Network: September/October 2009
Members of the Team
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| (L-R) Judy Collard, Human Resources Consultant, Sentara CarePlex Hospital, and Debra Flores, administrator Sentara CarePlex Hospital, get ready for the November eCare® launch at a hospital-wide countdown event. |
Sentara eCare® Launch Continues —
In September, the Sentara eCare Health Network® was launched at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. Sentara CarePlex Hospital will follow in November. In preparation for each launch, numerous training and educational sessions are required for all employees. Sentara eCare Health Network® uses innovative technology to link patient medical information between Sentara hospitals, physician practices and other health care sites over a protected network, enabling the secure sharing of patient information.
SMG physician practices are on track to complete implementation of Sentara eCare®, which involves converting a patient current paper medical chart to a secure, electronic medical record. Plans are underway to expand Sentara eCare® to targeted community based physician offices, as well. MyChart, the patient portal of Sentara eCare®, has been rolling out to patients across Hampton Roads – allowing patients the ability to schedule appointments, request refills, view test results and communicate with physician offices from their home.
Patients benefit from the system include: increased patient safety, an enhanced physician-patient relationship and better physician-to-physician communication regarding a patient’s healthcare. Sentara eCare Health Network® also enables physicians to order procedures and prescriptions, read other caregivers' notes and make referrals to specialists – all through this protected network.
Sentara eCare® is now live at: Sentara Leigh Hospital, Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Sentara Bayside/Sentara Princess Anne, and Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. It will launch at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in November of this year and Sentara Obici Hospital in 2010.
Learn more or to watch a video on Sentara eCare®.
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| Sentara Leigh Hospital and Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital staff help at Endependence Center in Norfolk at the Day of Caring on September 11. |
United Way Campaign Kicks Off —
The Sentara United Way Campaign kicked off in August. Sentara employees throughout the system have participated in facility-based activities for the campaign. More than 200 Sentara employees volunteered at more than 10 United Way agencies across South Hampton Roads for the Day of Caring in South Hampton Roads, Peninsula and Williamsburg on Sept. 11 and 17. The annual community wide event provides an opportunity for Sentara employees to donate their time for an entire day to help out United Way agencies throughout the area.
Additionally, this year Sentara has created a Web-based pledging process which allows employees to research agencies online, learn about United Way volunteer opportunities, use multiple payment methods for pledges, view last year’s personal pledge information, as well as print a tax receipt for the donation being made. Employees may visit WaveNet for more information about the Sentara United Way campaign.
— WebEx the Solution for a “Green Meeting”
Sentara has made great strides in reducing its carbon footprint, while also saving its employees valuable time and money. Sentara employees may now utilize WebEx to conduct and/or participate in meetings at his or her own computer with other participants via the Internet.
The benefits of this system include: no traveling or local travel expense, no traffic delays, no unnecessary wear and tear on an employee’s vehicle and increased productivity. Sentara employees may take advantage of this incredible tool, while helping Sentara reduce its carbon foot print. Employees may visit WaveNet and select Communications, Virtual Meetings for additional information.
Revisions to Virginia Law Related to Advance Directives
On July 1, 2009, revisions were made to Virginia law which allow a person's advance directive to grant new powers to his/her healthcare agent, including hospitalization for mental health issues for up to 10 days. The revised state advance directive reflects these changes. Sentara provides a booklet entitled "Your Right to Decide," to all patients upon admission to the hospital. The booklet has recently been updated to include the July 1 Virginia law changes.
Please note that previous versions may still be used, and advance directives that have already been executed are still in effect. To read the revised version that includes the mental health provisions, Sentara employees may visit WaveNet and click clinical and patient safety, and view the advance directive page or contact the Sentara Center for Healthcare Ethics at (757)388-4263 for additional information.
Sentara Consolidated Labs Improve Processes/Safety
Sentara Consolidated Labs is continually working to improve safety for patients and staff while reducing turnaround times. Recently, Sentara labs purchased $4.3 million in new Roche processing technology. The automated system improves overall workflow by limiting handoffs, enhances safety by minimizing exposures, reduces patient identification errors and improves specimen integrity. One additional benefit of this process is standardization of cardiac testing throughout Sentara Healthcare, so that results are reported consistently. By lowering per-procedure costs, it is expected to save about $1 million per year.
CEO Award Winners Implement Changes to Help Save Lives
After meeting stringent criteria, the STEMI project at Sentara CarePlex Hospital has received the Sentara 2008 CEO Award. STEMI is an acronym for ST-Elevated Myocardial Infarction. It is one of the deadliest forms of heart attack that requires rapid intervention, often with catheterization of a blocked artery. Sentara CarePlex Hospital sought to improve their STEMI response with a multi-faceted approach including culture change in the Emergency Department, improving relationships among Emergency Medical Service (EMS) responders, interventional cardiologists and the cath lab and empowering staff members to help meet the goal. The team’s efforts saved 10 lives per year with an investment of just $28,000.
The criteria for a Sentara CEO Award is difficult to meet. The projects awarded must bring significant change that has the potential for system integration. They must bring dramatic results in terms of cost savings, new revenue, quality or service and they must sustain measurement for two years. Congratulations to the project managers for the CarePlex program, including Shannon Ferguson, Debra Flores, Debra Hall, Theresa Mulherin, Gil Schmidt and Sherry Williams. The changes they implemented are saving lives.