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Volume 8| Issue 15| Through February 17, 2015
 
        
              
Country Inn and Suites  
 
APEX tops efforts to streamline patient care After many months of preparation, APEX (Awesome Patient Experience) goes live at UCHealth pilot clinics AF Williams in Denver and Snow Mesa in Fort Collins Feb. 9. The core goal: build a better clinic visit by reducing unproductive wait times for patients. >>More
                                                           
APEX embraces disruptive change In "This Hospital Life": Change is a constant, and plenty of it is negative (think black snow). But the APEX pilot aims to disrupt an entrenched health care delivery model that has frustrated patients and providers for years -- and it's about time. Near right: Medical Assistant Autumn McCowan, with Amanda Gawin, MD, during an APEX simulation at AF Williams last week. >>More
Searching for consensus 
Less than a month into his two-year term as president of Medical Staff, Ethan Cumbler, MD (left), says he considers the job a call to service at a time of profound change in the health care landscape. >>More
                   
A bid to nip frostbite The Burn Center has an outstanding track record in saving frostbitten fingers and toes with clot-busting tPA in patients like Desmond Dansby (right). But the treatment isn't for everyone and there is a relatively small window to use it. The Burn Center is working to raise awareness of frostbite, the treatments for it, and ways to prevent it. >>More
Ten-minute treasure hunt
A collaboration between ED and Radiology providers aims to lop 10 minutes off the time that elapses between a request from an ED physician for a CT scan and the return of a radiology report for final disposition. The project could increase patient satisfaction, improve ED access, and save money, but 10 minutes can be hard to find. >>More
              
No hype in hypoglycemia The symptoms are often vague, but hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be damaging and potentially deadly if it's not recognized and treated quickly. UCH diabetes experts Elaina Thompson, RN (near right) and Kate Pittenger, RN, CDE, want to make staff aware of the signs and symptoms of plunging blood sugar and encourage them to get help fast. >>More
A Burnout Expert for WISH
In this month's "Provider Portrait": Annie Nedrow, MD (left), arrived at the Women's Integrated Services in Health (WISH) Clinic Jan. 1 with a deep background in integrative medicine and an interest in "physician resiliency" -- or burnout avoidance. She admits it hasn't always been the case, but she's now practicing what she preaches when it comes to burning the candle too quickly. >>More
                 
Around UCH Our regular round-up of goings-on, big and small, in and around the hospital. This issue: knockout event for cancer (right); a "Top Docs" reprise; March Madness for nurses; PHA gets underway; more. >>More
Companionship for a journey into the darkness A young lymphoma patient faced dwindling hope as he battled his disease, but he didn't go it alone, thanks to Bone Marrow Transplant Infusion Center nurse Erica Butzen (center left with Oncology Services Practice Manager Erin Stohner, far left, and Associate Chief Nursing Officer Cathy Ehrenfeucht). For her service, Butzen received the fourth-quarter 2014 DAISY Award for exceptional care. >>More
Check out our Facebook page News, views, and stories of inspiration on UCH's Facebook page. Give us a like!. >>More
Follow the Insider on Twitter News, commentary, and updates on UCH, UCHealth and the wider world of health care. >>More
Dean Krugman's news The latest about what's going on at the School of Medicine. >>More
             
An Epic next Step

It's not "Big Bang 2," but the stage is set for UCHealth to upgrade its EHR to Epic version 2014 Feb. 7. "The support looks a little different than when we go live," says Senior Informatics Nurse Robyn King. "There will still be a lot of support - people will be moving from zone to zone to see how things are going - but we won't be overwhelmed by a mass of red shirts like with a go-live." >>Go
                                           
UCH Addresses MD-Linked Joint Commission Issues

An email informing and educating medical staff about the proper procedure for handling readback of critical test results went out late last month. It was one of five physician-related requirements for improvement identified by the Joint Commission during its December survey of the hospital. >>Go
                                                            
  
Cowboy Up
The first entry in the hospital's "Docs off the Clock" video series features Jason Stoneback, MD (above), the director of orthopedic and fracture surgery with a longtime passion for the rodeo. >>Go
                 
Medical Staff Stars Shine

The annual Medical Staff Awards dinner honored 19 physicians and allied health providers for their exceptional service to the hospital, patients, colleagues, and the community. Above: Jodi Welborn, RN, of the Cardiac Cath Lab, received the Extraordinary Service Award from outgoing Medical Staff President Robert McIntyre, MD. >>Go
                  
Friendship Pays off in the OR

UCH surgeons David Kuwayama (above left) and Robert Meguid have followed similar career paths and pursued common interests, including climbing fourteeners. A recent collaboration in the OR that blended Kuwayama's vascular expertise with Meguid's cardiothoracic skills paid off for a patient who thought she'd run out of options for a painful and debilitating condition. >>Go
               
UCH in the News

Looming measles threat; Super Bowl blues; Stock Show screenings; more. Mentions: Edwin Asturias; Virginia Borges; Mark Deutchman; Samuel Dominguez; Greg Everson; Patrick Fehling; Jennifer Hellier; Paul Menard-Katcher; Huntington Potter; Jason Stoneback; Stephanie Teal. >>Go