Exceptional Experiences at Community Health Network

Community Breast Care, the integrated breast health center at Community Health Network, has been granted a three-year, full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. Accreditation by the NAPBC is only given to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.

“Community Breast Care is committed to providing comprehensive and conveniently accessible care for any patients in need of medical treatment,” said Bryan Mills, president and CEO of Community Health Network. “Accreditation by the NAPBC is verification of our consistent dedication to the delivery of quality and compassionate care.”

During the survey process, the center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease. The standards include proficiency in the areas of: center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement. A breast center that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease.

“This national recognition acknowledges our interdisciplinary, comprehensive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant breast disease as well as our focus on the exceptional patient experience,” said Chace Lottich, M.D., breast surgeon at Community Breast Care. “We are thankful for this recognition and remain dedicated to the delivery of compassionate, state-of-the-art care to each and every patient and their families.”

The NAPBC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to the improvement of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes of patients with diseases of the breast. This mission is pursued through standard-setting, scientific validation, and patient and professional education. Its board membership includes professionals from 15 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of breast care.

Receiving care at a NAPBC-accredited center ensures that a patient will have access to:

• Comprehensive care, including a full range of state-of-the-art services
• A multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
• Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options
• Quality breast care close to home

Community Breast Care offers two convenient locations in central Indiana: one on the north side at 8040 Clearvista Parkway, Suite 290, in Indianapolis, and one on the south side at 533 E. County Line Road, Suite 101, in Greenwood. Dedicated breast surgeons Chace Lottich, M.D., Cara Hahs, M.D., Timothy Goedde, M.D., Christina Kim, M.D., and Nate Thepjatri, M.D., work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide comprehensive breast care services for patients and their families, meeting their screening, diagnostic, surgical and treatment needs.

Learn more about Community Breast Care:

Rev. Michael Mercer, hospice chaplain, Community Home Health Services, understands the challenges and rewards of reaching those in need. One specific patient was not particularly interested in receiving chaplain services, but once he discovered Rev. Mercer was a Chicago Cubs fan, he agreed to allow the visits. Excited to have someone to talk with about baseball, the patient and chaplain formed a special bond, and Mercer went above and beyond to create an exceptional experience for this person in his final days of life. “As part of my care for him,” explains Mercer, “I was able to arrange a personal phone call from a player on the Chicago Cubs team to encourage him.”

Community Hospital South hosted several open house events on October 6-7, 2009 to showcase the 6 new operating suites in the new surgery addition.  The events included media tours and a physician open house on Tuesday, October 6 followed by a general open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, October 7.

This is the first phase of the Next Evolution expansion to be completed.  The surgical team will begin using the new operating suites on Monday, October 19.  The remaining pieces of the expansion project are on target to be completed by mid-year 2010.

Community Help was established for employees of Community Health Network, to assist them with challenges they may be facing in their personal lives. Access to the program is available 24/7 by calling the Community Help line, 317-355-HELP. The line is staffed by members of Community’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), who can connect employees in need with the appropriate resources for their situation, which may include an interest-free loan through the Community Health Network Foundation. All calls to the Community Help line are kept confidential.

When Jasmine Hamilton, R.N., learned her patient was about to receive a special visitor, she knew she had to do something to commemorate the experience. The patient’s son had just returned to Texas after a tour of duty in Iraq and was planning to drive immediately to Indiana to see his mom at Community Hospital South. The hospital staff worked together to surprise the mom and son with a special meal for their reunion.

Patients talk about their joint replacement experience at Community Health Network’s Center for Joint Health, a dedicated unit for hip and knee joint replacement patients that focuses on the entire patient experience. The goal is to help patients get back to doing the things they enjoyed before being sidelined by joint pain. The distinctive center allows patients to work together and support each other as they build strength, mobility, and a better quality of life.

Center for Joint Health at Community Hospital East

Center for Joint Health at Community Hospital North

Center for Joint Health at Community Hospital South

Tony Lennen will join the Community family when he assumes his new role as president at Community Hospital South August 31. An experienced hospital administrator with in-depth understanding of the South market, Lennen admits, “No question, this is an incredibly exciting time for CHS, and I feel extremely honored to be a small part of this.”

Most recently, Lennen served as managing director for Catalyst Healthcare Advisors, a health care process improvement consulting firm. Prior to that, he held the position of president and CEO of Major Hospital in Shelbyville from 1993 to 2008.

“I am confident in Tony’s ability to lead during this exciting time at Community Hospital South, given his strong track record of success,” says Mike Blanchet, president and CEO, Community Hospitals of Indiana. “He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm around creating exceptional experiences for patients and families, building strong physician relationships, and serving as an advocate for employees. In addition, he is very excited about the opportunities for Community Health Network to grow in the South market.”

“Community Health Network’s culture of valuing physician integration gives it a significant advantage in the central Indiana market,” Lennen observes, “and as the network continues to ‘connect’ this culture with its informatics plan and its physician growth plan, it will continue to afford us with tremendous growth opportunities.”

Having demonstrated leadership at Major Hospital, Lennen embraces the culture of Community and is committed to realizing his design for growth and outreach. “Patients, families and physicians have many choices and our goal is to make Community the system of choice for our clientele.”

Lennen’s personal interests include golf, weight lifting, running, spectator sports and reading. He lives in Shelbyville with his family, which includes wife Beth, a cardiac critical care nurse, and two children.

Expertise in case management and a connection to the eastside community are among the benefits that Robin Ledyard, M.D., will bring to her new role of Community Hospital East president beginning August 31. She has been serving as physician advisor for case management as well as medical director for the network’s community benefit program.

“I’ve always been one as a physician to look at the global picture,” she says. “I like to think about the system of medicine, and how we can provide care to as many people as possible in a cost-efficient manner, at the same time maintaining quality and safety. We want to take care of the people in our local community.”

That’s exactly what she has already been doing in her community benefit work. For example, her fingerprints are all over the plans for The Jane Pauley Community Health Center, which will open in September to provide primary care to eastside patients—regardless of their ability to pay.

As president of Community East, she vows that the hospital will continue the various works that improve health and quality of life in the neighborhoods that launched the institution. She notes that the hospital has a rich tradition of involvement in the community, from the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes to this summer’s planting of a medicinal garden on the grounds of a local school. “I think all of these things help improve the health of the community in a global perspective.”

“Robin’s wealth of experience ranges from private practice to public health to hospital care,” notes Mike Blanchet, president and CEO, Community Hospitals of Indiana. “She brings to her role passion for promoting health, eagerness to get involved in the community, and commitment to continuing Community’s long-standing mission of meeting health care needs on the eastside. I look forward to having another very engaged physician on our leadership team.”

Dr. Ledyard is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine and holds a master’s degree in public health. In her free time, she enjoys running, biking and other outdoor activities. She lives in downtown Indianapolis with her husband, Tom Ledyard, M.D., a family physician with Community’s Family Medicine Residency Program. They have two daughters.

Community Health Network’s Open Arms program offers many different services to help families grieve the loss of a pregnancy or newborn. Tressia Puller, R.N., works in maternity services at Community Hospital North and tells about an experience she had with a family during their time of need.

When Michelle Holmes of Bloomington, Indiana, found out she was having twins, she sought the care of maternal-fetal medicine specialists at Community Health Network. Holmes was admitted to Community Hospital North at 26 weeks gestation so her babies, who were diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, could be monitored on a regular basis. After seven weeks as an inpatient, Holmes delivered two beautiful baby girls. She is grateful to the staff at Community for treating her not just as a patient, but as a person.