ISDH HONOR
The Adams Memorial Hospital was honored recently by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) for its “best practices” of promoting hepatitis B immunizations in newborn children. ISDH public health investigator Rupert E. Arceo, third from left, is shown above presenting a “Gold Award” to maternity center patient care manager Sharolyn Faurote. The “Gold” level is the top award given to an Indiana hospital that delivers babies and on the average only two or three Hoosier hospitals receive this award annually. Others in the photo, left to right, include maternity center registered nurse Deb Wilder, chief operating officer Jo-Ellen Eidam, Arceo, Faurote, and chief executive officer Tom Nordwick.
Although Hepatitis B immunizations are required for children, an Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) survey has shown the Adams Memorial Hospital (AMH) is one of the best hospitals in the state in making sure children born at their location are afforded that choice.
In a brief ceremony Thursday afternoon at the hospital, ISDH public health investigator Rupert E. Arceo presented hospital officials with a “Gold Award” that lauded the hospital “in recognition of your best practices in the prevention of perinatal Hepatitis B infections.”
Arceo said there are 98 hospitals in Indiana that deliver babies and through a four-year project with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ISDH officials have surveyed roughly 25 hospitals a year with facilities earning a “Gold,” “Silver,” or “Bronze” award.
On average, about two to three hospitals a year receive “Gold” status, including AMH this year.
During the survey, the ISDH randomly selects records of mothers and infants. Results of the latest survey noted 190 live births were recorded at the hospital in 2010 and there were zero Hepatitis B positive deliveries. As one of its standing or written policies, Adams Memorial Hospital administers hepatitis vaccines to newborns prior to their discharge from the hospital or within 12 hours of birth if the baby tests positive for the virus.
Parents of children born at the hospital have the option of declining the vaccine if, for example, they are opposed on religious grounds, or other reasons. Of all of the required childhood immunizations, only the Hepatitis B shot is given right after delivery in the hospital and is the first of a series of three shots with the others to be given at between one-two months of age and then again at six months.
Other immunizations required for children according to CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines include:
Two Months-DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis), PCV (pneumococcal disease), Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), Polio, and RV (rotavirus).
Four Months-DTaP, PCV, Hib, Polio, and RV
Six Months-DTaP, PCV, Hib, Polio, and RV
12 Months-MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), PCV, Hib, Varicella (chicken pox), and Hepatitis A
15 Months-DTaP
Guidelines also recommend children start receiving an annual flu shot at the age of six months or older every flu season.
During the hospital ceremony, Arceo told AMH chief executive officer Tom Nordwick “the Adams County community should be comforted in knowing the AMH staff does an outstanding job in following national standards and guidelines regarding “Best Practices.’”
Error Free Healthcare facility
For the fifth consecutive year since statistics have been logged by Indiana State Department of Health surveyors, the Adams Memorial Hospital has been listed as an “error-free” healthcare facility in the 28 different categories examined by the ISDH.
Adams Health Network president and chief executive officer Tom Nordwick said the designation is “due directly to the work put in by our staff and strict adherence to patient safety issues.”
The listing as an “error-free” facility was made public recently in the 2010 Indiana Medical Error Report. The report showed that in the time frame in which statistics have been collected at Adams Memorial Hospital, there have been over 11,000 in-patients discharged from the hospital, approximately 20,000 surgical procedures done and nearly 100,000 outpatient visits. In 2010 alone, Adams Memorial Hospital discharged 2,280 in-patients, saw 14,449 out-patients, and completed 3,460 procedures.
Surveyors look at six different categories including surgical, products or devices, patient protection, care management, environmental, and criminal. Among the most frequent errors found in the ISDH report were surgeries done on a wrong body part, cases of pressure ulcers, serious disabilities associated with a fall, and foreign objects left inside a patient after surgery.
Adams Memorial Hospital is part of the Northeast Indiana Patient Safety Coalition which is a group of healthcare providers working together to provide standardized policies in regards to patient care and safety. For example, patients in any hospital in northeast Indiana seen with a yellow wristband is considered a fall risk while a red band indicates that patient has a specific allergy.
The coalition has also identified certain situations in hospitals with names such as announcing a “Code Amber” for a missing, infant, child or adult patient or a “Code Blue” for a patient in cardiac arrest.
Nordwick said AMH has adopted the World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist that has staff members verify prior to a patient having an anesthetic the type of procedure to be done, the patient’s consent, any existing allergies, having the surgical site marked and having a functioning pulse oximeter on the patient (checks level of oxygen in the blood).
The surgeon, anesthesiology specialist and nurse will also verbally confirm the patient’s name, site and type of procedure to be done. After the procedure is finished, a nurse verbally confirms with the surgical team the name of the procedure done, details a correct instrument, sponge and needle count, and makes sure all specimens are properly labeled.
Nordwick said the AMH adherence was noted in the fact the hospital was recently listed as one of the top 100 critical access hospitals in the United States by the National Rural Health Association (out of 1,750 such hospitals in the country).
“This is a reflection of the good work done at our hospital by our staff. We make continual efforts to improve patient services and I think this recognition goes a long way to support what is being done here,” he said. Nordwick added the Village of Heritage Nursing Home in Monroeville, also operated by the Adams Health Network, achieved a zero-free deficiency survey earlier this year, an extremely difficult accomplishment.
Of the 102 mistakes made state-wide in 2010, 34 were pressure ulcers, 33 were foreign objects left in a patient’s body following surgery (30 happened in a hospital, three is ambulatory surgery centers), 17 were falls resulting in death or serious disability and 14 were surgeries performed on a wrong body part (12 in hospital cases and two in ambulatory surgery centers).
The entire 2010 Indiana Medical Error Report is available on line though the Indiana State Department of Health website.
Super Kids Dare to be healthy
2012…Is your family ready to make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle?
Do you have children 8 to 14 years of age?
Do you want to help them become more physically active and make healthier food choices?
If your answer is YES, we would like to invite you to a program sponsored by
Adams Memorial Hospital, Adams Co. Parks and Recreation, Purdue Cooperative Extension of Adams County, and Adams County Department of Health.
What: An eight week wellness program for children addressing nutrition, daily physical activity, and building self-esteem and self acceptance.
Who: Student enrolled will participate two days a week for eight weeks.
When: Mondays & Wednesdays, beginning January 9 through March 5, from 3:30—5:00
(A second program will run April 2 through May 30, 2012)
Where: Service Complex, 313 Jefferson Street, Decatur IN
Cost: $15 per child (includes snacks, water bottle, exercise equipment, and a T-shirt)
Contact: Register with Carrie Binegar at Adams Memorial Hospital—724-2145 Ext. 3906
Smoking Cessation Grant
Students in the North Adams and South Adams school district who currently use tobacco products but would like to stop may take advantage of a new program being offered by the Behavioral Health Services at the Adams Memorial Hospital after the first of the year.
Dr. John Gibson, director of the Behavioral Health Services, announced the hospital has received a grant from the Substance Abuse Awareness Council (SAAC) to provide a smoking cessation program to both North Adams and South Adams (Adams Central already has its own stop smoking program) and that the program will be free to both students and the school districts.
The smoking cessation class will be one day a week for six weeks and will meet after school at Bellmont and South Adams High School. The class will be facilitated by BHS staff member Baldemar Silva, a certified smoking cessation therapist.
This is the first year the SAAC has issued the grant for smoking cessation to the hospital and Gibson said that with the BHS presence already established in the schools in Adams County through another grant from the Safe School Healthy Students fund that assists elementary, middle school and high school students with various problems, he feels the chances for a smoking cessation program to be successful are high.
“We’re dealing with high school students and some a few years younger so if they have started smoking already, they are not long into the habit. Statistics have shown it’s easier for them to quit than it is for someone who has smoked for years, but again it’s really up to the student. They have to want to quit,” Gibson said, adding that the success rate for programs of this nature in schools has been around 60-80%.
Referrals to the program will be accepted after the Christmas break and may be made through the school system, the court or probation system, or by personal request.
Gibson said that since it is illegal for persons under the age of 18 to smoke or possess tobacco products, students caught with the substance on school property risk expulsion.
“This program gives the student an excellent alternative to being expelled because the school can opt to refer the student here,” he said. Gibson said that while parental permission is normally required, the courts or probation could order a student to participate in the program.
The six-week course focuses on several different issues including health risks of smoking, peer pressure, how to say no to tobacco, and alternatives to smoking. Students will be required to breathe into a machine that will be able to detect nicotine to see if they have been smoking during the six-week course.
“For at least the six weeks the course is being offered, we will be able to tell if the student is being compliant,” Gibson noted.
The SAAC grant is for the entire 2012 calendar year with classes to be offered throughout the year. SAAC has also sponsored other programs such as ongoing counseling sessions at the Adams-Wells County Crisis Shelter and helping to support sobriety checkpoint patrols during the holiday seasons.
More information about the smoking cessation program in the schools may be received by contacting Behavioral Health Services at 724-2145 or 589-3913, ext. 3906.
Prenatal Classes 2012
COMPANION LIFELINE helps seniors to continue to live independently
Adams Memorial now offers Adams County seniors the Companion Lifeline Service with NEW AutoAlert giving them access to help that automatically places a call for help if a fall is detected
Adams Memorial Hospital recently began to offer Companion Lifeline, the leading medical alert service in Northeast Indiana with over 1,500 subscribers, to help seniors in the Adams County area live in the homes they love. As of July 2011, all of the near 270 emergency response subscribers through Adams County Memorial Hospital will be converted over to Companion Lifeline. This includes approximately 150 in the Adams community and 120 at the Woodcrest and Evergreen Retirement Communities.
Companion Lifeline is a medical alert service designed to reduce the risk of living alone. In the event of a fall or emergency, help is available at the push of a button, and now with NEW AutoAlert, the only medical alert pendant that can call for help when patients can’t. For a little more than a dollar a day, seniors throughout the Adams and Wells County communities can purchase the Lifeline Service through Companion Lifeline.
On average, one of every three adults over age 65 falls each year, making falls the most common cause of death or injury in the home —creating real concern for seniors and their loved ones. By offering the Companion Lifeline Service, Adams and Wells County seniors are able get help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Close to 50 percent of seniors can’t get up from a fall without help1 and lying on the floor for an extended period of time can lead to serious complications, including: pressure ulcers, muscle necrosis, dehydration, hypothermia and pneumonia. The care and treatment of these potentially preventable complications are costly to the healthcare system and negatively impact quality of life for seniors.
Companion Lifeline with AutoAlert is designed to help reduce the risk of long lie times. If a fall victim receives help more quickly, that may reduce emotional distress and potential costs of extended treatment, rehabilitation and supported living. With AutoAlert, if a fall is detected, subscribers still have the opportunity to receive quick access to assistance even in situations where they can’t push their button, for example, if they lose consciousness, become immobilized, forget to push their button or won’t push their button because they feel they can manage the situation independently. Just as important, the service can provide added confidence and peace of mind to the 22 million seniors who fear falling. 2
“By offering Companion Lifeline, we give seniors in the Adams community a meaningful and needed service, allowing them to have the confidence to continue to live in the homes they love, knowing that help is available with the only medical alert pendant that can call for help when patients can’t.” said Rick Gerig, Companion Lifeline owner.
For more information about the Companion Lifeline Service or any other services Companion Lifeline offers contact Jeff Scheribel at 260-724-4500.
Web Link to Watch Auto Alert Video Presentation
References
1. Falls, fractures, and injury, Merck Manual of Geriatrics, Section 2, Chapter 20, Topic: Falls. p.1. www.merck.com/mkgr/mmg/sec2/ch20/ch20a.jsp.
2. Jette, Alan, PT, PhD, Fear of falling in older persons, White Paper published by Philips Lifeline, 2008, p 2
Behavioral Health Classes and Information
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RESOURCE CENTER OUTPATIENT COUNSELING SERVICES
Adams Memorial Hospital offers 2 locations for confidential outpatient counseling services in Decatur and Bern. The Resource Centers were developed with privacy and professionalism in mind. Services are available for children, adolescents, adults and seniors. Counseling is provided by therapists and social workers. The Resource Centers specialize in Anger Management, Anxiety Issues, Depression, Family Issues, Eating Disorders, ADHD, Grief/Loss, Alcohol/Drug Issues, and Life Changes. To schedule an appointment in Decatur call 728-3906. To schedule an appointment in Berne call 589-2442.
“ALCOHOL CESSATION” PROGRAM
Adams Memorial Hospital is now offering a program called “Alcohol Cessation”. The program is being offered on an outpatient basis so that patients can continue to work, and be at home with family while still undergoing the medically supervised treatment. The program is a joint venture between the Adams Memorial Hospital’s Behavioral Health Community Resource Center and StatCare. If alcohol is disrupting your family and work life, please call 260-724-2145 x3906 (Decatur) or 260-589-3913 x3823 (Berne).
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ACTIVITIES
Freedom From Smoking Classes…
Open to the community. New classes start every 8 weeks. Call John Gibson at 724-2145 x 3404
Court-ordered Tobacco Education Classes…
Offered on an on-going basis. Call John Gibson at 724-2145 x3404 for more information.
