Avera Bulletin - April 2009

Gifts to Avera Will Revolutionize Rural Health Care

Avera leadership announced today gifts of more than $13.5 million to be used in innovative initiatives that will transform rural health care delivery at the national level. The grants were awarded to Avera by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

In the five-state Avera region, the grants will support expansion of Avera eCARE™, Avera's nationally recognized, visionary model for addressing the challenges of rural health care delivery. Some $2 million will create greater access to sophisticated cancer services in the 19-county Avera Queen of Peace region.

"Avera's vision for transforming rural health care delivery achieves national recognition today, and we are grateful for the opportunity to accelerate its implementation," said Avera President and CEO John T. Porter. The model engages Avera's robust technology and communication platform to improve patient safety and provide 24-hour rural access to specialty care physicians and pharmacists.

Gifts Will Be Felt Beyond the Avera System "Every patient, every time"-those are the words that Avera Chief Medical Officer David Erickson, MD, uses when he talks about the high-quality, excellent care Avera provides. Through gifts of more that $13.5 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Avera now has the opportunity to implement our revolutionary rural health care delivery model and make a difference not only for every patient every time under our care, but also for those in rural communities across the nation. The grants will be used to speed implementation of Avera eCARE™ and to enhance cancer care at Avera Queen of Peace. A trustee of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust took note of Avera's rural health care delivery model. He was impressed by Avera's commitment to deliver high-quality care in local communities and keep patients as close to family and friends as possible. Because the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust seeks to improve the lives and health of persons and communities, he resonated with the Avera mission. And so, several months ago, the trustee engaged Avera leadership in conversation. Avera leaders shared our vision to meet the needs of rural communities. We discussed the Avera eCARE™ vision, our comprehensive approach to the challenges faced by rural health care. We described this innovative suite of technology applications that supports local quality care and improves access for people across the expanse of our service area. We explained the workings of this agile, complex and sustainable model. And, Avera Queen of Peace shared their dream of offering more cancer services in their region, so that people wouldn't have to travel such great distances to receive treatment-especially at a time when illness makes travel difficult. Our conversations further identified Avera's unique position as a national leader in implementing technology and communications to improve patient safety and ensure 24-hour rural access to specialists, regardless of location. Avera is virtually a one-of-a-kind laboratory where a revolutionary care-delivery model is under development that will change the way rural health is delivered. Both the Avera Queen of Peace Cancer Center project and Avera eCARE™ are in sync with the trust's goals to make a difference for the greatest number of individuals. But today, many of these innovative services face reimbursement challenges. Seeing this, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust also announced a grant to the National Rural Health Association. The funds will be used to share best practices in rural health care delivery in Washington, D.C., and around the country with the goal of lowering the cost of this kind of care and raising awareness of its great impact on quality, safety and access. Avera is deeply grateful to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for the generous gifts and for recognizing the worth and integrity of the Avera vision for transforming rural health care. We offer sincerest thanks for what has been a collegial process. John T. Porter President and CEO

New Cycle Established for Avera Conferences

Late this winter, the Avera Management Conference was cancelled. The Avera value of stewardship teaches foresight and judicious use of resources. At the current time, this is a fiscally responsible step.

Avera remains committed to workforce development for the vitality of the organization and knows employees are the organization's most valuable asset. Traditionally, this conference, which targets supervisor-level-and-above Avera colleagues, falls on odd-numbered years. The Avera Leadership Conference is hosted on even-numbered years.

Rather than delay the next Avera Management Conference until the 2011-slated date, the Avera Health Board approved changing the cycle to host this conference next year and move the Avera Leadership Conference to odd-numbered years. The 2010 Avera Management Conference, a twice-offered one-day event, will be April 13 or 14 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The Avera Leadership Conference is planned for April 28-30, 2011, in Minneapolis.

Avera McKennan Named Among Top 100

For the third year in a row, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center is among the nation's top hospitals. Thomson Reuters recently released its annual study identifying the 100 top hospitals in the United States based on overall organizational performance. 

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® National Benchmarks study is based on the 100 Top Hospitals National Balanced Scorecard that evaluates performance in nine areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, cash-to-debt ratio, patient satisfaction and adherence to clinical standards of care. The study has been conducted annually since 1993.

If all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as patients treated in the winning hospitals:

• More than 107,500 additional patients would survive each year
• Nearly 132,000 patient complications would be avoided annually
• Expenses would decline by $5.9 billion a year
• The average patient stay would decrease by nearly half a day

2010 Haiti Dates Slated

Avera Senior Vice President of Mission Services Bob Voglewede recently announced 2010 dates for Avera's two working visits to the Haitian Health Foundation in Jeremie, Haiti. The first visit is May 15-23, 2010, and the second is Oct. 16-24, 2010. Those interested in learning more about the visits can call Bob at the Avera Central Office, (605) 322-4708, or e-mail him at bob.voglewede@avera.org.

Avera and SDSU Celebrate

Avera and South Dakota State University (SDSU) celebrate the construction of the Avera Health and Science Center on April 30 at 4:30 p.m. on the SDSU campus in Brookings. The new building will be home to the College of Pharmacy and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It will house science laboratories and classrooms that will also be used by the College of Nursing. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2010.

Avera Quality Congress Nominations Due Soon

This year's Avera Quality Congress is Aug. 26 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. Submit nominations no later than May 22, 2009.

The Avera Quality Recognition Program is designed to recognize Avera colleagues who:

• Develop and implement processes and methods that improve outcomes
• Promote sharing of best techniques, strategies and performances
• Provide models for improving performance in quality, safety and outcomes
• Encourage collaboration
• Exemplify the Avera values of compassion, hospitality and stewardship
• Forward Avera's efforts in quality through leadership

Information about the awards, nomination forms, rubrics, and questions and answers about the awards program can be found online in the Resource Library section of the Avera intranet at http://AveraNET in the section "2009 Quality Recognition Program."

Northern Plains Premier Collaborative Receives Funding From Grant to Avera Queen of Peace

On April 15, United States Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and John Thune (R-SD) announced that Avera Queen of Peace Health Services in Mitchell will receive an $85,000 federal grant from the Department of Health and Human Services as part of the Rural Health Network Development Planning Program. The network, the Northern Plains Premier Collaborative (NPPC), also includes Spearfish Regional Hospital, Regional Health Rapid City, Avera Health of Sioux Falls and Premier, Inc.
 
Funding will help to improve access to quality health care services in rural South Dakota by assisting hospitals, clinics and other health care providers through cost and resource reduction, shared best practices, standardization, aggregate volume purchasing and shared services. Savings on purchases negotiated during NPPC's first year totaled $5 million.
 
The new, one-time grant will be applied to the hiring of a director for the network.

"Be The Match"

The National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) has a new name for its donor and umbilical cord blood registry - "Be The Match." The NMDP relies on people across communities to help save the lives of critically ill people around the world who need an unrelated bone-marrow or cord-blood transplant because of leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases.

"'Be The Match' is a call to action. You could be the one to save a life is the simple and powerful truth encompassed by the new name of our registry," says Jeffrey W. Chell, MD, chief executive officer, NMDP. "As medical advances make transplants available to more patients of all ages than ever before, we need everyone to step forward."

Seventy percent of patients in need of a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family. They depend on the "Be The Match" registry to find a match-and a second chance at life. Even with a registry of millions, there are many patients who are unable to find a match. Joining the marrow-donor registry involves just a few simple steps:

• Go to www.Marrow.org/join.
• Confirm that you meet basic donor guidelines.
• Complete the online registration form and order your tissue-typing kit for $52. This cost covers laboratory-processing fees.
• Use the kit mailed to you to obtain a swab of cheek cells to test for your tissue type.

The Avera Transplant Institute has offered bone-marrow transplant since 1996. At Avera McKennan's collection center, matching donors selected to donate bone-marrow cells do so at an apheresis center-similar to donating platelets or plasma. Avera McKennan's collection center is the only center of this kind in South Dakota and is approved by the NMDP.

In addition to registered donors, financial donations are also needed to enhance donor recruitment and to sponsor donors who are unable to cover the lab fee. For more information, please call (877) 624-3236 or (605) 322-3017, visit www.AveraTransplant.org or go to www.Marrow.org.

Internet Advertising Wins Award

The Web Marketing Association recently awarded Avera McKennan Behavioral Health Services the 2009 Internet Advertising Competition Award for outstanding achievement in Internet advertising. Contributors to the campaign include Kristen Townsend, Avera McKennan Marketing specialist; Michelle Lavallee, senior vice president for Strategic Marketing and Communications; Steve Lindquist, executive director, Avera McKennan Behavioral Health Services; Jamey Zerr, webmaster; and staff from Geonetric, the contracting firm for Avera's websites.

Avera Holy Family Health Receives Grant

Avera Holy Family Health, Estherville, Iowa, recently received a grant award from the Iowa Critical Access Hospital Grant Program for improved information technology. The grant totaling $13,909 will be used to purchase several Motion C5 tablet computers to be used for bedside documentation and other electronic medical record applications within the hospital. The units are designed to be highly portable, durable and staff friendly, and help eliminate barriers to bedside documentation such as multiple sign-ons and inconvenient computer location. By promoting real-time documentation, Avera Holy Family Health will support a more complete and up-to-date patient record and improve patient safety.

Avera Sacred Heart has piloted the Motion C5 computers in their Emergency Department and Med/Surge Units. Staff expressed satisfaction with the product.

Avera Marshall Earns Third Patient Safety Award

Avera Marshall has earned a Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) Patient Safety Excellence Award for its work on preventing retained objects in labor and delivery through the SAFE COUNT initiative. The MHA Patient Safety Excellence Award is given to facilities that have achieved more than 90 percent of the recommended actions.

"Hospitals that receive these awards are to be commended- the bar is set very high," said MHA Patient Safety Vice President Tania Daniels.

Avera Marshall also received Patient Safety Excellence Awards for achievements in MHA's SAFE from FALLS campaign in July 2008 and the SAFE SITE campaign in October 2008.

For more information about the SAFE SITE campaign, visit the Minnesota Hospital Association website at www.MNHospitals.org/index/patient1.

On Call Receives Award

The "On Call" television show recently received the Award of Excellence from the National Association of Medical Communicators. Each week, medical editor Dr. Rick Holm, Avera Brookings Medical Clinic, and host Tami Watson discuss a broad range of medical topics with physicians from across South Dakota. The show receiving the award featured Dr. Keith Baumgarten of the Orthopedic Institute.

"On Call" seeks to provide accurate and unbiased medical information directly to viewers by answering their questions about specific medical topics.

Avera is a major sponsor of "On Call." Watch "On Call" every week on South Dakota Public TV, Thursday at 7 p.m. 

Avera Cancer Institute Building Buzz

Workers are now constructing three massive vaults to house two linear accelerators for delivering radiation treatment. One of the vaults will be reserved for future expansion. Each vault is approximately 30-by-30 feet in size. Interesting facts:

• Vaults contain 2,500 cubic yards of concrete-enough to fill more than 250 concrete trucks or pave more than nine miles of sidewalk.
• Some 300 tons of rebar reinforce the walls.
• The majority of the walls are three-feet thick, with some sections as thick as six-to-eight feet.
• The concrete floor is two-feet thick.
• The concrete roof deck over the vaults is six-feet thick with a layer of lead blocks.

Great Plains TRAC Conference Cancelled

The July 2009 Great Plains TRAC Conference in Bloomington, Minn., has been cancelled. If you have questions or comments about the conference, please contact Great Plains TRAC at contactus@gptrac.org. Check the website (www.GPTrac.org) for further details.