medical staff
U p dat e Issue 1, 2013
St. Joseph Health Center
Doctors Invited to Health Literacy Program
HMpartners.org
Surgery News • Since the first robot-assisted hysterectomy was completed at St. Joseph Health Center in April 2012, more than 160 women have undergone robot-assisted hysterectomies. More than 60 others have undergone other robot-assisted surgical procedures, which include bariatric (weight-loss) and general surgical procedures. Surgeons who are currently performing robotic-assisted procedures include Drs. Amine Abdul-Aal, Emad Baky, Anthony DeSalvo, Paresh Mehta, Mohammad Rashid, Tara Shipman and Robert Woodruff.
Health Literacy: What it Is, Why it Matters and How You Can Help is a special program for HMHP physicians, senior leaders and board members to raise awareness of the importance of understandable health information. It is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 30 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Social Hall in Youngstown. Dinner is included. Speaker Helen Osborne, nationally recognized expert in health literacy, will make a one-hour presentation to help physicians and organizational leaders learn more about the complex issue of how health literacy has a direct impact on health outcomes and cost. Helen is the founder and president of Health Literacy Consulting in Natick, Mass. Her book, Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, is considered by many as the most important health literacy reference today. A common definition of health literacy is: A shared responsibility between patients (or anyone on the receiving end of health communication, including the lay public)
and providers (or anyone on the giving end, including agencies that provide health information). Each must communicate in ways the other can understand. Studies consistently show that a significant number of people have problems reading, understanding and acting on health information. Reasons include 1) health information is complex and health providers sometimes are not skilled communicators; 2) patients bring a wide range of learning needs to the health care experience; c) basic literacy skills, language, age, disability, cultural context and emotional responses can all affect the way people receive and process information. The program is free. Brochures and more information are available from Ellen Ford, manager of community health education, at 330-480-5620. This program is presented through the generous support of the HMHP Foundation. This activity is planned in accordance with the Essentials and Standards of ACCME.
• St. Joseph Surgical Services welcomes Bel-Park Anesthesia, who assumed anesthesia responsibilities in November 2012. Bel-Park also serves St. Elizabeth and St. Elizabeth Boardman health centers. • Welcome to Tara Shipman, MD. The Case Western University School of Medicine graduate is Obstetrics and Gynecology board certified and is currently performing robotic-assisted procedures at St. Joseph. • The endoscopy department continues to perform small bowel procedures using single balloon enterscopy. This simple yet highly efficient system has the ability to maneuver and extend into a region of the human body considered the "Last Frontier." More information is to come on a Single Balloon Enterscopy seminar for physicians to learn more about this new innovative technology.
PARTNERS: Physician Welcome Profile Marie Awad-Alexander General Surgery HMHP Physician Associates welcomes Marie Awad-Alexander, MD to Southbridge General Surgery in Boardman. Dr. Awad-Alexander specializes in minimally invasive surgical procedures and endoscopy such as colonoscopies and upper endoscopies. She treats a wide variety of conditions including GERD, peptic ulcers, colitis, Crohn’s disease, and breast and colon cancer. She also performs minimally invasive surgeries such as hernia repair and removal of the gallbladder, spleen and adrenal glands. Her clinical interests include the surgical treatment of breast cancer and colon cancer. Dr. Awad-Alexander completed medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in Rootstown and residency at UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. She is currently accepting new patients. For information, contact: Southbridge General Surgery 755 Boardman-Canfield Rd., #A-1 Boardman, Ohio 44512 Phone: 330-726-8881
Harriet Lemberger-Schor, MD Family Medicine HMHP Physician Associates is proud to announce that Harriet Lemberger-Schor, MD, an established family medicine specialist, has joined the Church Hill Family Health Center practice. Dr. Lemberger-Schor graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine, in Indianapolis, IN and completed her residency training at Western Reserve Care System in Youngstown. Her clinical interests include preventative medicine, sleep medicine, and the impact of nutrition and stress management on wellness and disease management. Dr. Lemberger-Schor and her husband, Neil, have two children, Alyssa (19) and Meryl (15). In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and reading. Dr. Lemberger-Schor is accepting new patients. For referral information, contact: Church Hill Family Health Center 4694 Belmont Avenue Liberty, OH Phone: 330-480-7655
Angela Matthews, DO Family Medicine HMHP Physician Associates is proud to welcome Dr. Angela Matthews to the Church Hill Family Health Center practice in Liberty. Dr. Matthews is originally from Massillon, OH. She received her medical degree from the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, OH, and completed her residency training at St. Joe’s – where she served as Chief Resident in Family Medicine. Dr. Matthews’ clinical interests include office procedures, medical education, and community education. In addition to her practice, Dr. Matthews serves as the Physician Medical Advisor for the Greater Bethel Apostolic Church Health Professionals Auxiliary, and is an Associate Professor for Ohio University. For information, contact: Church Hill Family Health Center 4694 Belmont Avenue Liberty, OH Phone: 330-480-7655
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Our Hospital Quality Measures
Church Hill Family Health Center Hosts Blessing/Dedication Church Hill Family Health Center, HMHP Physician Associates first family practice in Liberty, celebrated its blessing and dedication last month. Many employees, physicians, local business owners and community leaders joined the celebration and toured the new practice located at 4694 Belmont Avenue in the Church Hill Commons Plaza. The practice, staffed by Drs. Harriet Lemberger-Schor, Angela Matthews and Crispin Barlatt offers comprehensive family care. The practice is currently accepting new patients – call them for more information at 330-480-7655.
Nick Kreatsoulas, DO Chief Medical Officer, HMHP In 2013, HMHP operational performance measures are focusing on quality and patient care. The items below are now being monitored by CMS. Please be aware of these focus areas. Thank You. Patient Experience (Your patients, and CMS, are measuring you on this one) top quartile in 6 of 12 areas in HMHP. • Inpatients target at least 18% of value based purchasing HCAHPS points – target top quartile • Emergency Department target – top quartile • Ambulatory Surgery target – top quartile • Home Care target – top quartile Preventable Harm (target is zero) • Stage 3&4 pressure ulcers • Falls with trauma • Central venous catheter related blood stream infections (CLABSI) • Catheter related urinary tract infections (CAUTI) Inpatient All-Cause Readmissions • 30-day hospital-wide all cause unplanned readmission rate • Excludes rehab, OB, psychiatry • Target observed to expected ratio 0.95 (12.6% readmit rate) • Our greatest opportunity is in preventing readmissions of patients diagnosed with CHF, COPD, Pneumonia, and MI.
Physicians and staff of Church Hill Family Health Center gather for a group photo during the blessing and dedication. From left, Dr. Crispin Barlatt, Dr. Harriet Lemberger-Schor, Amy Roskos. LeChelle Irizarry, Tynetta Code, Dr. Angela Matthews, (back row, from left) Noel Stickle, Mary Frances Sohayda, Kara Hitchcock, and Adrienne Winlock.
Get Your Patients Back in the Swing Orthopedics by Design returns your patients to their everyday, active life as quickly as possible. The program helps relieve the stress associated with knee or hip replacement surgery by educating patients on what they will experience before, during and after surgery. Orthopedics by Design is available at St. Elizabeth, St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth Boardman. For more information, contact Lynn Gardner at 330-841-4891.
Emergency Department Length of Stay for Admitted Patients • Target less than 300 minutes Working together, we’ll hit these targets and go beyond in providing quality care to our patients.
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Achievements and Goals: Past and Future
John Finizio President, St. Joseph Health Center I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all the many contributions to St. Joseph Health Center and our community in 2012. St. Joe’s had a very successful year, with many accomplishments. Some of these were: • St. Joe’s Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program received an unprecedented third 5-year inspection approval from the AOAO and the AOA • In June, 8 residents graduated and in July we added 7 new residents to our programs • St. Joe’s implemented the first robot assisted surgery program in Trumbull County • Transitioned anesthesia services to Bel Park Anesthesia, standardizing anesthesia services across HMHP • Introduced Single Balloon Endoscopy Small Bowel Procedures • Recertification of Bariatric Center of Excellence • Completed remodeling of St. Joseph (Howland) Surgery Center • Complete Upgrade and renovation of the cafeteria and dining room • New LED lighting installed throughout the facility and parking lots • Addition of new, state-of-the-art Linear Accelerator and renovation of Radiation Oncology department at the Cancer Center • X-ray room added to accommodate emergency room flow • Re-accreditation by FDALODH of mammography department
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• Re-accreditation of Ultrasound by American College of Radiology • New advanced GE workstation for CT imaging • We resumed our affiliation with the American Cancer Society to have an on-site resource navigator dedicated to the HMHP cancer patients • Howland Sleep Lab expanded from 4 to 6 rooms • CHF core staff all became CHFN certified • St. Joe’s along with St. Elizabeth and St. Elizabeth Boardman were recognized by US News and World Report as top hospitals for the metropolitan areas We are already into the first quarter of 2013 and it has been very busy at St. Joe’s. Emergency visits and the daily census were extremely high in January. I want to thank the medical staff for your patience during that very high census period and assure you that we are working hard to be as efficient and timely as possible. In 2013, we are focused on improving our throughput which is centered on our QOS process implemented in 2012. The goals or “must haves” for Patient First: QuEST for Excellence continue to be: • Clinical screening of patients prior to arrival to ensure that they are assigned the most appropriate patient status and that they are placed on the unit that best meets their clinical needs • Efficiently managing the clinical progression of the patient while in the hospital • Expediting patient throughput via proactive discharge planning as evidenced by documentation of an initial needs assessment and plan of care in the H&P and/or the initial progress note which will allow case managers and social workers to make referrals to all necessary agencies • Necessary interventions from all staff and physicians to reduce and/or eliminate denial of payment Thank you again for your continued support and please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sleep Lab Accreditation The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has granted The St. Joseph Diagnostic Sleep Lab complete accreditation for a period of 5 years. AASM accredited centers provide the highest quality of patient care. Additionally, AASM centers enhance the awareness of sleep as an important element for health, public safety, and quality of life.
Blue Distinction for St. Elizabeth Boardman St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center has earned the designation as a Blue Distinction Center for knees and hips with Anthem BCBS. This designation signifies that St. Elizabeth Boardman met nationally established quality care and outcome criteria developed with input from the medical community and also met cost measures that address consumers' need for affordable healthcare. St. Elizabeth Boardman joins St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth health center in this status as designated facilities.* *St. Elizabeth is designated for knees, hips and spine. St. Joseph is designated for knees and hips.