System Hospital News: August 2019

Atrium Medical Center

Atrium Medical Center has received the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Plus 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. Gold Plus is the highest level of recognition from the heart association for facilities that receive severe heart attack patients. The award was earned by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures. Atrium is one of two hospitals in the Cincinnati market to receive the Gold Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award.

Atrium’s Wound Care Center and Hyperbaric Services have introduced new vein services through Healogics VeinCare. “The VeinCare program uses minimally invasive laser frequency treatment in the outpatient setting to provide advanced treatment. This treatment will give many patients with venous leg ulcers the ability to heal faster and may even prevent future ulcers,” said Christina L. Hall, program director. These vein services are a first in the Premier Health system.

More than 700 Atrium employees and their family members attended the employee picnic held for the third consecutive year at Stricker’s Grove. Half of the $5 ticket price went toward the Friends in Need (FIN) Fund at Atrium Medical Center Foundation, which provides financial assistance to employees during a crisis.

Two Atrium directors have moved into new or expanded leadership positions affecting several hospital departments. John McKinney, director of facility management services and corporate safety officer, has assumed responsibility for the maintenance and campus police teams. Lyndsey Pittman has moved into the position of director – finance/EVS/nutrition/volunteers and has assumed responsibility for nutrition services at Atrium.

Atrium was a sponsor of first aid services provided by the Middletown Division of Fire at the Ohio Challenge, a hot air balloon festival in Middletown. Festival organizers estimated 30,000 people attended the two-day event.

Atrium President Keith Bricking, MD, was the featured speaker during the Middletown Rotary meeting July 30. In his talk, Dr. Bricking highlighted services and new technology at Atrium, as well as the hospital’s impact in the community.

Liberty Family Medicine and Premier Weight Loss Solutions joined Atrium on July 30 to promote their services at the West Chester Liberty Chamber Alliance Business Expo. More than 120 regional businesses participated in the event, which is open to chamber members and the community.

Miami Valley Hospital

Four of Wright State University’s 2019 Top 10 Clinical Faculty Educators in Emergency Medicine are Miami Valley Hospital physicians. Please join us in congratulating Andrew Hawk, MD, medical director of CareFlight Air and Mobile Services; Randy Marriott, MD, medical director of the EMS Center of Excellence; Jeremy Moore, MD; and Thomas Susec, MD.

Miami Valley Hospital is doing its part to help in combating food insecurity.  The hospital is partnering with the non-profit organization Homefull, which launched a new program by bringing a fresh fruits and vegetables stand to the hospital main campus for employees and visitors. The stand opened in the lobby of the employee entrance on July 12 and will be open each Friday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. At the launch event, Montgomery County Commissioner Judy Dodge was in attendance and spoke to the employees who gathered.

Miami Valley Hospital hosted a grand re-opening of the newly refurbished Employee Wellness Center on the main campus. The center includes updated exercise equipment from the fitness center at Good Samaritan Hospital, purchased through the Good Samaritan Foundation employee giving campaign. Revitalization of the Employee Wellness Center has been a longstanding goal of the foundation. Funds raised for the renovation were donated by Miami Valley Hospital employees during previous Miami Valley Hospital Foundation employee giving campaigns.

The Premier Health Department of Public Safety held its annual awards ceremony at Miami Valley Hospital. Several team members from the department and other Premier Health departments were recognized for outstanding achievements throughout the year. Sergeant Lonnie Lane from Miami Valley Hospital North, Officer Steve Dunkin from Miami Valley Hospital, and Dispatcher Ken Lakin from Miami Valley Hospital South received the highest honor of Team Members of the Year.

The Miami Valley Hospital Foundation marked the 30th anniversary of the Valley Classic on July 29 – the longest-running charity tournament at NCR Country Club. Over three decades, more than $4 million in proceeds has benefited numerous patient programs and units at Miami Valley Hospital, including the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Palliative Care Program, Cardiac Rehabilitation, the Shaw Emergency and Trauma Center, and many others. Remarkably, 20 longtime sponsors account for half of the $4 million total. The evening program included a salute to longstanding sponsors, planners, and past committee chairmen. New this year, special first-place trophies were awarded to the winning foursome in the recently created Women’s Division. The Valley Classic is coordinated through the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation by a 13-member volunteer steering committee, chaired for the fourth consecutive year by John Bill. Life Connection of Ohio led more than 25 other sponsors and numerous in-kind, raffle, and auction donors. Proceeds benefit diabetes patient education through the Bull Family Diabetes Center. An anonymous donor donated a butterfly chair to the Miami Valley Hospital South garden. This chair was a part of the auction at the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation Valley Classic Golf Tournament.

Miami Valley Hospital Emergency Department staff sponsored activities and collected donations for the tornado disaster effort, generating $2,000. As a result, there was a special check presentation in one of the trauma bays with Michelle Riley, CEO of The Foodbank, in attendance to accept the donation.  Miami Valley Hospital President Mike Uhl was also in attendance, along with Chief Nursing Officer Peggy Mark and Community Health Director Shaun Hamilton.

Miami Valley Hospital North celebrated its first anniversary of inpatient beds by hosting a tailgate party for employees.

Upper Valley Medical Center

Upper Valley Medical Center hosted a Delay the Disease™ Parkinson’s Disease Seminar on July 26 at the Miami County YMCA Youth and Senior Center in Piqua. Guest speakers were Paul Kremer and Lauren Seger, who are physical therapists certified in Delay the Disease™, an evidence-based fitness and mobility program offered at UVMC. The free seminar focused on how to cope with Parkinson’s disease by making changes in lifestyle through nutrition, exercise, and stress management.

The UVMC Diversity Committee presented a quarterly Celebrating Diverse Cultures program for the UVMC family July 10 in the hospital cafeteria conference rooms. The event – A Taste of Macedonia – was hosted by cardiologist Ristenka Prnarova, DO. It featured Macedonian history, culture, and food sampling. More than 100 employees, physicians, and volunteers attended.

An appreciation breakfast was held July 11 in the UVMC Cafeteria to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication. All employees, medical staff and volunteers were invited to enjoy a complimentary breakfast served by UVMC executives and members of management forum.

In other community outreach activities, UVMC was main stage sponsor for the Piqua Fourth of July Festival on July 4; welcome bag sponsor for the Troy Skate Club Annual Competition hosted July 11-14 at Hobart Arena; tent sponsor for the Koester Pavilion Patriotic Cookout on July 11; and booth sponsor for the Main Street Piqua Farmers Market on July 11, 18 and 25, the Troy Main Street Farmers Market on July 13, 20, and 27, the Rock Piqua Concert on July 20, and the Troy Main Street Final Friday Game Night on July 26.

A Premier Proud picnic for the entire UVMC family took place June 6. The event featured a complimentary meal, music, and activities in the hospital cafeteria and outdoor dining courtyard.

Back to the August 2019 issue of Premier Pulse