Page 12 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_January-2019

At the Hospitals
n Hemophilia Treatment Center
Designation Announcement
On August 8, 2018, the Hemophilia Treatment
Center (HTC) of Levine Cancer Institute and
Levine Children’s Hospital was granted federal
designation by the Southeast Region Hemophilia
Network as a comprehensive HTC. The medical
directors are Mary Ann Knovich, MD, and
Ashley Hinson, MD. The HTC provides
comprehensive care for pediatric and adult
patients affected by bleeding/clotting disorders.
The physical location of the adult clinic is
1021 Morehead Medical Drive, suite 5300,
Charlotte. Physicians may refer any adult
patient with a known/undiagnosed bleeding or
thrombotic disorder. Atrium Health physicians
must submit referrals for adult patients to the
HEME/BMT referral coordinators via EPIC
using LCI CMC, HEME/BMT REFERRAL
inbox. To contact the HTC adult clinic, call
980-442-5251 or send a fax to 980-442-5241.
To request a pediatric referral form, call
704-381-9900 and fax the completed form to
704-381-9901.
n MedFest Offers Helping Hand to
Athletes Competing in Special Olympics
More than 150 students were screened during
the sixth annual Mecklenburg County MedFest
in October. The one-day event was created to
offer a free physical exam for student athletes
participating in the Special Olympics. And for
many, it was their first exposure to medical care.
Jordan Sestak, MD, academic chief resident
in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and
co-clinical director of MedFest, says it’s always
amazing to see the teams come together and
volunteer their time to provide such great care
for an underserved population. “I consider
physiatry a calling and there were many
moments throughout the day that served as
a great reminder of why I chose this field,”
says Dr. Sestak. “While this is only a one-day
event, the teammates who volunteer provide a
valuable service that allows athletes with the
Special Olympics to do what they love.”
Atrium Health’s Carolinas Rehabilitation put
12 | January 2019 • Mecklenburg Medicine
on MedFest in collaboration with the Special
Olympics North Carolina and Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Schools. Together they offered
free sports physicals which included height,
weight, blood pressure and other assessments
that make up a physical exam. Medical staff
also could refer a patient if further evaluation
was needed.
n Atrium Health Earns Most
Wired 2018
Atrium Health has been recognized
as a “CHIME HealthCare’s Most
Wired 2018” organization for the 15th
consecutive year. Additionally, by ranking in
the 99th percentile compared to peers, Atrium
Health is the only healthcare system in North
Carolina to also be designated as one of the Top
10 systems in the nation, ranking No. 6 out of
254 winners. recognition along the way.
“Over the years, Atrium Health has put the
infrastructure in place to allow us to be a top
IT department,” says Jonathan Bowers, vice
president and interim CIO at Atrium Health.
“Our Information Analytics and Systems teams,
in partnership with our clinicians and business
operations, are innovative in their approach to
technology and continuously strive to make
a difference in the lives of our patients. Being
a Top 10 Most Wired healthcare organization in
the nation is a testament to the hard work,
energy and intelligence the team brings to the
job every day.”
Among the technologies integrated by
Atrium Health in the past year were:
• Completing the conversion of a new revenue
cycle and patient access across the entire
organization.
• Enhancing online patient portal and mobile
applications, including open scheduling
of primary care and cardiology appointments. the practice setting result in no harm, some do
• Integrating vitals and IV pump data directly
into the electronic health record, which allows needed a way to determine which events were
accelerated condition monitoring.
• Implementing secure texting messaging
system with on-call and consult schedules to
improve patient care.
Atrium Health has focused its IT efforts
over the years to ensure that not only the
infrastructure is in place but also the most
modern, contemporary and secure technologies
are in place to serve patients and providers.
“Our experience and ability to execute
in the face of complex and challenging
technology issues is a testament to our team’s
commitment,” says Bowers. “Atrium Health
is one of the nation’s most complex health
systems, spanning multiple states where we
deliver primary, specialty and continuing care
in both urban and rural communities. Our team
ensures our systems meet the needs of patients
and providers across the network for more than
30,000 daily patient encounters.”
n Atrium Health’s Innovative Approach
to Patient Safety
From developing a new tool that analyzes
safety events in the outpatient setting to
innovative conversations involving IT providers
like Cerner, Atrium Health’s Quality Division
is creating proactive solutions to address patient
safety — ultimately increasing the quality
of care patients receive and getting national
“The Quality Division’s dedication to
ensuring our patients receive safe care — and
understanding what we can do better in advance
— has led to some truly out-of-the-box thinking
that I don’t think others in our industry are
considering,” says Pam Beckwith, RN, system
vice president of quality. “Our teammates show
courage and commitment in this space every day
so that we continue to lead this work nationally.”
It begins with finding new ways to solve
old problems.
Creating a First-of-its-Kind Safety Tool
for Ambulatory Settings
What: Teammates in the outpatient setting
(such as family medicine or pediatrics) report
events that could result in injury to continue
keeping our patients as safe as possible.
Challenge: While most safety events in
warrant investigation. Our patient-safety team
worthy of further study.
Solution: In 2017, Patient Safety developed
a tool that lets the team sort through the events
and determine which ones need an immediate
response — and the team proactively makes
improvements that prevent the event from
occurring again.
Recognition: Atrium Health was selected as
a 2018 Success Story Award winner by Press
Ganey for its tool and presented on it during
a national Press Ganey conference in mid-
November in Orlando.