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  Newsletter
December 23, 2010

In This Issue
We Have Approval
Help Improve Quality of Life
Care Managers' Making a Difference
Quick Links
Bangor Beacon Communities of Practice

Leadership
Catherine Bruno, FACHE
EMHS, Chief Information Officer Lead

Dale Hamilton
Executive Director, Community Health and Counseling Services
Alternate 

Meaningful Use
Dev Culver
HealthInfoNet, CEO
Lead

Bob Kohl
Maine Primary Care Association HIT Project Director
Alternate

Clincial Transformation
Jim Raczek, MD
EMMC, Chief Medical Officer Lead
 
Robert Allen, MD
Penobscot Community Health Center, Executive Medical Director
Alternate
 
Sustainability
Mike Donahue, MBA
EMMC, Vice President, Physician Practices
Lead

Donald Krause, MD
St. Joseph Healthcare
Internal Medicine
Alternate
 
Evaluation
Barbara Sorondo, MD
EMMC, Director
Clinical Research Center
Lead

Frank Bragg, MD
EMMC, Family Practice Provider
Alternate


Stay up to date with the Bangor Beacon Community!

 

cathy's photo

Congratulations Cathy!
 

 

The New England Chapter of the Healthcare Information & Management Systems

Society (HIMSS), recently announced that Beacon executive sponsor, Cathy Bruno, is their 2010 CIO of the Year." Cathy, who is the CIO for EMHS was bestowed this honor because of her executive leadership as a CIO, dedication, research, and

initiatives reflecting Healthcare IT and contributions to the New England Chapter of HIMSS!


Check Us Out!
Greetings!

Exciting things are happening in the Bangor Beacon Community and we want you to stay informed. As you know, Bangor Beacon Community is one of 17 sites nationwide dedicated to advancing the adoption of electronic health records and expanding connections through health information exchange. The Bangor Beacon is setting the bar high as our leaders are asked to lend a hand to fellow
Beacons around the country - together we can develop a better healthcare delivery system that is more cost efficient and easier to navigate for all of us.

We look forward to hearing from you and keeping you up to date.

We Have Approval!

In order for the Bangor Beacon Community to distribute any materails to potential patients, we have to receive approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB must approval all our clinical study documents and protocols. And we are happy to report they have given us the green light! 

Eastern Maine Medical Center, Penobscot Community Health Center, Community Health and Counseling Services, The Acadia Hospital, and St. Joseph Healthcare all have care managers.

We are pleased to report that nearly a hundred patients are enrolled in the study and seven are enrolled in the control group.

doc and patient

Bangor Beacon Project Helps

Improve Quality of Life

  

The Bangor Beacon Community has the potential to streamline healthcare and potentially change lives. Our goal is to use techonology to improve and transform healthcare.  We have established the necessary tools and have the right experts in place to begin effectively monitoring and changing the way people in our region receive their healthcare - in order to improve their quality of life.

 

Here's how you can help, we are looking for adult patients with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, and asthma. Our goal is to make you part of a healthcare team including your doctor, nurses, and a care manger. Your care manager will keep in touch, answer questions, encourage you, and help you achieve your goals.

 

Interested patients are an integral part of a team including their doctor, nurses, and a care manager. "A care manager will keep in touch with patients between doctor visits, answer questions, motivate, and make sure the patient has what they need to successfully manage their healthcare," explains Lori Newcomb, RN, care manager.

 

The more patients enrolled in the program the better the outcome will be. The Bangor Beacon Community's goal is to improve communication among area providers and how they share a patient's healthcare information. Providers will use this valuable information to help decrease hospitalizations through early intervention as well as reduce any duplicative testing and ultimately help cut the cost of healthcare for all of us.
homecare patientCare Managers Making a Difference
 

This spring, a 68 year old man was admitted to EMMC for increasing lower abdominal pain, frequent urination, and constipation. His blood sugar was checked and was at a dangerously high level. Once he was stabilized he was sent home with a diagnosis of diabetes. In addition, this gentleman had other chronic conditions, including high blood pressure. The patient was admitted to Eastern Maine HomeCare (EMHC) and two days later began entering his daily vital signs with a telehealth unit. At the start of home care services his blood sugar levels were in the high 200s.

 

The patient's EMHC home health and telehealth nurses worked with the patient and his wife to educate them about how to lower his blood sugar to safer levels. By the time the patient was discharged from home care services, education and daily monitoring of his vital signs with telehealth brought the patient's blood sugar down into the low 100s. This success was possible because both the patient and his wife followed through on the plan of care! This gentleman is doing well and now enrolled in a diabetic clinic in Bangor.

 

Through the Bangor Beacon Community we hope to share many more success stories.


The 12 Bangor Beacon Comminity partners: