See what this group looked like after they finished the Mud Factor 5K Obstacle Run 

 

Looking for a convenient place to get locally grown produce or buy a tasty lunchtime treat? Then you'll be glad to hear that the CCRMC Farmers' Market is returning. The Farmers' Market will take place every Tuesday in front of the hospital from Noon - 4 p.m. starting on May 7. The weekly market, a joint venture between CCRMC and Contra Costa Certified Farmers' Markets, Inc., features locally grown seasonal produce, including organics, from small family farms.  There will also be delicious prepared foods, fresh popped kettle corn, gourmet coffee and an array specialty items throughout the season. There will be an ATM onsite if you need to get some cash. Cal Fresh EBT cards are welcome and can be redeemed for vendor-accepted tokens at the Information Booth.

 

Stop by the market information booth and ask about the new "Stamps for Salad" program, which rewards frequent shoppers with a 40% discount at the hospital caf� on non-market days.

 

If you would like more information, please visit the Contra Costa Certified Farmers' Markets website. 

Last month an improvement team examined operations at Concord Health Center in an effort to standardize and streamline the patient intake process. The goals were to improve work flow and communication among staff, reduce waiting times for patients, and maximize the quality time patients get with their providers during appointments.The team, which included frontline staff and a patient partner, tested and developed standard work around the intake process over a four-day period. 

 

In order to improve communication between clinicians and nursing staff, the team organized quick huddles before clinics to help anticipate the patient needs that day. The huddles helped some clinics finish on time with fewer  interruptions. Tasks such as pending orders were also shifted from the provider visit to the intake process to level out the workload and to make the provider visit with the patient more valuable. The team also tested standardizing dot colors in ccLink's clinic roster "dot system" to better signal where the patient is in the visit so nobody is waiting unnecessarily.

 

Eventually, these changes -- after they're standardized and sustained at Concord Health Center -- will be rolled-out systemwide.

 

This was the first of seven rapid improvement workshops designed to improve primary care in the clinics. The next such workshop will look at how to more efficiently manage requests for narcotic prescription refills. The refill report out will take place on Friday, April 26. 

The average amount of time patients are spending on hold to make appointments has dropped dramatically since the implementation of the redesigned appointment system in February. From the end of January to the end of March, the average amount of time patients spent on hold when calling the Appointment Unit went down from 14 minutes to about three minutes. At the same time, we now consistently have same- or next-day appointments available throughout the day. Before the system redesign, we usually ran out of those appointments by 9 a.m.

 

Ambulatory Care Medical Director Dr. Chris Farnitano said while it's premature to declare the new system a complete success, the early results are extremely promising.

This graph shows hold times dropping from an average of 14 minutes to about three minutes after the new appointment system began.

The redesigned system expanded the amount of available appointments by requiring that most return appointments must be made within two weeks of the visit. Previously, providers were scheduling follow-ups for patients that were weeks and sometimes months away. This practice resulted in appointment being reserved for people more likely to miss their office visits, so-called "no shows."

 

The appointment system redesign is part of our ongoing efforts to improve access and reduce our no-show rates. In mid-December, the North Richmond Center for Health implemented a pre-registration program in which patients are contacted prior to their office visits to remind them of their scheduled appointments and to handle administrative tasks in advance. Preliminary data suggest pre-registration has helped reduce the number of no shows at North Richmond from over 22% to just under 17%. The practice also has increased the number of available appointment slots because some patients cancel when contacted to pre-register. Preregistration is now being rolled out to clinics at West County Health Center and Concord Health Center.

Given resource limitations in Africa and a lack of specialist physicians, there is a critical need for well-rounded generalist physicians that can manage the most common medical, pediatric and surgical problems in the communities they serve. Family medicine is emerging as a specialty in Africa that is taking on this challenge. We have joined a fellowship program that trains African doctors who have finished internships and have basic medical skills -- known as medical officers -- in the practice of full-spectrum, high-quality family medicine. 

Dr. Jeff Pierce (far right) leads bedside rounds with clinical officers and medical officers at Sagam Community Hospital in Kenya.

 The CCRMC/MGH Fellowship in Global Health Leadership is a partnership between our Family Practice Residency Program and the Department of Emergency Medicine's Division of Global Health and Human Rights at Massachusetts General Hospital. The goal of the fellowship is to promote and support medical education and residency programs in developing nations that will produce home-grown doctors trained in comprehensive medical care, like family and emergency medicine. 

The current fellows from CCRMC, Dr. Michele Montandon and Dr. Jeff Pierce, are working with the Sagam Community Hospital in western Kenya to support clinician education, systems improvement and infrastructure development; a family medicine residency program is under development in collaboration with a Kenyan university, Maseno University School of Medicine.

 

To find out more about the fellows, click here. 

Providers are praising ccLink efficiency courses we offered in late February. That's according to a survey filled out by 65 providers who took one or more of the classes, which offered tips and tricks on how to better navigate ccLink, our electronic health record system. Survey respondents overwhelmingly said they felt more comfortable with ccLink after taking a class and would recommend the class to others (see chart below).  More provider classes, which will be led by physician Super Users, are in the works. Efficiency training sessions for nurses are also being planned by Nurse Informaticist Jen Gossett. 

 

To find out more about ccLink training efforts, visit the ccLink page on iSITE. 

 

In the mid-1990s, medical staff at the old Richmond Health Center teamed up with local artists to create ArtsChange, a group dedicated to using art as a tool to improve community health and well-being. For the past 17 years, artists worked with patients and staff to create socially engaged works reflecting local culture and life. A collection of those assembled works are now going to be on display -- many of them permanently -- at the new West County Health Center in San Pablo, which replaced the aging Richmond facility last year.

 

An opening celebration will take place at the West County Health Center from 5:30 - 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. Tours will be given by ArtsChange artists, expressive arts therapists from the California Institute of Integral Studies will encourage attendees to make their own art, and there will be live music as well. Admission is free.

 

For more information about the art opening, contact Dr. Alan Siegel at Alan.Siegel@hsd.cccounty.us. If you'd like to see more of the art, visit ArtsChange's tumblr. 

Recent stories in the Martinez News-Gazette and KGO Radio showcased CCRMC's volunteer doula program. Birth doulas -- aslo known as labor coaches -- provide non-medical support, encouragement and comfort to women in labor. The free service is offered to expectant moms when they arrive at the hospital. Research has shown that the presence of doulas lowers fear and stress, enhances the experience of birth, and improves birth outcomes. CCRMC is one of only a few hospitals in the Bay Area that have a volunteer doula program. 

To find out more about our doula program, visit the program's Web page. (You can also listen to the KGO stories on this page.) 

Proud new parents, Will Reynolds and Antoinette Castro, told the Martinez News-Gazette that their doula offered helpful guidance and advice while Antoinette was in labor.   Photo via the Martinez News-Gazette

From left to right: Billie Reed, Harley Reed, Anquanetia Reed-LVN, Sunshine Reece, Katherine Reece-LVN, Sharon Holder-LVN, Ann Bolen- RN, Dr. Cinnie Chou and tech Hazel Maldonado.

At WCHC there is a Stress Reduction Group on Tuesdays, 2 - 3:30 p.m.; a Grief Group on Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. - noon, and an Alcohol and Drug Education Group on Thursdays from 3:30 - 5p.m.  All groups are held in Group Room A and are available for referrals.  For more information or to make a referral, contact Vaneeta Sandhu, PsyD at (510) 231-9572, Extension 1.

 

Martinez Health Center is currently offering two groups.  These are a Mood Management  Group  and a Stress Reduction Group.  The Mood Management Group is held on Tuesdays, 5:30 - 7 p.m. and the Stress Reduction Group is Thursdays, 5:30 - 7 p.m.  For more information or to make a referral, please contact Dr. Michael Changaris at (925) 335-7435.

 

North Richmond Health Center is offering a Stress Reduction Group on Tuesdays from 3 - 4:30 p.m.  For more information or to make a referral, please contact Kamil Jibril, PsyD at (510) 374-7342.

 

The group leaders listed above can also be reached by sending them an InBasket through ccLink.

Click here to contact us or contact Kate Fowlie at: