This first post-holiday issue of DOCLine covers a wide range of important topics.
I do urge all of you to give our CME product a try. Here’s the contact web address www.danburyhospital.org/mednewsplus It does have some brand new features and advantages, but don’t take my word for it. Ask any of your colleagues who use it regularly.
Please see the updates on the status in the What's New section of this issue. Also there is a quick survey that will allow you to vote on a current topic. We’ve got some active pilots going and a lot of work is underway to make sure we do it right.
Our focus for this year, based on your input, is Healthlink, access to services, test reporting, and supporting your practices. The Keeping Up section of this issue has a piece on supporting your practices and we’ll get information to you later on the other initiatives.
Many of you have asked how the hospital is addressing the increasing number of uninsured and under insured people living in our community. We do have a charity care policy that allows patients without insurance and limited resources to get discounts for hospital based services. I’ve attached a copy of that policy so you’ll have information to pass along to your patients. Our finance group is working to make access to financial counseling easier, AND to investigate how we may be able to discount services, legally, for those without insurance, independent of income.
We will celebrate Physicians' Day on March 30th. It's the opportunity to thank all doctors, our insufficiently heralded linchpins of healthcare. While we're at it, we should also acknowledge our Associate Medical Staff members, the PAs and APRNs whose partnership with us is so valuable, and who also deserve recognition.
Each month DOC-Line will announce new doctors and other key additions to the Hospital staff. By clicking on "read more" you will be able to pull up an information sheet on each doctor. If you have questions please call Charlotte Douglas at (203) 739-7322, charlotte.douglas@danhosp.org
William "Bill" Roe joined Danbury Hospital in February as Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Roe will be responsible for carrying out his role in our organization as a core member of the Executive Team.
Prior to coming to Danbury, Mr. Roe served as Chief Financial Officer of the West Central Ohio Region of Catholic Healthcare Partners in Lima, Ohio, a healthcare organization comparable in size and success to Danbury Hospital. He has an impressive background in health care finance and has also served as Chief Operating Officer at a previous hospital. Bill graduated from the University of Scranton with a B.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A. in Finance from Marywood University.
Mr. Roe's office is location on 6 Tower and he can be reached by calling (203) 739-7240. Fran Ratty is his administrative support.
Robert D. Winslow, MD has been named the Director of the Praxair Regional Heart & Vascular Center’s Electrophysiology Program. Dr. Winslow earned his medical degree at Northwestern University Medical School. He completed his cardiology training at The Mount Sinai Medical Center of New York, and did his residency in Internal medicine and specialized training in cardiac electrophysiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston Massachusetts.
With appointment of Dr. Winslow as the director the Center there will be increased access for patients in our region needing defibrillators, pacemakers, and treatment of complex arrhythmias (ablations). Full information is available by clicking on the Read More link above.
Joanna Wright has been appointed to the position of Service Line Executive, Cardiovascular Services. Originally from New Fairfield, Joanna joins Danbury Hospital from Saint Barnabas Health Care Systems’ Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey, where she has held management positions in the areas of Cardiovascular Services and Operations. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology and Neuroscience from the University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia and a Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Joanna will be responsible for the collaborative development and implementation of the operating plans; management of cost, quality and service within the Cardiovascular Service Line.
The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized Danbury Hospital, as one of 26 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals in the United States that have achieved exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care. As a participant in ACS NSQIP, Danbury Hospital is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that directs patient safety and the quality of surgical care improvements.
Laura Choi, MD and two of her weight-loss surgery patients were featured on CBS’s The Early Show on Wednesday, February 18th. The story is of a husband and wife from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Trish and Jeff Tryon, who decided to have the life-changing procedure done at Danbury Hospital on the same day. CBS correspondent Debbie Turner interviewed the Tryon’s regarding their successful surgery, which led to their incredible weight loss of 100 pounds each in just a few weeks. The Early Show is broadcast via CBS affiliate stations across the U.S. and the segment provided excellent exposure for Danbury Hospital’s Center for Weight Loss Surgery, now a nationally recognized program.
HealthGrades®, the leading healthcare ratings company, released its list of Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Awards™ and Danbury Hospital was again a recipient. Danbury Hospital is the only hospital in Connecticut and one of only 114 hospitals in the nation to receive this prestigious recognition for the fifth consecutive year. The study of quality at the nation’s nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals places Danbury Hospital in the top five percent for overall clinical quality. According to the HealthGrades study, Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence had mortality rates that were, on average, 27 percent lower than other hospitals, and major complication rates that were eight percent lower.
Two-hundred and seventy-one physicians, allied health professionals and interested members of the community attended the Medical Education Symposium - The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis - Current Concepts in Spinal Cord Injury Management hosted by The Spine Center at Danbury Hospital on Feb. 6th.
Featured speakers from The Miami Project, W. Dalton, Dietrich, Ph. D., Scientific Director, Professor, Neurological Surgery, Neurology, Cell Biology & Anatomy, and Barth A. Green, M.D., Chairman and Clinical Program Director, Professor and Chairman, Neurological Surgery, discussed new development in cutting-edge diagnosis and treatment for spinal cord injury. The Miami Project is the largest and most comprehensive spinal cord research institute in the world with more than 200 scientists, researches, clinicians and allied staff.
Coming this April the Marketing Department will conduct the second program in the ‘Marketing 101’ series. A round table discussion for practice managers and physicians providing education, tools and best practices for web-based marketing. The session will be held on Monday, April 27th from 9 – 10:30 in the hospital’s Robilotti Conference Center. RSVP to michelle.bambino@danhosp.org. Another program will be scheduled for the fall.
In addition to the Marketing 101 programs, the Hospital's Medical Staff Support department provides an array of services to physician's offices. For a full explanation of the services offered click on read more.
Danbury Hospital's technological investment in Healthlink is creating a virtual community health record for patients. This virtual record links multiple providers including the hospital, physicians' offices, nursing homes, hospice, visiting nurse agencies, pharmacies and ancillary test providers. Healthlink will improve care and patient safety by allowing providers secure access to critical information at a moments notice. The system's ability to provide updated information about medications, allergies, recent tests, and lab work will save time and reduce costs. Healthlink also contains an electronic prescribing tool with all participating pharmacies.
Physicians can participate in Healthlink on a variety of levels. The system can accommodate offices with or without Electronic Medical Records. Please take a minute now to help name these package options with a quick survey.
Your vote is requested by Thursday 3/19 12 NOON.
Healthlink is already deployed and operating in a pilot phase in two offices and will be rolled out broadly as the functionality is perfected.
For more information contact Dr. Eric Jimenez. eric.jimenez@danhosp.org.