System Hospital News August 2018

Atrium Medical Center

As Atrium Medical Center continues to differentiate its services in the greater Cincinnati area market, part of the hospital’s previously shuttered 4 south unit has reopened for services. The 4 south A-pod opened as a dedicated surgical ortho/spine unit on July 16. The unit will house a dedicated room to be utilized as a gym for therapy purposes, offering convenience to patients and staff. Support of ortho techs, social work/case management, and an advanced practice provider will continue to complement the quality care and service provided to patients.

Approximately 500 people who suffered an overdose in Middletown have been connected to local resources to help fight their addiction since the city of Middletown, Atrium Medical Center, and other community partners collaborated to launch a Quick Response Team in 2016. Now, the Atrium Medical Center Foundation has received a $60,000 grant from InterAct for Change and the Funders' Response to the Heroin Epidemic (FRHE), a collaboration of private funders dedicated to ending the greater Cincinnati region's opioid and heroin epidemic. The grant will provide funding through 2020 to sustain the Quick Response Team’s operations in Middletown, and the Middletown team will participate in a regional collaborative of Quick Response Teams to share information and lessons learned with other communities. The Middletown Quick Response Team is made up of a paramedic, police officer and social worker. Hospital patients who give consent are contacted by a member of the team for follow up, sometimes while patients are still in the hospital. Additionally, the Atrium Foundation’s most recent annual fundraising campaign, Promise of Hope, which is nearing its $400,000 goal, will help double the number of intensive care rooms in the hospital’s behavioral health unit and provide for a navigator trained in behavioral health to be on Atrium’s Emergency Trauma Center team.

Atrium is one of two hospitals in the Cincinnati market that recently received accolades from the American Heart Association. Atrium earned the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. The AHA Mission: Lifeline program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks. Atrium earned the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures. Nationwide, 78 hospitals received the Gold Award, according to the association.

Miami Valley Hospital

The Miami Valley Hospital South Patient Access Department went live with its first patient kiosk machine, located in Sports Medicine. The kiosk allows patients to check in for their hand and/or physical therapy appointment. The “go live” was very successful, with the kiosk being used by 65 percent of patients on the first day.

Thanks to donor support through the Premier Health Employee Giving Campaign, the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation awarded 153 Mueller Youth Scholarships this year. The $500 scholarships were available on a competitive basis for post-high school education. The application process required applicants to submit two essays about philanthropy and community service. Since 1993, more than 2,550 Mueller Youth Scholarships have been awarded to dependent children of Miami Valley Hospital employees. The foundation retained the scholarship’s name in honor of the hospital’s founder, the Reverend Carl Mueller.

The Valley Golf Classic took place at NCR Country Club on July 30. Coordinated through the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation, proceeds benefit the inpatient diabetes education program at Miami Valley Hospital and Miami Valley Hospital South provided by educators at the Bull Family Diabetes Education Center. John Bull chaired the tournament steering committee for the third consecutive year. Life Connection of Ohio was the lead sponsor for this year’s outing. Since its inception in 1990, the Valley Golf Classic has raised more than $4 million in proceeds for various patient programs and services at Miami Valley Hospital.

As part of the transition to Miami Valley Hospital North, the provision of lab services at the site went from a hospital-based service to CompuNet Clinical Laboratories, which also runs the lab operations at other Miami Valley Hospital sites. This new location for CompuNet will replace the company’s current location at 5 W. Wenger Road in Englewood. Lab services on the hospital campus at 9000 N. Main St. in Englewood have moved from the first floor to Suite 303 on the third floor.

The Maternity Center at Miami Valley Hospital received a Caring Cradle donated in memory of Lincoln Matthew Herman, a baby boy who was born stillborn on April 13, 2018. A Caring Cradle gives a family the gift of time after the loss of a baby, allowing a family days with their baby rather than mere hours—uninterrupted time to care for the baby, dress him or her, take photos, and make memories, which is crucial to the grieving process for mothers, fathers, and their families. The Caring Cradle was donated by Dr. David and Lauren Herman in memory of their son. The Hermans were so grateful for the care they received at Miami Valley Hospital South, as well as the availability of the Caring Cradle on the South campus.

Upper Valley Medical Center

Upper Valley Medical Center hosted a ribbon cutting and open house July 30 for the newly expanded cardiac catheterization laboratory, which now provides important Level II capabilities with availability of interventional cardiologists. With this expansion, the cath lab can provide angioplasty and many types of stents 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Diagnostic catheterizations will still be available, as well as insertion of pacemakers and defibrillators.

An open house was hosted July 24 for the newly renovated rehabilitation services suite encompassing the third floor of the UVMC Outpatient Care Center North in Piqua. The project added nearly 1,900 square feet to house outpatient physical therapy, previously located on the first floor, and occupational therapy, previously on the second floor. Outpatient rehabilitation volume has grown significantly since the facility opened in 1994, with a 70 percent increase in physical therapy and a 40 percent increase in occupational therapy.

A Parkinson’s disease seminar – “Your Life with Parkinson’s Disease” – was hosted for the community on July 25 at UVMC. About 75 individuals attended the program, which featured neurologists Rabindra Kitchener, MD, and Lois Krousgrill, MD.

“UVMC Rocks!” was launched at the hospital campus and satellites in July. UVMC management and Future Leaders launched this fun, spirit-filled initiative to showcase Premier Health pride at UVMC. The initiative, which will continue through the summer, features rocks painted with bright colors and motivational messages that are placed randomly for staff and visitors to find. UVMC management and Future Leaders also paired up to host a UVMC Community Service Day on July 18, assisting with a variety of tasks at the Bethany Center Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry in Piqua; Needy Basket Food Pantry in Tipp City; and Miami County YMCA in Troy.

The UVMC Diversity Committee presented a quarterly Celebrating Diverse Cultures program on July 10. Dr. Rashmi Bolinjkar hosted the “A Taste of India” event, which featured Indian history, culture, and food sampling. More than 100 employees, physicians, and volunteers attended. 

Back to the August 2018 issue of Premier Pulse