San Martin Campus Partners with Walgreens Pharmacies to Deliver Prescriptions
When you aren’t feeling well, the last thing you want to do is stop at a pharmacy to pick up prescriptions. Patients discharged from the San Martin Campus at St. Rose no longer have to deal with this inconvenience because St. Rose and Walgreens have launched a program that brings prescriptions right to the patient – before they leave the hospital.
Patients simply call an in-house Walgreens technician who picks up their prescription, runs it to Walgreens and returns with the medication within an hour. When the technician delivers the patient’s medication, they call a Walgreens pharmacist while in the patient’s room, and the pharmacist talks with the patient, reviewing the medication, how it should be taken and what possible side effects could be.
“This program has taken off, and we hope it keeps gaining momentum as we continue to make the discharge process a more simple experience for our patients,” said Vicky VanMeetren, president/CEO of the St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-San Martín Campus. “Our patients have truly appreciated the convenience of not having to run to a store once they are discharged to pick up prescriptions. Another great benefit is that our hospital employees can also use the service.”
The Walgreens system at the San Martín Campus is interlinked with the entire Walgreens pharmacy system, so prescription refills are automatically entered and can later be picked up at the patient’s Walgreens home pharmacy.
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Siena Campus One of Most Beautiful Hospitals in the World
Did you know … that our Siena Campus was named the eighth most beautiful hospital in the world by Healthcare Business & Technology?
Anyone who has visited a St. Rose hospital knows how beautiful they are, but it’s nice to have that fact confirmed. Hospitals used to have sterile white walls and very stark – or little – decor. Now you see vibrant colors, eye catching materials and artistic elements both inside and out.
When developing the list of The 25 Most Beautiful Hospitals in the World, interior and exterior features and their health-promoting qualities were considered. The different designs included warm woods and nature-inspired elements, soft color schemes and facades that complemented their natural settings. The Siena Campus boasts all of these features and more … a great example would be our healing garden (shown here).
We’re proud of our beautiful hospital, but w
e’re even more proud of our staff … they are the ones who truly give life to the building, and most importantly, to our patients.
St. Rose Wins National Award for Mercury-Free Commitment
St. Rose Dominican Hospitals has just been recognized for our efforts to eliminate mercury from the products we use by Practice Greenhealth, an organization that focuses on helping hospitals increase efficiency and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care. St. Rose was presented with the 2013 “Making Medicine Mercury-Free” Award Thursday, April 25. The award acknowledges that proven policies have been put in place to rid the facility of the harmful chemical mercury, and to prevent it from re-entering its facilities.
The Practice Greenhealth Making Medicine Mercury-Free award recognizes facilities that have virtually eliminated mercury from their facilities and have demonstrated a commitment to continue to be mercury-free. Award criteria include mercury-free management and purchasing policies, and staff education.
“We can’t properly heal patients when there are pollutants and chemicals present in the health care setting,” said Laura Wenger, RN, Executive Director of Practice Greenhealth. “By winning the Making Medicine Mercury-Free Award, St. Rose Dominican Hospitals has eliminated one of the most hazardous – Mercury – and the health and environmental impacts that come with it.”
As evidenced in a recent Health Care Research Collaborative study, “Can Sustainable Hospitals Help Bend the Health Care Cost Curve?” introducing environmental sustainability measures in hospitals not only results in significant savings, it won’t increase operating costs. The implications are clear – given the return on investment, all hospitals should adopt and expand their sustainability programs.
A variety of equipment and policy changes were made at St. Rose to convert to a mercury-free environment, including: 1) all vital-sign medical devices that contained mercury were replaced by the Philips/HP Monitors, GE Dinamap Monitors, Welch Allyn LXi, Datascope Spectrum and Draeger Infinity Delta that do not rely on Mercury to obtain their readings; 2) a purchasing policy was created to eliminate the purchase of any product or devise that contains mercury; and 3) florescent lights are now recycled by an outside contractor to capture and properly dispose of any trace of mercury.
“Part of our hospital system’s mission is providing safe and healthy work environments for our patients, staff and the communities we serve. Eliminating mercury in our surroundings is a commitment we’ve made to sustainability,” said Rod A. Davis, president/CEO of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and senior vice president of operations, Dignity Health Nevada “We’re pleased that Practice Greenhealth has recognized us for our efforts.”
The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards were presented in Boston, Massachusetts, at the CleanMed Conference & Exposition, a national environmental conference for leaders in health care sustainability.
To further mark each hospital’s achievement, a full set of mercury-free thermometers and sphygmomanometers were donated to two hospitals in Guatemala in honor of the 2013 Environmental Excellence Awards winners.
Thank you … Sigma Alpha Epsilon!
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), a national fraternity organization that supports Children’s Miracle Network, recently hosted a leadership conference in Las Vegas. During the conference, Abigail Brown, the Children’s Miracle Network ambassador, and Jason Williams, our Children’s Miracle Network coordinator, both spoke to the group and led it in a fundraising campaign.
So how’d it go? In just ONE weekend, the SAE fraternity raised over $3,304 for Children’s Miracle Network! Donations made to Children’s Miracle Network in southern Nevada help St. Rose Dominican Hospitals provide quality, compassionate care for children regardless of their family’s insurance status or ability to pay.
St. Rose would like to extend a great big thank you to SAE, Abigail and Jason for their impressive “speed fundraising” efforts!
San Martin Campus Receives Stroke Quality Achievement Award
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
These eye-opening statistics is why we’re pleased to announce that our San Martín Campus has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the San Martín Campus’ commitment to and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.
To receive the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award, the San Martín Campus consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke program for 90 days, including aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, VTE prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation. The 90-day evaluation period is the first in an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach the 85 percent compliance level needed to sustain this award.
“The time is right for the San Martín Campus to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing Get With The Guidelines–Stroke. The number of acute ischemic stroke patients in southern Nevada eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population,” said Vicky VanMeetren, president/CEO of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-San Martín Campus.
“With a stroke, time lost is brain function lost, and the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award addresses the important element of time,” said Rod A. Davis, president/CEO of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and senior vice president of operations, Dignity Health Nevada. “The San Martín Campus has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This system means our staff is always equipped to provide brain imaging scans, have neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and use clot-busting medications when appropriate. Our Siena Campus earned the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association last summer – we are proud that we can now extend these important services to the southwest Las Vegas valley.”
“We commend St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-San Martín Campus for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., chair of the national Get With the Guidelines Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”
Get With The Guidelines–Stroke uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second stroke. Through Get With The Guidelines–Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available from the time of admission up to the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the Get With The Guidelines Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.
At center, Ron Loomis, RN, BSN, Regional Director-Quality Systems Improvement for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association presents the Bronze Quality Achievement Award to Kim Dokken, RN, BSN, MSN, MBA, St. Rose Trauma and Stroke Programs Director and members of the San Martín Campus Multi-Disciplinary Stroke Committee.
St. Rose Ranked Third in Review-Journal’s Top Workplaces
By Buck Wargo, Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 24, 2013
The reward of a job that helps people in an organization that takes care of its employees makes St. Rose Dominican Hospitals a top place to work in Las Vegas.
The not-for-profit health care provider ranked No. 3 in the large-company category.
Employees cite salary and benefits as big pluses in their industry. St. Rose offers medical, dental and vision insurance, which includes a health maintenance organization with no out-of-pocket expenses to employees and their families.
“I am treated with dignity and respect, and I feel valued as an employee,” one employee said. “My benefits are more than comparable to any other hospital in the valley.”
Employees can receive a forgivable loan of up to $2,500 to use toward a home purchase or refinance. Other benefits include discounted rates on day care centers, tuition reimbursement and even employee scholarships. Employees also can earn up to $1,500 for every successful referral they make to the hospital.
Employees receive recognition in areas such as clinical excellence and patient care. The Value in Action Awards given at each of the three hospitals has winners featured at an annual employee appreciation dinner. The top winner receives a trophy and financial award.
Every month, employees who excel at patient satisfaction are selected by managers for a GEM award. The winners receive a $50 certificate for an area restaurant or theater.
In its Star Performer Program, St. Rose honors employees monthly for exemplifying the hospital’s five core values – dignity, justice, collaboration, stewardship and excellence. The winners receive a limousine ride to a show.
“I’m treated with respect and feel like a valuable asset,” one employee said. “I have been given more opportunities to learn and grow within the organization.”
Employees said the hospital creates a family atmosphere.
“I feel appreciated for the hard work that I do,” one employee said. “I am compensated well and enjoy working here.”
One employee praised the hospital for giving them the opportunity to give back and volunteer within the community.
“My co-workers give their best,” one employee said. “St. Rose has a great reputation in the community and offers quality to patients and staff.”
“I feel that I’m working with a company that is making a difference in my community,” one employee said. “I work in an easy-going, productive environment with people who work well together.”
St. Rose Reduces Early Elective Deliveries – for Mom & Baby
For the past two decades, the number of early elective baby deliveries has been on the rise. Expectant mothers often prefer to plan their baby’s birth date in advance so they can be assured that their own doctor will deliver the baby. Reducing the number of days of discomfort during late stage pregnancy and making sure an anticipated quick delivery occurs in a hospital are also reasons women choose elective deliveries.
The problem is … early elective deliveries come with risks, including increased newborn feeding problems, increased respiratory distress syndrome, and increased Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admissions, according to the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative. Newborns admitted to the NICU typically spend five days in the hospital.
Dignity Health, the fifth largest health system in the nation – St. Rose Dominican Hospitals’ parent company – announced that it has reduced early elective deliveries from 7 percent to 1 percent in less than one year after a focused education and intervention effort.
The 32 hospitals in the Dignity Health system that operate labor and delivery units have reduced early elective deliveries between 37 and 39 weeks of gestation, saving an estimated $1 million in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit costs. St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-San Martín Campus has reduced its early elective deliveries significantly – from 5.21 percent to zero percent, while the Siena Campus has reduced its early elective deliveries from 4.52 percent to just .6 percent.
“More than 4,350 babies have been delivered at our San Martín and Siena Campuses over the past 12 months,” said Rod A. Davis, president/CEO of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and senior vice president of operations, Dignity Health Nevada. “Of that number, just 21 were early elective deliveries. We want to give our children the best possible start in life, so our goal is to reduce that number to zero.”
“We applaud Dignity Health for their commitmen
t to the health of moms and babies,” shares Leslie Kowalewski, Associate State Director of the March of Dimes in California. “Their efforts are showing a positive impact in the health and well being of their patients. We hope all hospital systems will take a similar stand and join the efforts of Dignity Health to make these constructive changes.”
St. Rose Dominican Hospitals is following a plan based on recommendations by the March of Dimes, which includes education and training for caregivers and patients, algorithms for scheduling deliveries, a checklist that includes medically necessary early deliveries and a policy for a hard stop for patients that do not meet certain criteria, such as hypertension or preeclampsia.
“The exciting thing about putting this plan in place,” said Debbie Pavlica, Director of Maternal Child Services for St. Rose Dominican Hospitals, “is that we are enabling families to take their newborns home healthier and more quickly following delivery.”
