Fernandez Joins Cullman Internal Medicine
Cullman Regional Medical Center announced that Rheumatologist Celia Fernandez, MD has joined Cullman Internal Medicine.
Fernandez has worked at Jupiter Medical Group in Jupiter, Florida since 2007. She was employed with Family Arthritis Center in Jupiter, Florida from 2004 to 2007. She has also worked in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology with Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter, Florida; Mariner’s Hospital in Tavernier, Florida; and Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon, Florida. She worked as a Rheumatologist for the Institute for Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery, LLC and in private practices.
Fernandez served as a Rheumatology Fellow at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1987, a Medical Resident at Cooper Hospital University Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey in 1985 and a Psychiatry Intern at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1982. She completed her doctorate at Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1981.
Fernandez is a fellow of the American College of Rheumatology and a member of the Catholic Medical Association. She is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and the subspecialty of Rheumatology.
Princeton Baptist Bariatric Center Named Center of Excellence
Princeton Baptist Medical Center’s Comprehensive Bariatric Center has earned the designation as an Optum™ Center of Excellence (COE) indicating that the Center meets or exceeds nationally recognized standards of care.
To be considered as an applicant for the COE network, facilities are evaluated by a group of more than 100 practicing clinical experts and include the following categories of assessment: procedural volume and associated outcome; stability of the team and the ability of the back-up team; projected trends and technological advances in the specific field of medical science; and overall commitment to the field through the synergy of multiple related programs within the medical center.
The Princeton Comprehensive Bariatric Center offers a range of medical weight loss solutions, including Optifast, educational sessions about the surgical treatment of morbid obesity and bariatric surgical approaches, preoperative and postoperative nutritional and exercise counseling, surgical procedures, support group meetings and surgery after-care.
Dodd Joins DCH
Gentry C. Dodd, MD, has joined the DCH Center for Occupational Health.
Dodd, an Indianapolis native, is a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. As an expert in the musculoskeletal system, Dodd will help return patients to full function at work by treating injuries related to trauma or repetitive motion. He will perform injection therapy for certain injuries, a new service for the DCH Center for Occupational Health.
Dodd received his medical degree and completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. He received his bachelor of arts in chemistry from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Trinity Earns Top Performer Recognition
Trinity Medical Center has been recognized as a 2013 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States. Trinity was recognized for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance for Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Pneumonia and Surgical Care measure sets. Trinity is one of 1,224 hospitals in the United States to achieve the 2013 Top Performer distinction.
The Top Performer program recognizes hospitals for improving performance on evidence-based interventions that increase the chances of healthy outcomes for patients with certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, stroke, venous thromboembolism and perinatal care, as well as for inpatient psychiatric services and immunizations.
Trinity Medical Center is one of only 314 hospitals nationally to achieve the Top Performer distinction for the past three consecutive years.
To be a 2013 Top Performer, hospitals had to meet three performance criteria based on 2013 accountability measure data, including:
• Achieving cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;
• Achieving performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there were at least 30 denominator cases
• Having at least one core measure set that had a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had a performance rate of 95 percent or above.
“We understand what matters most to patients at Trinity is the quality and safety of the care they receive. That is why we have made it a top priority to improve positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes. We are proud to be named a Top Performer,” said Keith Granger, President and CEO of Trinity Medical Center.
Physicians Join CVA
Three new physicians have joined Cardiovascular Associates (CVA). Alfred W.H. Stanley, Jr., MD, Saji C. Jacob, MD and Benjamin R. Plaisance, MD, MPH, were formerly in practice as Cardiovascular Consultants of Alabama.
“We’re pleased and honored that this respected group of cardiologists have joined us. Their care philosophy, experience and focus on quality outcomes align nicely with CVA and will provide a smooth integration for patients and referring physicians,” says J. Bradley Cavender, MD, CVA Chairman.
CVA will now provide additional practice outreach locations in Cullman, Winfield, North Fultondale and on the campus of Brookwood Medical Center.
“Providing high quality, coordinated care and getting our patients back to living healthy lives are at the forefront of our focus,” says Garry Gause, CEO of Brookwood Medical Center and Tenet Healthcare’s Southern Region. “We’re pleased that the collaboration between CVA and Brookwood Medical Center furthers our goals and creates a synergy that benefits our patients and our community.”
Alacare Named a Top Agency
Alacare Home Health & Hospice has been named a Top Agency of the 2014 HomeCare Elite™, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. Now in its 9th year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies and highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Winners are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, best practice implementation, patient experience, quality improvement and consistency, and financial performance. In order to be considered, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least one outcome in Home Health Compare. Out of 9,994 agencies considered, 2,501 are elite.
The award is sponsored by OCS HomeCare by National Research Corporation, the leading provider of home health metrics and analytics, and DecisionHealth, publisher of the most respected independent newsletter in the home health profession, Home Health Line.
Gillespie Named to Research Advisory Network
The Pediatric Brian Tumor Foundation has named G. Yancey Gillespie, PhD, professor in the UAB Department of Neurosurgery and co-leader of UAB’s Neuro-Oncology Program, to its new Research Advisory Network.
The members are drawn from medical centers, research institutions, nonprofit organizations and the pharmaceutical industry, and serve three-year renewable terms.
The 17 selected volunteer members of the panel will provide highly informed perspectives on the biomedical research enterprise. Gillespie will help evaluate the PBTF’s research funding priorities and guide investments.
Gillespie came to UAB in 1986 to direct brain tumor research efforts in the Division of Neurosurgery and to help establish the Neuro-Oncology Program at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. The main thrust of his research is to develop and test specific therapies for treatment of malignant brain tumors in adults and children. He is currently professor of neurosurgery with secondary appointments in the Departments of Microbiology and Cell, Developmental & Integrative Biology. Gillespie is also director of the UAB Brain Tumor Specialized Program Of Research Excellence (SPORE). UAB is one of only five institutions in the nation to hold a brain-tumor SPORE grant.
Trinity Recognized for Quality and Patient Safety
Trinity Medical Center was honored at the recent Alabama Quality Forum for outstanding work in quality and patient safety, particularly for efforts to measure progress. The hospital participated in the Alabama Hospital Association’s Hospital Engagement Network (HEN), a component of a national, three-year initiative focused on improving patient care in 10 key areas. Areas include work on infection prevention, falls prevention, reductions in readmissions and other efforts that have led to better outcomes and reduced hospital stays.
Trinity reported data on all applicable quality improvement measures during the project. All 30 hospitals participating in the AlaHA HEN were recognized at the Quality Forum, but there were 13 facilities achieving the project goal of 100 percent reporting on all applicable HEN measures.
The hospitals receiving the awards for measurement were: Clay County Hospital, DeKalb Regional Medical Center, Flowers Hospital, Greene County Hospital, Marshall Medical Center North, Marshall Medical Center South, Medical Center Enterprise, Monroe County Hospital, Pickens County Medical Center, Stringfellow Memorial Hospital, Trinity Medical Center, USA Medical Center and Walker Baptist Medical Center.
Williams Named President of the Southern Medical Association
Mark S. Williams, MD, MBA, JD, CPE has been named President of the Southern Medical Association (SMA) for 2014-2015.
Williams received his Medical Degree in 1980 from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. In 1995 he received his Master in Business Administration from Samford University. In 2001 he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law; and in 2005 he became a Certified Physician Executive by the American College of Physician Executives. Williams recently assumed the role of Chief Physician Executive for Tenet Healthcare and Brookwood Medical Center.
Previously, Williams was the Chief Medical Officer of the North Mississippi Health System based in Tupelo, Mississippi. North Mississippi is the largest rural health system in the United States and the recipient of the 2006 and 2012 National Malcolm Baldrige Award.
Williams is also Clinical Associate Professor for the University of Alabama Department of Anesthesiology in Birmingham and he has been an oral examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology for almost 20 years. He was a member of the Mississippi Hospital Association’s Medicaid Reform Committee and was also a member of Mississippi’s Physician Workforce Committee. He also serves on the Council of Medical Service for the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.
Williams became a member of Southern Medical Association in 1977. During his time with the Association, he has served as Chair of the Coordinating Committee on Quality and has represented SMA in various leadership roles including Associate Councilor from 2007-2010 and Councilor 2010-2013. He is a member and financial supporter of The Society of 1906 which provides financial support to the Research and Education Endowment Fund.
DCH Named Top Performer
DCH Regional Medical Center, Northport Medical Center and Fayette Medical Center have been recognized as a 2013 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accrediting organization for health care organizations in America.
The Joint Commission recognized the three DCH hospitals for exemplary performance in using evidence-based interventions that increase the chances of healthy outcomes for patients. DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center were recognized for their treatment of patients with heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. Fayette Medical Center was recognized for its treatment of patients with pneumonia.