St. Joseph Completes 600th Robot-Assisted Surgery St. Joseph Health Center’s Robotic Surgical Services recently achieved a landmark accomplishment: completion of its 600th robot-assisted surgery. Dr. Anthony DeSalvo performed the 600th robot-assisted surgery, a robot-assisted hysterectomy. “Because patients who undergo minimally invasive robot-assisted procedures have less pain and recover faster, it makes sense for anyone who is a candidate to choose robot-assisted surgery,” Dr. DeSalvo says. “Most of my patients want to get back to their normal routines as fast as possible and robot-assisted surgery allows them to do that.” The first robot-assisted surgery in Trumbull County was completed at St. Joseph Health Center April 13, 2012. Dr. DeSalvo performed that surgery, also a robot-assisted hysterectomy, on a 26-year-old mother of four. Hysterectomies and oophorectomies (surgical removal of the ovaries) were the first robot-assisted procedures offered at St. Joe’s. Since then, the variety of robot-assisted procedures performed by surgeons at St. Joe’s have grown to include a wider variety of gynecologic procedures, general surgical procedures such as gall bladder removal, and surgical weight-loss procedures. Humility of Mary Health Partners introduced robot-assisted surgery to the Mahoning Valley in 2007 and remains the most experienced provider of robot-assisted surgical procedures in the region.

St. Joseph Welcomes Akron Children’s St. Joseph Health Center and Akron Children’s Hospital have signed an agreement for Akron Children’s to operate the pediatric unit and special care nursery at St. Joseph Health Center in Warren. According to the plan, Akron Children’s will begin operating the seven-bed pediatric and six-bed special care nursery later this year. The plan will upgrade the special care nursery from Level I to Level II to serve higher-acuity babies. A Level II nursery is able to care for babies born up to 8 weeks premature (at or greater than 32 weeks gestation), who weigh at least 3 lbs. and who are physiologically immature, such as those who have breathing problems or are unable to feed orally. Akron Children’s and St. Joseph Health Center are working collaboratively to integrate quality monitoring and performance improvement programs, bringing together the best of both organizations.

June 2014

In This Issue

Botox for Migraines Welcome New Docs Cancer Support Services Capnography & Safety Pharmacy Update

MedStaff Update Information for the medical staffs of St. Elizabeth, St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth Boardman health centers

Pulmonary Rehab at St. Joseph Pulmonary rehabilitation is now being offered in the new St. Joseph Wellness area. To participate in pulmonary rehabilitation program patients must complete and pulmonary function test and must be a non-smoker or have quit smoking. Pulmonary rehabilitation provides patients with an evidence based, multifaceted approach to services that include physician prescribed exercise, education, and training, psychosocial and outcomes assessments. For more information, call 330.841.4001.

Merit and Milestones

Congratulations to Karen Rodgers, BSN, MSN, CCRN, ACNS named the Ohio Hospital Association’s 2014 Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the year. Also honored at the annual dinner were Mary Jo Penk and Glenda Bell-Golec, RN. HMHP President and CEO Bob Shroder was this year’s winner of the OHA’s James R. Castle Distinguished Service Award. The award honors an individual whose professional attainments embody qualities of an outstanding leader or mentor for service to the healthcare community, Congratulations to Joe Kukla, RN (St. E’s 8th floor) and Phillip Starr, DO, SJ Family Medicine Director for receiving the Barbara Donaho Distinguished Leadership in Learning Award from the Kent State University College of Nursing.

Save the Date

2014 Primary Care Update September 5-7, 2014 Holiday Inn | 7410 South Ave. Boardman, OH St. Joseph Health Center is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Division of CME. This program has been submitted to the AOA for approval of up to 20 hours of Category 1-A CME. This activity is planned in accordance with the Essential and Standards of ACCME.

St. Joseph Trauma Center Re-verified

St. Joseph Health Center has been re-verified as a Level III trauma center by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center's dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients. As a member of Humility of Mary Health Partners, St. Joseph is part of a care network that also includes the region’s only Level I trauma center, St. Elizabeth Health Center. Working cooperatively, the two trauma centers enable severely injured patients to get the treatment they need without leaving the Mahoning Valley. Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the American College of Surgeons' Committee on Trauma in its current Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual.

Botox for the Treatment of Chronic Migraines In addition to the previously FDA approved indications (upper limb spasticity and cervical dystonia), onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox®) was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of chronic migraine. Stephanie Kopey, DO specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic migraine. Treatment with onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox®) requires that the patient experiences more than 15 headache days per month with headaches lasting greater than 4 hours a day and has failed other treatment options. Typically this requires exhausting at least three abortive and three preventive migraine medications. Dr. Kopey provides comprehensive patient care including: Assist with diagnosing patients you suspect have chronic migraine, cervical

dystonia or limb spasticity. Help optimize patient’s current treatment plan using a multidisciplinary

treatment plan. Prescribe therapies for chronic migraine, cervical dystonia or limb spasticity. Help you manage patient expectations. Manage the reimbursement process for onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox®). Evaluate for and inject onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox®) for the chronic

migraine, cervical dystonia or limb spasticity indication. Additionally, this can be done in the setting of an accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory so that electromyographic guidance for needle localization can be used to improve the safety and efficacy of these treatments for your patients.

Dr. Kopey is currently accepting referrals for all three indications for treatment with onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox®): chronic migraine, cervical dystonia, and limb spasticity. Howland Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 1950 Niles-Cortland Rd. NE, Suite 4 Warren, OH 44484 Phone: (330) 856-5614

Breath Monitoring Boosts Patient Safety HMHP hospitals have expanded their use of capnography, or breath monitoring, to include patients outside the operating room. St. Elizabeth, St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth Boardman health centers join a growing group of healthcare leaders in embracing this state-of-the-art patient safety technology. Not getting enough oxygen can lead to medical problems and even cardiopulmonary arrest. Capnography measures the level of carbon dioxide in a breath each time the patient exhales. If breathing becomes shallow or slows down, a condition called respiratory depression, an alarm alerts caregivers to the change. Capnography has been used for many years to watch patients under general anesthesia in the operating room. Now, hospitals committed to patient safety are using the technology to monitor the quality of patients’ breathing in other care areas. Several healthcare organizations have recently proposed that hospitals make much broader use of capnography to monitor patients including The Joint Commission, the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and The American Heart Association (AHA).

 

Thank you from Cathy Tolbert, Sr Vice President of Nursing and Clinical Services, CNE.

On behalf of nursing, I want to thank the medical staff for supporting our efforts to recognize nurses during Nurses Week in

May. As part of Nurses Week, nurses nominate physicians at each site, for our “Partner in Excellence” award. Recognized this year at St. Elizabeth Boardman was Dr. Javier Calderon and at St. Elizabeth was Dr. Irene Heldman.

Welcoming Our New Doctors

Joseph A. Martin, MD | Bariatric/General Surgery Education: Ross University School of Medicine Residency: St. Elizabeth General Surgery Residency Practice: Warren Surgical Associates 627 Eastland Avenue, Suite 302 (Eastland Building II) Warren, OH 44484 | Phone: 330-841-4477

Dan Lai, MD | Neurology Education: Ohio State University College of Medicine Residency: Neurology, UPMC Fellowship: Clinical Neurophysiology, Stanford University Medical Center Practice: Boardman Neurology 8423 Market Street, Suite 205 Boardman, OH 44512 | Phone: 330-729-1933 M. Mujib Rahman, MD | Neurology Education: Medical College of Virginia Residency: Medical College of Virginia Fellowship: Medical College of Virginia Practice: Howland Neurology 1950 Niles-Cortland Rd. NE, Suite 4 Warren, OH 44484 | Phone: 330-856-1686

Alex Heintzelman, MD | Family Practice Education: Northeast Ohio Medical University Residency: St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency

Practice: Columbiana Family Health Center 225 East State Route 14 Columbiana, OH 44408 | Phone: 330-482-2903

Diabetes Update: PHQ-9 to Replace HANDS As per CHP advisement the PHQ-9 Depression Tool will replace the HANDS depression tool for participants attending Diabetes Education classes. The patient’s PHQ score will be included on every Dear Doctor letter. The physician office, however, will continue to be notified if a patient re-ports suicidal ideations. Please call 330-480-2676 with any questions.

HMHP Hospitals Recognized for Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Advocacy This month all three Humility of Mary Health Partners (HMHP) hospitals were recognized by Donate Life Ohio, the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) and the Ohio Department of Health’s Second Chance Trust Fund for taking action to reduce that number during 2014. St. Elizabeth was named a Platinum Partner in the Community Hospital category of the 2013-2014 Hospital Champions program, aimed at increasing organ, eye and tissue donor registration. St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth Boardman were named Gold Partners during the 2014 OHA Annual Meeting. Throughout the year, HMHP hospitals sponsor many activities and programs to encourage employees and members of the general public to register as organ, eye and tissue donors.

 Pharmacy Reports Reductions in Medication Events

Pharmacy is reporting a significant reduction in medication events with the electronic health record systems - CarePath (EPIC) – computerized practitioner order entry, bar code medication administration and bar code medication dispensing (pharmacy robot, medcarousel systems.) Reported Med Events, Number of High Alert Medication Events

HMHP Cancer Centers: Building Support Service The Cancer Centers of Humility of Mary Health Partners have made additions to our team over the last few months. These additions were felt to be essential in continuing to provide comprehensive patient care to our cancer patients as well as providing a better experience for our referring physicians. The additions include: Oncology Social Worker Registered Dietitian Service Line Coordinator Additional patient navigators Palliative medicine professionals Prescription assistance professionals These professionals are dedicated to the patients at our St. Joseph, St Elizabeth and Boardman Cancer Centers exclusively. Our Social Worker meets with patients and their families to assist with any social issues and to break down barriers to care. From counseling to helping them get insurance coverage or financial assistance, she is available to them each step of the way. Our Registered Dietician not only see’s our patients who are experiencing weight loss, she also counsels at risk patients prior to the onset of treatment to proactively avoid excessive weight loss during treatment. The Oncology Service Line Coordinator is a link between the services offered at our centers and community physician offices. This coordinator makes it easier to refer and manage your patients while they are undergoing treatment in our cancer centers. For more information on our cancer program or any of these services, you can contact our Oncology Service Line Coordinator at 330-480-3181.