Innovative vascular intervention brings hope for chronic deep vein thrombosis
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ark J. Garcia, M.D., FSIR, and his colleagues in Vascular & Interventional Radiology at Christiana Care have developed a revolutionary way to treat chronic or hard blood clots relating to deep vein thrombosis (DVT), enabling many patients to resume active lives without debilitating pain.
“There’s a tremendous improvement in their quality of life.” Dr. Garcia, section chief of Vascular & Interventional Radiology and director of Christiana Care’s Vascular & Interventional Radiology Fellowship Program, and his team combine standard treatment with newer, ultrasound enhanced techniques.
And the world is beginning to notice. “They’re back to work. They’re back chasing their grandchildren,” he says.
To form a channel through the clot, the interventional radiologist uses catheters and traditional balloon C O N T I N U E D N E X T PA G E
Mark J. Garcia, M.D., (right), section chief of Vascular & Interventional Radiology, channels through a hardened deep vein thrombosis in preparation for vacuuming out the debilitating, painful clots.
Mark J. Garcia, M.D., will present pioneering DVT therapy before the European Interventional Radiology Society in Portugal and the Society of Vascular Surgeons in New York. D V T,
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angioplasty, possibly vacuuming out the clot. The team then tries to dissolve the clot, using a combination of ultrasound and medicine. “When the clot is young, it’s soft like jelly and is easy to suck out,” Dr. Garcia says. “When the clot is old, it becomes hard like concrete, so we have to chisel our way through.” He and his partners have used the technique for more than 18 months on dozens of patients.
Sparks international interest Calls about the procedure have from come from as far away as Dubai and England. And patients have come from California, Utah and Colorado for treatment. With growing interest in the technique, Dr. Garcia routinely presents at meetings of the Society of Interventional Radiology. In September, he will present an abstract before the European Interventional Radiology Society in Portugal. In November, he will present in New York to the Society of Vascular Surgeons.
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Recently, Craig Pilczuk of North Cape May, New Jersey, found Dr. Garcia after an exhaustive search for a specialist who could help him. Two years ago, Pilczuk was 38 when his left leg suddenly became swollen. Diagnosed with DVT, he was put on blood thinners.
Patient could not work
home 12 hours later. “A week later, my leg was back to normal size, color and texture,” Pilczuk says. “I had my life back.” Today, he remains on blood thinners and wears compression stockings. He is working full time, has taken a parttime job, walks for an hour every day and enjoys outings with his family.
Pilczuk, who works in maintenance, could work only about an hour a day before his leg began to swell. He could From acute to chronic no longer take his daily walk. Outings Dr. Garcia and his colleagues didn’t set out to treat chronic clots. But with his wife and two children to because some patients he treated for amusement parks were impossible. acute clots also suffered from chronic “I went from doctor to doctor and clots, he treated them, too. from hospital to hospital,” he recalls. “Every doctor I saw told me there was “We discovered that we could create nothing to do but let the Coumadin channels that weren’t there before to work.” Then Pilczuk heard about Dr. restore the blood flow,” Dr. Garcia Garcia. “Dr. Garcia was the first persays. son who gave me any hope,” Pilczuk says. But, he continues, “The most imporWhen Pilczuk came in for his procedure in November 2007, his leg was swollen and painful, his skin leathery and discolored. He arrived at Christiana Hospital at 6 a.m. and went
tant thing we’ve learned is that patients and their doctors shouldn’t give up. Some of these clots can be treated.”
New endograft helps Christiana Care vascular specialists address inoperable aortic aneurysms
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hanks to Dr. Ralph Ierardi, M.D., and colleagues at Christiana Care Vascular Specialists, Inc., abdominal aortic aneurysm patients who have not been good candidates for open surgery or commercially available endografts now have another option: LeMaitre’s UniFit Aorto-Uni-iliac Stent (UNITE) Graft.
Ralph Ierardi, M.D., of Christiana Care Vascular Specialists, is a leading principal investigator in LeMaitre’s UniFit Aorto-Uni-Iliac Stent (UNITE) Graft study.
“This is very exciting technology. It allows us to treat a whole category of critically ill patients who would otherwise be relegated to medical management and probable rupture,” says Dr. Ierardi. Aneurysms in the abdominal aorta are the most common type of aneurysm, a weakening in the wall of an artery, causing it to stretch and bulge.
Ruptures usually are fatal If they rupture, aneurysms may be fatal: They are the 13th leading cause of death in the United States. Only 20 percent of these patients reach emergency care, and only 20 percent of these—four out of a hundred people with ruptured aneurysms—survive. Surgery is the most common method of repairing aortic aneurysms, particularly when an aneurysm has ruptured. But patients who may not be good candidates for surgery or who prefer to have a less invasive procedure can choose to have a commercially available endograft stent placed. The stent, a Y-shaped polyester-coated tube that runs from the aorta into the internal iliac arteries, attaches to the inner walls of the aorta, above and below the aneurysm, insulating the
blood flow from the weakened artery wall. But even this stent is not suitable patients with diseased or smaller than normal or arteries. To help these patients, Christiana Care joined 20 other research sites across the United States in Phase 2 trials of the UNITE stent. The UNITE stent is a single, flexible tube running from the aorta into only one of the iliac arteries. In the second year of the five-year study, Christiana Care, with six patients enrolled, is second only to Emory University School of Medicine, which has eight.
Stent tailored to patient’s needs When Dr. Ierardi’s team determines that a patient is a good candidate for the UNITE stent, team members discuss options with the patient. If he or she agrees to participate in the study, LeMaitre designs the stent specifically for the patient. Once the stent is in place and the team ensures that it is working properly—usually about a
two-hour procedure—the patient returns home the next day. By contrast, abdominal aneurysm surgery takes at least three hours, and patients must remain in the hospital for approximately a week after the surgery. The UNITE stent, already widely used in Europe, not only offers patients new options but also less time away from home and in rehab. Patients return for checkups every six months. And Dr. Ierardi says this technology is leading to more applications. Christiana Care is already involved in carotid stent trials and will soon move to thoracic stent trials, giving even more patients more options.
Patients give nurses high marks for explaining medications, with help from GetWellNetwork
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hristiana Hospital’s unit 4C has served as GetWellNetwork’s (GWN) super user for the past nine months. The unit has seen a 69 percent increase in survey scores relating to how well nurses explain medications to patients. A “question of the day,” directed to patients through GWN, enables patients to provide daily feedback about their stay. If things are not going well, an attending nurse or nurse manager can immediately address patient concerns and improve patient perceptions while patients are still here, according to Nurse Manager Sharon Urban, RN. A hospital-wide initiative is underway to customize the “question of the day” for all units using GWN.
Shining Stars Winter/Spring 2009 January: Leslie D. Tyson, RN, 3B/3C February: Donna DiOrio, 6E Food Services Specialist
March:
Andrew Wedel, RN, 7E
April:
Kristina Santora, RN, 4C Staff Development Specialist
Written concerns drop 60% According to Katherine Pereira-Ogan, RN, BSN, BC, MSSL, director of Service Excellence, written concerns submitted to the Patient Relations Department are at a record low, down more than 60 percent. “We believe the drop in patient relations referrals may be the result of patients’ using GWN to voice concerns when they occur, rather than post-discharge,” says Pereira-Ogan, adding that overall patient satisfaction scores are on the rise. With GWN, patient satisfaction scores are noteworthy: a 23 percent increase in nurses explaining things in ways patients understand and a 33 percent improvement in patients receiving help quickly.
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Usage up 98 percent GWN also affects patient education. In In April 2008, only 109 patients accessed health videos through GWN. By April 2009, patients accessed 1,107 videos, 427 people learned about hand hygiene, 664 watched the safety video, and 131 watched the influenza video.
Other enhancements Medication Education: When a patient’s medications are entered in Powerchart, patients receive educational materials about current or newly prescribed medications, their side effects and possible drug interactions. Geared to improving self-advocacy, GWN records when patients
review, complete or decline information. New links: DeafMD.org, a medical interpretative site for the deaf and hard of hearing is now available under “My Health Websites.” Christiana Care’s new Lost and Found Web site is available under “Communicate.”
GWN study shows Join the American Heart Walk Sept. 13 outcomes improve with GetWellNetwork Christiana Care is sponsoring the 18th Join one of several teams from
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hristiana Care will be one of three sites in the nation to implement GetWellNetwork’s Heart Failure Interactive Care Plan (HFICP), following a successful one-year pilot study of the technology at 282-bed Sentara Virginia Beach (Va.) General Hospital. Results from the study at show remarkable improvement in outcomes from 2007 to 2008:
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Annual American Heart Walk on Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Wilmington Riverfront. in addition to raising funds to fight heart disease and stroke, the American Heart Walk promotes awareness about the diseases. William S. Weintraub, M.D., FACC, chief of Cardiology and director of the Christiana Center for Outcomes Research, is honorary chair.
Christiana Care already listed on the Heart Walk Web site. Or, call your coworkers, friends and family and start your own team. Be sure to register your team on the Web site.
Win a pizza party If your team raises the most money or has the most walkers, you and your team will win a pizza party!
Length of stay–13% reduction
Readmission rate 30 days post-discharge–74% reduction
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Patient satisfaction–43%improvement.
One of the most common and still growing reasons for hospitalization, heart failure requires that patients be involved in managing their chronic condition. GetWell Network’s HFICP engages patients and their families early in the process—with outstanding results.
White paper available online A full copy of the white paper, entitled "Improving Heart Failure Outcomes through Interactive Patient Care: The Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital Experience," can be downloaded at www.getwellnetwork.com. For more information: www.getwellnetwork.com.
Your T-shirt design could be the one that all your Christiana Care colleagues wear! To enter your T-shirt design: Draw your art work on plain white (unlined) 8.5 x 11-inch paper. ■ Draw and submit two sketches for judging. - One sketch should be a simple black outline of your design. - The other should be a color version of the blackand-white sketch. ■
Send computer drawings or files via e-mail as .pdf attachments. Please be prepared to provide separations or black-and-white artwork. ■
Send your entry to Joanne Matukaitis, RN, MSN, CNA, BC, director, Patient Care Services, Cardiovascular/Critical Care in Suite 1003. If you need more information, call 302-733-2633. ■
All entries must be received by July 20.
Mr. Joe
By Christina H. Wilson, RN II, BC
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he day I met my patient, “Mr. Joe,” did not start well. It was only 07:30 and Mr. Joe’s daughter had already called. “Did he have this done? What did the test say?” “Well ma’am, I just got here. I haven’t even met your father yet.” When I did meet Mr. Joe, he actually scared me a little. He was shaking and could not stop, he was in so much pain. He had compression fractures. He was also a smoker and had not had a cigarette in about 10 days. When I first looked at him, it seemed as if he was thinking, “Oh great, some young girl that has no clue.” I couldn’t get a handle on him. I couldn’t joke with him. I got that look that says,
woman, so caring for her husband. Still, something with Mr. Joe wasn’t right. His pain was unbearable, even scary. Then there was that glimmer of hope one day. Kyphoplasty. Back and forth the doctors went. The heart is strong, the lungs are not. Let’s do it under this anesthesia. No, let’s do it like this. Every day a different excuse and a different promise all in the same breath.
I’d move him gently and pat him softly, but I was always afraid he would yell and scream, if he had the energy. Once, while I was doing so, he turned to me and said, “You’ve just said ‘OK’ twelve times.” I couldn’t help laughing. He hooked me. Days went on and we both loosened. I met his daughter and his wife, a sweet 6
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“We’re sending him back. We’re not doing the surgery. Anesthesia refused.”
When he came rolling down the hallway, my heart was in my throat. We gently transferred him back into his bed. Still shaking, still in pain. He gave me a little smile, he looked so sad. I went to down to the family Then one Friday morning during shift waiting room to get his wife and report, I heard: “Mr. Joe has been NPO daughters. I just sat there with them. We talked; we were angry. Such high since midnight for a kyphoplasty hopes squashed again. What was today. Consent is signed.” going to happen next? This day could not get any better. I Back in his room, I asked him if everycould not wait to see him. The call thing was okay, then I caught myself. I‘d said “okay,” which he despised. He took my hand, gave me another smile and started to cry. He said to me, “I watched my father die like this and I always said I didn’t want to die like this.”
“ ... as a bedside nurse, you never just care for the patient; you really do take care of the entire family.” “get out of here.” I usually can change a person’s mood by joking, but I couldn’t seem to break him.
A couple hours had passed when I received the phone call that I now realize would change Mr. Joe’s life; it was prep and holding.
from prep and holding came at 8 a.m., earlier than everyone expected. Mr. Joe was scared but so anxious to get rid of the pain. I told him that he was not going to return to this room after the surgery, but he would be right upstairs and I would be able to visit him. I called his wife with the news of the early surgery time and she was just as excited, but you could sense her nervousness. We packed up his room and waited for the call on his new room number.
He said it, whispered it, just to me. He didn’t want his family to hear. I had to cry. He kissed my hand and I kissed his forehead. I told him he wasn’t dying. I wasn’t going to let him. The rest of the day seems like a blur. We did everything we could to make him and his family comfortable. And then the day was over and we were nowhere. While I was off for a couple days, Mr. Joe was on my mind. What were they going to do? What could they do for him? My little “master,” as I called him one day. He loved that. I remember that smile he gave me that day I said that to him. We had several funny encounters that
I kept thinking about. There was that one time when I was turning him and just happen to find his wedding band stuck to his buttock; I loved telling his wife about that one. Then there was the time when he found out his daughter was calling the nurses every morning. He had no idea! So, of course, I had to joke with him and tell him that she actually called me at home; he believed it for a while. When I did come back after my time off, he was no longer there. Things got worse over the weekend and he was moved to stepdown. I had to go see him, my little “master.” He was one floor down and one room over. I walked in the room and saw him and saw his wife. We hugged. “Joe, your Christina is here,” she announced. But he was a different person. Still shaking, still in pain, but now wearing an oxygen mask. Those elastic bands were cutting into his face. I went over to him and he looked so scared. I held
his hand and gave him a kiss. I didn’t want to cry in front of him because I didn’t want him to see me scared. I stayed for a minute, just couldn’t stay any longer. Mrs. Joe walked with me out into the hallway, so strong she was. “Hospice is coming in today to talk to us,” she told me. It was for the best, exactly what he needed at this point. I gave her another hug. I went and saw them one more time that night before I left for the day. Mrs. Joe said that the Hospice House was able to take him tonight. We both said at the same time, “It’s the best for him.”
the time, but I have seen enough patients worsen during their hospital stay and pass away. It was something about how much the family depended on me during the hospitalization. Even when Mr. Joe was no longer on our unit, the family still came to me, still depended on me. Even with their loved one in such a dire state, the family was happy to see me. It is the perfect example of how, as a bedside nurse, you never just care for the patient; you really do take care of the entire family.
I never saw her cry. She was such a strong woman. I gave her another hug and kissed him again on the forehead and walked down the hallway, crying. Mr. Joe died that Saturday. One week and one day after the excitement and eventual disappointment of surgery. I don’t know why I connected with Mr. Joe so much. Not that I see it all
Reflecting on Nurses Week at Christiana Care
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urses Week is an opportunity for nurses to reflect on their work and to be recognized for their invaluable contributions to health care. More than 120 nurses were honored at the Nurse Excellence Awards ceremony, the crowning event of the annual week-long celebration of Nursing. At Christiana Care, it is also a reminder of the continuous journey of nursing excellence and specifically the rigorous, two-year journey toward Magnet certification, a prestigious designation awarded by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center to hospitals that satisfy a demanding set of criteria measuring the strength and quality of nursing.
Christiana Care has passed the halfway point in that process, with the submission of binders due in August on five model components of the program: Organizational Overview; Transformational Leadership; Structural Empowerment; Exemplary Professional Practice; and New Knowledge, Innovations and Improvements.
Vice President Professional Excellence/Associate Chief Nursing Officer. “Looking back, it’s amazing that a project of this magnitude went so smoothly, and today we know our medication administration is much safer.”
In the system, nurses use handheld scanners to check the bar code on each medication against the bar code on the The winner of the distinguished patient’s hospital wrist band. The sysPartners of Nursing Award is the team tem eliminates medication errors that developed the Electronic through the “5 Rights,” ensuring the Medication Administration system right patient gets the right medication known as EMAR. in the right dosage by the right route “The leadership and support from the at the right time. entire EMAR IT Team was incredible,” says Janet Cunningham, RN, MHA,
CLINICAL NEWS
Publishing
Presentations
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Formulary Update
CLINICAL NEWS
New fact sheet explains how to document patient status
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new Observation Status Fact Sheet published by Christiana Care’s Case Management Division will help employees understand the complicated documentation requirements for classifying a patient for either observation (outpatient) or inpatient status, Christiana Care’s Case Management Division has published an Observation Status Fact Sheet. “Physicians and the hospital benefit from documentation and billing that appropriately reflect the care delivered to the patient,” says Diane Bohner, M.D., FACP, medical director of Utilization Management. Correct documentation is critical because it ensures appropriate hospital billing—and timely reimbursement. If a physician and the hospital bill for different patient status, thirdparty payers such as Medicare might delay payment. Discrepancies in billing status and documentation that does not meet Medicare requirements do much more than delay payment. If medical documentation does not support inpatient status, the hospital must bill for observation status—a lower rate. More important, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hires recovery audit contractors (RACs) to review Medicare payments for hospital stays, particularly for one, two, or three-day stays. When the RACs find a payment for inpatient status that is not supported by medical documentation, Medicare recovers the overpayment from the hospital. Incorrect documentation puts Christiana Care at risk for millions of dollars. Over three years, audits
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recovered almost $700 million from hospitals in California, Florida and New York. The audits for this area begin in August—and can go back as far as October 2007. “As the delivery of health care becomes ever more complex, physicians and the hospital must work together to stay abreast of changing Medicare rules,” says Dr. Bohner. For any patient admitted to acute care,
observation” or “admit as an inpatient.” Orders written to “admit to Dr. X” or “admit to floor bed” are interpreted as inpatient status—even if other documentation does not support inpatient status. Either admit or discharge patients in observation status within 24 hours. The need for observation status rarely exceeds 48 hours.
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For surgery outpatients who need
“Both physicians and the hospital benefit from documentation and billing that appropriately reflect the care delivered to the patient.” – Diane Bohner, M.D., FACP Medical director, Utilization Management
whether in observation or inpatient status, both the history and the physical must demonstrate medical necessity. And this clinical documentation, not length of hospital stay or type of bed occupied, determines a patient’s status.
further monitoring, document the reason the patient is being placed in observation status. Check that both the physician and hospital are billing for the same status.
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Patients who are not responding to treatment or whose condition changes may be converted from observation to inpatient status.
To ensure that documentation for observation status meets Medicare requirements, physicians must do each But the change requires an “admission of the following: to inpatient” order and documentation ■ Date and time the observation order, demonstrating a medical need for the progress note and discharge order. change in status. ■ Specify either “admit to
After 30 years ‘Diz’ Brosmer, CCRN still gets excited about learning rigorous practice, continuing education and testing requirements in their specialty. Different from the RN license, which ensures that a nurse has the required entry-level knowledge and skills to care for patients, certification validates a nurse’s knowledge, skills and experience in caring for critically ill patients. Since 1979, when the head nurse in the open-heart recovery area where she was working encouraged her to apply, Brosmer has consistently maintained her certification, offered through the AACN Certification Corp.
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he Surgicenter’s Linda (“Diz”) Brosmer, RN, CCRN, has achieved a significant professional milestone. At the annual National Teaching Institute (NTI) of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) in June, Brosmer was one of only 108 nurses in the United States honored for 30 years of continuous Critical Care Registered Nurse certification. CCRN certification is an expert credential reserved for people who meet
Looking for some recreational fun with your coworkers?
“When you attend continuing education classes and NTI, you learn about new technology and have the opportunity to exchange ideas with nursing colleagues,” says Brosmer. “You remember why you became a nurse. You get excited all over again.” Offering study groups and full-day review sessions as well as paying for certification exams, Christiana Care promotes its nurses’ certification efforts. And according to Brosmer, nursing colleagues encourage and support each other through the sometimes grueling certification process.
teams last year and is always looking for more! Employees and our family Christiana Care’s bowling league will members are eligible to bowl. Employees are welcome to join indibe start its 42nd season this year and vidually or bring in a complete team is looking for more bowlers! The of four bowlers. If you are interested league bowls on Tuesday evenings at Prices Corner lanes. Bowling starts on in bowling, contact Lil Noonan Tuesday, Sept. 15, and the season lasts (league secretary) at 28 weeks. Bowling starts each week at tnoonan@christianacare.org. An orga6:30 p.m. The co-ed league consists of nizational meeting is scheduled Aug. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Prices Corner lanes. 4-person teams. The league had 16
Rebecca D. Walker, RN, MSN
Board of Nursing elects Walker president The Delaware Board of Nursing (DBN) elected Rebecca D. Walker, RN, MSN, JD, SANE-A, president in June. Her term of office began immediately. Walker, an RN II and forensic nurse in the Emergency Department at Christiana Care, has been an employee here since 1988, starting as a unit clerk and later working as a surgical ICU nurse. She graduated with in from DelTech, and earned a BSN at Wilmington University and an MSN at Wesley College. Walker also has a law degree from the Widener University and practices as a defense lawyer for nurses in health care litigation. A vice president on the DBN for a year-and-a-half, she succeeds Pamela Zickenfoose, Ph.D. The Board of Nursing is an agency of the Delaware Department of State, Division of Professional Regulation, charged with protecting the health, safety and welfare of Delaware's citizens by establishing rules and regulations for the licensure and practice of professional and practical nursing.
GENERAL NEWS
National MS Society Bike to the Bay team getting set to ride Oct. 3-4
Deadline for ACT course registration is Aug. 30 The deadline to apply for the Achieving Competency Today (ACT): Issues in Health Care Cost, Quality, Systems, and Safety, fall 2009 course, is Aug. 30. ACT is an interdisciplinary curriculum including Christiana Care resident physicians, RNs, pharmacists and allied health learners, with modules on the following topics:
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hristiana Care is organizing a team of employees to ride in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Bike to the Bay Oct. 3-4. The course starts in Dover and ends in Rehoboth Beach, Del. You can choose to cycle the entire course (150 miles, 75 miles each way) or start at points along the way to cycle shorter distances. Spouses, friends and other non-employees are welcome to join our team.
Ready Tom Norton, administrative director of Cardiology, invites anyone who can ride a bike to train with him and others in July, August and September to prepare for the ride. To register, go to https://secure3.convio.net/nmss/ site/TRR/858472612 and search for Christiana Care.
Set By registering, you agree to raise at least $250 for the Delaware Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The goal of the Christiana Care team is to recruit 20 cyclists and raise more than $5,000. A community of individuals commit12
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ted to achieving a world free of MS, the Chapter helps more than 1,500 Delawareans living with MS and their loved ones by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, and providing programs and services that help people with MS and their families move their lives forward.
Go Information and practice sessions will be held throughout the training period according to the following schedule: July 12, 10 a.m., Wilmington, 10 miles. Chris Johansen, leader Aug. 2, 10 a.m., Landenberg, Pa., 12 miles, Tom Norton, leader Aug. 23, 10 a.m., New Castle, 15 miles. Chris Johansen, leader. Aug. 23, 10 a.m., Odessa, 20 miles. Tom Norton, leader. A team dinner (with a team photograph) will be held at Christiana Hospital on Friday evening, Oct. 2. For more information, contact Tom Norton at 302-733-1148 or tnorton@christianacare.org.
Performance improvement Patient safety Measurement and outcomes analysis in quality improvement Interdisciplinary team concepts Our U.S. health care system and a brief history and comparison with other models Health care economics (who pays, payment structure, variations in access and cost of care not related to quality of care); Health care legislation Change theory Budgets Approval processes as they relate to conducting a performance improvement project. Learners will be assigned to interdisciplinary teams to design a performance improvement project plan as part of the course deliverables. To register, e-mail Theresa Fields at tfields@christianacare.org or call 302733-1137 with learner information. Enrollment is limited to 24.
Wearing sunscreen helps prevent cancer and a variety of other long-term health problems
Degrees of sunburn
Wear sunscreen all year round
History behind getting “a tan�
Without sunscreen, light-skinned people can develop a painful sunburn in as little as 15 minutes.
GENERAL NEWS
Survey shows employees rate our health Bowling league system favorably as a place to work offers recreational fun with coworkers The 2009 result, 3.98, compares favorn light of the uncertain economic
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environment and as a one-time cost savings measure, Christiana Care elected not to partner with the Gallup Organization this year to complete our employee satisfaction and engagement survey. Instead, the Human Resources team randomly selected 1,000 employees to receive a brief employee climate survey. We had a 64-percent participation rate. Overall, our results remain stable compared to our 2008 full census employee survey.
Using a 5-point Likert scale, when employees were asked to:
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1. Please rate how satisfied are you with Christiana Care as a place to work. The number of participants who answered 5, or extremely satisfied: 36 percent. The number of participants who answered either 4 (satisified) or 5: 88 percent.
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ably with the 2008 result, 3.96.
When employees were asked whether they agreed with the statement:
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2. Christiana Care is a Great Place to Work.
The number of participants who answered 5, or strongly agree: 35 percent. The number of participants who answered either 4 (agree) or 5: 86 percent. Overall, 2009 results for Q2 were 4.00. Individual departments are encouraged to continue working on their efforts to make Christiana Care a Great Place to Work! All employees will have the opportunity to participate in the 2010 Employee Satisfaction and Engagement Survey.
Christiana Care’s bowling league will be starting its 42nd season this year and is looking for more bowlers! The league bowls on Tuesday evenings at Prices Corner lanes. Bowling starts on Tuesday, September 15th, and the season lasts 28 weeks. Bowling starts each week at 6:30. The co-ed league consists of 4-person teams. The league had 16 teams last year and is always looking for more! Employees and our family members are eligible to bowl. Employees are welcome to join individually or bring in a complete team of 4 bowlers if available. If you are interested in bowling, contact Lil Noonan (league secretary) via e-mail to tnoonan@christianacare.org. An organizational meeting is scheduled for August 11 at 6:30 at the Prices Corner lanes.
Upcoming Events
Congratulations Congratulations from the CICU staff to to Jamie Bailey, BSN, RN, CCRN, on her recent promotion to RN II. Great job, Jamie! The staff on 2D at Christiana Hospital congratulates Carol Slijepcevic, BSN, RN, on her recent certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Congratulations on a job well done, Carol. Congratulations to the following for graduating from Wilmington University: ■
Join the Wilmington Blue Rocks for Family Health Care Night on Saturday, July 18, at 6:05 p.m. The Blue Rocks play the Frederick (Md.) Keys. Christiana Care employees receive a special discount rate of $7 per ticket. July 18 is also SNL Characters Night and Delaware Lottery Cap Giveaway Night at the Blue Rocks game. The first 1,000 adults receive a cap courtesy of the Delaware Lottery. In addition, Frawley Stadium offers tribute to SNL's most popular characters like the coneheads, church lady, Wayne Campbell and many more. Order your tickets by faxing back the Family Healthcare Night order form found on the portals under externalaffairsnews/FamilyHealt hcareNight.pdf.
Robert Cortez
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Judy Pantalino
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Elaine Sherman.
and to Renee Collins and Porcia Jeffreys for receiving a Certificate of Completion for the ECHO Program. – Your PMRI colleagues Congratulations to Senior Social Worker Danielle Brown for receiving the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Patient Service Award for the Delaware Chapter 2008-2009. The award is for Danielle's dedicated support for helping the Society fill its mission.
Did you know? A trip to the OR can be fascinating
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ww.christianacare.org now features OR Live, Webcast surgery that takes viewers into the operating room to watch procedures up close. Just this week, we were able to bring you live “Two Techniques for Total Knee Replacement Surgery,� offering an action-packed view of our highly successful treatment for people who suffer from severe knee damage or degeneration. If you missed the OR Live Webcast on June 30, you can still see it on our Web site. Just follow the links from our home page to previous Webcasts.