Heart-Warming Hospital Heroes

We recently celebrated Hospital Heroes who help to bridge the gaps in healthcare by providing exceptional care to their patients and their families, and who, through a deep desire to serve and connect, have left an indelible mark on their communities. They are specialists and nurses as well as volunteers, program directors, social workers, and surgeons. What follows is the last in a series of profiles of these heroes.

As Director of Clinical Process Improvement, ProvidenceTarzana Medical Center

Risk Management, Sharon Gross’ work touches all aspects of the organization and extends beyond the hospital walls. She recently designed and implemented ‘Community Outreach’ and Walgreen’s Pharmacy programs to ensure patients successful transition from inpatient to outpatient settings. Additionally, she has worked with the community to develop both TelePsych and TeleStroke programs contributing to the hospital’s own unique service delivery mission. The program brings psychiatric and specialty stroke care to Providence Tarzana within moments via robotics. Sharon has also led important improvement processes that directly impact patient care. She has led our hospital through many successful Joint Commission, Stroke Center and other surveys allowing us to provide the level of care required by our community. Sharon has assumed responsibility for important system initiatives centered around high reliability, patient satisfaction and patient throughput. In just a few short months PTMC has seen a significant rise in patient throughput which has resulted in improving patient satisfaction scores as a result of her leadership.

A psychiatric nurse for more than 30 years, Jeannine Loucks, RN-BC, MSN

works tirelessly and compassionately to serve patients with psychiatric disorders. Not only is she a devoted care provider as the manager of the Emergency Clinical Decision Unit (ECDU) at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, she also advocates for patients outside the health care setting by teaching law enforcement officers how to interact effectively and respectfully with people with mental illness. In response to an increase in officer encounters involving mental health issues, Jeannine reached out to the Orange Police Department and offered to develop a training curriculum to help ensure people will mental illness are treated with respect in the community and receive the care they need. Field encounters were often resulting in lengthy intervention times and subsequent visits to the hospital emergency department or incarceration. Jeannine’s innovative program has enhanced each officer’s knowledge and confidence to appropriately interact and refer individuals in crisis to community resources such as the Orange County Mental Health Association Drop-In Center or Mercy House, instead of the emergency room. Her enthusiasm and support of this underserved patient population has always extended beyond the walls of our facility, but her involvement with law enforcement is something unique.

Michael Young, OT, is UCIrvine Health’s hospital hero but he will tell you it took a team to help Cory, a trauma patient.  On May 5, 2015 Cory was riding his motorcycle to take a final exam at Long Beach State University when the throttle stuck.  As he attempted to slow in traffic, he slammed into the center divider on a busy Southern California freeway.  He was left paraplegic, with rods, screws and a cage to replace missing vertebrae.  It was the worst traumatic spine fracture UC Irvine Health had seen. Cory was just one week away from graduating from college. Missing his commencement was inevitable, but Michael saw to it that Cory’s graduation would be celebrated. Sounds simple…but it took a committed college president in full cap and gown, psychology professor, dean of students, family members, staff and Michael to realize the dream.  Traumatically injured two weeks prior, Michael and the Surgical ICU team eagerly accepted the challenge to prepare for a graduation ceremony. Michael focused on Cory’s passions and strengths and on May 28, 2015 Michael entered Cory's room with great vigor, on a mission to coach Cory to dress, groom and mobilize to the cardiac chair.  Cory didn’t know it, but he was getting ready to graduate!  This was an advanced OT treatment session, but necessary to make wishes like this happen.  Michael reflects, "We are creative and open minded, allowing great patient accomplishments to occur every day".

Cory received his degree at UCI Medical Center in Orange, CA. Thursday May 28, 2015 after a motorcycle accident on May 5th left him paralyzed from the chest down. (Thomas R. Cordova Press-Telegram/Daily Breeze)

National Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving and enhancing the healthcare of the underserved by developing and supporting innovative programs that can become independently viable,

provide systemic solutions to gaps in healthcare access and delivery, and

have the potential to be replicated nationally.

Patient Safety First: Collaborative Care

 by Kelly Bruno, CEO, National Health Foundation

At National health Foundation, we work to bridge gaps in healthcare access and delivery by developing and supporting innovative programs that provide systemic solutions.  In 2010, we launched Patient Safety First (PSF), a California Partnership for Health. PSF brings together National Health Foundation, California’s Regional Hospital Associations, Anthem Blue Cross and over 180 hospitals across the state in a groundbreaking partnership to improve quality of care, reduce health care costs and ultimately save lives by improving patient safety and perinatal care in California. PSF provides a forum for peer-to-peer learning, networking and sharing of best practices to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes. PSF has been a catalyst for improving safety and quality in California hospitals for the past six years. Now, with the continued support of Anthem Blue Cross, PSF will be extended through 2016.

A pioneer in the patient safety movement, PSF has been nationally recognized for its collaborative model and significant achievements in reducing rates of hospital acquired infections and sepsis mortality as well as improving maternal care. In Phase 1 of the program (2010-2012), participating hospitals achieved the following:

 •74% reduction in early elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestational age

•57% reduction in cases of Ventilator Assisted Pneumonia

•43% reduction in cases of Central Line Blood Stream Infections

•26% reduction in Sepsis mortality

In addition, 3,576 deaths were avoided as a result of reduction in Sepsis mortality. These achievements have not only transformed quality of healthcare for Californians and saved lives, but have also generated $63 million in cost savings for the healthcare industry. With over 180 hospital participants, PSF remains one of the largest, most sustainable patient safety collaboratives in the nation.

In 2016, under the PSF plan, participating Hospitals will specifically focus on continuing to reduce sepsis mortality and improve maternal care.  

NHF is proud to partner with the Hospital Associations across the state of California and Anthem Blue Cross to make this initiative an on-going success. For more information about PSF, please visit: www.nhfca.org/PSF

Heroes of All Kinds

 

We recently celebrated Hospital Heroes who help to bridge the gaps in healthcare by providing exceptional care to their patients and their families, and who, through a deep desire to serve and connect, have left an indelible mark on their communities. They are specialists and nurses as well as volunteers, program directors, social workers, and surgeons. What follows are a series of profiles of these heroes.

Charlotte Lisco ,  RN, CWON at KaiserPermanente Fontana Medical Center, provides consultation and care to patients that have wounds and ostomies. She collaborates with the front line nurses and physicians to ensure that these patients receive the most current evidenced based care, which promotes healing and health. Charlotte lives the KP Nursing Vision:  She advances the art and science of nursing in a patient-centered healing environment through her professional practice and leadership.   Extraordinary nursing care.  Every patient.  Every time. But her heroics don’t end with her professional feats. Earlier this year, Charlotte was attending an event for her sons’ baseball team.  During the meeting one of the attendees starting complaining of chest pain, and collapsed.  Charlotte jumped into action, alerted the emergency response system, and started CPR.  Charlotte continued to perform CPR on this gentleman for over 19 minutes, until the Ambulance and Paramedics arrived.  Even though she became extremely exhausted. The patient was transported to the hospital, still unresponsive, and it was determined that he had a fatal heart rhythm.  He was taken to the OR and a pacemaker was inserted. This man is alive today because of Charlotte's actions.

 At Providence Holy CrossMedical Center, Yvonne Gaffney is the Director of perioperative care and cardiology services. In this role, Yvonne knows and understands her patients’ worries and deepest fears. She counsels patients herself and mentors her team to know each patient to ease their way. As a professional, she is a critical thinker who analyzes the big picture, then creates a plan - for patients and their families. She helps friends through rough times and follows through, making sure they find the right doctors, understand medications and answer truthfully when she asks how they’re doing. Yvonne constantly gives of herself, and lives the Providence Mission of compassionate care to the poor and vulnerable. A few years ago, that giving took on an even greater scope. Yvonne joined a group from Providence in an annual trek to Mexico to learn about conditions and to help building housing in a small Tijuana village. So inspired, she recruited a group that return on their own each, advancing that mission. When Providence planned its first surgical mission to Guatemala, Yvonne arranged for the medical supplies for the team. “You have to have that inner drive,” said co-worker Patty Mayberry. “You have to want to give more back than you ever receive. She knows her strengths and she offers up this expertise without hesitation and embodies the emotional well-being of all.”

Precious Querubin is the Co-Project Director, Community Health COPA Program at ProvidenceLittle Company of Mary Medical Center San Pedro. Precious is committed to practicing the Providence core strategy: Creating Healthier Communities, Together. She believes this happens by collaborating, by brainstorming and by leading as her team creates and operates outreach programs in underprivileged areas of the South Bay. She develops and oversees sustainable programs that teach children fitness and nutrition in communities where obesity rates, diabetes rates and other chronic health issues are epidemic. Precious works in community benefits where hospital proceeds fund outreach to the poor and vulnerable. Her main responsibility is Creating Opportunities for Physical Activities, which trains teachers to teach PE at schools in lower-income areas. It is Precious’ mission to work in partnership with schools and other organizations to interact directly with children and their families to help ensure they are NOT patients. Precious has taken her drive to improve community health global. On her own time, she has visited India where she worked directly with orphans, AIDS patients and leprosy patients isolated from the community. She polished the nails of prostitutes and retired ones, reaching out to offer hope in a country marked by its caste system. Close to her Long Beach home, she volunteers at a nonprofit program for families experience hardship – some homeless, some parents trying to kick their drug habits and all seeking help for their children.  Even on the job, she reaches beyond – creating movie nights to bring the community together, partnering with public and nonprofit agencies to help get families out together. She is a hero at home and away.

National Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving and enhancing the healthcare of the underserved by developing and supporting innovative programs that can become independently viable,

provide systemic solutions to gaps in healthcare access and delivery, and

have the potential to be replicated nationally.