Bipartisan palliative care bill 2 Sr. Lillian Murphy, RSM 7 Could dolls prevent falls? 8 PERIODICAL RATE PUBLICATION
AUGUST 15, 2019 VOLUME 35, NUMBER 14
CHI Franciscan opens futuristic ‘Mission Control’
Staff at work in the CHI Franciscan Mission Control Center in Gig Harbor, Wash. By JULIE MINDA
Between April 2010 and July 2018, the population of Tacoma grew more than 9 percent, to upwards of 216,000, accord-
ing to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Growth has been similarly swift throughout the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area of northwest Washington. For eight hospitals that are part of CHI
Franciscan of Tacoma, the population spike has meant increasing numbers of patients seeking care, and COMMONSPIRIT a resulting strain HEALTH on bed capacity. And, yet, it is difficult to secure certificate of need approvals to expand bed counts, says Ian Worden, CHI Franciscan chief operating officer. Two years ago, Worden learned of a collection of high-tech tools from GE Healthcare that promised to improve the efficiency of the health system’s operations. The improved efficiency, the vendor said, would lead to better management of patient beds, which would free up capacity and allow for more patient admissions — without having to add beds. Earlier this month, CHI Franciscan became the fifth health system in the world to employ the GE Healthcare technology platform. Worden says the new system will improve CHI Franciscan’s ability to “ensure we get care to patients at the appropriate time and have the healing environment needed. Continued on 3
Civica Rx announces deals to manufacture 16 essential drugs Civica Rx has announced that it will make 16 essential injectable medications that often are in short supply available to hundreds of U.S. hospitals, with deliveries expected to begin by the end of this year. Five Catholic health ministry systems are among the more than 30 health systems that are members of the Lehi, Utah-based nonprofit generic drug company. Its member systems represent more than 900 U.S. hospitals. The 16 drugs will be the first in the Civica Rx product line. Civica Rx also has announced it will partner with the health care performance improvement company Vizient, to better anticipate supply chain shortages of specific essential drugs. Civica Rx was launched in September 2018 to disrupt the generic drug market by alleviating chronic shortages of vital drugs and to set competitive conditions that support sustainable, fair pricing for Continued on 6
Photo courtesy SSM Health
By KEN LEISER
Beth Kilzer, clinical pharmacist at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – St. Louis, preps and checks for sterile compounding of magnesium to be administered intravenously to patients. SSM Health is a member of a generic drug company that is producing pharmaceuticals to relieve scarcity and price barriers in the drug supply chain.
Chang
Heintzkill
Screening tool helps Ascension identify outpatients with pressing spiritual care needs By JULIE MINDA
St. Louis-based Ascension has made it a strategic priority to ensure that patients receiving care outside ASCENSION of the hospital walls get access to spiritual care. To identify outpatients who may benefit from — and be receptive to — a spiritual care consult, the system is beginning to screen for unmet spiritual care needs in its broader patient intake assessments. Ascension began this initiative last summer, by asking patients in its remote care monitoring program three screening questions to gauge their level of spiritual distress and referring those with pressing needs to remote chaplaincy services. Ascension currently is piloting the screening tool in some inpatient and ambulatory care settings as well. The Rev. Cathy Chang, Ascension’s director of on demand spiritual care and mission integration, and Mary M. Heintzkill, Ascension director of spiritual care and mission integration, talked with Catholic Health World about the spiritual assessment tool. How did you land on three questions that would be a valid barometer of spiritual health? Heintzkill: We knew patients would be overwhelmed if we asked too many questions. We ask questions that get at a patient’s level of concern when it comes to loss of meaning and/or joy, spiritual or religious issues and end-of-life issues. Depending on their response, there is a referral made to a chaplain. We are finding that about Continued on 4
Providence St. Joseph wellness program aims to reengage physicians, staff System plans to expand ‘Own It’ throughout seven-state network
When Dr. Chad Wadell graduated from medical school about 15 years ago, he says, he felt ready to change PROVIDENCE the world, and he was ST. JOSEPH impassioned about the HEALTH prospect of providing healing medical care to his patients. And while his commitment to providing high-quality care has not waned, at times
St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare
By JULIE MINDA
St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare in Southern California’s “Own It Gallery Walk” in Anaheim, Calif., shows creative works by caregivers who participated in Own It, the cultural transformation program from Providence St. Joseph Health. St. Joseph Heritage is a medical group associated with the system.
his passion and enthusiasm for being a physician has. He has experienced bouts of burnout — times when he felt disconnected from his patients. For Wadell, who is a primary care physician with Mission Heritage Medical Group in Mission Viejo, Calif., the necessary but intrusive role of technology has been a culprit. “With the electronic medical record, we’re spending lots of time with the computer — in fact we often spend most of our time with the computer, and it’s like a hamster wheel,” because of the seemingly never-ending list of tasks connected with using the IT system. This can intrude upon the physician-patient relationship. Continued on 5