eFocus – October 2022

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, October 2022 topics include:

• Welcome Message
• Announcements
• COVID Update
• Safety Updates
• Upcoming Meetings and Events

WELCOME

Halloween season is here and I'm starting to see the pumpkins on the porches already. We have seen a strong start to our FY 23 with improvements in all of our quality indicators despite our staffing challenges. The Back to Basics initiative has convinced me that we can provide high quality care if we work together as a team. For Hospital Acquired Infections, we had a goal of zero HAI for September and, as I write this, we are still at zero! (Hoping I did not jinx it; I will take the blame if I did).

In this issue of eFocus we have our safety and quality dashboard update and our HAI count. I would also like to take this time to thank Dr. Kathy Gotzmann who is stepping down as Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology after 16 years of service! We have some other great pictorials of the recruitment fair for Harford County high school students that was a resounding success. We continue our preparation for the winter and will provide more details of that as we know we will see an increase in COVID, Influenza and other respiratory illnesses both in adult and pediatrics. Take care of yourselves, everyone, and enjoy this month's eFocus.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dr. Barrueto Named Chief Clinical Officer: As of Sept. 1, Dr. Fermin Barrueto will serve as the Chief Clinical Officer for UM Upper Chesapeake Health. This title change reflects his scope of practice which include Quality & Safety, Patient Experience, Volunteer Services, Infection Prevention and Pharmacy. Dr. Barrueto will also clinically support the transition from Harford Memorial Hospital to the Aberdeen Medical Center and will support all clinical service lines. Dr. Barrueto has served as the Chief Medical Officer for the past six years and helped lead UM UCH through the COVID pandemic as Incident Commander from 2020 to 2022. Prior to this, he served as Chair of the Emergency Department for UM UCH from 2008 to 2016. 

Dr. Muhammad Jokhadar will serve as the Associate Chief Medical Officer. In this role, he will work with Dr. Barrueto on different programs, services and collaborate with the Medical Staff.  Dr. Jokhadar has been a member of our Medical Staff since 2004 and was elected as President of the Medical Staff from July 2018-June 2022. In his role as Medical Staff President, he has also served on the Upper Chesapeake Health, our Hospitals and the UCH Foundation Boards for the past four years.  During this same time, he continued to serve in his position of Chief Medical Informatics Officer of UM UCH, which he has held since 2018. He has also served on the Board’s Quality of Care Committee. Dr. Jokhadar also served as the Medical Director of our Hospitalist Program from 2009 to 2018.  Additionally, he led our Epic implementation in 2020.  

Team Member Flu Vaccination Clinics: All UMMS team members, partners and medical staff must receive the flu vaccination, or have an approved exemption, by Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 at 4 p.m. UM UCH will be holding flu vaccination clinics at both of its hospitals throughout the month of October (schedule). Several of our offsite locations—including the Senator Bob Hooper Hospice House, Klein Family Harford Crisis Center, and the Health and Wellness Center in Aberdeen—will also have individual clinics for team members (schedule). 

*Please note that if you are coming for a flu vaccination in the Kaufman Cancer Center, Streett Conference Room—whether or not you are working that day—you may NOT park in the Cancer Center garage. Due to construction, spaces are very limited at this time and are needed solely for our patients.

We ask that you please utilize umms.org/employee-flu-vaccinations if:

• You need to self-report (when/if you receive your flu shot from a location other than the UMMS hospital where you work); or
• You need to request a medical or religious exemption

Comprehensive instructions for these processes, as well as flu resources, can be found on this page. And any questions, concerns or comments can be addressed via email to umuchfluvaccine@umm.edu. 

Telehealth at UM UCH: The week of September 18-24, 2022 was National Telehealth Awareness Week. With the help of our Inpatient Telemedicine Nurse Coordinator, Joan DiPietro, UM Upper Chesapeake Health has had great success over the last few years leveraging Telemedicine on the inpatient side bringing specialists virtually to the patients’ bedside. The use of this innovative technology has allowed us to bridge the gap and shortage of certain medical specialties at both UM UCH campuses. This platform will become even more familiar as we continue our journey for a transformational healthcare delivery model at Aberdeen campus. Check out some of our local telehealth offerings and monthly statistics on this flyer!

Open House Invitation - Aberdeen Health and Wellness Center: UM UCH providers and management are invited to join us for an open house at the new Aberdeen Health and Wellness Center on Tuesday, Oct. 18 from 4:30-6 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the new facility, including our practice offices and outpatient areas. We're excited to give you a VIP look as we continue the tradition of caring for our community in this new location.

Please review the invitation and RSVP by Tuesday, Oct. 11 to Kim Beyer (kbeyer@umm.edu) / 443-643-3313 so that we can order the right amount of light fare and refreshments.

New Additions to Medical Staff: Welcome to the newest members of our medical staff, including physicians and advanced practice providers. Over the last month, seven individuals have joined us! An additional provider, joining us beginning Oct. 3, is Jasson Abraham, MD, who will be part of the UM UCH Hand & Plastic Surgery team. Dr. Abraham is looking forward to practicing with Mathew Thomas, MD, Eric Davies, PA, and the occupational hand therapists in the practice.  

Dr. Abraham completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at Texas A&M University and University of Texas Health Science Center, respectively. He then completed a residency in plastic surgery at Texas A&M where he served as chief resident year in his final year. He recently completed a hand & upper extremity surgery fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Abraham and his family have enjoyed their time in Baltimore and look forward to planting long term roots here.  

With Great Appreciation: After 16 years of dedicated service and leadership, Kathleen Gotzmann, MD, recently stepped down as Chair of the OB-GYN department. The Medical Staff presented her with an award at the September Medical Executive Committee meeting to thank her.

Health Care Career Fair: We had an amazing turnout at our Health Care Career Fair on Friday, Sept. 23 at Ripken Stadium. Thank you to our departments, team members, and partners who helped to make it a success. And thank you to the many young adults that attended; we can't wait to hire these future leaders once they're ready to enter the workforce! Check out some pictures from the event.

COVID UPDATE

Scheduling Your Updated COVID-19 Booster: UM UCH is now offering updated COVID boosters to eligible team members. The new booster shot is a bivalent vaccine, meaning it targets two strains—the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants currently circulating. Getting an updated booster shot improves protection for people whose immunity has waned since their last vaccination, and better protects against newer variants that previously evaded antibody response. Learn more about how to make an appointment.

Dr. Leo's COVID Corner: View this month's full library of articles and resources HERE. Topics include: metabolic disorders and higher fatigue scores in young adults with long COVID; use of Paxlovid as it relates to lower rates of hospitalization and death; tele-ID vs in-person ID consults and outcomes for LOS, transfers, readmission and mortality; and more. 

SAFETY UPDATE

Journey to Zero Harm: Below is the current Harm Index graph. The IP Team continues to round, educate and work to assure our team members are knowledgeable about Infection Prevention basics and the bundle-best practices to target prevention of specific HAIs. If you have any questions, concerns or needs, please reach out.

In addition, here are some HAI Fantastic Facts as of 9/28/22! How many days since our last....

• CAUTI = 53 days
• CLABSI = 57 days
• MRSA bacteremia = 191 days
• C. difficile = 215 days

Mason Nance Safety Award Recipient: Congratulations to our first Mason Nance Safety Award recipient, James Kim, physical therapy. James frequently makes suggestions for safety, inspires positive change, and is a true role model to his fellow team members. 

Do you know someone who creates a culture of safety by improving teamwork and communication; inspires positive change to processes that directly affect patient care; speaks up when something is not right and has had a direct impact on the safety of a patient; and practices our must-have behaviors and holds others accountable to these behaviors as well? Then nominate him/her for this meaningful award. Learn more about the award as well as its namesake, Mason Nance.