ProMedica Health System: INSIDE

Save the Date! 2009 Employee Service Recognition

If you celebrated a milestone year of service in 2009 (5, 10, 15, … 60), you will receive a letter from ProMedica at home at the end of March, announcing business-unit celebrations to recognize milestone employees. In April, you will receive an invitation to a Service Recognition Reception hosted by your hospital or business unit president. In response to employee feedback, these events will be held in late May. Watch for the invitation, and please reply to attend this special event celebrating you!

As in previous years, you will select a gift online to commemorate your years of service. The letter you receive will provide you with a username, password and instructions for ordering your gift online. The web site will be open for you to order your gift Thurs., April 1 – Fri., April 30. Gifts will be shipped to your home Mon., May 17 – Fri., June 18, based on when you place your order. (ProMedica Physician Group Employees: Gifts will be shipped to your work site.) New this year, you can see select gift choices in person before ordering.
View the schedule of dates, times and locations available for you to view sample gift choices.

ProMedica thanks all of our 2009 milestone employees for choosing to grow their careers with us! If you have questions about service recognition, please contact human resources or your supervisor.

ProMedica Quality Awards: Teams Tie for Top Honors

ProMedica, in conjunction with the department of Clinical Outcomes & Resource Management, has established two annual awards. The Quality Leadership Award recognizes the highest cumulative performance on the ProMedica balanced report card quality and service indicators. The Performance Improvement (PI) Team Award recognizes PI teams that demonstrate the most outstanding improvements of the year.

2009 Quality Leadership Award-recipients from BPCH with ProMedica executives

2009 Quality Leadership Award-recipients from DRMC with ProMedica executives

Bay Park Community Hospital (BPCH) and Defiance Regional Medical Center (DRMC) were co-winners of the 2009 Quality Leadership Award. The hospitals tied with the highest cumulative performances against national targets and benchmarks on more than 50 quality and service

indicators included on the ProMedica balanced report card. These indicators assess performance in the areas of patient safety, effectiveness, patient-centered care, and timeliness.

009 PI Team Award-recipients from the BPCH Surgical Care Improvement Team with ProMedica executives

2009 PI Team Award-recipients from the PCCS Cytology Processing Team with ProMedica executives

BPCH’s Surgical Care Improvement Team and ProMedica Continuing Care Services (PCCS) Corporation’s Laboratory Cytology Processing Team tied to receive the 2009 PI Team Award. The team award is given based upon the seven Baldrige Award criteria: leadership, strategic planning, customers, information analysis, workforce, process management, and results.

Congratulations to the winners of these awards, which were announced at a quality retreat held Jan. 19 at Paramount Health Care in Maumee.

Making the Right Moves To Work Smarter

Would you believe that you can put the moves of a black belt to work for you right here in ProMedica? Not the same moves as Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan; there’s another type of black belt—not a martial artist—who’s an expert in looking for ways to improve the way we work. That’s an American Society for Quality-certified Six Sigma Black Belt (ASQ-CSSBB), and we can all benefit from the same quality tools and methods these experts rely on. In fact, many ProMedica hospitals or business units, departments, physicians, and employees already do.

ProMedica’s corporate operational performance improvement (COPI) department includes two ASQ-certified black belts, as well as experts in industrial and process engineering, project management and public health. They use quality tools and methods to look at the way we currently do things and suggest ways that we could make these processes more efficient to benefit the organization, and the patients and customers we serve. This ongoing process is sometimes referred to as continuous improvement.

“Evaluating opportunities for improvement on an ongoing basis supports ProMedica’s mission, vision and values,” explains Ron Rasey, MSIE, ASQ-CSSBB, CHMM, manager, COPI. “We work with hospitals or business units to plan productivity standards annually and help them monitor progress throughout the year. We also take on special projects, at the request of executive leadership, to help meet strategic goals related to productivity or workflow.”

Jack Radomyski, Jeff Smith, Steve Marcuz, Ron Rasey, and Srikanth Peddireddy

Meet COPI

If you’re not familiar with COPI, this is the team using their skills to help our organization make continuous improvement a way of life:







   • Jack Randolph, president, Paramount Health Care, and chief merger and      acquisitions/performance improvement officer, ProMedica

   • Ron Rasey, MSIE, ASQ-CSSBB, CHMM, manager, COPI

   • Srikanth Peddireddy, MSIE, ASQ-SSBB, PMP, senior process engineer, COPI

   • Steve Marcuz, process engineer, COPI

   • Jeff Smith, PE, process engineer, COPI

   • Jack Radomyski, MPH, project coordinator, COPI

Process improvement is a team effort. COPI involves leadership and staff at all levels in the following steps to track process improvement projects to completion:

   • Define the project purpose or scope.
   • Measure baseline data on current process.
   • Analyze improvements that need to be made.
   • Improve by implementing solutions determined to address major issues.
   • Control by comparing data before and after analysis to monitor system, document results and      determine next-step recommendations.

COPI may use many quality tools to perform the steps in this process—some as advanced as a simulation computer model that mimics real-life events. COPI team members can virtually implement a change in procedure or workflow to see the results without interrupting patient care in real time. They’re currently using this simulation method to plan physicians’ surgery schedules in advance during construction of the dedicated orthopaedic hospital on the campus of Wildwood Medical Center—the first time they’ve used the computer model for a facility or department before it actually exists.

While a tool such as this may only be appropriate for large-scale projects, many other quality tools are simple enough that we can learn to use them on a daily basis to work more efficiently. You may have already utilized some of these methods without even realizing that they’re quality tools—for example, listening to customers, drafting flowcharts or check sheets, and brainstorming to generate creative ideas.

Enterprise Scheduling: Process Improvement in Action

Members of the Enterprise Scheduling department

Three – four years ago, COPI embarked on the Enterprise Scheduling project to improve the process for scheduling diagnostic imaging test appointments in ProMedica Central Region. The end result brought schedulers from two regions together and successfully improved the average amount of time a caller spends on hold from four minutes to 45 seconds and the abandonment rate, or percentage of callers who hang up due to extended wait times, from 29% to 3.8%. So, what’s the secret behind this process improvement success story? COPI project managers began by bringing together a multidisciplinary team from all of the entities involved to meet on a regular basis with a goal to standardize the scheduling process. Frontline staff later proved instrumental in helping this team develop process change, sharing their input about how to reorganize workflow in frequent one-on-one meetings.

Consolidating scheduling services for patients in Central and East Regions to increase efficiency proved to be one of the most notable outcomes of the project. The team evaluated and streamlined the process for communication between schedulers and testing departments at Bay Park Community Hospital, Flower Hospital and The Toledo Hospital/Toledo Children’s Hospital. They also drafted scripts for schedulers to communicate more effectively with patients when answering phone calls and giving directions to test sites. The information technology department helped implement fax-to-file capabilities to eliminate lost orders and integrate the scheduling and registration programs to facilitate sharing of information—an improvement later made system-wide. Physical improvements to the department better organized the schedulers’ work area.

Opportunities also arose to increase efficiencies between departments; for example, schedulers and Central Business Office staff who use the same data for different purposes streamlined the data entry processes to meet both needs without duplicating effort. COPI project managers created a spreadsheet system that Enterprise Scheduling uses to capture and monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. A new phone system allows for call audits to make sure patients get correct information and outputs reports on number of calls, average speed of answer and abandonment rates. Results are posted on a department recognition board and shared at regular team meetings to celebrate and continue Enterprise Scheduling’s success.

“Today, thanks to support from their executive project sponsors, COPI project managers and all of the staff involved, Enterprise Scheduling receives more calls and faxes than ever, and schedules more diagnostic imaging tests, all while sustaining the huge improvement we’ve made,” Havilland Miller, director, admitting/scheduling, The Toledo Hospital, boasts of her team. “The outstanding results of this project give our scheduling staff an opportunity to illustrate the tremendous value we give back to the organization.”

The process improvement team still meets monthly to resolve any barriers to scheduling patients in a timely manner and accurately. They also look for ways to continue making improvement, benchmarking other departments that provide phone-based customer service and analyzing the benefits of new scheduling applications.

“We give people the tools they need to make life easier,” Ron summarizes. “We can trudge through each day doing things the same way, or we change the way we think. COPI is here to help people look at things differently, or have that ‘Aha!’ moment.

“Performance improvement isn’t unique to our knowledge base,” continues Ron. “It can be applied to anything. Even if you’re not participating in a project with COPI, I encourage all employees to learn more about our performance improvement process.”

ProMedica University (PMU) offers three courses— PL-204 Quality: Doing the Right Things Right, SL-303: Benchmarking for Organizational Improvement and SL-305: LEAN/Six Sigma: Practical Tools

That Produce Results—for experienced leaders, as well as new managers and supervisors, who want to learn more about process improvement. As the continuous improvement initiative continues to evolve at ProMedica, PMU will work with COPI to expand its course offerings on this topic for all employees. For more information or to register for PL-204, SL-303 and SL-305, visit the “ProMedica University” department page on myProMedica (http://my.promedica.org).

Applause, Applause

PMU Recognizes Class of 2008 Graduates

PMU graduating class of 2009

Congratulations to the ProMedica University (PMU) graduating class of 2009 for their accomplishments, and many thanks to everyone whose contributions allowed PMU to offer first-class educational opportunities to more than 2,675 ProMedica employees in 2009! On Feb. 4, PMU recognized the graduating class of 2009, along with the faculty, Training Council members and staff who support PMU.

PMU graduates, faculty and Training Council members from Bay Park Community Hospital

The 2009 graduating class includes the following new supervisors and managers from across PHS who completed PMU’s 18-course ProMedica Leadership Series: Denise Baker, Vanessa Bates, Jennifer Bernath, David Brewer, Matthew Cobb, Karen Connor, Kendra Contreras, Tequila Edmond, Kristie Gallagher, Jennifer Gwin, Robert Hemminger, Glen King, Linda Knauss, Pamela Maddux, Teresa McCormick, Jeff McDaries, Terri Myers, Tim Melroy, Sara Moynihan, Heidi Shank, Daniel Stark, Mickey Ward, and Anna Woodring.

PMU also recognized Sarah Heator, a member of the graduating class of 2009 whose life was tragically lost in a motor vehicle accident on Dec. 26, 2009, in memoriam. As a supervisor at Bay Park Community Hospital, Sarah was proud to complete the ProMedica Leadership Series curriculum. Although she is no longer with us, PMU is honored to recognize Sarah’s efforts.

TTH Nurse Joins Air Force Reserve

Ron Round and Leslie Mugg

While standing at her father’s bedside after he was admitted to The Toledo Hospital’s (TTH) surgical ICU on Dec. 17, TTH employee Leslie Mugg, RN, was sworn in to the United States Air Force Reserve by Ron Round, RN, Air Force Reserve officer.

Last year, Leslie, who is a nurse in the neuro ICU at TTH, applied to the Air Force Reserve and she is now a first lieutenant and flight nurse, in addition to being a member of the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Team, based out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.

“By joining the United States Air Force Reserve, I am able to give back to our country for all of the opportunities that I have been provided,” says Leslie. As a flight nurse, she will lead a five-person aeromedical evacuation team, which prepares the aircraft for the aeromedical missions and cares for patients while in flight.

“I made the decision to join the greatest armed forces in the nation to help ensure that the freedom of the United States of America never falters,” she continues. “In the future, I hope to become a civilian flight nurse after obtaining my paramedic certification.”

TTHFMR Associate Director To Present at Conference

Shirley Bodi, MD

The Toledo Hospital Family Medicine Residency (TTHFMR) and Shirley Bodi, MD, associate director, have been invited to present two workshops at the American Academy of Family Physicians National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students, July 29 – 31, in Kansas City, Missouri. “Heart Sounds for the Family Physician” showcases TTHFMR’s experience with the CardioSim® digital heart sounds simulator and has been selected for presentation for a third year. “Living & Working in Shades of Grey’s Anatomy …What Would You Do?” focuses on ethical and professional issues and will be presented for the first time. This conference is the largest gathering of its kind in the nation.

ProMedica Business Units Named Best of 2010

The Lake Erie West Business awards program recognizes area companies whose exceptional approach has distinguished their businesses from other similar companies. Nominations and votes were cast by owners, senior executives, partners, and principals at local companies and businesses. Voters were asked to consider whether businesses met criteria such as exceptional quality of products and services, exceptional service to customers, exceptional relationship to suppliers, and/or exceptional attention to ethics in business activities and transactions.

The following ProMedica business units were recognized for their excellence in these categories:
   • Hospital: The Toledo Hospital
   • Medical Imaging/Radiology Practice: ProMedica Radiology
   • Occupational Health: OccuHealth
   • Health/Fitness Club: Wildwood Athletic Club

Kudos to the employees of these business units, whose professionalism, service and quality helped them earn this special award!

DRMC Trauma Verification Renewed

Defiance Regional Medical Center (DRMC) received re-verification as a Level III Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. The criteria to be a verified trauma center are stringent and include being able to ensure immediate availability of resources 24 hours a day including equipment, services and coordination of physicians, nurses, physical therapists, transportation agencies, and other health care agencies. The state of Ohio requires that patients who experience trauma be taken to the nearest verified trauma center to ensures the best possible outcomes. DRMC’s accreditation is good for three years, which is the longest timeframe any hospital can receive.

“We are honored that Defiance Regional Medical Center has again been designated as a trauma center,” says Karen Weaver, DRMC Emergency Center director. “Our dedicated staff and physicians work hard to ensure that we provide the best possible emergency care for our community.”

DRMC Recognized for Employee Health Initiatives

In recognition of its commitment to the health and wellness of its employees, Defiance Regional Medical Center (DRMC) received an honorable mention as a 2009 Healthy Worksite by the Healthy Ohio program. The Healthy Worksite Awards recognize Ohio employers that demonstrate a commitment to employee health by incorporating comprehensive worksite health promotion and wellness programs. A key component of Governor Ted Strickland’s comprehensive health care reform initiative, Healthy Ohio’s goal is to improve the health of all Ohioans, create a better quality of life, and ensure a more productive workforce through health promotion, disease prevention and consultations with an advisory council to create changes in the community and workplace.

“As a health care provider, we are focused on the health and wellness of our community and our employees,” says Gary Cates, president, DRMC. “This recognition acknowledges Defiance Regional Medical Center’s commitment to encourage our employees to participate in activities and initiatives that lead to a healthier workforce.”

March 2010: AHA Workforce Observances

ProMedica strives to recognize employees, physicians and volunteers throughout the year. The time and talent you give to your profession helps to advance our mission to improve the health of individuals and families in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.
View a complete list of national workforce observances, designated by the American Hospital Association (AHA).

March marks the following national workforce observances, designated by the AHA; click to learn more about each profession:
   • Athletic Training Month
   • Child Life Month
   • Professional Social Work Month
   • Registered Dietitian Day (March 10)
   • Doctors’ Day (March 30)

Did You Know … That the date of Doctors’ Day originates from March 30, 1842, when anesthesia was discovered? The red carnation is used as the symbol of National Doctors’ Day and expresses gratitude to doctors for their ability to diagnose and treat disease, advance medical knowledge and promote good health.

ProMedica’s Quality of Care Compared to National Averages

How does the quality of care provided at ProMedica Health System’s hospitals measure up to national averages? To see for yourself, log on to www.promedica.org today and click the “Quality Reports” button.

ProMedica has made extensive quality of care statistics available nationally for more than six years. Recently, though, ProMedica made its quality information even more transparent by creating a public Quality Reports section of www.promedica.org to empower consumers to make informed decisions about their health care.

With easy-to-read graphs and explanations, the quality section of www.promedica.org reports how safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, and efficient the care provided in our facilities is. It also compares our quality results to national averages.

“Our web content features the most current quality information and reflects recent improvements every six months,” offers Linda Yielding, RN, BAS, MBA, corporate director, quality, ProMedica. She explains that quality statistics on national web sites can be more than a year old due to the extensive process of collecting and cross-verifying information.

In addition to reporting quality indicators measured across ProMedica, the Quality Reports section of www.promedica.org offers links to other sources of quality information, such as the Ohio Hospital Compare web site.

In January 2010, when Ohio Hospital Compare went live, 13ABC interviewed Linda and Rebecca Zechman, RN, MSN, administrative director, patient care administration, The Toledo Hospital, about the site, which makes it easy for consumers to compare hospitals. Click here to watch the interview.

“ProMedica is supportive of statewide quality web sites and other efforts to make quality information more transparent,” states Robert Reiter, MD, associate chief medical officer, quality, ProMedica. “Making evidence-based information available to consumers will lead to better outcomes and hospital improvements.”

In addition to the public quality section of www.promedica.org that went live in October 2009, ProMedica created an internal quality section of the employee intranet that contains ProMedica’s complete quality report, including measures not featured publicly. All ProMedica employees are encouraged to review this site by logging on to myProMedica (http://my.promedica.org) and clicking “CORM (Corporate Quality)” under the “Departments” tab.

Phase II planning for ProMedica’s Quality Reports section of www.promedica.org is under way with implementation scheduled for fourth quarter 2010. This phase will include quality measures for ProMedica Continuing Care Services Corporation. Other areas are also under consideration.

For more information on quality, visit www.promedica.org.

Regional Hospitals a Necessity in Emergencies

Two expecting Lenawee County women unexpectedly found themselves in desperate need of medical care this winter. One developed a life-threatening case of the H1N1 virus and the other delivered her baby at a local police station. Both situations ended happily, thanks to swift medical attention from physicians and staff at Bixby and Herrick Medical Centers.

                 Heidi Aldridge (Photo Credit: Daily Telegram)

Heidi Aldridge’s pregnancy was five months from full-term when she came down with a cough and fever in November.

After seeking initial treatment at Bixby Medical Center, Heidi went home and began to feel better. However, five days later her condition worsened, and she returned to the Emergency Center.

Bixby Medical Center’s physicians determined that she had a case of H1N1. She was quickly transferred to The Toledo Hospital where she received an experimental treatment.

Heidi told her story to the Daily Telegram. “My fever had quit for maybe a day or two, and (on Nov 6.) it went back up to 102, so I called my OB doctor,” she said. “And, by the time I got to the hospital, it was almost 104.”

Heidi credits Victor Cherfan, DO—her ProMedica Physician Group (PPG) obstetrician/gynecologist—with insisting on transferring her within ProMedica Health System to The Toledo Hospital for treatment—a decision she believes was crucial.

That’s where doctors saved Heidi’s life, using an alternative breathing machine, called an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine. It was the first time doctors at The Toledo Hospital used it.

“If not for the machine,” William Rachwal, MD, FACS—a cardiothoracic surgeon with PPG—told the Daily Telegram, “she would have died that day.”

Denise Baker, director of obstetrics for Bixby and Herrick Medical Centers, also credits physicians at Bixby, where Heidi initially received treatment. Denise says Heidi’s examination at her hometown hospital and transfer within ProMedica Health System saved precious time.

“If Heidi had to drive 50 miles to be seen, she may have waited. Given the rapid course of her disease, that wait could have proven disastrous,” says Denise. “We as a community need to appreciate and utilize our local hospital when we need it.”

Heidi is scheduled to give birth via a C-section on March 23. Dr. Cherfan believes the baby was unaffected by Heidi’s H1N1 illness.

Katie Muysenberg only had a few precious minutes when her daughter, Ireland Clinton Earl Jones, decided to come into the world fast and furiously.

Katie and Ireland’s father, Jeff Jones, began driving to University of Michigan Health System when Katie started feeling contractions. But they never made it to Ann Arbor. The contractions were coming too quickly.

The couple told their story to the Tecumseh Herald. “I only had a couple of contractions and started feeling a little like it was time to go,” said Katie. “It all went very, very fast.”

Jeff turned the car around and they ended up at the Clinton Police Department, where only minutes later, in the hallway of the police station, Katie gave birth. From the time the couple left their home to the birth, only 25 minutes had passed.

Katie and the newborn were immediately transferred to Herrick Medical Center, where doctors finished treatment. Katie stayed at Herrick for two days after the birth of her daughter.

TTH Earns Organ Donation Award

Each day, thousands of Ohioans are waiting for an organ transplant. Thanks to The Toledo Hospital (TTH) and other area hospitals, the wait is getting shorter in northwest Ohio. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently presented TTH with a gold medal of honor for its success in increasing the number of organs available for transplantation.

TTH is one of 30 hospitals nationwide and one of two hospitals in Ohio to reach and/or exceed all three HHS Community of Practice goals. The goals consist of improving donation rates, expanding clinical processes for recovering organs, and increasing the number of organs donated per individual donor to 3.75 or higher.

“Thanks to our staff and their commitment to honor patient and family wishes with regard to organ donation, The Toledo Hospital is phenomenally increasing the number of organs we have for donation,” says Kevin Webb, PhD, FACHE, president, TTH. “In 2005, we were near the bottom of the Department of Health and Human Services’ organ donation list, but with hard work, we have managed to soar to the top. We will continue to work intensely to meet the Community of Practice goals.

“Because we are the largest acute-care facility in the region, it is imperative that we aim to be leaders in areas such as organ donation,” relays Kevin. “We have strong values here at The Toledo Hospital and as a national organ donation leader we’re exemplifying our compassion for the life of our patients.”

Last April, ProMedica Health System joined a statewide initiative to increase the number of registered donors in Ohio. By joining the statewide initiative, ProMedica is helping to heighten awareness among employees and the community about registering to become a tissue and organ donor. To become a donor, visit www.donatelifeohio.org.

In addition, ProMedica participates with organizations in Michigan to help raise awareness among employees and volunteers there about registering to become organ and tissue donors. For more information or to register to become a donor in Michigan, please visit www.giftoflifemichigan.org.

Applause, Applause

PPG Physician Serves As U.S. Team Physician

Roger J. Kruse, MD, was the U.S. team physician for the Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating, Dec. 3 – 6, 2009, in Tokyo, Japan. The U.S. team captured six medals, including two gold medals, at this event. Many of these skaters will be part of the U.S. Olympic Team in Vancouver in February 2010.

Show Your Team Spirit!

Send us your team name and attach a group photo. We’ll feature you in the next issue of Inside.

Applause, Applause

Air Force Capt. Gary Bentley; Jackie Stedman, director of operations, JVC; TSgt. Janeen Przysiecki; and Lt. Col. Steve Nordhause

JVC Receives Reserves Recognition

Jobst Vascular Center (JVC) has been recognized by the state of Ohio as a Patriotic Ohio National Guard Employer. This honor was given to JVC in recognition of its exceptional support of TSgt. Janeen L. Przysiecki, clinical resource coordinator, JVC, and Ohio National Guard Airman.

Przysiecki has been deployed twice, all the while having the never-ending support of her coworkers. It was this devotion that caught the attention of Major General Gregory L. Wayt. “The Ohio National Guard recognizes your ongoing sacrifice and is very grateful for your willingness to support those who are fighting and winning the war against tyranny,” commends Wayt.

Winners of Healthy Eating Challenge Announced

Congratulations to the nearly 300 employees who completed the ProMedica Employee Wellness Program’s Healthy Eating Challenge as of Dec. 7, 2009, in order to be entered in the final prize drawing.

“Thank you so much!,” exclaimed Stacy Skeldon, The Toledo Hospital (TTH), winner of one of three 26-inch flat screen TVs. “I have never won anything; this is very exciting. But I am more excited about what I have learned doing the challenge. I have lost 10 pounds so far and feel so much better since I have started working out four days a week.”

Additional prize winners include: 26-inch TVs—Kimmie Daniel, Fostoria Community Hospital (FCH), and Patti Kaires, ProMedica Continuing Care Services Corporation (PCCS); Wii Videogame Consoles with Wii Fit Plus—Bernadette Reinhart, FCH; Lisa Swartz, ProMedica North Region; Teresa Butler, Corporate; Shawn Zieroff, ProMedica Physician Group; iPod shuffle Music Players—Emilie Matteson, TTH; Heather Haselman, Defiance Regional Medical Center; Janet Boyers, PCCS; Ashley McMaster, Toledo Children’s Hospital; and Michelle Knight, Corporate.

Leaders Successfully Complete Mentoring

ProMedica Health System celebrated the first round of graduates participating in the system-wide ProMedica Mentoring Development Program to provide additional leadership development opportunities to employees.

Seventy senior leaders who graduated from the ProMedica Leadership Institute and completed a peer mentoring experience in 2008 were matched with mentees based on several variables, including developmental needs and career aspirations. Mentors and mentees met each month for six consecutive months—for approximately one hour—to discuss a structured agenda of questions, topics and other mentoring material provided by corporate organization development.

For more information about the mentoring program, please contact Al Bianco, PhD, vice president, corporate organization development, ProMedica, at al.bianco@promedica.org or 419-291-2858.

Michigan Best Doctors List Released

ProMedica Health System congratulates T.O. Shanavas, MD, member of the Bixby and Herrick Medical Center Medical Staffs, for being named to the 2009 – 2010 Best Doctors in America^® list for Michigan, released in December 2009. Only about 5% of doctors practicing in the U.S. are selected for this list, created by Best Doctors, Inc., based on a peer review survey of physician experts to determine which physicians provide the most advanced medical knowledge to patients with serious conditions in their chosen fields of specialty. Dr. Shanavas is among nearly 20 medical staff colleagues from ProMedica Health System previously named to the Best Doctors list for Ohio.

Critical Care Collaboration Improves Outcomes, Saves Lives

A unique partnership between bedside caregivers and the eICU^® ProMedica team is enhancing patient care, maximizing clinical outcomes and saving lives throughout ProMedica Health System.

In fact, a recent retrospective study comparing pre and post eICU^® ProMedica program implementation data demonstrates how this collaborative relationship is making a difference in the lives of our patients. The impressive results include:

• 50% reduction in ICU mortality.
• 22% reduction in ICU length of stay.
• 600 lives saved to date (APACHE-predicted minus actual deaths).

“In Ohio, there are only three hospitals/health systems that have eICU technology. ProMedica is one of those health systems. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, this technology was featured. Given the shortage of intensive care physicians, this technology has far reaching implications for stretching available physician resources. Additionally, eICU^® ProMedica has significantly improved survival and outcomes for patients in intensive care units,” says Kathy Carlson, MD, president, physician services and clinical integration, ProMedica.

Launched in June 2006, eICU^® ProMedica is a sophisticated telemedicine program which, in cooperation with hospital critical care teams, provides advanced safety measures for patients in adult ICUs by remotely monitoring patient conditions 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

From its central operations room in Conrad Jobst Tower on the campus of The Toledo Hospital/Toledo Children’s Hospital, the eICU^® ProMedica team serves ProMedica’s critical care units much like an air traffic control tower serves pilots and flight crews. Through the use of powerful computers, special cameras, microphones, and software, the eICU staff makes “virtual rounds” and responds real-time to changing patient conditions by communicating seamlessly with bedside ICU physicians and nurses.

From a patient care perspective, the partnership provides acute patients with the extra layer of support and attention they need around the clock. “It’s nice to know that someone has their eyes on your critically ill patients while you are providing care for your other patients,” says Teresa Fisher, RN, patient care supervisor, critical care unit, Bay Park Community Hospital.

Applause, Applause

ProMedica Home Health Care Named Among Nation’s Best for Quality

ProMedica Continuing Care Services (PCCS) Corporation is proud to announce that all four of its home care offices—Caring Home Health Services, Toledo; Visiting Nurse Service, Toledo; Caring Visiting Nurse, Lenawee/Monroe, Adrian; and ProMedica Home Health Care at Fostoria Community Hospital—have been named 2009 HomeCare Elite™ agencies. OCS HomeCare, the leading provider of home care information, and DecisionHealth, publisher of home care’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line conduct an annual review to identify the top 25% of agencies and highlight the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Only the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the United States receive this recognition. Winners are ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.

Marty Murray, director, ProMedica Home Health Care, credits the ranking to the experienced, professional nursing staff, whose main focus is on the quality of care delivered to patients. “Our team demonstrates a commitment to providing our patients with the best possible care while performing at the highest level,” Marty says. “All of our nurses and therapists in home care share responsibility for this award. Their efforts are recognized in publicly reported outcomes available to consumers on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Home Health Compare web site. “Additionally, this award reflects the efforts of PCCS for its diligence in ensuring that the highest quality care is provided by the team safely and cost efficiently at all times.”

“We are so proud to be among the top home care providers in the country,” Marty states.

Healthy Eating Challenge Winners Announced!

As of Nov. 15, 565 employees signed up to participate in the ProMedica Employee Wellness Program’s Healthy Eating Challenge. Of these, 316 employees completed the first four weeks of lesson plans in order to be entered into the first prize drawing. The winners are: Jillian Wagner, Maternal Fetal Medicine, The Toledo Hospital, 19-inch Flat Screen TV, and Carol Lewandowski, IT Operations, Paramount Health Care, Wii Video Game Console with Wii Fit. Congratulations to the business unit with the highest percentage of participation, Paramount Health Care—winner of the Healthy ProMedica traveling trophy—with more than 30% of employees participating in the challenge!

TCH Team Among First in Nation to Earn Certification

The following transport team nurses and respiratory therapists from Toledo Children’s Hospital’s (TCH) newborn intensive care unit were among the first 300 health care professionals in the nation to obtain subspecialty certification for Neonatal Pediatric Transport from the National Certification Corporation (NCC): Rebecca Canales, RRTC-NPT; Linda Flogaus, RNC-NPT; Stephanie Henry, RNC-NPT; Beth Kerstetter, RRTC-NPT; Cindy Killion, RNC-NIC, C-NPT; Lindsay Koontz, RRTC-NPT; Beatrice Troxell, CNP, RNC-NIC, C-NPT; and Kathleen Weber, RNC-NPT. The NCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides a national credentialing program for nurses, physicians and other licensed health care personnel.

TCH Shines in Light the Night Walk

Toledo Children’s Hospital (TCH) was represented by 70 walkers on Oct. 17, when staff and their families, TCH patients and their families, and families walking in memory of their loved ones came to Fifth Third Field for the 10^th annual Light the Night walk. The team joined walkers from across the region to help raise more than $65,000 in support of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Participants in the one-mile walk also helped TCH win the Top Fundraising Team award for the third consecutive year and push TCH’s lifetime donation to more than $11,600! For more information about The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or to donate to this year’s team, please visit www.lightthenight.org.