The Way Life Should Be...

Sharing the Bangor Beacon Model of Care with the Nation! 

Care About Your Care is a national effort being coordinated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help educate people on how they can receive better healthcare.

The exciting part for the Bangor Beacon Community is not only are we hosting an event on Thursday, September 15 at the Spectacular Event Center in Bangor, but one of our care managers will be a part of a national noontime webcast featuring popular health author and television host Dr. Mehmet Oz.

"I was very flattered to have been asked," smiles Kathy Bragdon, RN, care manager at PCHC. Kathy brings 23 years of experience to her patients. "Since I was a little girl on a potato farm in Mars Hill, I knew I wanted to be a nurse." Being a part of Bangor Beacon is a good fit for Kathy because the basis of the model is patient-centered. "This project is showing me that we can turn healthcare around. We are putting the patients' interests at the forefront. We are using a team approach, and that team includes the patient at the center, and I love it!"

Please join us from 10 am to 2 pm to hear from Kathy as well take part in a health fair. We will also have a panel discussion about quality care, what it means, how to find it, and how patients can become more engaged in their own healthcare.

When John Snow realized what was causing the cholera epidemic of London in 1854, he used spatial statistics to help him arrive at the answer. Contrary to popular belief that cholera was disseminated through the air, Snow argued that food and water might be the sources of the disease. And so, when cholera struck London again, he mapped the incidences of the disease, allowing him to trace the outbreak to a public water source. Once the source was disabled, the outbreak dissipated.

Since this early analysis, specialists have realized that nearly all forms of data have a spatial component, which can assist in discovering such things as the watershed of local lakes or even the most likely roads taken by motor vehicle thieves. However, the mapping of diseases or other illnesses has not been widespread, until recently. For example, a medical doctor in New Jersey has been traveling the nation demonstrating how the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) mapping software has allowed him to determine where high risk/high cost patients 'cluster'.

The Bangor Beacon Community project is using spatial analyses to better understand where and why certain diseases are more prevalent in eastern and northern Maine. By creating colorcoded maps (and using some fancy algorithms), we are generating "hotspots" that will allow us to see whether diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular disease cluster in certain areas.

We can also see whether patients who are most likely to return to the hospital after a discharge live in particular areas. This information can be used to target specific places with unmet healthcare needs as well as to analyze the possible reasons why such clusters occur. For example, by looking at census tracts, we can determine whether socio-demographic factors (such as poverty rates) are associated with certain diseases.

Because of the work of the Bangor Beacon Community project, we anticipate that disease prevalence and disease severity indicators will decrease through the life of the grant. Our mapping project will be able to show graphically whether disease hotspots change over time and whether the health indicators improve in our community.

This is just one example of an innovative technique to improve patient health that the Bangor Beacon Community project has stimulated.

At 72 years old, Gladys Neptune has seen the world around her change. She's worked as a hotel maid, taken in hand sewing, and for many years, worked as a certified nursing assistant in nursing homes and hospitals. She has six children and five grandchildren who live all around the country.

A longtime smoker, Gladys suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and a bipolar disorder which complicates her ability to care for herself, take her medication appropriately, and follow instructions.

Gladys recently enrolled in the Bangor Beacon Community program and works with her care manager, Danielle Reardon, MHRT-C (mental health rehabilitation therapist - community), at The Acadia Hospital. Gladys was overwhelmed and her bipolar disorder was contributing to some of the issues with her COPD. She was admitted to the hospital off and on for a nine month period and was unable to follow through on the recommendations given to improve her health.

One daunting problem was that Gladys was taking too much of her medication, resulting in unsteadiness and making her prone to falls. Each fall would end with a visit to the emergency department. With Danielle's assistance, Gladys received a much needed electronic medication dispenser, and she now receives the right medications at the right times.

Three times a day her dispenser says "Time to take your medicine" and then releases the pre-filled dose in a small plastic bag. Once Gladys takes the medication out, the dispenser says "thank you." Since the dispenser was installed, Gladys has not had any admissions to the hospital.