System News: June 2021

Atrium Medical Center

Atrium Medical Center was selected by Cincy Magazine as a 2020 Greater Cincinnati Nonprofit of the Year award winner in the Emergency Room Care category, honoring the many nonprofit organizations that make an impact in Greater Cincinnati. Kim Hensley, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer, Atrium Medical Center, presented a plaque to the Emergency Department staff acknowledging their efforts.

Atrium President Keith Bricking, MD, was the guest speaker at the May monthly business luncheon of the Chamber of Commerce Serving Middletown, Monroe, and Trenton. Dr. Bricking’s presentation, “The Current Landscape of Health Care,” touched on Premier Health’s partnership with Butler County RTA to offer free rides to COVID-19 vaccination clinics; COVID success stories; efforts toward vaccine equity; changes to health care since COVID; future digital strategies in health care; and growth of the Premier Physician Network in the area.

Nearly 100 people visited Atrium Medical Center’s sports medicine and physical therapy office at Countryside YMCA in Lebanon during the annual Healthy Family Day event. Countryside and Atrium partner on the event, which offers free fitness classes and a health fair for visitors. Those who passed through Atrium’s space at the venue received information about the hospital’s services. The Mobile Mammography coach was also on-site for appointments.

Atrium’s CenteringPregnancy® program was highlighted during a presentation to the Middletown Kiwanis Club. Danielle Hunter, a certified community health worker at Atrium Maternal Health Clinic, shared information about the prenatal support program that started in 2017 at the clinic located on Atrium’s campus. CenteringPregnancy® is grant-funded and meant to help reduce infant mortality rates in the area.

Nearly 150 golfers enjoyed a day at Wildwood Golf Club in Middletown to support the annual James A. Combs Golf Tournament. The event raises more than $20,000 that benefits both the Atrium Medical Center Foundation's Dr. E. Ronald Oches Endowment for Children and the James A. Combs and O.K. Klafter Nursing scholarships, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Middletown.

Atrium’s Trauma Outreach team joined CareFlight to present an important safety message to students at Franklin and Middletown high schools prior to the spring celebration season. A mock crash reinforced the message of safe driving to students. The Trauma Outreach team also organized a kick-off event for Click It or Ticket as part of Warren County Safe Communities Coalition.

Miami Valley Hospital Campuses

Miami Valley Hospital employees participated in a special photoshoot to document heartfelt messages honoring the late Mukul Chandra, MD, FACC. These images will become part of a larger video project that will air during the Go Red for Women virtual event in June. 

Later this year, the former “Reach Out” building at 25 E. Foraker Street will be named in honor of Mukul S. Chandra, MD, FACC. The renovated space will be used by the Cardio and Pulmonary Rehabilitation department. The Miami Valley Hospital Foundation has begun a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of renovating the existing building, purchasing new equipment and technology, and to allow for future expansion of the rehab program. In addition to providing more room, the facility will be much more convenient for patients than the existing space in the Weber Building on the main campus.  

A new clinic serving the community’s most vulnerable homeless population has opened thanks to more than $114,000 in contributions. Good Samaritan Foundation - Dayton and Samaritan Health Center have partnered to build a clinic inside St. Vincent de Paul Gateway Shelter for Women and Families. As part of the community support for this project, a very generous donation came from Jeff and Connie Sawdey in appreciation of the care received by Jeff’s brother, Michael, at Samaritan Health Center. The new clinic will be known as the Michael Sawdey Samaritan Clinic for Women and Families. Constructing clinics inside homeless shelters is the single most impactful way to increase access to health care for homeless women and children. Five Rivers Health Centers will operate the clinic, which is staffed by Samaritan Health Center providers, including a pediatrician, physician, and a women’s health specialist.

The Good Samaritan Foundation-Dayton also received two grants for the Community Paramedicine Program: a $10,000 award from the CareSource Foundation, as well as a separate grant from the SC Ministry Foundation. Funded initially by the Good Samaritan Foundation, the program is a partnership between Premier Health and the City of Dayton Fire Department that provides personalized support for patients in need of in-home care, but do not qualify for existing home health programs. 

The marketing/communications team spent a great deal of time pitching to the media Nurses Week stories. The targeted pitch was to feature Christie Gray, MS, APRN, CNS, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer, Miami Valley Hospital. Christie talked with several media outlets about leading a team of nurses during a pandemic while going through her personal battle with cancer. Later in the month, this team shifted its efforts to push media awareness for Stroke Awareness Month. This outreach featured a patient from Jeffersonville who received great care at the Jamestown Emergency Department and Miami Valley Hospital. 

Upper Valley Medical Center

In May, Upper Valley Medical Center was named a recipient of Healthgrades’ Patient Safety Excellence Award™ and Outstanding Patient Experience Award™. This is the fifth consecutive year for the Patient Safety Excellence Award,™ which ranks UVMC among the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for patient safety and is based on inpatient data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review database and software from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The Outstanding Patient Experience Award is based on data collected from surveys of the hospital’s patients and places UVMC in the top 15 percent of hospitals in the nation for patient experience. 

Paul Weber, MD, pediatrician with the Pediatric Group in Miami County, joined Scott Kanagy, DO, MBA, chief medical officer of Upper Valley Medical Center, on Troy Power 107.1 Radio and Piqua WPTW Radio morning show interviews May 24 to discuss UVMC’s Level II Special Care Nursery, neonatal video conferencing, and other capabilities of the UVMC maternity unit in caring for newborns.

April Anderson, MD, medical director of the Upper Valley Medical Center Emergency Department, was featured in a personality profile in the Miami County media in May. Dr. Anderson was named medical director when Miami Valley Emergency Specialists became the ED physician provider group for UVMC in late 2020. 

Upper Valley Medical Center underwent a three-year Ohio Department of Health review of radiation generating equipment in the hospital on May 18. The inspection was successful with no findings or recommendations.

Upper Valley Medical Center signed on for a series of e-blasts with the Piqua Chamber of Commerce that will be sent to all chamber members and affiliates. The first e-blast was published May 4 featuring the Premier Women’s Center including Augustina Addison, MD; Katherine Bachman, MD; Larry Holland, DO; Terence Young, MD; and their team of certified nurse practitioners.

Upper Valley Medical Center’s new Employee Fitness Center was unveiled June 1 with an introductory soft opening for staff. The center, on the west side of the cardiopulmonary rehab facility, is now open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The UVMC Foundation provided funding for the workout equipment. Celebration open house events are being planned for the summer.

As part of ongoing disaster/emergency preparedness training, the hospital’s Emergency Management Team participated in a code yellow hazmat external drill on the morning of May 14. The drill included EMS/fire responders from throughout Miami County. 

Premier Physician Network

Premier Physician Network is offering patients an additional colon cancer screening option. Although colonoscopy is the best option when it comes to colon cancer screening, many patients avoid getting one. Patients looking for an alternative, less invasive test that can be performed at home may want to discuss a Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) with their provider. It detects hidden blood in the stool, which can be an early sign of colon cancer. The launch of this important initiative was financially supported by Premier Health’s hospital foundations.

PPN was recently recognized for its exceptional work and care. PPN won Dayton Magazine’s 2021 Greater Dayton Nonprofit of the Year Award in the Best General Medical Care category. Holly Walsh, PPN human resource director, and MiLinda Zabramba, MD, Miami Valley Hospital North medical director, were both named to the 2021 Dayton Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Winners. Marc Belcastro II, who leads Premier Health’s primary care provider and advanced practitioner recruiting efforts, also was selected as a 40 Under 40 honoree. Charissa Newton, CNM, won Cincy Magazine’s 2021 Family Choice Award for the Best Doula Midwife in the Family Health category. Additionally, six members of our PPN team were named to Premier Health’s Wall of Excellence: Anita Hammon, Anthony Hudson, Tiffany McElrath, Melanie Miller, Toni Reed, and Kyle W. Smith.

Congratulations to our PPN winners, and to each member of our PPN team whose commitment to excellence has contributed to this worthy recognition.

Back to the June 2021 issue of Premier Pulse