System News: May 2022

Atrium Medical Center

Atrium Medical Center performed its first CardioMEMS™ procedure on May 4. Himad Khattak, MD, implanted the CardioMEMS HF System, which allows remote monitoring with a tiny, wireless device permanently placed in a patient’s pulmonary artery for earlier intervention of worsening heart failure. The system detects fluid buildup before physical symptoms occur and electronically alerts Atrium’s heart failure team. This provides better data for making medication adjustments and lifestyle recommendations. The implanted device is designed for lifetime use and does not need a battery or replacement parts.

As part of continuing recruitment efforts, Atrium took part in career fairs at Lebanon and Middletown high schools. Information about volunteer and entry-level jobs was shared at Lebanon’s GapQuest event for seniors not planning to attend college immediately after graduating. Bukari Miles, Atrium’s human resources director, spoke with juniors and seniors at Middletown High School about career opportunities in health care.

Atrium and Premier Health employees, physicians, and their friends and family members picked up litter along roads near the hospital as part of Earth Day events in Middletown. Premier Health’s new CEO and president, Mike Riordan, was among the nearly 50 people participating. 

Atrium was well represented at the Preble County Business Expo. Information about Atrium’s orthopedics, cardiac, and women’s services, as well as trauma and stroke programs, was shared with the nearly 1,000 attendees during the two-day event. Premier Community Health also provided free health screenings, vaccines, and lifestyle counseling at the event.

Premier Health’s CareFlight Air and Mobile Services took part in Drive Smart, a nationally recognized mock crash program that gives high school students a real-life look at the consequences of poor choices before getting behind the wheel of a car. In the Atrium market, the Drive Smart program was presented at Fenwick High School.

In other community relations activities, Atrium sponsored the Middletown NAACP’s annual scholarship banquet, with Atrium’s chief medical officer, Andre Harris, MD, attending the event. LifeCenter Organ Donor Network shared its Wall of Life exhibit at Atrium for National Donate Life Month.

In staff-focused activities, Atrium volunteers were treated by hospital administration to a night at the movies as part of National Volunteer Week. Additionally, Anuj Goyal, MD, and the Miami Valley Association of Physicians of Indian Origin delivered doughnuts to Atrium nurses to celebrate Nurses Week.

Miami Valley Hospital Campuses

Miami Valley Hospital South has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® certification. The campus’ ENERGY STAR® score is 94, which means it is more energy efficient than 94 percent of similar properties nationwide.

Premier Health’s CareFlight Air and Mobile Services took part in Drive Smart, a nationally recognized mock crash program that gives high school students a real-life look at the consequences of poor choices before getting behind the wheel of a car. In the Miami Valley Hospital market, the Drive Smart program was presented at Franklin High School.

National Volunteer Week celebrations were held across the three Miami Valley Hospital campuses.

As part of the Premier Health Employee Giving Campaign, representatives from Miami Valley Hospital Foundation and Good Samaritan Foundation-Dayton distributed donated Double Good popcorn and Bubbl’R water to staff at Miami Valley Hospital and Miami Valley Hospital North to raise awareness about the campaign. To date, more than 14,000 bags of Double Good popcorn have been donated to Miami Valley Hospital campuses, and seven pallets of Bubbl’R have been donated by Heidelberg Distributors.

The four hospital foundations hosted their quarterly board retreat at NCR Country Club. This retreat focused on the possibility of an upcoming capital campaign for the hospital foundations. AJ Casey, from AJCasey Companies, was the presenter. She educated the group on the purpose of a feasibility study and board member responsibilities during a campaign.

Work continues on finalizing the employee garden at Miami Valley Hospital North. This garden, funded by Good Samaritan Foundation-Dayton, will give campus employees a space to relax and enjoy nature while dealing with the everyday challenges associated with health care. The celebration opening event is scheduled for May 17. Employees will be able to enjoy the new garden beginning at 11 a.m. An official community ribbon cutting ceremony will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Good Samaritan Foundation-Dayton applied for a $25,000 Wallace Foundation grant for the children’s area at the Samaritan Clinic for Women and Families at St. Vincent DePaul Dayton’s Gateway shelter. To date, $180,000 has been raised for this project.

Representatives from the Norma J. Ross Memorial Foundation and Bob Ross Auto Group delivered personal protective equipment (PPE) to Miami Valley Hospital Foundation and Good Samaritan Foundation-Dayton on April 19. This gift of PPE will be used by the oncology teams at Miami Valley Hospital, Miami Valley Hospital North, and Miami Valley Hospital South. 

Representatives from Premier Health met with the University of Dayton’s athletic department leadership team for their annual partnership meeting.  The meeting allowed Premier Health leadership to meet face-to-face for the first time in two years and to meet the new women’s basketball coach, native Daytonian Tamika Williams-Jeter.

Randy Marriott, MD, participated in a Community Blood Center event at the Centerville Police Department. This event was about the impact that the Blood Emergency Readiness Corp (BERC) has on community and hospital emergency care.

Adam Golas, MD, presented at the Springboro Speaker Series on weight loss and weight loss surgery as an option for patients.

Miami Valley Hospital President Mike Uhl and Premier Health President and CEO Mike Riordan hosted a meet-and-greet event in the hospital’s physician’s lounge to provide an opportunity for physicians to meet Premier Health’s new president and CEO, share ideas, and engage with colleagues.

Upper Valley Medical Center

The UVMC Trauma team recognized two Troy firefighter medics with an Excellence in Trauma Care Award on April 19. Pradeesh George, DO, trauma medical director; April Anderson, MD, Emergency Department medical director; and Claire Wirrig, trauma program manager, presented the award in recognition of outstanding teamwork with the hospital trauma team as well as exceptional on-site care of a trauma patient related to a serious accident last fall. The award was covered in the local media and on social media.

Jigar Patel, MD, stroke program medical director, and Ashley Heitbrink, stroke program manager at UVMC, joined UVMC Chief Medical Officer Scott Kanagy, DO, in Miami County radio interviews April 25 focused on topics related to Stroke Awareness Month in May. They shared valuable information about strokes and the importance of UVMC’s Primary Stroke Center status.

Two free menopause seminars were hosted at the Miami County YMCAs in April, featuring program presenters Ruth Claros, MD, and Augustina Addison, MD, both OB/Gyn practitioners with Premier Women’s Center practice in Piqua/Troy.

UVMC and AdCare (SpringMeade) partnered to make Premier Health the presenting sponsor of the biennial Taste of Tipp and Business Expo held April 7 at The Avenue in Tipp City and attended by more than 500 community members.

UVMC participated in the annual Edison State Community College Employee Wellness Day held April 14 at the college. Our presence included advance practice nurses providing blood pressure readings, heart/stroke education and counseling, and diabetes/nutrition education and counseling, as well as UVMC Cancer Care’s giant inflatable colon and cancer education, and general wellness and marketing handouts.

In other community activities, UVMC was a sponsor of: the Child Care Choices Storybook 5k Run/Walk held April 2 at Kyle Park in Tipp City, the Tipp City Arts Council Gallery Grand Opening held April 2 at Tipp Center in Tipp City, and the Piqua Arts Council’s annual Dancing with the Piqua Stars event held April 23 in Piqua and attended by more than 250 community members.

The UVMC Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) team participated in a West Central Ohio Medical Response Surge Exercise conducted April 20. This exercise focused on response actions including regional information sharing and response mobilization for a large community-wide surge incident based in downtown Troy. 

Premier Physician Network

The month of May is stroke awareness month, and Premier Health and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (CNSI) offer the latest treatments for unruptured intracranial aneurysms. The advancement of imaging technology and techniques has led to higher detection rates and less invasive treatment options for unruptured intercranial aneurysms (UIA). CNSI's neurointerventional team provides patients who have confirmed or suspected aneurysms with the latest in cerebral vascular imaging, surgical devices, and endovascular techniques to ensure better outcomes when repairing UIAs. For additional information or to refer new patients, please call toll free (844) 277-2894. Epic users can refer patients by searching “neurointerventional.”

In a post on the Premier Health Now blog, “Mini-Stroke At 25: What To Learn From Hailey Bieber,” CNSI vascular neurologist Steve Arkin, MD, explains what causes mini-strokes like the one suffered by 25-year-old Hailey Bieber, wife of entertainer Justin Bieber, earlier this year. Dr. Arkin also discusses what to do if you have symptoms. Explore more articles on the Premier Health Now blog.

May is the perfect time to schedule kids’ summer appointments with their PPN providers. As the school year is wrapping up, summer months will soon fill up with vacations and sports practices. Don’t wait to schedule summer appointments. Avoid the end-of-season rush and schedule your kids’ annual wellness visits, sports physicals, and required vaccines before they head back to school. Summer will be over before you know it.

Back to the May 2022 issue of Premier Pulse