February 27, 2024
Hi Team –
As we turn the page this week on “Leap Year” February, it’s not too early to begin thinking about and planning for one of our favorite annual events – TriHealth Healthcare Appreciation Week! This system-wide, week-long celebration is held in May to coincide with National Hospital and Nurses Week, and is intended to recognize and show our heartfelt appreciation to you, our 13,000+ team members and physicians – the greatest healthcare team anywhere!!
And back by popular demand, our Healthcare Appreciation Week t-shirt design contest is returning once again! This fun and creative contest gives our own team members the opportunity to express their artistic talents by designing a t-shirt and competing in our 2024 Healthcare Appreciation Week t-shirt contest. Here’s how:
- DESIGN: Tap into your creative side and submit your t-shirt design starting today and continuing through Tuesday, March 19. Visit Bridge for all the details on submitting your design.
- VOTE: Team members will be invited to vote for their favorite t-shirt design in April. The winning design will be announced during the Healthcare Appreciation Week Town Hall on Wednesday, May 15.
- CELEBRATE: The winning design will be featured on the super-soft 2024 Healthcare Appreciation Week t-shirt proudly worn by all of our team members and physicians. Additionally, the lucky team member who submits the winning design will win a $500 gift card. Two runners-up will each receive a $100 gift card, and everyone who sends in their design will be entered into a random drawing for one of ten $50 gift cards. During our last contest, more than 100 team members submitted a t-shirt design, and we hope to see yours this year!!
Getting Healthcare Right
TriHealth Launches Acute Stroke Care Team
Getting Healthcare Right is all about delivering the right care in the right way at the right time to produce the right and best clinical outcomes at the right cost. And when it comes to Getting Stroke Care Right, there is nothing more essential than delivering the right therapies in a timely and precise way to successfully treat a patient suffering from a stroke – and ultimately, save lives. And our Neuroscience Institute and Stroke Services, led by Dr. Andy Ringer and Dr. Chris Zammit, respectively, have made it their mission to lead the way in Getting Stroke Care Right. Since 2018, our Neuroscience leadership team has been sharply focused on:
- Achieving stroke designation for every TriHealth hospital and emergency department by meeting all American Heart Association (AHA) standards,
- Adopting and hardwiring evidence-based clinical guidelines that save lives,
- Reducing “door-to-needle” (therapeutic intervention) times to dramatically improve clinical outcomes, and
- Recruiting the stroke neurologists and other clinicians, and developing the clinical expertise, required to launch our own Acute Stroke Care Team.
And because of this transformational work, TriHealth is now consistently outperforming AHA standards. In fact, late last year, TriHealth was recognized with a number of AHA Quality Awards for excellence in stroke care, placing our system among the nation’s highest-quality stroke care providers and an industry leader!!
As the next major milestone in this journey to Get Healthcare Right, I am pleased to share that last week the Neuroscience Institute launched TriHealth’s first Acute Stroke Care Team. Today, the Stroke and Neurosciences Emergencies (STANSE) Team utilizes interactive tele-stroke technology to provide in-house emergent stroke evaluations, consultation, and ongoing management of stroke patients across our entire system.
By bringing the clinical management of stroke care in-house – like virtually every other service we deliver – we are:
- Improving patient outcomes.
- Reducing treatment times for patients suffering from neurologic emergencies including strokes.
- Improving “door-to-needle” times (time from admission to administration of thrombolytic or clot-busting medicines, like TPA).
- Improving thrombectomy or endovascular clot retrieval times.
- Expanding access to complex stroke care through expedited transfer, when needed, to the highest level of stroke care at the Good Samaritan Comprehensive Stroke Care Center.
This is yet another way our Neuroscience Team is providing more timely access to the most advanced treatments and improving outcomes for patients suffering from neurological and stroke emergencies. A BIG thank you to Dr. Ringer, Dr. Zammit, Executive Director Lori Greiser and the STANSE Team for their truly transformational work in Getting Stroke Care Right for our patients!
Join Us Tomorrow for a Special Black History Month Panel Discussion
Please plan to join me, Dr. Thomas Shockley, and other TriHealth leaders, team members, physicians, and board members tomorrow, February 28, for an important panel discussion, “Honoring Black History in Healthcare – Past, Present and the Future.”This interactive discussion will be held in person in the Legacy Conference Room at TriHealth Baldwin from 1-2pm and also livestreamed on Bridge. Click here for more information about how to participate.
During this program, we will:
- Showcase the many contributions of African Americans in medicine and healthcare.
- Examine our nation’s growing imperative for greater health equity, which is the state in which everyone – irrespective of race, language, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status – has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.
- Discuss our own work to lead the way in eliminating health disparities in our community, which is central to our bold vision and decade-long journey to Get Healthcare Right.
While Black History Month comes to an end this week, our work to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging – which builds trust and confidence in those we serve and those who serve – only grows stronger through the expanding efforts of our Center for Health Equity, led by Dr. Thomas Shockley. Eliminating health disparities and achieving health equity is the only way we can truly ensure everyone we serve has equal access to the right care in the right place at the right time to achieve the right health outcomes… and “the highest level of health.” And doing so is critical for achieving our ultimate goal of always delivering on the Triple Aim of better care, better health, and better value for ALL of the growing patient population we serve throughout the region!
Maternity Services Lauded by The Joint Commission Surveyors
Last week, surveyors from The Joint Commission (TJC) were on-site at both Bethesda North Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital to conduct a site survey of our Maternity departments, as part of our efforts to achieve Advanced Perinatal Care Program certification. This new certification recognizes hospitals and health systems that embrace a multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach to obstetrics care to better address the challenges of rising maternal morbidity and mortality in the U.S., and yes, even here in Cincinnati.
And to say the surveyors came away impressed by our team members and physicians, our advanced Maternity Services programs, and the TriHealth Way culture would be an understatement! Surveyors described our Bethesda North and Good Sam Maternity teams as a national model for quality care – two shining examples of “Getting Healthcare Right.” In fact, they were so impressed that they plan to showcase TriHealth as an example and best practice in maternity care excellence for other healthcare systems!! The surveyors praised:
- Our “culture of compassion,” citing the very apparent multidisciplinary collaboration occurring across all departments to ensure our patients are at the center of everything we do.
- Our strong commitment to safety and high reliability, as well as health equity, demonstrated by meaningful work and progress in addressing social determinants of health, which surveyors reported being evident throughout our Maternity Services programs.
The surveyors also recognized a number of TriHealth’s “standout” Maternity Services programs, which included: emergency response, diversified care, the maternity and infant quality program, simulations/education, demise care, social service programs, food pantries, donor milk program, and consistency in policy adherence during the care of our patients.
While we will not receive the official survey results for a few more weeks, we are confident the outcome will be positive, resulting in TJC’s Advanced Perinatal Care Certification. A BIG thank you to our Maternity Services team members, providers, educators, support services and leaders for your hard work and dedication to deliver surprisingly human maternity care that drives exceptional outcomes for ALL those we serve!
February Town Hall Recap
If you missed last week’s fun and information-packed Town Hall, it’s not too late to see it. Just click here to watch a recording of our February Town Hall, which featured our latest wins, along with updates and presentations on Capacity Management, FY2024 Pillar Goals, FY25 Annual Planning/Budgeting Process, and more.
I’ve often said, “It takes great people and a great team to make a great health system.” And these latest updates demonstrate, once again, all the ways you and our 13,000 team members are making TriHealth GREAT for those we serve and those who serve! Because of you, we are setting the standard in our region and across the nation for what it means to Get Healthcare Right! And this is resulting in healthier patients and a growing population that is increasingly turning to TriHealth for the best and most affordable care anywhere – and we couldn’t do any of it without you!! So, THANK YOU for all you do to make TriHealth great, for our patients, our community, and each other – it’s making a big difference!