our ambulatory locations and clinical service lines; construction projects; safety, security, and emergency management; and more.

Quality/Clinical Excellence, Patient Safety & Experience of Care Quality is the foundation of patient care. The main objective of this domain is to implement a more thoughtful and disciplined network-wide approach to quality that will build upon our successes as we continually strive for top-quality ratings across our network. This network goal will be rooted in HRO principles, best practices and uniformly adopted, not just by the entire clinical network, but all of Inspira. Some key components of this domain include our HRO journey; improving clinical outcomes; patient and staff safety initiatives; and more.

Medical Staff & Physician Platform At Inspira, we are always looking for ways to expand and elevate our network to best serve the community.

One of our critical growth opportunities as an organization is through an expanded physician network. As such, Inspira is investing considerable resources in further developing a clinically strong, fully built-out Medical Staff and Physician Platform. Our goal is to considerably grow and engage Inspira’s medical staff, specifically via primary and specialty care to be able to provide patients high-quality and accessible care where they are.

Key components of this category include Inspira’s ambulatory sites as the strategic cornerstone; enhanced physician engagement; physician recruitment; and growing Inspira’s Residency programs.

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Patient/Consumer-Centric Accessibility and Convenience Over the past few years, the health care landscape has significantly changed, and the South Jersey region has experienced robust merger and acquisition activity in health care — deepening competition and yielding competitive market shifts. With more health care provider options than ever before, demonstrating value while also delivering an exceptional patient experience is important in establishing and maintaining brand loyalty.

In order to better become an easily accessible and convenient health care organization — while simultaneously improving brand loyalty and establishing positive relationships with our patients— we are reaffirming our commitment to placing the patient at the center of all we do. Some key components of this category include creating a Digital First environment, using technology to help meet the consumer where they are; geographic expansion; optimizing our IT software and programs; and more.

Talent, Development, Retention & Culture We are building the foundation for a cultural transformation at Inspira. This process begins with our greatest asset — our people. Without our remarkable employees, we would not be able to accomplish our goals, or ensure the highest possible quality of care for our community. To strengthen our employee culture and be a preferred place to work, we will refine the way we approach talent acquisition, development, retention and engagement. Our goal is to establish and promote a culture focused on developing Inspira’s employees by building strong, dynamic teams while helping employees reach their personal and professional goals. Some key components of this category include enhancing our employee experience; creating an inclusive community workforce; developing succession/growth plans for our employees; and more.

Population Management & Community Health Inspira’s reach — and our responsibility to deliver safe, high-quality care — extends far beyond our walls.

Several of the counties we serve are the most disadvantaged (and sickest) in the state. This domain addresses this need head-on — helping us identify the needs of our community and meet them to the best of our ability. It also echoes our newly updated Vision: Inspira Health inspires and empowers healthier communities by creating the highest quality and most desirable patient experience in the region. Some key components of this category include care management; providing and enhancing services based on a community health needs assessment; and more.

Operational Advantage will require teamwork from every area and level of our organization to succeed.

As a High Reliability Organization, we all have a responsibility to ensure we do everything in our power to put patient’s first through safety, quality and excellence — Operational Advantage will get us there. I look forward to communicating updates on our progress as we go through this journey together.

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Leadership Announcement Evelyn Balogun, M.D., Appointed Chief Medical Officer, IMG Over the past two years, our network rose to every challenge in order to provide safe and compassionate care for our patients. A significant part of our pandemic response was increasing access to virtual care and educating our community on COVID-19. Dr. Evelyn Balogun played a critical role in overseeing both of those initiatives, demonstrating unwavering commitment to help our community navigate through trying times.

We are pleased to share that Dr. Balogun has been promoted to chief medical officer of Inspira Medical Group (IMG).

Dr. Balogun has been with Inspira for over seven years, serving as medical director of Occupational Health, Employee Health and Urgent Care. As Clinical Lead for our eCare Virtual Health, she has played an instrumental role throughout the pandemic in supporting the expansion of our

telehealth care for patients. Additionally, she has led education outreach as part of our pandemic response – serving as a reliable resource to our community by participating in public town halls and working with local community leaders on COVID-19 mitigation and vaccination education.

In her new role, she will be the lead clinician overseeing all aspects of patient care services within IMG Primary Care, Urgent Care and Occupational Health. This includes monitoring and optimizing clinical performance; promoting HRO safety tools and behaviors; and elevating the level of care provided to our patients. She will report directly to Dr. Scott Wagner, president of IMG.

National Dress in Blue Day® Celebrated at Inspira on March 4 Inspira employees supported Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month by wearing blue on National Dress in Blue Day® on March 4. By participating, departments from across the network encouraged everyone to learn about the causes of colon cancer, screenings, and raise a general awareness about the disease.

Click here to view more photos from Dress in Blue Day.

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Pictured, members of the Vineland Sports Rehab Team. Front row, left to right: Chintan Patel, PT; Jenny Morcelo, PTA; Catrina Swank, rehab technician; Karen Kayton, OTR, CHT; Back Row left to right: Debbie Grabbe, COTA, CLT; Gaye Morie Popa, PTA; Charles Scapellato, PT manager; Jonathan Roeber, PT, DPT; Maria Balderas, program secretary; Jacqueline Pineda, program secretary; Carleigh Gallardo, PT, DPT; Krissy Geigel, program secretary; Ma’Rita Saunders, office manager; Debbie Franceschini, director of Rehab Care; Emily Cahalan, OTR, CLT.

Professional Achievement

Steven Giambrone, Senior Data Analyst, was recently recognized at the 2022 Digi-Tech Innovators Awards by NJBIZ. This award recognizes innovators who have demonstrated excellence in technology and leadership.

Under the most challenging circumstances, Steven has worked tirelessly to make complex data understandable and actionable. By employing data visualization techniques in the development of dashboards, Steven has helped Inspira leadership, and staff throughout the organization, gain clearer understandings of the current state, key trends and predictive models – all used to guide decisions related to allocation of resources, redeployment of staff, improving access to care and preparing for the rapidly changing phases of the pandemic.

Steven's deep understanding of analytics, zeal to make information understandable, and thoughtful approach to educating leaders on how to best use the dashboard have allowed the organization to quickly determine priorities, prevent and address crises, and navigate the pandemic with data-informed decision making.

The COVID-19 Dashboard has become an indispensable tool, accessed hundreds of times a day by senior leadership and clinical leaders throughout the health system. Steven’s work to develop creative methods for visualizing data go beyond Inspira’s COVID-19 response. In early 2020, his dashboard to track outmigration to other health systems was launched.

Inspira Vineland & Mullica Hill Awarded Quality & Safety Awards Inspira Medical Centers Mullica Hill and Vineland were awarded 2021 Hospital Quality & Safety Awards from the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH). GPBCH serves employers in South Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware, and serves as the Leapfrog Regional Leader for Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Our mission is to provide a safe and compassionate experience that improves the health and well-being of our community. This award reinforces that ongoing commitment of placing the safety of our patients and support of our employees at the center of all we do.

Both centers were recognized on March 3rd at a virtual ceremony hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health and the Health Care Improvement Foundation. The program brought together health care leaders and employers to discuss the value of the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and Safety Grade in driving patient safety, and to recognize top performing hospitals in the region.

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Congratulations Employees of the Month!

Teamwork Dean Charlesworth, officer, Security, Bridgeton

Compassion Kayla Caudill, R.N., Cardiac Rehab, Vineland "I have received several phone calls recently from patients raving about the compassionate and high-quality care they received from Kayla in the monoclonal antibody clinic. Kayla is kind, knowledgeable and reassuring to scared patients.

Thank you so much for all you do Kayla! Not just for our patients, but also for our organization!”

Empowerment Andrea Pretlow, medical assistant, Inspira Medical Group OB/GYN “Andrea is someone you can always count on. She is always willing to rally the team together to do what is best for the patient. Andrea is a go-getter and she thinks of situations before they even happen. She will go above and beyond for a patient and makes sure the job gets done. Andrea is always motivating the team to work together. She is a joy to work with and is looked up to by staff, providers and patients.”

Teamwork Jennis Toro, R.N., LIFE "Jennis is compassionate, reliable, flexible, honest, caring, and empathetic in everything she does. She cares for every patient with the mindset that it is someone's family member.

She is a team player, always jumping in to help in any way possible. If she doesn't know an answer, she makes sure to direct them to the right person or will go above and beyond to assure she gets them an answer. Jennis is essential to our clinic and our LIFE team!”

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“Dean is always willing to provide support to the Adult Mental Health Unit. Dean goes above and beyond in his role as a security person. He makes it a point to make his presence known for staff and that he is available. Dean is a caring and considerate security officer who truly shows up when he comes to work as this is not just a job for him. He treats us like we are his family.”

Compassion Nancy Ballistreri, communications liaison, Patient Relations, Mullica Hill “Nancy goes above and beyond for her patients. She has only been with Inspira 6 months and has already been shouted out by patients numerous times for her compassion and dedication to their well-being. We are extremely lucky to have her as part of the Inspira family, and she deserves the appreciation.”

Teamwork Stacy Busnardo, logistics technician, Ground Transportation “Stacy’s hard work and commitment to our department does not go unnoticed and we appreciate all that she does for our department and health system. Stacy is a valuable part of our logistic team and is always willing to help out where needed.

We value her commitment to our department and to her fellow co-workers. Thank you for all your hard work.”

DAISY Award Winner

Lauren Morrison, R.N. 5 East, Mullica Hill

“Lauren took time out of her busy schedule to come and ask me how she can make my stay better. Not only did she care, she gave me the support I needed to make me feel better. Lauren was like an angel sent to me. I have no words to describe when I found out my diagnosis. I told her and she said, ‘Don’t worry you’ll be OK’, and right away gave a message to my doctor and got a response for me. Thank you, Lauren, you are the best.” - Patient

Augusta Anyanwu Nursing Assistant 5 Acute, Mullica Hill

“Augusta is someone who comes in and does her job above and beyond her call. It seems that this is not a job to Augusta, but a calling. Her work ethic is unmatchable. Aside from fulfilling her job obligations, Augusta genuinely cares about the patients. It is a pleasure to enter a room with her and hear the patient say they ‘know they are getting a good washing when Augusta is here’. She not only washes the patient thoroughly, changes their bed and makes sure their needs are met, but she takes the time to tidy the room and wipe down surfaces and makes sure the family members have what they need as well. There is always fresh ice water and a clean table when Augusta is working. The best part is her humility. If we aren't humble in this job, we cannot serve the patient well. A recent example of Augusta's performance is when she picked up an extra shift because she knew we were in need. Augusta helps patients feel comfortable, despite the sometimes-difficult situation.

We all have something to learn from Augusta.”

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LEADING RELIABLY TO Zero HARM LEADING RELIABLY TO Zero HARM

LearningBoards

Workplace Violence Prevention Program Melissa Jones, director of Workplace Violence Prevention, joined Inspira in October, and during her orientation process was introduced to her department’s virtual Learning Board. There was a stickie note in the Working (yellow) section of the Learning Board titled “Welle Education.” Melissa was able to move that note to the Solved (green) section within 29 days of her arrival.

As an HRO, nothing is more important than the safety of our patients, visitors and staff. To achieve a safe environment, everyone must model our desired behaviors and reinforce our safety culture – and this will be accomplished, in part, by providing enhanced training. The Inspira Workplace Violence Program released its new de-escalation and common language Welle training for all Inspira staff. All staff were required to complete the two online training modules via HealthStream by the end of 2021.

The Welle training assists staff by creating a common language for all of Inspira (both clinical and non-clinical) that provides clear communication when responding to an issue, reporting an event, determining the most appropriate response, and documenting the escalating behavior of a patient and/or visitor.

Melissa shared,

“Addressing and solving Workplace Violence has – and continues to be - an organizational priority, but amplifying the work around creating a safe environment was illuminated further in our last Employee Engagement and Safety Survey. Over the past several months Inspira has propelled its work in educating its employees on Workplace Violence through communications, the establishment of the Workplace Violence

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Committee, and training opportunities. While it is important to understand how to identify what Workplace Violence is, and the ways to respond during a potential incident, it’s equally important to know what happens next – who, and what serve as resources, how to report an event and anticipated next steps. As an organization rooted in transparency, we will continue to share pertinent updates and resources across a variety of mediums to ensure visibility. In addition, departments can request to schedule an information session specific to Workplace Violence by emailing me directly.”

Another note added to the Learning Board that landed in the Solved (green) section was “Meet Melissa in March.” During the month of March, events were held where Melissa visited the main hospital campuses and rounded at some of our ambulatory locations, creating an opportunity to introduce herself to employees and allow for discussion around any questions or concerns.

LEADING RELIABLY TO Zero HARM LEADING RELIABLY TO Zero HARM

Inspira Medical Group Surgical Associates Nilsa Larriu-Mazzeo, office manager of Inspira Medical Group Surgical Associates, uses three boards as visuals for her team: • Communication Board - has network communications posted for staff • Safety Tool of the Month Board –updated monthly with the Safety Tool and Event Reporting information • Learning Board – A visual management of new, working, and solved problems that get in the way of efficient/safe/reliable work for team members and patients. Staff are empowered to post issues to the board at any time of the day or night, and then the issues are discussed at huddle.

Due to staffing issues and COVID-19 protocols, Nilsa and the team had to pivot from face-to-face huddles to communicating important information via rounding instead. During rounds, Nilsa would have one-to-one conversations with the care team where she would review important information, the Safety Tool of the Month and collect concerns. Following rounds, Nilsa would place network information on the Communication Board, update the Safety Tool of the Month Board, and concerns collected were placed on the Learning Board. Nilsa did not want to lose sight of her department huddle, so she placed a stickie note

on her Learning Board titled “Department Huddles.”

This stickie note landed in the Green (solved) section of the Learning Board when Department Huddles were added back on the calendar for her team. Huddles are now held virtually using Microsoft Teams, providing the team with a safe and reliable 10-15 minutes together in one place to hear important information and share their concerns.

Nilsa shared,

“My team of staff and providers have become family. We live by our Mission, Vision and Values of I.C.R.E.A.T.E. A recent example of this is when we had a patient scheduled for a procedure, but they did not have transportation to or back home after the procedure. It took a team of true heroes to obtain transportation for our patient to have the procedure completed and then transported back home following. The team even made sure lunch was provided for the patient while they were waiting to be transported home. Two statements appear on our Engagement and Safety Survey that are very representative of this situation in particular: ‘Different work units work well together in this organization’ and ‘The environment at this organization makes employees in my work unit want to go above and beyond what's expected of them’.”

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Inspira Health and Gloucester Twp. Announce 5-Year EMS Agreement Inspira Health and Gloucester Township have reached an agreement that will make Inspira the official provider of emergency medical services (EMS) for the township and neighboring borough of Pine Hill. A 5-year contract goes into effect on April 1. Inspira has been providing services to the municipalities on a month-to-month basis since late December 2021.

The contract calls for two ambulances to be stationed in the township, providing around-the-clock 9-1-1 ambulance service. One ambulance will be dispatched from the Erial EMS stations in Sicklerville, and the other from the Glendora EMS station in Blackwood. Inspira currently provides emergency medical services in six South Jersey counties.

“An excellent provision of EMS services is absolutely vital to the health and safety of every community. I am very pleased to welcome Inspira Health to Gloucester Township," said Gloucester Township Mayor David R. Mayer. "Inspira Health has an extensive history of providing quality health care in the South Jersey region; and I look forward to working with them to ensure high quality health care for our residents and visitors.”

"We are grateful for this opportunity to partner with Gloucester Township and Pine Hill to provide their residents with life-saving emergency services. Our Inspira EMTs and paramedics stand ready to respond to all medical emergencies," said Amy Mansue, president and CEO. "We also want to thank all of the EMS squads with whom we have arranged mutual aid agreements."

The Inspira EMS and Ground Transport Department employs more than 540 clinical and support staff, including 200 EMTs, 121 paramedics, 49 registered nurses, and 21 dispatchers. The department’s 35 educators and trainers provide certification and continuing education to EMS personnel from around the state.

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Reliability

Speak Up for Safety Great Catch of the Month

Miriam Esquilin, manager, Inspira Medical Group Primary Care Buena Miriam Esquilin, manager of IMG Primary Care Buena, received call from a woman who identified herself as being from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and requested to speak with Dr. Tench regarding illegal drug prescriptions.

Miriam, Applying a Questioning Attitude, did NOT provide any information to the caller and immediately contacted the DEA via phone to Validate and Verify the call.

Miriam was informed that calls such as the one she intercepted are fraudulent and DEA personnel will never contact members of the public or medical practitioners by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment; will never request personal or sensitive information over the phone; and will only notify people of a legitimate investigation or legal action in person or by official letter. In fact, no legitimate federal law enforcement officer will demand cash or gift cards from a member of the public. You should only give money, gift cards, personally identifiable information, including bank account information, to someone you know.

Had Miriam not applied a Questioning Attitude to Validate and Verify if the received call was in fact from a DEA representative, this potentially could have resulted in a security breach for Dr. Tench had this caller obtained any information such as her National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers and/or state license number.

This Great Catch highlights why we must make habit of Applying a Questioning Attitude using our HRO tool Validate and Verify.

This Great Catch was reported as an Event Report in RL6 and shared on the Ambulatory Daily Safety Briefing, with a reminder to all staff that scams can come through various routes such as phone, cyber/computer, or via mail. Vigilance is important to maintain a safe and reliable environment for our patients, staff and community.

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