Directors lead effort to help State’s uninsured & underserved
The Missouri Foundation for Health is accepting applications from individuals wanting to be considered for nomination to the Board of Directors. Five board positions are available each year. Directors govern MFH’s efforts to provide funding to nonprofit organizations that help improve the health of the state’s uninsured, underinsured and underserved residents.
MFH is the largest non-governmental funder of community health activities in the state, and is the second largest health care conversion foundation in the United States. Its 15-member board manages $1.3 billion in assets and distributes $60 million in grants annually. MFH’s service region covers 84 Missouri counties, plus the City of St. Louis.
Board members serve without pay for three-year terms, and must live within the MFH service region. MFH is committed to a board that represents Missouri’s gender, racial, cultural, geographic and ethnic diversity.
Applications are reviewed by MFH’s Community Advisory Committee, which then presents 15-25 candidates, from which the Board will select five to fill available positions.
All applications must be postmarked by August 22, 2008. To receive a Board application packet or to review the eligibility guidelines, interested persons have several choices: visit the MFH website (www.mffh.org); call MFH at 314.345.5500 or toll-free 800.655.5560; or send a letter requesting information to: Community Advisory Committee, Missouri Foundation for Health, 1000 St. Louis Union Station, Suite 400, St. Louis, MO 63103.
Barnes-Jewish Hospital again ranked among nation’s best
For the 16th consecutive year, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and its physician partners at Washington University School of Medicine is the only St. Louis area hospital or medical institution listed among America’s elite medical centers in the U.S. News & World Report “America’s Best Hospitals” issue. Barnes-Jewish earned honors as part of the newsmagazine’s “Honor Roll,” while ranking 12th among the top in 16 individual specialties.
In addition, Barnes-Jewish ranked among the top 10 in five of 16 rated medical specialties and is the only St. Louis hospital to be ranked in more than one category.
The standards used to rank “America’s Best Hospitals” are rigorous. Of 5,453 U.S. hospitals, only 19 hospitals made the “Honor Roll,” a list reserved for medical centers with very high rankings in at least six specialties. Overall, only 170 have ranked specialties and only hospitals earning high marks in six or more of 16 select specialties made the “Honor Roll” of America’s best hospitals.
“Ranking on the U.S. News ‘Honor Roll’ speaks to the combination of innovation and medical expertise from our Washington University physician partners and the caring nurses and staff at Barnes-Jewish who work so hard to uphold the highest standards of patient care,” says Andy Ziskind, MD, Barnes-Jewish Hospital president. “What we offer is care found only among national leaders in medicine, and that’s what makes us one of America’s top hospitals.”
St. Mary’s pilots ‘hospitalist’ unit
SSM St. Mary’s Health Center and IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc. are piloting a dedicated hospitalist medical unit in St. Louis. The 20-bed unit in SSM Health Care has implemented best practices to standardize inpatient care with the goals of improving clinical outcomes, patient safety and patient satisfaction.
Hospitalized patients in the St. Louis area are likely familiar with hospitalists, doctors who specialize in the treatment of patients while in the hospital. More and more primary care physicians are focusing on their office practices and turning over inpatient care to hospitalists. Over the last several years, the shift to hospitalist care has accelerated across the region and country.
Philip Vaidyan, MD, internist and medical director of the St. Mary’s hospitalist unit, said the model focuses on enhanced teamwork and better communication among patients, family members, nurses and physicians.
“We know that communication is key to improving care both in the hospital and after a patient is discharged,” he said. “Studies have shown that patient conversations are interrupted every eight seconds. As clinicians, we need to be better listeners to really improve the care we provide our hospitalized patients.”
He added that another goal of the pilot is to improve the medication reconciliation process for patients while in the hospital and when they return home. Educating patients about appropriate use of their prescribed medications once they return home can help them avoid re-admissions to the hospital.
For the physicians, the dedicated unit eliminates travel time between units and reduces phone calls, making the hospitalists more productive and giving them more time to interact with patients, family members, other physicians and nurses.
“The nurses appreciate having a doctor available all day without having to call for orders and wait for callbacks. We’re also nearby for unexpected patient problems and crises.”
Nurse practitioners work evenings to help monitor patients, check medications and work with staff and families to coordinate care. The same physician typically takes care of a patient during hospitalization, providing continuity of care.
Hospitalists give regular updates to the referring physician while the patient is hospitalized. Upon discharge, IPC immediately sends detailed patient reports to the referring physician, including any instructions given to the patient to follow up with their primary care physician. IPC also calls all patients within a few days of discharge to check up and remind them of their follow-up care, including any medications and therapy.
The hospitalist concept relies on a multidisciplinary clinical approach for continuity of care. In addition to hospitalists and nurses, team members include a dietitian, pharmacist, social worker, case manager and physician specialists.
“We have great teamwork among all our staff,” said Nancy Yurchak, RN, clinical director of the unit. “We engaged everyone as we developed the concept, so there is a sense of ownership on this unit by our staff and doctors. Our physician partners have been incredible in helping us build this pilot unit. They have participated on committees to plan the unit and improve the care we deliver.”
Outcomes to be measured from the pilot unit include patient satisfaction, patient fall rates, infection rates, skin breakdown, length of stay, patient throughput, employee satisfaction and physician satisfaction.