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Page 8 MOOSE PRINTS April 2010 www.centralmainetoday.com The Stephens Connection Connecting Stephens Memorial Hospital and Western Maine Health to the Communities We Serve Spring 2010 Issue 7 Sisters Welcome Babies Two Weeks Apart - with a Little Help from The Family Birthplace Courtney Culbert, of Bethel, was surprised and excited to find out she was pregnant with her first child, and due in May of 2009. Shortly after she found out, her sister, Jessica Fitts, of Oxford, discovered she was going to welcome baby number two into her family - just a month after Courtney had her baby. As it would turn out, cousins Emma and Anna were born only 2 weeks apart, both in June 2009 at the Family Birthplace at Stephens Memorial Hospital, delivered by Dr. Gregory Hardy of Western Maine OB/GYN. Watching the girls together, you note how similar they are to their mothers; and as sisters, Courtney and Jessica also have similarities, as well as differences. The same can be said for their experiences at the Birthplace. However, while the experiences were different, both women state with certainty what a wonderful experience it was to give birth at Stephens Memorial Hospital. Courtney’s Story By Courtney’s account she had a healthy, uneventful pregnancy, except that little Emma wanted to stay in a week past her due date, finally gracing the world on June 4th. After delivery, Courtney experienced a complication and needed to go to the Operating Room. For someone who had never stayed overnight in a hospital, this was a scary experience. Her confidence grew when Dr. Hardy explained everything from the anesthesia to the procedure to her. The Birthplace nurses took charge of helping Emma and her dad, Mark, get to know one another while Courtney was in the OR. With this unexpected event under her belt, Courtney was back in her room with her family. She shares that the nurses were fabulous in helping Mark with care and showing him how to bathe and diaper Emma, as Courtney couldn’t get out of bed. Both she and Mark were happy with the wonderful food, the personalized care, and glad that the nurses were helpful filtering visitors and making sure she was able to get enough rest. “For my first hospital experience it was very pleasant. I loved being able to labor in the tub, all of the nurses explained things very well, and made sure MaineHealth Named #26 Healthcare Delivery System Nationwide Ranking Based on Quality, Scope of Services & Efficiency MaineHealth, the state’s largest integrated healthcare delivery network, has been ranked among the nation’s best performing healthcare systems for the fourth year in a row. Based on an annual survey conducted by SDI, a healthcare market insight and analytics firm, MaineHealth’s ranking stands at 26, up from 59 in the 2009 survey. Notably, MaineHealth was ranked third in a listing of the top ten healthcare systems in the Northeast. www.centralmainetoday.com we knew what we were doing. It was great having a breastfeeding consultant (Shannon Nassa, RN) right here to talk to if I had any concerns. The nurses even called us at home about a week later to check in and see if we had questions after we left.” �� Jessica’s Story Already mom to a 4-year-old boy, Jessica was comfortable being pregnant and knew how she envisioned her delivery. She was planning to deliver at the same hospital where she had her son. However, she and her husband, Ernie, decided it would be nice if she could deliver closer to home and family, and working at SMH, she knows firsthand how “amazing” the Birthplace nurses and the physicians at Western Maine OB/GYN. Jessica shares that she had a great first experience, however, every delivery is different, and she still didn’t know what to expect when she went into labor on June 19th. The nurses at the Birthplace, “made me feel confident during my labor, and after the birth of Anna gave us the space to be a family and helped my son feel comfortable coming in to see his new sister.” The rotation with which the Western Maine OB/GYN physicians see OB patients increased Jessica’s comfort level as well. “During my pregnancy, I got to see all 3 of the physicians that could potentially be delivering Anna. They all knew my case, and I felt at ease with that when I went into labor.” Though they had different experiences, the sisters agree that the care at the Birthplace was amazing, the nurses and doctors accessible for questions, and that they each went home with a beautiful little girl. The MaineHealth member organization, of which Stephens Memorial Hospital and Maine Medical Center are two of the 11 members, is honored and proud of the integrated health network ranking. “We have done a great deal of work to ensure our health system maximizes and shares our resources throughout our MaineHealth family and beyond,” said Bill Caron, president of MaineHealth. He added, “While we greatly appreciate the recognition, the value for the average Maine citizen is that MaineHealth providers have been recognized for high-quality healthcare that’s delivered efficiently.” Save the Date! November 7, 2010 <strong>At</strong>tention all runners & walkers of all ages! SMH 5 K Carb Burner - Inaugural Run! Supporting The Diabetes Education Program at SMH! The ratings are based on SDI’s Integrated Healthcare Network Rating System, which evaluates each network’s ability to operate as a unified organization in eight categories: integration, integrated technology, contractual capabilities, outpatient utilization, financial stability, services and access, hospital utilization and physicians. This newsletter is a publication of the Community Relations & Development Department at Stephens Memorial Hospital. For more information please visit our website at www.wmhcc.org
April 2010 MOOSE PRINTS Page 9 www.centralmainetoday.com Safer Medication Practices Kathy Bonney, RN, MSN - Vice President of Performance Improvement Using the safest medication practices to prevent medication-related errors is important to us. The Institute of Medicine’s “To Err is Human” report 1 noted that “Medication-related errors occur frequently in hospitals; not all result in actual harm, but those that do are costly.” The report went on to estimate that the “increased hospital costs alone of preventable adverse drug events affecting inpatients are about $2 billion for the nation as a whole.” Delivering the right medication to the right patient, in the right dose, by the right route and at the right time seems, on the surface, to be simple. However, it is an extremely complex process which makes it prone to problems and errors. Just a few factors that make it complex are: • Every person is unique. Each has a unique response to medications and a unique medication list which may include over the counter medications and herbal supplements. • Medications can interact with other medications, supplements and food. • There are thousands of medications available. • Many names of medications look and sound alike. • More than one doctor may be involved in the care of a patient and may be ordering medications. • Use of abbreviations and handwriting can make a medication order unclear. Our Medication Systems Improvement, Pharmacy and Therapeutics and Information Technology Committees are made up of doctors, nurses, ward secretaries, pharmacists, information technology staff and other clinical support staff who continuously work to make medication practices safer. We evaluate our hospital against numerous national safe practice guidelines from organizations such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS), the Joint Commission, the National Quality Forum, and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. We also evaluate our practices and outcomes through ongoing data collection. We are proud of the fact that we are using the latest technology, support services and other safe practices to reduce medication errors. More than 75% of our inpatient medication orders are entered into the computer by doctors. This helps prevent confusion that might be caused by illegible handwriting or use of abbreviations. The other major advantage to using computer software is the alerts it generates to the doctor. Alerts include medication interactions, patient allergies and doses that may be too high. Our doctors’ computerized Culture Changes at Market Square When most people think of a nursing home, they don’t think of a comfortable atmosphere where cats roam free and residents congregate in social areas to play games, chat, and watch TV. However, that is exactly the way residents at Market Square Health Care Center live every day thanks to the hard work of staff to undertake a culture change at the nursing home. Market Square staff has been implementing changes over the past year to make residents feel more like they are in homey atmosphere. Managers have taken ideas that have been in the coffers for a long time, as well as suggestions from surveys with residents to implement positive changes. The first major change to the daily lives of residents was the building of a kitchenette in their multipurpose room, which also serves as the cafeteria for many. With this addition, the staff is able to offer made to order toast selections along with the standard breakfast. This affords residents a daily choice with their breakfast, something most people would take for granted living at home. Bonnie McAllister, Dietary Director, notes that one of the biggest advantages to this is actually the smell of the toast cooking. “It helps to enhance peoples appetites so they are hungry for breakfast!” Residents have been very accepting of the change, staff have adapted to make the most out of the changes to the routine, and find that happier residents make all the change worth while. McAllister says with this new “short order” type of atmosphere in the dining hall and the addition of beverage choices on the spot there is less waste, more enjoyment of the residents, and a surprising upsurge in the drinking of hot cocoa at the Center! www.centralmainetoday.com order entry rates are reviewed monthly, with the goal to constantly improve our rate. We have 24-hour pharmacy coverage. While we do not have a pharmacist at the hospital during the night, we use a “remote” pharmacy service that is staffed by Maine pharmacists. (We can also call in a hospital pharmacist if needed.) This ensures that inpatient medication orders are always reviewed by a pharmacist with the goal to help catch errors before a medication is given to a patient. The inpatient computerized medication orders “flow” into our automated medication dispensing cabinets. The nurse selects the medication from the cabinet drawer that opens up based on the medication order. The nurse then takes the medication to the patient’s room (shown at right) and uses a scanner to scan the medication and the patient’s identification band. The computer uses this scanned information to make sure that the right patient, medication, dose, route and time matches the medication order. We also have “smart” intravenous pumps that alert nurses if too much medication or fluid has been programmed into the pump in error and will not start until the information has been corrected. Lastly, but most importantly, we recognize that ensuring medication safety is a team effort. Key team members are the patient and their support person(s). Our safe medication practice starts by creating an accurate list of medications, herbal supplements and allergies. We encourage everyone to keep an accurate list in their wallet or purse in case of an emergency and to bring medications in their original bottles if there is a chance of being seen in the Emergency Room or admitted to the hospital. This helps to create the most accurate list. We also want patients and their support persons to speak-up if they have any questions about their medications or think that we may be making an error. This help is vital to keep our medication system as safe as possible. Here are some web addresses for more information about medication safety: 1 http://www.iom.edu/Reports/1999/To-Err-is-Human-Building-A-Safer-Health- System.aspx http://www.ismp.org/ To see our Patient Safety rating from the Maine Health Management Coalition (the rating includes medication safety) go to: http://www.mhmc.info/about Stay tuned for upcoming articles on: the addition of a buffet line for meal time, “iCare Plans,” the new cats, and new additions to the staff at Market Square! iCare Employee of the Year Announced The Human Resources staff at Stephens Memorial Hospital was pleased to announce that Jason Cloutier received the honor of iCare Person of the Year for 2009. Jason is a Meditech Coordinator, which means he is an Information Technology employee, specializing in computerized medical records. He has worked for the hospital since 2006, and received many iCare nominations throughout his tenure. He is honored by fellow staff, “for being the go-to person for special IT projects and the intranet. He always helps with a smile, and you know you will have top quality work when he is done.” Congratulations, Jason! Don’t Miss Our Upcoming Classes! 8th Annual Parkinson’s Day Awareness Conference April 10th! Mystery of Menopause - May 12 5:30 - 7 pm - Free of Charge! Living Well for Better Health - May 20 - June 24 3:30 - 5:30 pm Many other opportunities! Call 1-866-609-5183 (toll free) for more information!
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Maple Sunday At Sweet Williams - Turner Publishing

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