News Around the State

Baptist Golden Triangle announces new assistant administrator

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle recently named Brian Welton as an assistant administrator on the hospital’s leadership team.

Welton is a Frank S. Groner Fellow at Baptist Memorial Health Care, where he has spent the last year contributing to the organization in a variety of areas. Welton received a Master of Science degree in health administration from the University of Alabama, Birmingham in May 2013. He also received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama, Birmingham in May 2012. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2010.

“We are proud to welcome Brian to our leadership team at Baptist Golden Triangle,” said Paul Cade, CEO and administrator of Baptist Golden Triangle. “His education and experience will serve our hospital well.”

Welton has previous experience working with ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.; Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Birmingham, Ala.; and Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

Baptist Golden Triangle Receives Award for Clinical Excellence

From left: Shown at the 2013 VHA Leadership Awards award ceremony May 1 in Las Vegas are from left, VHA EVP Byron Jobe; Baptist Golden Triangle Chief Medical Officer Jack Reed; Assistant Administrator for Quality Alicia Grant; Baptist Administrator and CEO Paul Cade; and VHA President and CEO Curt Nonomaque. Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle was the only hospital in Mississippi to receive a 2013 Leadership Award for Excellence from VHA based on its scores in Value-Based purchasing, its 30-day readmission rate and Medicare cost data.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle was recently given a 2013 VHA Leadership for Clinical Excellence award. The facility was recognized as one of only 10 acute care hospitals larger than 250 beds and the only hospital in Mississippi to receive the distinction. The award honors hospitals for achieving national performance standards for all three Leadership award categories; clinical quality, safety and patient experience.

The VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence recognizes organizations that achieve top performance in care measures tracked by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Winners are selected based on a composite score consisting of three elements: 1) Value-Based Purchasing Total Performance Score, which includes Core Measures and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Services survey results; 2) 30-day readmission rates; and 3) Medicare cost data.

The award was presented at the May 1 VHA national meeting in Las Vegas, NV.

“Our doctors, nurses and staff are the reason we won this distinguished national award. I am proud that we represent the only hospital in Mississippi to win this award.” said Paul Cade, administrator and CEO of Baptist Golden Triangle. “We all work hard every day to provide quality clinical care to all of our patients,” he added.

“This award recognizes the quality care we provide and our dedication to providing not only consistently high levels of clinical care but also our efforts to continually improve that performance to produce better outcomes for our patients,” added Baptist Golden Triangle Chief Medical Officer Jack Reed, MD.

Keys named 2013 top state dietetic educator

The Mississsippi Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recently named Sharon Keys Outstanding Dietetic Educator’ for 2013. Keys is director of Food and Nutrition Services at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle.

Keys was recognized for her achievement and dedication in excellence in dietetic education, specifically her work in training dietetic interns from Mississippi State University who rotate through the hospital’s Food and Nutrition department.

She was nominated by the MSU Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion and the Northeast District of the Mississippi Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Keys has also volunteered for more than 10 years with the National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, serving as a site visitor for the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. In that role, she participates in site visits and reviews both undergraduate and internship dietetic education programs.

Keys began working at Baptist Golden Triangle as director of Food and Nutrition Services in 2006. Prior to that, she served as assistant director of nutrition services at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, where she directed and managed clinical nutrition services. She has also served as assistant director of nutrition services at the University of Rochester Medical Center/Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York and assistant food service director for Patient Services at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville, Ind. She has also held several dietitian positions at the University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio.

Keys received a bachelor’s degree in Food and Nutrition from the University of Nebraska and a master’s degree in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

“We congratulate Sharon on this award. She has done an excellent job training these interns from MSU,” said Baptist Golden Triangle Administrator Paul Cade.

New Hematologist/Oncologist joins Baptist Golden Triangle medical staff

Amber Borden, MD, Hematologist/Oncologist, has joined the staff at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Her practice is located at Golden Triangle Oncology, 345 Baptist Blvd., Columbus, Miss. 

Originally from Neshoba County, Miss., Dr. Borden is a 2000 cum laude graduate of The University of Mississippi with bachelor’s degrees in physics and biochemistry. She is also a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, in Jackson, Miss. Dr. Borden completed her residency in internal medicine at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. where she was chief resident. She also completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 2012.

She is a member of several professional organizations including the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Hematology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Borden is board certified in hematology and oncology.
She is married to Dr. Clay Borden, otolaryngologist, and the couple has three children.

“We are proud to have Dr. Borden join our staff and expand on the already excellent cancer services we provide to the region,” said Administrator Paul Cade. “Our cancer program continues to expand. Opening our new cancer clinic in Starkville and moving our chemotherapy services from the first floor in our Baptist Cancer Center-Golden Triangle to the third floor of our Outpatient Pavilion, are two examples of how our program is growing to meet the needs of residents in our region. Dr. Borden is a welcome addition to our oncology program,” Cade added.

 

New Directors Join Baptist Golden Triangle

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle recently welcomed four new directors to its staff. Susan Spencer is the new director of Women’s Services; Edwin Mitchell is the new director of the hospital’s ambulance service; Bobby Grant is the director of the clinical lab; and Tim Whitaker is the new director of outpatient services.

Spencer directs all of the hospital nursing and related patient care activities for Women’s Services including obstetrical inpatient, gynecological, labor and delivery, post partum and nursery. 

A native of Starkville, she received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Southern Mississippi and her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas at Tyler. She previously served as Perinatal Educator at Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics in Tyler, Texas.

She has two children, Ryan, 26, and Allye, 25. She lives in Columbus and is a member of St. Paul Episcopal Church.

Mitchell is a native of West Point and a graduate of Sturgis High School and the paramedicne program at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He is currently seeking a degree in health care management.

He comes to Baptist Golden Triangle from serving as a flight paramedic for AirEvac LifeTeam based in Batesville, Miss. He also worked as a fire officer in the fire department on the Choctaw Indian Reservation in Neshoba County. In that position he also served as a paramedic, training center coordinator and a member of the HAZMAT response team and the rope and dive rescue teams

He currently lives in Sturgis with his wife and four children ages 4, 6, 12 and 16. He is also pastor of Self Creek Baptist Church in Oktibbeha County.

Originally from Brandon, Grant most recently served as lab director at Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville, Miss. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in medical technology.

He is married with two children and lives in Columbus. In his free time he enjoys cars and guitars.

Whitaker oversees the hospital’s outpatient services. A native of Meridian, he comes to Baptist from St. Vincent’s East in Birmingham, Ala. where he was surgical reprocessing manager. He holds an associate degree in nursing the University of West Alabama (formerly Livingston University) in Livingston, Ala. He has been a nurse for 30 years and has 25 years of experience in nursing management.

He and his wife currently live in Jasper, Ala. but will soon be relocating to Fayette, Ala. They have three children and six grandchildren. In his free time he enjoys hunting and fishing.

Baptist Cancer Center Opens New Chemotherapy Infusion Center

Dr. Lance Bush, pulmonologist, left, and Alicia Grant, assistant administrator at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle, discuss the benefits of the hospital’s new chemotherapy infusion unit, relocated to the third floor of the hospital’s Outpatient Pavilion. It officially opened to patients on Feb. 25. An open house for employees and physicians to tour the facility was held Thursday, March 7. The unit can accommodate up to 23 patients at one time compared to eight patients at the former location in the first floor Baptist Cancer Center-Golden Triangle.

Baptist Cancer Center – Golden Triangle opened its new chemotherapy infusion center to employees and physicians during an open house on March 7. The newly renovated space, on the third floor of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle’s Outpatient Pavilion, officially opened to patients on February 25.

The new center more than doubles the square footage of the old chemotherapy infusion area and can accommodate up to 23 chemotherapy patients. It includes four private patient areas and four isolation rooms. The old space could only accommodate up to eight patients and included only two private rooms, according to Cancer Center Director Tom Bailey.

“The center is more inviting for patients and allows for more room for staff and patients. It also allows for each patient to have a family member come with them to treatment if they want,” said Bailey. “We encourage our chemotherapy patients to bring a family member with them,” he added.
Regular medical oncology and radiation patients will continue to be seen in the Baptist Cancer Center – Golden Triangle. Existing oncology clinic services will expand into the space formerly used for chemotherapy infusion in the first floor center, Bailey explained.

The new chemotherapy infusion center follows another expansion in oncology services by Baptist Golden Triangle. In late 2012, the hospital and Baptist Medical Group, the physician practice arm of the Baptist system, opened a cancer and cardiology clinic in Starkville. The clinic offers chemotherapy for up to eight patients at one time, oncology and cardiac clinic services by a staff medical oncologist and cardiologist. The clinic is located at 104 Hospital Drive in Starkville, Miss.
The Starkville clinic makes oncology and cardiac services more convenient for patients who live west of Columbus, according to Baptist Golden Triangle Administrator Paul Cade. “It is especially better physically for those patients taking weekly chemotherapy treatments to be able to take their treatments in Starkville than to have to come to Columbus,” Cade added.

Baptist Golden Triangle expands program to help reduce unplanned readmissions

A program started by Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle on the hospital’s Progressive Care Unit one year ago to improve the care of patients as they transition from hospital to home or another facility and to help reduce the number unplanned readmissions to the hospital will soon be rolled out to two additional patient floors and the hospital’s critical care unit.

The hospital was selected last year to participate in the Society of Hospital Medicine’s year-long Project BOOST, (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions) Mentoring Program.
As part of Project BOOST, upon admission, a case manager assesses each patient’s individual risk for re-hospitalization by identifying if the patient meets any of eight high risk criteria for readmission such as needing palliative care, taking eight medications or more on a routine basis, or having a history of depression or mental illness.

The discharge process is also customized by working with the patient and his or her family to ensure the patient understands his or her diagnosis and prescribed medications and to confirm follow-up care after hospitalization.

Typically, the patient receives follow-up calls from a case manager at two, seven, 14 and 28 days to verify such information as if he or she was able to get their prescriptions filled or get follow-up appointments scheduled; or if they are getting home health, if prescribed by their physician. Problems with any of these issues can lead to unplanned readmission within 30 days, said Kim Criswell, Baptist Golden Triangle’s director of case management.

“In light of healthcare reform, case management now has the primary goal of being the patient’s advocate for safe transitions throughout the continuum of care,” said Criswell. The RN case managers and social workers promote self management through patient and family involvement and ownership in their disease process.”

Case managers and social workers cover every inpatient unit in the facility as well as the emergency department. Every patient admitted is seen and followed by the case management department. Social workers provide assistance to those in need of service in the outpatient areas as well. According to a 2009 study, one in five patients is readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Baptist Golden Triangle is among more than 100 hospitals nationwide that have participated in Project BOOST, reducing unplanned readmissions rates and improving patient care.

“Baptist Golden Triangle is very excited to be a part of this opportunity to improve the quality of transitions in care from the hospital to the community. No one wants to be in the hospital, and it is our goal to make it possible for patients to have a safe discharge back into the community that allows them to remain with their families and friends,” Criswell added.

Baptist Golden Triangle is one of only two hospitals in the Memphis, Tenn.-based Baptist Memorial Health Care System selected to participate in the original BOOST program.

 

Baptist Golden Triangle Auxiliary fulfills $110,000 pledge for ambulance purchase

With its recent $20,000 donation to the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, the Auxiliary at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle fulfilled its 2011 pledge to donate $110,000 toward the purchase of a new ambulance for the hospital.

The Auxiliary made an initial $40,000 donation in 2010 to help pay for the ambulance followed by donations of $25,000 in June 2011 and January 2012. The latest $20,000 donation brought the Auxiliary’s total gift for the ambulance to $110,000. The 2011 Dodge 4500 cost $140,000. 

“We are proud that the Auxiliary was able to help purchase an ambulance for Baptist Golden Triangle. It is through the hard work of every Auxiliary member that made this possible,” said Jerry Kendall, a volunteer and president of the Auxiliary.

The new unit joined the hospital’s eight-unit ambulance fleet in early June 2011, replacing an older model ambulance that was taken out of service, according to Baptist Golden Triangle Ambulance Service Director Joe Wall.

“I want to thank the Auxiliary for its generous donation which helped make it possible to purchase the new ambulance,” said Wall.

The Auxiliary has around 100 members. The group raises money exclusively within the hospital through fund raising projects and through sales from the hospital gift shop, which is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Since the Gift Shop was started in 1981, we have put all of our profits back into the hospital, and to those who work in the Gift Shop and on other fund raising projects, their hard work and dedication is appreciated. Our commitment has, and will always be, to help make BMH-GT a leader in providing quality health care for our community,” added Auxiliary Board member Fred Bell.

New neurosurgeon joins Baptist Golden Triangle medical staff

David Chang, MD-PhD., neurosurgeon, has joined the staff at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. His practice is located at Baptist Medical Group -Golden Triangle Spine & Neurosurgery, 255 Baptist Blvd., Ste. 301, Columbus, Miss. 

Dr. Chang is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1989. He also received his medical degree and a doctorate in molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1996. Dr. Chang completed both his internship in general surgery and a residency in neurosurgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, New York and a surgical neuro-oncology fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Chang is board certified in neurosurgery by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He is a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS).

He recently practiced at Rochester Brain and Spine in Rochester, New York.

“We are proud to have Dr. Chang join our medical staff. He is an excellent neurosurgeon who received his training at one of the premier teaching and research hospitals in the United States,” said Baptist Golden Triangle Administrator Paul Cade.

“He could have chosen to practice anywhere, but he loves Columbus, and we are excited that he made the decision to make Columbus his home and locate his practice here,” Cade added.

Baptist Golden Triangle receives high quality scores

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle recently received a hospital safety score of “A” from the Leapfrog Group.

The safety score is calculated based on several core measures, including safe practice measures, surgical care improvement project measures and patient safety indicators.

“We are proud that we place a strong emphasis on patient safety,” said Paul Cade, administrator and CEO of Baptist Golden Triangle. “We work hard every day to provide high -quality, patient-focused care to everyone we treat.”

“We are honored to be recognized by The LeapFrog Group for our efforts to improve quality and the delivery of safe patient care to our patients. It takes a team approach to make the necessary changes to get the best possible outcomes for our patients. Our staff and physicians are the key to our success,” added Mary Ellen Sumrall, Baptist Golden Triangle’s Chief Nursing Officer.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national non-profit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The Leapfrog Group’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel and the Hospital Safety Score calculate scores for hospitals across the nation, giving hospitals an A, B, C, D or F based on the data.

“Hospitals like this that earn an A have demonstrated their commitment to their patients and their community,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. 

“I congratulate Baptist Golden Triangle for its safety excellence, and look forward to the day when all hospitals will match this standard.”