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IT’S HOLIDAY
PARTY TIME!
As the holidays quickly approach, we
look forward to celebrating the joys of
the season with our spectacular SMHC
family. In keeping with tradition, SMHC
is hosting Holiday Parties to celebrate
the accomplishments of our wonderful
team. We appreciate the hard work and
commitment by all this past year!
Monday 12/8:
Delivery to specified off-site Locations
Tuesday 12/9:
Served at the Sanford Medical Center
· 11am-1:30pm SMHC Café
· 4pm-6:30pm SMHC Café
· 10pm Delivered to the units
Wednesday12/10: Served at the Biddeford Medical Center
· 11am-1:30pm SMHC Café
· 4pm-6:30pm SMHC Café
· 10pm Delivered to the units
AHRQ SURVEY
We are asking all staff who work in clinical areas at the Biddeford
and Sanford Medical Centers to complete the AHRQ Culture of
Safety Survey by December 19. It is a15
minute confidential survey on the Patient
Safety Culture within the hospital setting
at SMHC, sponsored by the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The department with the highest response rate will win a pizza party!
GO TO >> www.patientsafetygroup.org/survey/smhc.
Please note - a separate survey focused on the office practice
setting will be administered in the future.
December 2014
SMHC’s Annual Appeal Co-Chairs:
“Please Join Us!”
We serve in different roles; yet, we have a
common goal to provide exceptional healthcare. This year’s annual appeal campaign will
benefit enhancing the patient experience (unless you specify otherwise). To donate, go to:
www.smhc.org/employee-annual-appeal.
All donors who make a gift or pledge by
12/15, will be entered into a raffle for a Fit Bit
One! Questions? Karen Chasse at 283-7238.
Jennifer Corbeil
Jennifer Granata
Practice Manager
Nursing Director
Kennebunk Pediatrics & IM Emergency Services
Jeans Days
Just Got
Even Better...
Starting in January 2015, every Friday will be
Jeans Day at SMHC! Funds raised will continue
to benefit the community through our United
Way campaign.
SAVE BIG. You can buy Jeans Day stickers in
advance and save money. Your options are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
$75 for 24 stickers ($45 savings)
$40 for 12 stickers ($20 savings)
$25 for 6 stickers ($5 savings)
$5 each as the day approaches
Please see your facility jeans day rep or
call Missy Nadeau at 283-7225 for stickers.
Vol. 1, No. 12
Straight Talk:
Improving the Health and Health
Care of our Community
People come to physician offices and
hospitals expecting to be healed and made
to feel better. This usually happens but, unfortunately, far too often it does not. A 1999
Institute of Medicine report estimated that
Ed McGeachey
as many as 98,000 people each year die as a
President & CEO
result of hospital errors. Everyone involved
with health care was appalled. In fact, it spurred a call to action
that led to The 100,000 Lives Campaign which pointed out that
simply delivering care is not good enough; we need to deliver
safe, quality care. Healthcare providers since then have focused enormous attention and resources on best practices that
prevent avoidable injuries, illnesses, and deaths acquired while
hospitalized. There was a 17% drop in hospital errors from 2010
to 2013, and this equated to a savings of $12 billion in avoided
healthcare costs.
What are we doing to make health care safer?
During the past three years, there have been 1.3 million fewer
hospital acquired infections. SMHC was one of only two “best”
hospitals in Maine for avoiding hospital-acquired infections last
year, as reported by Medicare. Our excellent outcomes result
from many processes we have hardwired into our care, such as
consistently following best practices in the insertion of central
lines; administering appropriate antibiotics prior to surgery;
lowering the risk of urinary tract infections by reducing the use
of foley catheters; avoiding overuse of antibiotics to reduce
the risk of antibiotic resistant infections; vaccinating patients
and employees against the flu; and improving hand hygiene
practices (“Foam In. Foam Out.”). Other efforts that are making
care safer include our fall prevention actions, such as our Yellow
Slippers and Star notifications, as well as consistent application
of bed alarms; prevention of pressure ulcers, through careful
monitoring and shifting the position of patients; and avoidance
of adverse drug reactions through medication reconciliation
programs and drug allergy notification processes. SMHC can
proudly assure our patients that we are delivering excellent
care. And our patient experience results are showing that patients are feeling good about their hospital stay.
Medicare now pays hospitals in part based upon the “value” of
their care. If a hospital doesn’t achieve Medicare’s established
quality care goals, such as those stated above, that hospital is
penalized financially. Based upon our results for the past year,
SMHC had no penalties for avoidable readmissions and no penalties for hospital-acquired infections, and had the best results
of any Maine hospital in a number of quality areas. I applaud
and thank you for our successful efforts to provide the best
and safest care to our patients.
I wish you and your loved ones a healthy, happy Holiday season.
Enjoy the SMHC Holiday Dinner! I hope to see you there!
Best regards,
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You Rock!
Rock Stars
Carie Girard, Case Management
Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration, Stewardship
“Carie was amazing de-escalating
and educating a very upset family member. She maintained her
calm and empathetic approach
explaining a denial and the financial process. The family member
walked away less stressed and not
upset. A very difficult situation,
handled perfectly!”
Brittany Hamlin, Pain Clinic
Compassion, Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration
“Brittany volunteered to come in
on Halloween which was her day
off to cover a short staffed front
desk. She is a MA so this was out
of her comfort zone, but she did
an amazing job. Everything went
smoothly and patient care was
not negatively impacted because
of her. Big thanks for her dedication and teamwork!”
Brenda White, Information Systems
Compassion, Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration
“Brenda has always been there
when I need immediate access
for new contract employees. She
has given me guidance when I
didn’t have a clue where to go
for my always urgent needs. She
has been the best team player
ever and deserves recognition!”
S
potlight:
MHC Superstars!
Southern Maine Health Care
has again received a gold level
in the 2014 Maine TobaccoFree Hospital Network Gold
Star Standards of Excellence
Recognition Program. Thanks
to the team that led this effort
and all of our SMHC staff!
2014 LET’S GO! HEALTHCARE SITES OF DISTINCTION
Congratulations to the following practices for being recognized:
Family Medicine, Kennebunk
Pediatrics, Kennebunk
Pediatrics, Biddeford
Pediatrics, Saco
The providers and office staff at these locations are recognized for
demonstrating their commitment to Let’s Go! and their community.
A new Bedside Medication Verification (BMV) system implemented
this fall at both SMHC Medical Centers has enhanced patients’ safety.
BMV allows caregivers to utilize bar code scanning technology prior to
administering medications to confirm patient identity and medication
information against data readily available via MEDITECH’s electronic
Medication Administration Record. Immediate access to a patient’s
current pertinent results and medication administration information
greatly reduces preventable medication errors. The use of bar code
scanning increases accuracy and efficiency of caregivers completing
medication administration records, providing physicians faster and
easier access to critical information to manage patient care.
A big thanks to nursing, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, clinical
nurse Informaticists and IS for their hard work and enthusiasm.
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Alex Paul, son of Pris Paul who is the
Practice Manager at Pediatrics and WalkIn Care in Saco, was recently on NBC’s
The Today Show. To see the
inspirational story go to:
www.today.com/health/quadriplegicwalks-again-starts-exercise-programhelp-others-spinal-cord-1D80261930.
Suzanne Epperly, an Echocardiography (Echo) Tech in Sanford, received her
registry in Echo-RDCS by the American
Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS). ARDMS is the globally
recognized standard of excellence in
sonography. Credentials awarded by ARDMS document personal achievement of
recognized professional standards.
The Echocardiography (Echo) department received accreditation by the
Intersocietal Accreditation Commission
(IAC). IAC is a nationally recognized certification that speaks to the high quality
of care delivered by the Echo team at
SMHC.
T
H
G
U
ON
CA
C
!
A
R
E
AM
Tree of Life celebrations
SMHC Sports Performance Center ribbon
cutting ceremony
Suzanne Menard and Marie Szkniej at a fundraiser
for the Pease Greeters who greet soldiers coming and
going to war!
SMHC team serving Thanksgiving dinner at
the Senior Center in Kennebunk!
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Leadership hosting York County
Representatives and Senators
WOW, Thank you Saco Biddeford Savings for the almost
$1,000 donation to the SMHC Center for Breast Care!
Last month’s
Bergeron Shoe
sale
New Roche equipment ribbon cutting
Ortho team taking a casting class
Cancer Care Center of York County Board Members:
Karen Pierce-Stewart (Executive Director), Al Swallow (Retiring Board Member), Bob Hardison (Chairman of the Board),
and Ed (Board Member + our awesome CEO!)
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PROFILE: Case Management
Number of Staff: 19
What and where are the services provided to
co-workers, patients, and families? And how
does the Case Management team contribute to
the mission and values of SMHC?
Case Managers - Registered Nurses who work
with every patient in the inpatient setting to
facilitate their stay and guide their transition
from the acute setting back to the community.
Department Assistant - The go to person for all the
different members of the team and our patients on both campuses for logistical, practical
and communication needs.
The team has a variety of responsibilities and focuses. They all
work closely with the interdisciplinary team and support SMHC
in different ways, always with the most important goal, excellent Case Magement helps the patients receive,
care for our patients and families--always. The team includes:
and the interdisciplinary team provide, the
Clinical Documentation Specialists - Registered Nurses that review ev- right care at the right time in the right setting.
ery inpatient chart to ensure that they reflect the complexity of
the medical care that patients receive in the acute care setting.
In the past 7 days there have been 171
Core Measures Case Manager - A Registered Nurse who focuses on
patients admitted between the 2 campuses
the specific diagnosis and the best practice for the best care.
and Case Management has served each one in
Social Workers - Staff who assist and support patients, their famimany ways including:
lies and caregivers to cope with the difficulties of illness and
>> connecting patients to community,
plan for their ongoing needs.
financial, and support resources
Access Case Manager - A Registered Nurse who is based in the
>> helping families plan for the long term
Emergency Department and works with the physicians and
>>assisting patients transition care with the
surgeons to ensure that patients have the care and resources
services they need
they need in the right setting.
DID YOU KNOW?
Colleague Deadline: December 19 • Next Release Date: January 2
This newsletter is published the first Friday of each month. Please direct articles and requests to Editor Diana
Arnold at 283-7922 or via e-mail at [email protected].
If you wish to have your name removed from our mailing list, please write to us at:
Southern Maine Health Care, Community Relations | 1 Medical Center Drive | Biddeford, ME 04005
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SMHC INTRANET SMHC Events
Bag Ali Sale
We have had many people inquire about a
combined intranet for SMHC. Luckily that site Thursday, December 11, 10am-3pm
9 Healthcare Drive, Biddeford
does exist. Please use the following link to
2nd Floor Conference Room
get to the SMHC Intranet.
Bags, briefcases, scarves, wallets and more
at great deals. A percentage of the sales
You may also want to save a shortcut to this
benefit the SMHC Auxiliary.
site on your desktop AND delete the old
Questions? Call Missy Nadeau 283-7225.
shortcut you have been using.
http://smhc-intranet/
As you can see from the page below there is
a link to the Sanford intranet where you will
find cafeteria menus as well as special events
related specifically to this location. Our webmaster, Michael Nee, is continuing to add
everything to the SMHC intranet so that the
other can be retired.
Talking Tobacco with Patients
12/17 12-1pm-Biddeford Classrooms B&D
12/18 12-1pm-Biddeford Classrooms A&C
1/7 12-1pm-Sanford Conference Room
These FREE sessions for care providers offer skills and tips to encourage patients to
quit tobacco. Led by a Certified Tobacco
Treatment Specialist from The Center for
Tobacco Independence, these evidencebased skills will help you open effective
conversations about tobacco-use. Lunch
will be provided. Now offering CMEs and
CEUs for 1 contact hour!
Space is limited!
To Register: Call 283-7272 or email [email protected].
NEW! Mature Women’s Support Group
WALK-IN CARE
SMHC’s Waterboro Walk-In Care re-opened on
12/1 and will be open 7 days from 10am-7pm.
Tuesday, December 16*, 4-5:15pm
Biddeford Medical Center Classrooms
*Meets every other Tuesday
Discusses issues pertaining to life as we grow older.
For more information, please call 240-8638.
Next Wednesday, December 10, Ed and Patsy
are hosting a Grand Re-opening from 8-9 am
at the Walk-In Care in Waterboro and all are
invited to attend.
SMHC’s Saco
Walk-In Care
has new hours
effective 12/1
and will now
be open 7
days from
10am-7pm.
A value of
over $1800!
How do YOU make winter fun?
Skiing? Snowboarding? Ice Skating?
Try them ALL with a WinterKids Passport!
SIGN UP YOUR
5TH, 6TH, OR 7TH GRADER TODAY
Check out Passport Perks available
only for Passport holders!
Learn more at www.winterkids.org
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2014-2015
Passport
What’s Happening
Addiction
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Did you know that SMHC offers a Chemical Dependency
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): The Chemical
Dependency Recovery Program (CD IOP) in Biddeford? It
provides outpatient treatment for chemically dependent
persons in a safe, secure, confidential, supportive and
therapeutic environment conducive to recovery. Clients
participate with a multidisciplinary team in a group setting. According to their individualized treatment plan,
clients are provided with learning experiences that will
assist them in reaching sobriety within the family and
the community. The SMHC CD IOP is staffed by caring
and expert providers, available to help through the
challenging transitions from illness to recovery. Program
features include:
in December?
Services at SMHC
Holiday Party: Delivery to specified off-site locations.
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Holiday Party: Served at the Sanford Medical Center. See
front page for times.
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Holiday Party: Served at the Biddeford Medical Center.
See front page for times.
• Introduction to the 12 Steps
• Education of Addition and Recovery Process
• Opiate Treatment with Vivitrol
• Relapse Prevention
• Family Dynamics
• Emotional Awareness
• Self Awareness
• Social Skills
• Self Esteem
• Values
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Bag Ali Sale: 10am-3pm in the 9 Healthcare Drive 2nd Floor
Glass Conference Room.
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Talking Tobacco With Patients Training: 12-1pm in Biddeford Classrooms B&D. Space is limited. To register call
283-7272 or email [email protected].
Anyone can call
SMHC’s Chemical
Dependency
Recovery Program
completely
confidentially:
(207) 283-7660.
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Talking Tobacco With Patients Training: 12-1pm in Biddeford Classrooms A&C. Space is limited. To register call
283-7272 or email [email protected].
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GREAT-ful for you
Jeans Day for United Way: Pay $5 to wear jeans to work
with all the funds supporting the United Way.
You are great. And we are grateful--for ALL
of our SMHC team members, EVERY day.
This month we celebrate:
AIDS Day
Influenza Vaccination
Older Driver Safety Awareness
Persons with Disabilities
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