Trinity Medical Center has been named one of the nation’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. The hospital was recognized by The Joint Commission for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, stroke and venous thrombo embolism, as well as inpatient psychiatric services.
Trinity is one of 620 hospitals in the U.S. earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance. Trinity was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2011 calendar year. The list of Top Performers represents 18 percent of more than 3,400 eligible accredited hospitals reporting data.
Each of the hospitals named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures met two 95 percent performance thresholds. First, the hospital achieved performance of 95 percent or above on the composite score that includes all the accountability measures for which it reported data to The Joint Commission for calendar year 2011. Second, recognized hospitals met or exceeded a 95 percent performance target for each and every accountability measure for which they reported data to The Joint Commission, excluding any measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases.
A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities to provide the practice.
UAB Opens Adult Spina Bifida Clinic
Not so very long ago, there were few doctors outside the ranks of pediatricians who treated adults with cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome or spina bifida. That’s because there were few adult patients with those congenital conditions since most died in childhood or in their teen years.
That has changed with advances in science and medicine that have led to dramatic increases in life span for patients with these conditions. Within the past few years, the UAB has opened adult clinics for cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome. The most recent adult-transition clinic is for adult patients with spina bifida.
Spina bifida is a congenital disorder in which the brain or spinal cord, and/or their protective coverings, fail to develop properly due to the failure of the fetus’s spine to close during the first month of pregnancy. The resulting nerve damage is permanent, leading to varying degrees of paralysis of the lower limbs.
“It is now the norm for our kids to go on to adulthood,” says Jeffrey Blount, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon with UAB and Children’s of Alabama. “There are still challenges to be sure, but we are seeing the majority of our kids now making it through adolescence and going on to require adult care.”
Which begs the question: Where will they go? Children’s of Alabama hosts one of the largest, spina bifida clinics in the nation. But it’s designed for children, rather than adults.
“We had this aging population of patients with spina bifida that did not have good access to adult health care,” says Betsy Hopson, director of the Children’s and UAB clinics. “It really wasn’t suitable to see them in a children’s institution anymore.”
Blount and Betsy Hopson, director of the Children’s and UAB clinics, turned to UAB, where the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation had begun seeing a few older spina bifida patients for rehabilitation. But for most patients, rehab expertise isn’t the only need. Most require the care of urologists to guard against renal failure, a common complication. Many spina bifida patients have a shunt draining spinal fluid from the brain and need to be followed by neurosurgeons.
The adult spina bifida clinic, housed in UAB’s Spain Rehabilitation Center, brings the three key specialties together in one place, and can tap into the rest of UAB’s medical expertise as needed.
“It’s one-stop shopping for a patient. They go into an exam room and see neurosurgery, urology and rehab medicine,” says Hopson.
Medical West Receives Governor’s Approval to Purchase Interventional Cath Services
Medical West, an affiliate of UAB Health System, has received approval from the State Health Coordinating Council to proceed with plans to expand Cardiac Catheterization services at their main facility.
This approval includes an adjustment to the State Health Plan that will allow Medical West to offer Percutaneous Cardiac Intervention (PCI), which would include Cath Lab interventional procedures such as stent placement.
“We are pleased to receive approval to move forward with our vision to expand the Cardiac services for the residents of Western Birmingham and surrounding communities,” said Tom McDougal, Jr., CEO and President of Medical West. “This is an exciting accomplishment for Medical West and great news for our community.”
Medical West has filed their letter of intent for a Certificate of Need (CON). Following approval from the CON Review Board, Medical West will begin renovations and expansion of their current Cardiac Cath Lab.
New Car Tag Will Help Fund Diabetes Care at Children’s
A specialty car tag that will help fund diabetes research and care for patients at Children’s of Alabama is now available for pre-purchase through the Alabama Department of Revenue.
The Hope for Kids with Diabetes tag will be produced once the state of Alabama receives 1,000 commitments for purchase before Oct. 31, 2013. The specialty tag will cost $50, with $41.25 from each purchase directly benefiting pediatric endocrinology at Children’s of Alabama. Proceeds will help fund patient care, physician training and research for the thousands of young Alabamians growing up with diabetes.
To commit to purchasing a Hope for Kids with Diabetes car tag, applicants must complete an “Intent to Purchase” form with the Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles. Tags may be personalized at no extra charge.
UAB School of Nursing gets $1.1M to grow mental health workforce
The UAB School of Nursing has received a three-year, $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to help put more psychiatric nurse practitioners into the workforce, and for interprofessional education for both nurse practitioners and health informatics professionals in the use of technology to manage psychiatric conditions.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 187,000 adults in Alabama live with serious mental illness, and more than 51,000 children in the state live with serious mental health conditions. This includes schizophrenia, dementia, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Currently, approximately 300 psychiatrists and 50 psychiatric nurse practitioners care for this population.
In the past 15 years, the Alabama Department of Mental Health has been moving toward community-based treatment and has closed 10 hospitals. The department says that by 2016, 25 percent of state-operated psychiatric hospital acute care services—meaning the first 90 days of involuntary commitment—will be transitioned to community-based programs.
The primary goal of this grant is to not only increase the number of primary mental health nurse practitioners to help meet the mental health care needs of rural and underserved populations in Alabama and Mississippi with serious mental illness, but also to train the nurse practitioners to help lead interprofessional teams in these community-based programs to provide care that is timely, efficient, safe and person-centered, says the grant’s principal investigator, Teena McGuinness, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, professor of nursing.
Trinity Medical Center Deploys New Patient Monitoring Technology
Trinity Medical Center has installed Masimo Patient SafetyNet™ to support clinicians in their work to monitor special patient conditions.
The new technology tracks the underlying physiological conditions of high-risk patients and detects changes and abnormalities that signal declining health status in real time. When the patient’s condition deteriorates, the system automatically sends wireless alerts directly to clinicians – prompting a potentially lifesaving response to the patient’s bedside. The system consists of pulse oximetry, patient-tolerant and easy-to-use ventilation monitoring, and remote monitoring and notification to keep clinicians connected to patients.
“Incorporating new technologies plays a key role in nurturing our culture of patient safety,” said Keith Granger, President and CEO of Trinity Medical Center. “Our clinicians are finding this equipment to be a valuable tool as we work to continue to improve patient care.”
Medical West Adds Senographe®
Medical West has recently added the Senographe® Essential full-field digital mammography system from GE Healthcare. The Senographe Essential full-field digital system is designed to perform high-quality mammograms. It performs a wide variety of breast procedures including screenings, diagnostics, interventions.
In addition to the new digital system, the Medical West mammography area has been renovated with hardwood flooring, decor and updated exam rooms.
Both traditional mammography and digital mammography use low-dose X-rays, but with digital mammography, the output is read digitally on a computer.
Digital mammography allows for faster and more accurate stereotactic biopsy, which in turn results in shorter examination times and improved patient comfort. Digital images can be more easily adjusted to improve the contrast of normal and abnormal breast tissue, magnified for closer inspection, and more conveniently stored facilitating comparisons over time. Digital mammography also provides more accurate results on younger women and women with denser breast tissue.
Benjamin Rogers, MD Joins Cullman Regional
Benjamin Rogers, MD has joined the Cullman Regional Medical Center Medical Staff. He is a graduate of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan and he received his medical degree from the UAB School of Medicine. Rogers completed his postdoctoral training in Internal Medicine with Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Rogers has served on the Honor Council for UAB’s School of Medicine and has been actively involved in the Christian Medical Ministry of Alabama where he has served as both a small group leader and student trip leader on medical missions to Honduras and Trinidad respectively. He received the award for Outstanding Senior Man at Hillsdale College and was an Honors Fellow at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
Rogers is joining Cullman Internal Medicine with Lane Friedman, MD; Michael Hall, MD; Melinda Hart, MD; James Hoover, MD; Allison Newman, MD; William Peinhardt, MD; Ernest Anthony Ruse, Jr., MD; Naykala Ruse, MD.; and Anthony Rutledge, MD; and Jeremy Stidham, MD.
Information on Hospital Infections Now Available to the Public
Alabamians now have access to information on healthcare-associated infections as reported by the state’s hospitals. The report, published by the Alabama Department of Public Health, provides hospital-specific infection data for several types of infections and can be found at www.adph.org/hai
“The law requiring hospital infection reporting was passed in 2009,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. “Since then, we have worked with our advisory council to develop a program that will provide good information to consumers and will allow providers to have comparisons for benchmarking.”
Dr. Williamson added that the report should not take the place of discussions between patients and their physicians when choosing a hospital. “While this report is important and helpful, it should not be used as the sole factor in selecting a hospital,” Dr. Williamson said.
Keith Granger, CEO of Trinity Medical Center and chairman of the Alabama Hospital Association’s Quality Task Force, expressed support for the legislation, stating that hospital leaders are committed to a strong infection prevention program.
“Our first report is very positive,” added Dr. Williamson. “When compared to the rest of the nation, Alabama’s hospitals performed better than the national average on three of the four categories reported and similar to the national average on the other.”
UAB Distinguished Professor David B. Allison Elected to Institute of Medicine
David B. Allison, PhD, Distinguished Professor and associate dean for science in the UAB School of Public Health has been elected to the Institute of Medicine. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM is recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. Membership is reserved for individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.
Allison’s selection adds his name to a roster of nearly 30 current and past UAB researchers who have achieved this prestigious distinction.
“I’m absolutely thrilled. I wasn’t expecting this and I am deeply gratified,” says Allison, who was selected along with 69 other new members and 10 foreign associates.
New IOM members are elected by current active members. The highly competitive process is designed to honor individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.
“UAB is extremely proud of this well-deserved honor for Dr. Allison,” says Richard Marchase, PhD, interim president of UAB. “It is an affirmation of his national leadership in obesity research and prevention.”
Allison, who is internationally renowned for his work in obesity and statistical genetics, has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers and has made contributions in the field of obesity research that have been widely noted by academicians, federal agencies, industry leaders and colleagues. At UAB, he also serves as the director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center and the Office of Energetics.
Huntsville Hospital ranked #One in Alabama for Cardiac Surgery
Huntsville Hospital has been ranked the number one hospital in Alabama for cardiac surgery for the second year in a row, according to Healthgrades, an independent consumer source of hospital quality outcomes. Huntsville Hospital’s cardiac surgery program was rated five stars, the highest rating the organization provides.
The latest recognition is included in the findings released recently in American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, which evaluates the performance of approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Huntsville Hospital was also rated five stars for valve surgery and coronary interventional procedures for 2013.
DCH Home Health Care Agency Named to the Top 500
DCH Home Health Care Agency has been named in the top 500 of the nation’s more than 10,000 Medicare-certified home health agencies, placing it in the top five percent of the home health agencies in the United States by a national health care information company.
Now in its seventh year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of agencies and further highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Winners are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, process measure implementation, patient experience, quality improvement and financial performance.
“The 2012 HomeCare Elite winners demonstrate a commitment to providing patient-centered care and serving as leaders in the home health community. Their success offers data-driven proof of being well-managed and high quality care providers to hospitals, managed care organizations, ACOs, and other potential referral partners across the health care continuum,” said Susan L. Henricks, president and COO of National Research Corporation, the parent company of OCS HomeCare.
“We’ve ranked in the top 25 percent in the nation since the study began in 2006, and this is the fifth time we’ve been named in the top 100 or 500 home health agencies in the nation,” said Marcia Bailey, director of DCH Home Health Care Agency. “Our patient satisfaction scores have also been among the highest in the country for several years.”