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HM On the Move
Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville, Ky., recently added a hospitalist program as part of its renovation campaign. Jeff Dickerson, MD, Ignacio Calvo, MD, and nurse practitioner Abe Keating are heading up the new hospitalist team.
Eric McFarling, MD, a hospitalist at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn., received the Physician of Excellence Award from employees and peers. The award recognizes commitment to patient satisfaction and teamwork.
Emily Hebert, MD, an internal-medicine hospitalist at Baylor University Medical Center in Waco, Texas, was awarded the 2011 Texas Medical Association’s Anson Jones, MD, Award in the Physician Excellence in Reporting category for her work as medical expert for the local ABC affiliate. She recently joined the staff at The Cooper Clinic in Dallas as a preventive- medicine physician, specializing in internal medicine and pediatrics.
Business Moves
IPC: the Hospitalist Co. has signed agreements to acquire Inpatient Clinical Solutions Inc. (ICS), an acute-care practice headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla., and the hospitalist practice of Lionel J. Gatien, DO, PA, based in Jacksonville, Fla. IPC expects to add approximately 116,000 patient visits on an annual basis from these acquisitions.
Glendale, Calif.-based Apollo Medical Holdings Inc., a hospitalist-, critical-care and multi-disciplinary care-management service, has appointed Edward “Ted” Schreck chairman of the board. Schreck is a senior healthcare executive with 37 years of experience in both the private and public healthcare sectors.
Carlisle (Pa.) Regional Medical Center has added a 12-member hospitalist team to its list of medical departments. The team will be known as Hospitalists of Central Pennsylvania. Michael Hilden, MD, will serve as group director.
—Alexandra Schultz
Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville, Ky., recently added a hospitalist program as part of its renovation campaign. Jeff Dickerson, MD, Ignacio Calvo, MD, and nurse practitioner Abe Keating are heading up the new hospitalist team.
Eric McFarling, MD, a hospitalist at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn., received the Physician of Excellence Award from employees and peers. The award recognizes commitment to patient satisfaction and teamwork.
Emily Hebert, MD, an internal-medicine hospitalist at Baylor University Medical Center in Waco, Texas, was awarded the 2011 Texas Medical Association’s Anson Jones, MD, Award in the Physician Excellence in Reporting category for her work as medical expert for the local ABC affiliate. She recently joined the staff at The Cooper Clinic in Dallas as a preventive- medicine physician, specializing in internal medicine and pediatrics.
Business Moves
IPC: the Hospitalist Co. has signed agreements to acquire Inpatient Clinical Solutions Inc. (ICS), an acute-care practice headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla., and the hospitalist practice of Lionel J. Gatien, DO, PA, based in Jacksonville, Fla. IPC expects to add approximately 116,000 patient visits on an annual basis from these acquisitions.
Glendale, Calif.-based Apollo Medical Holdings Inc., a hospitalist-, critical-care and multi-disciplinary care-management service, has appointed Edward “Ted” Schreck chairman of the board. Schreck is a senior healthcare executive with 37 years of experience in both the private and public healthcare sectors.
Carlisle (Pa.) Regional Medical Center has added a 12-member hospitalist team to its list of medical departments. The team will be known as Hospitalists of Central Pennsylvania. Michael Hilden, MD, will serve as group director.
—Alexandra Schultz
Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville, Ky., recently added a hospitalist program as part of its renovation campaign. Jeff Dickerson, MD, Ignacio Calvo, MD, and nurse practitioner Abe Keating are heading up the new hospitalist team.
Eric McFarling, MD, a hospitalist at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn., received the Physician of Excellence Award from employees and peers. The award recognizes commitment to patient satisfaction and teamwork.
Emily Hebert, MD, an internal-medicine hospitalist at Baylor University Medical Center in Waco, Texas, was awarded the 2011 Texas Medical Association’s Anson Jones, MD, Award in the Physician Excellence in Reporting category for her work as medical expert for the local ABC affiliate. She recently joined the staff at The Cooper Clinic in Dallas as a preventive- medicine physician, specializing in internal medicine and pediatrics.
Business Moves
IPC: the Hospitalist Co. has signed agreements to acquire Inpatient Clinical Solutions Inc. (ICS), an acute-care practice headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla., and the hospitalist practice of Lionel J. Gatien, DO, PA, based in Jacksonville, Fla. IPC expects to add approximately 116,000 patient visits on an annual basis from these acquisitions.
Glendale, Calif.-based Apollo Medical Holdings Inc., a hospitalist-, critical-care and multi-disciplinary care-management service, has appointed Edward “Ted” Schreck chairman of the board. Schreck is a senior healthcare executive with 37 years of experience in both the private and public healthcare sectors.
Carlisle (Pa.) Regional Medical Center has added a 12-member hospitalist team to its list of medical departments. The team will be known as Hospitalists of Central Pennsylvania. Michael Hilden, MD, will serve as group director.
—Alexandra Schultz
Hospitalists On the Move
Wendy Anderson, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine and clinician-investigator with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Division of Hospital Medicine and Palliative Care Program, is one of three doctors awarded fellowships to improve health quality by UC Center for Health Quality and Innovation. Applicants were evaluated on application strength and quality, consistency with the center’s mission, and their projects’ financial viability. Dr. Anderson’s award-winning project was titled “Nurse-Initiated Multidisciplinary Patient- and Family-Centered Communications in the ICU.”
Hospitalists Aimee Morrell-Watton, MD, and Laxmi Mullapudi, MD, were presented Spirit of Service awards by OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Ill. The honors are given to physicians for exemplifying excellence in patient care. Dr. Watton received the award for compassion, and Dr. Mullapudi received an award for communication, respect and dignity, and being a team player.
Private hospitalist company Cogent HMG announced the appointment of John J. Donahue as its new CEO. Donahue has more than 25 years of healthcare executive experience, serving as president and CEO of National Imaging Associates for nine years and spending the last few years working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), MedPAC, and other government organizations on healthcare economics.
Hospitalist Andrew Schutzbank, MD, has been selected as one of four winners of the nationwide Cost of Care Essay Contest, sponsored by Costs of Care, a nonprofit organization that promotes cost-consciousness in healthcare. The goal of the contest is to promote public dialogue about the challenges of providing high-quality, cost-conscious healthcare, and Dr. Schutzbank’s essay described how pharmaceutical cost-shifting left him unable to discharge a patient from the hospital.
Mercy Medical Center in Williston, N.D., has launched its first hospitalist program. Michael Kroll, MD, has taken on the role of medical director for the new group.
WellStar Health System has announced the appointment of Val Akopov, MD, SFHM, as vice president and chief of hospitalist services. Dr. Akopov brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience to WellStar, most recently serving as director of HM services at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, where he helped establish the academic hospitalist program. Dr. Akopov will oversee 35 hospitalists at five of WellStar’s facilities.
Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Andreas, Calif., has launched its first hospitalist program. The first hospitalist in the group is Dean Kelaita, MD, who has been on the Mark Twain staff for 15 years.
David J. Likosky, MD, SFHM, a neurohospitalist who has directed courses at SHM’s annual meeting, has been named medical director of The Evergreen Neuroscience Institute in Kirkland, Wash. Dr. Likosky has been on the staff since 2000; in his new role, he will lead four advanced treatment programs, including the Booth Gardner Parkinson’s Care Center, Movement Disorders Center, Multiple Sclerosis Center, and Primary Stroke Center.
Memorial Medical Center-Livingston in Texas has rolled out its first hospitalist program. The hospital currently has two full-time hospitalists, Saleem Shamsee, MD, a board-certified family practice physician who also serves as the medical director of the hospitalist program, and Bazgha Khalid, MD, an internal medicine physician.
Business Moves
Sound Physicians has announced agreements with two hospitals in Maine to provide hospitalist services. St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bangor, both part of the Covenant Health System, will be provided with hospitalist inpatient medical coverage in partnership with community providers. Sound Physicians will take management of both programs.
Hospital TeamCare, a provider of hospital-based outsourced physician services based in Pompano Beach, Fla., has added an HM service to its outsourcing list. This service will be offered throughout all existing U.S. market areas and will be led by Hospital TeamCare’s physician specialty vice presidents.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has announced the formation of a Division of Hospital Medicine, with 26 primary faculty and seven affiliated faculty. Samir S. Shah, MD, FHM, also a deputy editor of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, has been appointed division director, and will focus on expanding clinical care and the educational missions of the newly formed division.
The governing board at Stephens County Hospital in Toccoa, Ga., unanimously approved the addition of a hospitalist service in the coming months. They will contract with the Apogee Group, based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Apogee will provide a daytime hospitalist seven days a week and a physician assistant or nurse practitioner on duty at night with a hospitalist on call.
Hospitalist Consultants Inc. (HCI) has expanded its reach to Fort Myers, Fla. This marks the company’s first expansion since its inception in 2009. HCI currently services client hospitals in 11 different states, and expects the new office will better support new and existing clients.
IPC: The Hospitalist Company Inc. has made two recent acquisitions: Hospitalist Specialists PLLC, a company based in Spokane, Wash., and PCA Hospitalists Inc., based in Port St. Lucie, Fla. IPC already has an established presence in the South Florida market; the Spokane acquisition marks the first Northwest purchase for IPC.
—Alexandra Schultz
Wendy Anderson, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine and clinician-investigator with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Division of Hospital Medicine and Palliative Care Program, is one of three doctors awarded fellowships to improve health quality by UC Center for Health Quality and Innovation. Applicants were evaluated on application strength and quality, consistency with the center’s mission, and their projects’ financial viability. Dr. Anderson’s award-winning project was titled “Nurse-Initiated Multidisciplinary Patient- and Family-Centered Communications in the ICU.”
Hospitalists Aimee Morrell-Watton, MD, and Laxmi Mullapudi, MD, were presented Spirit of Service awards by OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Ill. The honors are given to physicians for exemplifying excellence in patient care. Dr. Watton received the award for compassion, and Dr. Mullapudi received an award for communication, respect and dignity, and being a team player.
Private hospitalist company Cogent HMG announced the appointment of John J. Donahue as its new CEO. Donahue has more than 25 years of healthcare executive experience, serving as president and CEO of National Imaging Associates for nine years and spending the last few years working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), MedPAC, and other government organizations on healthcare economics.
Hospitalist Andrew Schutzbank, MD, has been selected as one of four winners of the nationwide Cost of Care Essay Contest, sponsored by Costs of Care, a nonprofit organization that promotes cost-consciousness in healthcare. The goal of the contest is to promote public dialogue about the challenges of providing high-quality, cost-conscious healthcare, and Dr. Schutzbank’s essay described how pharmaceutical cost-shifting left him unable to discharge a patient from the hospital.
Mercy Medical Center in Williston, N.D., has launched its first hospitalist program. Michael Kroll, MD, has taken on the role of medical director for the new group.
WellStar Health System has announced the appointment of Val Akopov, MD, SFHM, as vice president and chief of hospitalist services. Dr. Akopov brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience to WellStar, most recently serving as director of HM services at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, where he helped establish the academic hospitalist program. Dr. Akopov will oversee 35 hospitalists at five of WellStar’s facilities.
Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Andreas, Calif., has launched its first hospitalist program. The first hospitalist in the group is Dean Kelaita, MD, who has been on the Mark Twain staff for 15 years.
David J. Likosky, MD, SFHM, a neurohospitalist who has directed courses at SHM’s annual meeting, has been named medical director of The Evergreen Neuroscience Institute in Kirkland, Wash. Dr. Likosky has been on the staff since 2000; in his new role, he will lead four advanced treatment programs, including the Booth Gardner Parkinson’s Care Center, Movement Disorders Center, Multiple Sclerosis Center, and Primary Stroke Center.
Memorial Medical Center-Livingston in Texas has rolled out its first hospitalist program. The hospital currently has two full-time hospitalists, Saleem Shamsee, MD, a board-certified family practice physician who also serves as the medical director of the hospitalist program, and Bazgha Khalid, MD, an internal medicine physician.
Business Moves
Sound Physicians has announced agreements with two hospitals in Maine to provide hospitalist services. St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bangor, both part of the Covenant Health System, will be provided with hospitalist inpatient medical coverage in partnership with community providers. Sound Physicians will take management of both programs.
Hospital TeamCare, a provider of hospital-based outsourced physician services based in Pompano Beach, Fla., has added an HM service to its outsourcing list. This service will be offered throughout all existing U.S. market areas and will be led by Hospital TeamCare’s physician specialty vice presidents.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has announced the formation of a Division of Hospital Medicine, with 26 primary faculty and seven affiliated faculty. Samir S. Shah, MD, FHM, also a deputy editor of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, has been appointed division director, and will focus on expanding clinical care and the educational missions of the newly formed division.
The governing board at Stephens County Hospital in Toccoa, Ga., unanimously approved the addition of a hospitalist service in the coming months. They will contract with the Apogee Group, based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Apogee will provide a daytime hospitalist seven days a week and a physician assistant or nurse practitioner on duty at night with a hospitalist on call.
Hospitalist Consultants Inc. (HCI) has expanded its reach to Fort Myers, Fla. This marks the company’s first expansion since its inception in 2009. HCI currently services client hospitals in 11 different states, and expects the new office will better support new and existing clients.
IPC: The Hospitalist Company Inc. has made two recent acquisitions: Hospitalist Specialists PLLC, a company based in Spokane, Wash., and PCA Hospitalists Inc., based in Port St. Lucie, Fla. IPC already has an established presence in the South Florida market; the Spokane acquisition marks the first Northwest purchase for IPC.
—Alexandra Schultz
Wendy Anderson, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine and clinician-investigator with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Division of Hospital Medicine and Palliative Care Program, is one of three doctors awarded fellowships to improve health quality by UC Center for Health Quality and Innovation. Applicants were evaluated on application strength and quality, consistency with the center’s mission, and their projects’ financial viability. Dr. Anderson’s award-winning project was titled “Nurse-Initiated Multidisciplinary Patient- and Family-Centered Communications in the ICU.”
Hospitalists Aimee Morrell-Watton, MD, and Laxmi Mullapudi, MD, were presented Spirit of Service awards by OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Ill. The honors are given to physicians for exemplifying excellence in patient care. Dr. Watton received the award for compassion, and Dr. Mullapudi received an award for communication, respect and dignity, and being a team player.
Private hospitalist company Cogent HMG announced the appointment of John J. Donahue as its new CEO. Donahue has more than 25 years of healthcare executive experience, serving as president and CEO of National Imaging Associates for nine years and spending the last few years working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), MedPAC, and other government organizations on healthcare economics.
Hospitalist Andrew Schutzbank, MD, has been selected as one of four winners of the nationwide Cost of Care Essay Contest, sponsored by Costs of Care, a nonprofit organization that promotes cost-consciousness in healthcare. The goal of the contest is to promote public dialogue about the challenges of providing high-quality, cost-conscious healthcare, and Dr. Schutzbank’s essay described how pharmaceutical cost-shifting left him unable to discharge a patient from the hospital.
Mercy Medical Center in Williston, N.D., has launched its first hospitalist program. Michael Kroll, MD, has taken on the role of medical director for the new group.
WellStar Health System has announced the appointment of Val Akopov, MD, SFHM, as vice president and chief of hospitalist services. Dr. Akopov brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience to WellStar, most recently serving as director of HM services at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, where he helped establish the academic hospitalist program. Dr. Akopov will oversee 35 hospitalists at five of WellStar’s facilities.
Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Andreas, Calif., has launched its first hospitalist program. The first hospitalist in the group is Dean Kelaita, MD, who has been on the Mark Twain staff for 15 years.
David J. Likosky, MD, SFHM, a neurohospitalist who has directed courses at SHM’s annual meeting, has been named medical director of The Evergreen Neuroscience Institute in Kirkland, Wash. Dr. Likosky has been on the staff since 2000; in his new role, he will lead four advanced treatment programs, including the Booth Gardner Parkinson’s Care Center, Movement Disorders Center, Multiple Sclerosis Center, and Primary Stroke Center.
Memorial Medical Center-Livingston in Texas has rolled out its first hospitalist program. The hospital currently has two full-time hospitalists, Saleem Shamsee, MD, a board-certified family practice physician who also serves as the medical director of the hospitalist program, and Bazgha Khalid, MD, an internal medicine physician.
Business Moves
Sound Physicians has announced agreements with two hospitals in Maine to provide hospitalist services. St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bangor, both part of the Covenant Health System, will be provided with hospitalist inpatient medical coverage in partnership with community providers. Sound Physicians will take management of both programs.
Hospital TeamCare, a provider of hospital-based outsourced physician services based in Pompano Beach, Fla., has added an HM service to its outsourcing list. This service will be offered throughout all existing U.S. market areas and will be led by Hospital TeamCare’s physician specialty vice presidents.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has announced the formation of a Division of Hospital Medicine, with 26 primary faculty and seven affiliated faculty. Samir S. Shah, MD, FHM, also a deputy editor of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, has been appointed division director, and will focus on expanding clinical care and the educational missions of the newly formed division.
The governing board at Stephens County Hospital in Toccoa, Ga., unanimously approved the addition of a hospitalist service in the coming months. They will contract with the Apogee Group, based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Apogee will provide a daytime hospitalist seven days a week and a physician assistant or nurse practitioner on duty at night with a hospitalist on call.
Hospitalist Consultants Inc. (HCI) has expanded its reach to Fort Myers, Fla. This marks the company’s first expansion since its inception in 2009. HCI currently services client hospitals in 11 different states, and expects the new office will better support new and existing clients.
IPC: The Hospitalist Company Inc. has made two recent acquisitions: Hospitalist Specialists PLLC, a company based in Spokane, Wash., and PCA Hospitalists Inc., based in Port St. Lucie, Fla. IPC already has an established presence in the South Florida market; the Spokane acquisition marks the first Northwest purchase for IPC.
—Alexandra Schultz
Hospital Food Often Unhealthy
Hospitals are a place where people go to get healthy, but the same can't be said about all hospital cafeterias, according to a recent study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
The study analyzed food served to patients, staff, and visitors at U.S. hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found that some hospitals housed as many as five fast-food outlets and featured menus that were dominated by foods high in fat, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium. For hospitalists, many of whom spend 50, 70, and even 90 hours per week in the hospital, the lack of healthy eating options can be especially problematic.
"We relied on menus that were provided, and while we don't have the recipes in hand, we can tell a lot just by the fundamental ingredients," says Susan Levin, RD, PCRM's director of nutrition education and lead author of the study.
Levin says the presence of these kinds of foods in hospitals is "irresponsible," and suggests hospitals ban fast-food outlets and fill menus with low-fat, plant-based options as a way to "reverse and prevent disease."
Many hospital cafeterias around the country are doing just that. MetroWest Medical Center, just outside of Boston, has formed a "Go Green" committee that plans to group and label healthy versus nonhealthy drinks and snacks, and will reward patients and hospital staff for choosing water and other healthy options. Benioff Children's Hospital at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center now offers nutritional information for entrees, and food-purchase receipts note calories and fat content.
PCRM hopes the study will encourage hospitals to lead the way in promoting healthful eating habits. "I hope that something is changing and people are thinking bigger picture and better care," Levin says.
Hospitals are a place where people go to get healthy, but the same can't be said about all hospital cafeterias, according to a recent study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
The study analyzed food served to patients, staff, and visitors at U.S. hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found that some hospitals housed as many as five fast-food outlets and featured menus that were dominated by foods high in fat, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium. For hospitalists, many of whom spend 50, 70, and even 90 hours per week in the hospital, the lack of healthy eating options can be especially problematic.
"We relied on menus that were provided, and while we don't have the recipes in hand, we can tell a lot just by the fundamental ingredients," says Susan Levin, RD, PCRM's director of nutrition education and lead author of the study.
Levin says the presence of these kinds of foods in hospitals is "irresponsible," and suggests hospitals ban fast-food outlets and fill menus with low-fat, plant-based options as a way to "reverse and prevent disease."
Many hospital cafeterias around the country are doing just that. MetroWest Medical Center, just outside of Boston, has formed a "Go Green" committee that plans to group and label healthy versus nonhealthy drinks and snacks, and will reward patients and hospital staff for choosing water and other healthy options. Benioff Children's Hospital at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center now offers nutritional information for entrees, and food-purchase receipts note calories and fat content.
PCRM hopes the study will encourage hospitals to lead the way in promoting healthful eating habits. "I hope that something is changing and people are thinking bigger picture and better care," Levin says.
Hospitals are a place where people go to get healthy, but the same can't be said about all hospital cafeterias, according to a recent study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
The study analyzed food served to patients, staff, and visitors at U.S. hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found that some hospitals housed as many as five fast-food outlets and featured menus that were dominated by foods high in fat, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium. For hospitalists, many of whom spend 50, 70, and even 90 hours per week in the hospital, the lack of healthy eating options can be especially problematic.
"We relied on menus that were provided, and while we don't have the recipes in hand, we can tell a lot just by the fundamental ingredients," says Susan Levin, RD, PCRM's director of nutrition education and lead author of the study.
Levin says the presence of these kinds of foods in hospitals is "irresponsible," and suggests hospitals ban fast-food outlets and fill menus with low-fat, plant-based options as a way to "reverse and prevent disease."
Many hospital cafeterias around the country are doing just that. MetroWest Medical Center, just outside of Boston, has formed a "Go Green" committee that plans to group and label healthy versus nonhealthy drinks and snacks, and will reward patients and hospital staff for choosing water and other healthy options. Benioff Children's Hospital at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center now offers nutritional information for entrees, and food-purchase receipts note calories and fat content.
PCRM hopes the study will encourage hospitals to lead the way in promoting healthful eating habits. "I hope that something is changing and people are thinking bigger picture and better care," Levin says.
Hospitalists on the Move
March S. Demyun, MD, has accepted a position as program director of the newly developed hospitalist program at Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, Miss. Dr. Demyun joined the hospital as an internist in 2005. The new team will consist of one other full-time hospitalist, a full-time nurse practitioner, and five other internists.
J.P. Valin, MD, has been selected as chief medical officer for Banner Medical Group’s Western region. Dr. Valin is chief of staff at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colo., as well as the director of McKee’s hospitalist program.
Sarah Swift, MD, has been appointed director of Central Vermont Medical Center’s hospitalist program in Berlin. Dr. Swift most recently served as an inpatient-attending physician at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in the division of hospital medicine. She also was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
David Levy, MD, pulmonary disease physician and hospitalist at Beth Israel Medical Center-Kings Highway Division in Brooklyn, N.Y., was presented with the Nefesh Chaya Community Service Award by the Bikur Cholim of Flatbush for outstanding contributions to the community.
Jamie Gray, MD, was awarded the 2011 Rising Star Award by Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, Colo., where she is vice president of the medical staff and an adult hospitalist. The award is for physicians who have been at the hospital for five or fewer years, and acknowledges a standout physician’s abilities in leadership, quality, community contributions, and the daily use of evidence-based medicine. Dr. Gray was chosen by her peers, physician leadership, and hospital administration.
Vineet Arora, MD, MPP, FACP, FHM, associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, was named one of the “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better 2011” by HealthLeaders Media. Dr. Arora was recognized for her research on sleep schedules for residents to improve quality and safety.
March S. Demyun, MD, has accepted a position as program director of the newly developed hospitalist program at Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, Miss. Dr. Demyun joined the hospital as an internist in 2005. The new team will consist of one other full-time hospitalist, a full-time nurse practitioner, and five other internists.
J.P. Valin, MD, has been selected as chief medical officer for Banner Medical Group’s Western region. Dr. Valin is chief of staff at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colo., as well as the director of McKee’s hospitalist program.
Sarah Swift, MD, has been appointed director of Central Vermont Medical Center’s hospitalist program in Berlin. Dr. Swift most recently served as an inpatient-attending physician at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in the division of hospital medicine. She also was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
David Levy, MD, pulmonary disease physician and hospitalist at Beth Israel Medical Center-Kings Highway Division in Brooklyn, N.Y., was presented with the Nefesh Chaya Community Service Award by the Bikur Cholim of Flatbush for outstanding contributions to the community.
Jamie Gray, MD, was awarded the 2011 Rising Star Award by Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, Colo., where she is vice president of the medical staff and an adult hospitalist. The award is for physicians who have been at the hospital for five or fewer years, and acknowledges a standout physician’s abilities in leadership, quality, community contributions, and the daily use of evidence-based medicine. Dr. Gray was chosen by her peers, physician leadership, and hospital administration.
Vineet Arora, MD, MPP, FACP, FHM, associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, was named one of the “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better 2011” by HealthLeaders Media. Dr. Arora was recognized for her research on sleep schedules for residents to improve quality and safety.
March S. Demyun, MD, has accepted a position as program director of the newly developed hospitalist program at Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, Miss. Dr. Demyun joined the hospital as an internist in 2005. The new team will consist of one other full-time hospitalist, a full-time nurse practitioner, and five other internists.
J.P. Valin, MD, has been selected as chief medical officer for Banner Medical Group’s Western region. Dr. Valin is chief of staff at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colo., as well as the director of McKee’s hospitalist program.
Sarah Swift, MD, has been appointed director of Central Vermont Medical Center’s hospitalist program in Berlin. Dr. Swift most recently served as an inpatient-attending physician at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in the division of hospital medicine. She also was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
David Levy, MD, pulmonary disease physician and hospitalist at Beth Israel Medical Center-Kings Highway Division in Brooklyn, N.Y., was presented with the Nefesh Chaya Community Service Award by the Bikur Cholim of Flatbush for outstanding contributions to the community.
Jamie Gray, MD, was awarded the 2011 Rising Star Award by Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, Colo., where she is vice president of the medical staff and an adult hospitalist. The award is for physicians who have been at the hospital for five or fewer years, and acknowledges a standout physician’s abilities in leadership, quality, community contributions, and the daily use of evidence-based medicine. Dr. Gray was chosen by her peers, physician leadership, and hospital administration.
Vineet Arora, MD, MPP, FACP, FHM, associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, was named one of the “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better 2011” by HealthLeaders Media. Dr. Arora was recognized for her research on sleep schedules for residents to improve quality and safety.
To Friend or Not to Friend?
Social networking is nothing new, but with more doctors logging on, it is important to recognize the inherent professional risks.
To help their physicians manage their online reputations, the British Medical Association recently issued social media guidelines reminding their doctors that "ethical and legal duties apply just as much on the Internet as when they are offline." U.S.-based physicians are also encouraged to take precautions.
As a mentor for young hospitalists, Paul Grant, MD, assistant professor at University of Michigan Health System and chair of the SHM Early Career Hospitalist committee, agrees that while there is value in using sites like Facebook and Twitter, it's important to keep the conversation professional.
"While the issue of patient friend requests is probably more common with long-term-care physicians, our group has been encouraged to be aware of our Internet profiles, and to Google ourselves periodically to see what’s out there," he says. Dr. Grant admits he occasionally receives requests from colleagues, but he declines.
"That's the nice thing about Facebook: You treat it like you would any other relationship," says Glenn Lombardi, president of Officite, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based medical website and web-marketing firm that manages more than 1,000 Facebook accounts for medical practices. "You share certain things with certain people, and it's not anything bigger that that."
Lombardi and Dr. Grant offer the following social-networking tips:
- Maintain privacy. Don't accept personal friend requests from patients or colleagues.
- Be proactive. Have a search-engine-optimized website. Make sure your patients know it's the best place to go for information.
- Wait on trends. New social-networking sites, such as Google+, have great potential, Lombardi says, but it is better to see what experts identify as their best and safest purposes before creating a profile.
Social networking is nothing new, but with more doctors logging on, it is important to recognize the inherent professional risks.
To help their physicians manage their online reputations, the British Medical Association recently issued social media guidelines reminding their doctors that "ethical and legal duties apply just as much on the Internet as when they are offline." U.S.-based physicians are also encouraged to take precautions.
As a mentor for young hospitalists, Paul Grant, MD, assistant professor at University of Michigan Health System and chair of the SHM Early Career Hospitalist committee, agrees that while there is value in using sites like Facebook and Twitter, it's important to keep the conversation professional.
"While the issue of patient friend requests is probably more common with long-term-care physicians, our group has been encouraged to be aware of our Internet profiles, and to Google ourselves periodically to see what’s out there," he says. Dr. Grant admits he occasionally receives requests from colleagues, but he declines.
"That's the nice thing about Facebook: You treat it like you would any other relationship," says Glenn Lombardi, president of Officite, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based medical website and web-marketing firm that manages more than 1,000 Facebook accounts for medical practices. "You share certain things with certain people, and it's not anything bigger that that."
Lombardi and Dr. Grant offer the following social-networking tips:
- Maintain privacy. Don't accept personal friend requests from patients or colleagues.
- Be proactive. Have a search-engine-optimized website. Make sure your patients know it's the best place to go for information.
- Wait on trends. New social-networking sites, such as Google+, have great potential, Lombardi says, but it is better to see what experts identify as their best and safest purposes before creating a profile.
Social networking is nothing new, but with more doctors logging on, it is important to recognize the inherent professional risks.
To help their physicians manage their online reputations, the British Medical Association recently issued social media guidelines reminding their doctors that "ethical and legal duties apply just as much on the Internet as when they are offline." U.S.-based physicians are also encouraged to take precautions.
As a mentor for young hospitalists, Paul Grant, MD, assistant professor at University of Michigan Health System and chair of the SHM Early Career Hospitalist committee, agrees that while there is value in using sites like Facebook and Twitter, it's important to keep the conversation professional.
"While the issue of patient friend requests is probably more common with long-term-care physicians, our group has been encouraged to be aware of our Internet profiles, and to Google ourselves periodically to see what’s out there," he says. Dr. Grant admits he occasionally receives requests from colleagues, but he declines.
"That's the nice thing about Facebook: You treat it like you would any other relationship," says Glenn Lombardi, president of Officite, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based medical website and web-marketing firm that manages more than 1,000 Facebook accounts for medical practices. "You share certain things with certain people, and it's not anything bigger that that."
Lombardi and Dr. Grant offer the following social-networking tips:
- Maintain privacy. Don't accept personal friend requests from patients or colleagues.
- Be proactive. Have a search-engine-optimized website. Make sure your patients know it's the best place to go for information.
- Wait on trends. New social-networking sites, such as Google+, have great potential, Lombardi says, but it is better to see what experts identify as their best and safest purposes before creating a profile.
Captain of the Ship
About a year ago, Ira Horowitz, MD, chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, went to his COO and said, “Something is happening.”
While this would usually be cause for concern, Dr. Horowitz was referring to the landmark changes occurring in the Emory Healthcare System as a result of quality initiatives like the venous thromboembolism (VTE) dashboard, a computerized system that allows hospital staff, in real time, to identify patients on prophylaxis at any of Emory’s three hospitals.
Because VTE is one of the most preventable causes of death in hospitals, the dashboard allows nurses to “take the lead” and build monitoring into their workflow, Dr. Horowitz says. Nurses can begin their shifts by identifying which patients are on prophylaxis. The dashboard also gives them the opportunity, when the physicians are rounding, to discuss whether prophylaxis is appropriate.
Emory hospitalist Jason Stein, MD, SFHM, spearheaded the VTE dashboard team, which included 24 other hospitalists, nurses, pharmacists, and IT personnel. The new system was initiated during Dr. Stein’s research in HM process improvement, at the time Dr. Horowitz and others were doing parallel work in VTE prevention.
“What’s really exciting is having the troops on the ground, so to speak—having the physicians intimately involved with the patients, and the nurses really taking the lead. That’s what this study or this process improvement really illustrates,” says Dr. Horowitz, who cosponsored the research that won SHM’s 2010 Award of Excellence in Teamwork in Quality Improvement. The award was given for both the creation of the dashboard and the monumental changes the new system inspired in Emory’s approach to QI.
Sharlene Toney, RN, PhD, associate chief nursing officer for research and executive director for Emory’s professional nursing practice, says that while the dashboard concept focused on how to prepare physicians and nurses to make a difference in patience outcomes, the QI movement has spread to all parts of the Emory system.
“We actually have housekeeping staff who have had a discussion with patients about the importance of wearing [sequential compression devices],” she says. “This is really about an organizational culture. … You’re in this as a team, and this research is about the synergistic relationship of every employee. You can’t see it as hierarchal; it’s truly partnerships.”
While the dashboard is a start, Drs. Horowitz and Toney say that the positive shift happening at Emory can only be reproduced by first establishing a level of respect among and for all hospital employees, and by breaking down silos.
“I think in medicine, in order for us to provide the best and the safest care for our patients, the physicians have to start realizing they’re not captain of a ship, they’re captain of a team,” Dr. Horowitz says, “and with that comes very different behaviors.”
For more information about SHM's Awards of Excellence winners, visit our website.
About a year ago, Ira Horowitz, MD, chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, went to his COO and said, “Something is happening.”
While this would usually be cause for concern, Dr. Horowitz was referring to the landmark changes occurring in the Emory Healthcare System as a result of quality initiatives like the venous thromboembolism (VTE) dashboard, a computerized system that allows hospital staff, in real time, to identify patients on prophylaxis at any of Emory’s three hospitals.
Because VTE is one of the most preventable causes of death in hospitals, the dashboard allows nurses to “take the lead” and build monitoring into their workflow, Dr. Horowitz says. Nurses can begin their shifts by identifying which patients are on prophylaxis. The dashboard also gives them the opportunity, when the physicians are rounding, to discuss whether prophylaxis is appropriate.
Emory hospitalist Jason Stein, MD, SFHM, spearheaded the VTE dashboard team, which included 24 other hospitalists, nurses, pharmacists, and IT personnel. The new system was initiated during Dr. Stein’s research in HM process improvement, at the time Dr. Horowitz and others were doing parallel work in VTE prevention.
“What’s really exciting is having the troops on the ground, so to speak—having the physicians intimately involved with the patients, and the nurses really taking the lead. That’s what this study or this process improvement really illustrates,” says Dr. Horowitz, who cosponsored the research that won SHM’s 2010 Award of Excellence in Teamwork in Quality Improvement. The award was given for both the creation of the dashboard and the monumental changes the new system inspired in Emory’s approach to QI.
Sharlene Toney, RN, PhD, associate chief nursing officer for research and executive director for Emory’s professional nursing practice, says that while the dashboard concept focused on how to prepare physicians and nurses to make a difference in patience outcomes, the QI movement has spread to all parts of the Emory system.
“We actually have housekeeping staff who have had a discussion with patients about the importance of wearing [sequential compression devices],” she says. “This is really about an organizational culture. … You’re in this as a team, and this research is about the synergistic relationship of every employee. You can’t see it as hierarchal; it’s truly partnerships.”
While the dashboard is a start, Drs. Horowitz and Toney say that the positive shift happening at Emory can only be reproduced by first establishing a level of respect among and for all hospital employees, and by breaking down silos.
“I think in medicine, in order for us to provide the best and the safest care for our patients, the physicians have to start realizing they’re not captain of a ship, they’re captain of a team,” Dr. Horowitz says, “and with that comes very different behaviors.”
For more information about SHM's Awards of Excellence winners, visit our website.
About a year ago, Ira Horowitz, MD, chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, went to his COO and said, “Something is happening.”
While this would usually be cause for concern, Dr. Horowitz was referring to the landmark changes occurring in the Emory Healthcare System as a result of quality initiatives like the venous thromboembolism (VTE) dashboard, a computerized system that allows hospital staff, in real time, to identify patients on prophylaxis at any of Emory’s three hospitals.
Because VTE is one of the most preventable causes of death in hospitals, the dashboard allows nurses to “take the lead” and build monitoring into their workflow, Dr. Horowitz says. Nurses can begin their shifts by identifying which patients are on prophylaxis. The dashboard also gives them the opportunity, when the physicians are rounding, to discuss whether prophylaxis is appropriate.
Emory hospitalist Jason Stein, MD, SFHM, spearheaded the VTE dashboard team, which included 24 other hospitalists, nurses, pharmacists, and IT personnel. The new system was initiated during Dr. Stein’s research in HM process improvement, at the time Dr. Horowitz and others were doing parallel work in VTE prevention.
“What’s really exciting is having the troops on the ground, so to speak—having the physicians intimately involved with the patients, and the nurses really taking the lead. That’s what this study or this process improvement really illustrates,” says Dr. Horowitz, who cosponsored the research that won SHM’s 2010 Award of Excellence in Teamwork in Quality Improvement. The award was given for both the creation of the dashboard and the monumental changes the new system inspired in Emory’s approach to QI.
Sharlene Toney, RN, PhD, associate chief nursing officer for research and executive director for Emory’s professional nursing practice, says that while the dashboard concept focused on how to prepare physicians and nurses to make a difference in patience outcomes, the QI movement has spread to all parts of the Emory system.
“We actually have housekeeping staff who have had a discussion with patients about the importance of wearing [sequential compression devices],” she says. “This is really about an organizational culture. … You’re in this as a team, and this research is about the synergistic relationship of every employee. You can’t see it as hierarchal; it’s truly partnerships.”
While the dashboard is a start, Drs. Horowitz and Toney say that the positive shift happening at Emory can only be reproduced by first establishing a level of respect among and for all hospital employees, and by breaking down silos.
“I think in medicine, in order for us to provide the best and the safest care for our patients, the physicians have to start realizing they’re not captain of a ship, they’re captain of a team,” Dr. Horowitz says, “and with that comes very different behaviors.”
For more information about SHM's Awards of Excellence winners, visit our website.
N.C. Hospital Names Hospitalist Its Physician of the Year
Suzanne Wilson, MD, is a self-proclaimed “outdoor-sy girl”—so much so that when the opportunity arose to work as a hospitalist in the golf mecca of Pinehurst, N.C., she didn’t think twice.
“My husband and I wanted to live somewhere we wanted to be,” says Dr. Wilson, a hospitalist for 10 years.
Pinehurst is home to one of the world’s most elegant and famous golf resorts, but it was at Moore Regional Hospital that Dr. Wilson was recently named Physician of the Year. She is Moore Regional’s first hospitalist to receive the honor.
The award process begins with the nurses, who are in charge of nominations. An independent board “reads the stories” about the nominees and their outstanding care, then chooses the winner.
Although Dr. Wilson says she was “stunned” when she was told she received the award, her colleagues were not. “Dr. Wilson is a consistent professional. It’s the way she relates to patients; her manner is very comfortable and easy going, and her ability to communicate with them—it’s like going home,” says Katherine Marsh, an oncology nurse at Moore Regional.
Dan Barnes, MD, director of the 23-hospitalist program at Moore Regional, says Dr. Wilson’s extensive interaction with the hospital’s nurses has helped improve the relationship between doctors and other staff.
“She is a true advocate for quality improvement and is always willing to help with that,” Dr. Barnes says, citing a soon-to-be-live Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) initiative at the hospital, a project for which Dr. Wilson serves as officer.
Dr. Wilson’s focus on forging relationships between varying medical staff can be traced back to her early exposure to medicine. She grew up in southern Indiana with an RN mother and medical photographer father. She says that combination made for “interesting dinner conversations” as a child.
“We have to keep asking ourselves, ‘How can we do this better?'” Dr. Wilson says. “It’s all about the patient.”
Suzanne Wilson, MD, is a self-proclaimed “outdoor-sy girl”—so much so that when the opportunity arose to work as a hospitalist in the golf mecca of Pinehurst, N.C., she didn’t think twice.
“My husband and I wanted to live somewhere we wanted to be,” says Dr. Wilson, a hospitalist for 10 years.
Pinehurst is home to one of the world’s most elegant and famous golf resorts, but it was at Moore Regional Hospital that Dr. Wilson was recently named Physician of the Year. She is Moore Regional’s first hospitalist to receive the honor.
The award process begins with the nurses, who are in charge of nominations. An independent board “reads the stories” about the nominees and their outstanding care, then chooses the winner.
Although Dr. Wilson says she was “stunned” when she was told she received the award, her colleagues were not. “Dr. Wilson is a consistent professional. It’s the way she relates to patients; her manner is very comfortable and easy going, and her ability to communicate with them—it’s like going home,” says Katherine Marsh, an oncology nurse at Moore Regional.
Dan Barnes, MD, director of the 23-hospitalist program at Moore Regional, says Dr. Wilson’s extensive interaction with the hospital’s nurses has helped improve the relationship between doctors and other staff.
“She is a true advocate for quality improvement and is always willing to help with that,” Dr. Barnes says, citing a soon-to-be-live Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) initiative at the hospital, a project for which Dr. Wilson serves as officer.
Dr. Wilson’s focus on forging relationships between varying medical staff can be traced back to her early exposure to medicine. She grew up in southern Indiana with an RN mother and medical photographer father. She says that combination made for “interesting dinner conversations” as a child.
“We have to keep asking ourselves, ‘How can we do this better?'” Dr. Wilson says. “It’s all about the patient.”
Suzanne Wilson, MD, is a self-proclaimed “outdoor-sy girl”—so much so that when the opportunity arose to work as a hospitalist in the golf mecca of Pinehurst, N.C., she didn’t think twice.
“My husband and I wanted to live somewhere we wanted to be,” says Dr. Wilson, a hospitalist for 10 years.
Pinehurst is home to one of the world’s most elegant and famous golf resorts, but it was at Moore Regional Hospital that Dr. Wilson was recently named Physician of the Year. She is Moore Regional’s first hospitalist to receive the honor.
The award process begins with the nurses, who are in charge of nominations. An independent board “reads the stories” about the nominees and their outstanding care, then chooses the winner.
Although Dr. Wilson says she was “stunned” when she was told she received the award, her colleagues were not. “Dr. Wilson is a consistent professional. It’s the way she relates to patients; her manner is very comfortable and easy going, and her ability to communicate with them—it’s like going home,” says Katherine Marsh, an oncology nurse at Moore Regional.
Dan Barnes, MD, director of the 23-hospitalist program at Moore Regional, says Dr. Wilson’s extensive interaction with the hospital’s nurses has helped improve the relationship between doctors and other staff.
“She is a true advocate for quality improvement and is always willing to help with that,” Dr. Barnes says, citing a soon-to-be-live Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) initiative at the hospital, a project for which Dr. Wilson serves as officer.
Dr. Wilson’s focus on forging relationships between varying medical staff can be traced back to her early exposure to medicine. She grew up in southern Indiana with an RN mother and medical photographer father. She says that combination made for “interesting dinner conversations” as a child.
“We have to keep asking ourselves, ‘How can we do this better?'” Dr. Wilson says. “It’s all about the patient.”