Exceptional Experiences at Community Health Network

Occupational Therapy Month also means changes for Community Health Network

In recognition of Occupational Therapy month, this April occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants and occupational therapy students will take the opportunity to educate others on the importance of their profession. Occupational therapists are employed in hospitals, outpatient therapy clinics, home care settings, occupational rehabilitation facilities and universities. Community Health Network employs 70 occupational therapists (OTs) and certified occupational therapy assistants (COTAs).

Occupational therapists assist their patients in regaining function after an injury or impairment. Treatment may focus on activities of daily living (ADLs), return to work tasks, pain management, exercise or a variety of other therapeutic activities based on the patient’s goals and prior level of function. Occupational therapists work with children and adults of all ages. Pediatric OTs work with babies, children and adolescents who have developmental delays and other deficits while OTs who are certified in hand therapy (CHTs) have special training in treating complex wrist and hand problems in the adult population.

Community Health Network’s Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers are pleased to announce the expansion of occupational therapy services in its outpatient locations. Beginning April 6, 2009, Rehab & Sports Medicine-Saxony will offer occupational therapy services to patients in Fishers and the surrounding areas. With the addition of this clinic, Community has 7 locations across Indianapolis and the surrounding areas that offer outpatient occupational therapy. Other Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers with occupational therapy services include locations in Greenfield, on the east side near Community Hospital East, at Hillsdale near Community Hospital North, on the south side near Community Hospital South and in Greenwood at Southpark and at Library Park.

Visit our web site at www.ecommunity.com/rehab for more information about physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services offered through Community Health Network.

Janine Barajas, certified medical interpreter in the Pregnancy Plus department at Community Hospital Anderson, teaches a class on the first Tuesday evening of every month to Spanish-speaking parents.

What started out as a support group focused mainly on breastfeeding, evolved into much more once it was clear that Hispanic patients face a variety of unique challenges within the American health care system. Barajas said one of the first challenges was changing the minds of parents who had been raised in Mexico. “A lot were misled or misinformed about breastfeeding, and we’d spend hours on education,” says Barajas, “so we decided to do a class.” Around 10 people showed up the first time and now the class size has swelled to more than 30 on average.

Though it still serves primarily as a breastfeeding support group, is has blended into more of a classroom environment welcoming women, men and children. It offers tips about navigating the American health care system to a growing population whose cultural differences extended beyond parenthood and breastfeeding. Topics now cover other areas of need within the group as they arise. To determine what the next class will cover, Barajas asks her students: What would you like to learn?  Who would you like us to invite?  She then organizes the flexible curriculum to answer those questions.

A lactation consultant is always present, as well as a social worker to answer Medicaid questions. Medical professionals are scheduled to address different topics of interest, from gestational diabetes and pregnancy to ER visits and anything related to children and women’s health. “Midwives will come in to speak about the differences between a C-section and vaginal delivery, and what meds are used for delivery.” Other guest speakers have included a pediatrician who was invited to discuss RSV and vaccinations, and a registered dietician who was asked to participate in a three-session nutrition class. The class typically includes a mix of prenatal and delivery patients, and every meeting also includes regular time for measurements and weight checks for babies.

“The classes offer the parents an opportunity to ask questions they didn’t think they could have asked before,” says Barajas. “This is a different culture, so they do what they are supposed to do in order to comply, but sometimes they don’t know why.” As the only medical interpreter on the CHA campus, Barajas found herself being called in to the ER for simple problems, like headaches or colds, because emergency rooms in Mexico are actually clinics where it was customary to do so. There has been a marked decrease in ER visits for minor problems since the support group began meeting in May of 2008.

According to Barajas, the class is much more than a support group. It is a network for Hispanics in the community to socialize with other people like them. “It is a family event for them,” says Barajas, “not just mom and baby. The kids get together and play with each other, and they always have healthy snacks, fruit and veggies.”

Barajas has been a certified medical interpreter since 2005 and began working at CHA in 2007. She says serving as an interpreter is a lot more important than people think. “You help make the connection between a health care provider and the patient. You have to be the voice in the room, and the goal is to make it seem seamless, like you are not there.”  She goes on to say that explaining a medical diagnosis can easily get lost in translation due to the different terminology, which is why simply being bilingual or relying on an American-born, English-speaking child is not enough. “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires that we provide a service in the language that the patient speaks, and we weren’t doing anything for this community. They were being left out.” Barajas says the most fulfilling part of her job is the appreciation she receives from the community.

Learn more about interpretation services at Community

Dr. Harry Laws, Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Community Health Network, will be presenting Pediatric Grand Rounds in April. “CE, CPOE, vSPR and other IT Issues: What do they mean to me?” In light of the current economic stimulus package and its segments on HIT, as well as the ever increasing demand for such technology, we think that this timely lecture will be of tremendous value to our community of physicians.

Pediatric grand rounds are generally provided monthly and are eligible for CME. We provide these offerings on the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 a.m., in the multi-service conference rooms on the 3rd floor of the professional building. Coffee will be served.

If you have any questions about this, you can contact Dr. Robert Lindeman at Community North’s pediatric unit at 317-621-5474.

Recommendations for routine use of rotavirus vaccine in infants were originally published in Pediatrics in January 2007. Updated recommendations are available because a second rotavirus vaccine with a different composition and FDA administration schedule has been licensed. (see table below)

The January Hot Shot was Megan Caffrey, AP/PSP2, who works at Community Hospital South on the med/surg unit. Megan was the patient support partner for a young woman who was eight days postpartum with two other toddlers at home. She had a chest tube and was told she would have to stay through the holidays to have surgery on the Friday after Thanksgiving, something she was desperately hoping to avoid.

With a patient who was nearly inconsolable, Caffrey asked her managers and the hospital concierge, Katy Stallings, if it would be possible to put together an impromptu Thanksgiving meal for this patient and her family. She contacted dietary to make arrangements for the food; collaborated with maintenance to set up a table in the patient’s room; and even picked up a centerpiece and small gifts for all three children from their mom. Finally, Caffrey obtained a set of scrubs from the OB unit so the patient wouldn’t have to eat in a hospital gown and she would appear more ‘normal’ to her children.

Caffrey says, “It was very touching for me to watch such a ‘Hallmark’ moment. The mother was grateful and thanked me and all the staff members for creating a special moment for her.”

“The room was beautiful and the entire third floor smelled of turkey,” says Jackie Alexander, the clinical manager who nominated Caffrey for the Hot Shot award. “I cannot even describe the happiness shown on the patient’s face as she sat at the table eating Thanksgiving dinner with her family.”

“I want to thank Megan for her ability to seek out this awesome opportunity to provide an absolutely exceptional experience for our patient and her family,” adds Alexander. “And during my own Thanksgiving, I gave thanks for the opportunity to work with the great people I work with every day.”

Though Caffrey is known as someone who typically goes above and beyond on a regular basis, this particular instance truly stood out as a time when she made it a special priority to create an exceptional patient and family experience for this woman and her family.

Caffrey says, “Nursing is sort of the ‘family business’; I never had much say in it. My great-grandmother and my grandmother on my father’s side were nurses, each serving as a nurse during World War II.” She plans to finish up her own nursing degree at Ivy Tech to continue the family tradition.

The other nominees for January include: Jennifer Gibson, Catherine Moore, Pauline McMurray, Kitty Popelwell, Dana Newby, Pat Harmon, Leon Ward, Amanda Moore, Michael Lamson, Jeffrey Bell, Ruthie Duncan, Richard Jones, Linda Marlow, Laura Storm

Just nine months after breaking ground on The Next Evolution of Community Hospital South, the network is ready to celebrate an important milestone in this expansion project: the placement of the final steel beam on the new patient tower.

Community Health Network cares about keeping its neighbors in the best health possible. In this effort, The Next Evolution of the south campus will create an expanded hospital that will transform health care on the south side of Indianapolis. The convenient facility will offer innovative surgery suites featuring next-generation technology, cutting-edge treatments, a five-story, all-private room patient tower and expanded outpatient services to provide exceptional care in southern Marion and Johnson counties.

Please join us for a special topping out ceremony as we place the final steel beam on our new patient tower!

Time: Monday, March 16, at 1 p.m.

Place: Near the rock garden in the south parking lot of the hospital. Parking is available at the north end of the campus, and shuttle service will be provided.

Community Hospital South
1402 E. County Line Road
eCommunity.com/south

Community strives to achieve excellent outcomes and patient satisfaction. Did you know that Community’s outpatient Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers track patient outcomes? It is true. This data is collected at the time a new patient comes to one of the clinics; it is collected again approximately half way through the therapy session and collected one last time at the time of discharge. By taking patient information about his or her functional status, type of injury and health history, each patient is given a score that rates their condition. This score is tracked during the course of therapy and then the functional outcomes are assessed.

The national database used to calculate this information and compare Rehab & Sports Medicine to other therapy practices regionally and nationally is called FOTO (Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes). Community has been collecting data at most of the Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers for a couple of years now and overall the data confirms that most of our Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers get patients back to a functional level faster than the regional and national average. Our newer clinics have not yet started collecting data, but we hope to begin this process soon.

Community Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers specialize in orthopedic physical therapy but offer a wide range of specialty programs across the city including pediatric therapy services, lymphedema treatment, neurological rehabilitation, vestibular therapy, women’s health programs and certified hand therapy. Regardless of your therapy need, the focus at our clinics is on you, the patient. Our attention to your satisfaction with services and your functional outcomes set our clinics apart from our competition.

Learn more about our treatments and services at eCommunity.com/rehab