Champions of Care Program Honors LBH Staff

How many times in your career have you heard:

"With all my love and gratitude from the top of my aorta to the bottom of my mechanical valve, thank you for giving me a chance to live my best life!" or " You exhibit the highest quality of skill combined with a warm and caring personality – thank you."

These are but some of the glowing comments LifeBridge Health staff have gotten recently. These observations were put in writing, mailed to the hospital and forwarded to the employee. Included was a monetary donation to the hospital to honor the staff member.

The Champions of Care initiative allows a skilled and caring employee to learn how much he or she is appreciated by a patient. The patient gets a chance to express gratitude to a staff member. The hospital gets a donation toward employee and community health education, equipment and patient programs.

What made it even sweeter for the first recipients is that they had no idea Champions of Care even existed. They were just doing their jobs and doing them very, very well.

"It gives us a way to identify our patients who are grateful for their care," says Alice Caltrider, campaign manager in Development. Certain patients, such as those who are frequent visitors to the hospital, are asked specifically if there's a special person at their hospital that they'd like to thank. "They receive letters from the presidents asking about their care and asking if they would like to recognize one of their caregivers through a donation to the hospital," Alice explains.

Karen Foote, guest relations representative at Northwest Hospital, was having a very bad day.

"It was rough. We had about 200 people here. We had two deaths. And I was feeling very much underappreciated," Karen says.

That happened to be the day Karen received the letter in interoffice mail that she was one of the
Champions of Care.

"Someone showing appreciation made me feel like everything was all right. That note was awesome!" Karen says.

So far, there have been more than 100 Champions of Care at LifeBridge Health. You might notice them by the lapel pin they are wearing. The patients have donated amounts ranging from $25 to $1,000. The employees recognized so far includes nurses, physical/occupational/speech language therapists, food service representatives, physicians and nurse practitioners.

At Sinai Hospital, you can see the full list of the 2009 Champions of Care in the “Patient Comments” display case off the main hallway leading toward the cafeteria. At Northwest Hospital, the names are in a display case toward the end of the connector hallway in the main building.

Are you a former patient who wants to recognize a Champion of Care? If so, click here.

-Sandra Crockett

Northwest Hospital Receives Award for Stroke Treatment Program

When you or a loved on is being admitted for a stroke, it's important to know that your health care team has the latest skills and knowledge.

That's why we're proud that Sinai and Northwest hospitals are designated as Maryland Stroke Centers. Hospitals with this MIEMSS stroke designation showed they have a stroke team that can give acute stroke medicines and have resources to take care of stroke patients.

Now there's one more reason to celebrate our treatment for stroke patients. Northwest Hospital has received the 2010 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association "Get with the Guidelines" bronze award for its commitment to providing high quality care for stroke patients.
This recognizes Northwest's commitment to and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

Get With The Guidelines® is an evidence-based program for in-hospital quality improvement that focuses on quick diagnosis and treatment for stroke patients. Patients treated in hospitals with a Get With the Guidelines program can know they are getting care that is aligned with the latest scientific guidelines

Northwest and LifeBridge Health are also active in the community in promoting awareness of stroke symptoms. The warning signs of a stroke are:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

To learn more about our stroke programs, call 410-601-WELL (9355) or click here.

Sign Up for Race for Our Kids

We are excited to announce the Sinai Hospital Auxiliary has signed on to be the presenting sponsor of the sixth annual Race for Our Kids!

Mark your calendars for the 2010 Race for Our Kids at 8 a.m. on Sunday, September 26. All proceeds from the race benefit the division of pediatric oncology at The Herman & Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai. The race features 5K and 10K race courses, complete with disposable timing chips, water stops and police support.

The 1-Mile Family Walk travels around the Sinai Hospital campus and is great for families with children, or those who want to participate in the race without completing the 5K or 10K.

All participants receive an Under Armour® Race shirt and admission to the best post-race party in town, sponsored by The Classic Catering People.

This year, we are happy to announce we have online registration (with no additional fees) for our participants! In addition, if you register before August 1, you will receive an early bird discount of $5. Don't delay, register today!

Click here for more information or to sign up! Questions? Call Jen Doyle in the LifeBridge Health Department of Development at 410-601-9328.

Fighting through a Fitness Plateau

By Natalie Smith
Group Exercise Team Leader, LifeBridge Health & Fitness

Ever feel like you're working out like a fiend, but no longer experiencing results? You may be at a plateau, a common concern of many fitness enthusiasts and even athletes. A change in intensity may be just what's required to take you to the next level of weight loss, toning or performance.

In fitness, there is a level of intensity that trainers and instructors call the "edge of discomfort." This refers to working at a level that challenges, but doesn't overwhelm you. It is the place where you feel like you're testing your limits, your heart rate is pounding, your muscles are fatigued, and your breathing is heavy. If you were to work any harder, you'd be quite uncomfortable.

Many people work up to their edge of discomfort which, in general, is good. But if you're facing a plateau, it's not always good enough.

During my CycleFit classes, I often encourage participants to push themselves past their edge of discomfort. This doesn't sound like much fun, but pushing yourself over that edge is exactly where you need to go from time to time if you want to see continued improvements. When your body consistently performs at the same level, it puts you a risk for that all-too-frustrating plateau. Working harder, even if only for brief intervals, helps you achieve more than you originally thought was possible.

Pushing past our perceived limits can strengthen the not only our physical muscles, but also the mental muscles we need to achieve amazing results every day. All it takes is making regular, small steps past that edge of discomfort. It may be uncomfortable to take the risk, but it's often the only way to grow and bring more of what you want into your life.

If you are interested in starting on your way to fitness, please call 410-484-6800 or visit us at www.lifebridgehealthandfitness.com

Sinai Vice President Named Grassroots Champion

Barbara Epke, Vice President at LifeBridge Health, has been named an American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Award winner.

The AHA, in partnership with the Maryland Hospital Association, chose Epke because of her exceptional leadership and community activity in support of Maryland hospitals. The award is given to one hospital leader in each state who has been an advocate, educator, and broadened the base of support in the community. The 2010 honorees will be recognized at a special Breakfast of Grassroots Champions at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting tomorrow morning.

In a statement, AHA president and CEO Rich Umbdenstock said people like Epke are "the cornerstones of the communities they serve."

Since 2008, Epke has been on the Governor's Health Cost & Quality Council and has served on the Maryland Hospital Associations Council on Clinical and Quality Issues since 1994. According to the AHA, her dedication was particularly critical to the development of Maryland's Hospital Performance Guide and the Health Services Cost Review Commissions Quality-Based Reimbursement project.

Sinai Works with Parents to Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome

Your newborn won’t stop crying. What is your plan?

That’s the conversation many nurses at Sinai Hospital are increasingly having with post-partum mothers, and their partners, before the baby goes home. The goal is to reduce the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is believed to be the most common form of child abuse. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and presents a chance to increase education on preventing SBS.

SBS occurs when a baby is violently shaken, resulting in head trauma. Symptoms can include lethargy, decreased muscle tone, extreme irritability, decreased appetite, no smiling, difficulty breathing or seizures.

“It’s totally preventable,” says nurse Lauren Underwood, R.N., who divides her time between Labor and Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care, and the Pediatric Intensive Care at Sinai Hospital. She has been an advocate of talking more with parents about not shaking their baby, a topic that’s gained traction. The 15 states that have instituted mandatory education on Shaken Baby Syndrome have seen a dramatic reduction in incidence rates of SBS, she says.

“There’s enthusiasm growing among the Sinai staff for educating parents on Shaken Baby Syndrome,” she says.

Part of this stems from the extreme consequences of SBS. According to the National Institute for Neurological Damage and Stroke, “the majority of infants who survive severe shaking will have some form of neurological or mental disability, such as cerebral palsy or mental retardation, which may not be fully apparent before 6 years of age.” Shaking also can cause blindness.

Parents do not always realize the consequences of shaking, Lauren says.

“Often the parent says something like ‘I didn’t shake him that hard,’” she says. “This is something that can affect all families.”

“All parents go through a time when they are frustrated and the baby won’t stop crying,” Lauren says. “We ask parents to watch a movie on Shaken Baby Syndrome and to answer the question ‘what do you do when you’re at wit’s end?’”

Answers can be to call someone for help, to put the baby in a safe place like a crib and walk away, or to take a walk.

“You check to see if the baby is hungry, sick, tired or wet,” Lauren says. “But sometimes babies just need to cry.”

Coping With Stress at Work

Do you find yourself having a hard time sleeping, troubled by an upset stomach or headache, or snapping at the people around you?

In any type of job, whether it's teaching or construction, the cause of the above symptoms could be related to stress at work. In additional to the physical effects, stress can lead to depression, decreased job satisfaction, and strained personal relationships.

Health care professionals face unusual challenges in tackling their sources of stress, such as dealing with grief. Not only can that stress lead to burnout, but it can harm patients. One 2002 Annals of Internal Medicine study among showed that burned-out residents "were significantly more likely to self-report providing at least one type of suboptimal patient care at least monthly (Shanafelt, Bradley, Wipf, & Back, 2002).

That's why LifeBridge Health and Carebridge are pleased to offer a Carebridge Guidance Seminar on "Coping with Stress in a Health Care Environment." Attend the session and learn strategies to cope after a loss of a patient, how to compartmentalize work and a personal life, and how to address compassion fatigue.

The seminar will be from 1 to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27 at Sinai Hospital, and 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 20 on Northwest Hospital. Pre-registration is required - LifeBridge Health employees should sign up through HealthStream's Center for Leadership and Professional Development courses.

Violence Prevention Program Held Tomorrow

To recognize National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the Northwest Hospital Domestic Violence Program and the Baltimore Police Department will be sponsoring their Second Annual Community Against Violence event.

Northwest is proud to partner with law enforcement in addressing issues like domestic violence, identity theft, elder abuse, drug abuse, and youth gun violence. National Crime Victims' Rights Week serves to empower residents, and to let victims know of their rights. This week is also a chance to memorialize those people who became victims of crime.

The program begins tomorrow evening at 7 p.m., Liberty Resource Center, 3505 Resource Drive, Randallstown. The doors open at 6:30 p.m..

There will be three speakers:

• Johnny Rice, from the state Department of Human Resources, will speak on "Raising Boys to Men."

• Steve Roscher, a prosecutor for Baltimore County State's Attorney Office, will speak about the state's Family Crimes Unit.

• Scott D. Shellenberger, the Baltimore County State's Attorney, speak about witness intimidation and what the state is doing to combat it.

There will be representatives from a variety of local agencies, food and beverages, door prizes and some great raffles! All are welcome.

To see a list of other National Crime Victim's Rights Week events, click here.

Celebrate National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week

I bet you hardly ever think about some of the professionals your doctor depends on to correctly diagnose and treat you. But laboratory professionals play a crucial role in helping doctors determine the cause of your illness and how to treat it. And they hardly ever get a “thank you.” So here’s one from me, on behalf of all of us: thank you, lab professionals!

To showcase all the work these fine folks accomplish and to celebrate National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, I talked with LifeBridge Health medical technologists Mary Scott and Cynthia Heggins-Sawyer, along with other members of the Laboratory Activities Committee (LAC), to answer some common questions about life in the lab.

What happens in the laboratory?

The lab helps determine how the major functions of the body are working (i.e. kidneys, liver, bone marrow, heart). We provide test results that aid doctors in making an accurate diagnosis. We perform complex testing such as H1N1 and MRSA identification, cancer markers, HIV and hepatitis testing.

What are some of the different jobs in the laboratory?

Throughout the lab, there are phlebotomists, lab assistants, medical technologists, histotechnologists, pathologist assistants, pathologists, managers, lab directors and administrative assistants. The education required for these professions range from a high school diploma to a M.D. or Ph.D.

How does a lab fit into the overall picture of health care?

Seventy percent of the medical decisions that physicians make are based on laboratory results.

What are the new innovations in the lab?

The lab uses many types of instrumentation on a daily basis to meet the demands and needs of the hospital and the patients. There are always advancements in technology and methodologies that allow for more efficient and accurate test results.

What type of career satisfaction do you get from your chosen profession?

We help save lives. We help aid in the proper diagnosis of patients, as well as provide the results that are used to monitor treatments. We feel good knowing that we make a difference in someone’s life.

Are there any common misconceptions about the lab?

The laboratory is not just the four walls in which it is contained, but the people within them performing the testing. Our job is very personal. We treat the samples that we test as if they belonged to a member of our family.

To learn more about a career in the labs of LifeBridge Health, visit www.lifejobs.org

-Sandra Crockett

Reaching Underserved Populations with Lifesaving Breast Care Information

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of attending an afternoon tea at Northwest Hospital featuring a talk by Sandra Millon Underwood, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N. Dr. Underwood is the 2010 Komen Visiting Professor, and she was making a stop at Northwest during her tour through Maryland.

As a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Dr. Underwood’s area of research is how to reduce – and even eliminate – disparities between breast cancer detection and treatment among various socioeconomic and cultural populations.

When breast cancer is spotted early, the opportunity for survival increases, and over 98 percent of early detected cases of breast cancer are cured. However, if a woman is not getting regular mammograms – whether it’s because she does not have health insurance, cannot afford her co-pays or doesn’t understand she needs to have regular screening – this will result in breast cancer being caught much later than it otherwise would be.

“Pink is not the only color associated with breast cancer,” says Dr. Underwood.

That’s because black and green also have significance. While white women overall have higher incidence rates of breast cancer than black women, black women under age 50 not only have higher rates of breast cancer, but they are also more likely to die from the disease. For those whose issue is green – they cannot afford regular screening mammograms and treatment if breast cancer is detected – Dr. Underwood puts them in touch with a Center for Disease Control and Prevention screening program that provides these resources.

Women who know their individual levels of risk – based on ethnicity, family history, and health and lifestyle factors – will have a great understanding of what needs to be done to catch cancer early.

Dr. Underwood also spoke about her efforts to reach out to the women on the maintenance and janitorial staff at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. These were women who set up and broke down the university’s community health educational events, but they were never encouraged to attend the events themselves. After talking with one of the janitors, Dr. Underwood realized that she needed to hold events specifically for these unreached women. She even hosted events in the middle of the night (2 – 3 a.m.) so that all of the female shift workers could have the opportunity to learn what they needed to know about breast cancer.

Are you interested in becoming a team captain for the 2010 Race for the Cure? Click here to sign up to attend an informational meeting.

To learn more about breast cancer services at LifeBridge Health, call 410-601-WELL (9355) or click here.

-Holly Hosler

Sinai Hospital Celebrates National Volunteer Week

by Beth Markowitz, Volunteer Manager
Sinai Hospital

At long last, spring has arrived! The highly anticipated change in seasons couldn’t come soon enough for most of us, and for volunteers spring means more than warm weather.

National Volunteer Week will be celebrated from Sunday, April 18 to Saturday, April 24. The Points of Light Institute and the Hands on Network designate the week annually to honor the countless individuals who take action to strengthen their communities through volunteerism. Sinai Hospital takes advantage of Volunteer Week to show gratitude to the 200 volunteers who regularly donate their time to the hospital.

Providing food and gifts for our volunteers, hanging a banner over Greenspring Avenue, and placing an ad in the Jewish Times are just some of the ways that Sinai Hospital and LifeBridge Health show appreciation to volunteers during National Volunteer Week. You, too, can thank our volunteers simply by taking a moment to say hello and by sharing a warm smile.

LifeBridge Health’s Annual Volunteer Luncheon is always held each spring close to National Volunteer Week. This year, the event was this past Tuesday, April 13, at Beth Tfiloh Congregation. Volunteers from all LifeBridge Health entities enjoyed food, gifts, and entertainment.

The value that volunteers bring to the staff and patients at Sinai Hospital is priceless. From knitting hats and blankets for our smallest patients to providing emotional support to a patient scheduled for a procedure, volunteers are part of the care provided at Sinai Hospital each day. It’s important to show volunteers your appreciation whenever possible, but National Volunteer Week is a great reminder for us to demonstrate that we care.

Sinai employees: can you use the help of a volunteer? Please contact Volunteer Services at 2-5023 if you have a need for volunteer(s) in your area. I am always looking for opportunities to engage volunteers and provide meaningful support to the hospital.