HealthSense Summer 2007

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THISiSSUE

SENSE SUMMER

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MICHAEL V. ADAMS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD BRISTOL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE GROUP

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KURTA. BARWIS PRESIDENT & CEO

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BRISTOL HOSPITAL MARY PAT CAPUTO DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS MARIA BEDNARZ

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

A Time to Treosure

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PAM KAI/ENS, RNC, BCLC LINDA MANNARINO HENRY MCNULry MARILYN PITMAN, MLS

Express

BETSY RIEDEL, RCN, BCLC

Core Unit in the Emergency Core Center 4

TARASCATTERDAY

HealthSense

magazine is

published by the Public Relations

Department of Bristol Hospital.

Healthsense is designed to provide

Breostfeeding

you with current information about health, health care and Bristol Hospital

and Health Care Group. lt is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the oprnion of Bristol Hospital or its medical staff.

Contents may be reprinted with written permission and proper credit.

I

Living Well with Diobetes

Pothwoys Closses

il

New Physicions

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We welcome your comments and questions.

Write to: HealthSense Public Relations Department Bristol Hospital PO. Box 977 Bristol, CT 06011-0977 E-mail: info@bristolhospital.org or visit our Web site at www.bristol hospital.oro @2007 BRISTOL HOSPITAL a SAINT FRANCIS Care Partner

Bristol Hospital Podiatrist Chosen as

Podiatrist of the Year Joseph R. Treadwell, D.P.M., of Foot and Ankle Specialists of Connecticut,

t

has been selected as "Podiatrist

of the Year'" fbr his service and leadership

to the Connecticut Podiatric Medical Association and his contlibution to the advancement of fbot and ankle medicine and surgery. He was instrumental

in upglading the podiatlic scope of practice in Connecticut. Dr. Treadwell, a national lecturer,

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Qt Bristol THospital SAINT FRANCIS Care Panner

has published numerous articles on trauma and reconstmctive surgery of the fbot and

ankle. He

is on the Boald of Dilectors fbr the Arnerican Board of Podiatric Surgery and serves as the site

dilector fbl the Yale Podiatric Surgical Residency Plogram at Bristol Hospital. Dr. Treadwell is a residency evaluator fbr the Council on Podiatric Medical Education and serves as vice president fbr the ConnecticLrt Podiatlic Medical Association. His areas of interest inch"rde adult

ON THE COVER: Staff from left to right: Dawn Lanteri, RN, Tom Riordan, RN,

levisional surgery and pediatlic fbot and ankle disorders. Dr. Treadwell's practice is located at 2l Cooke Street, Plainville, and he nray be reached at (860) 747-2200.

Kristen Tack, RN, Bryan Goldberg, MD, and Andrea Chapman, ASA, photo-

graphed in Bristol Hospital's new Express Care Unit.

Healthsense - summer 2007

EMERGENCY CARE We've all heard the horror stories of someone being rushed to the hospital with a cut or a swollen ankle, only to wait hours before being seen by a doctor.

This happens because emergency departments perform triage, where the most serious patients are treated first. So if you're experiencing chest pain, you would be seen first. lf you have a suspected sprained ankle, you would probably have to wait.

Bristol Hospital is trying to make long waits in its Emergency Care Center, "ECC", a thing of the past.

A recently redesigned ECC, with a brand new 6-bed Express Care Unit built on what's known as the "fast track" concept, will attend more quickly to those patients who previously had to wait to be treated for minor emergencies such as sprains, lacerations, sore throats, rashes or insect bites.

"Hospitals recognize that our Emergency Care Center is their front door to the community we serve," says Kurl Barwis, president of Bristol Hospital. "What people know about a hospital is often based on their experience in the Emergency Department or what their family or friends have told them. Long waits not only give a bad impression, but they are uncomfortable for the patient who comes into an Emergency Care Center with an injury or feeling sick."

'A patient's outcome

can be greatly influenced by the time it takes for them to get the services they need, explains Barwis. "We've identified a significant need to reduce wait times in the ECC at Bristol Hospital, and

we've spent a great of deal of time reorganizing and redesigning that area of our Hospital in an effort to make a patient's visit as quick and comfortable as possible."

The Express Care Unit's speedy service is made possible by having physicians, nurses and technicians dedicated to treating patients with minor injuries, explains Lawrence Levine, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., Chief of Emergency

Medicine at Bristol Hospital. It also allows for the more serious cases to be attended to more quickly in the Emergency Care Center.

"Because we're working on being faster does not mean that quality is compromised," Dr. Levine clarifi es.

"We provide comprehensive, quality medical treatment to every patient who comes through our doors. Our physicians are all board-certified specialists in emergency medicine, and our entire staff of nurses, technicians and physician assistants have specialty training in emergency medicine. Our physician assistants work closely with our physicians and nurses and are involved in each case on a real time basis."

"Should patients arrive at our hospital with more than a minor emergency, they can enjoy the confidence that comes with being treated in an Emergency Care Center equipped with not only advanced medical and surgical capabilities, but with caring and confident health care

"Tlte Express Cure Unit's :ipeed)' service is nrctcle po.tsible by huvirtg pht:ricictns, nLtrses and technicians cleclicatecl to treating porient,t vt'ith ninor injuries," explairt,s Lttw,ren(:e Levine, M.I).

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Healthsense - summer 2007

CENTER professionals," says Dr. Levine. "We save lives on a daily basis. Every physician on our staffhas trained at advanced tertiary care centers around the country, and Bristol Hospital's ECC can treat any patient with any emergency need at the same level as the best emergency treatment center anywhere."

Emergency Unit vs.

Express Care Unit The redesigned Emergency Care Center has two sections, one for serious illness and injury, and one for urgent, but less serious conditions. When you arrive at our Emergency Care Center, the triage nurse will determine whether you will be seen by the Emergency team or by the Express Care

explains Barwis. "Your level of care is not comprised by having to wait endlessly in the waiting area, and it unclogs the Emergency Care Center and allows for both types of cases to be treated quickly."

"Our goal at Bristol Hospital is to reduce wait times in the ECC and to get patients in and out fiom time of arrival to departure in one hour or less," says Barwis, "based on the severity of one's illness or injury. The Express Care Unit's first day ofoperation saw six patients being treated in less than one hour each from time of arrival to discharge.

That's where Bristol Hospital is headed."

Typically, the Express Care team sutures, casts, splints, takes foreign bodies out of eyes, handles simple abscesses and prescribes medication. X-rays from the Express Care Unit, and other medical data, can be accessed by the physicians and staff in the main Emergency Care Center Unit in the event of a need for more acute care.

team.

For example, if you have more serious symptoms, such as chest pain, you

will

be

channeled directly to the main Emergency Care Center Unit. If you have less severe injuries, such as a sprained ankle or an earache, you may be seen in the Express Care Unit, which is located within the ECC as a separate but contiguous section where the physicians and emergency staff can circulate through and keep the flow of the unit going. If tests or your exam determine your illness or injury is more complex, you have the safety and convenience offull emergency services and all of the advanced radiology and lab testing equipment within the same department.

"This provides a continuous flow of care for patients as the staff has access to the physicians who are treating the more severe patients in the main Emergency l-Jnit," Healthsense - summer 2007

Arguably, the best asset of the newly designed Emergency Care Center is bedside registration, where the registrar comes to you with a mobile bedside registration computer.

Patients need not wait to register before being assessed by a triage nurse or clinician. According to Dr. Levine, studies show that bedside registration reduces wait times by 22 minutes.

The Changing Role of Emergency Care Unfortunately, long waits are the result of the changing role of hospital Emergency Departments. Emergency Care Centers were originally created to provide emergency care, but over time their mission has grown more complex.

Their main focus is still to provide care for medical emergencies, but Emergency Care Centers also take care of people who don't have any other primary medical care. Nowadays, emergency care centers are often used as places for "unscheduled care."

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"Bristol Hospital's ECC was originally designed several years ago to accommodate22,000 patient visits per year," explains Barwis. "We are currently seeing in excess of 37,500 patient visits per year. People often walk into the ECC to get treated for fever, diarrhea, rashes or routine gynecological problems. The ECC is also providing treatment for those minor emergencies that may occur when your family doctor might not be available."

The redesign of the Emergency Care Center has taken Bristol Hospital from l8 treatment areas to 22, with monitoring capabilities in many rooms. These rooms include a four-bed medical observation unit and a fourbed behavioral health observation unit. Most functions have been automated now, resulting in a more efficient process with better tracking and evaluation techniques. this process was completed in less than six weeks' This is another testament to the commitment of the staff and employees at Bristol Hospital."

According to Barwis, the staff has been given the tools and is empowered to generate solutions to improve

performance and make the patient experience better.

"Engaging our staff to identify areas of improvement and come up with new ideas, and then "OIu'glul ul implementing those changes gives the triple benefit of a streamlined process, Bristol HosltituI i.s improved outcomes and improved trt rctluce wuil tinlas customer satisfaction," says Barwis.

"There was a tremendous amount of staff involved in the design of Bristol Hospital's Express Care Unit," says Dave Rackliffe, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Programs at Bristol Hospital. "Interior designers met with staff in the ECC, and the staff as a group chose the color scheme, the finishes and the pictures, everything."

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'Although the addition of these four new rooms and the creation of our new Express Care Unit was originally done to help alleviate some of the pressure in our Emergency Care Center, this quick solution has provided us with a new standard for design as we begin to plan the larger ECC expansion," says Rackliffe. "From Masotti Electric to White Insulation to the architects that worked patiently with all of our staff and the construction trades;

Dr. Levine knows first-hand how it feels to be seen in the Emergency Care Center, not only as an Emergency Department physician but as a recent patient, and he couldn't be happier with the service he received at Bristol Hospital. Last fall he began having intense abdominal pain and quickly traveled from his home to the Emergency Care Center at Bristol Hospital. Once there, he was quickly evaluated, registered at his bedside and was diagnosed with kidney stones.

"Like many patients in the greater Bristol area, I drove out of my way to be seen at Bristol Hospital," says Dr. Levine. "Our staff is comprised

of truly caring people who have a vested interest not only in Bristol Hospital but in our community. These are the kind of people who bring you warm blankets, spend time at your bedside and are concerned about your level of comfort.

Without a doubt, they go the extra mile in treating the patient."

For more information on the Emergency Care Center at Bristol Hospital, including the new Express Care Unit, contact 860-585-3273'

Healthsense - summer 2007