May CME Events

• Breast Cancer Tumor Board: May 2, 9, 23 and 30; 7 a.m.; Post Stat Cancer Clinic; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Cancer Conference (TB): May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; 12 p.m.; Wisteria/Jasmine Room; WellStar Cobb Hospital
• Cancer Conference (TB): May 11 and 25; 7 a.m.; Azalea/Camellia Room; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• GI Tumor Board: May 3, 17 and 24; 7 a.m.; Azalea/Camellia Room; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Kennestone Surgical M&M: May 30; 7:30 a.m.; Azalea/Camellia Room
• Neuroradiology/General Neurology Patient Care Conference: May 2; 7 a.m.; Camellia Room; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Neurosciences Conference: May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; 7 a.m.; Azalea/Camellia Room; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Pain Management - An Interdisciplinary Practice; May 16; 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; WellStar Development Center; Lunch is included; Call 770-956-STAR (7827) to register
• Primary Care Update Course: Rheumatology; May 5; 7:30 a.m. - noon; WellStar Development Center; Breakfast included; Call 770-22-MYCME (69263) to register
• Safety First Recertification – Douglas: May 16; 6 p.m.; Board Room; WellStar Douglas Hospital
• Safety First Recertification – Kennestone: May 18; 10:30 a.m.; Administrative Conference Room; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Thoracic Clinic: May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; June 6, 13, 20 and 27; 5 p.m.; Post Stat Cancer Clinic; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Trauma Grand Rounds: May 31 and June 28; 7 a.m.; Auditorium; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Wound Case Conference; May 4; 12 p.m.; Auditorium; WellStar Cobb Hospital

Complete the 2012 Medical Staff Partnership Survey by May 29

The FY 12 Medical Staff Partnership will be available through May 29, 2012.

This survey provides an opportunity for you to share feedback and identify areas for further improvement. Once again, Press Ganey Associates, Inc. will administer the survey and individual responses will be confidential. Facility and System results will be available on June 25, 2012 and will compare WellStar to national benchmarks. This survey includes both physicians and advanced practice professionals for each facility.

You should have received one survey from the location of your greatest activity. Additional surveys from other facilities may be requested. The survey can be completed online or by paper and should only take 10-15 minutes to complete.

The Joint Commission Certified Total Joint Program

Written by Stan Dysart, M.D., M.B.A., and Stephen Kim, M.D., co-chairs of the Total Joint Program at WellStar Kennestone Hospital 

No one needed to tell Jerry Niemeyer about the pain and disability associated with knee arthritis. An active individual, Jerry’s knee pain had progressed to the point that by the time he finished a round of golf, he could hardly get out of the cart.

Jerry had joined one of the 46 million Americans affected by arthritis. That number is expected to grow to at least 67 million by 2030. The number of individuals undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty is expected to skyrocket as well.

The arthroplasty experience at WellStar Kennestone Hospital has mirrored this nationwide trend and necessitated the creation of a comprehensive Total Joint Replacement Program.

New WellStar Medical Group April Providers

Click "Read more>>" to view WellStar Medical Group providers who joined WellStar in April.

Bud Zborowski Named Vice President of WellStar Health Park Operations

C.A. “Bud” Zborowski has joined WellStar as vice president of Health Park Operations. His responsibilities will include day-to-day operations, ensuring customer-focused service and the financial leadership of WellStar Health Parks. Bud will report to Robert Jansen, M.D., Executive Vice President WellStar Medical Group President.

Most recently, Bud was a principal in the Garfield Park Group, which works with healthcare companies to address market development and business growth. He brings to WellStar significant experience in development imaging centers and outpatient care services.  During his 30 plus year career, he has held a number of leadership roles in healthcare industry companies including Polycom, Inc., Neotonus, Inc., Cornerstone Health Management, Health Images, Inc., American Medical Buildings and Tenet Healthcare.

WellStar Physician Leadership Academy Graduates Third Class

On March 27, 25 physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners graduated from WellStar’s Physician Leadership Academy. They comprise the third class, bringing the total number of graduates to 98 since the Academy’s inception in 2010.

The Academy is a unique educational experience, providing participants with graduate-level leadership and business instruction. A collaboration between WellStar and the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University, the Academy brings business acumen, communication skills, leadership skills and team training to physicians and advanced practice professionals. Participants spend 10 Saturdays over seven months with Coles faculty and WellStar senior leaders improving their ability to serve key medical staff and System roles across WellStar.

The Kouzes and Posner tenets of leadership are used as a foundation for the program.  Participants learn to “model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act and encourage the heart.” Participants use a Leadership Practices Inventory to assess their current levels of leadership performance and chart a path for improvement.  They learn that self-knowledge is a key to high-level performance.  Consistent, world-class performance requires attention to fitness, nutrition, rest and attitude. They learn that good communication requires listening and noticing much more than speaking.
 
During the final session of the program, the group participates in a healthcare business simulation where they compete with each other to use resources, manage growth and leverage quality to provide world-class care in a successful business model.

Sept. 1 is the application deadline for the next Academy, which begins Sept. 15.  For more information, contact Don Campbell, M.D., at don.campbell@wellstar.org or visit the Physician Leadership Academy under the Organizational Learning tab on eSource.

New WellStar Cobb Hospital President

Kem Marshall Mullins joined WellStar on April 23 as Senior Vice President and WellStar Cobb Hospital President. In this position, he will be responsible for day-to-day operations and strategic planning for WellStar Cobb Hospital. Most recently, Kem served as chief executive officer for Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s Saint Francis Hospital – Bartlett, a 156-bed medical/surgical hospital in Memphis, Tenn. During his time at Saint Francis, he achieved 5-Star patient satisfaction scores for four years running, improved physician satisfaction, lowered infections rates and improved financial performance at the hospital.

He brings more than 16 years of hospital administration experience including serving as chief operating officer for Atlanta Medical Center and Tenet Healthcare’s Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro, Ark. He also was associate administrator at University Medical Center in Lebanon, Tenn., and Williamson Memorial Hospital, in Williamson, W. Va. Kem has a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., and a master’s degree in finance from Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky.

WellStar Introduces a Technology-Enabled Physician Contact Service

WellStar is pleased to announce a new physician-centric communications service, PerfectServe, designed to help you save time, improve your personal efficiency and enhance the coordination of care.  PerfectServe allows you to selectively filter and control the clinical communications you receive, based upon your workflow, call schedules and individual contact preferences.

With PerfectServe, you designate your preferred mode of communication (pager, mobile phone, text message, etc.) depending on the time of day, caller (nurse or colleague), and/or reason for call (consult, new admission, etc.). It ensures you are contacted by nurses and your colleagues according to your precise instructions.

When PerfectServe is implemented, you will enjoy:

• Fewer unnecessary interruptions.
• Fewer lost and delayed messages.
• Increased communications accuracy and reliability.
• Easy, direct physician-to-physician contact—a vital tool in building a culture of safety and high-quality care.

This important new initiative is funded entirely by WellStar Health System — at no cost to you.
ACTION REQUESTED: To get started, please submit your contact preferences by Monday, May 7.  To make this task easy, simply visit www.perfectserve.com/ws; registration should take you less than 10 minutes.

PerfectServe representatives will be onsite April 30-May 4 to answer questions and help you set up your contact profile. E-mail von@perfectserve.com to schedule a one-on-one consultation.

WellStar Kennestone’s New Graduate Nurse Pipeline Program A Major Success

Nationally, turnover rates for nurses are high during their first year of work after graduating from nursing school – from 30 to 60 percent. As these numbers show, the transition from school to work is often challenging. WellStar Kennestone Hospital is successfully reversing that trend, thanks to its New Graduate Nurse Pipeline Program.

In August 2010, WellStar Kennestone implemented a structured orientation process, specific to specialty areas. The onboarding program varies in length (from 12 to 24 weeks) depending on specialty.

According to Lisa Pruner, Pipeline nurse practice specialist, and Donna Johnson, Pipeline assistant nurse manager, three new graduate cohorts have successfully been onboarded with retention rates from 93 to 98 percent.

“Orientation times have been reduced while protecting the quality of nursing bedside training,” said Pruner.

More than $1.2 million has been saved thanks to the reduced orientation times and low turnover rates.

“Most importantly, we’ve motivated our new graduate nurses, and formed collaborative relationships with unit managers, educators, preceptors, nursing leaders and clinical nurse/nurse practice specialists,” added Pruner and Johnson.

As a result of the program’s success, WellStar Kennestone is piloting an onboarding process for experienced RNs.

Paulding VIP Program

Written by Beth Morrow, RN, Transformation Consultant

As we are beginning to construct the new WellStar Paulding Hospital Replacement facility, one of our guiding principles is to achieve our purpose in creating a holistic environment that is the heart of the community. The Very Important Patient (VIP) program was initiated to build a program that creates, for all patients and families, an experience of welcome, rest and healing.

The evidence on the benefits of healing environments is becoming clear, and we feel that it is important to support the patient as a whole individual (mind, body and spirit).  As we move to the new facility, it grants us the opportunity to make the patient and family experience more meaningful by focusing on safety, healing and compassionate care. The processes that we create today will move us in that direction.

The VIP program will create opportunities for patients and families to be part of the healthcare team by allowing them additional choices while hospitalized. In order to achieve optimal health and healing, the program will focus on healing for the whole person. Currently, the program includes: hand therapy, foot massage, back rubs and music therapy. As part of our program, we are training volunteers so they can offer these services in addition to our staff.

WellStar's Hospitalist Program

From left, standing: Prashant Mishra, M.D., WellStar Cobb; Rick Washington, M.D., WellStar Kennestone; Yousef Hindi, M.D., WellStar Cobb; Hindia Tahir, M.D., WellStar Kennestone; Van Hill, M.D., WellStar Douglas; Francis Gonzalez, M.D., WellStar Kennestone. Seated: Val Akopov, M.D., Vice President and Chief of Hospital Medicine

Val Akopov, M.D., joined WellStar on Jan. 3, 2012 as the Vice President and Chief of Hospital Medicine. In his role, he oversees 35 hospitalists at WellStar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone, Paulding and Windy Hill Hospitals. Dr. Akopov brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience to WellStar. Most recently, he served as director of hospital medicine services for Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM) where he helped establish the facility’s academic hospitalist program. Under his leadership, EUHM’s hospital medi­cine program grew from eight full-time employees to more than 30.

Dr. Akopov is board certified in internal medicine. He received his medical degree from Tbilisi (Republic of Georgia) Medical Insti­tute and completed his residency in internal medicine at Emory University Hospital.

Strategic Priorities
Growth- WellStar currently has 46 hospitalists at WellStar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone and Paulding hospitals (39 physicians, six advanced practice professionals and one RN). The program hopes to expand by more than 30 percent in the next few months, and also will extend its round-the-clock coverage to WellStar Paulding Hospital by July 1. By having 24/7 coverage at Paulding, we will keep patients closer to home as well as drive the need for specialists to start seeing patients at Paulding. This will help build the hospital image in advance of the new hospital opening.
“We are uniquely positioned to impact patient outcomes – from quality and safety to efficiency and patient satisfaction – since we have a 24-hour presence in the hospital,” said Dr. Akopov. “We build relationships with nurses, care coordinators and consultants, and serve as ‘captain of the ship,’ ensuring timely and coordinated care delivery.”

Transitions of Care – WellStar also will aim to provide a seamless flow of information during and after patient discharge. “WellStar hospitals will ‘own’ certain patient outcomes, such as re-admissions, for 30 days after discharge,” explained Dr. Akopov. “We would like clinical staff at each hospital to schedule appointments for patients with their primary care physicians (PCPs) before discharge and make follow-up calls to ensure patients are compliant with their care plans. We also will strengthen communication with PCPs. All these efforts will improve patient outcomes.”

Olatunde Idowu, M.D. Earns Fellow in Hospital Medicine Designation

Olatunde Idowu, M.D. of WellStar Cobb and WellStar Paulding's Hospital Medicine Service has earned the Fellow in Hospital Medicine (FHM) designation for the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM). He was inducted as a fellow at SHM's annual meeting in San Diego, Cali. on April 3, 2012.

The FHM credential is a key component in professional development for hospitalists. To be designated as a FHM, a hospitalist must:

• Serve as a hospitalist for at least five years
• Be a member of SHM for at least three years
• Demonstrate their dedication to quality, process improvement, commitment to organizational teamwork, leadership, and lifelong learning

"As a part of a rapidly expanding medical specialty, the best hospitalists in the country are using the FHM designation to better distinguish their expertise and commitment to hospital medicine," said SHM's CEO, Larry Wellikson, M.D., SFHM. "We hope that hospitals and communities will join us in congratulating these individuals in their achievement and their service to improving patient care in the hospital."

New Medical Staff as Approved at the April Governing Board Meeting

Name	Specialty	Group Name	Appointment	Current Staff Membership
Conde, Jenifer  D., M.D.	Obstetrics and Gynecology	Northwest Women’s Care	KH, WH, WMG
Dagnew, Elias, M.D.	Cyberknife Stereotactic Radiosurgery	Georgia Brain and Spine Center	KH
Dilts, Samantha L., M.D.	Pediatrics ER	The Bortolazzo Group, LLC	CH, KH
Dyer, Divina N., M.D.	Family Medicine	Caduceus Occupational Medicine	DH
Hoffman, Allen M., M.D.	Internal Medicine	Wellstar Community Clinics	CH,DH	KH
Levine, Amy M., M.D.	Pediatrics ER	The Bortolazzo Group, LLC	CH	KH
Schaufele, Michael K., M.D.	Pain Medicine	Pain Solutions Treatment Ctrs	KH, WH

Advanced Practice Professionals

Name	Specialty	Group Name	Appointment	Current Staff Membership
Anyanwu, Justina N., NP	Nurse Practitioner	Paulding Nursing Services	PH, WMG
Brinker, Krystin A., PA	Physician Assistant	Vascular Surgical Assoc., P.C.	CH, KH
Crownover, Julie D., PA	Physician Assistant	Emory Healthcare	KH
Little, Kylie R., PA	Physician Assistant	The Bortolazzo Group, LLC	CH, DH, KH, PH
Simms, Eddie L., PA	Physician Assistant	Cardiovascular Medicine	CH, DH, KH, WMG
Von der Schulenburg, Amanda G., PA	Physician Assistant	VDS Surgical Assistants	CH	KH, WH

WellStar’s Diabetes Services

Self-management education is a vital part of caring for people with diabetes. Almost 80,000 people diagnosed with diabetes live in WellStar’s market area, and the CDC estimates another 26,000 people in this area have diabetes, but have not been diagnosed.

The 2011 Annual Report and 2012 Program outline Diabetes Services’ commitment to create and continue to deliver the highest quality diabetes education, management and service to individuals in our communities. Approximately 2,500 people with diabetes attended comprehensive self-management classes and annual refresher classes in 2011. Many more participated in pre-diabetes, gestational, high-risk disease management, weight management programs and support groups.

Taking part in WellStar’s diabetes services has many benefits for both the participants and the System:

• There was 70 percent reduction in hospitalizations and the A1C reduction for WellStar as a system continued to trend below the 7 percent recommendation of the American Diabetes Association. 
• Participants expressed their approval of the program with a 97 percent highly-satisfied evaluation. 
• Scores in the top 95th percentile of the Gallup employee engagement survey confirm that the staff members enjoy their work and working environment. 

Formal outpatient education classes are scheduled at WellStar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone and Paulding hospitals, and classes in the new Acworth Health Park will begin in August. There are also free diabetes support groups held at Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone and Paulding hospitals, East Cobb Primary Care and Towne Lake Medical Center. New expanded services include Medical Nutrition Therapy and Medifast®. A physician referral is required for most education classes. Several financial payment options and discount programs continue.

For a copy of the 2011 Annual Diabetes Self-Management Education Review and 2012 Program Plan, please contact Amanda Hextell at 770-793-7821 or amanda.hextell@wellstar.org.

Patient Satisfaction Graphs

WellStar Health System’s Gold Standards of Clinical Documentation Improvement

General and Gastrointestinal-Specific Clinical Documentation Tips

WellStar Health System’s Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Program is designed to ensure that clinical documentation in a patient’s medical record appropriately reflects the care provided. The most vital role of the CDI program is facilitating a true representation of healthcare services provided, through accurate reporting of the principal diagnosis, co-morbidities and any treatments or procedures.

As part of the program’s ongoing efforts, the CDI team offers specific tips monthly from the Program’s Gold Standards of Clinical Documentation Improvement. 

General Tips:

• Coding rules disallow the use of up and down arrows to indicate a diagnosis (e.g., ↑K cannot be used to code hyperkalemia; the provider must document the condition.)
• When using abbreviations, the diagnosis is best captured when the condition is written out in full at least one time in the record (e.g., AKI could indicate Acute Kidney Injury or Acute Kidney Insufficiency).

Gastrointestinal (GI)-Specific Tips:

• Diagnoses: indicate if acute or chronic
• Link diagnosis with manifestations (i.e., acute hepatitis C with hepatic coma)
• GI bleed: indicate if with or without hemorrhage, even if suspected because no longer bleeding at time of scope
• Link ulcer: indicate if with or without hemorrhage, obstruction or perforation
• Link ulcer with site: esophageal, peptic, duodenal. Be as specific as possible.
• Specify location of calculus (i.e., gallbladder, bile duct, etc.)
• Esophageal varices: link underlying condition, if known (i.e., cirrhosis, portal hypertension)
• Gastroenteritis: identify infectious organism (i.e., candida, bacterial, virus)
• Alcohol-related conditions: (i.e., dependence, abuse/chronic, withdrawal delirium, delirium tremens, withdrawal) OR current alcohol state: alcoholism, abuse or history of
• Electrolyte imbalance (i.e., hyper/hyponatremia, hyper/hyp kalemia, acidosis, alkalosis, mixed acid base balance disorder)
• Nutritional state: if malnourished, indicated mild, moderate or severe or cachexia
• Hemorrhage/bleed: indicate if acute or chronic
  
  ***GI bleed/hemorrhage is not synonymous with acute blood loss anemia***

Upcoming Department Meetings

 For a list of May department meetings, click "Read more>>."

WellStar Wins National Award

For the fifth consecutive year, WellStar was named to the Companies That Care Honor Roll, which publicly recognizes and celebrates organizations that prize employees and are committed to community service. The national list includes privately held and publicly traded organizations, as well as not-for-profit employers like WellStar. Our System is the only Atlanta-based organization and one of only four healthcare providers in the country to achieve this distinction.

According to Marci Koblentz, co-founder and president, Center for Companies That Care, the employers on the Honor Roll are among the best in the nation. “Their daily practices within their organizations and in the community affirm business as a valuable contributor to society. A Company That Cares is attuned to the 99 percent (not just the 1 percent) and cares about much more than profits. Without a doubt these organizations are companies that care.”

WellStar also has been recognized nationally by Working Mother, National Association for Female Executives, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, AARP and the Dave Thomas Foundation.

WellStar to Move to EpicCare Information System

Over the last decade, our use of technology to enhance the care and treatment of patients has increased enormously. WellStar leadership understands that, as one of the Top Five Integrated Health Systems in the country, one clinical information system for physicians, hospitals and our other points of care is critical to our patients and our success. World-class healthcare requires world-class information technology solutions.

Since McKesson’s mid-December announcement of their “Better Health 2020” initiative, WellStar senior leadership with the assistance of external experts has been carefully studying our strategic clinical information technology needs and options for the future. Last week, the WellStar Board of Trustees approved and endorsed senior leadership’s recommendation to implement the EpicCare integrated healthcare software across our System.

Epic, based out of Wisconsin, is the industry leader in the development of a single software solution for integrated healthcare systems. The EpicCare system allows for a single patient record across the care continuum – from the physician office to the hospital and even to the patient's home.

We will begin implementation work without delay and would target to be using EpicCare software
across our System (including our hospitals and the WellStar Medical Group) by the end of 2013. This implementation will require a tremendous investment in capital resources as well as time and commitment from our entire WellStar team.

The EpicCare implementation will provide new career opportunities for our team members. We will need approximately 150 individuals to fill positions on our new project team. These positions will be filled with top talent from clinical and other areas across the System. As we are pursuing a very aggressive time line, we plan to have our team ready for EpicCare training and certification beginning in June 2012. If you are interested in joining this project team. Please visit the eSource RightPath web site for updates. In the future, there will be additional opportunities for physician involvement in this project through advisory groups that will help determine how the applicaiton looks and work flow processes.

We hope you will share our excitement about this extraordinary step in patient care. This implementation will truly transform our culture, unite us as a System and move us further down the RightPath to improving patient care through technology.

McKesson Horizon Clinical Information System Upgrade Status

On the weekend of March 2, WellStar Information Technology successfully upgraded many of our McKesson Horizon Clinical Information System applications and servers. Planning for the upgrade began over a year ago and will improve patient care and safety while placing our critical clinical applications on more reliable infrastructure.

Overall, this has been a successful implementation with team members feeling well-trained in advance of the go-live and good communication passing between Information Technology and the hospitals. Clinicians are pleased with system speed and availability.

This upgrade was the result of months of hard work on the part of a large and diverse team of resources from McKesson, WellStar Information Technology and Organizational Learning Departments and clinicians from across our entire System. Thank you for the team’s efforts and dedication to improving patient care.