November 17, 2020

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Hi Team -

It’s been so heartening to hear the many positive comments from team members, physicians, and leaders in response to the Healthcare Heroes Awards announced last week, just a few of which are expressed here:

          “Truly an unexpected surprise! Greatly appreciated!!”
          “Thank you, TriHealth! Together, We Do Triumph!”
          “What a wonderful surprise! It’s great to feel appreciated!”
          “It might not feel like it now, but someday this pandemic will end. We’ve got this!”

As I shared in last week’s Update, the TriHealth Board and Executive Leadership Team are proud and beyond thrilled to provide our entire TriHealth Team with this tangible and heartfelt expression of our gratitude, deep respect, and admiration for your heroic efforts and achievements on this COVID journey. While our work is far from over, we want you to always remember that you are valued and appreciated so much for who you are and everything you continue to do to help us overcome this global pandemic TOGETHER!

TriHealth activates surge plan as part of coordinated regional effort to combat COVID third wave. As the latest COVID stats shown in the top sidebar graphic affirm, the third wave continues to escalate at an alarming rate. This was the topic of discussion at last week’s Health Collaborative press conference involving regional government and healthcare leaders, including Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and our own, Dr. Helen Koselka, representing TriHealth (click here to view). The urgent message and plea echoed by all participants was that it is absolutely essential for every member of our community to strictly adhere to the COVID mitigation measures, including rethinking and adjusting holiday plans, to prevent the need for more serious, mandated interventions down the road. The press conference also served to reinforce to the community that the region’s health systems and public health officials are working from a fully coordinated surge plan and are prepared and ready to combat this third wave from a position of strength.

As noted in the Regional Surge Plan chart to the right, this means that based on current COVID prevalence in the region, TriHealth and other health systems are now focused on intra-system bed expansion and load balancing. This week, TriHealth will add 46 Medical/Surgical beds and 8 ICU beds across our acute hospital campuses to be ready to care for even more patients, if needed. Additionally, the Team Member Resource Center is working proactively with nursing leadership to assist in activating flexible staffing and redeployment plans to ensure the right level of care and necessary clinical resources are available in the right places as inpatient volume grows. And during this third wave, we have temporarily transitioned TriHealth’s visitor restrictions across our system back to one visitor per patient per day, even as other health systems have eliminated visiting altogether.

At this time, we have not needed to alter elective surgery schedules, but must remain open to that possibility if we are unable, as a community, to reverse the growing infections.

So please, I urge all of us – 14,000 team members and physicians strong – to push through our COVID fatigue and rally together with our families and fellow community members to flatten the curve of this latest, most serious wave yet. To do this, we must ALL continue to wear masks, practice hand hygiene, social distance, and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people at all times, including, sadly, throughout the upcoming holidays. My own family and I have already talked about the changes we will be making to our upcoming holiday celebrations in order to keep one another and our community safe, and I hope you are doing the same! The sacrifices we make to keep our friends and family safe this year, will ensure many more healthy holidays together in the future!

Join us TODAY, November 17 at 12pm, for our November Team Member Town Hall livestreamed on Facebook and Bridge. Don’t miss today’s Team Member Town Hall, where I will be joined by fellow TriHealth leaders and physicians to provide updates and answer your questions about the status of the COVID third wave and our comprehensive plans for managing it here at TriHealth and within the community. For those unable to join, look for links to the full Town Hall video and recap highlights in next week’s Update.

2020 TriHealth Service Award honorees recognized at family drive-in celebration! Last Thursday, I was joined by many senior leaders and physicians in recognizing several hundred TriHealth honorees and their guests at a unique and very special 2020 Service Awards Celebration. The annual event was a celebration of those team members reaching key milestones in service to TriHealth or earning a Living Our Values Award. Given the challenges we have faced throughout 2020, we were determined to find a meaningful way to safely celebrate, recognize, and say thank you to these team members in person for their dedication to TriHealth's mission and values. And that’s exactly what we did with a very special event at Starlite Drive-in Movie Theatre featuring the film, “A League of Their Own.” And thanks to the stellar creative efforts and flawless execution of our HR Operations and Communications Teams, our team members and guests hailed the event as a Grand Slam Home Run on all fronts!! Upon arriving in their cars, every honoree was personally welcomed by me and other TriHealth leaders with a really cool TriHealth throw blanket, boxed dinners, and an endless supply of movie snacks! Most importantly, we were able to personally speak to each and every team member to share our thanks for their service and recognize their loved ones who support them at home. Fun fact – as I was welcoming one of the evening’s honorees, Joni Stultz, she shared with me that her aunt actually played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League about which the film was based! Way to go, Joni!! 

Congratulations and thank you again to all team members who celebrated a service anniversary or earned a Living Our Values Award! Click here to watch the TriHealth Service Awards program. 

Ushering in the Thanksgiving holiday with a new twist on an old tradition. Thanksgiving is just over a week away, and it’s a TriHealth tradition to provide a holiday meal to each of our 14,000 team members and physicians to express our personal thanks for all you do to serve our community and deliver extraordinary care to our patients throughout the year. Since this third COVID wave won’t allow us to safely share a meal with our teams in person, this year, we’re bringing the meal to your home, so you can enjoy it with your family over the holidays! This week, team members will receive an email from Honey Baked Ham with a unique voucher code which will entitle you to a complimentary ham or turkey, or sides/pie – all on TriHealth!! Click here for the holiday meal giveaway details. 

We are so grateful for your sacrifices and commitment during this extraordinary year, and we hope this gift will make your family holiday table extra special! On behalf of the TriHealth Executive Leadership Team, we wish you a blessed, healthy, and joyful Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!

The College for America Program is Changing
Beginning January 1, 2021, Southern New Hampshire University is sunsetting the College for America program for all their corporate partners. Never fear! TriHealth remains totally committed to providing education opportunities that help you grow personally and professionally. Visit Bridge for more information.

Information Blocking Update: Phase 2
The 20th Century Cures Act is a federal regulation that requires immediate sharing of results and notes via MyChart as soon as they are available, with the exceptions of potential risk of physical harm or patient request. On November 2, during Phase 1 of TriHealth’s implementation, Medical Staff began automatically releasing notes and results to patients. Phase 2 begins on November 18 and will include the capability of many non-provider members of the care team to share their notes with patients. In the next few months, Phase 3 will require many clinical notes to be set to automatically release by default. Visit the Epic page on Bridge for more information. 

Just wanted to thank Trihealth for the generous employee gifts. I was especially excited that those team members who were displaced will also benefit from the generosity of Trihealth. That speaks volumes to me. Thank You!
Posted by: Melissa Judd on November 18, 2020
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