Digital Edition of HUPdate - 12/11/2015

Volume 26

Number 25

December 11, 2015

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

C E L E B R AT I N G Our Patient Advocates The wonderful patient stories and recognition brought me to tears.

Last month, 16 employees were honored for reaching out to patients to ensure the best experience possible. “They embody patient advocacy,” said Marguerite Kerry, BSN, JD, director of Patient Affairs, at the 8th Annual Patient Advocacy Recognition Reception.

Referring to CPUP’s “Be Someone’s Umbrella” theme, Kerry noted, “without each piece of an umbrella, it won’t work. Without the efforts of those receiving awards today, the patient experience isn’t what it can be.”

“Creating a good patient experience is critically important,” added Regina Cunningham, PhD, chief nurse executive at HUP. “It is always front and center. You are role models to all of us.”

“I’ve seen people going above and beyond. I’ve heard about it, I’ve received emails about it,” said Carolyn Jackson, HUP’s chief operating officer. “I am impressed by what you have accomplished. The wonderful patient stories and recognition brought me to tears.”

` Congratulations to this year’s winners of the Patient Advocacy Award.

Read below to get a glimpse of how this year’s award recipients helped improve the patient experience at HUP. Kerri Borgese |

NURSING

“Kerri is a staff-recognized team player, participates and supports unit-based initiatives [for example, Baby Friendly, which encourages breastfeeding and mother-child bonding]. Kerri has the ability to gain a quick rapport with her patients, which is evident by the numerous amount of positive recognition voiced from the patients themselves.”

Patrick Di Agosta |

INSIDE New CPUP Programs Enhance Patient Experience....2 CPUP Recognition ....................2 Video-Based CPR Training May be as Valuable as Hands-On Approach ................2 HUP Receives Baby Friendly Designation ...............................3 Wanted: Holiday Outreach Photos for HUPdate! ................3

H E A R T A N D VA S C U L A R

“Patrick has a calming nature to relax the most concerned patient and he has a great sense of humor to warm hearts. He is extremely friendly and outgoing. He often mentors others when needed. Patrick is a wonderful asset to the Cardiovascular unit!”

I T ’ S

Lula Dixon |

E N V I R O N M E N TA L S E R V I C E S

“It is an honor to work with a person that not only does their job exceptionally well, but one who the patients look forward to seeing.”

Victor Ferrari, MD |

H E A R T A N D VA S C U L A R

“For over two decades at Penn, Dr. Ferrari has been a remarkable leader in cardiovascular imaging while also providing the highest level of dedicated and personal care to his patients. He consistently puts his patients’ interests first, and establishes long term relationships with those patients and their families.”

(Continued on page 4)

O F F I C I A L :

HUP IS “Baby Friendly! ”(See page 3) 1

NEW

CPUP Programs Enhance Patient Experience

Along with outstanding clinical care, service excellence is a key component of Penn Medicine’s mission. CPUP (Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania) has tackled many areas to improve the patient experience. A recent focus on patient access has led to notable results. “Three years ago, our Press Ganey score [for this category] was in the 18th percentile. Today, we’ve reached a high of 63!” said Deborah Driscoll, MD, chair of Ob/Gyn, during Penn Medicine Patient Experience Week.

Helping to push that figure even higher is the new Patient Access Center Academy that trains scheduling staff to use the necessary tools to provide patients with the appointments they want. A scheduling questionnaire, being built into EPIC, “will allow any scheduler to get the patient to the right specialist by answering a series of questions,” said Patrick Healy, director of Practice Operations for CPUP. “Schedulers will be able to search all locations within the Health System, if the patient has a preference, or search for the next available appointment. And patients will have the appointment before they leave the practice.”

“We educate the reps in provider protocol as well,” said Mark Lari, director of Ambulatory Access. For example, if an orthopaedic patient with chronic back pain wants to schedule an appointment with a spine surgeon but has never had conservative treatment, “the appropriate provider may be in Physical Medicine & Rehab. The scheduler can then move this patient to the right specialty.”

Self-scheduling for patients on the MyPennMedicine site, now available for some practices, uses the same questionnaire as in the practices and is being rolled out to all specialties within the next 18 months.

Decreasing wait time and making it a better patient experience is another focus. Clinical practices are making sure scheduling templates (e.g., the time allotted for an appointment) meet their specific needs, based on a variety of factors. Practice managers are more closely tracking patient flow through tools such as Navicare, from patient check-in to check-out, and now have access to an online Wait Time Tool/3 kit to help them more effectively manage clinic operations.

Said Karen Rivera-Gorski, Organizational Development consultant for Patient Experience, “Delays cannot always be avoided, but proactively providing regular status updates to patients and families helps to improve their overall experience.”

` A “Managing Wait Time” video helps train staff on the do’s and don’ts of managing delays.

CPUP Recognition Penn Medicine and CPUP were recently named an inaugural recipient of a University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) Ambulatory Care Quality and Accountability Leadership Award. This recognition honors member organizations that have demonstrated excellence in delivering high-quality outpatient care in five domains, as measured by the UHC Ambulatory Care Quality and Accountability Study. Penn Medicine ranked third among the 46 top academic medical centers participating in the inaugural study.

Video-Based CPR Training May be as Valuable as Hands-On Approach Using a video to train family members of patients at risk for cardiac arrest in CPR may be just as effective as using the traditional handson method with a manikin, according to a new study by Penn researchers. The findings suggest simplified and more costeffective approaches may be useful for disseminating CPR education to families of at-risk patients and the general public.

Fewer than 40 percent of cardiac arrests in the United States are treated by CPR delivered by bystanders, a fact which has

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prompted calls for improved CPR education to empower the public to take action. While some studies have suggested that using a video self-instruction kit including a small inflatable manikin is helpful in remembering the basics of the technique, the cost of such kits is often prohibitive.

“Most cardiac arrests take place in the home, where a patient’s best chance of survival is having a family member who knows and can properly administer CPR,” said lead author Audrey L. Blewer, MPH, assistant director for Educational Programs

in Penn’s Center for Resuscitation Science. “Traditional training classes involve several hours of group classes and can cost upwards of $100 or more per person. What the new study shows is that for the general public, where cost and time may be more of a concern, using only video instruction may be just as helpful in teaching the basics of CPR as using a hands-on method.”

Read more about the study at www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_ Releases/2015/11/cpr/.

IT’S

OFFICIAL:

HUP IS

“Baby Friendly! ”

I thank senior leadership for all the support they have given us in this journey. This is the best thing we can do for our patients.

Congratulations to the staff of Women’s Health! Thanks to their tremendous efforts, HUP is now officially designated as a Baby-Friendly hospital. This international award recognizes hospitals and birth centers that provide new mothers with the information, confidence and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding, and that encourage mother/baby bonding.

“Our entire department worked together” on the interdisciplinary initiative, said Jessica Lazzeri, MSN, interim associate clinical director for Women’s Health Nursing. Currently only 309 birth facilities in this country have obtained this prestigious recognition. (Penn Medicine now has three hospitals with this designation. Pennsylvania Hospital received the designation on the same day as HUP. Lancaster General Health’s Women & Babies Hospital was the first hospital in the state to be designated Baby Friendly, in 2014.)

Included in these steps are rooming in (the baby stays with the mom in her hospital room, not in the nursery), eating on cue (“Watch the baby, not the clock”), breastfeeding support groups, educating pregnant women and new mothers on the importance of breastfeeding for both mom and baby, and teaching mothers how to initiate and maintain lactation. In addition, all nursing staff within Women’s Health must complete 20 hours of breastfeeding education, and all providers caring for women and newborns must complete Baby Friendly education.

Skin to skin practice is another important component. “Within the first few minutes after birth, we place the infant on the mother’s chest to begin nursing,” Lazzeri said.

Not only does this process help with the baby’s warmth and temperature regulation, it also helps to regulate the newborn’s blood glucose levels and provides passive immunity from the mom’s bacteria. “We consider it the next part of delivery,” said Jennifer Peterman, BSN, IBCLC, lactation consultant and co-chair of HUP’s Baby Friendly Task Force.

Lazzeri herself has given birth twice at HUP, once before the Baby Friendly initiative started and just recently. With the 10-Step changes, “the difference is amazing. You can feel it,” she said. “I thank senior leadership for all the support they have given us in this journey. This is the best thing we can do for our patients.”

The Baby Friendly designation verifies that a hospital has implemented the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,” which were established by UNICEF/WHO.

10 Steps to Successful breastfeeding ` The staff of Silverstein 8 held a celebration in recognition of HUP receiving the Baby Friendly designation.

WANTED:

Holiday Outreach

Photos for HUPdate!

Is your unit or department doing community outreach for the holidays? If so, please let HUPdate know! Tell us a little about the Is outreach and email photos of your efforts to sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu. To include in the January 8 issue, please send no later than Wednesday, December 23. Thank you!

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(Continued from page 1)

C E L E B R AT I N G Our Patient Advocates Maxine Harris |

FOOD AND NUTRITION

“Maxine takes great pride in her position as cashier and gives exemplary customer service to visitors, patients, and staff visiting the Spruce Street Café. Maxine takes time to listen, offer a helping hand, and give words of encouragement. Her warm spirit and calming demeanor bring great pleasure.”

Sabrina Hunter |

H E M AT O L O G Y / O N C O L O G Y

“Ms. Hunter has been a constant shining star for us. Early on in my cancer journey I switched caregivers from another major medical center to HUP. Not only did that decision save my life, but it also introduced my wife and I to some amazingly competent and caring people.

Sabrina is at the top of that list.”

Lyndsay James |

PAT I E N T A C C O U N T I N G

“Lyndsay consistently demonstrates outstanding customer service to both patients and co-workers. From her involvement with the Lancaster General concierge service to assisting patients through the Patient Financial Advocacy Program, she handles every task with the highest level of professionalism and effectiveness and is a true role model.”

Bonnie Lang |

P E R I O P E R AT I V E S E R V I C E S

“It has been quoted that ‘There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.’ Tara has shown the real meaning of being a nurse—caring for others with compassion, empathy and genuine concern. Life truly is more beautiful for patients that have Tara as their nurse.”

Iris Reyes, MD |

EMERGENCY MEDICINE

“Dr. Reyes has deep compassion for anyone who has had a difficult time or who has suffered from poor access to health care. Colleagues have often seen her make multiple phone calls to get resources for patients that they desperately need, with total concern for their well-being.”

Marianne Saunders |

P E R I O P E R AT I V E

SERVICES

“Marianne can often be seen sharing a prayer or a tear with her patients. Many return for frequent follow-up. Not only does she know these patients by name but she remembers the details of their personal lives. She is a role model for providing compassionate care.”

Rachel Thomas |

Sheryle Williams |

NURSING

“Sheryle ensures that the staff has the supplies needed to care for patients but does so much more. She answers call bells and transports patients for discharges which decreases their need to wait. She will often go to the gift shop for newspapers or cafeteria for families if they are unable to.

She also offers to take patients outside for fresh air. Through all that she does, Sheryle has a warm and welcoming smile.”

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Neil Fishman, MD |

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

“Dr. Fishman has worked with Patient and Guest Services on numerous occasions, a true partner in patient advocacy. We couldn’t resolve a number of matters without his calming and clinically precise presence. He is the most authentic person I’ve ever encountered.”

ENDOCRINE AND

ONCOLOGIC SURGERY M AT E R I A L S M A N A G E M E N T

“Although far removed from the clinical setting, Bonnie frequently interacts directly with patients and visitors. One example: A patient called looking for information to purchase a product that she used while hospitalized but not available for retail.

Bonnie was able to ship some to her and then made a lot of calls and found the product for the patient.”

Teresita Moore |

NURSING

“I cannot take elevators and had to get to the 9th floor of Ravdin . . . and asked Teresita for directions. She not only helped me with directions but ran the 3 flights to make sure that the door was opened in the Silverstein stairwell. If she goes out of her way to help a stranger, I can’t but help think how much her patients must love her!”

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Tara Reap |

“Rachel is smart, efficient and knows how to navigate the health system. She works extremely hard and shows her caring and compassion to the patients and her co-workers. She takes time to listen and tries to make a positive difference to all she encounters.”

Richard Watson |

TRANSPORT

“A patient was about to leave the room for a STAT head CT due to change in mental status. The transporter noticed that his BP had started to drop and brought it to the appropriate staff member’s attention. The code was called and Richard stayed and helped through the entire code. Ultimately the team was able to safely transport the patient to the MICU.”

HUPdate EDITORIAL STAFF

Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Lauren Hochenberger Graphic Designer

ADMINISTRATION

Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Holly Auer Director of Communications CONTACT HUPDATE AT: 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine Philadelphia, PA 19104 phone: 215.662.4488 fax: 215.349.8312 email: sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu

HUPdate is published biweekly for HUP employees. Access HUPdate online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.