eNewsletter
June 2012
In This Issue
Determined to Keep on Keeping On
Getting Our Ducks in a Row with Ten Months to GO
Moments of Excellence!
Patient Perspective Priceless
Cathy Bruno is Recognized for Her Leadership

  
M.Michelle Hood, FACHE

EMHS, President and CEO 

Bangor Beacon Community

Statewide Advisory Committee

Chair

 

Erik Steele, DO
EMHS, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Bangor Beacon Community Principal Investigator
 
          
Leadership
Catherine Bruno, FACHE
Bangor Beacon Community Executive Sponsor
EMHS, Chief Information Officer Lead

Dale Hamilton
Executive Director, Community Health and Counseling Services
Alternate 

Clincial Transformation
Jim Raczek, MD
EMMC, Chief Medical Officer Lead
 
Robert Allen, MD
Penobscot Community Health Center, Executive Medical Director
Alternate

 

Evaluation
Barbara Sorondo, MD
EMMC, Director
Clinical Research Center
Lead 
 
Frank Bragg, MD
EMMC, General Internist
 Alternate

 

Meaningful Use
Dev Culver
HealthInfoNet, Executive Director
Lead

Bob Kohl
Maine Primary Care Association HIT Project Director
Alternate
 
Sustainability
Mike Donahue, MBA
EMHS, Vice President, Payor Contracting and Relations
Lead

Donald Krause, MD
St. Joseph Healthcare
Internal Medicine
Alternate

  
Bangor Beacon Staff
 
Mac Hilton
Program Director
  
Melanie Pearson

Project Manager

 

Lanie Abbott
Senior Communications and Outreach Specialist

Andrea Littlefield
Senior Communications and Outreach Specialist

 

Sam Dow

Project Coordinator

 

Beth Johnson
Project Coordinator
Heather Broussard
Data Analyst
 
Samantha Haynes
Administrative Assistant 

 


Stay up to date with the Bangor Beacon Community!

 

 

Connecting the Dots..

Are you curious about the other Beacon Communities across our country? The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology (HIT) recently relased a video and a blog describing how all the Beacon Communities are working together to transform healthcare across our country.

The Beacon Story

Beacon Communities Celebrate Second Anniversary

  

Have You Watched Our Latest Video?

We are rolling out a series of videos that will help illustrate how we are transforming healthcare. Please feel free to share the link as they reinforce our mission and vision for a  healthy community. 

 

HIT / Meaningful Use

 

Rick and Diana's Story

 

Performance Improvement  

 

Patti's Story

 

Bangor Beacon Leadership 

 

Eric's Story

 Practice design
 

Areas of Interest

  

The Bangor Beacon primary care practices are using different models in order to better care for their chronic disease patients. Some care managers are a part of the practice, others are mostly telephonic, and some use both methods. With less than a year left on the grant EMMC's Clinical Research Center is working to see which model is a better return on investment. Each organization's model is being evaluated to see which one is demonstrating the financial benefits by integrating a care management model. By evaluating each of the different models, we can better understand what approach(es) will be both effective for patients and in terms of cost.

 

We are also working on a "hot spot" map of our community to see if there are certain areas where more high risk / high cost patients are living. Once mapped we can look at specific measures, conditions, types of healthcare utilization and if there are any trends in location with the measures we are looking at.

 

Performance Improvement Committee Continues to Drive Change in the Bangor Beacon Community

 

The Performance Improvement Team has been meeting since the grant began. With representation from each of the primary care practices, the group began by setting the measurements that our community is looking to improve. Through a collaborative process, this team is instrumental in driving changes in the primary care practices to improving patient care, integrating care management models, and measuring data.

 

"The benefits to doing this with our community are monumental," shared Donald Krause, MD, St. Joseph Healthcare.

 

The group shares protocols, electronic medical record issues, and works to find ways to best educate providers and patients on the changes in healthcare. For competitors to share protocols and computer system changes, such as pop ups and notifications for providers, is where our Bangor Beacon Community is making gains that set us apart.

 

The group has been asked to present at a Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) learning collaborative in July to share how they collaborate and share data among competitors.

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings! 

 

We are days away from the official start of summer and many of us have already been to pool parties and out on the water in our boats and kayaks. The wonders of living in Maine never cease!

Summer calendars are getting jam packed with family, friends, and kids at camp. Those are just some of the activities that Bangor Beacon patients are up to. Eric Dunbar, one of the patients we featured in a video, just shared that his A1C has remained 5.9 and he is no longer on any medications. He and his family are thrilled with the news!

Meanwhile, important work is happening behind the scenes as providers continue to work on quality improvements in the primary care practices and nurses are becoming more integrated into care teams. Through data we are seeing patients contiue to show improvements in managing their chornic diseases as well as having a better understanding of accesing the right care at the right time.

Hang on, it's going to be an exciting nine months as we race towards March 2013!

Enjoy the beginning of summer,  

Lanie Abbott

Senior Communications and Outreach Specialist 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 Getting the Support She Needs

Peaceful and content is how you could describe Charlotte Bickford as she sits in her glider sipping a cup of tomato soup. It's hard to imagine that her life hasn't always been this way. "We grew up very poor, my four siblings and I picked potatoes to buy our clothes, it was a hard life but we were together, we were close, and we made the most of it."

 

Charlotte's family lived on a potato farm in northern Maine. Her mom cleaned the home and prepared meals for the owner's family while taking care of her own children. They were all pretty healthy growing up, just colds and the occasional bumps and bruises. But that was all about to change - Charlotte married young and had six children in seven years and was coming down with pneumonia yearly. "When you have little ones around, a husband in the service, and you're far from home, you can't slow down; you just buckle down and do what you have to do."

 

Fiercely independent, Charlotte managed to raise her children and provide a loving home. She's never been one to give too much energy to things that she can't control and she tries not to spend a lot of time thinking about how frail her body has become. "I have always taken care of myself and it kills me that now I can't even vacuum, make my bed, or do my own laundry." She's never smoked, yet she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), she's never drank and yet she has liver failure, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. "I have more support now than I ever had - having a care manager brings you peace of mind."

 

Debbie Grover, RN, care manager at EMMC's Center for Family Medicine, knows Charlotte well. She was the first Bangor Beacon Community patient she enrolled in the program. The two women talk weekly about how Charlotte is doing, how her test results are, and have developed a nice friendship.

 

"Charlotte fell recently and wasn't able to get to a phone, so I helped her get Lifeline in case that ever happens again. I also am trying to find her a new place to live - as her diseases progress, the few stairs she has to climb to get into her apartment are all but impossible for her to do," Debbie says.

 

Connecting Charlotte to community resources, working closely with her provider to make adjustments to her medications, and being the calm voice on the other end of the phone while Charlotte learns to manage her symptoms has been invaluable. Prior to care management, Charlotte was being admitted to the hospital about three times a year - in 2011 she only had one admission.

 

Debbie continues, "I think we are keeping her at home, where she wants to be. She knows we are on her side and she calls us and gets help long before it becomes an emergency."

Part of what makes Debbie's job easier is the available health information technology. "It makes working as a team with other area providers easier - we can stay on top of problems and make decisions based on the whole patient."

 

Charlotte finds things to be thankful for each day, and she knows because of her doctor and care manager she is as healthy as she can be.

 

 


 

 

   

 Getting Our Ducks in a Row

with Ten Months to GO

Members of the Bangor Beacon Community met for a Finishing Strong Retreat at St. Joseph Healthcare Park. The retreat was facilitated by Carol Beasley from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The goal of the retreat was to plan the orderly completion of the Bangor Beacon Community grant so patients knew their options, that we are making clear documentation of findings and shared learning from our community, and that there are transitions to sustainable models.

 

Initially, the planning committee conducted one-on-one meetings with Bangor Beacon project managers and compiled feedback as to what projects were completed within each Community of Practice, what percentage of projects were completed, what barriers were preventing other projects from being completed, and what efforts were being implemented to remove barriers prior to the end of the grant. The feedback was be compiled and shared during the retreat and was the foundation of discussions during the retreat.

 

From the retreat work, a final year plan for the Bangor Beacon Community is being developed and will be released soon.

 

  

 

Nurses  

  Moments of Excellence!

Is there any better way to start a Monday morning staff meeting then with a moment of excellence? When Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) care mangers get together each week they always start off with a feel good moment. Colleen Loveless, RN, was grinning from ear to ear as she shared her moment of excellence:  

 

"I had a patient who called me on Friday morning with some concerns about her health and noticeable changes overnight. I asked her if she wanted to come and see her provider. She didn't and we talked about things she could do at home to help improve her symptoms. Throughout the day, I touched base with her and shared the information with her provider. She wasn't getting any better, and actually as the day was progressing, she was getting worse. She finally agreed to come in and her provider and the medical assistant both stayed late so that she could be seen at 5 pm. I know all this back and forth communication kept her out of the hospital and everyone felt really good about that."  

 

Colleen is quick to point out that having quick access to providers during times of crisis is critical to a patient's success. This is one reason that EMMC care managers are moving into the primary care practices to become part of the office team. "The providers come in and talk with us in our offices about their patients. We can also have warm hand offs with new patients. Being in the practice makes us more accessible and I think it's going to be great," smiles Cynthia Herrick, RN.

 

Patient Perspective - Priceless

The second meeting of the Beacon Patient Advisory Group was certainly a success by any standard. "I would like to know more about how we can spread the word to others about what is happening," said David Small. This was music to the ears of those of us who work with Bangor Beacon. That comment sparked a wonderful unplanned conversation after the group heard more about the reason behind the grant and data that was demonstrating improved health for chronic disease patients receiving care management. David Small continued by asking "How can we be a part of linking the community to what is happening so they can be interested in the change?" He also asked those working with Bangor Beacon to "Give us a brief synopsis of what's happening and the successes you are having, that gives us hope and helps with the 'what's in it for me' factor."

 

Other participants in the group echoed this sentiment and shared that in order for our work to be meaningful and have longevity, there needs to be a shared ownership with the patients. Carrie Dwelley and Jim Pike shared sentiments about how it would be helpful if during your doctor appointment all those you were in contact with were discussing the features and benefits of care management. Some suggestions about how to best integrate Bangor Beacon into the community dialogue included everything from posters and brochures to healthcare blogs and offering a class through Senior College.

 

"The patient advisors who have stepped forward are fantastic. We are indeed fortunate to have the benefit of great advice from volunteers committed to helping to improve the health of our community with advice forged from their own health experience pre- and post-Beacon," smiles Shawn Yardley, city of Bangor Health and Community Services director and chair of the Beacon Patient Advisory Group, as he reflected on the conversation.

All of the members of the group were very curious about what plans were being developed to continue providing this level of support after the grant were over. As a result, our June meeting will include some of the possibilities identified for sustainability. 

 

 

  

Cathy Bruno is Recognized for her Leadership

 The Bangor Beacon Community executive sponsor and vice president and chief information officer of EMHS, Cathy Bruno, FACHE, was selected as one of two winners of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium Award for Innovation Leadership. The award honors chief information officers who lead their organizations to pursue the innovative use of Information Technology (IT) and business processes to deliver business value.

 

"We are pleased to recognize Ms. Bruno for the strategic vision and use of technology to significantly impact and improve business performance for her organization," said Ray Chang, co-chair of the award program. "She serves as a terrific example of how technology can drive business success, and the fundamentally important role that CIOs are playing in organizations around the globe."

 

Cathy commented, "I am honored to be a winner of this prestigious award and would like to take this opportunity to recognize all of the dedicated, hard-working people of EMHS and the Bangor Beacon Community who, together, are changing the way healthcare services are delivered in Maine. Being a chief information officer is about bringing out the best in all of the people with whom I am privileged to work, and this award truly recognizes their achievements as well."

 

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is the premier global event for CIOs and senior IT executives to become better business leaders. In one day, CIOs and senior IT executives receive actionable information that enables them to meet the challenges of today's changing global economy. The annual event offers a day of interactive learning and thought-provoking discourse on the future of technology, best practices, and business that is not available anywhere else.The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is organized and developed by a team from the MIT Sloan Alumni Club of Boston, the MIT Center for Digital Business, and the Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management. Visit www.mitcio.comfor more information.  

(Pictured above is Professor Glen Urban, MIT Sloan, presenting Cathy with her leadership award.)

The 12 Bangor Beacon Community partners: