Focus: May 7, 2009

FOCUS

A publication for Christiana Care Health System physicians and employees

Beacon Award shows high-quality standards and exceptional patient care

May 7, 2009 VO L U M E 2 0 , N U M B E R 8

Published every two weeks by Christiana Care Health System External Affairs P.O. Box 1668 Wilmington, DE 19899-1668 www.christianacare.org

The Medical Intensive Care Unit at Christiana Hospital joins an elite group of American intensive care units having earned the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Spring 2009 Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence.

IN THIS ISSUE

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Clinical News

2 Modeling our Cancer Care Navigator program 5 Reducing blood transfusions

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2009 Clinical Pearls

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General News Open enrollment–time to renew benefits 10 Great Place to Work a review of FY ‘09

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PLEASE RECYCLE FOCUS

he Medical Intensive Care Unit has made Christiana Care one of only 35 hospitals nationwide to earn the prestigious American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Spring 2009 Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence.

The AACN awards the Beacon to units that exhibit “high-quality standards and exceptional care of patients and patients’ families.”

In announcing the award winners, the AACN singled out Christiana Care’s Medical Intensive Care Unit, the first in Delaware to receive a Beacon, for fostering “a stable, healthy environment. “ The AACN evaluated Christiana Care in the following categories:

Recruitment and retention: staff satisfaction, retention incentives, staff ■

participation in recruiting and nursing support from direct supervisors.

■ Education/training and mentoring: orientation of new staff, unit-based continuing education, certification incentives, competency validation, mentoring of novice nurses and evaluation of professional practice.

■ Evidence-based practice and research: using available evidence as the basis for unit policies and procedures, and participating in research to support nursing practice.

Patient outcomes: adequate staffing levels and use of epidemiologic and trend data to evaluate patient outcomes.

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■ Healing environment: psychosocial and ethical aspects of patient care.

Leadership and organizational ethics: collaboration among unit lead■

CLINICAL NEWS

ers and nurses’ accountability for quality measurement and improvement.

Because these criteria provide units a way to measure their systems, outcomes and environment against national criteria for excellence, the award is increasingly linked to patient safety initiatives.

The Beacon recognizes the nation's top adult critical care, pediatric critical care, and progressive care units—units “that achieve the highest critical outcomes.”

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CLINICAL NEWS Teams of pharmacists stand behind bedside nurses

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ehind every nurse at the bedside is a team of pharmacists.

That collaborative effort makes patient care safer. And it is just one example of nurses working with people in other disciplines, a critical step in Christiana Care’s journey to attain Magnet status, the gold standard for nursing excellence.

An important criterion of the rigorous Magnet program, established by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, is creating interdisciplinary relationships that foster mutual respect for all members of a healthcare team and, in the process, improve quality of care.

Medication safety improves with collaboration “Nursing and Pharmacy collaboration is critical for medication safety,” says Janet Cunningham, RN, MHA, NEABC, CENP vice president, Professional Excellence/Associate CNO. In Christiana Care’s unit-based pharmacy program, a pharmacist is routinely assigned to a specific unit in the hospital to establish a relationship with the nurses who work in the unit.

“The pharmacist is positioned to be a resource for medication information,” says Terri Corbo, PharmD, BCPS, director Clinical Pharmacy Services and medication safety officer.

That personal interaction helps to make the team even stronger, she notes, as pharmacists and nurses learn from one another.

In the past two years, the Electronic Medication Administration Record

(eMAR) system and Bar Code Point of Care (BPOC) is just one of several significant advances in developing a relationship between nursing and pharmacy—and in improving patient safety. Nationally, bar coding has been shown to reduce medication administration errors by 54 percent.

Hospira pumps customize dosing

“eMar is one of the largest safety initiatives ever undertaken at Christiana Care focused on the administration of medications. Every discipline was involved,” says Corbo. Corbo cochairs the Medication Safety Subcommittee with Joanne Matukaitis, RN, MSN, CNA, BC, director, Patient Care Services.

“Smart pumps reduce the burden of calculating for the nurse at the bedside,” says Dean A. Bennett, RPh, medication safety specialist.

Hospira infusion pumps, which have been customized to establish dose limits, also help nurses take better care of patients. Safeguard alerts programmed into the devices help prevent “fat finger” misprogramming errors in setting the pumps.

But, Cunningham cautions, “Great technologies such as eMAR and smart pumps do not eliminate the need for real-time consultation with pharmacists, our medication experts.”

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CLINICAL NEWS

Joanne C. Brice, M.D., FHM, a hospitalist at Christiana Care, is a member of the Inaugural Class of Fellows, the firstever formal designation by the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM).

Hospital Medicine is the fastest growing specialty in health care, according to SHM, a professional organization based in Philadelphia.

Freeing primary-care physicians to focus on their practices, hospitalists care for patients from the time they are admitted to the hospital until discharge. They also teach residents, care for uninsured patients, serve on committees and champion Quality Improvement pilot projects.

‘We try to optimize the way a hospital works’ “We try to optimize the way a hospital works and to align our goals with those of the institution, the staff, the primary-care physicians and the patients to produce the best clinical outcome for patients,” Dr. Brice says.

Dr. Brice is president of Christiana Medical Group, PA, a rapidly expanding Delaware-based hospitalist private practice.

Christiana Medical Group began with only two physicians in 1996. By 2001, the year Dr. Brice came on board, the practice had doubled, growing from six to 12 doctors. This year, the group will add 11 hospitalists, for a total of more than 25 physicians.

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After her residency in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Brice interviewed with 10 private practices and only one hospitalist group.

Chose our hospitalist group for the ‘great fit’ “Hospital Medicine and the docs in this group were a great fit,” she recalls.

“From the very start, I’ve been excited every day about my work.”

Dr. Brice’s career path has taken her on a journey to diverse places. Before attending college, she worked for five years as a virology technician in her native Trinidad. At the University of California—Davis, she was copy editor for the school paper and, during medical school, cofounded a clinic to provide free care to the underserved. She also served as an

officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for eight years.

“I’m a detail person,” she says. “I learned a lot about hierarchical structure and how to be a leader from those experiences.”

One of first 515 recognized FHMs Dr. Brice is one of 515 fellows in the inaugural class. To become a fellow, a physician must practice as a hospitalist for at least five years, participate in at least two national conferences and earn a number of points for serving on hospital committees and taking leadership roles.

"Until now, SHM has not had a way to recognize career hospitalists as part of our growing specialty,” says Larry Wellikson, M.D., FHM, the CEO of SHM. “Becoming an FHM gives them an opportunity to be recognized for all of their work to improve quality at their hospitals."

healthy as possible throughout the entire continuum of care,” says Strusowski.

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he Helen F. Graham Cancer Center’s team of patient care navigators has been asked to help teach nurses at other cancer centers around the nation how to model our successful program.

“There are tons of issues that come up,” says Strusowski, who launched the nurse navigator program shortly after being named director of cancer care management in 2000. “It is so complicated because there are so many different doctors and procedures involved.”

As part of a program offered by the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), Tricia Strusowski, MS, RN, director of Cancer Care Management at the Graham Cancer Center, is conducting one-day training sessions at six ACCC-member hospitals in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee and South Carolina.

She will also write a workbook to be used in implementing the program.

It is no surprise the ACCC asked Strusowski to share with other hospitals her insight and experience.

One of the first to establish cancer nurse navigator program

Tricia Strusowski, MS, RN, director of Cancer Care Management at the Graham Cancer Center

Christiana Care’s Graham Cancer Center was among the first hospitals in the nation to introduce the concept of nurse navigators to cancer care.

patients and their families are not alone as they confront what can be a crushing array of physical, emotional and financial challenges.

The nurse navigators—they were called care coordinators when the program started in 2000—are specially trained nurses who oversee and help orchestrate all aspects of a cancer patient’s treatment.

Their work ranges from educating patients about their particular form of cancer to scheduling medical tests and procedures to making patients aware of available clinical trials and support groups.

Nurse navigators make sure that

The goal is “to keep patients as

“We knew Tricia was a marvelous presenter,” says Don Jewler, director of communications for the ACCC, which is based in Rockville, Md. Assisting medically underserved Jeweler says another reason Strusowski was asked to participate is because of the Graham Cancer Center’s success in assisting patients from medically underserved communities, Jewler says.

“Once again, the work of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center is receiving national recognition,” says Patrick Grusenmeyer, Sc.D., vice president, Helen F. Graham Cancer Center.

“This reflects on the great job that Tricia Strusowski and her staff have done in developing the cancer nurse navigator program.”

ACCC hopes to eventually bring the nurse navigator program to each of its 670 member hospitals, he says.

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CLINICAL NEWS

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s a result of a hospital program aimed at reducing the use of blood transfusions during coronary artery bypass grafts, valve replacements and other heart surgeries, cardiac patients at Christiana Care are experiencing better post-surgical outcomes.

Even though blood transfusions can save lives— and may be necessary for some patients—research shows they may also boost a patient’s risk of developing inflammation, lung infections or other infections such as hepatitis or HIV. A growing body of data also shows that cardiac surgery patients who did not receive a transfusion tended to rebound quicker and leave the hospital sooner following surgery than patients who received a transfusion.

“We don’t want to have patients receive blood products unnecessarily,” says Timothy Gardner, M.D., medical director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana Care.

Reassessing need leads to changing protocols In 2006, Christiana Care’s cardiac surgery team, under the direction of Michael Banbury, M.D., chief of cardiac surgery, began to reassess the use of transfusions during and following heart surgery.

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Since the new protocols went into effect in 2006, Christiana Care has seen what Yong Zhao, M.D., medical director for transfusion services, calls a “significant decrease” in the number of transfusions during heart surgeries such as coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) and valve replacements.

In the three months between October 2005 and January 2006, 65 percent of CABG patients received a transfusion of red blood cells at an average of 3.68 units per procedure, Dr. Zhao says.

Christiana Care surgeons take a critical look at whether a patient would benefit from a transfusion and how much blood the patient would need.

Safer surgeries, better outcomes The reassessment has led to changed protocols. Using fewer IV fluids, which can dilute blood volume, for example, now limits the need for transfusions.

“Our protocols are helping patients have safer surgeries and better outcomes,” says Dr. Banbury, who coauthored a 2005 study showing that cardiac surgery patients who received transfusions had a higher risk of an infection following surgery.

In comparison, just 21 percent of CABG patients received a transfusion of red blood cells during the period from October 2007 to January 2008, Dr. Zhao said. And these patients received an average of just 0.8 units of blood per procedure.

A review of about 2,100 CABG patients treated at Christiana Care between 2006 and 2008 confirms that the new protocols have resulted in lower rates of mortality and infection.

The in-hospital mortality rate declined to 1.4 percent in 2008, down from 1.7 percent in 2006. And the external wound infection rate fell to zero in 2008, compared with 0.5 percent in 2006. continued next page

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Saturday, May 9:

s always, National Nurses Week is May 6-12. National Visiting Nurse Association Week is celebrated May 1117.

It’s a time to recognize nurses and the nursing profession for all that they do to support the American Dream.

Scheduled events at Christiana Care include:

Unit-Based Celebrations Monday, May 11 - Tuesday, May 12: Nursefest, an event that features professional and educational exhibitor tables, free mini-massages and food, plus other giveaways and raffles.

Nursefest takes place Monday at Wilmington Hospital Conference Center, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., and Tuesday at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center auditorium, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Friday, May 8 : ■

Nursing Research Council Poster Contest posters are on display at Christiana Hospital.

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Gift Basket Raffle winners (sponsored by System Shared Decision Making Councils) will be announced by e-mail.

If you feel good about your health care today, be sure to thank a nurse!

Tr a n s f u s i o n s , c o n t i n u e d

Shorter hospital stays CABG patients also spent less time in the hospital. In 2008, 67 percent of patients went home in less than six days, compared to 50 percent in 2006.

The number of transfusions during valve-replacement surgery has also reduced dramatically.

In 2006, 96 percent of patients undergoing the procedure received a transfusion, at an average of 5 units.

In 2007, 46 percent, or fewer than half, of valve-replacement patients received a transfusion, at an average of 1.5 units.

Dr. Gardner says the result of the new protocols is a “better overall outcome for patients. Our sense is that our patients are doing better, and they’re up and around faster.”

Christiana Care’s Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) is introducing new technology to enable VNA nurses and wound specialists to treat wounds more effectively and efficiently.

“If the patient’s wound deteriorates, we’ll know immediately,” says Leslie Kaczmarczyk, RN, a VNA clinical information process nurse specialist.

The Wound Advisor, a digital imaging system, allows VNA nurses to send photos of a patient’s wound to VNA headquarters, where one of the agency’s four wound-care specialists can evaluate the patient’s progress quickly, without having to visit the patient.

Because the agency treats about 1,000 wound-care patients across the state

each year, making in-home visits has posed a challenge for the four woundcare specialists.

In eliminating the time involved in home visits, the new system, which costs about $150,000, enables the wound-care specialists to notify a patient’s physician immediately if a wound is not healing as it should, and the physician can then change the course of treatment more quickly.

The software package also includes protocols that guide VNA nurses in wound treatment.

“It’s all about getting the right care to the patient at the right time,” says Rhonda Combs, the VNA’s chief operating officer.

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FORMULARY ADDITIONS Medication Generic/Brand Name

Strength/Size

Use/Indication

Bendamustine/Treanda® 100 mg vial

Treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma

C1 esterase inhibitor /Cinryze™

Prophylaxis against hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks

500 units vial

Comments Will be obtained on an as-needed basis

Carbidopa/levodopa/ entacapone/Stalevo®

• 18.75/75/200 mg • 31.25/125/200 mg • 50/200/200 mg

Treatment of Parkinson disease

Line item extension of new dosage forms since product originally added to formulary.

Methotrexate tablets

7.5- & 10-mg tablets

Used to rescue cells from the cytotoxic effects of high-dose methotrexate

Line item extension

AUTOMATIC SUBSTITUTION MMX Mesalamine (Lialda®)

• Lialda® 2.4 grams once daily

Asacol 800 mg TID

• Lialda® 4.8 grams once daily

Asacol 1600 mg TID

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ive of the top clinicians and teachers from Christiana Care’s Department of Medicine shared some pearls of medical wisdom with their fellow physicians at the sixth annual Clinical Pearls Grand Rounds lecture April 23.

Hematologist Philip Blatt, M.D., infectious disease specialist Stephanie Lee, M.D., cardiologist Mitchell Saltzberg, M.D., hematologist/oncologist Pamela Simpson, M.D., and nephrologist Prayus Tailor, M.D., covered a wide range of topics.

Attendings share their learning Dr. Blatt, who helped start the program at Christiana Care in 2004, says the idea is for physicians to share what they have learned in their practice. Clinical Pearls Grand Rounds is modeled after a similar program at the University of North Carolina.

The presentations drew a crowd of more than 100 residents, attending physicians and retired doctors to the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center at Christiana Hospital. And the program was simulcast to physicians at Wilmington Hospital.

The five presenters had a challenging task because each was allotted only eight minutes. The tight time limit prompted Dr. Saltzberg, the medical director of Christiana Care’s Heart Failure Program, to joke that the event was like the medical equivalent of speed dating.

Dr. Blatt – thrombosis Dr. Blatt asked physicians to consider carefully the tests and procedures they order for patients with thrombosis because some of the costly tests and procedures may be medically

unnecessary. He gave an example of a hypothetical case in which more prudent use of testing lowered the cost of care by about $5,500 while still maintaining the quality of care.

Dr. Lee – Lyme disease Dr. Lee urged the clinicians to look beyond the usual signs of Lyme disease, which can be misdiagnosed.

As an example, she spoke about a patient who displayed typical symptoms of Lyme disease: fatigue, joint aches and an inability to concentrate.

But serology tests pointed Dr. Lee in another direction, and she eventually found that sleep apnea, work-related stress and 20 added pounds caused the patient’s problems.

Program, spoke about protocol for treating heart failure patients.

Dr. Tailor – cardio renal syndrome Dr. Tailor presented on cardio renal syndrome, in which heart failure impairs an otherwise normally functioning kidney.

Dr. Simpson – HRT and breast cancer Dr. Simpson discussed the drop in breast cancer rates after primary care doctors reduced prescribing hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women.

Dr. Saltzberg –heart failure protocol

Program recognizes excellent teachers The approximately 70 internal medicine residents voted to select the five presenters. The residents consider the five to be among the top teachers on the Christiana Care staff, says Brian Aboff, M.D., the director of the Medicine residency program.

“We wanted to find a way to acknowledge our best teachers,” Dr. Aboff says.

Dr. Saltzberg, medical director of Christiana Care’s Heart Failure

The presenters each received a plaque in recognition of outstanding teaching.

“Look really hard for something different,” Dr. Lee told the audience.

“Nine times out of 10, you’ll find another treatable cause.”

April 23, 2009 FOCUS

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GENERAL NEWS

Gone are the disposable Styrofoam cups. In are coffee mugs from home.

Understanding health care costs

determine which plan best suits you.

Be sure to consider your pre-tax employee contributions, medical care usage and potential out-of-pocket expense, as well as Christiana Care contributions to the health savings account of the Aetna Health Advantage Plan.

Over the past four years, Christiana Care’s health care costs have increased $22.5 million. The average cost for medical insurance and prescription coverage is $10,000 per employee, approximately 10 percent higher than last fiscal year.

In considering the PPO, you’ll want to factor in the health care flexible spending account (FSA), since the annual maximum contribution is increasing to $5,000 to allow employees to use more pre-tax dollars to pay eligible health care expenses.

Christiana Care continues to contribute a greater share of health care costs than most employers in the region, as well as across the nation.

According to our research, Christiana Care contributes 89 percent of total health care costs, about 13 percent higher than other regional hospitals.

How to Enroll for 2010

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pen enrollment for the 2010 benefit year begins on May 12 and continues through May 27. During this time, you will have the opportunity to make changes to your benefit elections that will be in effect from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010.

Evaluating your benefit options All benefit-eligible employees were mailed an Open Enrollment package the week of April 27 that detailed benefit changes for the upcoming plan year. Christiana Care is eliminating the EPO Plan for 2010, since in-network EPO coverage largely duplicates the Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Plan (PPO) coverage and does not offer out-of-network benefits. Eliminating the EPO Plan helps manage Christiana Care costs, while employees have a choice of medical plans through the PPO and the Aetna Health Advantage Plan (formerly called the High Deductible Health Plan).

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If you decide to make changes to your 2010 Benefit Options (including removing your spouse from medical coverage) or want to enroll in an FSA, you can make selections by going to HR Online, click on “My Personal Information” and then select “Benefits Open Enrollment.” Follow the instructions for making changes.

I M P O R TA N T If you wish to keep your current benefit elections (excluding Flexible Spending Accounts), no action is necessary. Your current options will automatically carry over to 2010 with one exception: employees who are enrolled in the EPO Plan and do not make an election will automatically be enrolled in the Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Plan.

If you want to participate in a Health Care or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Federal law requires that you enroll on a yearly basis.

Out went the more expensive copy paper with pre-punched holes: After all, not all printed items go into a patient’s chart.

The Clinical Decision Unit staff at Christiana Hospital came up with these and many more ideas to stem some of the daily waste they observed.

‘Would you like toothpaste with that toothbrush?’

You know those personal grooming items in the toiletries kit we provide?

The unused toothbrushes, soap and shampoo that end up in the trash after a patient’s brief stay?

Someone thought of giving patients a menu instead, and letting them select only the items they want.

These money-saving ideas and a host of others were the result of a contest organized by Kara Streets, RN, MS, CEN, nurse manager, who challenged co-workers to find moneysaving suggestions. Fourteen workers came through.

“The staff really took it by the horns and went with it,” she says.

CFO says bravo “I’m impressed by the fact that the ideas came from employees,” says Tom Corrigan, Christiana Care’s chief financial officer. “They just did it on their own, which is really neat.”

Rob McMurray, Christiana Care’s vice president and controller, says, “People are really looking at waste and starting to treat the money as if it were their own.”

CHRISTIANA CARE COMPLIANCE HOTLINE Christiana Care’s Compliance Hotline can be used to report a violation of any regulation, law or legal requirement as it relates to billing or documentation.

The hotline will be answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All reports go directly to Compliance Officer Ronald B. Sherman. Callers may remain anonymous.

The toll-free number is 877-REPORT-0 (877-737-6780).

To learn more about Corporate Compliance, review the Corporate Compliance Policy online or contact Sherman at 302-428-4503.

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five grown children and eight grandchildren.

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n 1935, 9-year-old Dick Lennihan took a tumble from his bike—and fell in love with medicine.

He recalls his anticipation coming to Delaware with his growing family so long ago.

It’s a passion Richard Lennihan, Jr., M.D., pursued for more than half a century.

Thought Delaware was the ‘promised land’

“I had a feeling I was coming to the promised land,” he says. “It was a place big enough to have substantial needs and still have that sense of community that breeds better medicine.”

“I remember the doctor coming to our house and meticulously cleaning my scraped knee,” recalls Dr. Lennihan, 82, who retired in January from Christiana Care Vascular Specialists, Inc.

A lifelong fitness enthusiast, Dr. Lennihan took up running in 1974, ultimately competing in the Boston Marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., and scores of other races at various distances.

“I knew then and there that I wanted to be a doctor, so I started working extra hard at school.”

First vascular surgery specialist

Dr. Lennihan, who practiced at Christiana Care for 37 years, was the first surgeon in Wilmington to devote his career exclusively to vascular surgery.

Delaware Senior Olympian

At 80, he entered the Delaware Senior Olympics, winning the 5-K and 10-K races and all eight trackand-field events in his age group.

He set records in seven events.

“Dick Lennihan is a visionary,” says Michael Rhodes, M.D., Chair, Department of Surgery.

“The Center for Heart and Vascular Health as we know it today is a result of his vision and leadership.”

Harvard and Cornell

Dr. Lennihan earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard and his medical degree at Cornell. He served his internship at the University of Virginia Hospital, was chief surgical resident at Boston City Hospital and was a

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fellow of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He also served two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. “When I came out of med school, there was no vascular surgery,” he says. “There also was no chemotherapy, dialysis and few antibiotics.”

Dr. Lennihan and his wife, Marge, met at Harvard. Today, they have

“If you eat and sleep seven days a week, why not exercise seven days a week?” he says. “If you don’t have long-bone motion, the body and mind don’t do as well.”

On April 23, a reception to celebrate Dr. Lennihan’s career was held at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center, sponsored by Christiana Care Vascular Specialists, the Department of Surgery and the Center for Heart and Vascular Health.

Christiana Care continues to be recognized as a Great Place to Work through the recruitment and retention of a high-performing, committed and engaged health care team at all levels. Our continued success as a health care system depends on the dedicated efforts of our valued employees.

We value your feedback because it is vital to the progress of our health system. Since our last comprehensive Employee Satisfaction and Engagement Survey administered in 2008, individual work groups, and service line councils and committees have devoted extensive energy to improving their work environment, and remain steadfast in their focus on excellence as they provide care for the patients of the communities we serve.

involvement in their own wellness.

Still ‘Best in the Business’ Week of : ■

May 11 - Recruitment & Retention

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May 18 - Total Rewards

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May 25 - Health & Wellness

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June 1 - Better & Easier

Christiana Care continues to be proud of the outstanding quality care and external recognition our employees receive. Highlights include:

Again named a News Journal “Best in the Business” employer, Highlights of systemwide efforts to earning the distinction for the fifth continue to improve Christiana consecutive year.

Care as a Great Place to Work this past year have included the imple- ■ Rated in Nursing Professionals Top 100 Hospitals to Work With list. mentation of on-site convenience ■

June 8 - Growth & Development

services, the introduction of a new employee Web site, and a voluntary health risk assessment to improve employee awareness and

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Continued to be recognized by US News and World Report as one of America’s “Best Hospitals”.

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Employee engagement

More than 7,000 employees, or 77 percent of staff, participated in the 2008 annual Employee Satisfaction and Engagement Survey, a system record. The number of Christiana Care employees responding with a 5 (out of 5) on the 2008 survey increased to 33 percent from 31 percent in 2006, placing Christiana Care at the 61st percentile of Gallup’s overall data base.

Christiana Care’s combined rating (4s and 5s out of a possible 5) for employee satisfaction was a positive 78 percent.

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The 2nd annual Great Place to Work celebration during National Hospital week May 11-15 gives managers a way to recognize their team and celebrate their contributions to making Christiana Care a Great Place to Work. Systemwide events include: Team posters and essays contest Showcase your unit or department with a poster to visually display how we live our core values and work together to make Christiana Care a Great Place to Work. A $200 gift card will be awarded for top poster(s).

Show off your writing talent by describ-

ing the impact our core values have on creating a Great Place to Work. A $50 gift card will be awarded for top essay(s). All employees who vote online for their favorite poster or essay will be entered into a drawing for prizes.

Posters and essays will be judged on how well they correlate our Core Values and making Christiana Care a Great Place to Work, emotional connection to the reader, impact on patients and customers, creativity and uniqueness. In addition, our cafeterias will feature a special Key West/Caribbean menu at Christiana Hospital on May 12 and at the

Wilmington campus on May 13.

Water ice will be served by management to staff at a variety of locations.

(Look for a calendar highlighting dates and times soon.)

Christiana Care Golf League begins June 3. This summer, the league offers Wednesday night golf at Deerfield Golf & Tennis Club. From June 3-Aug. 19 golfers play nine holes once a week for approximately 12 weeks on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Each week costs $29, which covers nine holes and cart. Interested players should be able to commit to playing 12 weeks until Aug. 19. Contact wgable@christianacare.org. All skill levels welcome.

The 4th Annual Roger B. Thomas Memorial Lecture is May 28 at 8 a.m. in the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center’s main auditorium.

Lawrence Smith, M.D., chief medical officer at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., will present “Who’s in Charge?,” a lecture on the medical and cultural factors that cost physicians ownership of their patients’ care and offers strategies to counter this problem and ways to improve patient safety, quality of care and patient satisfaction.

The Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Support Group Series for those who have or plan to receive an ICD features “Exercising with ICDs and Pacemakers,” with Exercise Physiologist Tim Parosky, Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 6-7:30 p.m. and “Eating Heart Healthy” with Registered Dietitian Danielle Jerome, Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 6-7:30 p.m.

Light refreshments are provided. To register, please call 800-693-CARE (2273) or 302-623-CARE (2273).

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Prom Night 2009 - First State School

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILMINGTON DE PERMIT NO. 357

External Affairs P.O. Box 1668 Wilmington, DE 19899-1668 www.christianacare.org

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