News Around the State

University of Mississippi Health Care Wins UHC Supplier Diversity Leadership Award

 

For the first time, UHC has honored a member organization for the development and implementation of an outstanding supplier diversity program. Roberta Graham, UHC executive vice president, and Jake Groenewold, UHC senior vice president, Supply Chain, presented the Supplier Diversity Leadership Award to University of Mississippi Health Care at the UHC Annual Conference 2011 in Chicago on September 22.  

The award is based on several criteria:

• Structure and strength of the organization’s supplier diversity program
• New programs or techniques that facilitated the growth of diverse businesses in 2010
• Utilization of diversity contracts, especially from Novation, UHC’s supply contracting company
• Community involvement and outreach to minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses
• Senior leaders’ involvement in supplier diversity development

“At UHC, we support strong supplier diversity programs because we believe that they are essential to
fostering economic growth in members’ communities and encourage competition and best practices,”
said Groenewold.

Neshoba General Welcomes Sunil Kumar, MD

 

Neshoba County General Hospital recently welcomed Sunil Kumar, MD, to its growing team of family medicine providers. Patrick Eakes, MD and Angie Skinner, FNPBC are pleased to announce that Dr. Kumar has joined their practice at, Neshoba Internal Medicine Clinic, 921 W. Beacon Street, Philadelphia, MS.

Dr. Kumar received his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College, Karnataka, India. He completed both his Internship and Residency at Genesys Regional Medical Centre, Grand Blanc, MI. Dr. Kumar is a Family Practice Physician, with special interest in Sports Medicine. “We are pleased that Dr. Kumar has joined the medical staff of Neshoba County General Hospital and we look forward to offering increased access to high quality medical care to the citizens of our area,” said Lonnie Graeber, Chief Executive Officer of Neshoba County General Hospital. “Our goal is to expand quality medical care services in our region of Mississippi by attracting more qualified physicians to our medical staff and installing the latest medical technology in our clinics and hospital.

Rush Foundation Hospital Rehabilitation Services receives FOTO® Outcomes Excellence Certificate for Third Consecutive Year

Front row: Barbie Miles, Susan Johnson, Michelle Summerford; Row 2: Wanda Anderson, Bernice Hurns, Erica Walker, Mildred King, Cheryl Wozny, Joey Williams, Tommy Winston; Row 3: Lynn Holifield, Henrietta Blaylock, Lisa Scott, Marianne Kelley, Rosie Hopson, Lisa Eggleston, Julie Brown, Pam Williams; Row 4: June Clayton, Jessica Watson, Phoema Dubra, Hillary Montgomery, Olivia Brown, Jennifer Wooten, Christy Sullivan, Chresha Baylor; Row 5: Angie Goforth, Christy Pritchard, Candace Keene, Debba Mitchell, Dan Donnelly, Ethel Dubose, Chad Brasher; Not Pictured: Ben Dear and Jennifer Kennedy

Rush Foundation Hospital Rehabilitation Services has been awarded an Outcomes Excellence Certificate from Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes, Inc. (FOTO®), a nationwide outcomes data base and reporting service for healthcare providers. These certificates are presented to a select group of providers across the country to recognize the excellence achieved in effectiveness of treatment during the past twelve months. Rush Foundation Hospital has demonstrated a greater increase in function for their patients than the national aggregate average.

FOTO has provided outcomes data to healthcare providers since 1994. More than 1,000 organizations have contributed to the FOTO data base. FOTO outcomes data are beneficial because they provide a benchmark measure for overall quality and value of the services offered by an organization. FOTO has the first Functional Health Status Measure approved for physical rehabilitation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s list of approved quality measures in the quality measures sponsored by the Agency For Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Chuck Reece, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Rush Health Systems congratulated the hospital’s Rehabilitative Service Department for their ongoing commitment saying, “Our Rehabilitative Services team of caregivers is a very dedicated and motivated group.  We are very proud of their outstanding scores related to outcomes and most especially of the way they demonstrate such their dedication to personalized care and service.

Rush Rehabilitation Services is a comprehensive program providing a full range of services to patients in the acute care or outpatient settings.  The services include physical, occupational, and speech therapy.  Additionally, Rush Rehabilitation Services provides aquatic therapy, pre-employment and post employment testing, and a reading clinic.
 

IQH partners recognized for accomplishments

Outstanding participation contributed to the success of the Ninth Scope of Work as providers throughout the state took part in the quality improvement program coordinated by IQH and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Hospitals, nursing homes and clinics were among the entities participating in the program that is highlighted in a special edition of Quality Matters (attached below).

On Aug. 1, 2011, CMS gave the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) an updated charter for leading change. The QIO Program invites all health care providers and health quality stakeholders, including patients and their families, to be a part of its new improvement initiatives.

More information is available at www.cms.gov/qualityimprovementorgs.

Download Quality Matters Special Edition Summer 2011

 

Wesley Medical Center Announces Chest Pain Center Accreditation

 

Wesley Medical Center  recently announced it is now the first Accredited Chest Pain Center in the Pine Belt. Building on its commitment to become a leader in cardiac care, Wesley Medical Center recently applied for and was granted full accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) – a designation held by only 12 percent of hospitals in the United States.

“Working hard and being rewarded with this accreditation, immediately on the heels of being recognized as a Top Performing Hospital by the JCAHO, is a testament to the hard work of the team that I am surrounded by,” said Wesley Medical Center CEO Mike Neuendorf. “Being named this area’s only certified chest pain center and only the sixth facility to be recognized in the state, shows once again that we have the service, the process, the quality and the expertise to get the job done, and get it done right.”

Chest Pain Center accreditation comes after a rigorous evaluation by SCPC designed to determine the institution’s ability to assess, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. Only five other Mississippi hospitals have been designated as Accredited Chest Pain Centers. They include Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth; River Region Medical Center in Vicksburg; Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, St. Dominic Hospital, and University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

“The investment in establishing an Accredited Chest Pain Center shows Wesley’s ongoing commitment to providing superior team-centered cardiac care,” said Cardiologist Mark Campbell, M.D. of the Hattiesburg Heart and Vascular Clinic. "Quick response, diagnosis and treatment saves heart muscle which saves lives. Our team combines advanced technology, expert training and exceptional response time to cardiac emergencies which gives our patients the best chance of not only surviving a heart attack but making a meaningful recovery and getting back to a normal life with their loved ones. That's what this is really all about, taking the best possible care of our patients and their families."

Chest Pain Center accreditation means that Wesley Medical Center has processes in place that meet strict criteria aimed at reducing the time from the start of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment, treating patients more quickly during the critical window of time when heart muscle can be preserved.  The criteria also address monitoring patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or admitted to the hospital unnecessarily. 

“This is momentous not only for our hospital and patients, but the community as well,” said Neuendorf. “This designation means that any patient who comes to Wesley Medical Center experiencing chest pain can be confident he or she is receiving care that meets or exceeds the highest national standards.”  

UMMC Performs First Pediatric Heart Transplant in Eight Years

Members of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Pediatric Heart Transplant Program react to 13-year-old Malcolm Jones of Winona as he talks about going home to play. Jones is the first pediatric heart transplant patient for the reactivated program at UMMC. Attending the news conference to announce the surgery are, from left, Jones, his mother Gina Jones, Dr. Avi Aggarwal, assistant professor of pediatrics and medical director of the pediatric heart transplant program, Dr. Daniel DiBardino, assistant professor of surgery, Dr. Jorge Salazar, associate professor of surgery and chief of the congenital heart program, and Dr. Michelle Sheth, assistant professor of anesthesiology.

The state’s only dedicated pediatric heart transplant team has performed the first heart transplant in eight years on 13-year-old Malcolm Jones of Winona.

Jones underwent surgery Sunday, September 18 at Batson Children’s Hospital. He is listed in fair condition.

“Malcolm is doing very well,” said Dr. Avi Aggarwal, assistant professor of pediatrics and medical director of the pediatric heart transplant program. “He has an excellent prognosis.”

The pediatric heart transplant program had become inactive due to a gradual loss of the highly-specialized team members needed to perform these complex surgeries.  The last pediatric heart transplant was performed in 2003 by Dr. Giorgio Aru, professor of surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The reactivation of the program has been led by the congenital heart surgery team, which was re-established with the recruitment of Dr. Jorge Salazar, associate professor of surgery and chief of the congenital heart program, in April 2010. Prior to that, patients needing heart surgery were transferred out of the state. Since his arrival, more than 400 pediatric heart surgeries have been performed at the Medical Center and no patients have been sent out of the state.

“”When we started the congenital heart surgery program, we knew we would eventually have a pediatric heart transplant program, but we wanted to establish the pediatric heart program first with excellent results and a great infrastructure,” Salazar said. “We have that and with the help of the state of Mississippi, the Medical Center and our adult heart transplant program, we were able to get the transplant program going again very quickly,”

Jones was seriously ill when he arrived at Batson Children’s Hospital last month. He was born with tetralogy of fallot, a condition that includes four congenital defects of the heart and major blood vessels. He has had three surgeries to correct the defects, but his left ventricle was failing for unknown reasons, necessitating his placement on the transplant waiting list.

“His transplant was his last chance to grow and develop and have a normal life,” said Dr. Daniel Dibardino, assistant professor of surgery, who joined the congenital heart surgery team in July.

 “I’m so thankful to God and the doctors and nurses,” said Gina Jones, mother of the patient. “I just want to see him running around and playing.”

Aggarwal said having a formal pediatric heart transplant program fills an important need in the state.

“We are very excited about our first congenital heart transplant,” Aggarwal said. “Having a program in place, we can better serve children who are waiting and hoping for a new heart.”

SRHS Clinics to Celebrate New Vancleave Location

Singing River Health System (SRHS) will celebrate the addition of a primary care clinic in Vancleave with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Oct. 6 at 4 p.m.

SRHS Clinics added the new family practice office to its primary care locations in August. The new clinic is located at 11700 Hwy 57.

Dr. Christopher Lansdown and Whitney Moore, certified family nurse practitioner, are accepting new patients at that location. 

Lansdown received his medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.  He performed a residency at Louisiana State University’s Health Science Center in Shreveport, La.  He is board eligible in family medicine.

Whitney Moore, CFNP attended the University of Southern Mississippi.  She is a certified family nurse practitioner and will be accepting appointments for primary care needs.

SRHS Clinics – Vancleave is located at 11700 Hwy 57, Vancleave, and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Call 228-497-7470 or visit mysrhsclinics.com to schedule an appointment.

River Oaks Hospital Announces New COO

 

Shannon Brown had been named Chief Operating Officer of River Oaks Hospital, a 160 bed facility located in Flowood. Prior to this role, Brown served as Chief Operating Officer at Central Mississippi Medical Center, a sister-facility of River Oaks Hospital.

Brown has over nineteen years of healthcare administrative experience and received a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from the University of Texas Health Science Center, as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M University. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Sheree C. Melton, MD, Joins CMMC & Care + Family Medical Clinic—Hinds

 

The physicians and staff of Central Mississippi Medical Center and Care + Family Medical Clinic— Hinds in Jackson recently welcomed Sheree C.Melton, MD, to their staffs. Dr. Melton joins CMMC’s medical staff and Paul E. Sheffield, MD at Care + Family Medical Clinic – Hinds at 5345 Hwy. 18 in Jackson to deliver primary care services to the entire family.

Dr. Melton completed a residency in family medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center after attending medical school at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island.  She received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Tougaloo College, where she was a Presidential Scholar.
Also, Dr. Melton is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians. 

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Melton join our family medicine team,” said Scott Smith, Chief Executive Officer of CMMC. “Dr. Melton’s enthusiasm for providing excellent patient care and compassion make her a perfect fit for our organization.”

Care + Family Medical Clinic – Hinds has been serving Jackson-area residents for several years. Services include primary care for the entire family, same-day sick appointments, wellness exams, routine gynecological care and minor surgery.

The Tebow Treatment: Pine Grove patients to benefit from new furry, four-legged staff member

 

Pine Grove Behavioral Health is proud to be the new home of a somewhat unconventional staff member who will use his canine charm and talents to help patients in their recovery.

Tebow, a young Labrador Retriever, will provide care to patients by spending time with them in recreational, therapeutic activities while keeping the Pine Grove campus free of substances that could be detrimental to their recovery process. The four-legged friend is currently working on obedience and search and find skills and will soon begin regular rounds at Pine Grove to locate any drugs or alcohol, including prescription drugs. Tebow is named after Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow and comes to Pine Grove from a group in Arkansas who raises dogs specifically for service jobs. Once he is fully on board, Tebow will spend most of his time with handler and full-time Pine Grove employee Derrick Guinn, who worked with the facility’s previous service dog, Samantha, who is now semi- retired. While Tebow will take over Samantha’s search and find duties, the long-time Pine Grove “employee” will continue to spend time with patients in a therapeutic capacity.

“A trained dog like Tebow makes patients feel safe that the environment is drug-free,” said Debbie Sanford, Forrest General’s chief behavioral health services officer. “We have seen a great decrease in drugs brought into Pine Grove programs since acquiring our first dog in 2004. Also, the companionship that Tebow will provide for our patients is comforting while they are away from home, and their pets, for several months.”