September 2013

News, announcements, and vital information for associates, their families, and friends of Kenmore Mercy Hospital.February 2015

In late December, Kenmore Mercy Hos-pital celebrated the blessing and dedica-tion of its renovated 2 West Patient Care Unit. Staff began receiving patients in November.

The patient wing was temporarily closed from October 4 – November 22 to per-mit remodeling of the unit which, among other updates, features new patient televisions, call systems, whiteboards and patient furniture, made possible by the Kenmore Mercy Foundation.

Other work included a modern color scheme, as well as a new nurses’ station, counter tops, sinks, and updated signage. There are also new side tables, chairs, window sills, cubicle curtains, and bed-side tables in patient rooms.

The unit was built 40 years ago and has a rich history. According to Cheryl Hayes, vice president of Patient Care Services, “It was originally a skilled nurs-ing facility, then a medical rehabilitation unit. In recent years, it changed special-ties to include stroke and hospice care. ”

This unit is also home to Kenmore Mercy Hospital’s new bariatric suite. The suite was made possible by a grant from As-semblyman Robin Schimminger.

With the number of bariatric patients on the rise, it has become necessary for hos-pitals to routinely take care of patients weighing up to 500 pounds or more.

This room and its special equipment will assist the hospital staff in safely caring for this patient population while reduc-ing their own risk of injury.

“We continue to maintain our focus on quality of patient care and continuous improvement, which defines us as an organization,” added Cheryl.

The renovation of Kenmore Mercy Hos-pital’s 2 West Patient Care Unit is just one more example of that continuous improvement.

Remodeled 2 West Reopens to Patients

Fr. Bob Schober (center) was joined by the Administrative team and hospital associates for the blessing of the remodeled 2 West Patient Care Unit.

Physicians at Kenmore Mercy Hospital have chosen Lisa Faulhaber, PT, from the Physical Therapy Department, and Mary Willis, RN, from the 3 East Patient Care Unit, to receive the hospital’s Annual Medical Staff Associate of the Year Award for 2014.

This award recognizes outstanding associates for their service to patients and staff.

“These are individuals whose hard work and dedication represent the spirit of Kenmore Mercy Hospital,” said Michael Slate, MD, presi-dent of the hospital’s medical staff.

Lisa graduated cum laude from the University of Buffalo in 2000 with a bachelor of science in physical therapy. She joined Catholic Health in 2004, working for AthletiCare North, prior to joining Kenmore Mercy’s inpatient physical therapy team in 2006.

Mary began her career at Kenmore Mercy Hos-pital in 1994 as a certified nurse assistant on the cardiac floor. She moved on to become a unit clerk prior to returning to school at Erie Com-munity College to obtain her nursing degree. She has been on the 3 East Patient Care Unit ever since.

Congratulations to both of these associates for achieving this honor.

James Millard (left) and Dr. Michael Slate (right) congratulate Mary Willis and Lisa Faulhaber.

Outstanding Associates Recognized by Medical Staff

Associate Engagement

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It’s hard to believe that we have be-gun a new year. The last few weeks of 2014 were extremely busy through-out the hospital. In the midst of an already busy holiday season, we were all impacted by flu-related illnesses, construction projects, and winter storms. Thanks to everyone for your hard work and dedication to our patients, and to each other, through all of this.

As we do every year, we have identi-fied our major priorities, or our “Big Dots,” for 2015. They are Associate Engagement, Patient Safety and Experience, Surgical Services, Orthopedic & Musculoskeletal Campus of Excellence, Clinical Integration, Operational Effective-ness and Nursing Excellence. As you can see, many of these priori-ties are the same as they were last year. Our newest Big Dot, Associate Engagement, is meant to focus our attention on taking all of the feed-back that you’ve been providing us during our Associate Forums, the Culture of Safety survey, and our VOA

survey, and develop-ing a plan to make Kenmore Mercy Hospital a better place for all of us.

To help you remem-ber the Big Dots, you will see ar-ticles relating to these topics in the quarterly newsletters and posters throughout the hospital. Our upcom-ing Associate Forums will also be structured around these themes. Thank you again to everyone who joined us this past fall at the Associ-ate Forums. We had record atten-dance, and we received some great feedback from the conversations that we had and from the surveys that you completed.

With the next Voice of the Associate survey starting this week, I encour-age you to take a moment to let us know what’s on your mind. It truly does help to make Kenmore Mercy Hospital a better place for each of us to work.

News from Jim Millard, President & CEO

Congratulations to Jessica Klug, RN, 2 West. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from SUNY Brock-port.

Jacob Walck, RN, Operating Room, also received his Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Deamen College.

Congratulations to Julie Bajor, RN, Intensive Care Unit, for obtaining her Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) specialty certification.

Fran Max, dietitian, was creden-tialed as a certified nutrition sup-port clinician. She is one of only three dietitians in Catholic Health who have achieved this credential.

Jim Bartlett, PharmD, was recently appointed to the posi-tion of lead clinical pharmacist for Kenmore Mercy Hospital.

Sandy Fuller, MA, Ken-Ton Family-Care, recently passed her recertifi-cation from the American Associa-tion of Medical Assistants, Inc.

Bajor

Walck

Max

Bartlett

Klug

Fuller

The Kenmore Mercy Foundation was recently presented with a $58,000 check from the hospital’s Auxiliary.

James Millard, hospital president & CEO, received the generous donation from Margret Was, outgoing presi-dent of the Auxiliary.

This money will be used by the Foun-dation for Kenmore Mercy Hospital equipment grants.

In previous years, the Auxiliary’s monetary support has enabled the purchase of clinical equipment and

technology used in various hospi-tal departments, all of which help hospital associates further serve the community.

The Auxiliary raises funds in a variety of ways, including selling handmade items; hosting creative events like jewelry sales and new and used book sales; and running the the Willow Tree Gift Shop.

Thank you to all of the Auxiliary members for their support of Ken-more Mercy Hospital and this gener-ous donation.

Auxiliary Efforts Benefit Kenmore Mercy

Auxiliary members welcomed their 2015-2016 board officers – Joan LeBlanc, treasurer, Jean Gucwa, president, Peg Gruber, vice president, Nancy Lagattuta, recording secretary, and Pat Farrell, corresponding secretary – at their annual holiday luncheon.

Living Our Mission

By Mary Pat BarthVice President of Mission Integration

“Love One Another Deeply, From the Heart” ~1 Peter 4: 8

Valentine’s Day is a day of hearts in our culture, and Lent is forty days of heart rendering reflec-tion in preparation for the magnificent celebra-tion of Easter.

As I reflect on this invitation from Peter, I recall our Thanksgiving outreach to the underserved, when our hearts overflowed with love.

Ken-Ton church representatives picked up 67 baskets donated by our Mission Integration Committee members and hospital departments.

Without our outreach, many families would not have shared that sacred feast with their children and loved ones.

At Christmas, some departments purchased gifts for “adopted” families. The overwhelming joy of these families was an unforgettable memory for everyone involved.

The year 2015 begins our commitment to the new Catholic Health charity, Friends of Night People. This charitable organization “helps the poor, homeless and destitute in Buffalo.”

Valentine’s Day and Lent are golden invitations for us to love one another deeply from the heart, throughout the year.

Pope Francis’ Christmas message affirms this invitation with his words: “How much the world needs tenderness today. God’s patience, God’s closeness, God’s tenderness.” May Kenmore Mercy Hospital lead the way with this invitation.

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Welcome To New Managers & SupervisorsAnne Hedges-Creighton, Director of Nursing, Perioperative ServicesAnne oversees nursing staff in the Operating Room, Endoscopy, and Interventional Radi-ology. This includes management of clinical education, unit clerks, nursing assistants, and perioperative scheduling. Anne previously worked at Mercy Flight Western New York as chief operating officer and Buffalo General Hospital as manager of Peri-operative Services. She was also an Emergency Room nurse at Kenmore Mercy.

Sabrina Kaitanowski, Distribution Supervisor As part of the IMPACT initiative and the expansion of supply chain centralization,

Kenmore Mercy recently welcomed Sabrina to the newly established role of distribution supervisor over Central Supplies. She was previously at Mercy Hospital where she was most recently Materials Manage-ment supervisor. She also served as a clerk and administrative assistant for Environmental Services and Case Management.

Chris O’Mara Manager of Care ManagementChris joins Kenmore Mercy after ten years with Kaleida Health. She previously held positions as a corpo-rate director of utilization manage-ment and patient management. She also worked with HealthNow as medical management director.

In 2015, Catholic Health began a new partnership with Friends of Night People, an organization that feeds the homeless, destitute, and working poor.

From its home on Hudson Street in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood, the organization provides food, clothing, medical care, counseling and hope to those in need.

All services are provided free of charge without a sliding income scale. However, Friends of Night People does rely on the generosity of volunteers and contribu-tors.

In the coming months, Catholic Health will play a significant role in helping Friends of Night People improve the quality of life for those less fortunate, while improving the overall health of the community.

Watch for more details from the Mission Integration Committee. There will be many opportunities for associates to volunteer as Catholic Health sponsors events to assist with their needs.

New Partnership Helps Those In Need

LOVE Award Honorees Show Strong ValuesOver the past year, Kenmore Mercy Hospital honored three individuals with the LOVE Award.

The LOVE Award (Living Our Values Ef-fectively) is a quarterly award designed to recognize employees who demon-strate our core values — Reverence,

Compassion, Justice, and Excellence — in their daily work.

Anyone can nominate an associate for the LOVE award – patients, visitors, family members, physicians, volunteers and co-workers. Nomination forms are available throughout the hospital and online.

Congratulations to our 2014 winners.

Erica Scherer, radiology technologist

1st Quarter

Brett Sullivan, RN, ICU

2nd Quarter

Chris Rickers, groundskeeper

3rd Quarter

Mary Hojnacki and Danette Lee present their Thanksgiving basket from the 2E & 2S.

Snowvember took his home, years of working in a train yard damaged his hips, but Orchard Park resident Melvin Bluhm is still a thankful man.

On December 2, he received a very special gift, the gift of mobility.

Thanks to Operation Walk USA; John Repicci, MD, DDS; and Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Melvin received a free hip replacement.

His treatment – including surgery, hospitalization and pre-and post-operative care – were provided at no cost to him as part of this national volunteer effort.

However, prior to the surgery, his roof collapsed during the November snow-storm and his home was condemned.

The surgery went on as scheduled, and Melvin continued his physical rehabilitation with McAuley Seton HomeCare at his sister’s home in North Tonawanda.

“I just don’t know how to thank them.” said Melvin. “It’s impossible to thank them for what they gave me.”

A second time beneficiary of the Op-eration Walk USA surgery, he suffered for years with pain caused by deterio-rated hips. Without insurance, he was in constant pain and forced to use a cane or walker to get around.

“Painful and non-functioning knees and hips are a tremendous hindrance to quality of life,” Dr. Repicci, the hospital’s former chief of Orthopedic Surgery noted.

“It can make completing even the simplest task, excruciatingly painful or impossible. Through Operation Walk USA, we are making it possible for people, who have often lived with their disability for decades, to return to work and other activities with few limitations,” he added

Fortunately, Melvin did have home-owner’s insurance and as luck would have it, his son is a contractor who will help build a new home after winter.

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Kenmore Mercy Hospital was recognized by Healthgrades in its national quality report. The Healthgrades awards are part of its 2015 Re-port to the Nation, which highlights achievements in 33 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions. This included ranking Kenmore Mercy among America’s 100 best hospitals for both joint re-placement and orthopedic surgery for the second year in a row.

In addition, the hospital received four five-star awards in a number of categories and three service excellence awards for outperforming hospi-tals across the county in the areas of ortho-pedic, joint replace-ment, neurosurgery and pancreatic surgeries.

Healthgrades has given Kenmore Mercy the Joint Replacement Excellence Award for nine years in a row, which places it in the top five percent in the nation.

For its analysis, Healthgrades independently eval-uated approximately 40 million Medicare patient records from more than 4,500 hospitals across the country to arrive at its star rating system.

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Orthopedic Campus of Excellence

Orchard Park Man Thankful for Surgery

Christie Petre, PTA (right) works with Melvin Bluhm to improve his hip mobility during inpatient rehabilitation.

Dr. John Repicci

Hospital Ranked High by Healthgrades

Associates in the Knee & Hip Center, like Andrea Schmitt, NP, and Sue Wasielewski, RN, played a significant role in the hospital achieving five stars.

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Surgical Services

Surgical Services Project Approved by DOHKenmore Mercy Hospital is geared up for the next stage in its Surgical Services Project. The hospital was recently approved by the New York State Department of Health to relocate and modernize its preoperative holding and post anesthesia care units.

As Catholic Health’s Orthopedic Campus of Ex-cellence, Kenmore Mercy has seen significant surgical volume growth.

The latest project calls for an $8 million reno-vation of the hospital’s old Emergency Depart-ment, space that was vacated when it opened its new ER in 2013.

When complete, the 18-month project will enable Kenmore Mercy to increase its Pre-operative Holding Unit from 22 patient bays with six private rooms to 30 patient bays with 11 private rooms. The Post Anesthesia Care Unit will increase from 10 to 11 patient bays, plus an isolation room.

“The planned construction of our holding and recovery areas, will support the growth we are seeing in orthopedics, neurosurgery, and general surgery, while giving our surgeons and OR staff a more modern and efficient work environment,” said hospital president & CEO James Millard.

The presurgical holding area is expected to be completed by late 2015 and the recovery area by mid-2016.

Bob Fritschi, Catholic Health facility planner, and Nick Wells, project manager with Telco Construction, discuss next steps of the Surgical Services project in the former Emergency Department space.

New Rehab Program Helping Those with Peripheral Arterial Disease

during the

2015 Voice of the Associate Survey

Frozen? Warm up with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cookies

when you bring your completed form to Human Resources (4th Floor).

“Let Us Know”

The VOA runs from February 2 - 17, 2015.

Watch the intranet for specific times.

AthletiCare recently launched a specially-designed Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) rehabilitation program to help patients walk with reduced pain and more stamina.

The supervised exercise program builds strength so patients can get back to daily activities like grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, and play-ing with grandchildren.

“Not having the ability to walk as much as you like or to walk without pain can be frustrating and limiting,” said Joe Baumgarden, DPT, Cert MDT, manager for AthletiCare.

The goals of the program include: relieving painful walking; helping individuals walk longer distances and for longer periods of time; improv-

ing quality of life; increasing stamina; and helping patients live and function independently.

The exercise program has other bene-fits, too, such as weight loss, improved blood circulation, lower blood pres-sure and increased HDL (the “good” cholesterol).

These changes can lower the risk of suffering a heart attack and stroke, or developing cardiovascular disease.

PAD affects about 1 in 20 people over the age of 50, or 10 million people in the United States. Of those, more than half the people with PAD experience leg pain, numbness or other symp-toms.

Whiteboards Result in Better CommunicationRegardless of your role in healthcare, commu-nication is central to everyone’s job. Effective communication is not just verbal, it can take on many forms.

Most recently, Kenmore Mercy Hospital intro-duced newly designed patient whiteboards on the 2 West Patient Care Unit. These serve as a mechanism to both communicate with patients and engage them in their care.

The installation of these whiteboards, which will eventually be in all patient rooms throughout the hospital, follows recommendations from the Patient & Family Advisory Council.

Placed in easy view of the patient, whiteboards are a convenient place for many team members to communicate a wide range of information.

This includes details that are important for the patient to remember, like the name of their nurse, room number, and discharge plans. The whiteboards also have key information about the patient to assist caregivers, including diet restrictions, pain management information, and whether or not the individual is a fall risk.

“Communicating effectively with patients and families is a cornerstone of providing quality healthcare,” said Laura Verbanic, director of Quality & Patient Safety.

The whiteboard project is an important step in Kenmore Mercy Hospital’s goal to better com-municate with patients.

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Patient Safety & Experience

Hospital Receives “A” Rating from LeapfrogIn the fall Leapfrog Hospital Safety Score report, which grades hospitals from “A” to “F” for how well they protect patients from errors, injuries and infections, Ken-more Mercy Hospital received the area’s only “A” score. “Patient safety is a priority at Kenmore Mercy Hospital and we are honored to receive this high score of recognition,” said Laura Verbanic, director of Qual-ity & Patient Safety. “Our score of ‘A’ reflects the quality of care we provide to each and every patient, every time.”

Calculated under the guidance of Leap-frog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the

Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” score representing a hospital’s over-all capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm.

In the latest report, of the 2,520 hospi-tals that were issued a hospital safety score, 790 earned an “A.”Lauren Krystofik, RN, on 2 West, prepares a

whiteboard for an incoming patient.

Program Planned to Prevent Staff Injuries

According to recent reports from the United States Department of Labor, healthcare workers are among the most at risk for musculoskeletal dis-orders as a result of repeated manual patient handling activities.

To improve the safety of Kenmore Mercy’s associates and patients, the hospital is implementing a new evidence-based patient handling pro-gram, Move With Care.

Part of Diligent, the country’s leading safe patient handling program, Move With Care, makes its debut at Kenmore Mercy Hospital in the next few months.

As part of the rollout, a number of as-sociates from each department will be selected as “Master Movers.”

These staff members will take part in extensive training to learn the lat-est safe patient handling techniques, as well as how to operate a variety of patient lift, transfer, and mobility equipment, like the Sara Stedy pic-tured here.

In turn, they will then train other asso-ciates who are involved in the transfer and movement of patients, including nurses, therapists, aides and transport personnel.

Together, this training and equipment, will protect the health and wellbeing of hospital associates.

In addition, the program will help enhance patient safety and satisfac-tion. Patient injuries can be attributed to improper lifting or manual patient lifting.

By adopting a minimal manual lift philosophy, in conjunction with spe-cial patient handling equipment, the hospital seeks to improve patient care and associate safety.

The Sara Stedy, demonstrated here by Kattie Tatta, RN, and Amy Shellman, RN, helps to minimize manual handling by caregivers.

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New Bone Densitometry Helping Detect Osteoporosis Kenmore Mercy Hospital’s Imaging Department recently added a new DEXA bone densitometer to help in the treatment and diagnosis of osteoporo-sis, a condition where bones become weak to the point of breaking.

The bone densitometer uses small amounts of x-rays to produce images of the spine, hip, or even the whole body.

A computer analyzes the variances in absorption levels to calculate how much bone mineral is present.

“We continue to upgrade and add new imaging services to Kenmore Mercy Hospital in order to improve patient care and make our services more convenient for patients,” said John Severins, manager of Imaging Services for the hospital. “We are excited about what this new DEXA machine will mean for our patients.”

Early detection using a bone density measure-ment is the best way to help physicians find and treat osteoporosis. A bone density scan is simple, non-invasive and painless exam, designed to measure bone mass in areas such as your spine, hip, wrist, finger, kneecap, shin bone, and heel. The test uses a low dose x-ray to detect signs of bone thinning and mineral loss.

Osteoporosis is a growing healthcare concern affecting millions of women and men worldwide. However, there are rarely signs until a lot of bone has been lost.

The most visible symptoms may include loss of height along with a curvature of the upper back. Bone density scans are recommended if you are age 65 or older regardless of risk.

Radiology technologists Katelyn Haug, Jolene Saccomanno, and Heather Proctor frequently use the DEXA for patient scans.

Clinical Integration

Blood DriveCommunity Room

Wednesday, February 18 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. For an appointment, please call Volunteer Services at 447-6189.

Welcome to Our New PhysiciansJeffrey Brewer, MD, joined the Surgery De-partment. He specializes in trauma and laparo-scopic surgery, as well as treating burns. He completed his medi-cal education at SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine and a general surgery residency and intern-ship at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Clairice Cooper, MD,joined the Surgery Department. She spe-cializes in laparoscopic and trauma surgery. She completed her medical education at SUNY at Buffalo School of Medi-cine, where she also did a general surgery residency.

Michael Giglio, MD,joined the Neurology Department. He diagno-ses and treat disorders of the nervous system. He earned his medical degree from Ross Univer-sity School of Medicine. Dr. Giglio completed a neu-rology residency at SUNY Upstate and an internal medicine internship at the

University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center. In addition, he com-pleted a neurobehavioral fellowship at Strong Memorial Hospital. He treats patients at Invision Health.

Gaurav Jain, MD,joined the Internal Medicine Department. He specializes in inter-ventional pain manage-ment and anesthesiology and also has expertise in internal medicine and psychiatry. He completed medical education at King George Medical University in India. His post-doctoral training included a fellowship in pain medicine and anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medi-cal Center. He completed residencies in internal medicine and psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. He treats patients at Invi-sion Health.

Brewer

Jain

Giglio

Cooper

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Nursing Excellence

ICU Seeking Beacon Renewal The Intensive Care Unit is gearing up to pursue renewal of the Beacon Award from the Ameri-can Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). Kenmore Mercy received the silver level of the award in 2012.

This award validates the department’s ongo-ing work to improve patient outcomes, develop patient- and family-centered care and advance nursing practice.

To be considered for the award, nurses and nursing leadership must outline their work in the areas of evidence-based practices and processes; patient outcomes; appropriate staff-ing and staff engagement; leadership structure and process; knowledge management and best practices; and effective communication, among others.

“The ICU has a strong commitment to quality improvement,” said Kristen Parisi, RN, nurse manager of the ICU. “In the past few years, the unit has focused its efforts on creating a healthy work environment and pursuing evidence-based practices, as well as reducing pressure ulcer rates and central line infections.”

In addition, staff continue enriching their educa-tion. Many nurses are pursuing bachelor’s and advanced degrees in nursing and other certifica-tions. Most of the ICU nurses have also joined the AACN, and many have taken or are going to take the CCRN exam.

“This is an ongoing journey that the Nursing team and all of Kenmore Mercy must continue in order to provide the best care possible to our patients and their families,” added Cheryl Hayes, vice president of Patient Care Services.

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Irene McNeill, RN, and Renata Pagels, review a patient’s chart in the ICU.

Knee & Hip Center Nurse Receives DAISY AwardCongratulations to Matt Winiarski, RN, from the Knee & Hip Center. He was recently honored with the fall 2014 DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing.

The DAISY Award is part of a nationalprogram to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day. It was established in 2000 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died of complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) at the age of 33. (DAISY is an acronym for diseases attacking the immune system).

The nomination from a patient’s fam-ily explained that Matt, “is possibly the most efficient, professional and thorough nurse I’ve observed.”

They continued, “Matt was exemplary; he made me feel like my loved one was well cared for and in excellent hands.”

Each DAISY Award honoree receives a hand-carved stone sculpture, like

shown below, entitled “A Healer’s Touch,” as well as a certificate, and a DAISY Award pin.

Additionally, every one in the unit celebrates with Cinnabons, a favorite of Patrick’s during his illness.

If you would like to nominate a nurse at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, visit our website at www.chsbuffalo.org or complete a nomination form and place it in one of the DAISY boxes located throughout the hospital.

Cheryl Hayes, vice president of Patient Care Services, presents Matt Winiarski, RN, with the Daisy Award.