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Issue 9, May 20122Catholic Health Joins in New York’sPartnership for Patients3Construction Begins on KenmoreMercy Emergency Department4Advanced Minimally InvasiveCardiac Bypass Surgery5Minimally Invasive RoboticSurgical Expertise6Catholic Health Technology News7Catholic Health Among Top RatedHealth Systems NationwideBringing Accountable Care to WNYCatholic Medical Partners Named AccountableCare Organization by CMSCatholic Medical Partners, whosemembership includes Catholic Health,Mount St. Mary’s Hospital and morethan 900 area physicians, was one of27 organizations nationwide selectedto participate in a national programaimed at improving quality and realizingcost savings in providing healthcarefor Medicare patients.In an announcement from theCenters for Medicare and MedicaidServices (CMS) in Washington, D.C.,Catholic Medical Partners was namedthe only shared savings AccountableCare Organization (ACO) in WesternNew York. Catholic Medical Partnerswas selected based on rigorous eligibilitycriteria and program requirements.The Shared Savings Program rewardsACOs that lower the rate of growthin healthcare costs for Medicare beneficiarieswhile meeting performancestandards on quality of care and puttingpatients first. ACOs are groups ofdoctors and other health care providersworking together to provide high qualityservice and care for their patients.Provider participation in an ACO ispurely voluntary and Medicare beneficiariesretain their current ability to seektreatment from any provider they wish.“This is a milestone moment inthe effort to reform and improveContinued on Page 5

May 20122Catholic Health Joins in New York’sPartnership for PatientsIn 2011, the Federal Governmentlaunched the Partnership for Patients:Better Care, Lower Costs, a newpublic-private partnership designedto help improve the quality, safety,and affordability of health care. ThePartnership for Patients brings togetherleaders of major hospitals,employers, physicians, nurses, and patientadvocates along with state andfederal governments in a shared effortto make hospital care safer, more reliable,and less costly.The two goals of this new partnershipare to:• Keep patients from gettinginjured or sicker. By the endof 2013, preventable hospitalacquiredconditions woulddecrease by 40% compared to2010. Achieving this goal wouldmean approximately 1.8 millionfewer injuries to patients withmore than 60,000 lives savedover three years.• Help patients heal without complication.By the end of 2013,preventable complications duringa transition from one care settingto another would be decreasedso that all hospital readmissionswould be reduced by 20% comparedto 2010. Achieving thisgoal would mean more than 1.6million patients would recoverfrom illness without suffering apreventable complication requiringre-hospitalization within 30days of discharge.As part of this national effort,Catholic Health has joined NewYork State Partnership for Patients(NYSPFP), a statewide initiative involvingmore than 170 hospitals inactivities aimed at reducing hospitalcomplications and preventable readmissions.“New York State Partnershipfor Patients is another tool to measureas well as bolster our quality improvementand patient safety efforts,” saidJoe McDonald, president & CEO ofCatholic Health. “We already havevery active Quality and Patient SafetyDepartments in each of our ministriesthat will support the work we are doingwith our state partners.”NYSPFP is a joint project of theHealthcare Association of New YorkState and the Greater New YorkHospital Association. The partnershipwill provide participating hospitalswith technical assistance, trainingopportunities and educational programmingto build on existing qualityimprovement programs.“These initiatives include measureswe are already focusing on in our hospitalsto enhance safety and improveclinical outcomes for our patients,”said John Kane, vice president ofQuality and Patient Safety for CatholicHealth. “The central message here isthat improving quality and safety is ateam effort that will involve hospitalstaff at all levels, including clinical, administrativeand support personnel.”To kick-off its participation, CatholicHealth asked all hospital staff and physicianleaders to participate in a comprehensivesurvey on patient safetyculture. The results of the survey willhelp raise awareness about patientsafety among hospital staff, identifyareas of strength and opportunities forimprovement, and evaluate the successof initiative designed to improvecare, enhance safety, and reduce preventablereadmissions.

May 20124Advanced Minimally InvasiveCardiac Bypass Surgery at Catholic HealthJohn Bell-Thomson, MD, is one of a few surgeons in the nation to perform the TECAB procedure. Centered in above photo,Dr. Bell-Thomson reunites with his patient, Edward Zimmerman and his wife, Mary Ann. At left are: Julie LaManna,senior director of Cardiac Services; Penny Tirpak; Deborah Hetrick; Mercy President & CEO C.J. Urlaub; at right:Kristin Nigro; Jason Jankowiak, VP, Cardiac Service Line; Rebecca Klacko, Judy Keicher, and Brian Butler.Catholic Health’s Heart Center atMercy Hospital of Buffalo is one of justa handful of cardiac centers nationallyperforming Totally EndoscopicCoronary Artery Bypass Surgery(TECAB). TECAB is an entirely endoscopicrobotic surgery used to treatcoronary heart disease. It is an advancedform of minimally invasivecoronary artery bypass surgery thatallows bypass surgery to be conductedwithout opening the chest. Thetechnique involves three or four smallholes through which two robotic armsand one camera are inserted.Dr. John Bell-Thomson, chair of theCardiothoracic Surgery Department atMercy Hospital, is among just a smallnumber of surgeons in the United Statesperforming minimally invasive TECABsurgery using the da Vinci ® RoboticSurgical System. He has performedmore than ten TECAB procedures sincethe fall of 2011. On February 8, 2012,he successfully completed double coronaryartery bypass surgery for the firsttime using the TECAB procedure. Hispatient was able to return home fromthe hospital just two days later.“I am pleased to be able to offermy patients this new medicalbreakthrough in heart surgery,” saidDr. Bell-Thomson. “High-precisionrobotic-assisted surgery is helping uspioneer a new standard for coronarybypass surgery with significant benefitsto our patients, including fasterrecovery, less risk for complications,and less discomfort and scarring.”Following TECAB surgery, most patientsspend about one to three days inthe hospital and can usually eat, drinkand walk around within hours afterthe procedure. Besides eliminating theneed for a 6 to 10 inch incision downthe chest, the TECAB procedure allowspatients to return to normal activitieswithin two to three weeks after the surgery.In comparison, a patient undergoingtraditional, open chest surgeryexperiences a 5 to 7 day hospital stayand a 4 to 8 week recovery time.Catholic Health Surgeons at bothMercy Hospital of Buffalo and Sistersof Charity Hospital utilize robotictechnology for a variety of minimallyinvasive surgical procedures, includingcardiac, general, gynecological andurological surgery.

May 20126Catholic Health Technology NewsCatholic Health Serves as Mentor For New HIT ProgramCatholic Health leads the regionin health information technology(HIT) and will soon help createstatewide opportunities for emergingtechnology firms thanks to anew program designed to accelerateHIT development in New York.Selected as one of only 18 “mentors”in New York’s Digital HealthAccelerator (NYDHA) program,Catholic Health leaders and clinicianswill provide insight and guidanceto cutting-edge technologyfirms and investment companieswho are partnering to develop better health informationtechnology and bring it to market more quickly.“Transforming healthcare in our community is goingto depend on our ability to effectively leverage innovativetechnology,” said Joe McDonald, president & CEO ofCatholic Health. “This program will allow us to lend realworldexperience to those building the tools we need andencourage high-tech investment inour community.”The program will make NewYork a hub for the emerging digitalhealth technology industry. Byoffering participants the opportunityto engage directly with healthproviders including hospitals,long term care facilities, communityhealth centers, and primarycare practices, NYDHA will createthe next generation of healthinformation technology, generatehundreds of new jobs, and attractmillions of dollars in new investment in New York State.“We are excited to serve as a mentor in the Digital HealthAccelerator program,” said Michael Galang, DO, senior vicepresident and CIO, Catholic Health. “By bringing togetherHIT developers, investors and end users, this program canhelp bring to market technologies that are better suited toour needs, quickly and efficiently.”New Security Process for Physician Remote AccessRemote access to Catholic Health information systemsrequires a “two factor” authentication process for securitypurposes – that is, something you know (Username andPassword) and something you have (RSA Token – “Fob”).The fob displays a randomly generated number that is enteredalong with your username and password.The fob is a “perishable” device that eventually expiresand must be replaced; additionally it represents anotherdevice that must be carried around by our medical staff.We are pleased, however, to now be able to offer you anew way to authenticate to the Catholic Health IT systemwithout using a fob.The new process relies on a numerical passcode that isgenerated by a technology called “Anakam” and is transmittedto your cell phone – thus, your phone replaces yourfob for the authentication process.The Anakam process is available only to physicians andmid-level providers – office staff who require remote accesswill still need to use a fob. You will be able to retain your fobuntil such time as you are comfortable using the Anakamprocess or until it expires. Once you become confident withthe Anakam process, you can return your fob to a receptaclelocated in the Health Information Management (HIM)department or Medical Staff Office (MSO) at any CatholicHealth hospital. Please call Adam Lange, physician supportanalyst at 548-1622 with any questions.

7Catholic Health Among Top RatedHealth Systems in Nationwide Top 100For the fifth consecutive year,Catholic Health, Buffalo, NY, has beennamed to the nation’s list of mostintegrated healthcare networks, the“2012 IMS IHN (Integrated HealthNetwork) 100,” (Formerly the SDI IHN100). Catholic Health ranked 42nd inthe 2012 survey, with Geisinger HealthSystem in Danville, PA (2nd overall)and North Shore-LIJ Health System inGreat Neck, NY (31st overall) as theonly higher ranked healthcare networksin the Northeast.The ranking recognizes the 100most integrated networks nationwide,graded annually on operations, quality,scope of services and efficiency. The surveywas conducted by SDI Health LLC,a nationally recognized healthcare dataand consulting firm based in PlymouthMeeting, PA. In October 2011, SDI wasacquired by IMS Healthcare, a leadingprovider of information, services andtechnology for the healthcare industryaround the world.“Our continued strong performancein this survey underscores the progresswe have made in leading the transformationof healthcare in our region,”said Joe McDonald, president & CEOof Catholic Health. “Better integrationis the hallmark of a high performinghealthcare system.”Catholic Health first made the Top100 list in 2008 and achieved its highestranking in 2011 when it reached30th in the nation. No other healthcaresystem in Western New Yorkranks in the top 50.The IMS IHN 100 survey programinvites hundreds of health systemsfrom across the nation to submit surveycase presentations in eight criticalareas including: integration, outpatientutilization, integrated technology,financial stability, services andaccess, contract capabilities, and physicians.Health systems are graded onperformance levels in each category,which are weighted in value, resultingin an overall score and placement inthe ranking.Participation in the SDI 100 surveyis voluntary and no fees are chargedto participating organizations. The fullreport on the 2012 IMS IHN Top 100was published in the January 23 editionof Modern Healthcare.www.modernhealthcare.comHeart Surgery Program ReceivesHighest Rating From STSThe Heart Center at Mercy Hospital ofBuffalo, the surgical center of CatholicHealth’s Cardiovascular Services program,has been awarded a three-starnational quality rating by the Society ofThoracic Surgeons (STS) for the periodcovering July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.Approximately 14% of the 1,044 participatinghospitals across the countryreceived a “three-star” rating – thehighest award under the STS qualityrating system – for heart bypass sur-gery, also called coronary artery bypassgraft surgery or CABG.“It is important to share quality datato tell the public how we are doing andto compare ourselves to other similarheart surgery programs on a nationalscale,” said Dr. John Bell-Thomson,chair of Mercy Hospital’s CardiothoracicSurgery Department.The Heart Center at Mercy Hospitalalso achieved a STS three-star nationalrating for the period covering January2010 to December 2010. As the nation’spremier professional society forcardiothoracic surgeons, STS developeda comprehensive system thatallows patients to compare the qualityof cardiac surgery among hospitalsnationwide using the largest singlespecialtydatabase in the country.