September 30, 2011
MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA
Vol. 30, No. 7
Five pink fire trucks and a motorcycle escort visited the Horseshoe Sept. 27 as part of the Pink Heals Tour to raise awareness of the issues women face battling cancer.
Rolling Support
S
haron Shepherd circled the fire truck looking for just the right place to sign her name. “This is the coolest idea ever,” she said grinning broadly as she signed her name as a 15-year survivor of cancer. Participating in the Pink Heals Tour, she had a chance to meet the firefighters and volunteers who tour the country to support women battling cancer or who have battled cancer. MUSC also hosted a Women’s Cancer Awareness Fair. Shepherd, manager of MUSC’s gift shop, said the support is crucial. Volunteer Danny Baughman, a firefighter from High Point sporting magenta Nike shoes, agreed. He said he loves hearing all the stories of hope and inspiration. The fire trucks travel the country bearing the signatures of all those inspired to write a message. MUSC was one of 73 stops on a 90-day tour during this leg of the journey.
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Baughman’s truck is named Debbie in honor of his mother-in-law who had breast cancer. Firefighters are the type who want to rescue people, but it was agonizing for his family to watch her battle the disease. What helped her conquer it was the support she received, he said. It’s why he goes on the road. Jean Day, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Rutledge Tower and cancer survivor, signed the truck “for all those before me, for me and for all those after me – Survivor 2009.’ Women tend to be the medical caretakers in the family and forget what they need to do to take care of themselves, she said “I’m so touched. It’s amazing,” she said as she finished adding her name. “I think women should rock on. It’s very inspiring for those looking for hope and reassurance that everything’s going to be OK. It’s reaffirming.”
new Dean The College of Health Professions has selected Dr. Lisa Saladin to take the helm.
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Employees Sharon Shepherd, above, and Jean Day, left, add their signatures to the trucks. The signatures never get erased.
Pioneering research
4
Applause Program
Dr. Louis Guillette captures Heinz Award for his work.
5
Meet Carmen
10
Medical Center Excellence
READ THE CATALYST ONLINE - http://www.musc.edu/catalyst
2 The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011
College of Health Professions names new dean
After a national search, Lisa Saladin, Ph.D., was recommended for and has accepted the permanent position of dean of the College of Health Professions (CHP). The dean selection committee was chaired by Darlene Shaw, Ph.D., MUSC associate provost for education and student life, and consisted of a representative group of faculty and staff members from the college as well as across the MUSC campus. The appointment is contingent upon final approval of the MUSC board of trustees. With her national reputation in her academic discipline, her exemplary performance during her tenure as CHP executive associate dean and then as interim dean of the College of Health Professions this past year, a strong consensus developed among committee members to recommend offering the permanent position to Saladin. Among many desirable leadership qualities cited by the committee, her collaborative approach to decision-making was highlighted as having a direct and immediate impact on CHP. Mark Sothmann, Ph.D., MUSC vice president for academic affairs and provost, said Saladin is accorded extraordinary respect for her accomplishments as a faculty member, as evidenced by her numerous honors for her teaching at MUSC and beyond, and her national reputation in her academic discipline of physical therapy. “Her expertise is further evidenced in her scholarship and through her insightful service to the college, MUSC and on the national level. I am confident she has the skills, the demeanor, and the talent to enhance the prominence the college already enjoys. I believe it is a tribute to the College of Health Professions faculty that a rigorous national search to find the best candidate identified one of their own.” Saladin offers CHP 21 years of diverse and progressive experience in leadership, education and scholarship. She received her bachelor’s degree in medical rehabilitation physical therapy and a master’s
Editorial of fice MUSC Office of Public Relations 135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425. 843-792-4107 Fax: 843-792-6723 Editor: Kim Draughn catalyst@musc.edu Catalyst staff: Cindy Abole, aboleca@musc.edu Dawn Brazell, brazell@musc.edu
Currently, CHP’s Dr. Lisa Saladin is the third female dean at MUSC. of science degree in anatomy from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her doctor of philosophy degree in physical therapy was earned from Nova Southeastern University, located in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. At MUSC, she served as director of the Physical Therapy Education Program; chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences; chair of the Department of Health Professions, responsible for six academic divisions while simultaneously serving as executive academic dean; and as interim dean for the last 10 months. While serving as director of the Physical Therapy Education Program, she led the design and implementation of an expansion distance education degree program for physical therapy in Greenville that incorporated the use of innovative distance education technology for delivery of the majority of the didactic curriculum. The experience led to her participation on a large training grant as the distance education content expert and to national and local presentations on the use of technology to provide distance education. Among Saladin’s numerous professional accomplishments are: q Collaborated with two colleges to develop and implement one of the first interprofessional master’s degrees in rehabilitation sciences in the United States
The Catalyst is published once a week. Paid adver tisements, which do not represent an endorsement by MUSC or the State of South Carolina, are handled by Island Publications Inc., Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C., 843-849-1778 or 843-958-7490. E-mail: sales@moultrienews.com.
q Presented on health care reform and the impact on health professions as chair of the Government Affairs Committee of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) q Completed a certificate in Management and Leadership in Education from Harvard University q Awarded three University Teaching Excellence awards q Designated a Master Teacher by the MUSC board of trustees q Recognized by the APTA as the recipient of the national Dorothy E. Baethke-Eleanor J. Carlin Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching Saladin said that MUSC is recognized as having one of the top colleges of Health Professions in the country, with a reputation for educational excellence that is well documented and a commitment to quality clinical care and service. “We’ve also grown our research programs exponentially during the last year with the opening of our Center for Rehabilitation Research for Neurological Conditions. I am honored to have been asked to provide the leadership necessary to build on these established strengths and to create novel opportunities for the college in this dynamic health care environment.” Saladin will be MUSC’s third female dean. Etta D. Pisano, M.D., became dean of the College of Medicine in 2010, and Gail Stuart, Ph.D., R.N., became dean of the College of Nursing in 2002. Sothmann said he hasn’t conducted a systematic review, but he would venture to guess that MUSC may be the only academic health center nationally that has an equal percentage of female and male deans. “It is also important to note that while Dean Pisano was recruited from the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, Dean Saladin worked her way through the ranks at MUSC to her present leadership position. This speaks well for the diversity of MUSC in being able to both attract talented female leaders from other universities while cultivating strong internal leadership.”
MUSC Foundation board announces officers, new members The MUSC Foundation board announced its recently elected officers and newest members Sept. 22. Walter Seinsheimer, president and chairman of Dolphin Architects & Builders was re-elected chair. Richard Elliott, president of Maverick Southern Kitchens was re-elected vice chairman. Robyn Frampton, chief financial officer for the foundation, will serve as treasurer. Thomas Anderson, the foundation's chief executive officer, will serve as secretary. New members include John Barter, president of AlliedSignal Automotive, Kiawah Island; Helen “Cokie” Berenyi,
president and managing partner of Red Triangle, Charleston; Richard Hagins, chairman and CEO of Universal Supplies & Services, Greenville; Lou Hammond, chairman and founder of Lou Hammond & Associates, Charleston and New York; Susanna Johnson, graduate student at New York University, George Heyman Jr., Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, New York and Spartanburg; and Kevin Luzak, CEO of Coastal Forest Resource Management, New York and Charleston. For more information on the MUSC Foundation board, visit http:// academicdepartments.musc.edu/board.
The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011 3
MUSC listed among ‘most connected’ hospitals
MUSC medical center was among 118 hospitals in the nation and the only hospital in South Carolina that is the “most connected,” as listed in a ranking by U.S. News & World Report. The listing affirms MUSC as a leader statewide and nationally in its use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). A growing computer-based technology, EMR allows hospitals to manage patient medical information, physician orders, medication scanning, health information and electronic digitally stored data to physicians and clinical staff. EMR advances protect patients from hospital errors and help save lives. Office of Chief Information Officer Frank Clark, Ph.D., compares the hospital’s progress and recognition in this area as grabbing the brass ring in the complex world of health care. According to Clark, the EMR transition will improve the clinical work flow of clinical staff and affect patient care by improving health care outcomes. The decision to respond and move forward in this area was driven by the 1999 Institute of Medicine’s “To Err is Human” report, challenging hospitals to reduce preventable medical errors by investing and incorporating new technologies and safety systems that can report, evaluate
and analyze medical errors. “This effort has been an odyssey for us since we initiated it in 2007. What we’ve done is create a secure, closed loop clinical information and patient safety system that provides cognitive support to our medical staff in their everyday efforts. We’ve created a secure, transparent system that allows us to use tools that will help us work smarter and more efficient,” Clark said. Hospitals making the list had to meet two challenging standards demonstrating that they were leading the transition of medicine into EMR. Hospitals with the distinction of national ranking in the 2011-12 U.S. News’ “Best Hospitals” or “Best Children's Hospitals” rankings, or a designation as a “high-performing” in one or more medical specialties were considered for the “Most Connected Hospitals” list. Hospitals that met the Stage 6 or Stage 7 of the EMR Adoption Model of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) analytics scored in the hospitals’ adoption of EMR on a scale from Stage 0 (no EMRs) to Stage 7 (full use). MUSC medical center is currently at Stage 6. HIMSS is a comprehensive health care organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety and costeffectiveness to health care through the use of information technology and management systems. MUSC’s EMR was implemented in 2009 starting
with the Clinical Documentation package (ClinDoc), Oacis/eCareNet viewer and Admin RX (bedside medication administration) projects. The final phase for installing computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system in Perinatal Services was completed Sept. 20. The plan is to continue with the CPOE rollout in the Newborn Nursery, Neonatal ICU and Special Care Nursery. OCIO also will continue to offer employee training and tech support. Medical center leadership realized the potential and has supported this project from the start. Pat Cawley, M.D., MUSC executive medical director, considers EMR vital to automating aspects of clinical care by providing standardization and data collection in assessing the delivery of care, reliability and safety. The information gathered will provide quick electronic data that will help measure outcomes and make improvements. “Our goal is to focus on quality of care and improve patient safety outcomes. We want to eventually develop as a highly reliable hospital organization with a robust IT infrastructure that will enable us to achieve widespread accessibility. All these changes will contribute to making medicine better for MUSC patients in the next five to 10 years.” To see the U.S. News & World Report rankings, visit http://tinyurl.com/3t4oazt.
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4 The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011
State employees may opt to continue life insurance
When state employees retire, their optional life insurance can be continued at the same premiums they paid as employees, but many people are unaware that the premiums increase every five years with the policy ending at age 75. Retirees also may convert their life insurance to an individual policywhich is good for life, but the premiums can sometimes be up to $800 per month. If they leave employment, they are offered the opportunity to convert the insurance to an individual policy. Because of that, University Human Resources is providing a new benefit — a supplemental life insurance product that will be made available to university employees, in addition to the optional term life insurance provided by the S.C. State Employee Insurance Program. The Whole Life Insurance product, or Voluntary Permanent Life, is offered by MetLife and has been approved for an open enrollment period ending Oct. 7. Sarah King, DHA, director of public relations, said it's wonderful employees can have a choice. “I had no idea that the current group life insurance was hard to keep when I retire. This new life insurance benefit is wonderful and really helped me understand how everything works.”
These policies are guaranteed to be paid up at age 70, or 20 years after the policy is issued if someone is 51 or older. The premiums never increase and there is guaranteed cash value built up in the policy, which a policy holder has access to at any time. The death benefit is guaranteed. A disability waiver of premium rider is also included, which means if a person can’t work, the premiums are paid by MetLife, in order to keep the policy in force. This new benefit will enable state employees to apply for significant amounts of life insurance coverage through Express Issue Underwriting by answering three health related questions related to the last six months. Express Issue is offered to the employee who opts for coverage, and it may be extended to the person’s spouse, minor children and minor grandchildren. By adding this benefit before Oct. 7, employees will receive Lifetime Express Issue for themselves and their families. The policy is portable and permanent. Whether an employee retires or changes jobs, this is an individual life insurance policy. The premiums will be paid through payroll deduction. A team of MetLife representatives has been assembled especially for MUSC employees and will be available throughout the enrollment period at various
locations on campus. For more information, contact a representative to schedule a personal appointment or visit a representative at one of the locations below before Oct. 7. For more information, contact MetLife on the dedicated MUSC office line at 460-6722 or email Robert Legare at rlegare@metlife.com.
VisiT a RepResenTaTiVe 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.—Oct. 4, Room 803, Harborview Office; Tower; Oct. 5, Room 420S, Clinical Sciences Building; Oct. 6, Room DC601, College of Dental Medicine, Room DC601 (use main patient entry); and Oct. 7, Room 803, Harborview Office Tower q The policy is paid up at age 70 or 20 years after issue date (if 51 and older) q Premiums are based on your age when you enroll and will not change when you retire q Premiums are paid through payroll deduction q Express Issue based on three health questions about the last six months q The policy may be taken with you if you leave employment If employees have questions, contact the University Benefits Office at 792-2607 or review information on this program at http://www.musc.edu/hrm/benefits.
Applause Program
Students receive Women’s Club scholarships
The following employees and departments received recognition through the Applause Program: Medical Center
The Medical University Women’s Club presented 22 MUSC students with scholarships Sept. 14. Splitting $15,000 in scholarships are College of Nursing students: My Unog, Tonya Anderson and Jennifer Sedlak; College of Health Professions students: Sarah Boyd, Claire Marsh, Julie Cartmell and Shijuana Scotland; College of Pharmacy students: Ashley Sims, Margarita Taburyanskay and Whitney Boston; College of Dental Medicine students: Anna Roberts and Jeanette Wingate; College of Medicine: Valerie Smith, Alisha Joyner, Ashley Arana, Kristine Day, Rhonda Winchester and Bobbie Dulcie; College of Graduate Studies: Jessica Ross, Joseph Taylor, Denise Kimbrough and Codruta Chiuzan.
Ron Ingram, Adult ED; Gordon Mutter, Adult ED; Matt Maughan, Pharmacy; Vivian Gathers, Labor & Delivery; Rebecca Moore, Labor & Delivery; Kathi Teskehanuscin, Labor & Delivery; Stephanie Green, Labor & Delivery; Debra Bell, Labor & Delivery; Elysia Sachs, Labor & Delivery; Brendan Oconnell, Residents Otorhinolaryngology; Sara Selander, James Island PT/OT; Debra Capps, Radiology; Hilarie Boone, Business Operations; Allison Shipp, SEI; Marketha Green, SEI; Charles Pegram, Outreach & Client Services; Angela Vanderhorst, Family Medicine; Jason Santanna, Preop Surgery; Lavetta Flagg, PAS; Ruthie Christy, Meduflex Team; Abigail Senkal, 7A; Jerrell Green, Environmental Services; Gail Brown, Environmental Services; Diana Evans, 9PCU; John Parlor, Volunteer & Guest Services; Emily Frithsen, Nursing Informatics; Terrey Doyle, Dialysis; Patricia Nickerson, CCU; Woodrow Atkinson, Respiratory Therapy; Liylann
Johnson, MedSurg Registration; LaCrystal Bartelle, Business Operations; Doris Simmons, Children's Services Registration; Renee Johnson, Pulmonary; Mary Scarborough, Respiratory Therapy; Aileen Cromwell, Venipuncture; Theresa Stephens, 6W; and Raylene Gries, 6E.
University Dermatology Surgery Check-In; Una Bogan, Transportation Services; Scung (Peter) Chung, College of Dental Medicine; Mary Gray, College of Dental Medicine; VeLonda Dantzler, Human Resources; Altonya Davis, Neurosciences; Nehemiah Godfrey; Engineering and Facilities; Heidi Grund, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine; Barbara Harley, Housekeeping; Latasha High, Psychiatry/National Crime Victims; Martha Jones, Public Safety; Matt McCoy, OCIO-Information Services; Christina (Chrisa) Moore, Digestive Disease Center; Gloria Moran, Neurosciences; Dorothy Roper, Student Health Services; Idelle Sass, Engineering & Housekeeping; Susan Strobel, Public Safety; Laurel Thompson, Otolaryngology/Head & Neck; and A. Raquel Vining, College of Nursing.
The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011 5
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6 The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011
Researcher lands alligator, Heinz Award
Walt Rhodes, formerly with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, helps Dr. Louis J. Guillette (center) and Dr. Thomas Rainwater get field samples during research at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve. To watch a video, visit http://bit.ly/DrLouisGuillette.
T
hey have it down to a science. They all know the jaws and the tail pose the biggest threat. After the trapped alligator is hauled onto the shore, Louis J. Guillette, Ph.D., climbs on top and, with the help of assistants, secures the powerful jaws with several rubber bands. Putting a towel over the alligator’s eyes, the thrashing stops. It’s a trick the researcher, who holds a SmartState endowed chair in Marine Genomics, has learned calms the alligators. This is better for all involved and makes it easier for the team to quickly get blood and urine samples and tag the animal, so he can be released back into the wild. Swarms of mosquitoes cover the researchers as they collect these samples at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve, home to 31 square miles of marshland and a favorite hangout for the alligators. It’s where they found the hatchling rate to be 68 percent, about 22 percent below what it should be. One of a new breed of scientist, Guillette does much of his laboratory work in the wild. This means he has had to get creative from figuring out innovative testing kits for field research, to repurposing dog catheters, to
Guillette, who provides community talks to raise awareness about his research, uses his photography skills to augment his work in the field. getting urine samples from alligators. It’s one reason it was announced Sept. 13 that Guillette, a reproductive biologist, endocrinologist and professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is to receive
a $100,000 Heinz Award for his pioneering research into toxic chemicals’ impact on wildlife and human health. He is being recognized for his research showing how alligators can function as a sentinel species for environmental contamination. Guillette said he was ‘blown away’ by the news. “When you get an award on this level, you realize you have colleagues who respect your work,” he said, adding that it was a humbling experience to look at former recipients. He said it’s an award not just for him but for his laboratory and the colleagues with whom he collaborates, a critical key to today’s successful scientists. “Modern science is not done by individuals. Modern science is done by teams.” He’s thankful for the award in that it helps convince funding agencies to support the kind of science he’s doing. Some agencies may see it as being a risky area. “It validates what we continue to do – that we continue to fight to do not just the science but to take that science and have it used to make a difference in other fields and in policy. I still believe that individuals can make a difference.” Though medical science looks at nutrition and the
The Catalyst, September 30, 2011 7
Guillette and his team release 80 baby alligators back to their home in the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve. workplace as environmental and exposure to a region’s factors affecting health, environmental surroundings will other areas have been largely yield very different results from ignored, he said. “There are a scientific model using inbred environmental contaminants mice, he said. “Being a biologist, that we all are exposed to I’m interested in understanding chronically at relatively low the biology of the beast. The concentrations, but they second part of the issue is the are chronic exposures from sentinel species aspect – what conception to death. What is can that animal tell us about the implication of that? Right the health of the environment now there are not many people and our own health? At the in the field of medicine who level of the genes – an ovary is really think about that.” an ovary and a testes is a testes. Researchers Drs. Benjamin Parrott Guillette’s joint appointment What is the gene-by-environment and Thomas Rainwater store samples in MUSC’s Department of interaction?” and record field measurements from Obstetrics and Gynecology and Guillette has made important two male alligators. the Marine Biomedicine and finds into how contaminants Environmental Sciences Center affect gene regulation or how at the Hollings Marine Lab is one way to start changing they get turned on and off. In winning the Heinz that. Award, Teresa Heinz of the Heinz Family Foundation Guillette said the major breakthroughs in medicine cited his work in the field of endocrine disruption. often happen at the interfaces of disciplines. “That’s “His research on alligators and other marine life created why today you have mathematicians and engineers an in-depth model for understanding the effects of working with geneticists to develop the next approach toxins in the wild and provides information we need to to how do we study genetic codes – how do we safeguard people and wildlife,” she said. study genomes. We have bioengineers working with Guillette is a leader in the field of hormone cardiologists working with developmental biologists to disruption, which has emerged as a major public health discover how to repair a heart – not a bionic heart – threat during the past two decades. He has researched how do we actually make the tissue to implant into the environmental estrogens for years, believing they could heart.” be responsible for dropping population levels and In his area, he gets to combine the fields of wildlife, reproductive abnormalities in wildlife living in the genetics, reproductive biology and the environment. waters of Florida. In the late 1980s, he and his team Studying wild populations with true genetic diversity discovered that DDT and other chemicals in Lake
Guillette holds one of the alligators that hatched out at the Hollings Marine Laboratory. Apopka in Florida were creating ovarian and genital abnormalities by manipulating their hormones. Later, he demonstrated that even low-level exposures to one or multiple environmental contaminants during critical periods of fetal development can have long-lasting health implications. His research raised red flags about what potential impacts chemicals also may have on human reproductive health, especially as other researchers have shown that sperm counts have dropped and testicular cancer is on the rise. Guillette’s studies demonstrate that there is a direct link between environmental chemicals and male and female reproductive health. “I have little doubt that environmental contaminants are a significant part of the reason we are today seeing an increase in many diseases of the reproductive system in wildlife and humans,” said Guillette. “The only question is, ‘What are we going to do about it?’ ”
8 The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011
Program focuses on stress relief
To help employees reduce the negative effects of stress, MUSC Employee Wellness will focus on stress management during October. In addition to weekly free chair massages available to employees, Wellness Wednesday booths will focus on stress management and a series of lunch and learn sessions will be held each week beginning Oct. 12. Topics will include stress and sleep. A free outdoor yoga/tai chi class will be held from noon to 1 Susan Johnson p.m. in the Horseshoe Oct. 26. According to a summary of the American Psychological Association's Stress in the Workplace Survey in March, more than one third (36 percent) of workers said they typically feel tense or stressed out during their work day and almost half (49 percent) said low salary is significantly impacting their stress level at work. Twenty percent report that their average daily level of stress from work is an 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale. Effects of work-related stress include the following signs and symptoms: Headache, sleep disturbances, difficulty in concentrating, short temper, upset stomach; job dissatisfaction and low morale. In addition to these short-term effects, studies
Health at work
suggest that chronic stress can lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, psychological disorders, workplace injury, suicide, cancer, ulcers and impaired immune function. Job stress is costly, with an annual price tag for U.S. businesses of more than $300 billion annually due to increased absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity, medical, legal and insurance expenses and Workers' Compensation payments. According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, health care expenditures are nearly 50 percent greater for workers who report high levels of stress. For information, email musc-empwell@musc.edu. Employee Wellness events q Flu Shot Clinic: Free flu shots for employees from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Oct. 5 in Children's Hospital lobby. Employees should bring their ID badge and their employee ID or a completed consent form (http:// tinyurl.com/3t9kdmr). q Wellness Wednesday: MUSC Employee Assistance Program is a worksite-based program designed to assist employees in identifying and resolving personal and occupational concerns that may affect job performance. Visit the Wellness Wednesday booth from 11 a.m. 1 p.m. Oct. 5 at Ashley River Tower to learn about services available to employeees. To learn about MUSC EAP, email Jeni Bowers-Palmer at bowersj@musc.edu.
Speaker series begins with interprofessional expert MUSC Strategic Plan Speaker Series will host K. Scott Griffith, chief operating officer of Outcome Engineering (Oe), at 4 p.m. Oct. 4 in Room HA 809, Storm Eye Institute Auditorium. Oe is a Dallas-based risk management firm specializing in assisting organizations to improve operational performance. Griffith, who worked previously at American Airlines and at several national health care organizations, will speak about achieving better outcomes through an interprofessional culture. Griffith is currently leading “Just Culture,” a model which supports values and objectives, safety and clinical outcomes to privacy, compassion and operational excellence, implementations, at several health care systems throughout the country. Griffith will also be the Griffith keynote speaker at the Oct. 5 MUHA Leadership Development Institute and will share how this model and outcomes can enhance MUSC Excellence and the campus’ interprofessional and interdisciplinary initiative.
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Town hall meeting highlights goals, action plan
The medical center town hall meetings held in September included pillar goals, employee awards and survey results. Service—The fiscal year (FY) 2011 goal was for 78 percent of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) respondents to rate MUSC a 9 or 10 on the 10 point overall rating scale. MUSC exceeded this goal with 80 percent rating the medical center a 9 or 10. The FY 2011 outpatient clinics goal was to achieve an Avatar survey mean score of 92.7 and MUSC achieved a 93.02. For FY 2012, the goal will be to be at or above the 75 percentile in 7 of 10 HCAHPS composites. Currently, MUSC has three composites at the 75 percentile withtwo other composites nearing the 75 percentile.
People—Employee Partnership mean score fell behind at 72.1 (goal: 73.6); Physician Satisfaction mean score surpassed its goal with a score of 74.6 (goal: 74.3).
Quality—The hospital’s mortality percentile rankings was 70th (goal: 80th), while hand hygiene audits surpassed with 80.8 percent (goal: 75 percent). For FY2012, employees will continue to focus on hand hygiene compliance (current result: 84.2, stretch goal: 90 percentile). In addition, in FY 2012 “Ideal Care” is included as a quality goal and is a composite of patient care outcomes and processes. Finance—The hospital’s days cash on hand or emergency fund did not meet its goal and achieved 12.1 days (goal: 25
days). Year-end net income reported 22.6 M (goal: 25.5 M). For FY 2012, goal remains the same (current result: 2.7 M which, if annualized, puts MUSC on course to reach goal of 25.5 M). Growth—Inpatient patient admissions and outpatient visits were short of goal. Patient volume increased by 1.8 percent (goal: 3 percent). The economy is affecting physician office visits nationwide and here at MUSC (goal: 5 percent, current: -0.14 percent). For FY 2012, the goal is to increase inpatient admissions (current result: 2.8 percent, goal: 2 percent) and to maintain outpatient visits (current result: +0.6 percent). q Rankings: From October 2009 to September 2010, MUSC's overall HCAHPS result was 79 percent (78 percent in the current quarterly report period) compared to other local hospitals, Bon Secours-St. Francis (84 percent) and Roper Hospital (77 percent). Among comparable academic medical centers, MUSC’s 79 score is the second highest behind UNC-Chapel Hill (81 percent). q Units achieving goals: Four units were recognized for currently reaching the goal of having seven or more HCAHPS composites at or above the 75th percentile nationally. These include 10W (7), ART 5W (7), 9E (8) and 5W (met all 10 composites). Children's Hospital’s inpatient (99th percentile) and emergency department (93rd percentile) continues to provide exceptional service as reported on surveys by patients and their families. q Hand hygiene (fourth quarter): The medical center has
seen a 28 percent increase in compliance for hand hygiene. q Looking ahead: Results from the 2011 Culture of Safety and Employee Partnership surveys were reviewed. For Culture of Safety, the key findings reflect consistent opportunities across work groups in the areas of “communication openness” (61 percent) and “non-punitive response to error” (43 percent). Under section mean scores, the area that showed improvement was “systems and leadership” (65 percent), with leaders really listening to employees. For employee partnership, “leaders really listen to employees” was among the top three opportunities to improve employee partnership for the third consecutive year despite increases in the mean score. q Employee Partnership Survey: The action plan will focus on “leaders really listen to employees;” the focus will be to hardwire existing tools such as rounding with employees and to use Stop Light Reports to communicate follow-up status. Additionally, a mechanism to receive and report on employee suggestions and ideas is being investigated. q Culture of Safety Survey: Action plan will focus on “Nonpunitive response to errors.” The focus will be to educate leaders, develop internal experts and create a “just culture” resource library. All are being asked to include these priorities in their work group action plans. q Plans will be submitted to “one up” supervisor by Oct. 15. The status of organizational action plans will be reviewed at least quarterly by the operations group and in upcoming medical center town hall meetings.
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10 The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011
Medical Center
‘Making a difference every day’ Employees of the Month Michelle Vandermaas, Child Life “I would like to recognize Michelle for helping out the family of my patient. I am a PICU nurse and have been taking care of a sick 10-yearold boy. My patient’s prognosis had worsened, and the parents knew they needed to explain this to his siblings, but were at a loss as to what to say. I contacted Michelle and she came in on her day off to help.” Nominated by Katherine Baldwin
Sarah Cline, Meduflex Team
“A patient that Sarah saw for the first time was going to have a tube surgically placed later that day. The clinical reasoning behind placing the tube (including ventilator weaning and long term nasal tube enteral feedings) seemed to justify such an invasive procedure for this patient. He had not tolerated swallowing without becoming nauseated. He not only tolerated the procedure, but was allowed to have a regular diet.” Nominated by Alexandra Milhaupt Janice Petrilla, MRI Clinical Services “Janice has been instrumental in supporting, encouraging and educating our patients in the Epilepsy Center. Recently there was a patient undergoing surgery — she called his wife throughout the day to offer support. Janice took her lunch break to go visit this family bringing his wife an angel and a flower.” Nominated by Kelly Cavins Brittany Perry, 8E “Our patient, Smiles, has a long psychiatric history and an organic brain injury due to a stroke and abuse — all played a part in Smiles’ dynamics. Her caretaker died suddenly and violently and there was no one to care for her. Brittany took charge of all of Smiles’ needs while still tending to her other patients.” Nominated by Cindy Little
Letter of thanks to Stuart, team By KeVin MCdeRBy A Patient’s Father In the fall of 1992, my son, Sean McDerby, entered the Corp of Cadets at The Citadel. I thought his freshman year as a “knob” would be about the most difficult challenge he would face in life. It didn't take long to realize that I was sadly mistaken. The summer after his freshman year, Sean studied abroad in Spain. Upon returning to The Citadel, he became involved in several extra activities. Those activities included skydiving and rugby. It was after a rugby match that I was contacted by a doctor from the college infirmary. Sean reported to the infirmary after he was severely bruised during the match. The doctor had a serious concern after reviewing the blood work that he had ordered. Sean's platelet count was extremely low. The doctor scheduled an appointment with a hematologist in the Charleston area. That doctor was unable to identify Sean's disorder. Sean returned home to Delaware for more medical evaluations. It was after those evaluations that we learned how seriously ill Sean was. We had never heard of a blood disorder called aplastic anemia until a local doctor presented us with his suspicions. He explained the gravity of the disease and then cautioned us not to start doing research on our own. The doctor added that he could treat Sean as well as any other doctor in the United States. Always one to follow the doctor's orders, my wife and I began to explore what it meant to be afflicted with aplastic anemia. To put it mildly — we found that we only had one chance to save Sean's life. The research that we were warned not to do led us to the Aplastic Anemia Foundation. Marilyn Baker, the executive director of the foundation, told us she was not in a position to recommend a treatment center for Sean. She went on to explain the she would have different sets of parents contact us and tell us what their families experienced when their child was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. Each set of parents delivered the same message — contact Dr. Robert K. Stuart at the Medical University of South Carolina. It was only a coincidence that Dr. Stuart was located close to The Citadel in Charleston. Dr. Stuart welcomed Sean as a new patient. Dr. Stuart continued to monitor Sean's condition until it was determined that our son would need a bone marrow transplant. Fortunately, Sean's fraternal twin, Scott, was an excellent match to be a donor. Sean requested a medical discharge from The Citadel in
the first semester of his junior year. Dr. Stuart's team at MUSC included Dr. Debra Frei-Lahr and nurse practitioner Christine Schaub. Without a doubt, this group of dedicated medical professionals combined their talents and saved the life of our Sean McDerby son. They actually saved Sean twice. Shortly after Sean was discharged into the care of the doctors at home, he developed a severe case of acute graft-versus-host disease. Sean was near death when the team at MUSC dispatched its plane to Delaware to bring him back to South Carolina. Although Sean still had lingering effects from chronic graft-versus-host, he was well enough to return to The Citadel. Sean's fellow cadets whom he entered The Citadel with would be graduating as the Class of 1996. Sean was too far behind in his studies to be part of the graduation in June. He was still determined to be part of the Class of '96. He doubled his courses and completed his studies in time for a December '96 graduation. He is indeed a member of The Citadel Class of 1996. His membership was in large part because of his own fight and determination, but it was made possible through the efforts of Dr. Stuart and his excellent team at MUSC. Upon graduation, Dr. Stuart made arrangements for Sean to have follow-up care at the Graft vs. Host Clinic at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Georgia B. Vogelsang and nurse practitioner Vicki Anders took Sean under their wings. He had his extreme battles with the graft-versus-host disease, but with the excellent care provided at JHU, Sean was able of fulfill his lifelong dream. In 1998, Sean became a trooper with the Delaware State Police. Sean has recently been transferred to the aviation section within the state police. He has started an 18-month course to become a trooper medic. His desire to be a medic was born out of his own fight for life battling aplastic anemia. As they say, pictures say 1,000 words. The smile on his face tells it all. With the support of many, faith in God and his doctors, Sean fought the good fight and has overcome all odds. While writing this article we learned about the passing of Dr. Debra Frei-Lahr. She lost her battle to cancer, a disease that she had saved so many from. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.
The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011 11
CLASSIFIED P AGE
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12 The CaTalysT, September 30, 2011
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