System Hospital News May 2018

Atrium Medical Center

The Natural Beginnings Birth Center at Atrium Medical Center recently celebrated its 100th natural birth since the center opened at the end of 2016. Carlie and Grayson Schick of Middletown welcomed their new daughter Abigail Pearl on April 26. Natural Beginnings – the first comprehensive natural birth center in the greater Cincinnati area located within an acute care hospital – offers expectant mothers services to experience labor without traditional interventions. Housing two private natural birthing suites within the hospital’s Family Birth Center serves as an additional safety net, as nearby medical staff can respond with emergency and surgical care if necessary.

Atrium received an “A” for patient safety in the Spring 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. The Leapfrog Group, a Washington D.C.-based organization that aims to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, recently released its new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. Atrium was one of 750 hospitals awarded an “A” for its efforts to meet the highest safety standards in the United States. This is the second consecutive “A” that Atrium has received from Leapfrog for its safety efforts, and the hospital has scored a “B” or higher from The Leapfrog Group in each of its rankings for the past three years. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to approximately 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year.

The obstetrics/gynecological clinic on Atrium’s campus is now called Atrium Maternal Health Clinic. The name change comes as pediatric services at the clinic were discontinued at the end of 2017 due to other comprehensive primary care options for pediatric patients now available at federally-qualified health centers in Middletown. Atrium Maternal Health Clinic continues to see and treat Ob/Gyn patients, and offer programs such as the recently introduced CenteringPregnancy prenatal program for local moms-to-be.

Good Samaritan Hospital (closed in 2018)

Progress continues on plans to transition services elsewhere from Good Samaritan Hospital’s main campus. Premier Health recently announced that it will close the Emergency Department at Good Samaritan Hospital’s Philadelphia Drive campus at 11:59 pm on Thursday, July 19. Inpatient care will then wind down and cease in accordance with the best interests of our patients. Other notable changes include outpatient interventional radiology transitioning on May 14, and direct admits ceasing on June 15.

The Family Birthing Center at Good Samaritan Hospital suspended services on Sunday, April 15. Current and past staff, along with their families, gathered to support each other and say goodbye to a special unit that has touched many lives throughout the past 86 years. Festivities began with a standing room only service in the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Chapel, followed by a private dinner in the Seton Tower Café. Afterward, everyone, including all employees, was invited to The Family Birthing Center to enjoy cake, view a department slide show, and take a final walk through the unit. Toward the end of evening, staff posed for group photos and signed the walls, leaving their mark on hallowed ground.

Expansion of the North campus set to open July 23 will include inpatient and observation beds with 24/7 coverage; spine and joint orthopedic care; elective general surgery; and four high-acuity beds. A cardiac catheterization lab for elective and emergent cases is targeted to be available by September 30, 2018. The possibility of offering interventional radiology services is under review. The facility will open as Miami Valley Hospital North. Additionally, as of July 23 at 12:01 am, all Good Samaritan Hospital locations will move to a Miami Valley Hospital nomenclature. Be sure to save the date for a physician open house to be held Thursday, July 19, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at what will become Miami Valley Hospital North.

Miami Valley Hospital

Miami Valley Hospital South received the platinum Lifesaving Ambassador Club Award for 2017 from the Community Blood Center (CBC). Platinum status denotes 100 percent blood drive efficiency. Miami Valley Hospital was recognized as a gold level partner in the Lifesaving Ambassador’s Club, which represents 95 to 99 percent blood drive efficiency. Both sites host six blood drives each year.

Miami Valley Hospital has been selected to receive a 2018 Melvin Creeley Environmental Leadership Award from the Ohio Hospital Association, reflecting the hospital’s leadership in environmental excellence. The Melvin Creeley Award recognizes hospitals and health systems that promote sound environmental practices through the implementation of energy efficiency programs, waste reduction strategies, recycling initiatives, and other activities to preserve the health of the planet for future generations.

The Pharmacy Residency Program at Miami Valley Hospital has been accredited for six years by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Accreditation shows commitment to providing the highest level of pharmacy care to patients. The six-year accreditation status – the highest level achievable by ASHP – indicates that the hospital met the rigorous standards of a nationally recognized third party.

Upper Valley Medical Center

Upper Valley Medical Center celebrated quality review scorecard success in exceeding quality and safety goals for the month of April 2018. The hospital achieved/exceeded top decile performance in seven of the eight quality measure domains for the month.

The national Radiology Business Management Association invited UVMC Imaging Director Jacqui Rose to present at its 2018 PaRaDigm annual meeting in San Diego on April 8. Her program, “Leveraging CDS Technology Succesfully,” highlighted UVMC’s experience with CMS Appropriate Use Criteria requirements.

UVMC participated in an Edison Community College Employee Health Fair on Thursday, April 19. More than 100 college staff visited UVMC’s booth, which featured the UVMC Cancer Care inflatable colon unit, dermascan skin screenings, free blood pressure checks, and informational handouts on a variety of programs and services. The giant inflatable colon unit was purchased last year by the UVMC Foundation to help educate the community about colorectal cancer and other conditions. It proved to be extremely popular at the event. 

Back to the May 2018 issue of Premier Pulse