Making a Difference
Each and every day our dedicated and passionate employees make a difference in the lives of our patients, visitors, and colleagues. We would like to highlight some of those stories. If you have a colleague you would like to recognize, please send the employee's name and how he or she made a difference to slhrounds@saint-lukes.org.
"One of our ICU patients and their family had been clinging to survival, but really began to lose the battle. We began to turn to comfort care, easing the family into the next phase of letting go. The family was from out of town, thus making it difficult for their priest to be present. One of our residents, Ashley Mann, M.D., stepped up to support the family in a different way. "I know a priest we can call." She called her brother, a priest, and he was able to come in quickly to give last rites. This was such a touching gesture for the family and the staff. Dr. Mann fully embodied the "Presence of Care," making these last moments more bearable for the family."
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Saint Luke's cafeterias to launch standard employee discount, new pricing on menu items
Beginning March 29, Saint Luke's Health System cafeterias will adopt a standard 10 percent discount for system employees. In addition, pricing of menu items will be adjusted to bring SLHS prices in line with the rest of the Kansas City hospital market, and products and pricing will be adjusted to encourage customers to eat healthy.
Employee discount
Currently, employee discounts are different throughout the system. At Saint Luke's Hospital and Cushing Memorial Hospital, no discount is offered. Beginning March 29, a 10 percent discount will be applied systemwide. This will standardize discounts to promote fairness and provide for consistent pricing practices across SLHS.
"Industry average for employee discounts at hospitals in the U.S. is 8 percent or less. Our discounts are currently significantly higher than 8 percent, with the exception of SLH and CMH where we have not offered a discount. We've worked hard to arrive at a fair solution and a 10 percent discount allows us to keep a discount that is above the average and is the same for everyone," said John McReynolds, corporate director of Hospitality Services.
Pricing changes
Menu items will be priced consistently across system cafeterias. Currently, menu items vary significantly among Saint Luke's facilities. For example, the price of a hamburger currently ranges from $2 to $2.48; chicken strips run from $.60 to $1, and salad bars range from $.25 - $.40 cents per ounce.
In the examples listed above, pricing will be adjusted systemwide to $2.51 for a hamburger, $1.03 for chicken strips, and $.32 cents per ounce for salad bar (after employee discount). McReynolds said all the new pricing is competitive with menu prices at other Kansas City hospitals.
SLHS menu prices haven't been adjusted for several years at many hospitals and a slight increase will help cover the rising cost of food products. Even with these upcoming changes, system cafeterias will operate at a net loss. "The goal is to continue to provide high food quality for a fair price. We are focused on fairness and value received and we look at our customers as our partners in that goal," McReynolds said.
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An unprecedented week for MAHI
This is a very special time at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute. Just this past week...
- MAHI physicians and researchers were selected to deliver 46 presentations (including late-breaking trials, oral presentations, and poster presentations) at the Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), one of the most important conferences for groundbreaking research on heart disease. Altogether, more than 20,000 cardiovascular professionals attend this meeting every year. The total number of contributions by MAHI faculty and fellows was nearly four times as many as all other cardiology programs in the greater Kansas City area combined.
- Mikhail Kosiborod, M.D., presented the results of a major clinical trial demonstrating the benefits of a drug on chest pain in people with diabetes as a late-breaking clinical trial, an honor reserved for the highest profile research studies. This work was published simultaneously with its presentation in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
- In addition, just in the past week we've had three major research studies published in the top tier of medical journals for clinical research including ground-breaking research published in The Lancet (by Randy Thompson, M.D.); a major clinical study on bleeding and PCI outcomes published in JAMA (by Adnan Chhatriwalla, M.D., and Steve Marso, M.D.); and a major clinical study led by Paul Chan, M.D., published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
These are amazing accomplishments for MAHI and should make all of us very proud.
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2013 Kansas City Heart Walk - May 18 at Theis Park
Join the Saint Luke's Heart Walk team! Bring the family, have some fun, enjoy a walk, and help fight heart disease and stroke!
Cardiovascular disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 killers of men and women in the U.S. and the AHA (American Heart Association) is committed to supporting life changing research and educational programs in these areas. In fact, our very own research teams have received more than $2 million in funding for heart and stroke research from AHA over the past several years. By participating in the Heart Walk, you're not only helping a great cause - you're also helping to support our leading-edge research right here at Saint Luke's!
Join the Saint Luke's team!
It's a great team-building activity for departments/units and a wonderful way to show the community your commitment to fighting heart disease and stroke. If you are interested in being one of our team captains for the walk, please contact Lori Hill by Friday, March 29, at 816-932-6270 or lhill@saint-lukes.org.
Please stay tuned for additional information in upcoming eRounds on how you can register to be part of the Saint Luke'sHeart Walk team.
Fun fact
Every hour of regular exercise adds two hours to your life expectancy. Join the team and get an extra hour of exercise while supporting a great cause.
Click here to learn more about the Kansas City AHA Heart Walk.
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Congratulations E7!
 This was a wonderful gesture from the surgeons to E7 for achieving 100 percent patient satisfaction for third quarter!
The card read:
Congratulations on your patient satisfaction scores! We appreciate your care.
- Drs. Moore, Price, Margolin, Sorensen, Arce, McNally, Cason, Graf, and Julie Porter.
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Cabot hosts celebrity guest reader
Cabot Westside Health and Dental Center had a celebrity guest reader earlier this month in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Kim Byrnes from Fox 4 news stopped by to read to the children in the Cabot lobby. Cabot is part of Reach Out and Read Kansas City. Reach Out and Read (ROR) partners with medical providers to promote early literacy, providing new books to the clinic to be given to children at their well child exams for newborns through five years of age. In 2012, Cabot handed out 1,414 books. ROR also arranges for volunteers to read to kids in the clinic lobby.
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Holy Week services
Saturday, March 23
3:30 p.m. - Roman Catholic Mass and Liturgy of Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday, March 24
10:30 a.m. - Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Communion
Wednesday, March 27
11 a.m. - Holy Communion with Laying on of Hands
Thursday, March 28
11 a.m. - Holy Communion
3:30 p.m. - Celebration of the Lord's Supper (Roman Catholic Mass)
Good Friday, March 29
Noon - Stations of the Cross
3:30 p.m. - Good Friday Service (Roman Catholic)
Easter Sunday, March 31
8:30 a.m. - Celebration of the Resurrection of Christ (Easter Mass)
10:30 a.m. - Holy Communion and Healing Service
All services are in the Hospital Chapel and broadcast on Channel 18.
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Congratulations Joyce Kinney!
Joyce Kinney is retiring after many years of service with Saint Luke's Health System. Kinney was originally hired for a project funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health. The grant was designed to track and trend the possible causes of cervical cancer in an effort to improve women's health. In 1988, she was promoted to director of Patient Advocacy and Interpreter Services. During her leadership the Patient Advocate Department has grown from two to four Patient Advocates, three full-time interpreters, and twelve contract interpreters serving patients 365 days a year, 24/7! Kinney has served on numerous committees during her tenure at Saint Luke's and has started many new programs - some of which are still continuing to grow!
Please come celebrate Joyce Kinney's retirement!
March 27
1:30 - 3 p.m.
Saint Luke's Hospital Women's Courtyard
Cake and refreshments will be served.
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Saint Luke's in the news
Saint Luke's has been making news, and our staff is sharing its expertise in the media. Click on the links below to see the full story.
- Study shows drug reduces chest pain in diabetes (research led by Mikhail Kosiborod, M.D.) - Health Day News
- Major bleeds after heart procedures may raise death risk (research led by Adnan Chhatriwalla, M.D.) - Health Day News
- Cardiac arrest survivors have better outlook (research led by Paul Chan, M.D.) - New York Times, NPR
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KC Star reader shout-out
"A special thank you to the doctors, nurses, and staff members in the medical intensive care unit at Saint Luke's Hospital on the Plaza.
With the explosion at JJ's restaurant and the snowstorms happening during mom's stay there, every person our family encountered had an amazing focus, compassion, and genuine concern.
The staffers were very professional throughout mom's stay and answered every question we could possibly ask.
We were truly blessed to have such a great group of people helping us through a very trying time."
- Grace (Burnett) Thomas, Independence, Mo.
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Improving financial well-being
Well-being research reveals that people with high financial well-being have three characteristics in common: they eliminated the day-to-day stress caused by debt; they managed their personal finances well; and they were satisfied with their standard of living. Financial experts say that managing our money successfully is 20 percent knowledge and 80 percent behavior.
The EAP's Four Brief Lessons on Financial Well-being provides information and resources for busy people with busy lives. We hope these ideas help you get from where you are to where you want or need to be to improve your financial well-being.
User name: SLHS
Password: EAP
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March is Social Work Month
Saint Luke's Health System is presenting two special programs to honor social workers on March 26 (March is Social Work Month):
- Resilience in Chronic Illness presented by Isabel Stenzel, M.S.W., M.P.H.
- Ethics in Organ & Tissue Donation featuring speakers from Midwest Transplant Network
Click here for more information.
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Saint Luke's Hospice seeks volunteers
Saint Luke's Hospice is currently looking for new volunteers to serve in homes in the communities we serve and at Saint Luke's Hospice House.
At Saint Luke's Hospice, we pride ourselves on helping patients and families live as fully as possible so that each patient's final journey is filled with a rich sense of dignity. Hospice provides support and care for persons in the last phases of incurable disease to ensure a life of quality.
The volunteer opportunities for Saint Luke's Hospice are endless. Volunteers in the homes of our patients provide social support and respite to hospice patients and their families. We are looking for volunteers to provide top-notch customer service at the reception desk, provide hospitality to the families who join us, and offer companionship. Many of our volunteers also put their unique skills to use through complimentary therapies and other special projects (arts and crafts, quilting, photography, etc.)
If you are interested in becoming a Saint Luke's Hospice volunteer please contact Melissa Tinklepaugh at mtinklepaugh@saint-lukes.org or call 816-360-8009.
Upcoming four-day volunteer training is scheduled for:
- April 16 - 5:30 - 9 p.m. (in home and Hospice House)
- April 18 - 5:30 - 9 p.m. (in home and Hospice House)
- April 23 - 5:30 - 9 p.m. (in home and Hospice House)
- April 25 - 5:30 - 9 p.m. (Hospice House only)
As a new volunteer, you would have the opportunity to be part of a dedicated team devoted to continuously improving the quality of our patient care. In addition, you would have the wonderful opportunity to provide one-on-one support and caring that would bring comfort to the patients and families we serve.
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'Like' us on Facebook!
Stay current on upcoming events, health trends and news, fun facts, wellness tips, and more through the Saint Luke's Facebook page! Next time you're on, search SaintLukesKC - and click "like."
We ensure that your private information will not be viewed, accessed, or used by becoming a fan of the Saint Luke's Health System Facebook page.
If you have any questions about privacy or safety, please visit facebook.com/help/privacy.
As employees, you are already Saint Luke's biggest fans - so be sure to show your support through social media!
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