Mississippi Medical News Sept 2015

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PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT PAGE 2

Mary Taylor, MD

50 Years of Caring

Merit Health Central Prepares to Observe Golden Anniversary

By JONATHAN SCOTT

More than a half century ago, a group of concerned citizens in southwest Jackson saw that a much-needed lifesaving need was missing from this growing community: a quality healthcare facility of its own.

The group met with the members of the Medical and Dental Affairs Committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, and they recommended that a professional hospital consultant be appointed to survey Hinds County and determine the medical facilities needed.

A cost estimated was presented to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors and on Aug. 1, 1965, the need for a new hospital was apparently evident to the entire community because voters overwhelmingly approved a $4.2 million bond issue to pay for the construction of a new hospital.

Formal dedication ceremonies for the new facility, then known as Hinds General Hospital, were held on Sept. 26, 1965. The facility opened one area at a time and the first

ON ROUNDS UMMC Unveils ‘Quality’ Online Programs School of Health Related Professions Debuts Nationally Recognized Program The School of Health Related Professions (SHRP) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) is leading the way in demonstrating that, when it comes to online education, quality definitely matters ... 3

Discovery of Typically Disregarded Brain Lesions May Help Physicians Better Identify Stroke Risk In a recently published study, scientists from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and colleagues discovered that very small brain lesions noted on brain imaging – typically disregarded by clinicians – are associated with a heightened risk of stroke and death ... 4

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WHO’S TENDING OUR DOCTORS?

The AMA Steps Up with STEPS Forward Ambitious New Initiative Offers Physicians Strategies to Revitalize Medical Practices and Improve Patient Care

By LyNNE JETER

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Medical News exclusive series, “Who’s Tending Our Doctors?” to focus on ways the industry can help alleviate physician stress and allow physicians to return to the joy of practicing medicine.

Several years ago, Christine A. Sinsky, MD, FACP, made two significant time-saving changes to her practice life that allowed her to leave work sooner and have more time for family and personal interests.

The first: taking a streamlined approach to prescription management.

Second: taking proactive planned care measures with patients via previsit laboratory tests.

“Just making a single change – prescription management – decreased phone calls to the practice by 50 percent. It saved 30 minutes of doctor time and 60 minutes of nursing time per doctor per day,” said Sinsky, an (CONTINUED ON PAGE 8)

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PhysicianSpotlight

Children’s Heart Specialist Finds Homecoming Rewarding Natchez Native Has Played Key Role in Growth of Congenital Heart Surgery Program

By LUCY SCHULTZE

As division chief of pediatric cardiology and pediatric critical care at Batson Children’s Hospital, Mary Taylor, MD, is embracing the chance to use her skills and expertise for the benefit of children across her home state.

“It’s been a wonderful decision to come back to Mississippi,” said Taylor, a Natchez native who joined the faculty of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2011. “I saw that it would be a great opportunity to really make a difference in my home state and to be part of something that’s new and growing.”

It was from Vanderbilt University Medical Center that Taylor was recruited

by Jorge Salazar, MD. Salazar is chief of the Division of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery and co-director of the Children’s Heart Center at Batson. Bringing Taylor aboard as co-director of the congenital heart surgery program allowed the program to grow quickly over the past few years. Her role has focused on providing perioperative care for children who have heart surgery as well as developing pediatric cardiac intensive care services.

“In the past, they had a general ICU, and they had just started doing a few cardiac cases when Dr. Salazar came,” Taylor said. “But to do the more complex cases, you need to have a dedicated team that takes care of patients right after surgery.”

Today, Taylor oversees a pediatric critical care unit of 32 beds; among those, one-third to one-half serve cardiac surgery patients.

The congenital heart surgery program has now grown to some 400 cases a year, with strong outcomes based on comparative programs reporting to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database.

“Our results are right on par — even compared to programs that have been in place for 30 years,” Taylor said. “Today, we even get referrals from some of our neighboring states. But our primary mission remains providing care to all the children of Mississippi without having to send anyone out-of-state.”

Taylor said that, prior to the program’s establishment, Mississippi children with congenital heart disease were sent as far as Washington, Boston or Philadelphia to have heart surgery.

“These are fairly far distances, and as you can imagine, the families were dis-

placed and not able to go a lot of times,” she said. “Today, we really do every type of congenital heart surgery and have stopped referring patients out.”

A key aspect of the program’s growth and success has been the team of healthcare professionals which provides care at Batson, Taylor said.

“I can’t say enough about the fact that it’s a team taking care of these complex patients — from our nursing staff to respiratory care,” she said. “All the parts of care have to really be exceptional to have such good results, and everyone here takes care of children as if it’s their own child. We are really dedicated and passionate about that.”

Taylor’s own dedication to the healthcare field started early. As the daughter and sister of physicians, she was focused on medical school throughout her growing-up years. She earned an undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University, then returned to UMMC. “At the time, there were few women in medicine,” she said. “But I really enjoyed medical school here, and I was able to shadow and work with a pediatric cardiologist who was one of the founders of the vision we’re still carrying out today. Dr. David Watson took me in and mentored me in pediatric cardiology, and I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

Lacking any fellowship opportunities at UMMC, Taylor headed to Vanderbilt for residency training in pediatrics followed by fellowships in pediatric cardiology and pediatric critical care. In addition, she completed a visiting fellowship in Cardiac

St. Dominic’S internal meDicine iS P leaSeD to W elcome

Shanna B. Pettie, M.D. Dr. Pettie attended Tougaloo College before attending medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. After graduation, she joined the United States Army. She completed her internship and residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Fort Bliss, Texas. She has since cared for active duty soldiers, spouses, dependents and retirees at Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital in Fort Polk, Louisiana and Reynolds Army Community Hospital in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Dr. Pettie grew up in Jackson, Mississippi where she learned the meaning of hard work and determination. She brings these values with her to her medical practice, striving to give each patient the personal attention they deserve.

Dr. Pettie is married to active duty physician assistant, CPT Christopher Alden, and enjoys spending time with their children, Christopher, Zoe and Parker. She is a member of Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, and in her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family.

St. Dominic’s Internal Medicine Group 971 Lakeland Drive Suite 250 Jackson, MS 39216 601-200-4860

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Critical Care at Boston Children’s Hospital. Taylor also earned a Master of Science degree in clinical investigation, and stayed on as part of the faculty at Vanderbilt for 10 years after completing her training.

Even since returning to Mississippi, Taylor has continued to take part in annual medical mission trips to Kenya with her former Vanderbilt colleagues. For the past six years, she has been among an 18-member team that travels to rural Kenya to provide congenital heart surgery and treat rheumatic heart disease.

“We’ve also been able to do some educational services, including teaching physicians at the mission hospital how to do surgery,” she said. “It’s been a very rewarding way to do something different with your skills and help a different group of people.”

Back home, Taylor looks ahead to continuing to grow the congenital heart surgery program — starting with simply getting the word out more broadly about all that’s developed in the last four years.

“There’s still a fairly large population of patients we are probably not seeing, especially from north Mississippi and the Gulf Coast, simply because not everyone in the state knows yet that we’re able to do heart transplants and other complex cases,” she said.

Next steps for the program include working to identify sooner the babies who will need treatment for a congenital heart defect, either as newborns or, even better, while still in the womb.

“We still have a lot of defects that are not recognized until the babies go home — and by the time they get to us, they are very sick,” she said. “We’re encouraged by the Mississippi State Department of Health’s new mandate that all newborns receive pulse oximetry testing for critical congenital heart defects. It will make a big difference for the state to be able to catch these children before they present very ill.”

Taylor and her colleagues at UMMC are also working toward an expansion of Batson Children’s Hospital and the development of new spaces for the congenital heart surgery program and cardiac ICU. That project is currently in the planning stages.

Outside of work, Taylor spends time with her family and enjoys photography, playing the piano and jogging, including taking part in half-marathons.

She and her husband, Michael, a commercial real estate broker, have three children: Jackson, 23, a graduate of the University of Richmond and of the master’s degree program in biomedical sciences at UMMC; Cille, 19, a sophomore at SMU; and Aubrey, 12, a seventh-grader at Jackson Preparatory School.

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UMMC Unveils ‘Quality’ Online Programs School of Health Related Professions Debuts Nationally Recognized Program

By LyNNE JETER

The School of Health Related Professions (SHRP) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) is leading the way in demonstrating that, when it comes to online education, quality definitely matters.

The school has become Mississippi’s first institution of higher learning to have its distance learning implementation plan accepted by Quality Matters (QM), a nationally recognized, faculty-centered, peer-review body that certifies the quality of online courses. QM uses a rigorous assessment of course learning objectives, assessments, instructional materials, learner activities, student support and accessibility.

“We’re instilling a culture of highquality online education at the medical center,” said Terry Pollard, MA, assistant professor and director of instructional development and distance learning in SHRP, pointing out that QM is the “national benchmark” for online education certification.

Six of nine departments in SHRP offer a fully online program, en- Terry Pollard compassing a total of 130 courses that range from the undergraduate to the doctoral levels. The school’s QM implementation plan is expected to encourage 19 SHRP faculty from each of the six departments to achieve QM certification within three years for an online course they teach.

“The landscape of online education is changing,” said Rebecca Butler, MEd, assistant professor and coordinator of instructional development and distance learning in SHRP. Butler and Pollard developed the school’s QM implementation plan.

“When online eduRebecca cation gained traction in Butler the late 1990s, there were no guidelines on what constituted a good

course,” noted Butler. “Today, research is showing that aligned course objectives, learner-centered assessments and varied presentation of instructional content produces a more successful student. Quality Matters is leading the way on this research and the certification program identifies faculty that apply these best practices in their course design.”

The QM seal of approval is so coveted that SHRP Dean Jessica Bailey, PhD, is preparing the institution’s first QM-certified course this fall in the Doctor of Heath Administration Program, “Current Trends in Accreditation and Licensure.”

“About 40 percent of our student enrollment is for online programs and course offerings,” Dr. Jessica Bailey Bailey said. “We, as educators, have a duty to provide the highest quality education to our students, whether in the traditional face-to-face setting or online instruction. It’s important for me to be willing to step out and offer my course as the first one to be evaluated because I need to be aware of setting an example.

Preparing your course for this level of examination by online education experts is a lot of work. If I’m not willing to put forth the time and effort to prepare my course for this type of evaluation, how could I expect the rest of my faculty to do it?”

At the heart of the school’s QM implementation plan is its association with the Medical Center’s UMMC/2020 Strategic Plan.

“Our ability to educate allied health professionals via distance education directly supports our mission to make Mississippians healthier,” Bailey said. “It also closely aligns with the strategic plan for academic programs in terms of exposing our students to new technologies, supporting the work force and applying alternative education methods to serve the needs across the state.”

The decision to obtain certification of its online educational programs comes at an opportune time for the school, which

was transitioning its learning management system from Blackboard to Canvas. The training course, developed in collaboration with the School of Nursing, has provided Pollard and Butler the opportunity to integrate QM principles into the school’s Canvas 101 faculty training.

Upon completion of the training, SHRP faculty in all six online academic programs now meet 26 of Quality Matters’ 43 stringent standards, Pollard said.

Also, Christian Pruett, PhD, MBA, assistant professor of nursing, is introducing QM standards in the School of Nursing.

“Programmatically, we’re trying to identify some courses in the school to go through the Quality Matters process, then establish some benchmarks for our faculty to help them align with Quality Matters,” said Pruett. “It’s a very Christian big initiative for us. We Dr. Pruett want our courses to meet the benchmark, but for us, it’s more about incorporating quality into our professional development. We want to give our faculty the tools and resources to help them in the course-creation process. In time, we’ll take the courses through the Quality Matters authentication process.”

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Pruett said both schools have embraced the spirit of collegiality that’s fundamental to the success of the institution’s educational offerings.

“Since both schools have such a strong distance-learning presence, we’ve decided to collaborate so we could have faculty in both schools who are Quality Matters-certified,” he said. “We’re excited to be involved in Quality Matters and to try to align our courses to that standard moving forward.”

Pollard agreed.

“In the future, we hope to collaborate by assisting in a course review offered by either school,” he said. “We already collaborate in other areas pertaining to online education and technology. The School of Nursing is a valuable ally and we cherish our relationship.”

Even though “quality” is a subjective concept that academic institutions always seek but can never completely obtain, Pollard said QM certification insures an ongoing process that will keep the school focused on improving its online offerings daily.

“It’s fantastic to see faculty’s eyes light up at this opportunity for recognition,” he said. “Chasing quality in the field of online education is challenging but rewarding, and we’re making great strides throughout the institution.”

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Discovery of Typically Disregarded Brain Lesions May Help Physicians Better Identify Stroke Risk

By LYNNE JETER

In a recently published study, scientists from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and colleagues discovered that very small brain lesions noted on brain imaging – typically disregarded by clinicians – are associated with a heightened risk of stroke and death.

The finding about these tiny lesions — areas of the brain where tissue has been damaged by injury or disease —may help physicians identify people at risk of stroke and death as early as middle age, even when they aren’t displaying symptoms of cardiovascular disease.

“The lesions on the brain imaging JNLMSMed-2 JNLMSMed-2

were very small, less than 3 millimeters, and are typically ignored in clinical practice,” said Gwen Windham, MD, an associate professor of internal medicine and geriatrics at UMMC and the lead study author.

“This is because we’ve been uncertain as to their meaning. No studies have looked to see if Dr. Gwen these very small lesions Windham are related to important clinical outcomes. Our findings suggest they’re at least as important as 3 millimeter or larger lesions that are typically considered abnormal, even in absence of

other lesions.”

The researchers analyzed brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from nearly 1,900 individuals participating in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Participants were 50 to 73 years of age, with no prior history of stroke. Their health was tracked for roughly 15 years.

Risk of stroke or stroke mortality in people with small lesions posed a three times greater risk, compared with people with no lesions. People with both very small and larger lesions had seven to eight times a higher risk of these poor outcomes.

“Some of these lesions are so small, they have the resolution of a single pixel,”

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St. Dominic’S internal meDicine iS P leaSeD to W elcome

Kristen Crawford, M.D. Dr. Crawford will begin serving patients with the Internal Medicine group at St. Dominic’s this fall.

Dr. Crawford attended Mississippi College before attending medical school at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, where she completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine. She will sit for her Board Certification in Internal Medicine this summer.

Dr. Crawford grew up in the small Mississippi Delta town of Rolling Fork where she learned the value of serving others and her community. She brings these virtues with her to her medical practice, striving to give each patient the personal attention they deserve.

Dr. Crawford is married to her wonderful husband, Nick, and enjoys spending time with him and their beautiful one-year old son, Coy. She is actively involved with Fondren Church, and in her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, hunting, fishing and swimming.

St. Dominic’s Internal Medicine Group 971 Lakeland Drive Suite 950 Jackson, MS 39216 601-200-4141

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said Thomas Mosley, PhD, director of the Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia (MIND) Center at UMMC and senior scientist on the study.

“In clinical practice, we Dr. Thomas would typically ignore Mosley these tiny lesions as insignificant. The assumption has been that these very small lesions probably aren’t particularly consequential, but in fact, they appear to be.”

Even though clinicians and researchers tend to dismiss very small cerebral lesions, these findings suggest the practice could warrant reconsideration, the researchers said.

In the United States, more than 800,000 strokes occur annually, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes. Strokes remain a leading cause of death and prompt more serious long-term disabilities than any other disease.

Knowing these tiny areas of damaged tissue indicate increased risk of stroke in apparently healthy people could be important to help people maintain physical function and cognitive ability as they get older, said Windham, who also serves as director of the MIND Center clinic.

“We know that modifiable risk factors like hypertension and diabetes are associated with the larger structural changes in the brain, and those larger lesions are not only associated with stroke risk but with mobility impairments and cognitive impairments as well,” Windham said.

“Ongoing trials may determine whether treatment of risk factors, like high blood pressure, reduce the incidence of these lesions, stroke and associated death and disability.”

The revelation about stroke risk grew from work at the MIND Center, a cuttingedge Alzheimer’s disease research institution at UMMC. “We’re trying to identify the factors that hasten cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and it may be one of our best prevention strategies is aggressive control of cardiovascular risk factors early in life, meaning in middle age,” Mosley said. “In Mississippi, the mortality rate from heart disease and stroke is among the highest in the nation, so we’ve been interested in this connection between cardiovascular disease, brain aging, and Alzheimer’s disease for a long time.”

Prior studies have typically focused on older, predominantly Caucasian patient samples, but this study was aimed at understanding brain changes from an earlier age and recruited a more middle-aged, bi-racial sample.

Half of the sample participants were black, who generally have higher rates of stroke and cardiovascular disease for (CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)

8/10/15 3:35 PM mississippimedicalnews

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Telemedicine: A Virtual Compliance Jigsaw Puzzle A Closer Look at the New Wave in Healthcare Delivery

By LYNNE JETER

Telemedicine has quickly become the hottest topic in healthcare delivery, as the industry strives to adapt to its murky waters of compliance. New services, such as Zwivel, a cosmetic surgery consultation service, are coming online with unprecedented frequency, piquing the interest of physicians and administrators about the unknown possibilities of telemedicine.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by this trend,” said Michael Sacopulos, JD, CEO of Medical Risk Institute and general counsel for Medical Justice Services, a 4,000-member group with physicians in all 50 states. “High speed interMichael net connections are now Sacopulos the norm. Services like Facetime and Skype are more popular than ever. Under continued pressure to cut costs and cope with declining reimbursements, administrators believe telemedicine offers a tool for increasing efficiency. Patients also like the convenience and increased options that flow from telemedicine. So what’s not

to like? Shouldn’t we embrace the ‘new normal’ and sign on to a great, brave new world? Maybe, first let’s proceed with caution.”

Among the state and federal compliance requirements when taking a practice online are licensure, professional liability considerations, standard of care, patient privacy, informed consent, and referrals for emergency surgery.

Licensure

Medical providers “must be licensed by, or under the jurisdiction of, the Medical Board of the State where the patient is located,” according to the Federation of State Medical Boards’ Model Policy for the Appropriate Use of Telemedicine Technologies in the Practice of Medicine.

“Unfortunately,” noted Sacopulos, “this requirement imposes traditional state boundaries on the cyber world. Efforts need to be made to identify the residences of prospective telemedicine patients so the medical provider does not accidentally practice in a state without a license.”

Professional Liability

Most professional liability insurance

policies provide state-specific coverage, meaning that if a provider accidentally practices telemedicine on an out-of-state patient, there may be no coverage, said Sacopulos.

“Providers wanting to expand into the area of telemedicine should check with their insurance carrier,” he suggested. “Another consideration relates to cyber issues.

Traditional medical malpractice policies provide little to no coverage for electronic breaches. The nature of a telemedicine generates exposures to a variety of cyber risks.

Any practice moving forward with offering telemedicine should have a comprehensive cyber insurance policy.”

Standard of Care

It’s imperative to note that telemedicine is the practice of medicine, and not “medicine lite,” Sacopulos pointed out.

“All the duties and obligations that come with in person consultations are owed to the remote telemedicine patient,” he explained.

The American Medical Association (AMA) recently stated there’s a general consensus among AMA members that care provided via telemedicine needs to meet the

same standard as care provided in person.”

Also, the Federation of State Medical Boards made clear the position by stating: “In fact, these guidelines support a consistent standard of care and scope of practice notwithstanding the delivery tool or business method in enabling physician-to-patient communications.”

“Before starting to use telemedicine as a tool to consult with remote patients, a practice should plan how it will meet the standard of care it provides for its in-office patients,” said Sacopulos. “For example, how will it document a dermatological condition? If the condition is normally photographed when a patient is in the office, then the practice should be ready to capture the same quality of image via telemedicine.

Each step of the consultation should be planned in advance to ensure it is equal in quality to an in-office evaluation.”

Patient Privacy

Sacopulos said it’s also important to note that any form of electronic communication with a patient should immediately bring to mind HIPAA and HITECH Act obligations.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)

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50 Years of Caring, continued from page 1 wing to officially open only had 26 beds.

On Oct. 8, 1965, the history of Hinds General Hospital officially began. The first baby was born on Jan. 19, 1966.

The community is celebrating the first half century in the life of the medical center, now known as Merit Health Central.

The healthcare provider has overcome many challenges and storms, including a literal one that occurred shortly after it opened.

On March 3, 1966, the hospital withstood any damage from a violent F5 tornado, dubbed the Candlestick Park tornado because a nearby shopping mall, called Candlestick Park, was leveled by the storm. This was the deadliest, most damaging and longest track (202.5 miles) tornado in central Mississippi during the 20th century. It first touched down in Hinds County very near the hospital and moved northeast. The hospital was able to function and treated a huge influx of patients from around the metro area.

“Less than six months after opening, the Candlestick Park tornado struck,” recalled Eugene G. Wood Jr., MD, with Merit Health Medical Group. “Hinds General Hospital played a crucial role in this catastrophic situation. Now known as Merit Health Central, the hospital continues to provide excellent medical and surgical care.”

Wood noted that when it was built, the hospital filled a vital hole that existed in the healthcare delivery system of Jack-

son in the mid-1960s.

“I began a solo family practice in southwest Jackson in October 1960, approximately five years prior to the opening of Hinds General Hospital,” Wood noted recently. “I averaged two to three trips a day across town to various hospitals’ emergency departments for patients for lacerations, headaches, heart attacks or perhaps a panic attack. We had no ER physicians at that time.

“This sparkling new hospital provided a solution to the large amount of travel but more importantly, rapid access to medical care for persons from southwest Jackson, Raymond, Byram, Clinton and other surrounding areas.”

One of the tens of thousands of patients who have benefitted from Merit Health Central over the years is Martha Long. She was the hospital’s 83rd patient and a patient of Dr. Wood.

“I have been a resident of Jackson since 1957, and it gives me such peace of mind having a hospital so close to home, particularly in the event of an emergency,” Long said. “My family and I consider Merit Health Central our hospital.”

Long is now giving back to the hospital by knitting hats for newborn babies.

She started this labor of love back in September last year and has already made over 300.

While the hospital has experienced leadership and name changes over the years, its core mission has not wavered: to

provide high quality, compassionate care in a safe environment. Merit Health Central’s leaders say they are committed to serving the healthcare needs of their community and regularly consider how they can expand the services and resources they offer their patients to do so.

“We care for our entire community, including our most vulnerable residents, and provide medically necessary emergency care to those, who for various reasons, may struggle to access care,” said Lisa Dolan, interim chief executive officer, Merit Health Central. “Last year, we provided approximately $61.5 million in charity and uncompensated care.”

This dedication to its community extends beyond the walls of the medical facility. As a taxpaying entity, Merit Health Central paid more than $12.1 million in state and local taxes to pay for services and infrastructure in the Jackson area and throughout the state.

Merit Health Central has grown over the past 50 years from a 26-bed hospital to a full-service healthcare provider with more than 450 beds. During that time, it has expanded its services across the healthcare spectrum, bringing high-quality and technological advances to its pa-

tients, including some unique to the state and region.

“As our network of care has grown, there are many opportunities to benefit from the strengths and talents of our affiliated facilities to better serve our patients and communities,” said Steve Dobbs, chief executive officer, Merit Health. “We continuously look for ways to improve access into the health system and meet the ever-changing healthcare needs of the communities we serve.”

As it prepares for its next half century of care, the staff of Merit Health Central plans to continue working together as the state’s largest healthcare network so it will be able to continue to respond quickly to changes and positively influence statewide healthcare issues.

As for its upcoming golden anniversary, Merit Health Central plans to commemorate this milestone with all the residents from the area it serves.

“They are the reason we’re here today,” Dobbs said. “We invite our entire community to a special celebration on Thursday, Oct. 8, including our current and past patients, medical staff members, employees and community leaders to mark the occasion.”

Keep your finger on the pulse of Mississippi’s healthcare industry at www.MississippiMedicalNews.com

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Key Events During the First Half Century of Service of Merit Health Central 1965 – 1974

Department of Health issued a certificate of need On March 3, 1966, the approving the move of the hospital survived an F5 torburn center from a sister nado, dubbed the Candlestick Rankin County hospital to Park (a shopping mall leveled Central due rapid growth by the storm) tornado. that created a need for more In 1969, voters overspace and critical care. whelmingly approved an exThat same year the pansion of the hospital with hospital applied for and $5,500,000 in bonds to add This was what Merit Health Central looked like circa mid-1970s when it was still Hinds was granted a Certificate 116 beds immediately and an General Hospital. of Need for the expansion additional 174 beds as needed. of 18 additional psychiatric The emergency department, beds (for a total of 47). The newly renodate, the hospital still has and utilizes the X-ray and lab were to be enlarged and a vated unit opened three months after being only Gamma Knife in Mississippi. Despite coronary care unit added. granted the CON. its name, this instrument contains no blade Also in 2013, the Emergency Departand makes no incision. It’s used to treat 1975 - 1984 ment was designated a Level III Trauma brain disorders such as malignant and beThe six-story South tower addition Center and was the first in Central Missisnign brain tumors, vascular malformations was completed in 1974 increasing the hossippi to open a dedicated Senior Track in and trigeminal neuralgia. pital’s capacity to over 450 beds. the ER for persons 65 and older.

In April 2002, the hospital opened In 2013, Merit Health Central bephase one of a 47,000 square foot, $6.5 1985 – 1994 came a Certified Mammography Facility million medical office building. The buildIn August 1987 the hospital’s Cancer through the U.S. Department of Health ing served as a catalyst for improved access Center opened offering radiation therapy and Human Services. to care for the grown and expansion of the and brachytherapy. The program has been The hospital’s ACE (Acute Care for south Jackson medical community. accredited by the American College of Surthe Elderly) unit opened in October 2012 The hospital began offering bariatric geons Commission on Cancer since 1991. and gained NICHE (Nurses Improving surgery May 1, 2002. A medical weight In 1990 the hospital began serving as Care for Healthsystem Elders) certificamanagement component was added in a holding unit for patients waiting for an tion in 2013. The ACE unit is Central 2004 and the program was officially named available opening at the state’s behavioral Mississippi’s first inpatient unit dedicated the Comprehensive Weight Management hospital, for a maximum of 21 days. In to improving the care of older patients in Center in 2005. (The weight management April 1993, a 29-bed adult psychiatric unit the hospital with a homelike environment. program moved in 2011 to the hospital opened.

The unit is staffed by a multidisciplinary now known as Merit Health River Oaks.) team of professionals who offer services to Summer-Fall 1996 - part of the movie 1995 - 2004 meet the unique medical, psychological, A Time to Kill was filmed at the hospital in On Feb. 28, 1995, 30 years after the social and emotional needs of seniors. The the old ER before it was renovated to the opening of the hospital, the consecration hospital also received the NICHE (Nurses Education Hall. and grand opening of a $35 million expanImproving Care for Healthsystem Elders) sion was held. The 200,000-square-foot designation in late 2013.

2005 - Present addition nearly doubled the hospital’s size In March 2014, a general surgeon on In 2005, the second phase of the mediand significantly expanded and enhanced the hospital’s medical staff performed the cal office building was completed, adding the hospital’s capabilities. The new threefirst robot assisted vertical sleeve gastrecan additional 42,250 square feet to the fastory building contained an Outpatient tomy in Mississippi and the first robot ascility.

Center with registration, pre-admission sisted bariatric surgery (obesity surgery) in In September 2013, the Mississippi testing, surgery, recovery, imaging and other services. Two new rooms in Same Day Surgery allow for minor procedures rather than in the main surgery department. Thirteen additional surgery rooms allowed for more flexibility in scheduling surgical procedures and a new endoscopy THE STRENGTH unit allowed the department to double in size. A new, larger maternity center inTO HEAL and cluded eight labor, delivery and recovery rediscover my suites and a large Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and step-down nursery. An efficient passion for medicine. new emergency department was included and adjacent to it a new outpatient radiology department with a separate Woman’s The new experience you’ll gain as a member of the Army Reserve will help you remember why Center. A new chapel and much larger you became a physician. By practicing in your main lobby, dining room and gift shop community and serving when needed, you could were included in the expansion for the conreceive $250,000 in student loan repayment and venience of patients and visitors. $75,000 in Special Pay. You’ll feel an increased In 1995 wound care services were sense of pride when you care for our Soldiers and added. their Families.

To learn more about the U.S. Army April 1, 1999, brought a new name, Reserve health care team, Central Mississippi Medical Center, often visit healthcare.goarmy.com/mednews referred to as CMMC. or call 601-362-7051.

In 2001, the hospital opened the Robert R. Smith, MD Gamma Knife Center, and was one of the first in the United States ©2010. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved. to receive the Gamma Knife Perfexion. To mississippimedicalnews

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Central Mississippi.

On Oct. 16, 2014, the Joseph M. Still Burn & Reconstruction Center was formally dedicated. The burn program treats children and adults and offers a 13-bed burn intensive care unit, 12 clinic rooms and a 20-bed step down unit with a treatment room. The center admitted nearly 1,000 patients and performed almost 2,000 surgical procedures last year. It is affiliated with the Joseph M. Still (JMS) Burn Centers Inc. in Augusta, Ga., the physician group that manages the largest burn facility in the U.S. The JMS Burn & Reconstruction Center is the state’s only designated burn center by the Mississippi State Department of Health and Mississippi Trauma Care System.

Most recently in 2015 Central’s bariatric program achieved national accreditation as a Comprehensive Bariatric Surgery Center by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons.

At the beginning of this year, the hospital was one of six in the Jackson/Vicksburg area that formed a regional healthcare system, Merit Health (and that continue to be affiliated with Community Health Systems). This spring, the network expanded to include all CHS-affiliated hospitals in Mississippi to create the largest healthcare system in the state by number of facilities.

Most recently, affiliated hospitals in the Jackson-Vicksburg area launched Merit Health Medical Group, a network of more than 30 physician practices in the market that, by sharing the same brand, makes it easier for patients to navigate the Merit Health family of healthcare providers. Together they are working to exchange best clinical practices, operate more efficiently, recruit new physicians, and improve access to care.

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The AMA Steps Up with STEPS Forward, continued from page 1 internist and partner in Medical Associates Clinic, a multispecialty group practice with sites in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Sinsky is also the point person at the American Medical Association (AMA) for an ambitious new initiative offering physicians strategies to revitalize their medical practices and improve patient care. The practice changes she references are found in the Christine initial 16 modules avail- Dr. Sinsky able online – free for AMA and non-AMA members – via www.STEPSforward.org.

“If you can follow one or two recommendations and go home earlier by reengineering the way you do your work, that’s a win-win all around,” said Sinsky.

The AMA took action to improve the lives of practicing physicians after a recent RAND survey showed the satisfaction physicians derive from their work is quickly eroding as time continues to be taken away from direct patient care because of grueling, bureaucratic obstacles.

“Research shows that rates of overall burnout among U.S. physicians approach 40 percent,” said AMA CEO James L. Madara, MD. “That’s why the AMA is taking a hands-on approach to meeting their day-to-day concerns through the

new online series, AMA Steps Forward.”

Broadly, the 16 modules address four key areas: practice efficiency and patient care, patient health, physician health, and technology and in- Dr. James L. novation.

Madara Specifically, the modules cover these topics: • Conducting effective team meetings • Creating strong team culture • Electronic health record (EHR) implementation • EHR software selection and purchase • Expanding rooming and discharge protocols • Improving blood pressure control • Improving physician resiliency • Medication adherence • Panel management • Preventing physician burnout • Preventing type 2 diabetes in at-risk patients • Pre-visit laboratory testing • Pre-visit planning • Starting lean healthcare • Synchronized prescription renewal • Team documentation Each module requires only snippets of time to study either online or printed in PDF format for a more traditional ap-

proach to learning. Live events provide yet another learning option. To earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, participants must view the module content in its entirety, successfully complete the quiz answering four of five questions correctly, and complete the evaluation.

Modules include steps for implementation, case studies and downloadable videos, tools and resources.

“Within 30 minutes, physicians will know how to take the next step in their practices to work smarter, not harder,” said Sinsky.

For example, the module on effective team meetings begins with a 10-step process: • Identify the team.

• Meet routinely and “on the clock.”

• Agree on ground rules.

• Set a consistent meeting agenda.

• Rotate meeting roles.

• Solve problems as a group.

• Record action steps, owners and due dates.

• Practice good meeting skills.

• Have fun!

• Celebrate success.

Under ground rules, helpful hints include starting and ending each meeting on time, being fully present in the moment, staying on topic, focusing on the issue and not the individual, stepping up or back as needed, and giving thanks to the staff for

their time. To stay on topic and maintain efficiency during the dedicated meeting time, it’s suggested that: “if the discussion wanders, the chair or other member can say, ‘Let’s take that offline,’ or ‘that sounds like an issue to put in the “parking lot” to talk about at another meeting.’ If the discussion strays, there may not be time at the end of the meeting for all the items on the agenda.”

In October, 10 modules will be added to the website. By the end of 2016, the AMA plans to have up to 50 modules available online.

Concurrently with the rollout, the AMA and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) issued a practice innovation challenge, seeking more high-value, easy-to-adopt, and transformative medical practice solutions. Proposals were submitted through Sept. 1; the best solutions were eligible for one of several $10,000 prizes, in addition to having the ideas developed into future STEPS Forward modules. Winners will be announced at MGMA’s annual conference Oct. 11-14 in Nashville, Tenn.

“We issued the innovation challenge to tap into the creative energy that we know is present among physicians,” said Sinsky. “The goal is to help physicians take better care of themselves and their practices so they can, in turn, take better care of their patients.”

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At the Intersection of Education and Healthcare

By CINDY SANDERS

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 68 children falls somewhere on the autism spectrum.

The fastest-growing developmental disorder in the United States, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is almost five times more common in boys (1 in 42) than girls (1 in 189). Additionally, the CDC estimates it costs at least $17,000 more per year to care for a child with autism, including extra expenditures for healthcare, education and ASD-related therapy.

While there is still no cure for ASD, research has shown early intervention can have a significant impact on a child’s development and ability to more fully interact with peers at school. It’s at this intersection of education and healthcare where Educational Services of America (ESA) offers resources to help these children thrive.

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., the company currently provides services in 27 states. “We serve about 17,000 kids a day, and they have a very wide variety of disabilities,” explained ESA President and CEO Mark Claypool, who founded the company in 1999. “We work primarily with public school systems,” he said, noting the company partners with about 250 different systems. He Mark added ESA also works Claypool directly with some state governments and insurance carriers.

“Providing quality services to children and young adults who need them is more important to us than who pays the bill,” Claypool stated.

While ESA, which has about 3,000 employees nationwide, has been in business for more than 15 years, Claypool said many of the programs being used have been around much longer with measurable results. The company has grown significantly through acquisitions and mergers, including the purchase three years ago of South Carolina-based Early Autism Project, Inc. (EAP).

“We had been working with older kids through school systems for a long time, but we wanted to identify a strong provider in the early intervention space,” Claypool explained. “Autism is a very dynamic disability, and the sooner you can intervene, the greater the impact on the child’s life.”

With EAP, he noted, “We acquired this really strong regional brand and put tremendous resources behind them.”

Today, EAP reaches four times the number of children and continues to expand with additional clinics coming online at a rapid pace. Currently, there are clinics and/or in-home services being provided in 11 states including Arkansas, Florida, mississippimedicalnews

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Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee in the Southeast.

“We’re growing very rapidly,” Claypool said. “In fact, we’re in the process of opening 15 new autism clinics in the next year.”

Applied Behavior At the heart of the program is the use of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).

“We know the evidence supports ABA as the most effective treatment, by far,” said Claypool. “It enhances positive behaviors and diminishes negative behaviors.”

According to the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, the effectiveness of this evidence-based therapy has been well documented over the past 40 years.

ABA utilizes the principles of learning theory to craft interventions designed to measurably improve ‘socially significant behaviors,’ which include reading, academics, social skills, communication, and adaptive living skills including self-care, toileting, understanding time and money, and honing work skills.

“The same model of behavioral therapy is applied to all of our children across the board but will vary in its intensity,” Claypool explained of addressing individual needs depending on where a child falls on the spectrum.

Finding a way to help these children is critical considering the number of children diagnosed with ASD. “If we don’t do this, the cost will be staggering. These young people will not be able to transition to adulthood and lead normal adult lives,” Claypool pointed out.

With ABA therapy, however, he said the team has seen some remarkable outcomes. “There is no one type of child with autism. There are IQs all over the board, but many do have high IQs and need to

have their potential unlocked,” he continued.

That was certainly true for one South Carolina mom. Told it would be best to find her son a residential program because he would never function on his own, she took matters into her own hands and became the co-founder of the Early Autism Project. Today, that son is working on his master’s degree at the University of South Carolina and speaks eight languages.

While certainly not every child with autism will perform at that level, Claypool said all children deserve the chance to reach their own potential.

The Intersection of Healthcare & Education

Realizing that ability, however, can be more difficult in some states than in others.

Claypool explained Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires public school systems to identify preschool children with special needs. However, he added, “It’s very, very loose how to do that. Frankly, it’s not followed through on very often. That issue really drove parents who had children with autism to find another way to have their children identified, diagnosed and treated.”

Of importance, he continued, is the understanding that special education, as it is constructed, is built on civil rights law.

“That’s important because it was built on a minimum set of services defined as ‘free and appropriate.’

“But that’s not enough for parents,” Claypool said. “They want progress, and they want to know their child is going to get the very best treatments.” Therefore, he continued, “More and more, they are looking to healthcare rather than education systems to bridge the gap.”

According to the Autism Health Insurance Project, 39 states plus the District of Columbia have now enacted autism insurance mandates, meaning all fully funded, state-regulated insurance plans must provide the benefits specified by law. While the specifics vary from stateto-state, each of the mandates requires insurers to provide ABA to young children with autism. Self-funded (employersponsored) plans, however, are not legally required to offer autism benefits even in states that have mandates.

As of May 2015, Alabama, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming had no autism insurance mandate. Ohio, Hawaii, Mississippi and North Carolina were in process of enacting a mandate, and Utah had passed legislation, but it won’t go into effect until 2016. Additionally, the federal government has recently told all states their Medicaid programs must offer ABA therapy for children under 21, but only a handful of states have put this directive into action at this point.

For More Info & Referrals For more information on autism and other programming by Educational Services of America, go online to esa-education.com. For more information or to refer a child with autism to EAP, go to earlyautismproject.com.

ST. DOMINIC’S RHEUMATOLOGY IS PLEASED TO WELCOME

Jason Taylor and Seth Compton TO THE MEDICAL STAFF. Choosing the right physician partner as early as possible will have an enormous effect on your quality of life in the long run when experiencing joint pain, arthritis or other painful conditions. St. Dominic’s Rheumatologists want to intervene, treat and improve the way you feel physically. Call 601-200-4530 to schedule your appointment.

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Telemedicine, continued from page 5 “Whether the electronic connection with the patient is via email, text messaging, or video conference, the platform should be secure,” he said. “Private and confidential patient information is being transmitted and the patient has a legal right to protect the information in transit.”

The Federation of State and Board Telemedicine (FSMB) Guidelines specifically state: “Physicians should meet or exceed applicable federal and state requirements of medical/health information privacy, including compliance with HIPAA and state privacy, confidentiality, security, and medical retention rules,” said Sacopulos, adding that FSMB Guidelines suggest maintaining written policies to address: • Privacy; • Healthcare personnel who will be processing messages and patient communications; • Hours of operations; • Types of transactions that will be permitted electronically; • Required patient information to be included in the communication, such as patient’s name, identification number and type of transaction; • Archival and retrieval; and • Quality oversight mechanisms.

“Finally, telemedicine practitioners are cautioned to periodically evaluate their policies and procedures to insure they remain current and readily accessible,” he said.

“FSMB informs us that electronic communications received from patients must

be maintained within secured technology password-protected encrypted electronic prescriptions, or other reliable authentication and techniques.”

Sacopulos said it’s reasonable to assume that additional patient privacy requirements will be coming in the near future.

“This well may be in reaction to large scale breaches, such as Anthem Insurance experienced earlier this year,” he said.

“Studies show that medical identity theft grew at an alarming rate in 2014. Government officials, including the FBI and California Attorney General, have specifically cautioned medical providers that their patients’ electronic data is at risk for hacking and theft. All of this should serve as a warning to telemedicine providers to comply with existing state and federal regulations.

Telemedicine providers should also anticipate increasing privacy standards.”

Informed Consent

Before practicing telemedicine, a medical provider should obtain appropriate patient informed consent. The informed consent document should: Clearly state the patient’s identity; Clearly state the physician’s identity and qualifications; Specify the scope of activities the practice will be using telemedicine technologies to fulfill, such as patient education, prescription refills, and scheduling appointments; The patient must acknowledge that it is

within the medical provider’s sole discretion to determine if the available telemedicine technologies are adequate to diagnose and/ or treat the patient; The patient should acknowledge the possibility of, and hold harmless the medical provider for, any technology failures and/or interruptions; The practice should, as part of the informed consent process, provide information on the telemedicine technologies privacy and security standards, such as the inscription of data and firewalls; and The informed consent document should specify express patient consent to forward patient information to a third party if necessary.

Referrals for Emergency Service

“The FSMB suggests that telemedicine practitioners have a written protocol in the event that a remote patient needs emergency services,” said Sacopulos. “This emergency protocol should cover possible scenarios when patients require acute care.

How and where referrals are to be made should be covered in this protocol.”

State-Specific Requirements

The scope of permissible telemedicine varies significantly by state. Some states specifically require a physician/patient relationship to be established first in person with an exam and diagnosis and treatment plan, including prescriptions. Only then may telemedicine be conducted.

“Telemedicine is receiving much attention at the moment,” said Sacopulos. “The American Medical Association is in the process of adopting a Code of Ethics for physicians who provide clinical services through telemedicine. Texas has recently issued new telemedicine guidelines to its practitioners.

All of this should serve as a warning to those interested in telemedicine to consult with their State Board of Medicine before engaging in telemedicine activities.”

Discovery,

PUBLISHED BY: SouthComm Business Media, Inc. GROUP PUBLISHER Dennis Triola dtriola@southcomm.com 310.422.6637 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Kathy Arich karich@mississippimedicalnews.com Ad Sales: 601.941.3075 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Perry Patterson LaCour placour@mississippimedicalnews.com Ad Sales: 601.941.1603 NATIONAL EDITOR Pepper Jeter editor@medicalnewsinc.com LOCAL EDITOR Lynne Jeter lynne@medicalnewsinc.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Susan Graham susan@medicalnewsinc.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Katy Barrett-Alley, Amy Gomoljak James Osborne, Christie Passarello CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lynne Jeter, Cindy Sanders, Lucy Schultze, Jonathan Scott CIRCULATION subscriptions@southcomm.com —— All editorial submissions and press releases should be emailed to: editor@medicalnewsinc.com —— Subscription requests or address changes should be mailed to: Medical News, Inc. 210 12th Ave S. • Suite 100 Nashville, TN 37203 615.244.7989 • (FAX) 615.244.8578 or e-mailed to: subscriptions@southcomm.com Subscriptions: One year $48 • Two years $78

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reasons that remain unclear. Identifying early markers of at-risk individuals could significantly impact the public health burden of cerebrovascular disease in all ethnic groups, the researchers said.

“People don’t routinely have MRIs, but when they’re necessary, taking note of these small lesions could provide valuable information about future risk,” Windham said. “It’s similar to knowing about a patient’s history of high blood pressure or family history of heart disease. It may influence treatment decisions.”

In addition to researchers from UMMC, the study was co-authored by scientists from Johns Hopkins University, University of Washington Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The findings were published in the July 7, 2015 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The study was funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

SOUTHCOMM BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. Chief Executive Officer Chris Ferrell Chief Financial Officer Ed Tearman Chief Operating Officer Blair Johnson Director Of Financial Planning And Analysis Carla Simon Vice President Of Human Resources Ed Wood Vice President of Content Patrick Rains Vice President Of Production Operations Curt Pordes Chief Revenue Officer Dave Carter Director Of Digital Sales & Marketing David Walker Controller Todd Patton Creative Director Heather Pierce Mississippi Medical News is published monthly by Medical News, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SouthComm Business Media, Inc. ©2015 Medical News Communications.All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Medical News will assume no responsibilities for unsolicited materials.

All letters sent to Medical News will be considered Medical News property and therefore unconditionally assigned to Medical News for publication and copyright purposes.

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GrandRounds SBJ Announces New Foot And Ankle Specialist Southern Bone and Joint Specialists, P.A. has announced its newest physician, Rob Robertson, MD, fellowship trained foot and ankle specialist.

Robertson, a Magnolia native, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi where he was team captain of the football Dr. Rob Robertson team. He received his MD the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He completed an orthopedic residency from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine where he received the Department of Orthopedics OITE Award. Robertson completed a fellowship in foot and ankle from Medstar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Md. He is a member of the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and Mississippi Orthopedic Society.

Robertson joins SBJ’s Dr. John Kosko as the only fellowship-trained foot and ankle orthopedic surgeons in the Pine Belt area.

Southern Bone and Joint is an orthopaedic group with 18 physicians and offices in Hattiesburg, Collins, Columbia, Laurel and Picayune.

Anderson Introduces New Lung Cancer Screening

Medical Center are making a difference when it comes to lung cancer detection.

Lung cancer is often left undiagnosed until the late stages when it may have spread to other areas, but a new low dose CT lung screening is helping many patients have a better outcome.

Once a person develops symptoms of lung cancer, the five-year survival rate is only 5-14 percent. This screening will help diagnose the cancer much earlier and increase the chance for survival according to Dr. Fred Duggan, Pulmonologist.

Candidates for the low dose CT screening are individuals 55-77 years old with a significant smoking history and no symptoms. A significant smoking history includes those who are current smokers, as well as individuals who have quit smoking within the last 15 years with a smoking history equal to a pack a day for 30 years or two packs a day for 15 years. Most insurance companies cover the screening for patients who meet the criteria.

During the screening, a radiological technologist scans the patient’s chest to generate a 3-D image of the lungs. No medications are given and no needles are used. Patients may eat before and after the screen, and the screening only takes about 15 minutes.

A physician referral is required for the screening, so patients are encouraged to ask their doctor for more information.

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We change our menu to feature the freshest local ingredients...

Celebrations.

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Physicians at Anderson Regional

Memorial Stroke Program Receives Gold Plus Recognition For the sixth year, Memorial has received the American Heart and American Stroke Association Gold Plus recognition. The Gold Plus recognition goes to a hospital achieving 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With the Guidelines® Stroke Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12 month intervals. The hospital must also achieve at least 12 consecutive months of 75 percent or higher compliance with five or more Get with the Guidelines® Stroke Quality measures. Those measures improve quality of patient care and outcomes. Memorial has maintained Gold Plus status for Get With the Guidelines® since 2010.

Hospitals are recognized on the Target: Stroke Honor Roll for achieving 50 percent or greater for at least one calendar quarter on the following Get with the GuidelinesStroke PMT measure: percent of acute ischemic stroke patients treated with IV rt-PA with door-to-needle times ≤ 60 minutes. Memorial received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Katie Schussler, Memorial Stroke Program Coordinator; Ashley Joyner, Memorial Neuroscience Care Coordinator; Earl C. Coleman, Quality Improvement Director, AHA Get with the Guidelines; Dr. Lee Voulters, Memorial Medical Director Stroke Program; Christine LeBeouf, Vice President American Heart Association; Sonya Kortens, Memorial Neuroscience Care Coordinator and Elizabeth Williams, Health Strategies Assistant, American Heart Association. mississippimedicalnews

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2005–2015 Decade of Growth

Building A

Better Memorial

Memorial Hospital Summer 2015

A massive infrastructure project on the main campus of Memorial Hospital added floors 6 and 7 to our Main Patient Tower. Recently completed are new, modern patient rooms (pictured above). The new clinical operational layout has nearly 50% more space than the previous rooms; includes overhead bariatric hoists; and allows greater flexiblity for critical care and future needs.

A new $6 million state-of-the-art larger neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with 11 semi-private rooms and 23 beds was completed this summer. Offering the only NICU on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Memorial provides a specially equipped ground transport vehicle for acutely ill or potentially unstable infants from surrounding communities.

4500 Thirteenth Street / Post Office Box 1810 / Gulfport, MS 39502-1810 Memorial Hospital and Physician Clinics accept all major insurances and payers.

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www.gulfportmemorial.com

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