MedStaff Update Information for the medical staffs of St. Elizabeth, St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth Boardman health centers
April 2014 In This Issue
Maternity on the Move Patient Experience Guardian of Excellence Malnutrition & Outcomes Merits and Milestones
St. Elizabeth Boardman Welcomes Maternity and NICU On April 7 maternity services and the Akron Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit moved from St. Elizabeth in Youngstown to St. Elizabeth Boardman. In the first week of operation, Anna Klejka, director of maternity services for HMHP, said the labor and delivery unit has seen the birth of 58 new babies.
Free CME Available MedNews Plus™ provides breaking medical news, free continuing education credits and hospital information—all online and all completely customizable by your specialty or areas of interest. This peer-reviewed content is AMA PRA Category 1 CME-certified by the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. It is updated daily and comes from trusted sources like medical journals, conferences and newswires. “This is a valuable resource the medical staff can use,” explains Nick Kreatsoulas, DO, HMHP Chief Medical Officer “and we think it will greatly improve our ability to communicate important hospital information to physicians as well.” In appreciation, all Medical staff members were auto-enrolled in MedNews Plus on Doctors’ Day – please take a moment to access the link in your email to learn more about this service.
Cutting the ceremonial ribbon to open the new maternity and infant care services at St. E’s Boardman are, from left, Sharon Hrina, vice president, Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley; Bill Considine, president and CEO, Akron Children’s Hospital; Harper Marlowe, granddaughter of donors Jenny and Scott Kennedy; Dr. Elena Rossi, neonatologist and associate chair of pediatrics, Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley; Bob Shroder, president and CEO, HMHP; and Genie Aubel, president, St. E’s Boardman
SEBHC Earns Outstanding Patient Experience Award St. Elizabeth Boardman was recently named a recipient of Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award. This distinction places St. Elizabeth Boardman, and six other Catholic Health Partners facilities, among the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for patient experience. Healthgrades evaluated 3,582 hospitals that submitted patient surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, covering admissions from March 2012 through April 2013. Only the top 15 percent of this national group (447 hospitals) received the 2014 award.
From the Desk of the CMO Nick Kreatsoulas, DO Sr. VP Medical Affairs/Chief Medical Officer Chief Quality Officer As you know, patient experience remains at the forefront of patient care. Three questions regarding physicians are included on the patient satisfaction surveys mailed post-discharge. Those cumulative responses are now publically reportable as part of CMS’ transparency of information. Here are the questions that are asked to your patients on the survey: 1. During this hospital stay, how often did the doctor treat you with courtesy and respect? 2. During this hospital stay, how often did the doctor listen carefully to you? 3. During this hospital stay, how often did the doctor explain things in a way you could understand Please feel free to call me at 330-480-2593 with any questions.
Joanie Abdu Center Named ‘Guardian of Excellence’ Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center was recently named a Guardian of Excellence Award winner for 2013 by Press Ganey Associates Inc. The Guardian of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing healthcare providers that consistently achieved the 95th percentile or above for patient satisfaction based on data collected from May 2012 to April 2013. To receive the award, the overall percentile rank cannot drop below 95% for any reporting period. Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center maintained a 99% patient satisfaction rating for each reporting period throughout the year. “For 2013, 229 health care facilities nationwide received this award. Of this number, there was one health breast center and one mammography center, both in Florida. And, only one comprehensive breast care center, the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center,” reports Dr. Rashid Abdu. Dr. Abdu is the driving force behind development of the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center, which was established in memory of his wife, Joanie, who died of breast cancer in 1994.
Malnutrition Greatly Affects Patient Outcomes Despite all advances in medical technology, malnutrition in hospitalized patients continues to be a frequent occurrence. Some 25 to 50 percent of patients are malnourished on admission and 25 to 30 percent will develop malnutrition during hospitalization. This greatly affects outcomes, with malnutrition resulting in 25 percent morbidity, 5 percent mortality and prolonged hospital stays. A multidisciplinary group of physicians, nurses, dietitians, case managers, therapists, clinical documentation specialists and others started meeting in July 2013 to develop an HMHP malnutrition policy to improve the screening, diagnosis and early nutrition intervention in malnourished patients or patients at risk for malnutrition. Policy changes were made and many educational efforts are being made to improve procedures for malnourished patients. This includes a new brochure that caregivers may use as a reference. The document includes summaries of the roles and responsibilities of each of the health care professionals involved in the care of these patients. For more information about the new HMHP malnutrition policy or to get a copy of the brochure, talk to Vincent Vanek, MD, or contact Carol Zabel, manager of clinical nutrition for HMHP, at 330-480-3700.
Merit and Milestones St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center’s – Non Invasive Echo Department was accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. Special thanks to David Belvedere, MD, Medical Director of echo lab and to Heather Szymoniak , lead echo tech / technical director for their hard work, many hours, and due diligence of all the necessary exams and filings to obtain this achievement. Congratulations to St. Joseph Family Medicine Resident, Sabine Barlatt, DO for being named to the 2014 American College of Osteopathic Physicians Future Leaders Conference. Dr. Barlatt is one of twenty-five residents from across the Nation to be selected to this conference Happy Birthday St. Joseph Andover is celebrating 30 years… We are having a celebration on May 10th from 10am-12:00 at our site. Jason Delatore, MD, has been named medical director of St. Elizabeth and St. Elizabeth Boardman Wound Care centers. Dr. Delatore, a vascular surgeon, replaces Felix Pesa, MD, who retired in December 31, 2013.
Save the Date Donate Life Event: Friday, April 25 12 noon in St. Elizabeth Finnegan Aud. April is Donate Life Month and HMHP is planning a special celebration to recognize the families of those who were organ donors in the past several years. Fuel the Fight: Sunday, June 1 11am-3pm at Boardman High School Car/motorcycle show and family fun day To help drive prostate cancer out of the Mahoning Valley (rain date June 15)