Page 15 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_July-August-2018

At the Hospitals
n We are Levine Children’s
When you choose any Atrium Health
pediatrician for your family, you’re choosing
more than a doctor — you’re choosing all
the best care for your child, backed by Levine
Children’s Hospital.
It’s always been like that — but it hasn’t
always been as clear as it will be now. With great
excitement, Atrium Health has announced the
Levine Children’s name now will be used across
all its children’s services.
“Levine Children’s is a great name today,
and we’re looking to enhance it,” says Stacy
Nicholson, MD, MPH, president of children’s
services. “We’re looking to expand the Levine
Children’s name across all of the ways we care
for children.”
Now there’s one name for all the ways Atrium
Health cares for children, but what does that
mean, exactly?
In addition to 150 pediatricians, Atrium
Health has more than 150 specialists across
more than 30 specialties — plus children’s
urgent cares, hospitals, emergency departments
and more. By bringing all these services together
under a single, trusted name, we are reinforcing
what’s been there all along: connected, high-
quality care that’s all about kids.
When you bring your children to any Atrium
Health office, you’ll now see the Levine
Children’s name and know they’re always
getting the right care, at the right location, with founded in 1940 as Charlotte Memorial Hospital
the right level of specialty.
The only real change you might notice is a
feeling of being part of something bigger and
added reassurance that your child has access to
all the best care right here.
n Gene Woods Named One of “100 Great
Leaders in Healthcare”
President and CEO of Atrium Health
Eugene Woods recently was listed as one of
Becker’s Healthcare 2018 “100 Great Leaders
in Healthcare.” Woods joined Atrium Health,
previously Carolinas HealthCare System, in
April 2016 and quickly collaborated with the
organization’s more than 65,000 teammates to
unite around a redefined vision to be the first and
best choice for care and a new mission statement
to improve health, elevate hope and advance
healing for all. Under his leadership, Atrium
Health has been recognized as one of the “Best
Employers for Diversity” by Forbes, number
one on the list of “Best Places for Women and
Diverse Managers to Work” by DiversityMBA
and one of the “150 Top Places to Work in
Healthcare” by Becker’s Healthcare.
Woods is passionate about protecting and
expanding access and coverage to all Americans,
better engaging with our communities to
advance positive health outcomes, and achieving
equity of care by eliminating disparities.
In January 2017, Woods assumed the role
of chairman of the board of trustees of the
American Hospital Association and currently
serves as immediate-past chair. As a leader
of the national organization that represents
and serves nearly 5,000 hospitals, healthcare
systems, networks and other providers of care,
and 43,000 individual members, Woods and his
colleagues actively work to provide quality care
to millions of Americans and to help them reach
their highest potential for health.
n Carolinas Medical Center Named One
of “100 Great Hospitals in America”
Atrium Health’s flagship hospital, Carolinas
Medical Center, recently was listed in Becker’s
Healthcare 2018 edition of “100 Great Hospitals
in America.” Carolinas Medical Center was
and has since grown to be the region’s only
Level I Trauma Center, as well as an approved
transplant center for heart, kidney, pancreas
and liver. The hospital serves as one of North
Carolina’s five Academic Medical Center
Teaching Hospitals, providing residency training
for more than 200 physicians in 15 specialties.
Carolinas Medical Center was recognized with
other hospitals across the nation for excellence
in clinical care, patient outcomes, and staff and
physician satisfaction.
Mecklenburg Medicine • July/August 2018 | 15
n Using Technology to Help Kids Control
Asthma and Prevent Asthma Attacks
Developed and piloted at Atrium Health,
Carolinas Asthma Coach is a web-based platform
designed to provide a unique patient-centered
experience to help patients suffering from asthma
truly understand what asthma is and how it is
treated. The interactive, digital experience —
incorporating characters, sports and humor —
engages patients, caregivers and their doctors in
a tailored conversation about asthma.
How does it work?
Before a visit with the doctor, a pediatric
patient and her/his caregiver engage with
Carolinas Asthma Coach and receive tailored
education about asthma, triggers and treatments.
Carolinas Asthma Coach gathers information
about goals, adherence and symptoms and
provides personalized recommendations for
both the patient and provider.
The patient, caregiver and provider share in
the decision-making and create a personalized
treatment plan at the point of care.
Andy McWilliams, MD, author of the
Carolinas Asthma Coach study and principal
investigator, explains the end goal is to help
patients, caregivers and providers have a more
productive doctor visit and ensure they are
all equally involved in creating a feasible and
sustainable action plan to maintain good control
of the patient’s asthma.
Led by a multidisciplinary team of Atrium
Health clinicians, patients and researchers,
Carolinas Asthma Coach was implemented
and piloted in four pediatric, family medicine
clinics and the children’s emergency department
to evaluate the effects and feasibility of the
platform in pediatric care settings. Since its
pilot, results showed 90 percent of participants
and caregivers engaged and shared in the
treatment decision with their provider, patients’
knowledge and understanding of asthma
improved on average 52-77 percent and 100
percent responded they would recommend
Carolinas Asthma Coach to a friend.
The tool currently is being revised to include
5- and 6-year-old patients, is being translated
into Spanish and will enable the platform to
be accessed from home or clinic. Once the 2.0
version is complete, Carolinas Asthma Coach
will be implemented in Levine Children’s
Hospital Emergency Department to evaluate its
success for patients visiting the ED for asthma-
related needs.