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Welcome to eFocus. Our goal is to provide you with timely, informative and useful short summaries and links about UM UCH related news, issues, or events. Feel free to contact us if you have news to share, story ideas or any other feedback. As always, your comments are welcome.

eFocus, July 2022 topics include:

WELCOME

From staffing shortages to supply chain constraints, every single one of us has been impacted by these challenges--whether it's trying to figure out a substitute for a particular supply chain widget, decreasing utilization of MRI appropriately, or determining a new way to care for a patient safely and with high quality despite not having your usual supplies and staffing. I want to personally thank you for your leadership, expertise, talent, adaptability and patience. I have never sent so many Tiger text messages about things we don’t have. It is easy to get numb to it; however, for the sake of our patients we cannot. We will need to continue leaning on our clinical leaders to innovate and adapt to this new world of shortages.

There is some exciting news in this month’s eFocus as we announce our new Chair of Medicine. After years of service as our Chair, Dr. Birnbaum will be stepping down and Dr. Vivek Dhruva will assume the role effective July 5. Dr. Birnbaum is not going anywhere and is actually expanding his leadership role, overseeing the employed physician and APP group of UM UCH (called UCMS) as their Medical Director. Say congratulations to both physician leaders when you see them in the hospital.

Fermin Barrueto, Jr., M.D., M.B.A.
Senior Vice President/CMO
Medical Staff Affairs

ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Chair of Medicine: Congratulations to Dr. Vivek Dhruva, the new Chair of Medicine for UM UCH. Dr. Dhruva, who has been with us since 2007, has been a champion for quality as the Vice-Chair for Performance Improvement Committee (PIC) and has led the Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation Committee, both since 2021. He is board certified in cardiovascular disease and attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internship, residency, and his fellowship training at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Our outgoing Chair, Dr. Jason Birnbaum, has been instrumental in the growth and development of the Pulmonary-Critical Care Service and Department of Medicine. He has recently taken on the new role of Medical Director of Upper Chesapeake Medical Services (UCMS), the employed provider group for UM UCH. He will also remain the Director of the ICU for UM UCH. 

Sepsis Definition: It is my pleasure to draw your attention to the system-wide adoption of a unified definition of sepsis. Over the last year, Dr. Jason Heavner has led a subgroup of content experts as part of the UMMS Sepsis Program, engaging with Hospitalists, ICU Directors and EMLOC leaders to research, vet, define and approve a clinically-based definition that has now been endorsed by the system Clinical Performance Council, CMO/CNO Council and UMMS Quality Board. The definition includes sepsis and septic shock. The term, severe sepsis, has been removed from the lexicon of international sepsis guidelines. Please share this Sepsis Definition Flyer where it can be easily seen by providers and nurses in break rooms, on notice boards and near computers. Also, please note that the most up-to-date information and growing list of FAQs about the UMMS Sepsis Program can be found at UMMS Sepsis Program.

Leadership Volunteer Day: Several members of the UM UCH leadership team recently volunteered for service projects at Bel Air's Emily Bayless Graham Park. They completed landscaping projects such as weeding, mulching and re-graveling areas of the park. The team is committed to completing a variety of volunteering projects each year throughout Harford County to give back and partner with the community.

   

Crisis Prevention Training: Nationwide, healthcare professionals are experiencing increased frequency and severity of verbal and physical violence. Recognizing that our teams at UCMC and HM are our most valuable resources, we are committed to making workplace violence prevention part of our culture through this and continued education and support. Starting August 1st, we will begin rolling out Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) workplace violence prevention training. Team members will receive additional information about the level of training they will be required to receive and when the training will take place. In addition, managers will be updated with necessary information to ensure compliance. All departments will be required to participate in a form of training that will include an online piece; some may also require participation in a hands-on, in-person session. Your safety and wellbeing are a priority, and with CPI training we will be able to create a safer workplace for all.

New Additions to Medical Staff: Welcome to the newest members of our medical staff, including physicians and advanced practice providers. Over the last month, 15 individuals have joined us! To learn more about our individual providers, visit umms.org/findadoctor. 

COVID UPDATE

Dr. Leo's COVID Corner: View this month's full library of articles and resources HERE. Topics include: the association between HIV infection and higher COVID severity and mortality; the effectiveness of a plant-based COVID vaccine; vaccine effectiveness of Moderna vaccine in children 6 to 11 years old; and the relationship between a hypercoagulable state and long COVID symptomatology. 

SAFETY UPDATE

Required FY23 Quality Metrics: Please review the required quality metrics for the 2023 fiscal year. These include expectations and goals for patient experience (HCAHPS), patient outcomes (mortality) and patient safety (HAI reduction).  

QUALITY UPDATE

Peer Review Pearls of Wisdom: As we all work toward better outcomes for our patients and in the spirit of process improvement, the UCH Quality Management Department would like to draw your attention to the below information, which includes findings gathered from case reviews:

  • Ensure accuracy of medication reconciliation to avoid prescribing duplicate meds, incorrect meds and compare with medications taken prior to admission
  • Adjust insulin orders related to lab values, tube feeds or NPO status
  • Report malfunctioning equipment utilized in procedures 
  • Perform and document skin assessments to include removing socks/ bandages to assess all 
  • Documentation by exception is not sufficient; at times, flowsheets are not adequate to create a clear picture of the situation
  • Read the body of imaging reports as well as the impression
  • STAT/URGENT consultations require direct practitioner to practitioner contact; direct communication ensure best patient outcomes
  • Maintain communication with the care providers especially with transfers to different levels of care
  • Any major change to the treatment plan should be documented as an event note or an addendum to the patient’s chart
EMPATHY & WELLNESS UPDATES

Join the Walk with a Doc Bel Air chapter to improve community health! UM UCH is excited to announce a sponsorship of the local Bel Air chapter of Walk with a Doc! Walk with a Doc is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve health through physical activity, strengthen relationships between physicians and patients, and provide access to health information and education. The Bel Air WWAD chapter was started by Dr. Marie Kanagie-McAleese in October 2021, and meets on the first Sunday and second Saturday of every month at 10 am at Schucks Regional Park (301 Schucks Rd, Bel Air MD 21015). Events are free and open to all ages and abilities! Each walk starts with a brief talk on a health topic followed by a walk around the park at each participant’s preferred pace.

We are looking for providers to spread the word to patients, colleagues, and friends, give a brief talk at the beginning of a walk, or simply show your support by walking with us. For more information, visit the WWAD website or contact Dr. Kanagie-McAleese at mkanagie@umm.edu / 443-485-1110. Walking has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity, and research has shown that you could gain two hours of life for each hour of regular exercise. Come out and join us as we take a step toward better health! 

Physician Support Line: The Physician Support Line is a free, confidential peer support line staffed by volunteer psychiatrists helping physician colleagues navigate the many intersections of their personal and professional lives. For support, please call 1-888-409-0141, 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. EST. You can also visit www.physiciansupportline.com to learn more.

UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Mark your calendars for important standing meetings and special events.

  • Walk with a Doc
    First Sunday and second Saturday of each month at 10 a.m.
    Shucks Regional Park
    Walk with a Doc is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve health through physical activity, strengthen relationships between physicians and patients, and provide access to health information and education. Events are free and open to all ages and abilities! Each walk starts with a brief talk on a health topic followed by a walk around the park at each participant’s preferred pace. Learn more.
  • Multidisciplinary Thoracic and General Conferences: 12 Noon, Alternates Every Thursday (e.g., Thoracic is 11/3, General is 11/10)
    UM UCMC, KCC Streett Conference Room
  • Multidisciplinary Breast Conference: 8 a.m., Every Tuesday
    Radiology/Oncology Conference Room
  • Pharmacy &Therapeutics (P & T) Committee: 7:30 a.m., Third Tuesday of each month
    UM UCMC Maryland Room
  • Credentials Committee: 7:30 - 9 a.m., First Friday of each month
    UM UCMC, MSCR
  • Medical Staff Leadership:  8 - 9 a.m., Fourth Thursday of each month
    UM UCMC, Fallston Room/UM HMH, MSCR

  • Metabolic Bariatric Surgery Committee: 5 p.m., Quarterly, Wednesdays
    HMH MSCR and UCMC Fallston Room

  • Advanced Practice Providers (APP) Review Committee: First Tuesday of each month

      As mentioned during this morning’s Patient Safety Brief, UM UCH has achieved 90% Hand Hygiene Complianceduring August observations, see graph below. Our goal is to be 90% or better for hand hygiene compliance, so well done and please continue to stay clean with hand hygiene!
 
Attached is August hand hygiene data broken out by nursing unit and by role. If your unit does not have data in attached slides, it is because there were no observations collected and/or submitted for the month of August.
      As mentioned during this morning’s Patient Safety Brief, UM UCH has achieved 90% Hand Hygiene Compliance during August observations, see graph below. Our goal is to be 90% or better for hand hygiene compliance, so well done and please continue to stay clean with hand hygiene!
 
Attached is August hand hygiene data broken out by nursing unit and by role. If your unit does not have data in attached slides, it is because there were no observations collected and/or submitted for the month of August.
      As mentioned during this morning’s Patient Safety Brief, UM UCH has achieved 90% Hand Hygiene Complianceduring August observations, see graph below. Our goal is to be 90% or better for hand hygiene compliance, so well done and please continue to stay clean with hand hygiene!
 
Attached is August hand hygiene data broken out by nursing unit and by role. If your unit does not have data in attached slides, it is because there were no observations collected and/or submitted for the month of August.