Page 11 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_September-2019

At the Hospitals
n $1 Million Gift Establishes
Distinguished Chair for
Surgical Oncology
A $1 million gift from an anonymous
patient family in December 2018 has
established the Richard L. White, Jr., MD,
Distinguished Chair in Surgical Oncology
at Levine Cancer Institute.
“This transformational gift will help
distinguish our surgical oncology services
as among the most advanced in the country,”
says Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, president of
Levine Cancer Institute. “We are honored
to receive such generous support from
grateful patients and families.”
Access to world class care is important
to Dr. White, who expressed gratitude
for the support he has received for the
program. “Thanks to gifts such as these,
physicians like me have access to funds
for innovative research, educational
opportunities and special projects that
may lead to new therapies. And, grateful
patients who give back to our program are
inspiring others to give.”
As the Distinguished Chair in Surgical
Oncology, White continues to lead and help
advance the Institute’s division of surgical
oncology and the management of cancerous
tumors. A physician and surgeon, he is
renowned for developing Atrium Health’s
novel immunotherapy program. He earned
a medical degree from Columbia University
in New York and completed his residency
at Georgetown University, followed by a
fellowship at the National Cancer Institute.
White’s tenure at Atrium Health spans
more than 24 years.
The surgical oncology and breast program
at Levine Cancer Institute provides a wide
range of services including breast radiology,
surgical oncology, medical oncology,
reconstructive surgery, radiation oncology,
genetics risk assessment and testing, and
integrative medicine. With three centers
involved in the program, the Institute can
provide state of the art care, close to home. unit at Atrium Health’s nationally recognized
n Carolinas Rehabilitation Receives
American Hospital Association’s
2019 Quest for Quality Prize
Atrium Health’s Carolinas Rehabilitation
has received one of the most prestigious
awards in health care, the American Hospital
Association’s (AHA) Quest for Quality prize,
for its leadership and innovation in improving
quality, advancing health in communities,
and providing access to exceptional quality,
safe and patient- and family-centered
care. Carolinas Rehabilitation is the first
rehabilitation hospital in the country to receive
the AHA’s Quest for Quality prize.
Carolinas Rehabilitation was acknowledged
by the AHA for its exemplary achievements
in engagement with community partners to
address social determinants of health and
empowering its workforce to excel, innovate
and improve access for all patients.
Most notably, Carolinas Rehabilitation’s
EQUADRSM network was recognized by the
Quest for Quality prize committee for its ability
to collect data and report rehabilitation-specific Computerworld 2019 Best Places to Work in
quality outcomes, leading to the exchange of
best practices to improve care. EQUADR is
the first Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ) listed rehabilitation-specific
Patient Safety Organization in the world. A
first-of-its-kind platform now adopted by 38
rehabilitation hospitals and health systems,
EQUADR has contributed to preventing more
than 1,000 harm events, avoiding nearly $10
million in preventable harm costs.
Carolinas Rehabilitation’s virtual patient
observation monitoring program, which serves
as a telemetry unit enabling direct, real-time
communication with patients and visitors, was
recognized for its innovation and contribution
to a 43 percent decrease in the number of falls
and significant associated cost savings.
Carolinas Rehabilitation is one of the
largest nonprofit rehabilitation providers in
the nation with 179 inpatient beds among four
adult rehabilitation hospitals throughout the
greater Charlotte area, in addition to a 13-bed
pediatric hospital, Levine Children’s Hospital.
n Levine Children’s Hospital Now
Offers the Region’s Only Pediatric
Robotic Surgery for Urology Patients
Alison Keenan, MD, pediatric urologist,
recently transferred from a hospital in the
Mecklenburg Medicine • September 2019 | 11
Midwest to join Atrium Health Levine
Children’s Hospital. Though she is new to
Charlotte, Dr. Keenan has years
of experience with pediatric
robotic surgery. She is the only
doctor in the southeast with an
expertise in robotics; which she
describes as a tool she uses to
AlisonKeenan,MD augment her technical skills.
The robot allows her to make fine
movements in small spaces, which translates
into an easier faster recovery with less pain
and scarring.
Her first month on the job, Dr. Keenan
made history when she performed the first
robotic dismembered pyeloplasty at Levine
Children’s Hospital, as well as the region. To
read more about that case, check out Dylan’s
story on Atrium Health’s Daily Dose blog.
n Atrium Health Named to
Computerworld’s 2019 List of
100 Best Places to Work in IT
Atrium Health was named to IDG’s
IT. The designation is based on the excellence
and quality of the IT workplace, recognizing
Atrium Health as a top 100 organization that
challenges IT staff while providing great
benefits and compensation. Atrium Health’s
ability to attract, retain and develop IT staff,
along with competitive benefits, career
development and teammates’ desire to work at
Atrium Health, led to the ranking of number 48
among large organizations on the Best Places
to Work in IT list.
Examples of how IT makes a difference not
only at Atrium Health, but more importantly
for its patients include:
• In the wake of a national opioid crisis,
Atrium Health’s IT team partnered with
physician leaders to leverage its electronic
medical record system to alert physicians
when a patient may have a prior issue with
pain medication. Having this type of alert
system in place has helped physicians decide
against issuing an opioid prescription in
many cases.
• As Hurricane Florence approached the
east coast in 2018, Atrium Health’s IT Health
Information Exchange team worked quickly
to electronically connect its system to Georgia,
allowing displaced patients to be fully cared
for while away from home.