System News: August 2024

Atrium Medical Center

Atrium Medical Center has been named to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Hospitals ratings as “high performing” for heart attack and stroke treatment. This is the highest distinction a hospital can earn for U.S. News & World Report’s annual ratings, designed to assist patients and their health care providers in making informed decisions about where to receive care for health conditions or elective procedures.

Atrium and Atrium Medical Center Foundation hosted its annual HEAL Walk to Remember on July 13. More than 300 registered participants walked from the Atrium Family YMCA to the HEAL Garden. For more than 25 years, Atrium’s HEAL, or Help Endure a Loss, program has provided free support to families grieving the loss of a child.

Atrium was joined by Premier Health’s Department of Public Safety and CareFlight at Middletown’s National Night Out event on July 30. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie.

Atrium Medical Center Foundation hosted a special gathering on July 23 to celebrate 40 years of generous giving to the foundation and Atrium Auxiliary of Middletown’s scholarship program. Dedicated donors and proud scholarship recipients were honored during the event.

Atrium administration hosted an employee picnic on July 23 to celebrate employees' hard work and dedication. The nutrition services department provided a summertime feast, and Atrium’s Fun Committee organized games and relaxation activities in the hospital courtyard. 

In other community relations activities: Atrium sponsored Middletown’s Independence Day festival and fireworks; Premier Community Health offered free health screenings at the Franklin Farmers’ Market; Atrium was a sponsor of the Ohio Challenge hot air balloon festival in Middletown; Atrium representatives promoted services at the West Chester-Liberty Chamber Alliance’s business expo and the Butler County Social Services Resource Expo in Fairfield; and Solvita returned to Atrium in July for its monthly blood drive.

Miami Valley Hospital

Miami Valley Hospital placed ninth among all Ohio hospitals in the latest annual rankings released in July by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital was ranked “high performing” in 12 areas of care: aortic valve surgery; colon cancer surgery; COPD; heart bypass; heart failure; hip replacement; knee replacement; leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma; maternity care (uncomplicated pregnancy); pneumonia; prostate cancer surgery; and stroke. The distinction includes Miami Valley Hospital North and Miami Valley Hospital South.

Miami Valley Hospital and Miami Valley Hospital South received the Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

In July, Miami Valley Hospital Foundation received a more than $193,000 grant from the Montgomery County Direct and Opioid Settlement Funding Opportunity to expand Promise to Hope. This program supports local drug—and alcohol-addicted mothers and their babies, from the initial identification of addiction to several months postpartum, with the goal of keeping mother and child together in a stable home environment.

Miami Valley Hospital Foundation recently opened the Butterfly Room at the Berry Women’s Center near the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The new space, designed to offer support to parents and families facing the death of their infant, features a crib, an armoire filled with baby clothes and blankets, a baby bath, and comfortable seating, providing a home-like environment.

Miami Valley Hospital Foundation hosted the annual 1890 Society donor reception to celebrate significant donors and how their gifts are making a difference. This year’s speakers included Chad Whelan, MD, president and chief operating officer, Miami Valley Hospital and Premier Health; Amanda Musser, system vice president of oncology services, Premier Health; Mohamedkazim Alwani, MD,  reconstructive plastic surgeon in head and neck oncology; and Sophia Dillhoff, nurse manager of the Dr. Chandra Center.

Celebrating 35 years, Miami Valley Hospital Foundation’s Valley Classic golf tournament teed off at NCR Country Club. Since the event’s inception, the Valley Classic has raised more than $4 million to support vital hospital programs and services. For more than a decade, the golf tournament has supported diabetes education at the Bull Family Diabetes Center. This year’s 35th-anniversary tournament hosted more than 150 golfers.

Miami Valley Hospital Practitioner Wellness Committee hosted a night out with the Dayton Dragons. View all the pictures here.   

Upper Valley Medical Center

UVMC was awarded 2024 quality recognition for Stroke Treatment from the American Heart and Stroke Associations in July. The hospital earned Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll for applying the most up-to-date, evidence-based treatment guidelines to improve patient care and outcomes in the community it serves.

UVMC hosted the Troy Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Leadership Troy class on July 10 for a program focused on local and regional health care. Trish Wackler, chief nursing and operations officer at UVMC, presented an overview of Premier Health, followed by a regional health care overview by Lisa Rindler, vice president of Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association. Duanna Osting, UVMC's foundation president, reported on recent foundation projects and provided the group with tours featuring several UVMC departments.

Members of UVMC leadership, Miami County Public Health, and other representatives of social services organizations participated in a Miami County Community Health Assessment (CHA) Steering Committee meeting on July 11 to review survey results, which will be used in formulating a new Community Health Improvement Plan.

UVMC leadership members attended an open house for YMCA members and donors on Aug. 3 at the new Miami County YMCA-UVMC/Premier Health branch in Piqua. UVMC is the official health partner at the facility, offering on-site health and wellness services and programs.

In other community activities, UVMC sponsored the Piqua Optimist Bob Mikolajewski Memorial 5/10-K Run/Walk, held in downtown Piqua on July 13; the Piqua Chamber of Commerce Annual Ambassador Golf Outing on July 22; the Edison State Community College Scholarship Drive on July 26; the Riverside Miamibucs Triathalon in Troy on July 28; the RT Industries Give to Give fundraiser that launched July 28 at Riverside in Troy; and a blood drive hosted by Solvita on July 18.    

UVMC Administration hosted a barbecue picnic for the UVMC family on July 17 to celebrate everyone’s hard work and dedication. Hospital executives and management team members served staff at the event and recognized the nutrition services team for all the extra effort it took to prepare a delicious summertime feast. 

Premier Physician Network

Welcome to PPN’s new physicians and APPs who joined us at our July 17orientation! Please help us welcome Stephen Fuqua, DO, Clinical Neuroscience Institute – MVHS; Christiana LaBarca, APRN, ACNP-BC, Premier Cardiovascular Institute – MVH;  Madison Luebke, FNP, Magnolia Women’s Health; Amy Rismiller, PA, Miami County Surgeons; Andrew Murray, DO, Premier Cardiovascular Institute – Troy; Manisha Patel, MD, Greater Dayton Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgeons; Kristina Winner, Social Worker and Counselor, Berry Health Center  ̶  OB-GYN Clinic; and Iqra Mian, MD, Clinical Neuroscience Institute – MVHS.

PPN’s Primary Care Medical Director, Joseph Allen, MD, was recently interviewed by agilon health, inc., our long-term partner who shares our commitment to providing high quality, cost-competitive health care. The July 5 interview explores current dynamics shaping the primary care environment and how our partnership with agilon health offers additional resources for physicians and APPs that help improve patient care. Check out this interview on agilon’s website, titled Q&A with Dr. Joseph Allen: Getting Back to the Heart of Primary Care.

David Cha, MD, joined Premier Health on August 5, 2024, as our associate chief medical information officer. Dr. Cha earned his medical degree from Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, completed an Internal Medicine Residency through WSU, and completed much of his clinical training at Miami Valley Hospital. He recently completed a Clinical Informatics Fellowship through Kettering Health, where he worked on numerous projects, bringing key innovations to streamline documentation processes. He is passionate about reducing the burden of documentation for our providers and enhancing the efficiency of clinical workflows. Clinically, Dr. Cha works in Primary Care at Belmont Physicians as part of Premier Physician Network, and administratively, he has office space at 110 N. Main and reports to Walter Reiling, MD, system chief medical information officer.  

Back to the August 2024 issue of Premier Pulse