HHS news-A_06_12 - Harrington Memorial Hospital

H A R R I N G T O N
Harrington
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Total Local Care
Volume 53 News for the Extended Harrington Family June 2012
M O O R E N O T E S
On The Road
To Our Towns
For The Summer
Summer has not come in
subtly. It has announced
itself with extremely high
temperatures.
We will be announcing ourselves this summer in
many of the towns we serve by participating in a
number of community events. Harrington
employees and volunteers will be telling residents
about the services we offer and handing out
promotional items.
At some of these outings, we will have our 35-foot
long Harrington On Wheels vehicle, which carries
Harrington promotional items, and which serves as
our base of operations for public events.
In recent years we have been increasing the
number of events we attend to tell the community
about the many health services we offer, not only at
Harrington Hospital in Southbridge, but at our other
medical facilities and physician offices throughout
South Central Massachusetts. We hope that by
spreading the word about all our health services in
our communities, we can help save lives.
Sincerely,
Ed Moore
President & CEO
Employees Can Earn $2,500
For Referring A Physician
Harrington HealthCare System and Harrington
Physician Services have an employee referral
program that pays an employee a referral
bonus of $2,500 if a physician we hire was
referred to us by the employee. The program
pays $1,500 for the referral of a Physician
Assistant, Nurse Practitioner or CRNA. To learn
more about the program, including the rules and
restrictions, please call Tom Trask at extension
2424 (508-764-2424 from outside the healthcare
network) or Joan Menard at extension 2441
(508-764-2441 from outside the healthcare
network). ■
We Are Refocusing Patient Care
Based On Input From Employees
Harrington HealthCare System is fine-tuning its patient care procedures based on employee input.
In January and February of this year hundreds of Harrington employees filled out the HCAHPS
survey designed by CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services). The HCAHPS (Hospital
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems) survey measures patient perceptions
about patient care and service. The HCAHPS survey is one tool that many insurance companies
use to determine the amount of our reimbursement for delivered care.
As part of the survey process, employees were asked to submit suggestions on ways that customer
service can be improved. The Customer Care Committee has reviewed all of the suggestions and
the following are some that are being implemented:
■ Keep a smile on your face, it reflects in a phone call. Be courteous. Be polite.
✓ Behavioral standards have been reviewed, revised, and approved for all employees. They
will become part of the annual appraisal process in the future.
■ Doors should be changed to automatic ones. Many are too heavy for rehab patients.
✓ Automatic doors have been ordered and/or installed in many locations to assist patients.
■ Add more signs in Spanish and other languages.
✓ More posters and communications have been translated into Spanish and Polish for our
major populations of non-English speaking patents.
■ Make the holding area of the Operation Room more private.
✓ The ACU and holding areas are being renovated with input from physicians, nurses, and
other staff.
■ Keep inventory stocked efficiently and neatly. That will allow staff to save time in
administering care.
✓ The Lean process has been implemented with medical supplies on the Pediatrics unit and
is now being initiated on the Medical-Surgical units.
■ Have the physician, not the nurse, obtain consent for procedures.
✓ The consent form and process have been revised so that the physician will complete the
consent with the patient.
■ Units to admit preferentially to unoccupied rooms to maximize privacy.
✓ This is being done on nursing units.
QUALITY ✔ CORNER
Harrington Scores An “A” In Patient Safety
In Nationwide Survey Of Acute Care Hospitals
Harrington Hospital has received a Hospital Safety Score of “A”, the highest grade -- in a
survey of more than 2,600 acute-care hospitals nationwide done by The Leapfrog Group, a
healthcare rating organization.
The Leapfrog Group calculated Hospital Safety Scores for hospitals nationwide for which
there was sufficient publicly available data. Of the 2,652 general hospitals given a Hospital
Safety Score, 729 earned an A, 679 earned a B, and 1,243 earned a C or below.
“Patient safety is always priority No. 1 at Harrington,” said Harrington President and CEO Edward H.
Moore. “We’re very pleased to be awarded the highest grade, an “A”, by The Leapfrog Group.”
Kathleen Davis, Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety at Harrington, said, “Everyone
at Harrington works very hard to make sure that the hospital environment is safe for our
patients, our visitors and our staff. Our motto is TLC -- Total Local Care - and that begins with
making sure we give the best and safest care possible to our patients.” ■
H a r r i n g t o n H e a l t h C a r e S y s t e m • 1 0 0 S o u t h S t r e e t , S o u t h b r i d g e , M A 0 1 5 5 0 • 5 0 8 - 7 6 5 - 9 7 7 1 • w w w . h a r r i n g t o n h o s p i t a l . o r g

News for the Extended Harrington Family
Celebrating
Dr. Easterly
Harrington staff turned out to reminisce and
wish Dr. Harry Easterly well on his retirement. Dr.
Easterly, a General Surgeon whose practice
includes breast surgery and laparoscopic
surgery, is retiring from Harrington HealthCare
System after almost 11 years of service. Dr.
Easterly, who is from Virginia, moved to
Massachusetts, where he did his training, and
came to Harrington on Nov. 1, 2001, after
practicing in Virginia. “I thoroughly enjoyed
the relationships I made in my time at
Harrington,” Dr. Easterly said, “And I can
withdraw with the confidence that the three
general surgeons at Harrington will do a
wonderful job for the community.” Shown,
from left to right, are Dianne Miranda,
Ultrasound Supervisor; Dr. Easterly; Thomas
Hijeck, Vice President of Nursing; and Nurse
Manager Marsha Woodard. ■
W E L C O M E A B O A R D
Hannah L. Adams —————— Laboratory
Jessica M. Billings —————— Wound Care Center
Erica Bright —————— Cardiology
Patricia Caron —————— Cardiology
Arianys Dejesus —————— Patient Accounting
Maria Del Rio —————— Patient Accounting
Debra Dimopoulos ——————
Laboratory
Michelle Fafard —————— Patient Accounting
Denise Franconeri —————— RN, HPS
Tammy Gevry —————— Laboratory
Jacob Kohberger —————— Dietary
Christine Legrand —————— Billing Office Coordinator, HPS
Netlin Mendez —————— Radiology
Shirley Payne —————— Environmental Services
Michelle L. Richard ——————
Ambulatory Care Unit
Jennifer Thorpe —————— LPN, HPS
Roxanne Trevarthan ——————
Inpatient Psychiatric Services
Heather Wilson —————— Patient Accounting
S A V E T H E D A T E
2012 Harrington Breast Cancer Walk
— Sunday, Sept. 30 • Webster Campus —
Register online NOW!
www.harringtonhospital.org
Wound Care Marks Second Anniversary
With Patient Success Stories
Several dozen patients, physicians, staff, and Harrington executives
gathered on the evening of June 19 to mark the second anniversary
of The Wound Care Center at Harrington with an event called The
Celebration of Healing.
The focal point of the celebration were the patients whose wounds
had been completely healed through Harrington’s hyperbaric
oxygen (HBO) chambers, which use pressurized oxygen to aid the
healing process in the body. More than 30 patients have been
healed by the Wound Care Center’s HBO chambers.
“Several years ago, as the result of a strategic planning process to
identify services we could provide to meet our commitment to our — Gerry Proulx
tagline, TLC – Total Local Care, we decided there was a need in this area for a wound care
center,” Harrington Chief Operating Officer Doug Crapser told those gathered for the
Celebration. “Before we opened The Wound Care Center at Harrington, people who needed
treatment for hard-to-heal wounds had to go to Springfield, Boston, or up to Concord to receive
care. The Wound Care Center has exceeded our expectations,” he said. “It serves the
communities around us, and it also has become a regional program.”
Gerry Proulx, a patient who was successfully treated at The Wound Care Center at Harrington, in
Charlton, also addressed the crowd. A retired teacher, Proulx had 60 sessions over a four-month
period to heal wounds in his toe that had not responded to other treatment. “Today, my toe is
completely healed,” Gerry said. “And it looks completely normal.”
The Wound Care Center, located at 10 North Main Street in Charlton, appeals to patients, said
Richard Grensavitch, an HBO technician. “Patients can get everything right here in this building --
lab tests, x-rays, and wound care.” Other services at this location include Family Medicine,
specialty physicians, MRI and other Diagnostic Imaging, Rehabilitation, Laboratory, and
Behavioral Health Services. ■
Honoring Cancer Survivors at Harrington
For the second year in a row, The Cancer Center at Harrington celebrated National Cancer Survivors
Day at its Southbridge campus by honoring its patients with an emotional and festive event.
Nearly 100 attendees – made up of patients, staff, guests and community members – enjoyed
refreshments, raffles, music and distinguished speeches on Monday, June 4. Honored guests
included State Representative Peter Durant, State Representative Ann Gobi, The Cancer Center
at Harrington’s Medical Director Dr. Christopher Seidler, and Harrington Auxiliary President Kathy
Vairo. Representative Durant read an official proclamation for National Cancer Survivor’s Day
offered to Harrington by Governor Deval Patrick.
The guest speaker for the afternoon was Joseph Graves, Chief Information Officer for Stratus
Technologies, Inc. Mr. Graves told a heartfelt story about the journey of being a survivor and his
appreciation for having a resource like The Cancer Center at Harrington locally. ■
Friends, Community Helped Us ‘Cruise Into Summer’
Poodle skirts, stylish suits, hats and hair
accessories were in abundance on Saturday,
June 16, as friends, employees and community
members shared an enjoyable evening at the
our “Cruise into Summer” event.
A great crowd attended the first-ever Soiree at
the Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center.
Attendees enjoyed delicious food and took
chances on auction items. Later, they danced
Alan and Betsy Peppel donned 50’s garb for the Soiree. the night away to the music from the1950s and
1960s. The top two winners from the auction were Wanda Figueroa, who won a week’s stay
at a donated timeshare and Michelle Aquadro, who won a Canyon Ranch Spa Day.
The event was organized by the Harrington Auxiliary in conjunction with Harrington
HealthCare System. The money raised will go toward future projects and programs. ■
H a r r i n g t o n H e a l t h C a r e S y s t e m • 1 0 0 S o u t h S t r e e t , S o u t h b r i d g e , M A 0 1 5 5 0 • 5 0 8 - 7 6 5 - 9 7 7 1 • w w w . h a r r i n g t o n h o s p i t a l . o r g