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| Quarterly Newsletter |
September 2009 |
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Dear South Cove Staff, Patients, Board Members and Supporters: 
First of all, I would like to thank the Washington Street staff for living through the exhausting remodeling of that facility. We are trying to have closure on this before the end of September. As everyone is aware of, our priorities will turn to preparing for the H1N1 flu response, making sure that our staff and patients are properly protected for this upcoming sentinel event. While this will take priorities over other situations, we are still moving forward, converting our medical records from paper to electronic and this seems to have become more of a priority because of the third task that we will be taking on with the renewal of our JCAHO accreditation, which will take place anytime after January 2010.
I would just like everyone to understand that each one of these events by themselves could be exhausting but all three together will some days be overwhelming. As a team, we will work together and set priorities. I think it is important as a group to communicate and understand what the other person or departments are working on. Starting in September, I will send a weekly email to all department heads concerning the status of these three items, and I certainly will appreciate feedback concerning individual problems.
Let me thank you in advance for all your support and help.
Sincerely
Eugene Welch
Executive Director |
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South Cove Gearing up for H1N1 |
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Flu season is coming on fast and strong. This year we are combating not only the seasonal flu but also one that has topped the recent headlines and made news worldwide: the H1N1 influenza. The White House estimates that in a worst case scenario, close to half of the US population could be infected. Therefore, preparing for and preventing one from being stricken is the top priority of all involved: healthcare organizations, schools and governmental agencies. The number of confirmed H1N1 cases continues to rise, and although the majority of those infected were able to make a full recovery, the flu should not to be taken lightly. So far, Massachusetts has had over 1,400 confirmed cases and 11 deaths. More outbreaks are possible and compounding the issue is that the H1N1 vaccine will not be ready until mid-October.  The State of Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) expects to receive 1.3 million doses by the end of October. The DPH will be responsible for distributing them to all healthcare providers in the Commonwealth once the vaccines become available. An aggressive vaccination program is being implemented first targeting the high-risk groups and eventually reaching to everyone in the US population. "There will be vaccines for everyone," U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told lawmakers on Capital Hill at a hearing on Tuesday, September 15, 2009. Once we are in possession of the vaccines, whether as an injection or nasal spray as recently reported, we will start administering them to the 5 targeted groups as recommended by the CDC: (1) pregnant women; (2) people who live with or provide care for infants; (3) healthcare and emergency medical services personnel; (4) children and young adults; and (5) people with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.
Until then, we hope that by vigorously promoting the CDC issued guidelines, we will be able to keep the spread of H1N1 to a minimum. Dr. Choon Weng Chan, an internist specializing in Infectious Diseases, has been following developments on the H1N1 and states that the best ways to protect yourself from being infected as well as spreading the disease, as with any flu, is still to practice good hygiene and use some common sense. We are stressing to our patients and community members to follow the 3 basic practices: wash hands with soap or use antibacterial hand sanitizer, sneeze into your arm or use tissue to cover your mouth and nose, and stay at home if you are sick or have a fever.
South Cove was at a meeting sponsored by the City of Boston at the Harvard School of Public Health where recommendations and guidelines were handed out to area healthcare organizations. State lab last year was overwhelmed, in anticipation of the possible surge in H1N1 infections, the State asks that health centers do their own preliminary testing if possible and report all positive results. Additionally, they have asked the health centers to treat patients with H1N1 locally and refer only the more serious cases to the ER or hospitals. Meanwhile, the first batch of seasonal flu vaccines arrived in September and we expect to receive more in the coming months. We have already begun the process of administering seasonal flu vaccines to all at-risk patients at our Washington Street and Quincy clinics. We have also offered our staff and all teachers at the Josiah Quincy School, with which the Washington Street clinic shares the building, to be vaccinated. Working with the city health officials, South Cove is setting up flu clinics to vaccinate the public. The health center is geared up for the flu season in what will prove to be a busy October, November and December. South Cove will treat patients and triage accordingly and do the best it can to help keep the community healthy and as flu-free as possible. |
| JCAHO Around the Corner |
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 South Cove has been a JCAHO (Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) accredited facility since 2001. We were and still are the only Asian community health center in the country to have received this golden seal of approval. JCAHO surveys the CHC for accreditation every 3 years and with the fourth survey expected to occur anytime after January 1st, 2010, the health center has been reviewing and evaluating all aspects of the operation to ensure another successful JCAHO survey outcome. South Cove is surveyed under the Ambulatory Health Care accreditation program and each year JCAHO updates and publishes the list of standards, goals, and quality measures that the health center has to follow and adhere to in order to stay in compliance during each year. The addition of the implementation of the electronic health record plus other changes in operations requires the organization to continually update and satisfactorily meet new standards.
Mary Jo Majors, the Director of Clinical Operations who coordinated the last two accreditation surveys, knows well the challenge ahead. She stated that there is an established process to prepare for the survey and that it can be completed if all the staff work together as a team during the preparation process. Eugene is confident that with the support of the Board and hard work of the staff, South Cove will be ready come January. |
| South Cove Receives Federal Stimulus Funding |
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 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is the result of the economic stimulus package proposed by President Obama. The act, passed by the Congress earlier this year, provided $2 billion to be invested in community health centers. This fund is designed to "serve more patients, stimulate new jobs, and meet the significant increase in demand for primary health care services among the Nation's uninsured and underserved populations." Of the $2 billion, $850 million in grants was designated for The Recovery Act Capital Improvement Program (CIP), made available through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CIP grant is to be used specifically for upgrading and expanding community health centers. As announced by the First Lady Michelle Obama on Jun 29, 2009, CIP fund aims to "address immediate and pressing health center facility and equipment needs and increase access to health care for millions of Americans." Eugene is pleased to share the great news that South Cove was awarded $1,054,000 in this funding. The health center is among a group of 30+ community health centers across Massachusetts to have applied for and received funding through CIP. This extra funding will be used for two capital improvement projects: first, to help subsidize the cost of the current construction at our Washington Street clinic, which we are expanding to add more exam rooms and build a more spacious waiting area; second, to fund the newly planned South Street clinic remodeling project. The South Street construction will expand the dental department, adding digital x-rays and computerizing their records. We are confident that this money is being put to great use that will result in an improved access as is the purpose for the grant. The ultimate goal, of course, is to benefit hundreds, if not thousands, more underserved community members. |
| Washington St. & South St. Getting a New Look |
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After months of chaos, things are finally starting to get back to normal as the construction is winding down. We now have a completely new phlebotomy and lab area, new bathrooms, new exam and intake rooms and a much more patient-friendly waiting area. It is not easy being in an environment with constant background noise, yet both our staff and patients have been living through it the past few months without much complaint. We are glad and relieved that the work is near completion. There is more touch-up needed on the in-take rooms, but the new exam rooms are already in use. The emerging look is not only pleasing to the eye but also functional.
As for the South Street clinic, its most recent remodeling was on the 2nd floor when the space was turned into a new conference room on one side and a new home for our administration department on the other. Just when we thought we would take a breather, another remodeling is in the works thanks to the Federal stimulus funding.
The South Street clinic is increasingly becoming a full-fledged clinic with the number of patient visits climbing steadily over the last few years. We estimate that in the next fiscal year, we will see 30,000 visits at this location. This is attributable to the relocation of dental and optometry departments from the Washington Street clinic. Dental is an important service that we provide to our patients at a very affordable fee. It is not surprising then that the department is struggling to meet the demands, as non-emergent appointments are usually booked more than three months out. So naturally, we came to the conclusion that more chairs and dentists are in order. This will be another grand remodeling project that calls for the reshuffling of many departments. Work is to start first on the garden level to remodel it into space that will house our WIC/Nutrition program, the Optometry department, the Early Intervention program, staff locker room, kitchen and medical records storage. The first floor will consist of the Imaging Center with Mammography and Bone Density Screening, Behavioral Health and Dental departmends. Behavioral Health will move to the old WIC/Nutrition area and expand to have a total of nine rooms. The space vacated by the Behavioral Health and Optometry departments will be remodeled to add more dental chairs on both sides of the Dental area. The end result is an expanded dental department with a total of 8 chairs. There will also be an office for the dental director and a larger soil room. The final area to be worked on would be the reception and the waiting area, which will have a new ceiling, lighting and flooring. Hopefully, this extensive reconfiguration of both the garden level and first floor will lead to a better flow of operation. Another exciting news to make mention of is that the dental facility at both the South Street and the Quincy clinics will be upgraded with digital x-rays on all 11 chairs (8 at South Street and 3 at Quincy).
The construction at the South Street location is to start following the completion of the Washington Street location, which is estimated to be in early October. The remodeling at South Street is expected to take 4-5 months. Once we complete the center-wide remodeling, our three clinics will match in terms of design and color to hopefully give a modern impression. |
| August Moon Festival |
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August Moon is one of the most celebrated Chinese holidays. In the old days, it was a celebration of the end of a harvest season. There is also a legend associated with this holiday, it is the story of the Moon Goddess. For more information about this holiday, please visit
As in the previous years, South Cove has been a regular participant in the August Moon celebrations in both the Boston Chinatown and Quincy. The Chinatown festival entered its 40th anniversary this year and took place on Sunday, August 16, 2009. Our Chinatown booth was manned by representatives from the Pediatrics, Ob/Gyn, WIC/Nutrition and Social Services departments. There was bilingual information available in English and Chinese on diabetes, smoking cessation, the flu, hypertension, Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS and eye care. In addition, display boards were made to promote awareness in childhood obesity, the importance of getting a flu vaccination as well as knowing the signs and risks of cervical and breast cancer. In addition to providing informational brochures and pamphlets, we also gave out the red South Cove logo shopping bag, which was very popular with the booth visitors!
 
The Quincy festival though not as long-running as the Chinatown one, does not shy in comparison. Quincy has the fastest growing Chinese population outside of Boston. Its annual festival, hosted by the Quincy Asian Resources, Inc., has consistently garnered large crowds every year. An estimated 9,000 to 10,000 people attended the festival this year, held on Sunday, August 23, 2009. Eugene Welch on behalf of South Cove gave a welcoming remark during the opening ceremony. The South Cove booth had a wealth of health information for all visitors. We also had games in place that both adults and children could play as well as some giveaways. By the conclusion of the festival, we had over 1,200 participants stopping by our booth and signing up for prize drawing. Only about one-third of the booth visitors indicated that they were South Cove patients. We were pleased with this statistics, it showed that we reached out to many more people outside of the South Cove community.
In addition to having a presence at big festivals, the health center booth can also be spotted at many other community events. Most recently, prior to the August Moon Festival, was the Quincy Public School Health Fair where the Pediatrics department hosted a table to give out information that could keep the students healthy and active. Our dental department participated in the Wollaston Child Care Center Kids' Fair in celebration of their 10th anniversary this past June, to promote dental hygiene in kids. In participating in these events, South Cove looks to raise awareness in the importance of preventive care and promote the health and well-being of our patients and community. |
| WIC/Nutrition Margaret Ip Honored |
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South Cove's Margaret Ip in the WIC/Nutrition Department is the recipient of the WIC Local Program Employee Award. This award is given to an employee at each one of the 35 WIC program cross the state. It honors those that have made a "meaningful contribution to their program, participants and community" and exemplified excellence in all three categories: participant service, leadership and creativity. South Cove's WIC/Nutrition Program Director Peggy Leung comments that Margaret has been an invaluable member of the department. This is especially true when Peggy, a new director then, came on board. A fixture in the South Cove's WIC/Nutrition department since 1992, Margaret has always offered her help and never hesitates when asked to do something. When the new late office hours were implemented, she volunteered to adjust her schedule to stay late. During monthly departmental meetings, Margaret routinely contributes ideas and creativity in improving the program. Her effective communication skills with the health center providers helped promote seamless exchange of information. But perhaps Margaret's biggest asset is her heart. Her compassion and sympathetic nature are the reasons why participants request to see her at their next WIC appointments time after time. 
The award was given out on Friday, September 11, 2009 during the annual WIC statewide conference at the DCU Center n Worcester. Having been kept in the dark, Margaret was pleasantly surprised when she saw her own picture and profile on display at the registration desk as one of the awardees. She had no idea that Peggy had nominated her for the award. She was happy and honored by it, but, in her usual humble self, expressed that she was just doing her job. Margaret enjoys her work and the person-to-person contact, "It is very rewarding," she says to see her clients, and their children growing up over the years. Along with Margaret, two other WIC staff members were recognized: Annie Chou and John Yang with a 5-Year and 10-Year Service Award respectively. South Cove congratulates Margaret, Annie, John and their fellow award recipients for their dedication to the mission of the WIC program.
A little about the WIC Program: WIC (Women, Infant, Children) is a Federal program that "provides grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk." South Cove's WIC program has been in existence since the 1970s. We serve a base of about 1,600 participants. Under the leadership and stewardship of Alice Ng who started the South Cove WIC program 25+ years ago and passed on the torch in 2008 to Peggy Leung, the program has consistently ranked among the top WIC program in the state in many measures such as immunization verification rate and the percentage of women enrolled in the first trimester. |
| Electronic Medical Records Update |
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 South Cove's journey towards a complete paperless operation has been ongoing, and along the way we have overcome setbacks and obstacles. We are very pleased with the progress made thus far. Eugene Welch could not be more proud of the work put in by all the staff members to make this a reality. Adult Medicine, Pediatrics and Behavioral Health departments are all online in the eClinicalWorks system. We expect Gyn to do so by the end of October. For the OB portion, we are opening an electronic chart for all new patients and gradually phase out the paper charts used for current patients. The last two departments to go live will be Optometry and Dental. Optometry will be the first because more time is needed to implement dental features since the initial system did not have a built-in dental EMR.
Our Information Systems department deserves the credit for starting this process and following through with the hardware installation. But the hardware is only one component of it, once the system is installed, it is really up to the users to make it happen. To that end, Eugene credits Dr. Roland Tang for stepping up to the plate and taking on the responsibility of training the staff. Dr. Tang has devoted a lot of time and energy into South Cove's EMR endeavor. When asked about his effort, Dr. Tang stated that he has been really impressed with how hard the staff has been working to transition to the new EMR. "It is incredibly challenging to completely overhaul the medical record system, while still continuing our day to day patient care operations. But we are already seeing some of the benefits such as having up to date problem lists and medication lists for almost all of our patients, seeing significantly improved provider access to patient records, electronic prescription writing and lab ordering, and timely preventative and chronic care reminders sent to patients. Ultimately, all the effort in implementing this EMR will aid our health care team to provide improved quality of care for our patients."
It is with that goal in mind that we march on and the good news is that we are 60-70% toward being completely electronic. Eugene is grateful for Dr. Tang and everyone's contribution; it is a great example of team work that is already paying dividends. This will be something that we will highlight during the next round of the JCAHO accreditation survey. The Joint Commission has made EMR implementation one of the quality measures and is aggressively pushing for it. We will be proud to showcase how far we have come. Although there is much to be done, we are glad that we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. |
| Introducing Two New Providers |
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We are welcoming two new providers to the South Cove family: Dr. Jenny Shih and Dr. Yuheng Ruan. Dr. Shih will be practising at our Quincy clinic in the Pediatrics department and Dr. Ruan will be the latest addition to the Adult Medicine department serving both the Chinatown and Quincy patients.
Dr. Shih received her medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine. She worked in the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in New York Chinatown prior to joining South Cove. She trained at New York University and Bellevue Hospital Center, where she first developed her interest in caring for an Asian community. In her free time, she and her husband enjoy exploring Boston's hidden treasures. Dr. Shih looks forward to many exciting and fulfilling years with South Cove and Boston.
 Dr. Ruan received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He joins our team of staff physicians after completing his training in Internal Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His career goal is to provide care for the Asian immigrant population and the Chinatown community. In the past, he has helped various community service programs such as the Chinatown ESL Program, the Sharewood Project and the Hepatitis B Initiative. His academic interests include hypertension and heart disease. He currently holds a Cardiovascular Disease fellowship appointment at Tufts Medical Center. In his spare time, Dr. Ruan enjoys sports and travel.
Please join us in welcoming the latest additions to our medical departments. We look forward to having them play a vital role in the health center serving the underserved Asian communities. |
| Patient Satisfaction Survey Underway |
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We value feedback from patients. It is important to hear what they have to say in order to improve upon our services and facilities. We will conduct a survey starting October asking patients to rate us on a scale of 1-5, (5 being the best) on the following:
- Is the health center neat and clean?
- Are the staff members friendly and helpful to you?
- Are the hours the center is open convenient to you and your family?
- Are the health center locations convenient to you?
- How do you feel about the time you spend in the waiting room?
The questionnaire will be in both English and Chinese and we are targeting to collect 2,500 to 3,000 responses. All patients checking in at the front desk will be encouraged to fill out the survey, and it is completely anonymous. | |
About South Cove Community Health Center:
Founded in 1972, South Cove is dedicated to improving the health and well being of the Asian communities in Massachusetts with a special focus on the medically underserved by providing high quality, community-based health care that is accessible, culturally competent, and linguistically appropriate for these populations. Services: Adult Medicine (成人科) Bone Density (骨質篩檢) Ob/Gyn (婦科) Mammography (X光乳房攝影篩檢) Pediatrics (兒科) Dentistry (牙科) Optometry (眼科) Member Services (會員服務) Nutrition/WIC (營養科/奶卷) Family Planning (家庭計劃) Early Intervention (幼兒培育組) Behavioral Health (行為健康科) Brighton/Allston After-School Enrichment Program (課餘活動中心) Clinic Locations: 885 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111 Tel: 617-482-7555 145 South Street, Boston, MA 02111 Tel: 617-521-6730 435 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA 02171 Tel: 617-745-0280 Website: http://www.scchc.org |
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