System News: November 2020
Atrium Medical Center
A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner at Atrium Medical Center features a more powerful magnet and technology to produce clearer and more detailed images from inside the body. The Magnetom Vida 3 features a 3T magnet, which provides faster examinations with better image quality in abdominal or off-center applications, according to manufacturer Siemens. The scanner also features sensors that automatically detect respiratory data for patients, decreasing the time patients must hold their breath to get a good image. Atrium’s Vida 3 is the only such MRI scanner in Butler and Warren counties. The device started scanning patients Oct. 27.
Michelle Eakins, MD, is joining Middletown Family Practice, a Premier Physician Network practice. Dr. Eakins attended American University of Antigua College of Medicine and completed her residency in family medicine at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Eakins will join Michael Robertson, MD, MBA; Matthew Stone, DO; and Ottilia Bulathsinghalage, FNP, at the practice. The practice is located at 5275 St. Rt. 122, Suite 100, in Franklin, and is accepting new patients.
With numerous safety protocols in place, Atrium Medical Center’s Brake for Breakfast remained committed to its goal of encouraging more women 40 and older to get an annual mammogram. Breakfast and breast health information were handed out to 300 people, making the 2020 event the third-highest distribution total since 2014. Radio interviews featuring Patricia Braeuning, MD, were pre-recorded this year for safety. Guy Savir, MD, shared the importance of early screenings and detection during on-site media interviews the morning of the event.
The HEAL (Help Endure A Loss) Program’s 22nd annual Walk to Remember found a virtual home this year. Atrium employees painted contributed names of children who have passed on kindness rocks, which were placed in the HEAL Memory Garden. On Oct. 15, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, a virtual “reading of names” was posted online. The 2020 virtual event video can be viewed online at HEAL2020.GiveSmart.com.
Atrium teamed up with the Middletown Police Department for a bicycle helmet giveaway for school-aged children. Several hospital departments donated new helmets for the effort, which was held in memory of a Middletown City Schools fourth grader killed in a bicycle accident. Atrium employees fitted children for new helmets and passed out bicycle safety information during the two-hour drive-up giveaway that attracted about 300 children.
Miami Valley Hospital Campuses
The Miami Valley Hospital Foundation received a grant for $25,000 from the Mathile Family Foundation for general operating support for Promise to Hope, which provides compassionate treatment for pregnant women with substance abuse disorder. Since the program’s inception in mid-2015, more than 515 moms have enrolled in Promise to Hope. This is the third grant awarded to the program by the Dayton-based Mathile Family Foundation.
Panera Bread locations in the Dayton area selected the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation and Pink Ribbon Girls as the beneficiaries of its Pink Ribbon Bagel sales for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout October, a portion of the proceeds from all Pink Ribbon Bagel sales was donated to each organization. At Miami Valley Hospital, proceeds fund the Help Her Fight program, which provides screenings, diagnostic testing, and education for cancer and cancer-related conditions for uninsured and underinsured women. Proceeds benefit integrative therapy programs including specialized exercises, yoga, massage, therapeutic art, and other classes designed specifically for oncology patients.
Good Samaritan Foundation-Dayton received a grant for $150,000 for a new da Vinci Xi system at Miami Valley Hospital North. This state-of-the-art technology in surgical robotics was made possible by the Maxon Foundation and U.S. Bank. Providing minimally invasive surgery, the da Vinci Xi system is used for a variety of complex procedures. The Maxon Foundation has a special interest in providing grants for technologically advanced equipment that increases access to care and provides safer outcomes for patients.
As part of its annual nursing recognition activities, Premier Health presents a Lifetime Achievement Award for nursing. This year’s recipient is Rosa Lee Weinert, who still holds her nursing license at age 91. Weinert is an alumna of the Good Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing.
Miami Valley Hospital is enrolling patients in the REGN-COV2 study, Regeneron’s investigational COVID-19 antibody treatment for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who are hospitalized or recovering at home. The hospital is the only clinical site in Ohio participating in both the hospitalized and outpatient trials. President Donald Trump received a dose of REGN-COV2 following an “expanded access” request from the president’s physicians. REGN-COV2 is an investigational antibody cocktail that is in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19. It consists of two potent, complementary virus-neutralizing antibodies and was designed specifically to target the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus. Preliminary data released by Regeneron showed that REGNCOV2 reduced viral levels and time to alleviate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Joseph Allen, MD, continued presentations to local school districts on safely returning to in-person learning. Virtual presentations in October were made to the faculty and staff of the Dayton Regional Stem School and to Dayton Early College Academy. Also, Roberto Colón, MD, was the keynote speaker for the Dayton Rotary Club membership. Dr. Colón gave a detailed update on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.
New campus banners have been installed on all campuses. The new banners highlight the key clinical differentiators and recognitions.
Upper Valley Medical Center
Upper Valley Medical Center emergency services hosted a mass casualty training Oct. 21-23 with classroom education and training activities for Troy, Tipp City, and Elizabeth Township EMS squads. Upper Valley Career Center students also participated as “victims” and received important education on trauma prevention. The event was featured on WHIO-TV as well as in local print media.
The Upper Valley Medical Center Cardiac Catheterization Lab underwent an intense two-day survey by the Ohio Department of Health on Oct. 5 and 6. The survey, part of the routine tri-annual review process, included medical record review, policy review, cath lab inspection, and direct observation of a procedure by the surveyor. The survey was very successful with no citations issued and very positive comments by the surveyor regarding the performance of the staff.
A major upgrade to the pneumatic tube system at Upper Valley Medical Center was completed in mid-October. The new system is designed to provide enhanced features, reliability security and workflows. The UVMC Foundation secured funds via the Stouder Memorial Foundation to fund the project.
Scott Kanagy, DO, MBA, chief medical officer at Upper Valley Medical Center, was interviewed Oct. 26 on Troy Radio 107.1 and Piqua WPTW 98.1. Topics included a COVID-19 update, Premier Brake for Breakfast events, breast cancer diagnostics, and the advantages of the Premier/MD Anderson relationship.
Communications were launched in late October for new pediatrician Shelsea Johnson, MD, who joined the Pediatric Group in Piqua.
Premier Physician Network
The Liver Cancer Center of Ohio is now a part of Premier Surgical Oncology, a Premier Physician Network practice. The center brings together some of the area’s top interventional radiologists and surgical oncologists to offer coordinated care in conjunction with a patient’s other care providers.
PPN patients can now check in for their appointments in their MyChart account before arriving at their provider's office. With eCheck-In, they can securely sign their appointment paperwork, fill out medical questionnaires, verify their insurance, and pay their copay. eCheck-In will reduce time in our waiting rooms and help keep our PPN offices safer for everyone.
Aaron Block, MD, C. Joe Northup, MD, and Melinda Ruff, MD, were all nominated by members of the Dayton community as finalists in the Best Physician category of the Best of Dayton awards.
PPN patients can now opt in to receive text message appointment reminders. In the first two weeks of enabling this new feature, hundreds of PPN patients signed up.
Leelmohan Ravikumar, MD, from Upper Valley Family Medicine was interviewed by WHIO Channel 7 about the long-term recovery of one of his patients, Amy DeVos, a UVMC respiratory therapist.
Brian Schulze, MS, RRT-NPS, RPSGT, is now the Vice President of Primary Care for Premier Physician Network, effective Oct. 11.
Back to the November 2020 issue of Premier Pulse
