Community Benefits ReportFiscal Year 2012

Community Benefits ReportFiscal Year 2014

MEDSTAR ST. MARY’S

HOSPITAL BOARD MEMBERS

Barbara R. Thompson, Chair

Jane H. Sypher, Vice Chair

R. Timothy Storch, Treasurer

Lewie Aldridge, Jr.

Christina Broom Via

Donald Cather

Anna Choi, MD

Mary Leigh Harless

Tracy Harris, PhD

Krishna P. Jayaraman, MD

Conor F. Lundergan, MD

Jennifer Blake Meyer

Kenneth A. Samet

Avani Shah, MD

Patty Vernon-Rusher

Christine R. Wray

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MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital of St. Mary’s County, its

Medical Staff and Auxiliary, are non-discriminating

in their admission, treatment, employment and

membership policies. The hospital employs, offers

membership, renders treatment and receives vendor

services without regard to race, color, religion, age,

sex, national origin or ancestry, marital status or status

as a qualified disabled individual. Patients receive

considerate and respectful care at MedStar St. Mary’s

regardless of the source of payment. MedStar St. Mary’s

Hospital’s Payment Assistance Program provides free

or reduced charges for care to patients who receive

inpatient and outpatient services. This program is

available for individuals who are not eligible to receive

medical assistance from the state and meet specific

income requirements. If you are interested in finding

out if you qualify for payment assistance, please contact

our Credit Office at 301-475-6039.

Dear Friends,Our community takes prides in caring for their own and family bonds are tight. Whether it’s shoveling snow for older relatives, cooking meals for someone ill or watching a neighbor’s child, our community members willingly help.

We at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital also share this sense of service and for more than 100 years we have taken care of our neighbors’ health, and continue our vision of being the trusted leader in caring for people and advancing health. We want to ensure that everyone in our region who is in need of care has access to it.

Guided by Community Health Needs Assessments, we have purposefully partnered with others in our community to address priority health needs for the area. First through a commission established by the county commissioners and now through the Local Health Improvement Coalition, Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership, we actively collaborate to improve the health of the community. Currently, four focus teams are setting goals and creating action plans. The teams include Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) Action Team; Access to Care Action Team; Behavioral Health Action Team and Tobacco Free Living Action Team.

Key community partners have joined the initiative and attend meetings regularly to provide input on specific health-related interests. A Health Connections’ associate co-chairs the HEAL team communicating healthy lifestyle opportunities and education. Our director of Health Connections co-chairs the Access to Care Action Team, which identifies gaps in areas of care and health disparities. Our hospital works to fill the gaps and hires new physicians in service areas of demand.

Everyone deserves quality care through the seasons of their lives. Serving our community is a long-held tradition for our hospital and we are here for you in your time of need.

Christine R. Wray, FACHE President, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital Senior Vice President, MedStar Health

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Keeping Diabetes at Bay“A light bulb went on overhead,” said Bob Young of St. Leonard. Bob was talking about learning what it means to eat healthy and to pay attention to what he eats. It’s a totally new experience for him. “I’m the guy that always ate whatever he wanted.” That is until he received a doctor’s warning.

Bob is one of 19 participants in Simple Changes, a year-long, evidence-based program designed to help prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Offered for free by Health Connections at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, class members meet once a week during a 16-week core session to get weighed and to weigh-in on a specific topic or skill set, such as social cues, nutrition, physical activity and more.

After the group completes the 16-week course, it then meets just once a month for six months as participants encourage each other to stay on track. They now have to rely on themselves to keep their healthy routines in place and to cement their new habits.

Participants in the course have high blood sugar levels, weight issues or a family history of diabetes. Some of them came based on their doctor’s recommendation. Others came by word of mouth. No matter how they started their

Simple Changes is a year long program with a 16-week core class session for pre-diabetics or for those that have other risk factors such as being overweight or have family members with the disease. This course is an evidenced-based program to help prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Participants are guided step by step and taught new skills and lifestyle changes.

journey, each person hopes to learn and adopt behavior changes to help forestall diabetes.

“We have quite a few success stories in this inaugural class,” said Jenna Mulliken, a program coordinator with Health Connections and one of the course instructors. “The combination of nutrition education and awareness, weekly skill sets to practice and discussion works,” she said. With diabetes on both sides of her family, Laura Bean of Hollywood couldn’t agree more.

“The key is to keep practicing what I’ve learned,” said Laura. “I’ve learned to read nutrition labels carefully and have a better understanding of what they are telling me.” In addition to changing her diet, Laura walks daily and has lost about 21 pounds.

Like Laura, Bob lost more than 20 pounds during the core session. He heeded his doctor’s warning and first attended a one-day diabetes information program offered by Health Connections. “Boy, what a wake-up call that was,” commented Bob.

The hospital’s Diabetes Educator Becky Sutay thought Bob would benefit from the Simple Changes course and called to tell him about it. He‘s glad she did. Bob now understands the connection between eating healthy and keeping diabetes at bay.

Welcoming PhysiciansWe continue to recruit quality physicians in areas identified as having a need in St. Mary’s County. Although we have a number of physicians serving patients in County, ratio of resident to primary care physician stands at 2,829. MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital continues to close the gap and in Fiscal Year 2014, we welcomed 17 new primary and specialty care doctors. Six new physicians are highlighted below.

Visit MedStarStMarys.org and click on Find a Doctor to explore MedStar St. Mary’s online physician directory.

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Edward M. Falta, MD

Specialty: General surgeon

Certification: American Board of Surgery

Medical School: Uniformed Services of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland

John Tramont, MD

Specialty: Gynecologic surgeon

Medical School: Uniformed Services of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland

H. Charles Kim, MD

Specialty: Colon and rectal surgeon

Certification: American Board of Colon Rectal Surgery

Medical School: Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Evgenia Gourgari, MD

Specialty: Pediatric endocrinology

Certification: American Board of Pediatrics

Medical School: Aristotle University Medical School of Thessaloniki, Greece

Temitayo Oyegbile, MD

Specialty: Pediatric neurologist and sleep specialist

Medical School: University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin

Arthur Flatau III, MD

Specialty: Vascular surgeon

Certification: American Board of Vascular Medicine

Medical School: University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida

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Community Benefits Report 4

Access Health - Health Care in the HEZ The new Health Enterprise Zone (HEZ) transportation shuttle is making its rounds within the Greater Lexington Park area, taking riders to healthcare appointments, community service agencies, shopping areas and the two county transit transfer stations at Tulagi Place and Lexwood Drive, among other stops.

June Castro, operations specialist for the HEZ program, laid the groundwork to ready the program helping hire wellness advocates and planning the transportation service route for the new shuttle van.

The shuttle can accommodate eight mobile passengers and two wheelchair riders. According to June, the shuttle served 387 riders within the first two months of its operations just through word of mouth, and ended Fiscal Year 2014 recording 1,175 riders.

“This is a much needed service for many of our clients who find transportation to be a barrier to their health care,” said June. “It’s an additional tool to help them keep medical appointments, get their prescriptions and go shopping for healthy foods. Having these options empowers clients to become more involved in managing their own health.”

The HEZ shuttle’s three-month quarterly pass costs $20. “That is still a very reasonable rate at just under $7 per month,” said June. For individuals who may not be interested in the pass, the cost to use the shuttle is $1 per ride. And, for those unable to afford either option, an application for assistance can be submitted at the Access Health office, which opened in spring 2014 in Lexington Park.

The shuttle service begins its route at 8 a.m. and travels every Monday through Saturday. It runs approximately every hour on the hour, making 16 stops regularly year round within the three zip codes for Great Mills, Lexington Park and Park Hall, the designated HEZ area.

Six part-time lay neighborhood wellness advocates were hired to help guide and support patients in their own neighborhoods. “Our neighborhood wellness advocates are the bridge between health care and learning self reliance, and they will help our patients maintain a better quality of life at home and out in their community,” said Lori Werrell, director of Health Connections. The advocates help monitor and assist residents in managing their chronic conditions that include asthma, COPD, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic heart failure, and behavioral health issues, as needed.

A full time Care Coordinator, Vivian Lopez, RN, serves as a case manager meeting with patients and coordinating appointments, care and transportation needs to help people become more self-sufficient and on target with their healthcare routines.

Coordinator June Castro and new members of the team take a break during their extensive training. (Back row, from left): June Castro, Program Coordinator; Neighborhood Wellness Advocates, Kimberly Van Pelt and James Parker. (Front row, from left): Neighborhood Wellness Advocates, Brandon Cook and Debbie Baker; Vivian Lopez, Clinical Care Coordinator; and Neighborhood Wellness Advocates Christina Leeman and Brenda Coates.

The Dr. J. Patrick Jarboe Mobile Health Center mobilizes physician care to community locations providing primary health care to the underserved population. The center boasts the necessities found in a physician’s office with patient comfort amenities as well.

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Passport to HealthChildren were encouraged to discover St. Mary’s County’s great outdoors and got active last spring and summer through the “More to Explore” passport program. Beginning in May, families picked up their passports at St. Mary’s County libraries and the Office of Tourism.

Passports lead to county and local state parks, historical sites and a farmer’s market where explorers recorded their

visits. Children found a placard at each location and rubbed a “stamp” onto their passport. Most sites accommodated children with disabilities. Before

school started, kids returned their passports to a county library and received a prize.

The program was sponsored by Fit & Healthy St. Mary’s and funded by the Community Transformation Grant and local corporate sponsors dedicated to the health of our county’s residents.

Working Toward WellnessAs a supporting resource organization for the state’s Healthiest Maryland Businesses Initiative, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital assists businesses and non-profits in creating wellness programs.

“We have an entire wellness package available for businesses,” said Lori Werrell, director of Health Connections. “We can assist businesses in writing a wellness policy, starting an employee wellness committee, customize programs or do something as simple as provide access to resources, offer on-site health screenings or any combination of support.“

Health Connection’s Community Health Educator Andrea Hamilton said, “We help jump start a program and give companies a good template to follow and build upon with input from their employees.” For example, companies might create weight loss competitions, offer exercise classes or provide healthier options in vending machines. For more information contact Andrea at 240-434-7489.

A Community Outreach DayA free Women’s Wellness Day was presented to the community on February 22, 2014 by MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital and the St. Mary’s County Chapter of Delicados Incorporated.

The event provided participants with health screenings, health education exhibits and materials. Guest speakers talked on a variety of health topics engaging the audience on issues identified as health priorities by Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership, the county’s health improvement coalition.

Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine at MedStar St. Mary’s, Dr. Michael Perraut offered the group advice on managing asthma and maintaining one’s pulmonary health. He talked about the negative impact smoking cigarettes has on asthma and encouraged smokers to participate in free smoking cessation classes. Health Connections case managers have been certified as smoking cessation educators.

Nancy Moran, RN, Psy.D., Behavioral Health at the hospital spoke on the topic, “Managing Day-to-Day Mental Health and Stress.” And, Dr. Jeffrey Trabb, MedStar Cardiology Associates, addressed heart health and how a healthy weight and an active lifestyle can help prevent heart disease.

Pink Ribbon Grant Renewed Sixth TimeHealth Connections received the

Pink Ribbon Grant Project for $75,482 from the Maryland Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The grant assists uninsured and under insured women of any age in Southern Maryland counties offering free clinical breast exams, mammograms, sonograms, and surgical consults.

CLASSES & SUPPORT GROUPSMedStar St. Mary’s community outreach, Health Connections, offers a variety of classes and support groups free-of-charge to Southern Maryland residents. Some of the classes and support groups offered in Fiscal Year 2014 included:

• Seven Healthy Habits of People with Diabetes

• Prevent Diabetes Workshop

• Diabetes Support Group

• Better Breathers Club

• Stroke Survivors Group

• Stroke Forum

• Good Grief Support Group

• Infant & Child Loss Support Group

• Cancer Support Group

• Look Good, Feel Better

• Living Well with Chronic Conditions

• Senior Gold Card Luncheon

• Breastfeeding Moms Support Group

• Child Passenger Safety Seat Check

• Special Diets Group

• Ostomy Support Group

• BariatricSurgerySupportGroup (for surgeries at MedStar Washington Hospital Center)

SPECIAL EVENTSIn Fiscal Year 2014, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital had more

than 20,000 individual encounters at various community

and special events. These events frequently included

screenings offered by Health Connections free of charge.

It’s another way MedStar St. Mary’s is encouraging the

community to better care for their health. Below are just a

few events that hospital associates hosted or attended:

Women’s Wellness Day February 22, 2014

Cancer Awareness Days October 19, 2013 and April 12, 2014

Juneteenth June 20, 2014

Diabetes Alert Day March 25, 2014

*Health Connections also offered free blood pressure screenings periodically at convenient locations in the community.

Health Connections

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Breastfeeding ResourcesMedStar St. Mary’s offers supportive breastfeeding resources that begin while mothers and newborns are still in the Women’s Health & Family Birthing Center. A lactation consultant visits new mothers to offer education, instruction and helpful tips on breastfeeding. The newly adopted Baby Friendly Initiative encourages babies to stay with moms in their rooms to promote breastfeeding and bonding. After the mother and newborn are discharged, a lactation consultant will follow up with phone support.

In addition, Health Connections host a weekly Breastfeeding Moms Group where new mothers come with their babies to receive free, professional-level support on breastfeeding. The group also provides a place for moms to share their experiences and get answers to their baby development questions.

Women’s Wellness ProgramMedStar St. Mary’s supports the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program of the Department of Health and Hygiene (DHMH) of St. Mary’s County. The hospital provides a registered nurse, who received her Breast Navigator Certification in Fiscal Year 2014. The nurse serves as a case manager and schedules appointments and navigates patients through diagnosis and treatment if needed. This is a free service supported by State and Federal grants.

25500 Point Lookout RoadLeonardtown, MD 20650301-475-8981 PHONE

MedStarStMarys.org

MedStar Franklin Square Medical CenterMedStar Georgetown University HospitalMedStar Good Samaritan HospitalMedStar Harbor HospitalMedStar Montgomery Medical CenterMedStar National Rehabilitation NetworkMedStar Southern Maryland Hospital CenterMedStar St. Mary’s HospitalMedStar Union Memorial HospitalMedStar Washington Hospital CenterMedStar Family ChoiceMedStar Ambulatory ServicesMedStar Health CentersMedStar Visiting Nurse AssociationMedStar Institute for InnovationMedStar Health Research Institute

MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital Fiscal Year 2014 Community Benefits Funding

In Fiscal Year 2014, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital invested $10.2M in services and activities that qualify as Community Benefit. This includes charity care/bad debt, medical education, community health services and research.

Fresh from the Farmer’s MarketFrom early spring to late fall, the Finch family provided fresh produce, homemade jams and breads and farm fresh eggs on Thursdays at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital. They set up their tent in the Outpatient Pavilion parking lot adjacent to the hospital access road.

The farmer’s market patrons were associates, patients and guests who come to the hospital. They chose from variety of fresh picked vegetables depending on the season. During the summer months, peaches, melons, apples, and other locally-grown fruit were sold. The hospital’s administration encouraged associates to take a walk in the fresh air and visit the market.

The hospital periodically advertised the farmer’s market to the public on its Facebook page, electronic sign at the front entrance and on posters in the hospital. Providing healthy choices to our community goes back to our mission of promoting health through education and services.

$5,908,429

Community Health Services $3,430,456

Charity Care

$213,429

Health Professions Education

$561,224

Medicaid Assessments

Owners of Finch Family Farms visit the main hospital campus on Thursdays during the growing season with an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables and more.