Download Barbara Miles `goes the extra` for PA clients

Wednesday, Jan.1, 2014
LOOKING BACK AT 2013
Ladies Night Out
in Smithfield
NOTEWORTHY
It’s flu season
After seeing an uptick in positive tests for
the flu in recent weeks, Ronnie Syverson,
the infection preventionist for Johnston
Health, has declared the start of flu season.
“We’re asking patients and visitors to
use the tissues and masks, as needed, at
the cough etiquette stations,” he says.
“And we’re asking the public to refrain from
visiting patients in the hospital if the visitors have flu-like symptoms such as fever,
coughs, sneezing and runny noses.
“To prevent the spread of flu and other
viruses, it’s a good idea to stay at home if
you have these symptoms,” he adds.
Syverson says the lab has seen about
30 cases thus far.
Amber Daughtry, patient
experience specialist.
Health Chat with
Dr. Raj Majithia
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees and volunteers
joining us in December.
Full-time staff: Franklin Harvey, network administrator, MIS; Kevin Smith, EVS
director, Aramark; Summer Massengill,
EVS worker, Aramark; John McArthur,
floor tech, Aramark; Skyler Kennemur,
Jeffery Tracy and Suzanna Brown, CNAs,
behavioral health; Brandon Thompson,
exercise specialist, cardiac rehab; Wanda
Hoskins, patient access registrar; Tara
Lee, patient care assistant, flex; Dorene
Berryman, RN, behavioral health; Stella
Lewally, RN, third floor; Angela Williams,
RN, JMC-C emergency department; Medina Inclan, cook, Aramark; Richard Musgrave, EVS worker, Aramark.
PRN: Connie Kingsbury, administrative
coordinator, JMC-S; Holly White, CNA,
JMC-S flex; Frank Barnes, respiratory
therapist, JMC-S; Tanya Hansen Laber,
CNA, behavioral health; Michaela Pavlik,
patient care assistant, JMC-C emergency
department; Lori Hall, RN, same day surgery; Russell Tolin, respiratory therapist,
JMC-C; Eboni Chavis, social worker, behavioral health; Ashley Glover, ultrasound
tech.
Volunteers: Kathy Hilburn, hospital volunteer.
Save the dates
Jan. 8, from 11 a.m. till noon: Health
Chats, Dr. Anshul M. Rao, a rheumatologist employed by Johnston Health, will
speak in the Medical Mall auditorium. To
reserve a seat, please register online at
www.johnstonhealth.org.
Jan. 16, from noon till 4:30 p.m.: Red
Cross bloodmobile visit, call or email Kim
Thompson (ext. 7736) for an appointment.
Do you know a caregiver who would like
to know more about safety, falls prevention
or infection prevention or who would be
interested in learning about community
resources for aging adults. Hour-long
seminars will be held at: First Baptist
Church in Clayton, Jan. 16; Benson
United Methodist Church, Jan. 21;
Johnston Medical Mall, Jan. 23; and
Princeton Church of God, Jan. 30. All of
the presentations begin at 6 p.m. and are
free.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
Above, from left, David Strong, president
of Rex Healthcare, joins Johnston Health
Board Chair Ralph Stewart and CEO Chuck
Elliott for a photo at the groundbreaking.
TOP TEN LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE YEAR
It was a hectic, yet productive year for Johnston Health: An affiliation,
accreditations, a groundbreaking in Clayton and hard work by many to
add services and to improve quality, finances, market share and patient
satisfaction.
Here’s a list of the most notable achievements during 2013.
THE AFFILIATION. Following a 17-month-long search, the Johnston Health Board of
Commissioners in March selected UNC Health Care for a joint partnership. From the
beginning, the board’s strategic goal was to strengthen and prepare Johnston Health for
the sweeping changes in health care reform. The affiliation agreement is expected to be finalized
by Feb. 1, 2014.
1.
EXPANDING AT JOHNSTON MEDICAL CENTER-CLAYTON. Work on the $50
million addition, which includes a three-story wing for 50 inpatient beds, began in early
September and is now progressing ahead of schedule. If all goes according to plan, the
work will be complete by January of 2015. Also notable, Johnston Medical Center-Smithfield
added a holding area for patients seeking behavioral health care. 2.
EARNING FULL ACCREDITATION AS CHEST PAIN CENTERS. The designation,
awarded by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care in April, signifies that Johnston
Health has a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms
of a heart attack. Also notable, the radiology departments earned accreditation for CT services. 3.
BUILDING THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD. With the help of a vendor, the
MIS department put into place the computer programming and work stations, and taught
doctors how to enter patient orders electronically. The paperless project, which took about
18 months to complete, met the requirements of a federal incentives program. In all, Johnston
Health has received payments of $2.9 million. The money will go toward the EHR expenses. 4.
5.
RECRUITING A VICE PRESIDENT OF MEDICAL AFFAIRS. Dr. Donald Pocock
assumed the new position in November. He brings to the job more than 30 years of clinical and administrative experience in private practice and hospital settings. ADDING SERVICES FOR PATIENTS. With the addition of Dr. Raj Majithia in August, patients with diseases of the pancreas and liver now have access to advanced endoscopic treatments or ERCP. Also in August, Dr. Anshul Rao brought to Johnston Health
his specialty of rheumatology. 6.
FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENTS. Johnston Health closed the fiscal year with an operating income of $2.8 million. It was the first positive margin in five years and at a time
when other health care systems have reported losses. Two of the key factors: fiscal discipline, particularly in Smithfield; and a strong performance in Clayton. 7.
Barbara Miles
‘goes the extra’
for PA clients
Barbara Miles carries with her the stories of
people she meets and befriends through her
work with Project Access of Johnston
County, the physician-led initiative to provide
access to medical care to people who have no
means to pay for it.
There’s the woman who’s been living in her
car since losing her job and going through a
divorce.
The client who cancels appointments when
it rains because she has to put out buckets to
catch the water leaking through her roof.
And then there’s the woman who has jaw
pain from eating deer corn. When Miles told
her about the local food pantries, she said she
didn’t want to take food away from others
who needed it more.
As the program specialist for Project Access, Miles has drawn some conclusions
about the 1,600 or so clients she’s helped over
the last five years: All are polite. They never
complain. All are grateful for any assistance
they receive. And, most notably, all have
serious health problems that haven’t been
dealt with in years.
“I love that our program is able to provide
people with something that no one else has,”
Miles says. “Everyone else has said ‘no’. But
the generosity of our hospital and our doctors
has been astounding.”
Among other things, it’s Miles’ job to manage the cases of the 350 or so clients in the
program and to re-enroll them, as required,
every six months.
Last month, she was honored as the Johnston Health Ambassador for December. During a presentation in the Project Access Medical Mall offices, CEO Chuck Elliott offered
praise for Miles’ enthusiasm for the job and
dedication to clients.
“She’s the face of the department,” he said.
“And clients consider her as a friend, confidante and advocate.”
Georgia Anthony, who is director of the
department, says Miles is at work every
morning by 7:15. “She’s always working
because the job is an important part of her
life,” she says. “And she knows everyone by
their first names. She’s been a friend to every
one of the 1,600 people who have been enrolled in our program over the years.”
Miles, who grew up in Pennsylvania, did
medical billing for a children’s therapy service in Florida before moving to Clayton.
When she saw the emergency department and
outpatient center going up on N.C. 42, she
decided she wanted to be a part of it, she says.
When the job opening came up at Project
Access, she says she was intrigued with the
possibility of working with a program that
could be so helpful to people with such desperate needs.
Has the work changed her? “I hope I’m a
kinder person,” she says. “I hope it’s made
me more compassionate.”
Miles says she no longer takes her health or
things such as going to the dentist for granted.
And while the stories that clients tell can be
heartbreaking, they don’t feel self-pity, she
adds. “They’re too busy trying to survive.”
Miles and her husband, Tim, live in Clayton
and have three grown children.
ENHANCING THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE. With the addition of patient experience
specialist Amber Daughtry, the health care system now has a sharper focus on customer
satisfaction. Why is that important? Federal reimbursements are now tied to surveys that
measure a patient’s perception on things such as pain management, cleanliness of the room and
responsiveness of the staff. 8.
IMPROVING QUALITY, PATIENT SATISFACTION. The health care system made
gains in core measure results and patient satisfaction scores. Specifically, the organization
improved its satisfaction scores in all categories by an average of 3 percent, which was
better than the national average increase of 1 percent. 9.
IMPROVING MARKET SHARE. Johnston Health grew its market share by 1.5 percent
during 2013. Of note, the organization reinvigorated its branding, added marketing
events and appearances on local TV and radio, and used the web site and social media to
get out the word about events, free screenings and new doctors and services.
10.
CEO Chuck Elliott and Georgia Anthony, Project Access director, congratulate Barbara Miles on her award.
Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014
THE PRECEPTORS
NOTEWORTHY
Interim director
making impact
on ‘little things’
Women’s Pavilion working
on patient satisfaction goals
Preceptors meet monthly to get updates and to build their skills. Those attending the December gathering were: seated, from left, Debbie Price, Gina
Cobb-Jackson and Alicia VanCamp; standing, Agnes Chavez, Kim Langston,
Monnie Thompson, Robin Powell, Lisa Johnson, Kim Woodard, Amanda Higgins Howell and Tonya Worley.
Celebrating a birth on New Year’s Day
Zeara McKoy and Decarise Holder of
Selma are the proud parents of the
first baby born in the New Year at
Johnston Medical Center-Smithfield.
Their son Jacobi Holder was born at
8:47 a.m. on New Year’s Day and
weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces. “It’s
pretty cool to be the first,” Zeara
says. The baby is the couple’s first.
Johnston Health Volunteers gave the
new parents a basket of baby items.
Shot days for January
Don’t forget your mandatory vaccines,
including the annual TST. You may walk in
without an appointment from 7 a.m. till
noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 17
in Smithfield (fourth floor of the Bright
Leaf Tower). On Jan. 14 in Clayton, employees can get their shots from 7:30 a.m.
till noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. in the QA
office.
Johnston Health on video
If you missed the October debut of the
Johnston Health patient experience video,
here’s the link to see it from your computer. http://johnstoncc.libguides.com/
content.php?pid=440332&sid=3722908
Also, follow this link to see the Town of
Clayton’s new marketing video, which includes a short clip of Jackie Ring, chief
operating officer of Johnston Medical Center-Clayton: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=mtVfyFmXWac Of note, the fiveminute video will air nationally at 7 a.m.
Friday on the Discovery Channel.
Save the dates
Jan. 16, from noon till 4:30 p.m.: Red
Cross bloodmobile visit, call or email Kim
Thompson for an appointment time.
Know a caregiver who would like to learn
about infection prevention or who would
like to get info about community resources
for aging adults? Tell them about our caregiver seminars scheduled as follows:
First Baptist Church in Clayton, Jan. 16;
Benson United Methodist Church, Jan. 21;
Johnston Medical Mall, Jan. 23; and
Princeton Church of God, Jan. 30. The
presentations begin at 6 p.m. and are free.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
They’re the coworkers
who orient, teach, prod
PRECEPTORS SHARE THEIR 2014 RESOLUTIONS
T
hey’re the co-workers who orient
the newbies, pass along new information, and remind us all to do
essential tasks such as getting the
flu shot and completing annual
competencies. Yet, preceptors take
on these additional responsibilities without
perks or extra pay.
“They’re important people,” says Lori Martin, who is director of education. “They are the
liaison between our department and theirs.”
Martin says directors usually choose as their
preceptor someone with longevity who knows
the ropes. “It’s usually someone who is also
patient and nurturing,” she adds.
Martin says directors rely heavily on preceptors to mentor, teach and train new employees.
“That’s why we, in education, think it’s so
important to meet monthly with them to share
updates from The Joint Commission, for example, as well as information to help them
develop leadership skills. Our objective is to
empower preceptors so they can do a better
job,” she says.
The preceptors who attended the meeting
last month admit their roles can be challenging. But there’s also the reward of knowing
that they have helped someone achieve, says
Lisa Johnson, who is a nurse in the emergency
department.
So what would a preceptor wish for in the
New Year? What follows are a few of their
personal and professional goals for 2014.
Monnie Thompson of Home Care & Hospice,
says her personal goal is to do something every
day to help someone.
“People always need uplifting words of encouragement or kind deeds, no matter how
small,” she says. “Sometimes just a smile and a
kind word is all it takes.”
Alicia VanCamp, who had overseen PCU for
the last several years, has since transferred to
the education department. She looks forward to
helping co-workers in a different way, she says.
Agnes Chavez, who is the point of care coordinator for the lab, says she would like to put
together a training video that could include
topics such as safety, general lab policies and
procedures.
Debbie Price of case management says she
would like to motivate the staff to do the mandatory requirements before the middle of the
new year. She has a personal goal to lose
weight.
Gina Cobb-Jackson, a nurse and clinical educator in surgery, is expecting a grandchild this
summer and resolves to spend as much time as
possible savoring moments with family.
Mark your calendars for upcoming
Johnston Health State of the System
You’re invited to the first Johnston Health
State of System address.
Chuck Elliott, CEO and president of Johnston Health, will highlight the health care system’s accomplishments in 2013 and look
ahead to plans for 2014, which will include the
affiliation with UNC Health Care. He will be
joined by David Strong, president of Rex
Healthcare and chief operating officer of UNC
Health Care—System Affiliations. In his presentation, he will bring updates about Rex and
the other hospitals now affiliated with the
larger UNC system.
The addresses will be held on both campuses. Here is the schedule:
 Jan. 22: 2:30 p.m. in the Bright Leaf
lobby of the hospital (Johnston Medical
Center-Smithfield)
 Jan. 22: 3:30 p.m. in the main confer-
ence room at JMC-Clayton
Jan. 24: 10:30 a.m. in the auditorium of
Johnston Medical Mall
 Jan. 24: 11:30 a.m. in the Bright Leaf
lobby of the hospital.
For employees and physicians who aren’t
able to attend, a video of the event will be
made available on Hospital Quicklinks at a
later date.
If you would like to ask questions, please
send them in advance to Suzette Rodriguez at
[email protected]. If the questions pertain to the affiliation, attempts will be
made to include answers within the information covered by the speakers. Other general
questions may be answered later in a written
response that can be shared and sent via email
to employees. The address is an initiative of
the communications team.

Mothers of newborns appreciate
getting a good
night’s sleep.
So when Tina Gist
rounds on patients in
the Women’s Pavilion, she tells them
about efforts to keep
the halls quiet, and
asks if noise has
disturbed their sleep.
Depending on the
response, she draws
on the white board a
Tina Gist
plus or minus next
to a big “Z” to let staff
members know how well they’re doing.
Grading “ZZZZZs” and shooshing one
another to be quiet are among the things that
Gist, the interim director of women’s services, wants to build into the culture during
her short stint. “We’re all guilty at times of
talking too loudly,” she says. “It’s easy to get
caught up in the moment.”
Before coming to Johnston Health, Gist was
nurse manager at Eastern Maine Medical
Center in Bangor for 12 years. She left the job
to follow her daughter, Amanda, who lives in
Holly Springs and is a first-year student in the
PA program at Campbell University.
In all, Gist has 30 years of nursing experience. She has most loved her work in the
neonatal intensive care unit, supporting families through tough deliveries and teaching
them how to take care of their newborns.
“Taking care of their child is the most important thing to them,” she says. “In addition
to the child, you’re taking care of the family,
too.”
Gist grew up in the Dallas area of Texas.
Her father was a dermatologist; her mother
was a nurse. They impressed upon Tina and
her three sisters the importance of finding a
profession that could be both gratifying and
financially rewarding, she says.
After graduating from the University of
Texas at Arlington, she worked in surgery
and critical care for three years before switching to postpartum/mother baby care in 1986.
Before moving to Maine in 2001, she was the
charge nurse for the NICU and newborn nursery for five years at All Saints Hospital in
Forth Worth.
Since coming aboard Nov. 18, Gist has
been focusing, too, on cleanliness and improving the registration process for patients.
Until now, patients had been registering at the
busy work station up front. Now the unit secretary takes them to an observation or labor
and delivery room where she can privately
interview them without interruptions.
“The department is much busier than it
appears on paper,” Gist adds. “The acuity of
our patients is higher, and our outpatient volumes are significant for a hospital of our size.
We are the dedicated emergency department
for pregnant patients.”
For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013,
the department had 1,299 births.
Also, Gist is working with environmental
services director Kevin Smith to start a roomrefresher program. It would encourage patients to call EVS when they want their room
tidied up. A small sign attached to the mirror
above the sink would note the instructions
and a phone number to call.
“It’s all the little things that add up,” she
says.
Gist and her husband, Greg, a selfemployed accountant, live in Smithfield. In
addition to Amanda, who has a 4-year-old
daughter, they have a younger daughter, Michelle, back in Maine.
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014
THE EMPLOYEE PHARMACY
NOTEWORTHY
Need help with college expenses?
The Johnston Health Volunteers are now
accepting applications for scholarships. To
be eligible, applicants must be pursuing a
health care profession, live in Johnston or
an adjacent county, and have a 3.0 or
higher grade point average. A committee
will consider the student’s academic record, financial need, extracurricular activities and work ethic.
Applications and a copy of the requirements may be downloaded from the
Johnston Health website. (Click on the
volunteer tab of the homepage.) Copies
are also available from the front desk in
the hospital’s main entrance.
The completed application packets must
be forwarded to Kay Matthews, scholarship chairperson, by April 1. There will be
no deadline extensions.
What’s the State of the System?
It’s a look back at accomplishments in
2012 and a look ahead to initiatives and
projects in 2013.
Johnston Health president and CEO
Chuck will be joined by David Strong,
president of Rex Healthcare and chief operating officer of UNC Health Care-System
Affiliations.
Here is the schedule for the addresses:
Jan. 22: 2:30 p.m. in the Bright Leaf
lobby of the hospital (Johnston Medical
Center-Smithfield)
Jan. 22: 3:30 p.m. in the break room at
Johnston Medical Center-Clayton
Jan. 24: 10:30 a.m. in the auditorium of
Johnston Medical Mall
Jan. 24: 11:30 a.m. in the Bright Leaf
lobby of the hospital (Johnston Medical
Center-Smithfield)
For employees and physicians who
aren’t able to attend, a video of the event
will be made available on Hospital Quicklinks at a later date.
If you would like to ask questions, please
send them in advance to Suzette Rodriguez at [email protected]. If
the questions pertain to the affiliation, attempts will be made to include answers
within the information covered by the
speakers. Other general questions may be
answered later in a written response that
can be shared and sent via email to employees.
Save the date
Jan. 16, from noon till 4:30 p.m.: Red
Cross bloodmobile visit, call or email Kim
Thompson (ext. 7736) for an appointment
time.
Know a caregiver who would like to learn
about infection prevention or who would
like to get info about community resources
for aging adults. Tell them about our caregiver seminars at the following places
and dates: First Baptist Church in Clayton, Jan. 16; Benson United Methodist
Church, Jan. 21; Johnston Medical Mall,
Jan. 23; and Princeton Church of God,
Jan. 30. All of the presentations begin
at 6 p.m. and are free.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
Employee pharmacist Donna Dewberry talks with an employee about her prescription. She has been the friendly face at the counter for the past nine
years.
HERE’S A FEW TIPS FOR USING THE PHARMACY
O
n a typical 9-to-5 weekday, employee pharmacist Donna Dewberry fills between 50 and 100
prescriptions—all while answering the phone, selling over the
counter items and consulting with customers at
the window.
It’s a lot to juggle, especially since Dewberry works by herself, says Greg Garris, director of pharmacy. But there are simple
things employees can do to make her job easier and more efficient, such as faxing refill
requests rather than calling them in.
“I’m answering the phone when I could be
filling prescriptions,” she says. “It would be
much easier if everyone filled out and faxed
the request forms, and then trust that I’ve received them.
“Our employee pharmacy is a wonderful
benefit,” she adds. “I want everyone to be able
to get the most out of it, including being able
to ask me for information and guidance.”
Garris encourages employees to use the
pharmacy during its operating hours, from 7
a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. (An
inpatient pharmacist, Lynn Burrell, covers
when Dewberry is off.)
At all other hours, an inpatient pharmacist
will fill a prescription if it’s an emergent need,
Garris says. “But it’s not an emergency if you
forget to place an order for a routine prescription or can’t come to the pharmacy during
regular operating hours,”
he adds.
When a prescription is
filled afterhours or on
weekends, it’s good idea to
call ahead and ask when it
will be ready, Garris says.
“Orders for hospital patients will take priority
over employee prescriptions, so additional time
may be needed for dispensing.”
Lynn Burrell
Garris notes that the employee pharmacy can’t accept cash for payment. A check, credit or debit
card is acceptable.
Also, he says that employees must be present
to sign the receipt if they’re paying for the
prescription through payroll deduction. It is
illegal for anyone else to sign on their behalf,
he says.
Dewberry offers a tip for saving time and
expense on co-pays. When a doctor prescribes
a medication, ask him to write the prescription
for a generic and, if applicable, a 90-day supply. “Remember to make this request while you
are still in his office,” she says.
The prescription refill form is in HospitalQuicklinks in the hospital-approved forms
folder and inside the pharmacy subfolder.
Here’s the link: \\Jmh-policy\forms\Pharmacy Rheumatologist
talks about
aches, pains
Georgene Capps of Princeton knows firsthand the suffering caused by arthritis. At age
30, she was diagnosed with ankylosing
spondylitis, an inflammation of the spine that
leads to severe stiffening in the back.
She works with the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, interviewing participants
in a long-range study focusing on the risk
factors for the most common form of arthritis.
So she knows many people who have arthritic
knees and hips.
Last Wednesday, Capps, 61, was among the
60 or so people who came to the Johnston
Medical Mall to hear Dr. Anshul Rao, a rheumatologist, talk about treatments for autoimmune, joint and connective tissue diseases.
His presentation was part of the Health Chats
series.
Of the diseases that Dr. Rao talked about,
osteoarthritis is the most common. It afflicts
more than 27 million Americans and is particularly painful as the cartilage deteriorates
and bone begins to rub against bone.
While osteoarthritis can be genetic or
caused by a previous trauma, it is most often
associated with being overweight.
The best prevention is weight loss and exercise, he says. “For every one pound of weight
reduction, there’s a four-pound reduction of
stress on the joints.”
While there is no medical therapy, there are
ways to treat symptoms of osteoarthritis, he
says. These include physical and aquatic
therapies, bracing or splinting, cortisone injections, heat applications and taking NSAIDs
such as Ibuprofen or Aleve.
After the presentation, Capps said she was
pleased local residents now have a fulltime
rheumatologist. “It’s a big deal to have a specialist close by,” she says. “It’s difficult to
drive long distances when you’re older and in
pain.
An audience listens intently during
last week’s Health Chat with Dr.
Anshul Rao.
Lean event helps employees
improve surgical patient prep
Before patients are taken to surgery, their charts have to be complete.
The paperwork must include the patient’s history and physicals,
called H&Ps for short, and the signed form giving the surgeon consent
to do the procedure. But in more than a third of surgery cases, the hospital doesn’t have one or the other of the forms on the day before the
procedure. And when those documents are missing, surgeries can be
delayed.
During an RIE last week, a team of employees looked at the paperwork problem and other processes related to surgical patient prep.
Jessica Springer, director of Lean transformation for Johnston Health,
says patients typically bring one or both forms to their appointment for
pre-procedural testing. In other instances, surgeons may bring the papers. But neither method is fail-safe, she says.
Springer says the staff is now working with physician offices to fax a
copy of the paperwork ahead of time to the hospital. Until now, it was
thought that copies wouldn’t be acceptable.
To save time, the same day surgery staff will chart at the bedside
rather than using paper forms and entering the information into a computer. They will try out this week the C5 tablets used by ICU nurses,
she says.
The group is also working on a process to lock up IV pumps. It appears that other departments may be borrowing them at night and not
returning them. The staff has to look for them the next day, which takes
up valuable time, she says.
To reduce delays in the OR, there’s a plan to give the same-day sur-
Employees participating in an RIE last week were, from
left, Bill Murray, Renee Cocker, April Culver, Debbie Batten, Sam Beavers and Jessica Springer. At far right is
Allison Godwin, the Lean consultant from N.C. State.
gery staff a call within 15 minutes of the time that the patient is supposed to go into the operating room. “And if we know the patient is not
coming back to the same room, we’re going to let environmental services know that we have a room that needs to be cleaned in 15 minutes,” she says.
The group also came up with a new process for communicating better with Spanish-speaking patients in those instances when the hospital’s translator is unavailable. The staff will have access to a speaker
phone so that on calls with the Language Line operators, the patient,
staff and provider can more easily talk and listen to one another.
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014
‘A JOINT ADVENTURE’
NOTEWORTHY
Learning CPR, having fun
during Go Red Week
Would you know what to do if someone
collapsed with a heart attack? What if it
was a friend or a family member?
It’s a good idea to be prepared. Any of
us may have an opportunity one day to
save a life, just by knowing how to do
chest compressions.
All non-clinical staff and volunteers are
invited to learn hands-only CPR during
training sessions scheduled the first week
of February in Smithfield and Clayton.
It’s one of the activities being planned at
Johnston Health for Go Red Week in
keeping with American Heart Month.
Chest pain coordinators Hank Long and
Kenny Gooch will be leading the sessions.
And Gooch will share a personal story of
how he recognized the early symptoms of
a heart attack and took action.
In Smithfield, the sessions will be on
Feb. 6 from 7 till 11 a.m. in the cafeteria
and on Feb. 7 from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. in
the Medical Mall auditorium. In Clayton,
the sessions will be Feb. 4 from 7 till 11
a.m. in the conference room and on Feb.
6, from 1 till 5 p.m. in the conference room.
Also, Dr. Matthew Hook, a cardiologist
on the medical staff, will talk about heart
health and peripheral artery disease at 11
a.m. on Feb. 5 in the auditorium. To register for this free event, go to the Johnston
Health website, www.johnstonhealth.org.
Also, Feb. 7, a Friday, is the official Go
Red Day. Please show your support for
heart health by wearing red. And email
photos of your department in red to Emily
Bass, marketing coordinator. She’ll post
them on the Johnston Health Facebook
page.
Finally, learning about heart health can
be fun, too.
Long and Gooch have put together a
crossword puzzle, which will be distributed
next week. Those who complete it correctly can turn it in and be entered into a
drawing. Four lucky winners will receive
$25 gift certificates to Sheetz.
Want to read more about the importance
of bystander CPR? Here’s the link to a
recent story published in the
News&Observer. http://
www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/20/3542
294/cpr-taking-life-into-your-own.html>
Need help with college expenses?
The Johnston Health Volunteers are now
accepting applications for scholarships. To
be eligible, applicants must be pursuing a
health care profession, live in Johnston or
an adjacent county, and have a 3.0 or
higher grade point average.
Applications and a copy of the requirements may be downloaded from the
Johnston Health website. (Click on the
volunteer tab of the homepage.) Copies
are also available from the front desk in
the hospital’s main entrance. The completed application packets must be forwarded to Kay Matthews, scholarship
chairperson, by April 1. There will be no
deadline extensions.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
‘No pass zone’
encourages
responsiveness
Pilot program seeks staff’s
support with assisting patients
Bobby Plowman of Smithfield shares a light moment with Heather Woodard, a
physical therapy assistant, after she flexes his new knee. He had joint replacement surgery on Monday.
Hospital rolls out new program
to prep patients for joint surgery
CLASSROOM, GYM NOW OPEN ON SECOND FLOOR
B
obby Plowman prepared for his total
knee replacement this week by
watching a surgery video on YouTube. The clip was so graphic that
he clicked off half-way through it.
On Tuesday, the 67-year-old Smithfield
retiree winced as Heather Woodard, a physical
therapy assistant, gingerly lifted his leg and
slightly flexed his new knee. It was the day
after surgery.
“I didn’t know it was going to hurt this bad,”
he said.
Starting in February, patients like Plowman
will have a better idea of what to expect after
surgery and how to prepare for surgery. Johnston Health is adding an educational program
and has opened a gym and rehab area on second floor of the Bright Leaf tower for jointreplacement surgery patients who will need
physical and/or occupational therapy.
The program is titled “A Joint Adventure”
and the first class for patients is scheduled on
Feb. 3.
During the sessions, patients will get an
overview of their surgery, but also helpful
advice on exercises to strengthen arms and
legs, and tips on how to prepare at home for
their recovery.
One of the suggestions, which will be included in a patient guide, is to borrow a walker
or a pair of crutches and to do a walk-through
to see if rugs or furniture may be in the way.
Another suggestion is to set up ahead of time a
recovery space where items such as tissues or
the TV remote control is within easy reach.
“The purpose is to help patients think ahead
and to plan for their recovery,” says Woodard,
who will be one of the instructors. “I don’t
think patients really understand how they’ll be
affected by the surgery. This program will
give them a much better
picture.”
It’s also suggested that
patients choose a family
member or friend to act
as a coach, who can
offer support before and
after surgery, and during
the hospital stay and
recovery.
Until now, Woodard
says physical therapy
assistants had been
Stephanie O’Neal
working with patients in
their hospital rooms and getting them up to
walk out on the hall.
Now they can take patients to the gym where
they can climb steps and get practice, for example, using a reacher tool to pick up items off the
floor or to grab items out of a kitchen cabinet.
There’s also a plan to install a mock car so that
patients can practice getting in and out of the
front seat.
Stephanie O’Neal, director of fourth floor
surgical, is leading the program and will be the
patient’s point of contact or navigator. “This is
a holistic approach to joint replacement,” she
says. “We’ll have a team working together to
assist patients and to give them the best possible experience.”
Plowman says he plans to take advantage of
the physical therapy and rehab offered as part
of his recovery. He wants to get back to playing golf as soon as possible and to his job as a
high school football official in the fall.
And he thinks it’s a great idea to offer as
much education as possible to others who are
planning joint replacement surgery. “I’m sure it
will be much more helpful than watching the
surgery on YouTube,” he says.
Do you have to be a nurse or a CNA to help
an inpatient whose call light is on?
A pilot program now underway on Second
East of the Bright Leaf tower is based on the
assertion that any member of the staff, regardless of job description or patient assignment,
can take out a moment to help the patient.
It’s called the No Pass Zone, and it simply
asks employees to stop in and see what the
patient needs if an alarm is sounding or a call
light is on. Other hospitals are using the program and have gotten favorable responses on
patient satisfaction surveys, says Amber
Daughtry, who is the patient experience specialist for Johnston Health.
“We want to create an environment of responsiveness and caring,” she says. “We
should never pass up an opportunity to help a
patient.”
So what does the program ask of employees? Here are the steps that Daughtry has
outlined.
First, introduce yourself when you enter the
room. Evaluate the patient’s request. The
need could be as simple as getting an item
such as reading glasses or a TV remote that
may be out of the patient’s reach.
Once you’ve met the need, turn off the call
light. Thank the patient for letting us care for
him, and then ask if there’s anything else you
can do for him.
If the request is for pain medication or if the
IV alarm is beeping, look on the communication board to find the CNA or nurse’s phone
number. Use the phone in the room to make
the call and to ask how long it will be before
he or she can respond. Give that information
to the patient, and turn off the call light.
“You’re giving the patient an expectation of
how long it will take,” she says. “Tell the
patient that if the nurse or CNA hasn’t responded within that particular amount of
time, then to call again.”
Daughtry says she’ll schedule in-services
with non-clinical and ancillary staff. “We
want everyone to feel comfortable with entering a patient’s room,” she adds. “If we don’t
respond to call lights or alarms, then patients
will think we’ve forgotten them.
If all goes well with the pilot, then the program could be rolled out as soon as a month
in all clinical areas of Johnston Health.
A pilot program on second floor is
encouraging staff to take advantage
of opportunities to assist patients.
Two sessions Friday
for State of the System
A gym area and kitchen make up the
Joint Replacement Center on second
floor of the Bright Leaf tower. Patients will also attend classes there.
It’s not too late to attended a Johnston
Health State of the System address. There will
be two sessions Friday (tomorrow) in Smithfield. They are at 10:30 a.m. in the auditorium
and 11:30 a.m. in the Bright Leaf lobby of the
hospital. CEO Chuck Elliott and David Strong,
president of Rex Healthcare and chief operating officer of UNC Health Care-System affiliations, will share news and updates.
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2014
‘STAYIN’ ALIVE’
NOTEWORTHY
Consider a payroll deduction
to help co-workers in need
If she won the lottery, Tammy Wood, the
benefits specialist for the human resources
department, says she would keep it a secret and write checks to the employees in
need who appear at her door every day.
Yes. There are coworkers among us
who are struggling, even though employed. And their problems aren’t always
of their making. Sometimes it’s just bad
luck. A fire, a flood, a health emergency.
Wood says it’s often hard for people to
admit they need help, much less ask for it.
Until now, she’s been able to give only
hugs or offer tissues to those who arrive in
tears to share sad news.
But now, there’s a way to help.
In place since December, the employee
emergency fund is a way that employees
can help one another through tough times.
Wood is HR’s liaison to a committee that
reviews requests, and it’s her job to screen
applications according to the policy’s
guidelines.
Thus far, she has received six applications, one of which met the criteria. The
committee asked for additional information
before granting the employee the maximum amount of assistance, $500.
A fundraiser at Christmas boosted the
coffers, but more is needed, Wood says.
The account has about $500 remaining.
To sustain the fund, Wood encourages
employees to payroll-deduct a few dollars
every pay period. “If we all contributed a
little, it could add up to a lot,” she says.
The employee who received the assistance left in tears, Wood says. But this
time, they were shed out of gratitude.
Want to contribute to the
employee emergency fund?
Employees who donate at least $1 a pay
period or make an outright donation of $10
to the employee emergency fund can wear
jeans and a sweatshirt or a football jersey
to work on Friday (tomorrow).
For a $5 donation, employees can wear
either jeans or a sweatshirt or jersey. To
participate and get the required sticker, fill
out the payroll deduction form or give a
check or cash to Tammy Wood in HR.
Employees in Clayton can see Sharon
Muller in the emergency department to
purchase a sticker. Other employee emergency fund committee members in Smithfield, who can accept donations and distribute stickers, are Linda Kropp in finance,
Pam Miller in case management, Wanda
Darden in patient registration, and Patrick
Price in engineering.
Save the date
Dr. Matthew Hook, a cardiologist on the
medical staff, will talk about heart health
and peripheral artery disease at 11 a.m.
on Feb. 5 in the auditorium. To register for
this free event, go to the Johnston Health
website, www.johnstonhealth.org. The
presentation is part of Go Red Week,
which recognizes the importance of heart
health.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
Leslie Sullivan, an aerobics instructor for HealthQuest, leads a dance Friday at
the Johnston Medical Mall to the beat of the Bee Gees’ disco song, “Stayin’
Alive.” It’s one of the scenes in the production of a two-minute video that will
complement sessions of CPR instruction. It will play next week as part of the
Go Red Week activities to recognize heart health. What’s the video’s plot? A
mall walker collapses with a heart attack, and a bystander comes to his rescue. The actors, a narrator and the dancers are Johnston Health employees.
EMPLOYEES BUST A MOVE FOR GO RED WEEK
N
inety percent of sudden cardiac
arrests happen at home. So there's
a good chance that knowing how
to perform CPR could save the life
of a loved one: a spouse, a brother
or sister, a parent or grandparent.
In fact, a victim's chance of survival triples
when someone does chest compressions, says
Kenny Gooch, who is the hospital's chest pain
coordinator.
Next week, Gooch and Hank Long, who is
the chest pain coordinator in Clayton, will
teach hands-only CPR to staff, volunteers and
anyone else who’s interested in learning. A
video featuring Johnston Health employees as
actors and dancers will make the experience
fun.
Gooch says the new CPR has no mouth-tomouth step. And if you're hesitant to learn
CPR because you’re afraid that chest compres-
Stats for cardiac arrests
In the U.S., there are 400,000 instances
of sudden cardiac arrest every year.
—90% happen at home; in only 5% of
those cases, the person will survive
—1 out of every 4 will get no help
sions might end up hurting someone, then consider Gooch's plain-spoken response. “You
can't hurt a dead person. And if you do nothing,
then that's the way he or she will stay.”
In Smithfield, the CPR sessions will be Feb. 6
from 7 till 11 a.m. in the cafeteria and on Feb.
7 from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. in the Medical Mall
auditorium. In Clayton, the sessions will be
Feb. 4 from 7 till 11 a.m. in the conference
room and on Feb. 6, from 1 till 5 p.m. in the
conference room.
Staff treasures thank-you notes, letters
Eloise Brickhouse was so pleased with her
mother's hospital care that she wrote a letter
just before going home on Jan. 1.
She named names and shared short anecdotes
about everyone she could remember, from the
ED doctor to the CNAs to the staff delivering
the meals and cleaning her room on Third
Floor Medical. In all, her letter complimented
21 people across five departments and services.
“Everybody complains when something goes
wrong,” Brickhouse said Monday from her
home in Currituck. “Not everybody says when
something goes right.”
She was impressed when nurse John Sabadish took time to hold her mother's hand and
to listen when she was afraid. She described
hospitalist Dr. Mohammad Hussain as patient
and kind as he worked through most of a night
to reach a diagnosis. She praised Dr. Robert
Hennon for thoroughly explaining the surgery
he would perform to correct her mother’s
health issue.
Donna Hinnant, director of Third, says such
written praise means the world to staff. When
letters or notes arrive, she reads them aloud at
huddles, puts them in employee mailboxes,
posts them on bulletin boards. And she writes
thank-you notes to the employees who are
mentioned, and she recommends them for
Spotlight awards.
Hinnant says she gets about 10 letters a
month. Sometimes patients scribble notes on
the backs of paper towels or on the paper place
mats on meal trays, she says. Others arrive
weeks after the patient has gone home.
She treasures them all, regardless of how or
when they’re sent.
“Our people want to know they're appreci-
ated,” Hinnant
says. “It helps our
staff connect to
purpose. It just
makes you feel
good.”
Chief operating
officer Ruth Marler
Patients sometimes
also reads the letwrite thank you’s on
ters during her
paper towels.
twice-monthly
meetings focusing on patient satisfaction.
Sometimes, the letters are addressed and sent to
a member of the Johnston Health Board, who
may read them during committee meetings.
Shelby Holt, director of cardiopulmonary
services, says she takes into account the positive comments when evaluating her staff. “It
tells me that the employee went above and
beyond,” she says.
Not all patient encounters are equal, however.
While the cardiopulmonary rehab staff, for
example, sees the same patients over several
weeks and builds relationships, Holt says respiratory therapists see as many as 30 different
patients in a day.
“When a patient acknowledges and thanks
our therapists in a letter, it reminds them why
they chose the profession,” she says. “With the
fast pace, burnout is always a possibility. The
notes remind them they make a difference.”
Brickhouse says her mother, Connie T.
Godwin of Pine Level, is gradually getting
better and is happy that their thank-you letter is
making the rounds at Johnston Health.
“I will sing the praises of this hospital far and
wide,” she wrote. “The staff was constantly
there, and they treated my mother as a person,
not just a room number.”
ED assistant
named
Ambassador
In the Smithfield emergency department,
Sidney McCall is known for the calm he
brings to tense situations.
He’s the patient care assistant who administers EKGs to patients arriving with symptoms
of heart attack. And among other things, he
has a way of putting at ease patients who may
be struggling with behavioral health problems.
“I like figuring out how to help people during chaotic moments,” says McCall, who has
worked in the ED for the past 18 months.
“It’s my nature to be calm and slow to anger.”
Last week, he was honored as the Johnston
Health Ambassador for January. During a
presentation, CEO Chuck Elliott said McCall
starts every day with a bright and enthusiastic
attitude. “He never hesitates to step forward
to offer assistance,” he said.
Elliott also read complimentary notes from
Brice Helms, a security officer, and Ed Stone,
a nurse who’s now retired from the behavioral
health department. Both twrote of instances in
which McCall either slowed or stopped physical altercations with patients.
For his part, McCall says he draws on his
life and previous work experience. Before
coming to Johnston Health, he was the 24/7
manager of a group home for at at-risk youth.
“It was a super stressful job,” he says. “One
of the toughest challenges is a disrespectful
kid who says anything he wants.”
McCall says the job helped him to see
things differently. “I try to look at the root,”
he says. “If you show children love and discipline, it works over time. But initially, they
need you to understand what they’re going
through.”
He says he learned structure, mental toughness and teamwork from playing sports. At
Goldsboro High, he was a running back with
aspirations of playing football at a major university.
“I’ve been hit, slammed, pinched and talked
junk to,” he says. “But in team sports, you
shake hands, win or lose, at the end of the
game. You learn a center. You also learn how
to win and how to do things the right way
without getting angry.”
McCall has his sights set on working as an
EMT-paramedic. Before coming to Johnston
Health, he took courses at Wayne Community
College and earned his certification. He has
accepted a fulltime job with Johnston County
EMS and plans to continue to work, as
needed, in the Smithfield ED.
McCall has a cool vibe outside work, too. In
his spare time, he likes singing the Frank
Sinatra genre of music and performs with the
Starlight Dance Band in Goldsboro. “I’m an
old soul,” he says.
McCall was born in Frankfurt, Germany,
and grew up in Goldsboro. His father was in
the Army and near the end of his military
career when Sidney came along. He has six
brothers and sisters, four of whom are older.
McCall met his wife, Maria, at their church,
St. James Church of Christ, which is another
important part of his life. The couple lives in
Goldsboro and has three children, ages 11, 22
and 26.
From left, Michelle Cooke, CEO
Chuck Elliott, Amy Hamby, Dr. Mannie Gupta and Mark Nischwitz congratulate Sidney McCall.
Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014
New manager
settling in at
cancer center
THE AFFILIATION
NOTEWORTHY
It’s Go Red Week: Work the puzzle,
learn CPR, wear red for the cause
The crossword puzzle attached to today’s
issue of the LifeLiner tests your knowledge
about sudden cardiac arrests. To be entered into the drawing for a prize, complete
the puzzle correctly, sign your name at the
top of the page and leave the entries at
one of three locations: the front desk in the
hospital’s main lobby, the administration
office in Clayton or the education department at the Medical Mall.
If you haven’t already, check out the
“Stayin’ Alive” video filmed last month at
the Johnston Medical Mall with Johnston
Health employees. Here’s the link: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0nAKWTewI&feature=c4overview&list=UUW9w9BbP2Y_AxzrJK9ng3g
There’s still time to catch a CPR session
led by chest pain coordinators Kenny
Gooch and Hank Long. If you work in
Smithfield, stop by the cafeteria from 7 till
11 a.m. Thursday, or the Medical Mall
auditorium from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. Friday. If
you work in Clayton, there’s a session
from 1 till 5 p.m. Thursday in the main conference room.
Also, don’t forget to wear red on Friday.
Send your department photos to Emily
Bass at [email protected] for
posting on our Web site.
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees and volunteers
joining us in January.
Full-time staff: Sandy Blake, Bethany
Brennan, Latonya Busby, RNs, progressive care unit; Melissa Dodd, patient registration, JMC-S; Alison Kilgore, patient access team leader, JMC-S; Ashley Lucas,
OR tech, JMC-S; Kimberly Hurley, manager of oncology; Teresa Rose, RN, JMCC oncology; Danielle Smith, switchboard
operator; Courtney Wilson, CNA, progressive care unit; Pamela Raynor, CNA, third
floor; Susan Smith, educator, education;
Elizabeth Hudson, physical therapist, rehab; Laura Curry, RN, third floor; Kasi Horton, RN, third floor; Lisa Cardieri-Morris
and Trisha Hammes, RNs, emergency
department; Karen Kingsbury, RN, hospice
house; Linda Revell, cashier/grill cook,
Aramark.
PRN: Stephanie Berrios Rivera, CNA,
progressive care unit; Karen Cranford, OR
tech, JMC-S; Maegan Demma, phlebotomist, JMC-S lab; Ashley Givens, CNA,
third floor; Jennifer Peacock, RN, nursery;
Rachella Vieux, CNA, third floor; Monica
Hoover, ultra sound tech, cardiology;
Jacob Hopkins, lifeguard, HealthQuest;
Tiffany Johnson, patient care assistant,
progressive care unit; Oscar Whitehead,
security officer;
A reminder about shot days
Need your TST or vaccinations? In Smithfield, shots will be given at employee
health from 7 a.m. till noon and 1 till 3:30
p.m. on Feb. 21. In Clayton, shots will be
given in the QA office from 7:30 a.m. till
noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 18.
Kim Hurley brings wide
range of experience to job
The expansion at Johnston Medical Center-Clayton is on schedule and 20 percent complete. Most of UNC Health Care’s $57 million investment, as part of
the affiliation, will go toward paying for the project.
Finally, it’s a done deal
WITH HUD APPROVAL, AFFILIATION MOVES FORWARD
I
f you’re new to Johnston
Health, then you may have
questions about the affiliation
with UNC Health Care.
Here’s a short recap of the major
points.
THE BACKSTORY: After President Obama
signed into law the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act in March 2010, Johnston
Health’s Board of Commissioners began
studying the coming reforms. They concluded
that it would be difficult for an independent
hospital to make it on its own. In looking
ahead, they set four priorities: to reduce expenses, to grow clinical services, to plot a
strategic course and to gain access to capital.
Thus began the discussion of options and,
eventually, the idea to pursue a joint venture.
THE INVESTMENT: UNC Health Care will
invest $57.6 million into Johnston Health,
most of which will go toward construction of
the inpatient expansion in Clayton. The project
is expected to cost $50 million. In return, UNC
will have a 35 percent stake and Johnston
Health will retain 65 percent ownership.
A NEW BOARD: Johnston Health Services
Corporation will oversee the operation of
Johnston Health. All 11 Johnston Health Commissioners will keep their seats. UNC has
appointed six new members, bringing the total
to 17. Those new members from Johnston
County are former medical chiefs of staff, Drs.
Eric Janis and Dennis Koffer, and a chief deputy with the Johnston County Sheriff’s department, Bengie Gaddis. The members from
UNC are: Gary Park, president of UNC Hospitals; David Strong, president of Rex and chief
operating officer of UNC Health Care-System
Dr. Koffer
Gaddis
Affiliations; and Chris Ellington, executive
vice president and chief financial officer of
UNC Hospitals and chief financial officer of
System Affiliations for UNC Health Care. The
board will continue to meet in the Bright Leaf
Conference Room, which has been remodeled
and enlarged.
Johnston Health’s new logo
BRANDING: The Old Well of UNC will
replace the rolling J’s, but the transition to the
new logo will be gradual. Johnston Health will
keep its name. The board approved the new
logo at its meeting on Jan. 23.
THE OTHERS: The other affiliates are Rex
in Raleigh, Pardee in Hendersonville, Caldwell
in Lenoir, High Point Regional, Chatham Hospital in Siler City and, in the works, Nash,
which is in Rocky Mount. UNC is developing
new hospital campuses in Holly Springs and
Hillsborough.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: At the recent
State of System Address, David Strong of Rex
said he felt humbled that Johnston Health had
chosen UNC as its partner. In the announcement on Friday, CEO Chuck Elliott said
“we’re thrilled to begin our work with UNC.”
Affiliation timeline

LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
Dr. Janis



November 2011: The Johnston Health Board of Commissioners announced its
intent to search for a partner. The following year, a selection committee reviewed
proposals from five organizations before narrowing the field to three: Vidant,
WakeMed and UNC Health Care System.
March 2013: The board voted unanimously to negotiate exclusively with UNC
Health Care for a joint partnership.
November 2013: The board entered a management agreement with UNC. For
the last 30 years, the hospital had been managed by QHR.
January 31, 2014: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
signed off on the affiliation agreement. The federal agency’s approval was
needed because it’s the guarantor for the $144 million loan used to finance construction of the Clayton campus and the hospital’s five-story patient wing.
Growing up, Kim
Hurley wanted to be a
pediatrician. But when
she had the opportunity
in nursing school to
spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit,
she realized it wasn’t
for her.
A friend and mentor
suggested medical
oncology. So Hurley
did a preceptorship on
Kim Hurley
a hospital floor for
cancer patients and fell
in love with the work. Soon afterward, she
got a job there as an oncology nurse. And it’s
been her passion ever since.
Since Jan. 6, Hurley has been manager of
Johnston Hematology & Oncology. She
brings to the job a wide range of experience,
from educating, caring and advocating for
cancer patients to coordinating clinical oncology research.
Before joining Johnston Health, she worked
for 14 years at Cape Fear Valley Health in
Fayetteville. During the last two years of her
tenure, she was the nurse navigator and coordinator for a lung nodule clinic, which was a
new service line for the health system.
In her new role, she looks forward to helping grow the business and helping the hospital
earn accreditation for its oncology services.
“You have a complete center here, with
medical oncology on one side and radiation
oncology on the other,” she says. “It’s a real
plus for patients.”
Hurley says she’s felt welcome from the
start. “When I came to interview, it was as if I
had walked into a home. Everyone was so
friendly and accepting,” she adds.
Hurley was born in Roxboro and grew up in
Fayetteville. After graduating from high
school, she earned her bachelor’s degree from
Methodist College.
After getting married, she followed her
husband into the hospitality business and
managed a dining room staff at a Pine Hurst
resort for four years.
With her heart set on a medical career, she
left the job and went into nursing school at
Fayetteville Technical Community College
fulltime.
To supplement the family’s income, she did
substitute teaching in the public schools during the week and worked as a CNA on the
weekends. By then, the couple had a 2-yearold son.
“I enjoyed being a substitute teacher and
helping children learn,” she says. “As a nurse,
I think you have to love to teach, otherwise
you can’t tell patients how to take care of
themselves.”
In 2012, Hurley earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from East Carolina University.
From cancer patients, Hurley says she’s
learned to see life in a different way. “They
have a zeal for living, and they seem to know
how to turn a bad situation into a positive
one. I’ve known patients who have had fulltime jobs, were busy parents and still managed to make time for their treatments.
“It’s made me re-evaluate my life,” she
adds. “My problems don’t seem big anymore.”
Hurley and her husband, Shawn, live in
Fayetteville. She has two children, Nicholas,
10, and Matthew, 18, from a previous marriage, and Shawn has four grown children,
Kayla, 25, Jessie, 23, Devin, 22, and Rebecca,
20.
Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014
THE COMMUNICATION BOARD
NOTEWORTHY
Kenny Gooch teaches hands-only
CPR to Kay Stanley and her husband,
Dennis.
Learning hands-only CPR
Kay Stanley of Four Oaks took time out
from her walk at the Johnston Medical Mall
on Friday to learn hands-only CPR.
The mini-sessions were taught by Kenny
Gooch, an emergency room nurse who is
the coordinator for Johnston Medical Center’s chest pain accreditation. He and coworker Hank Long of Clayton taught more
than 100 employees and visitors during
classes held last week.
Want to learn?
Gooch and Long are available to speak
to community groups and to teach CPR.
To arrange a date, please call the marketing office at 919-938-7103.
There are more than 400,000 cardiac
arrests every year in the U.S. Ninety percent of them happen at home. And in
those cases, only five percent of the victims will survive.
“It’s easier than I thought,” Stanley said
after the training. Her husband, Dennis, a
retired City of Raleigh employee, knows
CPR and says he would not hesitate to
use it if someone needed it.
“I would want someone to do the same
for me,” he says.
Winners announced
Winners of the drawing for prizes in last
week’s Go Red heart health crossword
puzzle are: Pam Snead, Helen Burris, Vernicia Lofton and Janis Howard. Please see
Emily Bass in marketing to pick up your
prize.
Save the date
The Third Annual Johnston Health Champions 5K has a new date: It’s May 3, and
HealthQuest Fitness and Wellness Center
is running the event on behalf of the
Johnston Health Foundation. The money
raised will go toward the Angel Fund to
support cancer patients at Johnston
Health.
Participants can register now at HealthQuest’s front desk or online at East Carolina Road Racing, ecrr.us/events/2014johnstonhealth5k. All entry fees are nonrefundable.
Early entry fees from now till April 4 are
$25, then go up to $30. They include a Tshirt, food and water. This event is for all
ages, runners, walkers and fitness levels.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
Melissa Robertson, human resources assistant, updates the communication
board in her department. The pillar headings now reflect Johnston Health’s
partnership with UNC Health Care.
BOARDS OFFER LOOK AT GOALS, PERFORMANCE
w
ant to know how well the
organization is performing?
Then take a few minutes to
look at the communication board in
your department. It’s a snapshot of the
progress that Johnston Health is making toward its goals and objectives.
Here are the basics.
THE BACKSTORY: The board is a tool of
the communications team, which was convened in 2009 as part of the Studer Group
Service Excellence program. There are six
other teams: steering, employer of choice,
measurement, leadership development, inpatient satisfaction, outpatient & ED satisfaction,
standards. All meet at different times and have
different purposes.
WHY IS THE INFO IMPORTANT? It’s an
objective, accurate measure of how well we’re
performing and meeting goals. Why does that
matter? When we perform well, we can buy
the tools and equipment to make our jobs eas-
ier. When we don’t perform well, we look at
ways to reduce expenses. Also, the scores are a
factor in determining pay increases for employees.
WHO SEES THE DATA? Nowadays, savvy
consumers are scrutinizing the data (it’s public
and available on the internet) to help them
decide where to seek health care. Also important, government reimbursements are now tied
to how well we perform.
WHO’S THE SOURCE ? Melissa Robertson, an HR assistant, is a member of the communications team. She gathers the info from
reports in the quality folder on Hospital Quicklinks, and also from the finance and HR departments. She sends out the pillar reports midmonth to managers and directors.
ASK YOUR DIRECTOR: In the HR huddle,
Robertson says her director reviews and explains the new information once it’s posted.
That’s been especially helpful to new employees, plus it helps bring to life the numbers,
charts and colors, she says.
With partnership, new pillars
We think of pillars most often as the supporting columns for a building. But they’re
also the areas in which we talk about our
organization’s goals and objectives.
Now that we’ve aligned ourselves with
UNC Health Care, those pillars have changed.
And while UNC and the other affiliates are
planning to roll them out on July 1 (to coincide with the start of their fiscal year), we’ve
already incorporated the new pillars into daily
huddles, meeting agendas and communication
boards.
Why have pillars?
“We’re using them to align our strategies,
goals and operations, and to unite our system
and our co-workers,” Culver says. “They represent our priorities and those of UNC.”
The new pillars are: People, Quality, Growth,
Value and Innovation.
Service, which used to be a separate pillar,
now falls under Quality. The old Finance pillar
has a new name and a broader definition as
Value. And the new Innovation pillar will
include things such as Lean (process improvement) efforts, new models of care and best
practices.
Pillar definitions
People includes not only the medical staff, co-workers and volunteers of UNC Health Care, but also the
patients, visitors and families who come to us for care, and the communities we serve. We are committed to a caring, healing culture of excellence that is founded in respect and compassion for our patients,
our co-workers and ourselves.
While quality includes traditional quality metrics like core measures and outcomes, it is also expressed
as timeliness and excellent service. Patient satisfaction is part of the Quality pillar. “Quality” links directly
to our culture, focusing on not only to what we do, but how we do it.
Growth: Increasing our market share is important to the stability of UNC Health Care. Expanding our
reach also allows us to provide excellent care to people across North Carolina.
Providing value in health care is more than the cost of care; it’s about providing the right care at the
right time in the most efficient manner possible. Value is also measured by our service and dedication to
our communities and the people of North Carolina, which includes providing care to all, regardless of
ability to pay.
In the ever changing field of health care, innovation is critical to success. UNC Health Care is a leader
in innovation through its clinical trials, research, new care models and creative partnerships. We strive to
make the best better through continuous improvement and an emphasis on best practices.
Rehab grad
thankful for
caring staff
There’s a small calendar in the cardiopulmonary rehab room at HealthQuest with the
Rev. Dannie Hayes’ name on it. And for
every day the retired pastor from Pine Level
comes to exercise, a gold star goes up.
Dr. Hayes, 64, had quadruple-bypass heart
surgery a year ago this week. Last April, he
started the rehab program and finished in
July. But he so much enjoyed the experience,
he says, that he joined the wellness center.
He’s now lost 35 pounds and comes three
mornings a week to exercise with others who
are enrolled in rehab program.
“I gained strength and confidence, and
found a fantastic support group,” Hayes says.
“They weren’t pushy, just reassuring. It’s one
of the greatest things that has happened to
me.”
Hayes
was pastor
at Pine
Level
Baptist
Church for
12 years
before
poor
health
Dr. Dannie Hayes and his
forced him wife, Rose, sit for a photo.
to retire in
January of 2012. The work had been his passion, his love, his calling, and giving it up
was hard, he says.
Even before his cardiologist discovered
Hayes’ blockages, he had been suffering with
back pain caused by osteoarthritis and twisting of his spine. Specialists have said that
there’s little they can do to fix the condition,
he says.
“Some days I wake up and I’m in so much
pain. If I didn’t have this outlet, it would be
so much easier for me to stay home, nurture
the pain and not get any exercise at all,” he
says. “I’m so thankful that I have that connection.”
Melissa Speas, coordinator of the cardiopulmonary rehab program for Johnston Health,
says many patients arrive apprehensive about
exercising—particularly those who have had
bypass surgery. “Many are afraid to walk to
the mailbox and back,” she says. But as they
go through rehab, they see that they can do
the tasks they once enjoyed, and they regain
their independence.
“Because it’s a supervised program, there’s
always someone here to help them and a physician is close by,” she says. “They also get
nutritional counseling, education and stress
management—tools to help them maintain a
heart-healthy lifestyle once they graduate.”
Speas says there are about 164 graduates
every year, and about half to two-thirds of
them return, either as HealthQuest or
SilverSneakers members.
“It turns into a social support group,” she
says. “They build a relationship with staff and
with one another.”
The program is one of 39 in the state certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehab. The staff,
which includes an RN, respiratory therapist,
exercise specialist and dietician, receive high
patient satisfaction scores for patient care.
“We enjoy making our patients feel special,
and there’s a lot of one on one attention, even
within the group setting,” she says. “That’s
important to us.”
In class, Hayes says he likes to encourage
the new patients. “They’re struggling, just
like I once did,” he says. “And we talk about
their journey.”
He says the calendar is part of his story, and
is one of the many ways the rehab staff has
made him feel special. It’s also a way to
prove to his wife, Rose, that he’s exercising
three days a week. “She’s told them to hold
me accountable,” he adds. “And they do.”
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014
THE INTERNS AMONG US
NOTEWORTHY
Your feedback, please
The Joint Commission, which is the accrediting agency for Johnston Health, requires the organization to periodically survey the staff to assess the culture as it
pertains to patient safety.
“These surveys help us to identify opportunities that will help us to improve the
safety of patients,” says Dr. Donald Pocock, who is the vice president of medical
affairs.
The surveys are now available for distribution, sorted by department and available
for pick up in the conference room of the
quality assurance department on the
ground floor of the hospital.
They contain a preaddressed postage
paid return envelope for the employee’s
convenience.
“I’d like to encourage everyone to participate in this anonymous survey,” he says.
They are due by Feb. 28.
Save the date
The Third Annual Johnston Health Champions 5K has a new date: It’s May 3, and
HealthQuest Fitness and Wellness Center
is running the event on behalf of the
Johnston Health Foundation. The money
raised will go toward the Angel Fund to
support cancer patients at Johnston
Health.
Participants can register now at HealthQuest’s front desk or online at East Carolina Road Racing, ecrr.us/events/2014johnstonhealth5k. All entry fees are nonrefundable.
Early entry fees from now till April 4 are
$25, then go up to $30. They include a Tshirt, food and water. This event is for all
ages, runners, walkers and fitness levels.
Discounts for employees
The human resources department is putting together a discount program for employees. Letters have been sent to business owners across the county, seeking
their participation.
Tammy Wood, benefits specialist, says
interest thus far in the Johnston Health
Advantage program has been good.
“We’ve gotten replies from a variety of
services, from jewelry stores to tire and
auto repair shops.”
Johnston Health employs about 1,500
people, most of whom live and shop in
Johnston County.
“Businesses can promote their goods
while also reaching a new base of potential customers,” Wood says. “We think it’s
a great marketing tool.”
Wood says it’s the department’s plan to
roll out the new program in early March.
Elaine Penuel is
pursuing her
master’s degree.
Tsz-Kiu Chui, a dietetic intern, visits with William Brandberg of Smithfield, a
patient on Second East. She has enjoyed working at a hospital where there’s
time to interact with patients and staff.
The ECU interns are, from left, Jacob
Lewis, Ryan Killane and Anaira Knight.
STAFF, VISITING STUDENTS LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER ON THE JOB
T
sz-Kiu Chui is not much on sweet
tea, but she does find the hospital’s
meatloaf tasty.
She’s from Hong Kong, and she’s
here at Johnston Health for a month as a dietetic intern. It’s part of a program through
Meredith College, which will prepare her for
the R.D. exam, and, ultimately, a career as a
registered dietician.
“I’ve enjoyed working in a community hospital,” says Chui, who is a graduate of the
University of Illinois at Champagne. “I’ve
been able to interact and spend more time with
patients than I would have at a larger urban
medical center.”
The hospital has hosted dietetic internships
for as long as Kathy Rikard can remember.
When she came to work as a dietician in 1992
for Aramark, (the company with whom the
hospital has long held a contract for food services), there were interns. Ever since, Rikard
has been the internship coordinator for the
department, which has grown over the years
from one dietician to five.
Today, there’s such a demand for dietetic
internships across the country that Rikard
reviews applications and schedules students
for slots a year out. In fact, a student starting
in March has been waiting 10 years for an
internship, she says.
While the interns gain experience, Rikard
says her department gleans new ideas and
insight. “They keep us abreast of new information and new ways of documenting,” she says.
“They’re a resource.”
They’re also an extra hand. Rikard says interns do presentations to diabetic and cancer
support groups, in-service training for food
service employees. And they’ve put together
teaching materials for outpatient diabetes
classes. In one case, an intern improved a tubefeeding process for patients.
The Pirates
It’s been an interesting month for the three
interns from East Carolina University.
Ryan Killane of Clayton and Jacob Lewis of
Kenly have shadowed vice presidents and
participated in an RIE. And Anaira Knight,
who lives in the Cleveland community, has
written blogs for the website and assisted in
the hands-only CPR classes during Go Red
Week.
“I’ve been able to see the things I’ve learned
in class,” says Killane, who has worked parttime at HealthQuest since 2006. “It’s interesting to see how the departments interconnect.”
Although he’s caught himself yawning in
some of the meetings he’s attended, Killane
says the material is anything but boring.
“There’s never a dull moment here. There’s
something different going on every day,” he
says.
Killane has been asked by CEO Chuck Elliott to write a grant application for a community paramedicine program. Such a program is
now underway, and being funded by the Duke
Endowment, at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.
Lewis is interning with Amber Daughtry, the
patient experience specialist. He’s been attending patient experience huddles and compiling
patient satisfaction data to support new initiatives.
Knight is interning in the marketing department, where she’s writing for the website and
assisting with marketing events. “I’ve enjoyed
doing a variety of things here,” she says. “I’m
a hands-on person.”
Ashley Drotzur, the recruiter for Johnston
Health, says the hospital hosts about 10 interns
a year. Once a director has accepted an intern,
she says the student must go through a clearance process that includes a background check
and signing a confidentiality agreement. Like
employees, they’re required to follow the code
of conduct, which includes the dress policy.
An administrative director
During her 34 years at Lenoir Memorial
Hospital in Kinston, Elaine Penuel of Grifton
has worked her way up from staff nurse to
administrative director of inpatient nursing.
And although she’s approaching an age when
she could retire, she’s pursuing a life-long
personal goal to earn her master’s degree.
Here at the hospital, Penuel is doing her capstone practicum—the final piece she needs in
order to graduate in May.
From the spiritual care library on third floor,
she’s laying the groundwork for an advisory
council that will include patients and families.
Johnston Health is part of the North Carolina
and Virginia Hospital Engagement Network,
called NoCVA for short, and patient-family
engagement is one of the thrusts of the rural
collaborative.
On Thursday, she’ll convene a kickoff meeting to roll out a charter and to explain the
council’s objectives.
“The goal is to provide patient-and-familycentered care,” she says. “While it’s not a new
concept, the advisory council is a new way of
enhancing it.”
RIE focuses on organizing supplies,
equipment in emergency department
Here’s a scene from last week’s storm.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
A supply room and other storage areas in the emergency department got a thorough makeover this week—all toward saving steps
and freeing up space for patient care.
“We got rid of stuff we didn’t need and reorganized supplies into
functional groups,” said Jessica Springer, director of Lean transformation for Johnston Health. “So now, we don’t have to go hunting
for things.”
The work was part of an RIE, which began last week and concluded on Tuesday.
Also notable, the ED gained an exam room up front that had been
used for storing orthopedic supplies. Those supplies, which included crutches and strollers, were moved to a vacant office at the
back of the minor treatment area. The new space is easily accessible
for the staff working up front and in the back, she says.
Cabinets and a sink that weren’t being used in the ED’s main
supply room were torn out to make room for additional storage.
And an ice machine was moved to the break room, which adds
convenience for everyone, she says.
Participants in last week’s RIE were from left,
intern Jacob Lewis, Kyle McDermott, Michelle
Cooke, Jessica Springer, Kevin Smith and Jessica Hudson.
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014
GETTING TO KNOW THE CODE
NOTEWORTHY
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees joining us in
February.
Full-time staff: Shauntella Edwards,
RN, fourth floor; Charday Williams, patient
care assistant, behavioral health; Christian
Newcomb, RN, labor and delivery; Murray
Dees, social worker, hospital wide;
Samantha Beasley, CNA, behavioral
health; Kerry Colonna, RN, third floor; Ashley King, RN, fourth floor; Susan Parry,
CNA, behavioral health.
PRN: Dakota Herring, patient care assistant, progressive care unit; Sean Hurley,
security, Smithfield; Evelyn Alonzo, CT
technologist, Smithfield; Tim Little, patient
care assistant, Smithfield ED; Dana Grice,
patient care assistant, second floor;
Shelby Jackson, sitter, HealthQuest;
Mattie Johnson, patient care assistant,
fourth floor; Brian Lackey, RN, Clayton ED;
Kayla Lee, patient care assistant, second
floor; Omar Powell, respiratory therapist,
Smithfield.
Need a map?
Maps of the hospital floors, the Johnston
Health Medical Mall and the Johnston
Health campus are available on Hospital
Quicklinks under the folder titled campus
maps. The PDFs can be easily printed or
copied for mailing electronically.
We wish him well
Amber Stroud, coordinator for the HIM department, sat in on a class Friday for
coders who are learning new code sets for ICD-10. Many other employees will
be required to take a few hours of training, beginning in March.
STAFF TRAINING UNDERWAY FOR ICD-10
E
ver heard of getting burned while
skimming along on fiery water
skis?
There’s a diagnosis code for that
(Y9272) in the Tenth Edition of the International Classification of Diseases, called ICD10 for short. There’s also a code for getting
injured while playing a brass instrument,
Y93.J4, and for getting injured while in a
chicken coop, V91.07XA.
For the past year, the hospital’s coders have
been learning new letter and number combinations that correspond to all sorts of scenarios—
all toward getting ready for the federal government’s Oct. 1 deadline to switch over to the
new code set.
The new manual, which has 68,000 codes,
makes the old ICD-9 with 14,000 codes, look
puny.
“It’s been challenging,” says Pam Pflaum,
who is director of health information management for Johnston Health. On Friday, she sat
in with her coders on a complex training session led by Donielle Bailey, who is the ICD-10
project coordinator for UNC Health Care.
Pflaum says the staff is required to complete
80 hours of training. If all goes as planned,
they will finish their classes by March 28, and
then begin coding from both manuals to get
practice.
In short, the diagnosis codes are how the
federal government, and most private health
insurers, assess a value for every patient visit.
Insurance companies use these codes to deter-
mine how much to pay
hospitals for care.
“There are lots of moving
parts,” says Chris Stephens,
who is the project manager
for ICD-10 at Johnston
Health. He is an employee
of Rex Hospital, and is on
loan for the special project
here. “I’m looking at all the
touch points and learning
how the system works.
“We’re going to have to Chris
take one bite at a time. And Stephens is
project mangetting everyone in on the
ager for ICDtraining is the most critical 10.
thing,” he says. “If we
don’t do well (on ICD-10), we won’t get paid
for the work we’ve done, and that affects everyone.”
Stephens says medical providers and certified nurse anesthetists started their training this
month. He is now finalizing a training plan for
staff. It will begin as early mid-March and will
have to be completed by July 31. Depending
on whether the employee’s role is clinical or
non-clinical, the training could be six or four
hours, he says.
“ICD-10 is a way to improve the diagnosis
and treatment of diseases,” Stephens adds.
“But it’s also changing the way we get reimbursed. So if we code something wrong, then
we get paid less, or we get paid too much, and
then we have to pay it back.”
Derek Slavin, director of food services, is
leaving Johnston Health after six years of
service. All staff is invited to a send-off
reception from 2 till 4 p.m. Friday in the
physicians dining room of the cafeteria.
Health Chats in Clayton
The quarterly Health Chats featuring doctors on the medical staff will have a second location starting in April: The Council
Chambers of the Clayton Center in downtown Clayton. Dr. Jodi Bailey of Triangle
Premier Women’s Health will be the next
speaker at 6 p.m. on April 15 in Clayton
and at 11 a.m. on April 16 in Smithfield in
the auditorium at the Medical Mall.
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
A new room for the linen
From left, Regina Faison and Edna Carmichael count and sort the blankets, sheets and towels that patients on the floors and other clinical areas will need for the day. The pair are working in a new space down the
hall from the sterile processing department, on the way to the loading
dock. They also have a new extension: 3537.
Promoting
chest pain
accreditation
Gordon Woodruff
and his wife, Debbie,
were so impressed
with the lifesaving
care he received in
the emergency department in Smithfield last summer that
they’re eager to share
their story with others.
Debbie, Gordon Woodruff
The 62-year-old
lawyer survived a massive heart attack on June
24, 2013, thanks to the staff and medical providers who assessed and diagnosed his condition,
and then got him in en route to the cath lab in
Raleigh—all within 22 minutes of the time he
walked into the ED.
“Ten miracles happened that morning,” says
Debbie Woodruff. “Everybody knew exactly
what to do, and their timing was incredible.”
During the recent State of the System address,
CEO Chuck Elliott used the Woodruffs’ story
and that of another patient, Jason Hudda of Clayton, to highlight the hard work of the organization to become accredited chest pain centers. In
the past year, the emergency departments have
provided specialized care for a combined 61 patients who were having active heart attacks.
At the cath lab that morning, Woodruff received two stents, one of which opened a complete blockage of his left main artery. Since then,
he has made a full recovery and has lost 90
pounds through diet and an exercise program at
HealthQuest.
An ad featuring Woodruff’s picture
and testimonial is now
under design
and will appear soon
this summer
in Our State
Magazine.
It’s one of
the many
media outlets
the marketing department is using
to get out the
word about the accreditation.
Indeed, the chest pain center accreditation has
been an ongoing story for Johnston Health. In
addition to the news releases to local and regional
newspapers last May, a larger story was featured
in the Johnston Health 2012 annual report, which
was mailed to 30,000 households in the county.
Print ads have appeared over the months in the
eight local newspapers. They’ve also been featured on county maps, season passes at Smithfield-Selma High School, playbills for the Neuse
Little Theatre, medicine bags at Creech Pharmacy and inside the visitor guide notebooks at
Smithfield hotels.
Also, ads have appeared on digital billboards in
Smithfield and movie screens at Smithfield Cinema, and have aired on the radio in Dunn and
WRAL-TV.
To keep everyone abreast of marketing efforts
for chest pain accreditation and other services of
Johnston Health, the marketing department is
adding a website page to display the latest ads
circulating in print, radio and TV. There will be a
page as well for patient testimonials and letters.
Both will be features of the new website, which
will make its debut next month.
“Not everyone reads their community newspaper or pays attention to billboards,” says April
Culver, the vice president who oversees marketing activities for Johnston Health. “This will be a
great way for everyone to see where and how
we’re spending our advertising dollars.”
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
THE VOLUNTEER GIFT SHOP
NOTEWORTHY
There’s a Quicklinks folder for that
It started as a network folder for shortcuts.
Rather than having MIS technicians go
around to every computer to update icons,
links to the shared folders within departments would live in one central place: thus
the name Hospital Quicklinks.
But since appearing on desktops in April
2008, Quicklinks has evolved into a repository for information. There are now folders
for hospital campus maps, templates, HR
policies and meeting minutes.
Jonathan Crabtree, the MIS supervisor,
says there are 109 objects, which can be
visually overwhelming when someone is
trying to find a particular link, for example,
to the Maintenance Helpdesk. (That’s
where you place a work order for the engineering department.)
Still, it’s worth the effort.
Not sure how to record a phone message? Look in the Cisco Phone Training
Guides folder.
Need the phone numbers for departments? You can find it in the phone lists
folder.
Need someone to notarize a document?
There’s a list of employees who can handle the task.
Want to know what’s cooking in the cafeteria? Check out the folder labeled food
service menus.
Need the new PowerPoint template with
the UNC Health Care logo, go to the folder
labeled hospital approved forms, then look
in the marketing subfolder.
Interested in finding out what’s going on
in the leadership meetings that follow the
monthly meetings of the Johnston Health
board of commissioners? You can read
the minutes in the Leadership Meeting
Minutes folder.
Crabtree points out that some of the info
in the folders needs updating, and he encourages departments to do so. He can
grant access to someone within the department to make those changes.
Requests to add new folders must be
placed by a work order. To do that, or to
get something fixed on your computer,
click on the link titled MIS Helpdesk and fill
out the fields.
In the meantime, take a moment to
browse Quicklinks and learn something
new and useful.
A patient story,
State of the System videos
If you missed the State of the System last
month, you can watch the address on You
Tube channel. It’s unlisted, so you need to
use this link (press the control key and
click):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=9NTaWj3rEZw&feature=youtu.be
There’s also a short video interview with
Gordon Woodruff and his wife, Debbie. He
was a heart attack patient who was a
guest at the State of System session in the
auditorium of the Medical Mall. Here’s the
link to the Woodruff video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=XLZgB5JW4Hc&feature=youtu.be
LifeLiner is published weekly
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department.
Suzette Rodriguez, writer and editor
Emily Bass, social media
Got news?
Call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
Director
swayed
by kindness
Russ Curry says welcoming
staff made a good impression
Phyllis Everette was shopping Tuesday in the hospital’s Volunteer Gift Shop
for a birthday present for her sister. All profits go toward buying equipment
and other items that departments need in the care of patients.
Jewelry, flowers and bears;
There’s something for all
IT’S WHERE THE RECEIPTS YIELD GOOD DEEDS
T
here’s hardly
a weekday
that Phyllis
Everette doesn’t buy something in the Volunteers
Gift Shop—candy for
the staff, a stuffed animal for a grandbaby, a
gift for a baby shower.
On Tuesday, she
picked out a heartshaped trinket for her
sister’s birthday.
“They always have
new things,” says
Everette, who is the
clinical coordinator for
the intensive care unit.
“Plus, you can find
things there that you
can’t get anywhere
From left, Janet Evans and Shelby Holt of the cardiopulelse.”
monary department gather with Sue Archambeault and
When December rolls Myrtle Pilkington of the Johnston Health Volunteers to
around, she’s done with show off the department’s blanket warmer purchased
Christmas shopping.
with Gift Shop profits.
Throughout the year,
she simply tucks underneath her desk the giftlast leg, the volunteers bought the batteryshop purchases she’s made. “I rarely have to
powered model that’s now ferrying visitors
buy anything else,” she says.
back and forth from their cars to the entrances.
By shopping where she works, Everette is
But they’ve also bought small things such as
giving back to the workplace.
lab bags for the cancer center and yoga mats
That’s because the volunteers spend the gift
for patients in the behavioral health departshop profits on equipment and other items—
ment. Until then, the patients had been doing
large and small—that departments need in the
the exercises on the bare floor.
care of their patients.
Volunteers have also bought sheet cakes as
Sue Archambeault, president of the volunpart of the celebration honoring employees
teers, says a committee grants requests for
during Hospital Week. And on Christmas Day,
things that will bring the most benefit to the
they distributed 130 teddy bears and ceramic
most patients. “We’re looking for impact,” she Christmas trees to patients in the hospital.
says.
Everette, the frequent shopper, likes knowing
Most recently, they bought a blanket warmer that her purchases end up helping patients. “I
for the cardiopulmonary department. The
don’t regret buying anything in the gift shop,”
piece of equipment, which cost $5,800, had
she adds. “I know it’s going to a good cause.
been on the staff’s wish list for years, but had
“And the ladies who run the shop are so nice.
never made the cut, says Shelby Holt, director
It makes shopping so much more fun.”
of cardiopulmonary services.
Does your department have a need that’s not
A patient who’s wrapped in a warm blanket
in the capital budget? Please describe what
is more relaxed and comfortable, she says. But you need, how it affects patients and how
more important, the heat improves their blood
many. You may send the requests to April
flow, which makes testing for peripheral arteCulver at [email protected].
rial disease, for example, easier and more accurate.
Who are the Gift Shop managers?
“It’s been a blessing,” Holt adds. “Our paEver wonder who picks what goes in the
tients, who are often wearing just a hospital
Gift Shop? It’s volunteers Nancy Small
gown, say the warm blankets feel so good. For and Kay Matthews. “They’ve done a pheus, Christmas has arrived early.”
nomenal job in deciding what employees
Volunteers contributed their largest gift,
and the general public want to buy for
$25,000, to the emergency department’s capithemselves and as gifts for others.”
tal campaign. But they’ve also made smaller
—Sue Archambeault, volunteers president
donations such as $2,000 to the Angel Fund.
When the diesel-powered golf cart was on its
Russ Currie could have gone
to a bigger place with a position
of greater responsibility. But the
new director of food services
says he chose Johnston Health
because he liked the caring and
kindness among the staff.
An incident at the salad bar in
the cafeteria might have sealed
the deal on his first visit. A
nurse dropped a bit of salad
dressing on the floor, and it
Russ Curry
splattered on his shoe. “She
started apologizing, trying to make things right,”
he says.
When a cashier standing nearby saw the mishap, she used the opportunity to tell the visiting
Currie that everyone was trying to make him feel
welcome. “It’s not that way in every place,” he
adds. “That’s what makes this place different.
And that’s why I came.”
Prior to coming to Johnston Health, Currie was
the general manager of food and nutrition services for two years at Virginia Commonwealth
University Medical Center in Richmond, Va. In
addition to patient-meal preparation and delivery, he was responsible for cafeteria and franchise operations, catering services and the clinical nutrition program. He oversaw 175 employees.
Throughout his 24-year career with Aramark,
Currie has overseen the food and nutrition services at six hospitals. His largest assignment was
at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, where he
worked for 12 years. Among other things, he
designed and opened a heart-healthy full-service
café for the new cardiac hospital.
It was at East Carolina University in Greenville
where he earned a master’s degree in systems
technology. He received his bachelor’s degree in
dietetics from The Ohio State University.
Currie says he’s always been interested in
food. He was a cook in the cafeteria while in
school at Ohio State. Back then, the kitchen was
responsible for preparing meals for the City of
Columbus’ Meals on Wheels program.
Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, he used to quiz
his grandmother, who was of German descent,
about her recipes. She never used measuring
cups or spoons—always a pinch of this or a
handful of that for her tasty breads and cakes.
But his passion has been more about managing
people than cooking dishes.
“Food is the end result,” he says. “It’s really
the development of people, whether its staff or
managers. I’ve developed managers over the
years. It gives me great satisfaction to see people
grow and develop, to impart knowledge and then
to have them figure it out on their own.”
Here at Johnston Health, Currie says his most
immediate project will be to get the cafeteria and
food services up and running in Clayton. The
inpatient beds are scheduled to open in January
2015. Among other things, he’ll have to plan for
staffing and the level of service.
Though Johnston Health is a smaller hospital
than his other past assignments, he says he’s
looking forward to growing with the newly affiliated health care system, and to enjoying a
better balance between work and life. He and his
wife, Bonnie, have seven grandchildren and
another one on the way. All but two of them live
in Wake Forest.
Need a shot?
If you need a shot this month, please mark
your calendar. In Clayton, an employee health
nurse will be giving shots and TSTs on March
18 from 7:30 a.m. till noon and from 1 till 3:30
p.m. In Smithfield, shot day will be March 21
from 7 a.m. till noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m.
March 12, 2014
RETURNING TO ‘WORK’
NOTEWORTHY
Internist
relocates
to Smithfield
Dr. Collins says treating
older adults is her passion
Margie Gower was a CNA for 31 years before retiring in 1996. She is one of
eight Johnston Health retirees who now volunteer at the hospital.
A sailboat by student Trevon Williams
A new art exhibit
The artwork of students from West Clayton Elementary School is now on display
along the Women’s Pavilion hallway. The
art teacher is Emily Parks. The Johnston
County Arts Council coordinates the exhibit with art teachers from Johnston
County Public Schools.
ICD-10 training begins March 17
What’s ICD-10?
It stands for the Tenth Edition of the International Classification of Diseases, and it’s
the coding system used to improve the
diagnosis and treatment of diseases and,
most importantly, to determine how much
hospitals get paid for care.
Come Oct. 1, the new code set will replace ICD-9, which has been in place for
34 years.
While coders are the employees who will
work most closely with ICD-10, it affects
everyone, says Chris Stephens, who is
responsible for implementing the new set
at Johnston Health.
“If it’s not done well, then the hospital
doesn’t get paid for the services it’s provided.”
It’s so important, in fact, that Johnston
Health is requiring training for most employees.
The courses will appear March 17 on
HealthStream. They have been tailored
and assigned based on how employees
might interact with the ICD-10 codes,
Stephens says.
A module for clinical staff will have six
courses; and the training for employees in
patient financial services will have 10. The
training is mandatory and must be completed by July 31.
An ICD-10 steering committee is made
up of the chief financial officer, the vice
president of medical affairs as well as directors of case management, education,
health information management and PFS.
They’re suggesting that managers and
directors use their huddles as a way to
encourage employees to complete the
courses by the due date, he says.
LifeLiner is published Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
RETIREES RECONNECT, HAVE FUN AS VOLUNTEERS
O
n a recent Thursday morning,
Dorothy Fields was manning the
hospital’s front desk when she noticed several EVS employees cleaning the lobby. She wondered if surveyors
from The Joint Commission might be on
their way.
After making a phone call, Fields found
her suspicions unwarranted. Still, she had to
chuckle at that old “high-alert” feeling. It
had been part of her work life for nearly 29
years.
Before retiring in 2006, Fields was responsible for getting the hospital prepared
for the accrediting agency’s surprise visits.
She still works in the quality department
one day a week, but it’s much less taxing
than before.
“I thought I would be out the door completely,” Fields says. “But I’m not the kind
of person to stay at home.”
Farrah Nguyen, volunteer coordinator,
says Johnston Health retirees make great
volunteers for obvious reasons: They know
the campus well, and have a good knowledge of services.
“When they return, I think they find great
satisfaction in helping people in a different
sort of way,” she says. “I wish we had more
of them. We need more help.”
Denise Langston escorts patients to sameday surgery and family members to the
recovery area in endoscopy. “When I
worked, I never saw public people and very
rarely someone in need,” she says. “Now,
all I do is help people, and it really makes
me feel good.”
Langston worked at the hospital for 30
years before retiring in January, 2011. She last
worked in the health information management
department. “At the time, I thought that there
was no way I would ever come back,” she
says. But less than a year later, she filled out
the volunteer application.
“You don’t miss the work, but you do miss
the friendships,” she says. “What I’m doing
now is fun.”
And Langston knows how to have fun. She
laughs with other volunteers and uses her
sense of humor to ease tense moments for
patients.
To a man who was carrying his wife’s handbag to surgery prep, Langston complimented
him on how well his shoes matched his accessory. The couple got a good chuckle.
“I always wish them luck,” she adds. “I tell
them that everything’s going to be OK.”
Margie Gower was a beloved CNA on Two
West before she retired in ’96 after 31 years.
She’s been volunteering now for nearly 15
years.
“Everyone used to call me ‘Ma’,” she says.
“I’ve always loved people. And volunteering
gets me out of the house.”
In one respect, Fields says she treats her
volunteer day as if it were a job. “If I know
I’m going to be out, I try to find someone to
cover for me,” she adds. “I enjoy what I do. I
came back because I thought it would be interesting to assist people. And it has been.”
Nguyen lists other hospital retirees who
volunteer: Vernell Harvey, Wanda Blackmon,
Gertrude Beaver, Georgia Pilkington and Judy
Phillips. And until recently, Sallie Evans was
a volunteer. She came to work at the hospital
when it first opened.
An internist has joined
the medical staff of
Johnston Health.
Dr. Nicole Collins of
Wake Forest is opening a
fulltime practice in the
Johnston Medical Mall in
Smithfield. She welcomes
adults of all ages, particularly older adults.
“I’m a comprehensive
physician,” she says.
Nicole Collins, MD
“I’m big on preventive
health, but I’m equally concerned about my
patient’s mental health and social well-being.”
Before coming to Johnston Health, Collins
was in practice for 12 years in Louisburg with
two other internists. “I loved my patients,” she
says. “I’m looking forward to establishing
those kinds of relationships here, too.”
Collins received her bachelor’s degree from
the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and
Science, and her medical degree from Pennsylvania State University.
She completed a two-year residency in internal medicine at the University of South Carolina. Following another year of residency in
internal medicine, she completed a year-long
fellowship in geriatric medicine at what is
now Vidant Hospital in Greenville.
She is board certified in internal medicine.
Collins grew up in Philadelphia and says she
knew by age 5 that she wanted to be a doctor.
In high school, she was signing “Dr.” in front
of her name in her classmates’ yearbooks.
“It’s all I ever wanted to do,” she says.
It wasn’t until her final year of medical
school, however, that she chose internal medicine and discovered a passion for working
with older adults.
During her years of practice, Collins says
she’s seen increasing numbers of patients with
dementia, and as patients live longer at home,
more falls. So she works particularly hard at
getting families involved in watching and
caring for their aging parents.
“Thankfully, there’s a sense of community
in small towns where neighbors grow old
together,” she adds. “We have many conversations about people taking care of one another.”
Collins is married to her husband, Jeff Johnson. They have two children, ages 10 and 8.
The new practice, Johnston Medical Associates Internal Medicine, will begin seeing patients and taking appointments March 24. The
number to call is 938-7187.
Zone raises awareness, emphasizes goal to be more attentive
The No Pass Zone was such a success on
second floor that it’s being rolled out this
week hospital wide.
Started in January as a pilot, the initiative
was aimed at improving the HCAHP scores
for the responsiveness of hospital staff to
patient needs.
After two months, the score increased
slightly above the 75th percentile, which is
better than the benchmark set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
For January, the score of 80 was up 21
points from the previous month.
“I was surprised we were able to move
our scores and to get our staff and patients
on board that quickly with this initiative,”
says Amber Daughtry, who is the patient
experience specialist.
When in the zone, employees are asked to
stop into the patient’s room to offer assistance if they hear an alarm or see the call
An initiative that began on second
floor is going hospital wide this week.
light flashing.
“It only takes a minute to see what patients
need, and it makes such an impression,”
Daughtry says. “It shows that all of us—
clinical and non-clinical—are working together to ensure that they’re getting what they
need. It shows we care.”
No Pass Zone signs will be posted this week
so that visitors and family members are aware
of the initiative, Daughtry says. “They’ll
know we have a process in place, and that we
intend to respond.”
Tonya Murphy, who is the clinical coordinator for respiratory therapy, thinks the No Pass
Zone is a great idea. “It makes patients feel
they’re being attended to,” she says.
When Murphy recently answered a call light
during the pilot, the patient simply wanted to
talk with her nurse. She found the nurse’s
name on the white board, went and found her
and relayed the message. The patient was
satisfied, and the nurse appreciated the help,
she says.
Sophia Smith, the clinical coordinator for
second floor, says she’s proud to have hosted
the pilot program. “It was an opportunity to
recommit ourselves, and to explain the initiative to other departments,” she says. “It’s
helped us hardwire what we should do.”
March 19, 2014
STORIES THAT CONNECT
Nathan Clendenin gets Katie
Coulbourne and
Derek Walker
ready for their
takes. He’s using the white
board to reflect
light.
NOTEWORTHY
Our new website’s debut
It’s been in the making for months. The
new Johnston Health website will make its
debut today. It promises to be more userfriendly and to have more options. A complete story about its features will appear in
next week’s issue of the LifeLiner. The
address will still be Johnstonhealth.org.
Honored by the Chamber
The Smithfield-Selma Area Chamber of
Commerce has named Lesley Atkinson its
top Ambassador of the fourth quarter of
2013. Atkinson is the sales and marketing
coordinator for HealthQuest. Member services vice chair Dwight Morris and board
chair Keith Dimsdale presented the award.
Nominations sought
The Standards of Behavior Committee is
seeking nominations for its "Making A
Difference" program, which recognizes the
work of departments in terms of the organization’s five pillars: people, quality,
growth, value and innovation. Nomination
forms are available from and may be submitted to the Rev. Greg McClain, manager
of spiritual care services and chairman of
the committee.
Docs on the move
Dr. Marc Stevens is moving to a new opportunity in western North Carolina in late
June. We wish him the best. He has been
an advocate for his patients and a supporter of Johnson Health. His successor at
Triangle Orthopaedics will be Dr. Lucas
Romine, who will be joining the Johnston
Health medical staff in August.
Also, Dr. St. Claire, a neurosurgeon from
Raleigh, will begin seeing patients March
25 in the Medical Arts Building.
A short fiscal year
Johnston Health’s fiscal year will change
to coincide with UNC Health Care. So
during the next two months, the finance
team and directors will be putting together
a budget for the new fiscal year, which
begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2015.
The old fiscal year ran from Oct. 1 to Sept.
30.
Save the date
The Masquerade $5 Jewelry and Accessory Sale will be from 7 a.m. till 5 p.m. on
April 2 and from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m. on April 3
in the hospital cafeteria. Proceeds go toward the Volunteer Scholarship Fund.
Children ages 11 to 13 can learn how to
be safe and responsible babysitters during
the SafeSitter classes scheduled this
summer. In addition to basic child care
tips, they’ll learn basic lifesaving techniques, how to prevent accidents, and how
and when to call for help. The education
department has scheduled the two-day
sessions from 9 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. on
June 19-20 and July 15-16 in the auditorium of the Medical Mall. The fee is $65
per child. To pre-register, call 938-7736.
LifeLiner is published Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
UNC Health Care broadens series to include affiliates
Two Johnston Health employees are helping promote a new UNC Health Care series called
“RealMedicine: Stories that connect.” Katie Coulbourne, clinical coordinator for endoscopy,
and Derek Walker, an RN on fourth floor, will appear and speak briefly during an introduction that includes other UNC affiliates. Nathan Clendenin, the series’ producer, came Thursday to film. He also took video shots of several employees as they smiled. The series will be
made up of stories about physicians, nurses, employees and patients across the system. Want
to see a story? Check out http://uncmedne.ws/realmedicine
Got an idea for a story? Email Clendenin at [email protected] or call 919-923-6834.
Name changes reflect CMS rule
W
hen patients get mammograms,
rehab or chemotherapy at the
Johnston Medical Mall, it’s not
always clear to them that those
outpatient services are, indeed, provided by
the hospital.
Getting rid of any possible ambiguity or
confusion is the thrust behind several important name changes at Johnston Health, particularly for the departments outside the
walls of the hospital and on the Clayton
campus.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services requires hospitals to clearly identify
their services so that consumers know exactly with whom they’re doing business,
says April Culver, vice president of planning
and external affairs. “It’s a distinction that
we’ve really not emphasized in the past.”
So, for example, Johnston Therapeutic
Wound Center is now Johnston Health
Therapeutic Wound Center, A hospital department of Johnston Health.
It’s important to use the new name and
accompanying phrase on paperwork and
marketing materials, and to say both when
answering the department’s main phone
number and when taking transferred calls
that may be from the public, she says.
“We realize it’s a major change and a
mouthful,” she adds. “But it’s what we have
to do to be compliant.”
Another consequence is that Johnston
Health will henceforth become the name for
both the health care system and the hospital.
In other words, the facility names, Johnston
Medical Centers in Smithfield and Clayton,
will no longer be used.
From now on, the outpatient center and
emergency department in Clayton will be
called Johnston Health Clayton.
While it may sound redundant to use
Johnston Health twice in the names for outpatient services, Culver says it’s important
that consumers easily grasp that the service
is a department of the hospital.
For now, the departments in Clayton
(surgery, emergency, laboratory and ambulatory imaging) must identify themselves as
hospital departments of Johnston Health. But
once the inpatient beds open in January 2015
and the outpatient center becomes a hospital,
then the phrase will no longer be needed.
Still, the two hospital departments in the
Johnston Professional Plaza—Johnston
Health Clayton Hematology Oncology and
Johnston Health Clayton Sleep Center—will
continue to be called hospital departments of
Johnston Health because they are not inside
the hospital building.
Home Health
welcomes
new manager
Marisa Hamilton of Youngsville, a registered nurse with 19
years of experience, is the new
manager for Johnston Home
Care and Hospice.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” she says. “I’m looking
forward to building relationships with customers, including
co-workers, patients and famiMarisa
Hamilton
lies.”
Before accepting her new
role, Hamilton was the team leader for Rex
Home Services. She says her director knew of
her interest in management, and asked if she
would like to fill the opening.
Hamilton will remain an employee of Rex
Hospital and work on contract with Johnston
Health.
“My passion is taking care of people in their
homes,” Hamilton says. “You get to know
patients on a different level. You get to know
their families. It’s so much more of a holistic
approach to nursing.”
Hamilton grew up in Blacksburg, Va. She
received her associate degree at Wytheville
Community College and her bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in nursing from Jefferson
College.
She first worked for two years at Montgomery Regional Hospital on the floor for medical
and surgical patients. Afterward, she went to
Winston-Salem Baptist for a year where she
worked with acute pediatric patients.
For the next several years, she worked for a
home health agency in Virginia. She started
out taking care of patients, young and old, and
then moved up into management positions. A
year and a half ago, she moved to North Carolina to accept a position as clinical manager
for an independent home health agency in
Raleigh.
After attending general and nursing orientations on Monday and Tuesday, Hamilton will
get settled today in her office. And on Thursday, she’ll have her first opportunity to meet
the nurses on her staff.
“As clinical manager, you get to see the
different facets of the job,” she says. “There’s
teaching and helping nurses understand the
changing Medicare regulations that we have to
follow. And then there’s the role of being the
middle person between the executive leadership and the clinical staff, and helping them
meet in middle so that we achieve our goals to
be financially strong and to provide excellent
care.”
Lean focuses on OR turnaround
Surgery is a major source of revenue for Johnston Health.
During an RIE last week, a team of staff members from Clayton and
Smithfield looked at how to better use staff and supplies and how to reduce turnaround times between surgical procedures.
Jessica Springer, director of Lean process improvement for Johnston
Health, summarized the group’s challenges and action plans as follows.
▪The da Vinci surgical system takes a significant amount of time to
move and set up. To save time, the group suggested leaving it in Room 2.
▪There are sometimes “hold” items on the case cart that a surgeon may
or may not use during a procedure. The group suggested putting those
items in a bag with a special label, which lets others know not to open it
during the initial set up. This plan reduces waste.
▪To improve efficiency, endoscopy and the Women’s Pavilion are going to schedule their procedures (caesarian sections) within the operating
room module. This will prevent surgeons from getting double-booked,
which can create delays.
▪The group also came up with a plan called parallel turnover. This
means the circulating nurse and CRNA together will talk with and bring
the patient to the OR. This new process is expected to help get the patient
in the room faster and to improve patient safety.
▪There’s also a plan to consolidate the inventory between and outside
the operating rooms and the sterile processing department. This should
reduce the time it takes to pick the supplies.
The group came up with ideas to improve efficiencies in the Clayton
Members of the team during last week’s RIE were: intern Ryan Killane, Jim Kurian (from NCSU), Jessica
Springer, Lynn King, Kim Daughtry, Jackie Ring, Heidi
Spicer, Sabrina Davis, Karla Allen, Jackie Stevens, Allison Godwin (from NCSU) and Dana Davis.
operating rooms.
▪To save time, the sterile processing techs will now pick the case
carts. Until now, the OR techs had done the task. This change will
allow the techs to stay in operating room.
▪Also, the staff will work toward getting the OR attendant more
familiar with set up and positioning equipment as a way to reduce
the turnaround time.
March 26, 2014
CLAYTON CONSTRUCTION
NOTEWORTHY
Construction at Johnston Health Clayton is going well. On Friday, crews
were installing the steel beams for the
stairway and laying exterior stone.
Above from left, Scott Williams, the
construction manager for Johnston
Health, looks over the blueprints with
site superintendent Dan Bernard of TA
Loving. The two are part of a larger
team that meets every Tuesday to review progress and update scheduling
on the project.
NCAMSS officers, from left, are: Sherry
Settle, secretary; Donna Phillips,
president-elect; Rhonda Boyd, president; and Jennifer Deel, treasurer.
Hosting a NCAMSS meeting
Donna Phillips, manager of medical staff
services for Johnston Health, is presidentelect of the North Carolina Association for
Medical Staff Services. And as the program
coordinator, she hosted and put together the
group’s quarterly meeting on March 10 at the
Johnston Medical Mall.
Among the guest speakers for the day
were Dr. Donald Pocock, vice president of
medical affairs for Johnston Health. He
talked about the challenges of developing
effective medical staff leaders.
More than 30 directors and managers from
hospitals across the state attended the
event.
Lean’s A3s now on Quicklinks
Interested in reading about the staff’s efforts
to save steps and reduce waste? Story
boards, also called A3s, have been posted
on Hospital Quicklinks in the Lean folder.
What does A3 stand for? It’s the European
term for an 11-by-17-inch sheet of paper,
which is just the right size for displaying the
nine boxes or steps used to guide employees
in identifying and then finding a solution to a
problem. Photos, short phrases keep the
story simple, to the point.
Open house at the ELC
You’re invited to the Spring Festival at the
Early Learning Center from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m.
on April 5. The family event will include an
open house, children’s games and activities
as well as visits from local firefighters, EMTs
and police officers. ELC children will perform
for visitors. Proceeds from a cake and hotdog sale, and a silent auction will go toward
enhancing activities at the center.
Upcoming Health Chats
Dr. Jodi Bailey of Triangle Premier Women’s
Health will talk about women’s health during
the next Health Chat at 6 p.m. on April 15 at
the Clayton Center and at 11 a.m. on April 16
in the auditorium at the Johnston Medical
Mall in Smithfield. To register for the free
event, go to www.johnstonhealth.org.
Shop at the jewelry sale
The Masquerade $5 Jewelry and Accessory
Sale is from 7 a.m. till 5 p.m. on April 2 and
from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m. on April 3 in the hospital cafeteria. Proceeds go toward the Volunteer Scholarship Fund.
LifeLiner is published Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on FaceBook and Twitter.
Super uses stickies to stay on schedule
WHEN DRYWALL GOES UP THIS WEEK, WING’S INTERIOR WILL QUICKLY TAKE SHAPE
F
rom the war room of the TA Loving trailer, site superintendent Dan
Bernard oversees construction of
the Johnston Health Clayton project as if he were conducting a 60-piece
orchestra.
On any given day, 15 to 20 subcontractors (which can compound into more than
100 workers) may be on site. And just as
musicians must know the arrangements of
a symphony, so must the subs know exactly when to come in and what to do.
“It looks chaotic, but there’s a rhyme
and reason,” Bernard says of the construction beehive. “It’s my job to keep it all
straight.”
Six months into the project, it’s been
smooth sailing.
In spite of 20 or so rain days, the project
is scheduled to finish on time: Jan. 6,
2015. On Friday, a crew began laying the
exterior stone. And on Monday, another
crew began hanging drywall on the first
floor of the three-story patient wing.
Alterations have begun, too, on the existing building. To accommodate the construction outside the emergency department, the entrance for ambulances has
been temporarily relocated around to the
front. Stretchers now arrive through a side
entrance of the emergency department’s
reception area.
Also notable, on April 1, crews will begin
demolishing the main conference room to
make way for the kitchen. “Things will start
happening quickly,” Bernard says.
To keep the construction project on course,
Bernard has translated the pages of schedules
into a simple story board made of sticky notes.
They’re attached across sections of two walls
inside the war room.
Every trade is represented by a color. The
notes are arranged in vertical columns beneath
the days of the week so that everyone can see
right away what’s going on and what’s coming
up. “It takes away the guess work,” he says.
Bernard uses the tool also to see if there’s
too much activity scheduled on a certain day.
“I can check the logic by putting it all on the
story board,” he says.
On another wall, a large site map is divided
into quadrants and given letters to identify
locations. Colored numbers on other parts of
the map denote the order in which steel has
been erected.
Scott Williams, the construction manager for
Johnston Health, says Bernard is a stickler for
finishing on time and ensuring that the work is
done right. “If we tell him that something is
due Wednesday, he tries his best to get it done
by Monday,” he says.
Bernard says finishing on time is good business. “We all make money if we get the work
done on schedule. If we finish late, then it’s
bad for everybody,” he adds.
To stay on track, crews work on weekends, if
need be. The cement for the ground floor of the
patient wing, for example, was poured on a Saturday—all 300 cubic yards of it, Williams said.
So how does this project compare to the first?
“The first time, no one was here,” Bernard
says. “Now we’re having to schedule our work
around employees, visitors and patients, and that
comes with regulations.”
For example, permits for certain types of work
have to be filed 48 hours in advance. Utilities
have to be shut down so that crews can move
water lines, relocate gas meters and upgrade
transformers.
“We have to put up dust walls to ensure that
the hospital is safe,” he adds.
Bernard thinks the most difficult part of the
project will be the addition to the emergency
department because it affects the most people.
Another big task will be moving the MRI to its
new space. During the 45 days that it will take to
move the equipment, recalibrate and test it, a
mobile MRI will be leased to ensure that the
service is available.
Bernard says he wanted to come back and
work on the expansion because he likes finishing
what he starts.
“Plus I enjoy working with Scott, Kyle McDermott and Jackie Ring. Everyone here is so nice,”
he adds.
More content, features and employee photos appear on website
Johnston Health’s new website is easier to use and has more information and features, including a page for employees.
Emily Bass, marketing coordinator, worked closely with New Media
Campaigns to add and update content and to design the website. The
work started last June. A signature color was chosen after Johnston
Health finalized its partnership with UNC Health Care in February.
“Many of the sections are reorganized and expanded,” she says. “We’re
now at a good starting point to keep our content relevant.”
From henceforth, Bass will be able to post announcements and new
information to keep the site current. Also, readers can easily share pages
on social media, and the blog is now a part of the website.
“If departments have changes in policies or services, I can more easily
update the information on the site,” she says.
Public calendars list special events and offer online registration. Applications to become a volunteer (chaplain, hospice, hospital or junior volunteers) can now be completed and submitted online.
On the employee page, there’s a calendar that lists classes and in-house
events. There’s also an archive of newsletters as well as employee
awards and recognitions.
The website uses more photographs of employees and has a special
section for patient stories. The search feature for doctors is also more
functional.
If you’re viewing the site with an older browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or 8, you may be missing some of the design features. It works
The homepage now includes more photos of employees. Above, the start of the Champions 5K last year.
best with IE versions of 9 and above or Chrome, Bass says. “We’re
now working with MIS and our website designers so that everyone
can view the site at its best here at work.” April 2, 2014
A PINWHEEL GARDEN
NOTEWORTHY
Your LifeLiner, twice a month
Starting this month, the LifeLiner will publish
every first and third Wednesday rather than
every Wednesday. Electronic versions will
continue to go out at noon, or shortly thereafter. Also, paper copies will continue to be
distributed to departments on Wednesday
afternoons. Extra copies are available in the
newsstands near the Cyber Café at the
Johnston Medical Mall or at the hospital’s
front desk.
Clerk of Superior Court
is valuable legal resource
Summer staffing starts April 27
As you plan vacation, keep in mind the period for summer staffing. It applies to employees in all non-clinical support departments
who do not flex based on volumes or patient
census.
In addition to the three holidays (Labor
Day, Memorial Day and Fourth of July), employees must take eight paid days off during
the stretch of pay periods starting April 27
and ending September 27.
Awards banquet is May 13
The Johnston Health Ambassador of the
Year will be named May 13 at the employee
awards banquet in the cafeteria. It’s also the
night that employees celebrating milestone
anniversaries of 10, 15, 20 years and beyond
will be recognized.
Employees celebrating five-year anniversaries will be treated to breakfast on May 13,
too.
The human resources department will send
out invitations to both events.
Clayton lab earns re-accreditation
The Accreditation Committee of the College
of American Pathologists has awarded accreditation to the Johnston Health Clayton
laboratory following a recent on-site inspection. During the visit, inspectors examined
the lab’s records, quality of control procedures for the preceding two years as well as
staff qualifications, equipment, safety program and overall management.
Clayton adds procedure
Since late February, bone density tests have
been available in the radiology department at
Johnston Health Clayton. Ricky Byrd, imaging director, says it’s been convenient especially for patients who are accustomed to
pairing the test with their mammogram.
Answer this question correctly
to be eligible for Mudcats tickets
Answer this question correctly and you will
be entered into a drawing to win general admission tickets to a Mudcats game at 7 p.m.
on April 15 or 16.
What event sponsored by the Foundation is taking place on May 3 to assist the
Angel Fund?
Please email your answer and (your preference for 2 or 4 tickets) to Anaira Knight at
[email protected] by noon
on Thursday. Winners will be notified via
email by noon on Friday and given instructions for picking up their tickets.
No phone calls, please.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Foundation
to honor
Will Crocker
Nurses from third floor who planted pinwheels in front of the Johnston
Health emergency department on Tuesday were, from left, Cassidy
Gray, Ashley Rains, Casey Nunnery, Whitney Page and Holly Brewer.
CAMPAIGN RAISES AWARENESS OF CHILD ABUSE
W
hen you see the colorful pinwheels this week in flower pots
and in landscaped areas around
the hospital, think of the value
of children and the bright futures they
deserve.
This week, the nursing staff on Third
Medical/Pediatrics has planted the pinwheels as part of a month-long campaign
to raise awareness of child abuse and
neglect in North Carolina. The pinwheels
symbolize the stable, healthy childhood
that all children deserve.
“Abuse and neglect can come in many
different forms,” says Donna Hinnant,
director of the floor. “There’s verbal,
sexual and physical abuse. And neglect
can take the form of not providing food,
medical attention or proper shelter.”
Hinnant says the nurses on her staff are
participating in the campaign because
they love taking care of children. Even
though Johnston Health has few pediatric
patients, (about 10 patient days in a twoweek period), all of the nurses on her
floor keep up their certifications in pediatric advanced life support or PALS.
In addition to the children, she says her
staff assesses their families and looks for
ways to help them.
This includes referring parents to parenting classes offered at the health department and connecting them with other
community resources to help with living
expenses and food.
Hiede Erickson, social worker/case
manager for Third Medical/Pediatrics,
says 37 percent of child abuse and neglect
reports in Johnston County involve children from infants to age 5. And she says
most of the reports are of neglect.
“Typically, law enforcement officers
see the majority of cases, followed by
school teachers, and then medical providers,” she says. “But anybody can report
neglect or abuse.”
Erickson says education and outreach
lead to prevention. “Helping parents figure out how to parent, and helping families get the resources they need can go a
long way,” she says.
Child abuse, neglect, and other adverse
experiences that are not addressed, damage the architecture of the developing
brain, resulting in poor outcomes for children and communities, from academic
failure to violence to chronic health issues, Erickson says.
Because of the nature of the health care
business, Johnston Health often needs a friend
at the Johnston County Courthouse.
Will Crocker, clerk of Superior Court, has
been a trustworthy legal resource for the last
35 years. And he will be sorely missed when
he retires at the end of December, hospital
leaders say.
When the hospital has needed help in securing guardianships and other legal documents
important to the care and wellbeing of patients, it’s been able to rely on Crocker.
On Oct. 9, the Johnston Health Foundation
will honor Crocker at its social preceding the
annual golf tournament. The event will be at
the Portofino Clubhouse in Clayton, and proceeds from ticket sales will go toward needs at
the SECU Hospice House.
Alison Drain, director of the Foundation,
says honoring a member of the community is
something new for the Foundation. “We
wanted a way to thank people for helping to
build a better community and a stronger health
care system,” she says.
Rather than having a program and dinner,
Drain says the Foundation chose the social so
that attendees could mingle and talk with the
honoree in a fun, light atmosphere. There will
be entertainment and heavy hors d’oeuvres.
On Thursday, Bobby Parker, chairman of
the Johnston Health Services Corp. Board,
thanked Crocker for making himself available
to help with legal matters at all hours of the
day and night, weekends and holidays.
“Without his dedication and service, our
administrators and staff would find it difficult,
if not impossible, to resolve difficult and often
sensitive issues,” he said during the board
meeting.
The board approved a resolution of appreciation for Crocker and gave him a standing
ovation.
Crocker attended the meeting to swear into
office the 17 members of the new board. He
told the group that serving people was what
elected officials were supposed to do.
Lost, found end up in Helms’ hands
If you’ve ever left behind a phone
charger or a favorite pair of bedroom
slippers in a hotel room, then you know
what a chore it can be to get it back, if at
all.
It falls to Captain Brice Helms of the
hospital’s security department to reunite
patients, visitors and employees with
items they’ve lost or left behind at Johnston Health. The shelves of the lost-andfound closet, which is in same day surgery, are chockfull. There are sunglasses,
pillows, sweaters, gloves, car keys and
even walkers.
Clothes, by far, make up the bulk of the
items and come mostly from patient
rooms, Helms says. If a name is on the
piece, then he makes every effort to contact the owner, through a letter and/or
phone call.
If the clothes go unclaimed after 30
days, then he bags them up and donates
them to the Salvation Army. Before the
bags go out the door, however, employees
at behavioral health look through the
clothing to see if their patients can use
them.
Valuables such as jewelry, wallets and
cell phones are kept in the safe. And
Helms makes every effort to find the
owners, even tracking them through patient records.
Through a process that Helms put into
place two years ago, security officers take
detailed reports of lost items and keep a
detailed log of found items. All items go
into plastic bags and a form with their
history is attached.
Helms says it would make his job easier
if lost items were turned in as soon as
they’re found. Owners typically call the
next day if they’ve lost or left behind
something. And he says it would be helpful if the discharge staff on the patient
floors could check behind patients to
make sure they’ve collected all of their
possessions before they leave.
Helms says people are grateful to the
security office for making the extra effort
to return lost items.
The wife of one patient hugs the captain
every time she sees him in the hospital.
Helms returned her smartphone, which
had photos of her husband’s foot.
“They used the pictures to show the
doctor the progression of his disease,
Captain Brice Helms checks the paperwork on items in the lost and
found closet. It’s his job to make
sure that Johnston Health exhausts
all means to reunite owners with
their possessions.
which started with an infected toe and ended
up with surgery. It was a visual record, and to
them it was priceless,” he says.
April 16, 2014
VALUING THE VOLUNTEERS
NOTEWORTHY
It’s your birthday
Want to wish a happy birthday to a coworker?
Human Resources has posted in its folder
on Hospital Quicklinks the birthdays of all
employees.
So if you see Charlene Meyers of HealthQuest or Laura Rose of Behavioral Health
today, wish them a happy birthday. Don’t
worry, the list doesn’t include birth dates. So
there’s no ages attached.
During Patient Experience Week,
focus turns to listening, engaging
families, patients in their care
Need a shot?
Employees in Smithfield can get their shots
on Friday from 7 a.m. till noon and from 1 till
3:30 p.m. at Employee Health on fourth floor
of the Bright Leaf Tower.
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees and volunteers
joining us in March.
Full-time: Marisa Hamilton, manager,
Home Health & Hospice; Russell Currie, director of food services, Aramark; Carolyn
Baldwin and Amy Milligan, remote coders,
HIM; Michelle Carroll, practice administrator,
nursing administration; Angela Douglas, consultant, HIM; Doris Hufton, respiratory therapist; Katherine Murphy, RN, fourth floor;
Anna Powell, CNA I, third floor; Michael Sanchez, CNA II, behavioral health; Rita Shiflett,
patient access registrar; Millie Wilson, assistant, human resources; Dr. Nicole Collins,
Johnston Medical Associates Internal Medicine; Casaundra Driver, RN, second floor;
Caitlyn Edwards and Rachelle Gordon, phlebotomists, lab; Valencia Garry, CNA I, SECU
Hospice House; Porche Ingram, medical
assistant, JMA Internal Medicine; Dorrie
Johnson, medical assistant, JMA Internal
Medicine; Brett McLamb, supervisor, security; Lisa Radford, patient care assistant,
progressive care unit; Britni Barnes, CNA I,
third floor; Nettie Lundy, PCA II, emergency
department; Donna Nanney, RN, second
floor; Dannielle Patterson, RN, progressive
care unit; Joseph Sowunmi, RN, ICU; Takeia
McClenny and James Han, EVS, Aramark;
Hector Moreno, food services, Aramark.
Part-time: Ashleigh Hooks, CNA I, third
floor; Lori Lucas, RN, Women’s Pavilion;
Jeanne Mullins, patient access registration;
Krysti Seals, patient access registrar; Jessica
Edwards, CNA I, third floor; Cassandra Silver, patient advocate, nursing administration.
PRN: Patrick Bridges, security officer;
Christy Giles, CNA I, Hospice House; Sarah
Ryals and Ashley Wilkins, PCA I, second
floor; Helen Adams, RN, Women’s Pavilion;
Renee Sanders, RN, ICU; April Woodall, RN,
Hospice House; Whitney Anderson, ultrasound tech, EKG; Glorimar Davila, CNA I,
Hospice House; Kaitlyn Jernigan, PCA I,
progressive care unit; Katie Taylor, monitor
tech, ICU.
Volunteers: Dianne Creech, hospice; Geneva Wall, Linda Howell, Peggy Wall and
Judith Eberhardt, SECU Hospice House;
Madison Kennemur, Hadi Siddique, Lucy
Allen, Margaret Frook and Mattie Richardson, hospital.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Gracious,
thankful
at age105
Hospital leaders and administrators attending the annual Volunteer
Awards Banquet last Wednesday at Johnston Community College praised
the work of volunteers, who donated 39,579 hours for the year. From
left, Sue Archambeault, Greg McClain and, at far right, Kristin Lassiter, all
of whom oversee volunteers, present a ceremonial check that puts this
year’s value of volunteers at $832,752. At center are, Bobby Parker,
chairman of the Johnston Health Services Corp. board, and Chuck Elliott,
CEO of Johnston Health.
Parker: ‘Your service is a precious gift’
T
hey help the staff, patients and
visitors in myriad ways, from
filling water pitchers to fetching
lab bags to delivering flowers.
Indeed, it would be hard to do without the
175 men and women who volunteer at
Johnston Health.
“Your service is invaluable and inspiring,” CEO Chuck Elliott said Wednesday
during the annual Volunteer Awards Banquet. “In all sorts of meaningful ways,
you help us meet the needs of our patients
and families.”
Bobby Parker, chairman of the Johnston
Health Services Corp. board, thanked the
volunteers for giving generously of their
time. “Don’t ever forget the value of what
you’re doing,” he said. “Your service is a
precious gift.”
Elliott and Parker did the honor of handing out certificates and pins to the volunteers where they sat. As the two walked
quickly back and forth across the banquet
room to keep pace with the program, they
were getting a taste of what it’s like to be
a volunteer, said April Culver, the vice
president who oversees the hospital volunteers.
“We can’t say thank you enough for all
that you do,” she said during her remarks.
Farrah Nguyen, the volunteer coordinator, pointed out a few stats. Last year, the
chaplain, hospice and hospital volunteers
contributed 39,579 hours for a total value
of $832,752.
Helois Daughtry, who began volunteering in September 1984, has contributed
the most hours (24,256) and is the longest
-serving volunteer. And among the volunteers, there are 14 married couples.
Also during the banquet, the Rev. Greg
McClain honored chaplain volunteer Jim
McCarver with the Overa S. Stevens
Award for dedicated service.
At left, Pansy Evans helps Patt Kerbe attach her first 500-hour pin to
her lapel. Volunteers were honored last week for their service to Johnston Health. At right, Myrtle Pilkington, at 91, is the oldest volunteer.
Della Edwards of Smithfield believes a firm
handshake is a good judge of character. And
back in the day, it was how she sized up the
visiting preachers at her home church, Bethesda Baptist near Clayton.
Although it’s been a while since Edwards
has been able to attend a church service, she’s
still on the mind of the congregation. Last
Thursday, her deacon stopped by to extend
belated-birthday wishes.
On April 7, Edwards turned 105. At last
count, she had received 164 cards. “And I
appreciated every one of them,” she says.
In the hustle and bustle of caring for patients, it can be easy to overlook what they
may be thinking or feeling. That’s why pulling
up a chair and taking the time to ask questions
and to listen can make a world of difference.
What brought them to Johnston Health?
What’s important to them? What can we do to
improve their experience?
Listening is a form of caring, says Amber
Daughtry, the patient experience specialist for
Johnston Health. “It’s a way to gain insight
into what means most, whether it’s having
clean linen every day or shaking hands with
everyone who comes into the room.”
During Patient Experience Week, April
28—May 2, Daughtry wants everyone to
“think patient experience.”
On Patient Day, April 28, members of the
new Patient-Family Engagement Advisory
Council will interview patients and write
down their stories.
“They can talk about their care, their medical histories, their backgrounds. The point is
that we listen,” she says.
On Tuesday, the stories will be posted on a
table in the cafeteria and at Johnston Health
Clayton’s administrative office. There will be
candy there for employees. (Night shifts will
get the candy delivered to them.)
Story board contest: A story board contest
will reflect how departments enhance the patient experience. Entries will be judged on
effort, creativity, originality and the message.
The first-place winner will receive a prize. To
enter, fill out the attached form by April 23.
See the videos: To learn how MCG Health
Care and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are
engaging patients and families in their health
care systems, check out the video showing
from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m. on April 29 in the
chapel. A Q&A will follow. Directors: Please
encourage staff to attend.
If you haven’t yet seen the Johnston Health
patient experience video, you’re invited to
watch it in the cafeteria on April 28.
Snow cones: A cool treat for everyone—in
Clayton from 11 a.m. till 7 p.m. on April 30
and in Smithfield on May 1.
A fun puzzle: How good are you at following directions? Test your skill by doing the
Direction Daze attached to this email. Info
about deadlines and prizes are on the form.
Amy Jones headed to National Summer Games
The daughter of Vicky Lindsay, who is
a verification specialist for community
wide scheduling, is representing Special
Olympics of North Carolina in the National Summer Games in New Jersey on
June 14-21.
Amy Jones is among five female athletes from the state who will compete in
the bocce singles, doubles and four-man
team events. She and her husband, Chris,
have competed together in bocce and won
gold medals for the last 15 years at the
county level.
“This is Amy’s first time away from
home, and she’s very excited,” Lindsay
says. “She’s already packed her suitcase.”
After putting their daughter on the plane
for New Jersey, Lindsay and her husband,
Jimmy, will drive up to watch her compete. Afterward, the couple is planning to
vacation in the Amish Country.
The athletes will stay in the dorms at
the College of New Jersey and will have a
full week of activities, including a sightseeing tour to the Statute of Liberty, Lindsay said.
Patient advocate Cassandra Silver visits
with Della Edwards from her room on
third floor. During her stay, she turned
105.
May 7, 2014
JOHNSTON HEALTH CHAMPIONS
NOTEWORTHY
Perinatal Memorial Service May 18
The Rev. Greg McClain, manager of Johnston Health’s spiritual care services, will lead
a memorial service at 3 p.m. on May 18 to
honor the memory of babies who have died
during the last two years.
Physicians, chaplain volunteers and nurses
from the Women’s Pavilion will participate in
the special service, which will include music,
poems and readings.
Also, Susan Ramsey, senior community
director of Eastern Carolina Division March
of Dimes, will be a guest speaker.
Vickie Brown, the night clinical coordinator
for the Women’s Pavilion, says the staff has
invited about 20 families to attend. A balloon
release and reception will follow this year’s
service in the hospital’s chapel.
About 40 people attended the first service
held last year.
Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives
Family Fun Day is Thursday
The Child Collaborative in partnership with
Johnston County Mental Health invites families to its Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives Family Fun Day from 5 till 7 p.m. Thursday
(tomorrow) at the Johnston Medical Mall.
This free event will include children’s
games and activities, an art contest, a variety
of vendors and free food. Johnston Health
will be represented by staff from HealthQuest
and behavioral health.
May is Mental Health Awareness month.
Ladies Night Out
Johnston Health’s Ladies Night Out will be
May 15 from 5 till 7 p.m. in the medical mall.
To register for this free event, go to (http://
johnstonhealth.org/community/classes-andevents/events/ladies-night-out/). The event
will include screenings, nutrition and cooking
demos, health-related tips and tours. It’s for
women of all ages, so bring daughters, mothers and grandmothers, too. There will be
refreshments, vendors and raffles for prizes,
too.
Learning how to babysit safely
Children ages 11 to 13 can learn how to be
safe and responsible babysitters during the
SafeSitter classes scheduled this summer.
In addition to basic child care tips, they’ll
learn basic lifesaving techniques, how to
prevent accidents, and how and when to call
for help. The education department has
scheduled the two-day sessions from 9 a.m.
till 4:30 p.m. on June 19-20 and July 15-16
in the auditorium of the Johnston Medical
Mall. The fee is $65 per child. To preregister, call 938-7736. There is a limit of
eight children per session.
ICD-10 training deadline extended
Congress has delayed implementation of
ICD-10 by at least a year, but Johnston
Health will continue its prep for the big
changeover, originally set for Oct. 1. However, employees will have until the end of
December to take the assigned training
through HealthStream. The original deadline
had been July 31.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Next week:
food, photos
thank you’s
Johnston Health gears up
for National Hospital Week
Nearly 200 people participated Saturday in the Johnston Health Champions 5K. The event raised $13,600 for the Angel Fund, which assists cancer patients who are struggling financially.
Road race draws crowd
eager to support cause
O
n race days past, Erin McMahon and co-workers at Four
Oaks Bank had been content to
hand out water to runners and
walkers in the Johnston Health Champions 5K.
This time around, the Smithfield-branch
office manager yearned for a different
experience. So McMahon rounded up
employees from other branches, even the
CEO, and formed a team to enter the race.
And while a bank employee still manned
the all-important water station on Saturday, it was the team that got the love (and
the prize of a pig pickin’) for having the
most members.
Nearly 200 people participated in the 3rd
Annual Johnston Health Champions 5K,
which was moved up this year to coincide
with Smithfield’s Ham & Yam Festival.
The event got underway at 9 a.m. on the
hospital’s front driveway.
“We had so much fun that we’re doubling the size of our team next year,”
McMahon said later on Tuesday. “It was a
great cause and a great team-building
experience.”
It was also quite the workout for McMahon, who pushed her 2-year-old son in a
stroller. She said it weighed about 45
pounds. They finished in 46 minutes.
Ayden Lee Jr., the bank’s chairman,
president and CEO, ran and walked with
his son, Jason, and grandson, J.T. It was
their first 5K, and Lee says they let 9-year
-old J.T. set the pace. At 65, Lee turned
out to be the oldest race participant.
All three Lees finished around 38 minutes.
“The course was laid out well and presented Smithfield in a favorable light to
the participants,” Lee said. “It was a lot of
fun.”
Gear’d Up, the team from Kenly 95
PETRO, used the event as a community
outreach project. “We’re big on community involvement,” says Ernie Brame,
who is the general manager for the truck
stop located at Exit 106. It was also a
prelude to the 3rd Annual East Coast
Truckers Jamboree, which begins Thursday and ends Saturday.
While the team included seasoned runners, it also had employees who were not
so accustomed to walking long distances,
he says. “They cheered on one another,
and they all finished the race. I think they
had a wonderful time.”
Alison Drain, director of development
for Johnston Health, says the event raised
$13,600 for the Angel Fund, which assists
with the needs of cancer patients who are
struggling financially.
Drain says the event gets bigger and
better from year to year. Along the route,
inspirational signs and the Princeton High
School Band helped spur on the runners
and walkers.
“You could feel the energy and excitement from the crowd,” she says. “It was a
beautiful day and a great cause.”
Men’s results:
First: Jonathan Wood, 25, of Raleigh, 18:23
Second: Luke Fang, 27, of Smithfield, 20:37
Third: Larry Lam 32, of Benson, 20:53
Women’s results:
First: Emily Bass, 25, of Raleigh, 22:33
Second: Kristen Ellington, 19, of Cary, 22:51
Third: Guyn Reece, 14, of Smithfield, 22:59
An outdoor space in the center of the hospital is getting new mulch and plants and a
spring cleaning this week—all in preparation
for National Hospital Week, which starts on
Sunday.
The courtyard used to be the place where
employees, patients and visitors went to
smoke. But next week, weather permitting, it
will be “snow-cone central.” The sweet treat
will be offered from 11 a.m. till 7 p.m. on
Friday.
Ralph Stewart, who serves on the board of
the directors for Johnston Health Services
Corp., donated the rose bushes and azaleas to
brighten up the spot. Environmental services
employees have cleaned up the windows,
tables and benches, and engineering employees are adding pine needles this week.
“We’re rejuvenating the space so that employees can enjoy time outside,” says Doug
Harrison, director of human resources, who
planted the bushes. “It’s a good place to unwind and get some sun.”
Harrison says the activities for the week
ahead are meant to acknowledge and thank
employees for their dedication. “We’re evolving into a new organization and that process
has required a lot of sacrifice and hard work,”
he adds. “We want everyone to know that we
so much appreciate all that they do here at
Johnston Health.”
What follows is a brief overview of the
week ahead.
Monday: Operation Thank You, and an employee photo album on Facebook. Of the more
than 500 photos submitted, the marketing
department will select the best 100 or so for
posting.
Tuesday: Service Award Breakfast, 7:30 a.m.;
Red Carpet Service Awards Banquet, 6 p.m. A
banquet highlight will be the naming of the
Ambassador of the Year. Honorees will be
treated to prime rib and pan-seared chicken
breast with artichoke lemon sauce.
Wednesday: A basket of treats will be delivered to all departments.
Thursday: A meal for all employees from 11
a.m. till 1:30 p.m. and at 6 p.m. The menu
includes roast beef and turkey wraps. It’s also
snow cone day for Johnston Health Clayton.
Friday through Sunday: A free movie at the
Howell Theater in Smithfield. Show your ID
badge to get two complimentary tickets.
Thanks to the Johnston Health Advantage
program, employees can get free drink and
popcorn refills.
In honor of
our nurses
If you haven’t already,
take time out this week to
thank the nurses on our
staff at Johnston Health.
The ad at left will be running in this week’s News
& Observer, on local billboards and internally on
the Mediplay board in
recognition of Nurses
Appreciation Week.
From left, Barbie Davis, Jamie Williams and Crystal Lee from nuclear
medicine take a creative approach to
their photo. An album of the 100
best will be posted to Johnston
Health’s Facebook page on Monday
as part of National Hospital Week.
Wound Center recognized for making a difference
E
very department has a story to
share. Last month, Angela
Fortson of the Johnston Health
Therapeutic Wound Center wrote the
following story about how her department is making a difference. The recognition program is an extension of
the Standards Committee.
An acrylic, titled Resolved.
A passion for painting
Lynn Barwick, a clinical documentation specialist for Johnston Health, has been painting
off and on for the last seven years. “Painting
takes me completely outside myself and
when I paint, I feel as though I'm doing what I
need to be doing,” she says. “I feel drawn to
paint women's faces in a way that illustrates
that all the ‘broken pieces’ that we may see in
ourselves are actually beautiful when viewed
as a whole,” she says about her art.
Barwick has worked at Johnston Health for
several years, first as a business office secretary and later as a nurse. After leaving in
2008, she returned in December 2012 to
accept her current position.
What’s your passion? Send a photo of your
hobby to the LifeLiner, and we’ll publish it.
A call to all local artists
Johnston Health has enlisted the help of the
Johnston County Arts Council to gather and
and select works of original art for the 50
patient rooms and family waiting areas now
under construction in Clayton.
The hospital is looking for works that are
either 16 by 20 inches or 18 by 24 inches and
of media such as (but not limited to) acrylic,
chalk, crayon, collage, watercolor or pen and
ink suitable for framing under glass. All will
be matted, framed and installed by Johnston
Health.
The Arts Council will collect the entries at
its office located at 1115 Industrial Park
Drive, Smithfield. An art committee will select
the entries based on artistic merit and suitability for patients and visitors.
Preference will be given to artists who grew
up in Johnston County or who now live or
work in Johnston County. The artwork must
be uplifting and inspiring. Artists may enter as
many as five entries.
Johnston Health will pay $50 for each entry
selected and will install a plaque next to each
artwork with a short story of the artist’s inspiration for the work and his or her connection
to Johnston County. It is also the intent of
Johnston Health to publish a catalog that
would include a scanned image of the artist’s
work.
The selected artists will be invited to a preview party prior to the opening of the hospital’s new wing in January 2015. Artists are
invited to tour the construction at Johnston
Health Clayton at 6 p.m. on May 21. Artwork
must be submitted by June 20 to the Council.
Artists will be notified by email or phone by
July 11. For more information, contact Darlene Williford at 919 938-0306 or
[email protected]
People: We have such a great team in the
Wound Center. They truly have the patient’s best interest in mind. Our team
members are vested in their jobs. Their
number one focus is to help our patients
to heal. We see our patients frequently.
Our care is personalized depending on
the needs of each patient. The concern
this staff has for patients is outstanding.
We have a close staff that often refers to
one another as family.
Quality: Healing patients is what we do,
and we see wonderful results. The national average heal rate is 80 percent. We
are currently at 93 percent. Our job is
rewarding. We see many patients who are
here for a second opinion because they
have been told they need an amputation.
The greatest gift we can give these patients is limb salvage. We have so many
wonderful stories we could tell. We have
seen amazing results. We have healed
wounds when others said it could not be
done. Our team takes great pride in what
we do.
Growth: We are constantly looking at
ways we can grow as a department. We
have recently been approved to start doing total contact casting in the Wound
Center. Dr. Cieza and Dr. Singh both
volunteered to train and apply these casts
when applicable. We need to stay competitive with other wound centers. Offering services like TCC is definitely a step
in the right direction. When some pa-
The Rev. Greg McClain, who is chairman of the Standards Committee, presents Angela Fortson with a certificate recognizing her department as making a difference. From left, other members of the staff are Danielle Bass,
Linda Sorrells, April Gardner, Stephanie Keene, David McCoy, and Manmohan Singh, MD.
tients have wounds on their feet that just
won’t heal and pressure is an issue, the
total contact cast can offload the wound.
In other words, it may be the key to pressure-relief for these patients and allow
healing to occur. Our team embraces new
technology. It is exciting to try new treatments, especially when we see positive
results.
Value: The Wound Center team is aware
of how important it is to control expenses
and maintain a positive productivity. Our
team flexes by volume always. It truly is a
team effort for the Wound Center to be
profitable and give excellent care at the
same time. We are always thinking about
ways we can save and reduce expenses but
also about new services we can offer to
increase revenue. Hyperbarics is a huge
financial contributor of our program. All of
our staff is charged with keeping our hyperbaric program strong. One employee can’t
make the department successful. It takes a
team that works together, and we absolutely
have that here at the Johnston Health
Therapeutic Wound Center.
Innovation: We are extremely excited about
the partnership with UNC Health Care. We
have already made contact with UNC’s
Wound Center and will be touring in the
future. We look forward to the endless possibilities that could become available to us
through this new relationship. Our staff
members are open-minded and excited
about the future. Our team embraces any
change that could improve the quality of
care we give our patients.
Hands-only CPR initiative gets RACE grant, AHA quality nod
Johnston Health will receive a $5,000
grant to support its community outreach
efforts to teach hands-only CPR.
A representative of RACE CARS,
which stands for Regional Approach to
Cardiovascular Emergencies, Cardiac
Arrest Resuscitation System, contacted
chest pain coordinators Hank Long and
Kenny Gooch on Monday to share the
news.
RACE brings together hospitals, EMS
systems, first responders and telecommunicators to improve survival from sudden
cardiac arrest.
Data provided by Johnston County EMS
says that there were 179 cardiac arrests in
the county last year and that bystanders
performed CPR in 39 (or 22 percent) of
those cases. Based on those statistics, it’s
beneficial to educate and train residents in
hands-only CPR, Long says.
“It’s our goal to improve the survival
rates of those suffering from sudden cardiac arrest by training 1,000 people out in
the community this year,” he says. “We
also want to teach hands-only CPR to
every member of our non-clinical staff at
Johnston Health. With these initiatives in
place, we’re hopeful that we can improve
the percentage of bystander CPR to 50
percent by February 2015.”
Anaira Knight teaches hands-only
CPR to the Chick-Fil-A mascot during the Garner Business Expo.
Gooch and Long have been teaching
hands-only CPR at health and community
fairs, business expos and road races. They
have also partnered with WellnessWorks of
Johnston Health to teach the lifesaving skill
at local businesses and governments.
The grant will be used to buy new teaching manikins and to cover the cost of marketing materials.
“Johnston County EMS is assisting with
our community outreach events and is also
entering out-of-hospital data into a registry,” he says.
In the grant application, Long pointed
out that heart disease and heart attacks rank
as one of the top five health problems,
along with obesity and diabetes, in the
county.
The grant application was written by
Anaira Knight, a graduating ECU senior
who interned this spring in the marketing
department. She has also assisted in the
CPR training. Also, development director
Alison Drain assisted with the application.
There was other good news this week:
The American Heart Association has recognized Johnston Health for its quality
improvements in the care of patients suffering sudden cardiac arrest.
Specifically, the organization has
achieved the Mission: Lifeline Referring
Center-SILVER Level Recognition Award
for having met specific core measures and
transfer times that are critical to saving
heart muscle. Last May, Johnston Health
became an accredited chest pain center.
A treat for nurses
On Thursday (tomorrow), the Cyber Café is
honoring nurses by giving them a free beverage or special sweet treat with the purchase
of a lunch. The lunch spot is operated by
Johnston County Industries as part of a culinary training program. Want to receive Cyber
Café news? To get on the list, contact Shirley
Chamberlain at
[email protected].
Shot days
Employee Health will be offering shots in the
EH Office on fourth floor of the Bright Leaf
Tower in Smithfield from 7 a.m. till noon and
from 1 till 3:30 p.m. on May 16.
In Clayton, shots will be given from 7 a.m.
till 1 p.m. on May 20 in the QA office. (Please
note that this is a change from an original
schedule.)
Community Outreach Op
The Johnston Pet Adoption Center on North
Bright Leaf Boulevard in Smithfield needs
newspapers, bleach and kitty litter.
The Johnston Health emergency department won first place last week in the
patient experience storyboard contest and will receive a pizza party as the
prize. From left, members of the staff are Jessica Hudson, Lori Giggey,
Megan Westbrook and Maegan Hewett. Winning second place was Two East,
and third, PCU. Those staffs will get treats from Dunkin’ Donuts.
More than 100 employees completed the Directions Daze puzzle to enter a drawing for prizes.
Amy Skinner, above, and Judy
Williams were the winners.
May 21, 2014
ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET
NOTEWORTHY
Camp Courage
set for July 26
When young people experience the
death of a parent,
sibling or close
friend, how do you
help them grieve?
Signing them up for
bereavement camp
may be a good
start.
Children ages 6
to 16 are invited to
Johnston Health’s
first Camp Courage The ropes course at
Camp Mary Atkinson
from 8 a.m. till 5
near Selma will be
p.m. on July 26. It
one of the many fun
will be at the Girl
activities at a beScouts’ Camp Mary
reavement camp for
Atkinson near
children and teens.
Selma. There will
be games, expressive art activities and music as well as family
time.
“Johnston County has one of the highest
rates of teen death in the state,” says Tami
Bambaugh, who is manager of the SECU
Hospice House. “And at the Hospice House,
we’ve seen an increase in the number of
patients younger than 40 who have children.
It’s our job to help every member of the family, including children, through the bereavement process.”
The camp will have nurses, chaplains, social workers and bereavement counselors, all
of whom have been trained to work with children and teens. There’s no fee to attend.
Bambaugh says the Girls Scouts will offer
four activities, including the ropes course.
Johnston Home Care & Hospice and the
Hospice House will offer four other activities
that include art and music.
“It’s going to be fun and therapeutic, too,”
she says. “We’re hopeful that the camp can
be a yearly event.”
To register, please visit the events section
of www.johnstonhealth.org. If you have questions, contact Murray Dees at 919-209-5104
or [email protected]. Also, donations to Camp Courage may be mailed to the
Johnston Health Foundation, P.O. Box 1376,
Smithfield, NC 27577.
Congratulations graduate
Debra Nirella, an RN in case management,
has earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing
from Mount Olive University. She graduated
May 3.
Until enrolling full-time at Mount Olive, she
had taken classes at Georgian Court College, St. Joseph’s College of Maine, UNC
and Brookdale Community College.
Williams earns certification
Judy Williams, who is the hyperbaric technician at the Johnston Wound Center, has
earned her certification from the National
Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology. She lives in Micro and has worked at
the wound center since opening in 2003.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Gold turns
feedback
into action
Nurse says listening can
solve a lot of problems
As the Johnston Health Ambassador of the Year, Brian Gold will receive
special acknowledgement, eight hours of paid time off and a parking
space of his choice for a year. Presenting the award were, from left:
Jackie Ring, chief operating officer of Johnston Health Clayton; Chuck
Elliott, CEO and president of Johnston Health; Gold, who is an emergency
department nurse at Johnston Health Clayton; Bobby Parker, chairman of
the Johnston Health Service Corp. board of directors; and Daniel Register, director of the emergency department at Johnston Health Clayton.
Staff shines at banquet
ED NURSE NAMED AMBASSADOR OF YEAR
A
n emergency department nurse known
for putting patients
first has been named
the Johnston Health Ambassador of the Year.
Brian Gold of Garner won
the award during the Red Carpet Awards Banquet on May
13. He is among 12 employees
previously honored by their
peers as Johnston Health Ambassadors of the Month. He
was chosen for the top award
RNs Sharon Hughes, left, and Karen Hughes,
by the hospital’s administraright, were among 70 employees celebrating
tors.
“I’m humbled and honored,” milestone anniversaries last week.
Gold said afterward. “I enjoy
Employees and their milestones were:
helping people and saving lives.”
30th—Kyle McDermott and Brookie
Gold has been a nurse at Johnston
Stanley; 25th—Diana Allen, Jean Barnes,
Health Clayton for the past three years.
Amanda Browning, Teresa Chappell,
He is a preceptor, a member of the chest
Cynthia Renfrow and Jacqueline Smith;
pain committee and chairman of the cus20th—Karla Allen, Tracy Davis, Denise
tomer service committee.
Deel, LaRue Keith, April Moore, Teresa
During the presentation, Chuck Elliott,
O’Neal and Wake Styron; 15th—Vickie
CEO and president of Johnston Health,
Brown, Gina Cobb-Jackson, Cynthia
kept the audience in suspense as he deCone, Lori Dishman, Donna Godwin,
scribed the recipient as a positive role
Donna Hinnant, Teresa Johnson, Barbara
model, patient advocate and problem
Joyner, Barbara McDougle, Gary Mileski,
solver. He said the selection of the AmShelly Phillips, Tracy Register, Robin
bassador of the Year is based on exemSchwartz, David Sellers, Billy Stanley,
plary actions and commitment to the goals
Karen Strickland, Angela Wadsworth,
of Johnston Health.
Lisa Whitley; 10th—Cynthia Baker, Cathy
“They live by our ideals, mission and
Batten, Mark Bowling, Jennifer Brown,
vision, and strive to better themselves and
Billie Bryant, Magaly Buffey, Donna
the organization,” he said.
Camin, Brenton Cherry, Jeanne Codd,
Elliott also said Gold had played an
Millie Coley, Crystal Collins, Lisa Cotimportant role in Johnston Health Clayton, Tracey Davis, Angela Fortson, Jan
ton’s being recognized nationally by its
Garner, Crystal Godwin, Janice Hinton,
vendor, Healthstream, for having outKaren Hughes, Sharon Hughes, Stephanie
standing patient satisfaction scores.
Keene, Laura McLamb, Amber NewAlso at the banquet, employees celecomb, Deborah Norris, Daniel Pate Jr.,
brating milestone anniversaries and retireDebbie Price, Patrick Price, Eric
ment were recognized and honored.
Rothman, Ashley Scott, Deborah
During guest remarks, Dr. Regina Ryan,
Shepard, Kristy Stanley, Rhonda Stanley,
chief of the medical staff, thanked emWade Staten, Jacqueline Stevens, Robbie
ployees for working alongside doctors in
Taylor, Rebecca Whitley, Judy Williams,
taking care of patients.
Lee Wilson and Cynthia Wooters.
Bobby Parker, chairman of Johnston
Retires recognized were: Dan Kelley for
Health Services Corp., said the board of
22 years, Gussie McLean (21), Lucy
directors has great confidence in the staff.
Coats (40), Marcia Warner (30), Shelva
“We know the hospital is in good hands,”
Watkins (38) and Teresa Rhodes (32).
he says. “You are the most valuable asset
we have, and we appreciate you.”
During his career in technology and broadcast sales, Brian Gold felt isolated behind the
computer. So at age 44, he went back to
school to become a nurse. And in two years,
he went from being a CNA to an LPN to an
RN.
“You’re never too old to try something
new,” says Gold, a nurse in the emergency
department at Johnston Health Clayton who
was honored last week as Ambassador of the
Year. “I’ve always liked helping people. I
think it’s a way to return some of life’s
karma.”
Since coming on board in October 2010,
Gold has made good things happen in Clayton.
Known as a good listener, his insights have
helped improve processes and the overall patient experience, says Daniel Register, director
of the emergency department.
Among the health care systems using
Healthstream to measure patient satisfaction in
2013, the Clayton ED rates in the top 10 percent of performers in the nation, Register says.
“And Brian has been a big part of that accomplishment.
“He’s quiet and reserved. But when he
speaks, everyone listens because what he says
is spot on,” Register adds. “He understands
that making a good impression on patients and
families is the key to bringing them back.”
Gold says he enjoys working in emergency
departments because of the diversity of patients and the opportunity to save lives. His
first nursing job out of school in 2008 was in
the ED at Duke-Raleigh Hospital. In the Clayton ED, where the atmosphere can be tense, he
tries to put patients at ease by explaining
what’s going on or why they may have to wait
to see a doctor or to get a test result.
“In an ED setting, people can arrive scared
and unsure,” he adds. “Sometimes, people just
want to vent. Taking the time to listen seems
to solve a lot of problems.”
Gold grew up in High Point. He lives in
Garner and has a grown daughter and two
grandchildren, ages 11 and 13. When he’s not
working, he enjoys outdoor activities including snow skiing.
Pageant titleholders to visit
hospital Saturday morning
Leah Sykes of Jacksonville,
Fla., Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2014, will visit
Johnston Health along with 11
other local, state and regional
pageant titleholders on Saturday.
Chaplain volunteer Christine
Allen will meet Leah and the
other young ladies in the main
hospital lobby about 12:30 p.m. Leah Sykes
before taking them around to see
patients and staff on the floors and departments. The titleholders will be available to
sign autographs.
Allen will be enlisting the help of the nursing staff to ask patients whether they would
like a visit.
Here’s a list of other visiting teens and their titles: Emili
McPhail, North Carolina Outstanding Teen 2013; Cassie
Donegon, Miss Virginia’s Outstanding Teen 2013; Kaitlyn
Royal, Benson’s Outstanding Teen 2013; Emma Carter,
Johnston County Outstanding Teen 2013; Catherine
White, Sampson County Outstanding Teen 2014; Vanna
Prestage, Clinton Outstanding Teen 2014; Kaelyn Embler,
Mount Holly Outstanding Teen 2014; Kristyn Ember,
Mount Holly Outstanding Teen Carolina Princess 2014;
Victoria Baskett, Miss Greater Cape Fear 2014; Brook
Fair, Miss Greater Cape Fear Outstanding Teen 2014;
Elizabeth Obrien, Moore County Outstanding Teen 2014.
June 4, 2014
HOSPITAL HOSTS UNVEILING
NOTEWORTHY
Dunston
named
Ambassador
Catering coordinator has
knack for country cooking
An artful ceiling for patients
A rose garden is in full bloom at Smithfield Radiation Oncology in the Johnston Medical Mall. Artists volunteering
with the nonprofit Healing Ceilings art
initiative have painted about a dozen
acoustic ceiling tiles that now adorn the
treatment room. Above, Charlie Blinson
of the engineering department installs
the artwork last Wednesday above the
linear accelerator and down the hallway to the treatment room. Amy Edwards, who is head of the nonprofit,
says she is also rounding up tiles for
the radiation oncology office in Clayton.
You can follow the work of the nonprofit on its Facebook page.
An art show for Johnston Health
Johnston Health employees and volunteers
are invited to submit their original works of
art for display along the Women’s Pavilion
hallway. The exhibit will go up Monday and
will continue to hang till July 11. For more
info, contact Suzette Rodriguez in marketing
and community relations at ext. 7103 or by
email.
Syverson earns certification
Ronnie Syverson, director of infection control
for Johnston Health, has earned his board
certification in infection prevention and control. He is accredited by the Association for
Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Congratulations graduates
Hiede Erikson has earned her master’s degree in social work. She graduated May 17
from the University of North Dakota. She has
been with Johnston Health for about 18
months and is the social worker case manager assigned to third floor.
Also, Caitlyn Hines and Jenna Upchurch
have earned their bachelor’s degrees in
nursing. The CNAs graduated May 11 from
Barton College.
Quality awards announced
The quality award for completion of head CT
or MRI and interpretation within 45 minutes
of ED arrival will go to both departments of
emergency service and radiology. Both hit
the criteria 100 percent of the time. The
award for improvement in communication
about medications went to the progressive
care unit.
Next quarter, the focus will be on improving
pain management, and the award will go to
the campus that gets closest to operating at
the 90th percentile for treatment of long-bone
pain.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
At left and right, Gale Cass and Brenda Mitchell volunteered to craft this
year’s memorial quilt. The angels are fashioned from swatches of cloth
contributed by hospice families in memory of their loved ones.
A quilt for remembering
SWATCHES TELL STORIES OF LOVED ONES
V
alerie Howell and her daughter,
Mary Lee, spotted the Wolfpack
logo as soon as they walked into
the hospital chapel.
The snippet on the square at
top and center of the memorial quilt belonged to their husband and father.
Ricky Howell of Princeton was 58 when
he died of pancreatic cancer on March 28,
2013 at the SECU Hospice House. After
his retirement from the N.C. Department
of Cultural Resources, he worked on the
event staff for N.C. State, his alma mater.
“He never cared about clothes,” his wife
said. “So my biggest dilemma was which
piece of cloth to contribute in his memory. But when I saw his event staff shirt,
everything fell into place. It wrapped up
his life. He loved the Wolfpack.”
The Howells were among the 50 or so
people gathered at the hospital on May 28
for the unveiling of this year’s community
memorial quilt. It was made with
swatches of fabric that families contributed back in the fall during a special service at the Johnston County Agricultural
Center.
A project of Johnston Home Care &
Hospice, the quilt will hang in an alcove
at the north end of the Johnston Medical
Mall. Others from years past are dis-
played at the SECU Hospice House and at
Johnston Home Care & Hospice in the
medical mall.
Gale Cass and Brenda Mitchell, both of
whom volunteer with Johnston Health,
put the quilt together. They cut the
swatches into angel shapes, zigzagstitched the edges, and then used an ironon adhesive to attach them to squares.
Other volunteers helped out by tying
knots to connect the layers.
The ceremony was the first for the Rev.
Kiki Barnes, who has been the hospice
chaplain since October. “I marveled at
how the volunteers went to such painstaking detail. It reflects their genuine care
and enthusiasm for patients and families,”
she says.
“The quilt is a meaningful, constructive
way to memorialize family members,” she
says. “While a person may not be physically present, it’s comforting to know that
he or she is not forgotten.”
Howell said that seeing the quilt reminded her that she’s not alone in her
loss.
Her daughter, Mary Lee, agreed. “The
squares represent families all surrounding
and supporting one another,” she said.
Before leaving, she used her smartphone
to snap one last photo as a keepsake.
Amanda Dunston is known for her countrystyle cooking. And she makes no apologies for
using ham hocks or fatback to season some of
the dishes she prepares for customers.
“I can’t help it,” the catering coordinator
says. “I’m old fashioned.”
Last week, Dunston was honored as the
Johnston Health Ambassador for April. In a
presentation prior to the Johnston Health
Foundation’s monthly dinner meeting, CEO
Chuck Elliott praised her for taking pride and
ownership in her work.
“She’s a role model in the dietary department,” he said. “Her pleasant and caring attitude promotes customer service to patients,
employees and friends of the hospital.”
Dunston was setting up the dinner in the
physician’s dining room last Tuesday night
when Elliott called together the guests. “I
thought I was going to meet someone who was
being honored. I had no idea it was me,” she
said. “It made me feel well-appreciated.”
Dunston has been with Johnston Health for
nearly ten years. She started out as a cook,
then moved into managing the hospital’s Cyber Café until it closed in 2010. That’s when
she took on her new role as catering coordinator.
Her job is to prepare the food, and then set
up and take down the spreads at the special
events, which are scheduled and managed
through the dietary department. She averages
eight to 10 gigs a week for groups ranging in
size from six to 75 people.
Russ Currie, who has been the director of
food services for Aramark since February,
says Dunston worked particularly hard to prepare the special meals during hospital week,
which included the Red Carpet Banquet. “In
the short time I’ve been here, she has provided
direction to a lot of us who needed it,” he
added.
Dunston grew up in Smithfield and has been
catering for 35 years. She started out washing
dishes for two well-known local caterers,
Washie Scoffield and Rena Carter. It wasn’t
long before she was cooking with them for
large events all over the county.
She eventually started her own business,
which she still runs today.
Dunston says she gets more enjoyment out
of watching people eat more than she does
eating. “I taste the food, but I’m not big on
eating,” she adds. “Some days a bowl of
chicken broth is all I want for lunch.”
During her spare time, Dunston enjoys
shooting pool and has won district level competitions of the American Pool Association.
She lives in Selma and has a grown daughter
and two grown grandchildren.
At left and right, CEO Chuck Elliott
and food services director Russ Currie
congratulate Amanda Dunston on her
award.
PFS director
settling
into new job
Deans likes variety,
problem solving that
comes with health care
The Women’s Pavilion staff threw a going away party in April for interim director Tina Gist. When she called them together for this quick group photo, she didn’t tell them that it was for the “You Make A Difference” recognition award.
She said she wanted it to be a surprise. Last week, CEO Chuck Elliott presented the award certificate to clinical coordinator Dana Davis. From left to right, employees are Renee Adams, Lucile McHenry, Kristy Stanley, Suzanne Foy, Kathleen Sturdevant, Kim Bryant, Vickie Brown, Amy Hamby (administrative director), Gist and Amber Newcomb.
Women’s Pavilion recognized for making a difference
E
very department has a story to share.
Before leaving in April, interim director Tina Gist wrote the following
story about how the Women’s Pavilion is making a difference. The recognition
program is an extension of the Standards Committee.
People: The Women’s Pavilion has a great
group of nurses, perinatal techs, secretaries,
housekeepers and providers who deliver excellent care to patients. Most of the time, the
events are happy, and the staff can join in the
celebration of a new baby with the parents and
their families.
Employees make every birth a special occasion. They call it a birthday party. But there are
sad times, too, and they have to change gears.
They are exceptional in supporting parents
through this difficult time, and they give parents
what they need to cope with a loss. The care
they provide is one of the most important times,
happy or sad, in this patient’s life.
They try to make it memorable.
Quality: The staff provides quality care to patients, and it shows. They know they are caring
for two patients, the mom and the baby (or babies). Their care can affect the mother, baby
and their families for the rest of their lives.
Patients have told me that our nurses are
excellent, and that they’re glad to have
such great care close to home. Others have
said that our staff has “bent over backwards” to give the patient what she wants
during birth.
Employees are currently working on C
Section turnaround times for the OR. The
goal is to decrease the time it takes to turn
over a room between C Sections. This can
be achieved by standardizing the time of all
cases in order to respond to emergent cases
when they occur within a safe time period,
which is set by national standards.
Growth: Our census swings erratically,
and the staff responds to highs and lows.
During the last half 2013, there were 236
more babies born than during the first half.
That trend continued through the beginning
of 2014 when, in January, there were 27
percent more babies born than a year ago.
The staff worked hard during that busy
month without complaining.
Value: The charge nurses responsible for
flexing the staff during low census do an
incredible job. They flex when appropriate
and are still able to provide the same level
of care to patients. All of them do well at
controlling supply expenses. They understand that by controlling expenses, they’re
able to purchase more items needed for
patient care.
Innovation: Since November, the Women’s
Pavilion has worked on initiatives to improve patient care and experience, which
also affects HCAHPS.
These were in three categories: responsiveness of staff, cleanliness of the room
and quietness. Through these initiatives, we
significantly improved our scores. We
worked with Environmental Services to
clean up the units. We initiated HUSH and
changed the culture to provide a quieter
and calmer environment for patients.
The responsiveness score went from 65 in
October to a high of 86; the cleanliness
score, from 50 in October to a high of 80;
and the quietness score, from 55 in October
to a high of 77.
The goal is to provide an improved response to the needs of the patient and her
baby, and to provide a clean and relaxing
environment.
RIE focuses on revenue cycle
The implementation next year of the new coding system, called ICD-10,
will bring about changes that will affect reimbursements. And preparing for
those changes was the focus last week of a rapid improvement event.
During the week-long exercise, a team of staff and an administrator targeted
the revenue cycle, specifically the processes for scheduling, insurance verification and preregistration.
“We recognized that claim denials were due to invalid medical necessities
and a lack of authorizations,” says Jessica Springer, director of Lean transformation. “In some situations, this was happening because the physician
documentation was incomplete or because there were multiple hand-offs
and phone calls to physicians offices.”
The team decided to improve the work flow of the employee in charge of
inpatient insurance verification. They also made and put into a binder some
instructional materials for the staff of the physician offices where authorizations and orders had been problematic. To make the process easier, physician offices may now fax over demographics sheets, which are needed for
verification, she says.
The team standardized and added procedure codes to the order forms for
the lab, radiology and cardiology departments.
And there are plans to redesign the work of the revenue staff. Rather than
having separate tasks such insurance verification, estimators and preregistration phone callers, employees will own the account for all of those functions, Springer says.
“We’re also going to look into a preauthorization service for referring
Rehab program
offers class for
COPD patients
From left, members of the team in last week’s RIE
were: Cherie Paonessa, Angela Deans, Tamela Putnam, Chief Financial Officer Eddie Klein and Nancy
Batchelor.
physicians,” she adds.
By reducing the number of denials, it’s anticipated the hospital
will save about $121,000.
News for sharing from UNC Health Care...
June issue of UNC Health Care
Leadership Update now available
The latest issue of UNC Health Care
Leadership Update is available at this link.
Highlights include an update from Tracy
Parham, UNC Health Care's Chief Information Officer, on Epic@UNC, an introduction
to the new pillars that span all UNC Health
Care locations, and an update from Amy
Bragg, System VP of Strategic Planning, on
UNC Health Care’s approaches to growth
and health care reform.
After three weeks on
the job, the new director of patient financial
services says she’s
feeling right at home.
Before coming to
Johnston Health, Angela Deans had been a
career employee at
Wilson Medical Center. While there, she
got to know chief operating officer Ruth
Marler and many other
Angela Deans
co-workers who have
since taken jobs in
Smithfield.
Deans says the PFS department in Wilson,
where she was director, was similar-sized
and faced similar challenges. “So the job
feels familiar—only the location and faces
are different,” she says. “I’m happy to be
here.”
While a senior in high school, Deans entered a summer work/study program that
placed her as a registrar in the emergency
department. Afterward, the hospital hired
her part-time while she studied at then Atlantic Christian College.
After Deans graduated with her degree in
business, the hospital hired her full-time as
a staff assistant in the business office.
Through the years, she worked her way up
from assistant business manager to manager
and then to director.
In 1990, Deans returned to school to earn
a master’s degree in health care administration from UNC.
Deans says she enjoys the challenges of
working on the business side of health care.
“I like problem-solving and the variety of
tasks. It’s never the same thing from one
day to the next. And I enjoy working with
staff to improve processes that increase our
collections,” she adds.
Deans grew up in Sims. As a youngster,
she worked in tobacco and picked cucumbers. And in high school, she drove a school
bus. “So I’ve worked all of my life,” she
says.
She and her husband, Ted, of 35 years,
live in Bailey. They have a grown son and
daughter, and a 4-month-old granddaughter.
An archive is available here.
First ‘Real Medicine’ video - UNC
Surgeon has humble beginning
in Burma
Moe Lim, MD, a spine surgeon in the UNC
Department of Orthopaedics, is featured in the
first “Real Medicine: Stories that Connect”
video. If you know a co-worker who inspires,
motivates and connects with patients and coworkers at Johnston Health, submit your
story at this link.
Shot Days
Need a shot or a TST?
In Smithfield, shots will be
given from 7 a.m. till noon
and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. on
June 20 at employee health
on fourth floor of the Bright
Leaf Tower.
In Clayton, shots will given
from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m. on June
17 in the lab.
Patients suffering from COPD are now
being offered a class that focuses more
intensely on how to better manage their
disease.
Until now, cardiac and pulmonary patients had been meeting together in the ongoing cardiopulmonary rehab classes at
HealthQuest. But starting this week, COPD
patients can opt for the expanded class offering additional instruction specific to their
disease.
“By grouping together patients with
COPD, we think they will be able to draw
from common experiences and therefore
better encourage and support one another,”
says Shelby Holt, director of cardiopulmonary services.
The cardiopulmonary rehab program
combines exercise sessions with classroom
instruction on topics such as healthful eating and stress reduction. The new class will
go a step farther and offer counseling, for
example, on how to travel safely or what to
do if symptoms suddenly worsen, Holt says.
“We want them to be as knowledgeable as
possible so they can avoid a health crisis
that requires an emergency trip to hospital,”
she says.
Patients will need a physician referral for
the class, which will meet at HealthQuest
twice a week for about an hour.
June 18, 2014
THE FIRST BABY GIFTS
NOTEWORTHY
Feedback please
The Food Services Department would like
your feedback.
It’s conducting a brief survey to get an assessment of the cafeteria service this week.
Survey forms are at one of the cash register
check-out stations. Once completed, the
forms go into the box located on the condiment stand. The survey will be available
through June 22.
“We want feedback so that we can provide
the best food and service possible,” says
Russ Currie, director of food services.
See the employee art exhibit
The artwork of four Johnston Health employees is on display now through July 11 along
the Women’s Pavilion hallway of the hospital.
The artists are Lynn Barwick, William Corbett, Jody Houston and Ruby-Lynn Lee.
Health Chat in July
to focus on dementia
Dr. Nicole Collins of Johnston Medical Associates-Internal Medicine will be the next
speaker at Health Chats, the quarterly health
series presented by Johnston Health. Her
topic will be “Recognizing dementia, the
signs and symptoms.” She will speak at 6
p.m. on July 15 at the Clayton Center and at
11 a.m. on July 16 in the auditorium of the
Johnston Medical Mall. To register for this
free presentation, go to the Johnston Health
website.
Congratulations graduate
Leslie Byrd graduated May 6 from Wayne
Community College with an associate degree
in nursing. She passed her licensing exam
on June 3 and has accepted a fulltime RN
position on the progressive care unit. She
has worked as a flex CNA for the past three
and a half years at Johnston Health.
Wellness programs on the way
for children, cancer patients
Children and cancer patients will benefit from
two programs now in the works.
The Johnston Health Foundation has won
a $5,000 grant from the Johnston County
Community Foundation to help set up a
health and wellness program at Johnston
Health Hematology & Oncology.
Also, the Johnston Health Foundation has
added the Healthy Kids Fund, which will provide scholarships to a HealthQuest Fitness
and Wellness program for underserved children. Instructors will teach nutrition and
healthful eating and lead the children in exercises.
Want to give? The Foundation is accepting
contributions to the following: Hospice Fund,
Angel Fund, Healthy Kids Fund and Patient
Assistance Fund. Donors may also give directly to the Johnston Health Foundation and
to the Johnston Health Foundation Endowment at the NC Community Foundation.
Congratulations newly weds
Whitney Page, an RN on third floor, was
married to Isaiah Giles on May 24 in Dunn.
The couple lives at McGee’s Crossroads.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Savannah Hatem, 7, delivers 30 blankets that she and others have made
for infants who will be born at Johnston Health Clayton. She is the
daughter of Amanda Tatem, who is an X-ray technologist on the staff.
She’s learning to serve
while learning to sew
T
he first infants born at Johnston
Health Clayton this winter will
get a hand-sewn blanket, thanks
to a service project led by 7year-old Savannah Hatem, whose mother
Amanda is an X-ray technologist on the
staff.
Last week, the rising third grader delivered 30 blankets to the chief operating
officer, Jackie Ring, who took time out to
look at every piece. Savannah has learned
to sew from her grandmother, Connie
Mills, who is a quilting instructor at
Johnston Community College.
Mills liked her granddaughter’s project
so much that she convinced the women in
her quilting class to whip up a few extra
blankets to help Savannah get started.
To raise money for her project, Savannah pitched her idea to Woodmen of the
World Lodge 543. And she came away
with a contribution to buy the materials.
She made 10 of the blankets, herself. And
she has plans to do 10 every month.
Before she launched into making the
blankets, Savannah made an appointment
with Ring to propose her project. “I think
they’re wonderful, and I’m so impressed
that she’s taken this on as project,” Ring
says.
Amanda Hatem says her husband, Michael, assigned the service project as part
of Savannah’s homeschooling instruction.
“We’re trying to teach her to give back to
the community,” she says.
Last year, Savannah toured a Kinston
orphanage and distributed 20 handmade
pillowcases that were a service project of
the local Woodmen lodge. “She learned
that not every child has a father and
mother at home, but there are organizations out there that make sure these children are not forgotten,” Hatem says.
Savannah sews one day a week with her
grandmother. “We have a lot of fun,” she
says.
Anderson
named
Ambassador
The birth of her first child was such a positive experience that April Anderson decided
that day she wanted to be a labor and delivery
nurse. But after graduating from nursing
school in 2006, there wasn’t such an opening
available when she applied at the hospital.
So Anderson took a job on the surgical floor,
and figured she would stay until there was an
opening she liked better in women’s services.
It ended up being a good fit.
“I liked it enough that I’ve been here eight
years,” says Anderson, who is a charge nurse
and team leader for fourth floor. “I love working with patients, helping them with pain control, physical therapy and rehab. It’s rewarding
to see them get back to their normal lives.”
In May, Anderson was honored as the
Johnston Health Ambassador of the Month.
During a presentation, Chuck Elliott, CEO and
president of Johnston Health, described the
nurse as eager to learn, calm and composed
during stressful situations, and a team player
to whom co-workers look up to.
“She is a role model for ADIET principles,
and she’s often sought out by former patients
when they return to the hospital,” Elliott said.
“She’s always aware of safety procedures and
encourages other staff to always work safely.”
Stephanie O’Neal, director of the floor, says
Anderson is kind and compassionate and often
gets compliments from patients. “As a leader,
she plans ahead throughout the day so that coworkers are organized and poised to leave at
the end of their shift. When situations occur,
April is quick to respond. When I take a day
off, I know that our floor is in great hands.
“She is a true asset, and I’m so proud of her
commitment and accomplishments,” O’Neal
says.
When Anderson is away from work, she and
her husband are busy with their blended family. Together they have six children, ranging
in age from 5 to 16, who are active in dance
and sports. The family lives in Rosewood near
Goldsboro.
RIE focuses on OR inventory
Getting a handle on inventory can save time, money and steps.
During a rapid improvement event last week, a team of staff members and an administrator focused on better managing the equipment and supplies for the operating rooms.
Jessica Springer, the director of Lean transformation, says the team identified several
areas for improvement. Here’s a brief rundown of the challenges and the team’s ideas for
tackling them.
A standard work plan was documented for how to order supplies, update dictionaries on
new supplies and how to return broken equipment and instruments. This plan will help the
department when the materials manager is away.
“We also recognized that there’s a significant amount of stock with no activity for 365
days,” Springer says. “We’re continuing to investigate how to rectify that.”
The team set up specific days and times and a process for sales representatives who want
to pitch their products. Until now, they had come at all times of the day and week.
The team combined the inventories for sterile processing and the OR, and moved them to
the sterile processing department. Until now, the equipment and supplies had been spread
across five different locations, requiring the staff to walk from place to place to get what
they needed. Items used less often will go into the “1-2-3 room,” which is opposite the sterile hallway.
“We’re hopeful this will reduce the time it takes to pick supplies for the case carts for
surgeries,” Springer says. “OR techs have had to pick the case carts between cases, and
there’s not always sufficient time allotted for the task.”
The team is also recommending a 30-day trial of a task identified as an OR supply specialist. This would become part of an existing OR tech’s job.
“We want to see if that role can increase the efficiency of the OR. He or she would be
responsible for picking case carts and managing the supplies and inventory,” she says.
Springer says the departments will hold off on moving the supplies until after June 29,
when the fiscal inventory for the OR is complete.
From left, CEO Chuck Elliott, chief
nursing officer Linda Allen and fourth
floor director Stephanie O’Neal congratulate April Anderson.
Welcome Junior Volunteers
They’re here.
Those fresh-faced junior volunteers, 44 in
all, from ages 15 to 18, and representing every
high school in the county. You can recognize
them by the lime-green collared shirts they’re
wearing.
The Junior Volunteers will be learning about
health care careers while also helping out with
tasks such as delivering flowers to patients,
assisting hospital departments and transporting
patients by wheelchair.
“The Junior Volunteer program is a great
way to make friends, research a career in the
medical field, and it brings personal satisfaction by helping others,” says Farrah Nguyen,
manager of volunteer services.
The Juniors will be here until Aug. 8.
July 2, 2014
A PILOT PROJECT
NOTEWORTHY
Catch the shuttle at the big rock
Shuttle riders now have a new spot to get on
and off at the hospital entrance—the large
memorial rock just beyond the canopy.
Kyle McDermott, senior administrative director of support services, says the change
will reduce traffic congestion and improve
traffic safety under the canopy where drivers
pull up to drop off and pick up patients.
The shuttle, however, will stop underneath
the canopy for pickups when there’s a heavy
downpour, he says.
McCarver stays on the go
filling church, JH needs
Patient portal goes live
Patients can now view their lab results, preregister for scheduled appointments and get
access to their records online, and much
more. A patient portal is up and running and
accessible through the Johnston Health website.
Users can find the directions they need on
the patient portal page, which is under the
patients and visitors tab on the home page.
Health Chat to focus on dementia
Dr. Nicole Collins of Johnston Medical Associates-Internal Medicine will be the next
speaker at Health Chats, the quarterly health
series presented by Johnston Health. Her
topic will be “Recognizing Dementia, the
Signs and Symptoms.” She will speak at 6
p.m. on July 15 at the Clayton Center and at
11 a.m. on July 16 in the auditorium of the
Johnston Medical Mall.
Employee survey on the way
What’s your opinion about your job and your
work place?
Along with other UNC Health Care affiliates, Johnston Health is asking its employees to fill out a survey, which will be available
online July 21 through Aug. 4. Thirty-two of
the questions will be on all the surveys
throughout UNC Health Care. Four others
have been chosen by Johnston Health.
To ensure confidentiality, a representative
from every department will hand out to employees an envelope containing a random
number that he or she can use to access the
survey. “We’re hopeful that this new method
will help everyone feel more secure that their
answers will remain confidential,” says Tim
Hays, vice president of human resources.
In departments where fewer than five employees fill out the surveys, results will not be
reported to the director, he added. Instead,
they will be rolled into a larger division.
Hays says UNC Health Care typically has a
90 percent participation rate from its employees.
Last year, 59 percent of Johnston Health
employees filled out the survey, which was
10 percentage points higher than the 2010
survey. “So we’re seeing improvement from
one survey to the next,” he added. “Hopefully
we can continue that upward trend.”
Hays says survey results from last year, for
example, prompted salary reviews and
spurred CEO rounding during department
huddles. “So it’s important that we have this
kind of feedback from employees,” he says.
“It helps us improve.”
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
His fav job:
Volunteering
as chaplain
Johnston Health is trying out a new process for cleaning. At right, Darryl
Patterson of Aquaox and his wife, Christina, were involved in the recent
filming of a TV segment promoting the disinfection system.
Former EVS director returns
with new approach to cleaning
A
former director of environmental services has returned to
Johnston Health to introduce his
company’s revolutionary way
of cleaning.
Starting this month, Darryl Patterson
will be leading a 60-day pilot testing and
trial in two areas of the hospital. Since
going to work eight months ago as vice
president of Aquaox, he has designed and
developed the application system, including the cart and a wand to mist the disinfectant.
Patterson will be training environmental
services employees how to use the product, which is made of salt brine and softened water through a process of electrolysis. “It’s a hypochlorous acid mist,
which is non-toxic,” he says.
Patterson says the Centers for Disease
Control has said the cleaner is 200 times
more effective than bleach in killing microbes. “It kills spores, allergens and
odors,” he says.
A generator on site will produce and
dispense the product.
Because the cleaner is electro-statically
charged, it attaches to all surfaces. While
one of the products is used to wipe away
bio-film, another is applied through the
wand or a rotating mister to cover an entire room to clean areas such walls and
curtains. “It dries so fast that it doesn’t
damage anything,” he adds.
After the 60 days is up, Patterson will
report his findings to administration.
In the meantime, his company is promoting the Aquaox infection control system
through US Media TV, producer of
Health Briefs with Terry Bradshaw.
A few weeks ago, a videographer spent
a day with Patterson at the hospital filming for the five-minute segment, which
will air sometime in August.
Patterson, who lives in Clayton, says he
talked his company into doing the local
pilot at Johnston Health rather than at a
hospital in another state.
Nurse practitioner joins QuikMed staff
From the time she
was five years old,
Lindsay Tart
wanted to be a
nurse. At that
young age, she
even declared her
intentions on a
home video that her
mother has kept till
this day.
“I love helping
Lindsay Tart
people feel better,”
she says.
Tart, who grew up in Linden, is the new
medical provider at QuikMed. The nurse
practitioner succeeds Angela Wadsworth,
who is now working with Dr. Mark Bowling in Johnston Health’s family care practice at the Johnston Professional Plaza in
Clayton.
Before coming to Johnston Health, Tart
worked in a gastroenterology practice in
Fayetteville where she diagnosed, managed and treated a variety of acute and
chronic GI diseases and disorders.
She became a registered nurse in Sep-
tember 2008 and then completed her master’s in nursing in July 2012. She became
a licensed nurse practitioner in October
2012. Both her bachelor’s and master’s
degrees are from East Carolina University
in Greenville.
As an RN, Tart worked in a variety of
settings. She last worked as a float nurse
at Duke Raleigh Hospital where she provided care to orthopedic, neurology and
oncology patients. Her career has also
included a three-year stint at Cape Fear
Valley Hospital in Fayetteville.
Tart, who started June 16 at QuikMed,
says she is enjoying her new position and
her co-workers. “We have a great team
here,” she says. “Everyone at Johnston
Health has been friendly, and I really like
the small town atmosphere here in Smithfield. Everyone is so kind.”
She and her husband, Peter, live near
Spivey’s Corner. They have a 3-monthold daughter, Leighton.
QuikMed, an urgent care in the Johnston Medical Mall, is open from 9 a.m. till
5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Co-pays
for Johnston Health employees are $35.
During the course of his life, Jim McCarver
has operated a funeral home, worked for a
mortgage banking company and sold commercial-building supplies—all interesting and
successful ventures.
But it’s been his volunteer work in retirement—as a Christian counselor and life coach,
the music director at his Asbury Methodist
Church, and as a chaplain at Johnston
Health—that has brought the most reward.
“It’s so fulfilling,” he says. “I wouldn’t take
anything in the world for it.”
In April, the Rev. Greg McClain, manager
of spiritual care services for Johnston Health,
presented McCarver with the Overa S.
Stephens award for faithful service. The award
is named after the Rev. Stephens, who was
instrumental in starting the volunteer chaplaincy program 40 years ago.
“Jim is compassionate and caring,” McClain
says. “His chaplain ministry has been a blessing to patients, families and staff.”
McCarver, who came on board as a chaplain
in July 2006, had the most volunteer hours in
2013: 755 in all. The 12 volunteer chaplains
are on a call rotation, and they cover the hospice house as well as the hospital and the outpatient campus in Clayton.
McCarver grew up in the small town of
Decherd, Tenn., just across the state line from
Huntsville, Ala. As a youngster, he attended
church regularly with his family. After going
into the funeral home business, his church
background came in handy.
Whenever a pastor didn’t show up to conduct the funeral, McCarver would jump in and
deliver the service. It wasn’t long before folks
started calling him the Rev. McCarver. He
became an ordained minister in 1998.
But it wasn’t until his job relocated him to
Smithfield, and he and his wife, Deb, began
volunteering at the hospital, that he began reexamining his faith. He was delivering a plant
to a room one day when the patient asked
McCarver to pray with him.
“I didn’t feel it was the right opportunity,”
he says in hind sight. “But I did it, and it reawakened within me a desire to serve people
and the Lord.”
McCarver eventually focused his volunteerism as a chaplain, and decided to pursue a
bachelor’s degree in biblical studies. He recently earned his degree online from Liberty
University and is now starting a master’s program.
McCarver says being a volunteer chaplain
can be stressful but is always fulfilling.
“It takes you to another level you never
thought you had,” he says. “I’m growing in
my faith. When I’m on call, I pray that the
phone doesn’t ring. But if it does, I pray that
I’ll have the strength, knowledge and ability to
do what I have to do.”
The Rev. Greg McClain presents Jim
McCarver with the Overa S. Stephens
award for faithful service.
July 16, 2014
A MAKEOVER FOR HEALTHQUEST
NOTEWORTHY
Workforce engagement survey
kicks off Monday
What do you think about your workplace?
Johnston Health is seeking feedback
through a survey along with most other UNC
Health Care hospitals.
It will begin Monday and end Aug. 4.
Employees will be able to answer the question online and confidentially. Starting today,
a representative or the director from each
department will be handing out to employees
an envelope containing instructions and a
pass code ticket that can be used to access
the survey.
These envelopes are sealed and contain
random pass codes assigned by Press
Ganey, the company conducting the survey.
These pass codes are unknown to everyone,
including Johnston Health and UNC Health
Care.
Please do not lose the pass-code ticket
because it cannot be replaced. That’s because neither Johnston Health nor UNC
Health Care has no way of knowing what
pass code was in the envelope.
Employees who do not receive their envelopes during the distribution will get their
pass code through the mail at their home
address.
The survey has 32 questions and takes
about 10 minutes to complete. It is open to
employees who were hired prior to June 1,
2014.
The web address for the survey will be on
the ticket, and a link to the survey can be
found in the employee survey folder on Hospital Quicklinks.
If 75 percent of Johnston Health employees participate in the survey, then all will be
treated to ice cream as a celebration.
The HR department wishes to thank the
department representatives and directors for
assisting with the distribution and encouraging participation.
Need summer supplies?
The Johnston Health Volunteers are selling
chances now through July 31 to win a bag
containing $200 worth of items. Tickets are
$1 apiece or six for $5, and can be purchased in the Volunteer Gift Shop. The drawing will be at 3 p.m. on July 31. All proceeds
go toward paper, pencils and supplies for
patients through the Operation Cheer initiative.
From left, members of last week’s RIE
team were Megan Westbook, Amy
Hamby, Tim Hays, Dr. Kumari Verghese,
Cyril Reyno, Bailey deCathelineau and
Shelly Malone.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Vanderlaan
named
Ambassador
Co-workers praise CNA
for team work, work ethic
Darlene Creech of Clayton works out last week in the newly expanded
aerobics room at HealthQuest. The fitness and wellness center is in the
midst of a makeover.
Center adds room for cycling;
expands aerobics, massage
W
hen an interior decorator sent
over samples of subdued,
earth-tone colors, Ashley
Scott knew they weren’t right
for the HealthQuest remodeling project.
In a place where there are few windows
and natural light, the paint on the walls
would have to brighten up the place.
“In this environment, we need energizing colors,” says Scott, who is director of
the wellness and fitness center. “We want
to get people excited and ready to exercise.”
The new look is definitely drawing
attention. There are nine accent colors
from Basic Khaki to Red Red Rose to
Green Lane. The new carpet pulls the
look together.
The changes go beyond cosmetics. The
massage rooms, which used to be on the
back hallway, have been moved to a new
space (formerly the diabetes education
classroom) accessible from the main corridor.
There’s also additional space in the
aerobics room and, next door, a dedicated
cycling room with new bikes. Cycling
classes had been held in a small space,
originally a storage room, overseeing the
racketball courts.
Scott says the popularity of cycling and
Zumba, as well as a robust massage business, had driven the need for expanding
and updating. A third massage therapist
may be hired to help take care of customer demand.
Scott says the update started last year
when the deck around the pool was replaced and the steam rooms repaired.
Then new cardio machines replaced aging
equipment on the fitness floor.
Weightlifters will appreciate the recent
addition of a larger, safer squat rack, Scott
says.
In the locker rooms, slip-resistant rubber flooring has replaced the carpet, and
new benches are on the way. Also, the TV
lobby will be getting vending machines
and new furniture.
Scott says the staff will add a few proshop items across from the front desk.
With the addition of a small storage area,
there’s now a place to store the merchandise rather than displaying it all.
Scott says announcements will appear
on a digital board rather than on fliers,
posters and bulletin boards. “To reduce
clutter, many of those will not be going
back up,” she says.
A future phase will extend new flooring
to the fitness floor and continue upgrades
to the locker rooms. “We’re still a work in
progress,” she adds. “We’ll be doing a
little at the time as funding becomes
available.”
HealthQuest opened in January 2003. In
the 10 years since, more than 17,000 people have come through the doors, either as
members, guests or patients in the cardiopulmonary rehab program. Among the
3,861 members, 240 are Johnston Health
employees and 36 are volunteers.
“We have a wonderful staff and great
programs,” Scott adds. “I am amazed at
how many first-time guests don’t know of
all the amenities we have within this
building.”
“To remain competitive in the fitness
market, we needed the facelift. Appearance speaks volumes, and if members are
dissatisfied with the maintenance of a
facility, they tend to look elsewhere.”
Sherry Vanderlaan likes working hard and
learning new things.
The patient care assistant, who works nights
in the Smithfield emergency department, will
begin classes next month at Johnston Community College. She wants to earn an associate
degree in medical assisting.
Before joining Johnston Health a year ago,
Vanderlaan was a certified nursing assistant at
a nursing home for three years. While she
enjoyed caring for the aged, it was sad to
watch their decline, she says.
“I’m having fun in the ED, taking care of
patients of all ages and knowing that they are
going to get well,” she says. “I like the hospital setting. I’m seeing interesting things and
learning something new every day.”
Vanderlaan is known among co-workers as a
young woman of few words. Her work in the
ED, however, draws the praise of co-workers.
So much so that she was recognized recently
as the Johnston Health Ambassador for June.
During a presentation in the ED, Ruth Marler, chief operating officer at Johnston Health,
said Vanderlaan goes the extra mile to ensure
that rooms are quickly cleaned between visits.
“She makes sure patients get what they need
and are comfortable,” she says. “She answers
call bells right away and looks for ways to
satisfy the patient and family.”
Marler, who shared comments from nominators, said Vanderlaan “strives to learn and
grow by observing new procedures and asking
strategic questions to improve the delivery of
care.”
She also communicates well with coworkers and is willing to relieve them for
appropriate breaks, she said. “Sherry is always
an excellent team player.”
Vanderlaan grew up in Newark, N.J. and
moved to Selma as a teen. She has a 21-month
-old daughter.
From left, Sherry Vanderlaan is congratulated by Beverly Farish, emergency services coordinator, Chief
Operating Officer Ruth Marler and
Michelle Cooke, emergency services
coordinator.
RIE focuses on patient flow from ED to behavioral health
Patients coming to the emergency department to get behavioral health care are
now being screened more quickly and
efficiently, thanks to improved processes
put into place last week during a rapid
improvement event or RIE.
In the new BH Express Track, ED
nurses are contacting a behavioral health
screener right away if they determine that
the patient has no serious medical conditions.
Heretofore, nurses had been ordering
lab work and waiting for results to medi-
cally clear the patient before calling in the
screener.
Jessica Springer, director of Lean transformation, says about 60 percent of patients seeking or needing behavioral
health care can follow the Express Track.
From the RIE, a team of ED and behavioral health nurses and the on-site psychiatrist came up with an algorithm to
decide which patients could fall into the
“express” category.
They also put together a training module for staff, acquired a single phone
number to quickly reach behavioral health
screeners and worked with the marketing department to design an information sheet to
raise awareness about the behavioral health
resources available in the community.
“These changes can reduce our length of
stay for behavioral health patients and the
hours of sitters who are needed to stay with
these patients,” Springer says.
After the staff fine tunes the process, then
the team plans to see how it might work in
Clayton once the inpatient beds open.
(See the team photo at far left.)
August 6, 2014
CAMP COURAGE
NOTEWORTHY
Kudos for quality
The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence
has recognized Johnston Health for 100 percent compliance with the central-line insertion practices and for maintaining zero central-line associated blood stream infections
for 18 or more months.
Finance employee oversees
contracts for organization
Help needy schoolers
by filling the bus
Johnston Health is partnering with the Rotary
Club of Central Johnston County to collect
school supplies that the Salvation Army will
distribute to local needy children. The drive,
titled Fill the Bus, will continue through
Thursday.
Want to give? Deposit donated supplies
into one of the boxes at HealthQuest in the
Medical Mall or at the entrance to the cafeteria. Items on the list include notebooks, pencils, glue sticks and loose notebook paper.
For more info, contact Alison Drain at 9387169 or [email protected].
Art for Hope: For cancer patients
The Johnston Health Foundation has set up
an online campaign during August to raise
$10,000 to buy original artwork and to
brighten up the interior of Johnston Health
Hematology & Oncology in Smithfield. The
project will complement and prepare the department for a nutrition and wellness program starting in January.
Last month, the North Carolina Community
Foundation awarded the Johnston Health
Foundation a $5,000 grant to carry out the
program, which will offer patients nutrition
counseling and cooking demonstrations,
water aerobics classes and art therapy.
In the days since launching the campaign,
the Johnston Health Foundation has raised
more than $4,000. Local artists are serving
on a committee led by Johnston Health to
gather paintings that will go into waiting areas, exam and treatment rooms. Other artists are offering donations and discounted
prices on their pieces.
Donors who contribute $500 or more will
get their names on a plaque next to the
painting. To read more about this project
(and other opportunities to give), go to the
Johnston Health website.
Shot days
Need a shot or your annual tuberculin skin
test?
On shots days, no appointments are necessary. The walk-in clinic is from 7 a.m. till
noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 at
the employee health office on fourth floor of
the Bright Leaf tower. In Clayton, the clinic is
from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m. on Aug. 19 in the lab.
Shop the summer clearance sale
The Volunteer Gift Shop will have a summer
clearance sale from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. on
Aug. 21 in the hospital café. There will be
discounted prices on jewelry and other items.
Employees may use payroll deduction and all
shoppers may pay with credit cards or cash.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Johnson
named
Ambassador
Jackson Haga, 8, of Garner decorates a picture frame during craft class
at Camp Courage, a day-long bereavement camp held July 26 at Camp
Mary Atkinson and put on by Johnston Health. In the background, hospice social worker Murray Dees assists other campers.
Children play, get help with grieving
O
n a recent Saturday, Isabella
Montano tie-dyed a T-shirt,
hugged a horse and climbed a
50-foot-tall ropes course. She
made a new friend, Tristan, with whom
she shares a dislike for cleaning her room.
For 16 young people, Camp Courage
was a day to play and forget the cares of
the world. But just as important, it was an
outlet, too, for expressing and talking
about feelings in the wake of losing a
loved one.
Isabella, who is 12, lost her grandpa,
Elton Lee Eason, in January. He died two
months after being diagnosed with fungal
meningitis. She and her brother, Matthew,
also a camper, have fond memories of
visiting his home in Selma and playing
checkers.
“He was fun and funny, too,” Isabella
says. “We talked on the phone, and we
always told each other that we loved each
other.”
The camp was the vision of SECU Hospice House manager Tami Bambaugh and
hospice social worker Murray Dees.
While the hospice program of Johnston
Health offers bereavement services to
families, it had never included an emphasis on the children.
“Children tell us they don’t like showing grief because it makes parents sad or
upset,” Bambaugh says. “So they keep it
bottled up.”
The majority of the youngsters at Camp
Courage had lost a parent within the last
year or two, she says. Others had lost a
classmate, a family friend, a grandparent,
an aunt or uncle.
The camp, which was held at Camp
Mary Atkinson off N.C. 42 East, mixed
activities with group therapy led by
trained, experienced counselors. There
was no charge to attend.
By the end of the day, Isabella said she
was feeling much better. “This was very
helpful. I loved it,” she said before skipping off to join her friend in a canoe ride
on the lake.
Bambaugh and Dees began the planning
several months ago. As they put out feelers, several people passionate about the
cause came forward to volunteer—some
with ties to special resources and talents.
Heide Erickson, a social worker at
Johnston Health, recruited her friend,
Ashley Franey, a psychotherapist skilled
at incorporating horses in her sessions
with children. The women had worked
together previously with at-risk foster
children.
At Camp Courage, they designed a fun
exercise in which campers built their grief
journey out of props such as hula hoops
and noodles, and then lead a horse
through it.
Others made donations to the camp,
including Carol Smith, the office coordinator at the SECU Hospice, and Caroline
Hester, the administrative director who
oversees home care and hospice services.
Sheetz, a convenience store, made sandwiches for lunch. A Boy Scout troop provided all the art supplies.
Bambaugh did some bartering to get the
location. In exchange for use of the
grounds and Leadership Center at Camp
Mary Atkinson, she helped the staff with
camper registration on four consecutive
Sunday afternoons.
Also, the director and camp staff at
Camp Mary Atkinson volunteered to lead
the activities, which included archery,
crafts and canoeing. Among the other
volunteers were two Johnston Health
hospice volunteers and three counselors
from Johnston County Public Schools.
At the end of the day, parents were invited to join the children for a ceremony
around a campfire. One by one, they
tossed into the fire a letter they had written during the day to their lost loved ones.
Some of the parents wrote a letter, too.
“It summed up the emotions and feelings they had talked about throughout the
day,” Bambaugh says. “The burning letter
was a visual of letting go and saying final
goodbyes.”
Afterward, parents and guardians told
Bambaugh that they were grateful for the
camp and believed the experience would
help them reconnect with their children,
she says.
“I’m proud of our volunteers, and I’m
proud of the children for being so brave to
open up and trust us.
“This was a wonderful experience for us
all,” she said.
Teresa Johnson likes the detail in her work
and the friends that she’s made while on the
job.
She and Diane Westbrook have worked
together for nearly 15 years and without a
harsh word between them, she says. They
share the office at the end of the finance hallway at the Johnston Medical Mall, and they
will work in offices next to each other once
they move to fourth floor of the Bright Leaf
tower later this month.
Last month, Johnson was recognized as the
Johnston Health Ambassador for July. And
she was quick to say that Westbrook was just
as deserving of the award.
Kevin Cielinski, the controller, wasn’t surprised. “Teresa is a great team player who’s
always willing to help out,” he said.
During the presentation, CEO Chuck Elliott
described Johnson as pleasant, friendly, dependable and responsive to questions or needs.
“She never needs to be reminded when something needs to be completed,” he said. “She
excels at keeping everyone on track toward
completing tasks.”
Johnson started out with Johnston Health in
the mid 1980s doing the payroll. After four
years, in 1987, she left to accept a job with the
state as an administrative assistant to the controller.
She returned to Johnston Health part-time in
October 1998 so that she could be closer to
home and spend more time with her sons,
Reed and Matthew. Her job became full-time
in 2010.
“It’s rewarding to assist directors and administrators with getting what they need,” she
says. “It’s a good feeling knowing that you’ve
been able to help them get what they need.”
Elliott says Johnson was particularly helpful
during the due diligence period prior to the
affiliation with UNC Health Care. Attorneys
reviewed all of the hospital’s managed care
contracts, and Johnson had to provide much of
the information.
A big part of Johnson’s job is to keep up to
date the 1,400 or so contracts that Johnston
Health holds with vendors, colleges and nonprofits, among others. She processes new contracts as well as coordinates approvals and
changes to existing contracts.
Johnson says contracts had been under the
purview of the compliance department until
2009, when a restructuring shifted the duty to
the finance department. Until then, she had
overseen accounts payable.
In addition to overseeing contracts, Johnson
does monthly reconciliations, journal entries,
and is the department’s preceptor. She also
processes invoices and checks for the Volunteer Gift Shop.
Johnson grew up near McGee’s Crossroads.
She and her husband, Eddie, live in Four
Oaks.
From left, Kevin Cielinski, CEO Chuck
Elliott and CFO Eddie Klein congratulate Teresa Johnson on her award as
Johnston Health Ambassador of the
Month.
August 20, 2014
JOHNSTON MEDICAL ASSOCIATES
NOTEWORTHY
Scott Metzel has more than
24 years of experience
Shop the summer clearance sale
The Volunteer Gift Shop will have a summer
clearance sale from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. on
Aug. 21 in the hospital café. There will be
discounted prices on jewelry and other items.
Employees may use payroll deduction and all
shoppers may pay with credit cards or cash.
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees and volunteers
joining us in August.
Fulltime: Catherine Cassidy, EVS worker;
Dedra Rhodes, RN, third floor; Fredi Perez,
EVS worker; Jason Pope, RN, endoscopy;
Kristain Hinton, RN, emergency department;
Mary Raynor, patient care assistant, emergency department; Onika Nix, RN, cath lab;
Shannon Chamblee, RN, progressive care;
Amy Hays, RN, third floor; Abigail Osborn,
physical therapist; Brittany Parker, RN, third
floor; Cheryl Waddell, patient care assistant,
second floor; Crystal Adair, medical assistant, JMA-Gastroenterology; Efia Barnes,
cardiovascular tech, cardiac cath; Inna
Zboichyk, RN, behavioral health; James
Creech, security officer; Jennifer King, RN,
emergency department; Joni Canady, EVS
worker; Kayla Mercer, RN, third floor; Lauren
Lopez, RN, endoscopy; Marquis McDaniels,
security officer; Megan Lord, RN, second
floor; Nicole Ferrell, RN, home health;
Tammy Holland, medical assistant, JMAInternal Medicine; Tina Latham, department
secretary, operating room; Wendy Barnes,
eligibility specialist, business office; Carolyn
Steele, sleep tech, sleep lab.
PRN: Beverly Stolarick, social worker, behavioral health; Jonathan Holt, service representative, HealthQuest; Latoya Green, CNA,
hospice house; Mary Landaverde, CNA, hospice house; Rachel Weaver, EKG tech, cardiology; Allison Glasson, RN, wound center;
Erica Johnson, aerobics instructor, HealthQuest; Kaylynn Johnson, registered respiratory therapist; Mary Wood, RN, hospice
house; Miranda Miller, RN, emergency department; Nicolette Hines, RN, emergency
department.
Volunteers: Linda Sorrells, hospital; Mary
Iles, chaplain; Ruth Kennedy, hospital; Iris
Hocutt, chaplain.
Johnston Health Volunteers
award college scholarships
The Volunteers of Johnston Health recently
awarded college scholarships of $1,000
apiece to 11 students headed into health
care professions.
The recipients were Jenna Burrell of Clayton, Libby Dotson of Clayton, Lauren Hussey
of Clayton, Taylor Hamilton of Four Oaks,
Anna Hughes of Clayton, Monica Piszczor of
Clayton, Meribeth Lamberth of Clayton,
Kaylee Morgan of Clayton, Mark Fang of
Smithfield, Caitlyn Powell of Four Oaks and
Danielle Williams of Four Oaks.
The Volunteers use proceeds from their
special sales of jewelry, shoes and books to
fund the scholarships.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
ED director
settling
into new role
Ricky Byrd is the practice administrator for Johnston Medical Associates.
What’s up, new with the practices
S
ince assuming his new role as
administrator of Johnston Medical
Associates, Ricky Byrd has been
getting to know the staff and providers at the clinics spread around Johnston County, and to begin putting into
place a structure and best practices.
The former radiology director at Johnston Health Clayton is now an employee of
the UNC Physicians Network, which is
based in Morrisville and is made up of 36
practices. Johnston Health is contracting
with the group for its management services, which for now, is Byrd.
It’s the equivalent of being the CEO, the
COO and the CFO, all rolled up into one,
he says.
Until now, Byrd and administrative
director Tracey Carson had shared the
task of overseeing the practices. What
follows are a few basics and the latest
news about JMA.
WHAT, WHO IS JMA? Johnston Medical Associates is the group of practices
owned by Johnston Health. The medical
providers and staff are all Johnston Health
employees. These clinics are: the family
care practices in Clayton and Kenly;
QuikMed and the internal medicine practice at the Johnston Medical Mall; the
gastroenterology, rheumatology and neurology practices on the ground floor of the
Medical Arts Pavilion; and the infectious
disease practice on the pavilion’s second
floor.
NEW DOCS ON THE WAY: Drs. Mai
Trang Nguyen and Jarmella Russell, both
internists, will soon join Dr. Nicole
Collins at JMA-Internal Medicine on
Sept. 2 and 29, respectively. And Dr.
James MacDonald, who is married to Dr.
Russell, will open his neurology practice
Sept. 15.
GOING EPIC: JMA will be the first at
Johnston Health to adopt Epic, an electronic health record software. (It will
replace Allscripts, which the practices are
now using.) Epic will enable the clinics to
better communicate with other providers
within UNC Health Care as well as those
at Duke and WakeMed, Byrd says. “It
will simplify our lives. It’s a great reporting tool.”
JMA will go live with Epic during February or March 2015, he says.
WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?:
Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals
can lose a portion of their Medicare and
Medicare payments if they have too many
patients who are readmitted within 30
days of discharge because of three medical conditions: heart attack, heart failure
and pneumonia. Byrd says JMA will play
a vital role in engaging and providing
medical homes for patients who may
never have put a priority on their health.
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS?:
Byrd wants patients to have the best possible experience at JMA, and he believes
that the providers, both now in place and
coming soon, are all passionate about
putting patients first.
The greatest value of JMA is that it
provides preventive care so that patients
won’t need hospitalization, but to also
refer patients who do need hospital services, he says.
If his office seems
chilly, it’s because
Scott Metzel is still
getting used to the
climate in North Carolina. After living in
Anchorage, Alaska for
the past eight and a
half years, the temps
here in Smithfield
likely feel tropical by
comparison.
But Metzel is not
Scott Metzel
complaining. “Alaska
was beautiful, picturesque, but the winters
were long and cold,” he says. Plus, the Robinsville, N.J. native is happy to be back on the
East Coast, closer to family and his three oldest children, who are studying at universities
in Alabama and Idaho.
Since coming aboard last month as director
of the emergency department, Metzel has been
getting to know the staff and providers.
“We’ve got a great team, and I’ve felt a good
vibe and energy from everyone,” he says.
The team includes veterans Michelle Cooke
as ED manager and Beverly Farish as ED
coordinator, and Dr. Manny Gupta as clinical
director.
Metzel has 24 years of emergency, critical
care nursing and management experience.
Before coming to Johnston Health, he was the
director of emergency services at Providence
Medical Center for three years, and the director of the cardiac cath lab at Alaska Regional
Hospital for two years.
Prior to those positions, he was in active
duty with the Air Force after 27 years. Shortly
after receiving his nursing degree from the
College of New Jersey (that’s where he met
his wife Kim), he was assigned to Seymour
Johnson in Goldsboro, the first of many tours
stateside and abroad during his career.
His first exposure to emergency medicine
was at a base in Florida. Until then he had
worked mostly in intensive care units. He says
he liked the chaos, fast pace and “putting together the puzzle” in the emergency department. He later returned to school and earned a
master’s in emergency disaster management
from American Military University.
Metzel says his military training has helped
shape his leadership skills. He believes in
being fair, approachable and making sure that
everyone understands the mission.
The couple lives in Wake Forest and has
four children. In their spare time, they enjoy
watching their children participate in sports.
RIE focuses on reducing denials for urgent admissions
Getting the proper authorization for
admissions is the best way to ensure that
the hospital gets paid for its services.
During a recent RIE, a team focused on
reducing denials having to do with urgent admissions requiring authorizations.
Jessica Springer, director of Lean
transformation, says the lack of a standardized communication process was
among the obstacles. Insurance carriers
were directing questions or requests to
case managers and, at other times, to the
hospital’s insurance verification person.
The team created for case managers a
payor matrix that identifies the docu-
ments that each insurance carrier wants.
“The matrix keeps us from sending them
paperwork they don’t want, and it also
reduces the fees we pay to a faxing service.”
Springer says the team also looked at
cases in which claims were denied because insurers questioned whether patients should be kept for observation or
admitted. The team came up with a process to get a determination right away from
insurance companies as to the level of
care they’re willing to accept, she says.
“The moral of the story is that you need
to do as much as you can while the patient
is still here,” she says.
Under a plan now in place, case manager
assistants know throughout the day as case
managers finish charting the progress of patients. Until now, case managers had been
holding all of their utilization reviews till the
end of the day, Springer says. So the assistants
had no idea when the reviews were actually
done, and they were getting the reviews when
they were busiest with discharge planning.
The team also put into place a standardized
work plan for registration that will help improve the accuracy of the information they
enter.
“One of the best parts of the RIE was getting the two groups together,” she says.
“Several team members had never met.”
September 3, 2014
THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
NOTEWORTHY
JMA adds
internist
to practice
Dr. Nguyen puts emphasis
on wellness, preventive care
Teachers are artists too
The latest exhibit along the Women’s
Pavilion hallway showcases the work of
art teachers at Johnston County Public
Schools. Above is a landscape in acrylic
by Leslie Smith of Four Oaks Elementary. Employees are invited to an informal reception at 5 p.m. on Sept. 18 in
the hallway. It’s a great opportunity to
talk art with the teachers and ask about
purchasing their work. The rotating
exhibit is a collaboration between
Johnston Health and the Johnston
County Arts Council.
Brrrrr…..
Tim Hays, vice president of human resources, is the latest at
Johnston Health to take the ALS ice bucket challenge. See his
video and others on our Facebook page. Shelby Holt, director of
cardiopulmonary services, doused the VP Tuesday afternoon behind the Women’s Pavilion. Hays said the ice water felt good on
such a hot day.
Rock-A-Thon to benefit
home care, hospice patients
A rock-a-thon benefiting the volunteer fund to
support patients and families of Johnston
Health Home Care and Hospice and the
SECU Hospice House will be from 8 a.m. till
4 p.m. on Sept. 11 in the Johnston Medical
Mall. The day will include live entertainment,
refreshments, prizes and a silent auction that
includes an assortment of gift baskets. Employees are invited to join the activities, including rocking for the cause. (If you would
like to rock, please schedule with Wanda
Johnson, volunteer coordinator, by calling
919-209-5103.)
To donate, please make out your check to
the Johnston Health Foundation and mail to
the SECU Hospice House, attn. volunteers,
P.O. Box 1376, Smithfield, N.C. 27577.
Free prostate screenings
In keeping with prostate cancer awareness
month, Johnston Health is offering free prostate screenings from 1 till 5:30 p.m. on Sept.
24. Drs. Robert Lippitt and Adel Mohamed
will do the procedures in their office at the
Medical Arts Pavilion. To schedule a screening appointment, call 1-888-977-3319.
Shot days
Need a shot or annual tuberculin skin test?
In Smithfield, employees can stop by the
employee health office on fourth floor of the
Bright Leaf tower from 7 a.m. till noon and
from 1 till 3 p.m. on Sept. 19. In Clayton,
employees can stop by the lab from 7:30
a.m. till noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. on
Sept. 16. No appointments are necessary.
A bonus
Employees eligible for merit raises will soon
receive a bonus equal to 1.5 percent of their
base pay. The Johnston Health board of directors approved the payment last week after
recognizing the health system’s strong finish
for the fiscal year.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Johnston Health earns Gold Seal
Johnston Health has earned The Joint
Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval®
for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s
national standards for health care quality
and safety in hospitals. The accreditation
award recognizes Johnston Health’s dedication to continuous compliance with The
Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.
Johnston Health underwent a rigorous
unannounced on-site survey in July. A
team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated Johnston Health for compliance with standards of care specific to the
needs of patients, including infection
prevention and control, leadership and
medication management.
“In achieving Joint Commission accreditation, Johnston Health has demonstrated its commitment to the highest level
of care for its patients,” says Mark G.
Pelletier, R.N., M.S., chief operating officer, Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission.
“Accreditation is a voluntary process
and I commend Johnston Health for successfully undertaking this challenge to
elevate its
standard of
care and instill
confidence in
the community
it serves.”
“With Joint
Commission
accreditation,
we are making
a significant investment in quality on a
day-to-day basis from the top down. Joint
Commission accreditation provides us a
framework to take our organization to the
next level and helps create a culture of
excellence,” says CEO Chuck Elliott.
“Achieving Joint Commission accreditation, for our organization, is a major
step toward maintaining excellence and
continually improving the care we provide,” he says.
The Joint Commission’s hospital standards address important functions relating
to the care of patients and the management of hospitals. The standards are developed in consultation with health care
experts, providers, measurement experts
and patients.
Early Learning Center earns accreditation
The Early Learning Center of Johnston
Health has earned accreditation from the
Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools.
“Accreditation demonstrates to our community that we’re focused on raising
student achievement, providing a safe and
enriching learning environment, and
maintaining an efficient and effective
operation staffed by highly qualified
educators,” said Helen Patterson, director
of the
ELC.
Following a visit
from an
external
team earlier this summer, the center
scored 388 points out of a possible 400 for
education quality, 388 for teaching and
learning impact, 391 for leadership and
386 for resource utilization.
New procedure offers relief for accidental bowel leakage
Dr. Raj Majithia of Johnston Medical
Associates-Gastroenterology is now offering a nonsurgical procedure for patients suffering from fecal incontinence.
Solesta is a quick treatment that gives
patients more control by bulking up tis-
sue in the anal canal. The procedure can be
done in his office without sedation.
For more info or for referrals, call 919938-7182. It’s estimated that more than 15
million people in the U.S. live with symptoms of fecal incontinence.
An internist has joined
Dr. Nicole Collins in practice at Johnston Medical
Associates—Internal Medicine in Smithfield and will
begin seeing patients next
week.
Mai Trang Nguyen,
M.D., of Cary, has 13 years
of experience in treating
chronic and acute illnesses.
Before coming to Johnston
Health, she was the mediDr. Mai Trang
Nguyen
cal director of Optimus
Health Group in Raleigh, a
primary care, internal medicine and urgent
care practice.
Dr. Nguyen is a graduate of the University
of Massachusetts Medical School. She completed her internal medicine internship and
residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
Nguyen emphasizes preventive care and
enjoys treating patients who have diabetes and
other chronic illnesses. “It’s rewarding to see
results,” she says.
She believes patients should be at the center
of their treatment. “It’s important that they
understand their disease process, their medications and how they can contribute toward
optimizing their health,” she says.
Another essential part of primary care is
coordinating patient care, including appropriate referrals to specialists and utilizing community resources, she says.
Nguyen grew up in Vietnam where she says
health care is a luxury. At a young age, she
and her parents and siblings were able to escape from the communist country and to resettle in Boston with the help of a charitable
organization.
After graduating from college, she spent a
year teaching English at a refugee camp in the
Philippines. Her mother had seen to it that her
children learned English as a second language.
So by the time Nguyen arrived in Boston, she
was able to communicate with and understand
her teachers in school.
“I feel privileged to be able to provide care
to the public,” she adds. “It’s very rewarding.”
In joining Johnston Health, she’s excited
about growing the practice and working within
the larger UNC Health Care family.
She and her husband, Neil, live in Cary and
have a 12-year-old daughter.
Administrators assigned
new roles, responsibilities
under plan for early 2015
A new organizational structure will take
place within the next three to four months.
The changes were announced during the leadership meeting on Friday.
Jackie Ring, the chief operating officer for
Johnston Health Clayton, will assume a new
role as chief nursing officer. She will succeed
Linda Allen, who is retiring in early 2015.
Ruth Marler, the chief operating officer for
Johnston Health, will have responsibility for
operations at both campuses.
Also of note, Kyle McDermott will take on
additional duties as the site administrator for
Clayton, and he will have a new title as vice
president of support services.
The new organizational chart can be found
on Hospital Quicklinks.
September 17, 2014
SINGING AT THE ROCK-A-THON
NOTEWORTHY
Meet the art teachers
Employees are invited to an informal reception at 5 p.m. on Sept. 18 (Thursday) for the
Johnston County Public Schools art teachers
who are displaying their work along the
Women’s Pavilion hallway. The exhibit is a
joint project of the Johnston County Arts
Council and Johnston Health. Light refreshments will be served.
Couple will add depth to
Johnston Health services
National Voter Registration Day
Are you registered to vote? If not, you’ll have
the opportunity to do so here at Johnston
Health. From 11:30 a.m. till 2 p.m. on Sept.
23, Ann Stallings and Mary Anne Walker of
the Johnston County Board of Elections will
be available in the cafeteria at a red-whiteand-blue table to help with registrations.
Those registering will not have to show identification, but they will have to write on the
form either their drivers license number or
the last four digits of their social security
number.
Books are fun
Do you like to read? Make plans to shop at
the book fair from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. on Sept.
24 and from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m. on Sept. 25 in
the hospital cafeteria. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the Johnston Health
Volunteer Scholarship Fund. Payroll deduction is available.
Art exhibit opens Oct. 1 at mall
Patsy Cheek of Four Oaks will be the first
artist to show her work in a rotating exhibit at
Johnston Health Hematology and Oncology.
The exhibit, which will hang along a hallway
inside the practice, is an outgrowth of the Art
for Hope campaign, and it will complement a
health and wellness program starting in
January 2015 for patients. Visitors and employees are welcome to go and see the exhibit after 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Volunteer recruitment fair is Oct. 6
Do you know someone who would like to
volunteer? With the addition of the inpatient
beds in Clayton, Johnston Health will need
more volunteers. A recruitment fair will be
from 9 till 11 a.m. on Oct. 6 at the Clayton
Center in downtown Clayton. This will be an
opportunity for members of the community to
get information about volunteering at either
of the Clayton and Smithfield campuses.
A presentation on breast cancer
Dr. Rachel N. Goble, a fellowship-trained
breast surgeon from Rex, will talk about
breast cancer at 7:15 a.m. on Oct. 9 in the
Johnston Medical Mall auditorium. Doctors
and employees are invited to this presentation, which will count as a CME . This event
is being put on by a Johnston Health committee tasked with preparing the organization for
cancer accreditation. Topics will include use
of prognostic indicators, evidence-based
guidelines used in the treatment process, the
role of the patient navigator. Email Caroline
Hester at [email protected] right
away to reserve a seat and breakfast, which
will be served at 7 a.m.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
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[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Neurologist,
internist
join staff
Wanda Johnson, the hospice volunteer coordinator for Johnston Health,
sings with her sister, Deborah Davis, and her dad, Edgar Johnson, during
the Johnston Health Home Care and Hospice rock-a-thon on Thursday. At
the piano is their other sister, Vera Wright. The event raised more than
$8,000.
Hospice volunteer coordinator
comes full circle with new job
W
anda Johnson lives in the
house where she grew up
and next door to the church
where she learned to sing
and play the piano. It was
her grandfather who gave the land for
Faith Freewill Baptist Church, and he was
the minister there for many years.
“My daddy made sure we were in
church every Sunday,” says Johnson, who
sang her first solo at age 6.
Last Thursday, she performed with her
father and two older sisters at the Johnston Health Home Care and Hospice rocka-thon, which is organized and hosted by
the hospice volunteers.
Since July, Johnson has been the parttime hospice volunteer coordinator. She
works out of an office at the SECU Hospice House, where she had previously
been a volunteer for two and a half years.
Which leads to another story.
“I feel I’ve come full circle,” Johnson
says.
For 32 years, Johnson sold electrical
equipment to power companies. She decided to leave her job and go to work with
her son in his construction business. But
when the recession hit and the housing
market tanked, the business closed and
Johnson was without a job.
“I started doing other things,” she says.
And one of those “things” was in the
home care business, where she took training and eventually earned her certification
as a nursing assistant.
The skills came in handy when her
grandmother had a stroke in September
2010. So Johnson juggled her then fulltime accounting job with caring for her
grandmother, who was 101. “We were
very tight, and I loved that time we had
together,” she says.
By December, her grandmother’s health
had failed, and she was admitted to the
Rock on!
Volunteers raised more than $8,000
during Thursday’s rock-a-thon, which
included sponsorships and a silent
auction.
The money is spent on the needs of
hospice patients and their families. For
example, volunteers use the money to
buy toiletry items for family members,
to stock the kitchen pantry at the hospice house with food and to buy special meals that patients may request.
Volunteers also buy seasonal flowers for the hospice house yard and
bird seed for the feeders, which patients can see from their beds.
SECU Hospice House.
When Johnson’s mother passed away in
2005, she had used in-home hospice services. But this would be Johnson’s first
experience with the hospice house. Her
grandmother was a patient for five days
before she passed away.
Johnson was so impressed with the staff
and the care that she immediately applied
to work there, as needed, as a CNA.
When she was asked to wait a year before
applying, Johnson decided instead to become a hospice volunteer.
“So I’ve run the gamut, from working in
home care with patients to volunteering
with hospice,” she says.
“Since coming on board, I’ve loved
hearing the wonderful stories that families
are sharing about their experience with
hospice,” she says. “Everyone has been so
supportive.”
Johnson lives near Kenly in the Shoe
Heel community. She has three grown
sons and five granddaughters. She continues to work part-time as an accountant
and tax preparer.
He’s a
neurologist;
she’s an
internist.
Drs. James
MacDonald
and Jarmella
Russell are a
married couple and new
parents. And
Russell
they’re both MacDonald
setting up practices at Johnston Health.
“It’s a nice package deal,” says MacDonald,
who has an office in the Medical Arts Pavilion. Russell, who recently completed her residency, has joined Drs. Nicole Collins and Mai
Trang Nguyen at Johnston Medical Associates—Internal Medicine, which is in the
Johnston Medical Mall.
They met each other at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He was completing a fellowship in neuro-rehabilitation, and
she was in medical school. Since getting married two years ago, they say they have enjoyed
being able to talk shop with each other.
MacDonald says he has a special interest in
headaches and traumatic brain injury. Before
coming to Johnston Health, he was the medical director of rehabilitation at Wake Forest
University Baptist Medical Center in WinstonSalem.
He received his medical degree and completed his fellowship at Wake Forest. He finished residencies at Boston and Virginia Commonwealth universities.
MacDonald decided to pursue a medical
career in neurology after his grandfather was
diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In his
practice, he will be treating degenerative diseases as well as stroke and movement disorders.
“I’m looking forward to establishing a rapport with patients and treating their illnesses
and injuries,” he says.
Russell completed her internal medicine
residency in June and is looking forward to
opening her practice. “My goal is to keep
patients healthy so that they don’t need to go
to the hospital,” she says. “I like focusing on
preventive care, particularly smoking cessation.”
Russell lost her father to asthma when she
was 9 years old. From that experience, she set
her sights at a young age on becoming a pulmonologist. But in medical school, she found
that she enjoyed internal medicine and the
variety and challenges that come with diagnosing illnesses.
MacDonald grew up in Wilmington, and
Russell in Detroit. The couple and their son,
Aiden, who was born June 10, live in Clayton.
For an appointment with Russell, call 9387187. For an appointment with MacDonald,
call 934-3022.
Johnston Health staff rolls out campaign to educate, raise awareness about falls
Starting next week, patients and visitors at Johnston Health will get
a dose of education on how to prevent falls.
Colorful placemats will go underneath every patient’s evening
meal, and educational materials will be on display near the main
entrances at the hospital and Johnston Health Medical Mall. Also,
employees will be challenged to identify fall hazards that will be
staged in a mock hospital room.
Caroline Hester, the administrative director who oversees home
care and hospice, is participating in the hospital’s push next week to
raise the community’s awareness about falls and how to prevent
them. The Johnston Health Talk on WTSB radio airing Thursday will
focus on the topic, she says.
“Every year in our country, one-third of Americans aged 65 and
older will fall,” she says. “It’s so important that we get rid of tripping hazards at home, that we be mindful of medications and that we
keep our vision sharp. Also aging adults need to exercise to keep
their legs strong, which makes falls less likely.”
The National Council on Aging says that falls are the leading
cause of injury death for older Americans. Statistics gathered by the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are revealing:
Every 14 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room
for a fall; every 29 minutes, an older adult dies following a fall.
Oct.1, 2014
RAISING AWARENESS
NOTEWORTHY
Volunteer recruitment fair Oct. 6
Do you know someone who would like to
volunteer? With the addition of the inpatient
beds in Clayton, Johnston Health will need
more volunteers. A recruitment fair will be
from 9 till 11 a.m. on Oct. 6 at the Clayton
Center in downtown Clayton. This will be an
opportunity for members of the community to
get information about volunteering at either
or both of the Clayton or Smithfield campuses.
Purchasing manager
pulls up Georgia roots
to relocate to Smithfield
Golf anyone?
There’s still time to enter the First Citizens
Bank Annual Golf Classic, which is an annual
fundraiser to support the work of the Johnston Health Foundation. The tournament is
Oct. 10 at Pine Hollow Golf Course in Clayton and offers tee times at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The cost of $100 per player includes lunch
and a ticket to the Foundation Social at Portofino Clubhouse in Clayton on the night prior
to the tournament. Proceeds from the social
will go toward the hospice fund. This year’s
event is honoring the retiring Clerk of Superior Court Will Crocker. To reserve a space to
either event, contact Alison Drain at ext.
7169 or [email protected]
Neurologist to speak at next Health Chat
Dr. J. Alex MacDonald, the newly recruited
neurologist to Johnston Health, will talk about
headaches, traumatic brain injury and stroke
during the next Health Chat. The session at
The Clayton Center on 111 E. Second St., in
Clayton, will be from 6 till 7 p.m. on Oct. 14.
The session at the Johnston Medical Mall in
Smithfield will be from 11 a.m. till noon on
Oct. 16. To reserve a seat for this free event,
please register online at
www.johnstonhealth.org. The marketing department of Johnston Health hosts the quarterly presentations as a way to introduce new
physicians to the community.
Fall Fest set for Oct. 17
Shop for one-of-a-kind gifts at Fall Fest,
which will be from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m. in the
Johnston Medical Mall. The deadline for participating vendors is Oct. 1. For more info,
contact Shanna Hodges at
[email protected].
Celebrating Halloween
A costume contest, a free meal for employees and a silent auction of baked goods are
on tap for Halloween at Johnston Health on
Oct. 31. All proceeds from the bake sale will
go toward the employee emergency fund,
which helps those who are facing financial
hardships caused by such situations as illness, or loss of home due to fire.
Community Memorial Service is Nov. 2
Johnston Health will hold its annual Community Memorial Service at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2 at
the Johnston County Agricultural Center on
N.C. 210, west of Smithfield. The service is
open to all who have experienced the loss of
a loved one. Participants are invited to bring
a fabric swatch representing their loved one.
These pieces will be sewn into a memorial
quilt, which will be unveiled next summer.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Aaron says
position felt
‘meant to be’
The color pink
A lighted tree in the corner of Ambulatory Imaging at the Johnston
Medical Mall is decorated in pink boas and ribbons in recognition of
breast cancer awareness month. It was the idea of Terri McLamb, who
is the office secretary. The outpatient services does about 400 mammograms every month. Save the date: Once again in October, Johnston Health Clayton will host Ladies Night Out. The women’s health
event will be from 5 till 7 p.m. on Oct. 28. It will include food, vendors
and information about medical services.
Volunteer Gift Shop keeps on giving
P
roceeds from the Volunteer Gift Shop are continuing to pay for needs large and
small, in plain sight and behind the scenes: from wall clocks for hospital rooms, to
stuffed bears for young patients undergoing surgery, to a machine that can be used
at health fairs to check cholesterol levels.
Sue Archambeault, president of the Johnston Health Volunteers, says word is
getting out about the grants supplied by profits from the gift shop. In the past month, departments have submitted five requests to the volunteer council for consideration.
Archambeault says the council grants the requests that they believe will have the greatest
impact on the most patients.
Copies of the applications are available from the volunteers folder on hospital quicklinks.
Directors may submit the completed forms to April Culver, vice president of planning and
external affairs.
Here’s a list of the purchases since January and the associated departments:
 Analyzer LDX System Cholestech machine, $1890: WellnessWorks.
 Copy machine, cartridge refill: preadmission testing.
 $30-$35 worth of candies and 12 deodorants monthly: behavioral health
 Two donations of $1,000 each to the employee assistance fund: human resources
 140 stuffed bears for young patients: same day surgery
 Two bed alarms and one rolling storage cart: second floor
 Analog wall clocks for patient rooms: hospital wide
 Coffee, creamer, sugar and filters every month for patients and families: Johnston
Health Hematology and Oncology
 15 lab bags and two ice coolers for Johnston Health Hematology and Oncology in
Clayton and Smithfield
 20 fidget quilts for Alzheimer patients in the hospital
 Books valued at $300 from the Books Are Fun vendor: Early Learning Center
 Two treadmills, $8,500: cardiopulmonary rehab program at HealthQuest
 $100 donation to Hospice Rock-A-Thon: Hospice Volunteers, who spend the
fundraiser’s proceeds on the needs of hospice patients and their families.
 $1,000 donation to the patient assistance fund: a giving program of the Johnston
Health Foundation
 A DVD educational library, $1,230: behavioral health
Melissa Speas,
coordinator of
the cardiopulmonary rehab
program, shows
volunteers Sue
Archambeault
and Myrtle
Toole the features of the two
new treadmills
purchased with
proceeds from
the Volunteer
Gift Shop. The
program is at
HealthQuest.
Patricia Aaron had
a good job and a nice
home back in Ellijay,
Ga., with most of her
grown children living
close by. But since
losing her husband to
cancer in 2008, she
had been feeling a
tug to do something
different with her
life.
Patricia Aaron
On a morning in April,
she awoke with a decision to resign her job as
director of supply chain at Gordon Hospital in
Calhoun, Ga. where she had worked for 13
years. Co-workers couldn’t believe she was
leaving without having another job.
But Aaron says she was acting on faith, and
felt that God had a plan. After two weeks at
home, she began pulling together job references, and a work friend suggested she call a
former boss, Eddie Klein, who had hired her at
Gordon.
So Aaron looked him up at Johnston Health,
and she and the now chief financial officer
caught up over the phone. A few days later,
she was surprised when Klein called her back
to ask if she might be interested in an interim
position as purchasing manager.
After mulling it over for a couple of days,
Aaron agreed to visit to see if Johnston Health
and Smithfield would be a good fit. From the
start, she says, the opportunity felt right.
“With everyone I met, we clicked,” she says.
“I fell in love with the town and the hospital.
It seems like this was all meant to be.”
With the interim position now ending, Aaron
has accepted the job fulltime. Her youngest
daughter will continue living in the house that
Aaron will leave behind in Ellijay. All nine of
her grown children have been supportive of
her decision to change jobs and move to North
Carolina, she says.
Even though she has worked in the health
care business for 34 years, Aaron has told her
family that she’s not ready “to hang up her
spurs.”
Aaron started her career at Chestatee Regional Hospital in Dahlonega, Ga., as an accounts payable clerk. She quickly advanced to
become an accounting manager and later assumed duties in the area of purchasing.
“I was bit by the purchasing bug,” she says.
“It was so challenging, and new things would
come your way every day. I was intrigued by
it.”
Eventually, her job morphed into purchasing
altogether. At Gordon, she focused on standardizing processes for the Adventist Health
System—much like she will be doing here as
Johnston Health becomes part of UNC Health
Care.
“In my old job, I did many of the things that
I’m now being asked to do here,” she says.
“So I’m able to share my experience and training with others.”
As for living in Smithfield, Aaron says her
neighborhood reminds her of the area where
she grew up in Atlanta, Ga. She likes small
towns because they offer a relaxed pace, and
opportunities to get to know neighbors and to
get involved in church.
Outside of work, Aaron enjoys traveling
abroad. Over the past few years, she’s been to
Europe twice and to Ireland.
A Paul Harris Fellow
The Rotary Club of Central Johnston County
has recognized Chuck Elliott, CEO and president of Johnston Health, as a Paul Harris
Fellow for his contributions to and volunteerism with the club. The recognition is named
after Harris, a lawyer from Chicago who
founded Rotary International in 1905. The
Central Johnston club meets for lunch at
noon every Thursday in Room 1404A of the
Johnston Medical Mall.
Drain earns CFRE certification
Alison Drain, executive
director of the Johnston
Health Foundation, has
earned her professional
certification from CFRE
International. In doing so,
she has met a series of
standards set by the organization, which includes
tenure in the profession,
education, demonstrated
fundraising achievement
and a commitment to serAlison Drain
vice to not-for-profit organizations.
She has also passed a rigorous written
exam testing the knowledge, skills and abilities required of a fundraising executive, and
has agreed to uphold Accountability Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights.
Drain, who is also the director of development for Johnston Health, has master degrees in public administration and social work
from West Virginia University. She is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.
Outside of work, she is the public relations
chair for the Rotary Club of Central Johnston
County, a member of the Clayton Chamber of
Commerce and chair of its Christmas parade.
She and her husband, Drew, live in the
Cleveland Community, and have a daughter,
Isabelle.
Use your VIC card
to support the Early Learning Center
If you buy groceries at Harris Teeter, then
you have an opportunity to contribute toward
the enrichment programs at Johnston
Health’s Early Learning Center. It’s part of
the grocery chain’s Together in Education
program aimed at raising funds for schools.
Here’s how it works: At checkout, simply give
the cashier the code for the ELC, 2834, and
the VIC card. Once the card is linked, then
the ELC will receive a percentage of your
purchases of Harris Teeter brand items during the school year.
This does not interfere with VIC savings or
add costs to the customer.
“It’s free, and it’s great way to support us,”
says Helen Patterson, the ELC director. “So
don’t forget to link your VIC card to our account code the next time you shop at Harris
Teeter.”
It’s time for the flu shot
Have you had your flu shot yet?
Here’s the October schedule for employee
health on fourth floor of the Bright Leaf tower
in Smithfield. Morning slots: 7 a.m. till noon
on Oct. 2, 13, 17, 20, 27; 6 a.m. till noon on
Oct. 12; and 5 till 9 a.m. on Oct. 9, 28. Afternoon slots: 1 till 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, 13, 17,
20 and 27; noon till 7 p.m. on Oct. 6, 30; 4
till 10 p.m. on Oct. 19.
Here’s the October schedule for the Clayton
campus: Oct. 3—9a.m. till 1 p.m. in the lab;
Oct. 9—8 a.m. till noon in the lab; Oct. 12—4
till 6 p.m. in the emergency services coordinator’s office; Oct. 18—4 till 6 p.m. in the
emergency services coordinator’s office; Oct.
21—7:30 a.m. till 3:30 p.m. in the lab; Oct.
30—1 till 5 p.m. in the lab.
Ronnie Syverson, infection control preventionist, says there have already been a few
cases of the flu reported in the state. He says
this year’s vaccine has four different strains
of the flu virus, compared to three last year.
“We’re trying to be proactive and to get everyone vaccinated as early as possible,” he
said.
Falls Prevention Week winners
Employees were challenged to identify all of
the fall hazards staged in an empty hospital
room last week as part of Falls Prevention
Week. Those who completed the test were
entered in a drawing for prizes. Winners were
Sam Beavers and Wendy Hunter of the pharmacy, Faith Barefoot of fourth floor, and
Amanda Johnson of the flex staff.
Crystal Reimann, who set up the room,
says 39 employees participated and most
found all 20 of the hazards. “Some of them
identified more potential hazards that were
not intended,” she says.
To raise awareness about preventing falls,
a committee did educational displays and
staff passed out educational placemats with
the evening meal trays to patients.
The patient access department was recently recognized for its impact at Johnston Health. At center, Amber Williams, patient access supervisor for Smithfield, accepts the You Make a Difference certificate and congratulations
from CEO Chuck Elliott and CFO Eddie Klein, at back left and right. From left, other members of the team are: Crystal Johnson, community wide scheduler; Lauryn Woodley, team leader; Wanda Darden, team leader; Mercedes Velenzuela, interpreter; Yvonne Chamblee, registrar; and Elia Cabrera, registrar.
Patient access dept. honored for making a difference
H
ave you ever wondered about the
day-to-day routine of the registrars
in the patient access department?
They do much more than sit behind a computer and enter information.
The members of the staff wear many hats
and do so with a smile.
Johnston Health places a great emphasis
on the department because registration is
the first stop for patients. It affects their
entire visit, even after discharge.
Quality: The patient access staff thinks of
the community as customers, and it strives
for excellence. To decrease wait times and
expedite care, pre-registration for outpatient procedures is completed prior to a
patient’s scheduled visit. In the emergency
department, the staff uses mobile carts to
complete registration at the bedside. This
is a way to provide patients with a comfortable environment during their medical
emergency.
People: Patients and their families see the
patient access staff first when presenting
for emergency, outpatient or inpatient
care. Every staff member brings a unique
characteristic to make the department a
great team. They have the best interests of
the patient at heart, and they want to
ensure that the patient and family understands their insurance benefits and financial responsibility. The members of the
team work well with one another, other
departments and other facilities outside of
Johnston Health.
Growth: We are always looking for ways
to grow and improve as a department. For
example, the patient access staff has joined
the Women’s Pavilion in pre-registering
patients who are expected to deliver at
Johnston Health.
Also, the staff adjusts well to changes in
staffing and census swings.
Value: The patient access team understands the importance of maintaining positive productivity and controlling expenses
in the department and for Johnston Health.
The team is always making sure that regis-
trations are completed accurately so that
there is no lost productivity or lost revenue
when the billing office submits the claim to
the insurance company. With the continued
changes in reimbursements and insurances,
one employee can not make the department
successful. It takes a team working together.
Innovation: The patient access team has
begun educating patients and their families
about the patient portal offered through
Johnston Health. This feature enables patients to stay up to date with their health
records and upcoming visits. Our staff
members always maintain an open mind and
adapt to any changes necessary to improve
the patient’s experience and to ensure that
Johnston Health is profitable.
The patient access department was recently recognized for the difference it makes
in the lives of patients. Amber Williams,
who is the patient access supervisor for
Smithfield, wrote the above story of how the
department contributes to the organization
through the five pillars.
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees and volunteers joining us in September.
Fulltime: Allison Rowe, physical therapist; Joy Austin, switchboard; Elizabeth Holiday, staff accountant; Dr. Mai T. Nguyen,
Johnston Medical Associates-Internal Medicine; Joy Austin, phlebotomist, Smithfield emergency department; Xena Hill, physician
office assistant, JMA-Specialty Services; Tracy Branch, monitor tech, progressive care; Deshawna Brown, environmental services; Lakeysha Ray, environmental services; Tierra Bynum, food services; Sharnise Saunders, dietician aide, food services;
Brittany Dale, RN, second; Stacie Colbourne, RN, fourth; Rainy Dew, RN, fourth; Mindy Narron, RN, third; Angela Wright, patient
care assistant, behavioral health; Davin Yangau and Samuel Thornton, respiratory therapists; Hannah Best, RN, Smithfield operating room; Tracy Alphin, RN, Smithfield emergency department; Stephanie Blanchard, RN, Smithfield emergency department;
Naomi Parker, Smithfield ED, certified nursing assistant; Leah Yates, RN, Smithfield emergency department; Susan Hanson,
phlebotomist, Smithfield lab; Sharon Jernigan, claims processor, business office; Lindsay Johnson, patient financial counselor,
business office; Elia Cabrera, patient access registrar (part-time); Roshanda Lett, CNA, SECU Hospice House; Trudeau Nichols,
RN, Hospice House; Candis White, security officer in Smithfield; Jennifer Acosta, patient access registrar in Clayton; Banne
Beltran, patient access registrar in Clayton; Lindsay Hatcher, patient access registrar in Clayton; Victoria Darden, medical assistant, QuikMed; Victoria Darden, medical assistant, Johnston Professional Plaza in Clayton; Laura Vaughn, RN, fourth floor; Dr.
James MacDonald, JMA-Specialty Services; Laura Vaughn, RN, 2 West; Emily Langston and Karishma Persaud, sitters, HealthQuest; Kimberly Harris, patient financial counselor, Smithfield business office; Tiffany Bido and Katrina McCormick, environmental
services in Smithfield; Shannon Keeney, RN, ICU; Kayla Langdon, patient care assistant, ICU; Alanda Lucas, RN, ICU; Wallace
Cooper, patient care assistant, progressive care unit; Morgan Pierce, RN, progressive care unit; Maria Black, RN, fourth; Lauren
Dodd, CNA, third; Nikki Holloman Warren, CNA, third; Brooke McKay, RN, labor and delivery; Robert Burleigh, operating room
attendant in Smithfield; Johnnie Lee, aerobics instructor, HealthQuest; Jensine Cochran and Rita Hill, ultrasound techs in Smithfield; Angela Taylor, patient financial counselor; Kim Layne, patient access registrar in Smithfield; Rachel Abbott, RN, Home
Health & Hospice; Tamara Wiles, RN, Hospice House; Todd Miller, project manager, MIS; Martin Banghart, security officer in
Smithfield; Catherine Whitley, CT technologist; Christopher Fitzsimmons, respiratory therapist in Clayton; Michael Morris, quality/
follow-up nurse, Clayton ED; Adriana Garcia, medical lab tech in Clayton; Dr. Jarmella Russell, JMA-Internal Medicine.
PRN: Petra Bouwen, RN, third; Iris Ballard, RN, Smithfield ED.
Volunteers: Debra Garner, Joseph Garner, Rebecca Roberts and Elizabeth Hodge, all hospital volunteers.
Johnston Health welcomes new orthopedist to medical staff
A new orthopedist has
joined the medical staff
of Johnston Health.
Lucas Romine, M.D. is
in practice with Triangle
Orthopaedic Associates.
Before coming to Johnston County, he served
Lucas Romine
on the faculty in the
department of orthopedic surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He
specializes in shoulder and elbow surgery.
A native of Nashville, Tenn., Dr.
Romine is a graduate of Berry College in
Georgia where he played basketball on a
full athletic scholarship and was named All
America. He earned his medical degree
from the University of Tennessee Health
Science Center and completed his residency training in orthopedic surgery at
Ochsner Medical Center.
After residency, he completed a fellowship in shoulder and elbow surgery at Johns
Hopkins. While there, he gained advanced
experience in modern, innovative surgical
techniques, including arthroscopic and
open revision reconstruction of the shoulder
and elbow, and reverse shoulder replacement.
Romine was a lecturer at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine and involved
in the clinical education of the medical students and residents. While in Baltimore, he
also provided medical treatment for elite
athletes as a team physician for the Baltimore Orioles.
He and his wife, Ashley, enjoy spending
time with their children, staying fit and traveling abroad.
Oct.16, 2014
PRACTICING DONNING, DOFFING
NOTEWORTHY
Recognizing pastoral care
Chaplains will be making rounds to offer a
blessing of hands during Pastoral Care
Week, Oct. 19-25. They provide care for
spiritual needs in ways such as helping with
sadness and family worries, overcoming
fears, talking about death and dying, offering
spiritual resources, and finding hope, peace
and meaning in life.
The Rev. Greg McClain is director of spiritual care services, and the Rev. Kiki Barnes
is the clinical chaplain for Johnston Health
Hospice and the SECU Hospice House.
They get support from the 14 local pastors
and clergy persons who serve as chaplain
volunteers. These volunteers provide on-call
coverage for Johnston Health, Johnston
Health Clayton and the SECU Hospice
House.
Pat a case manager on the back
Take time out this week to say thanks to
Johnston Health’s Case Management
Team. It’s National Case Management
Week, and a great time to recognize the important work that case managers do. The 21member team is made up of RN case managers, social work case managers , clinical
documentation improvement RN specialists,
case management assistant and secretarial
support. They provide utilization management, care coordination, length-of-stay management, discharge planning, care transitions, resource management and patient
advocacy.
Fall Fest on Friday
Shop for one-of-a-kind gifts at Fall Fest,
which will be from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m. on Friday in the Johnston Medical Mall.
Raising breast cancer awareness
Johnston Health Clayton will host Ladies
Night Out from 5 till 7 p.m. on Oct. 28. The
women’s health event will include food, vendors and information about medical services.
Celebrating fall, Halloween
A costume contest, a free meal for employees and a silent auction of baked goods are
on tap for Halloween (Oct. 31) at Johnston
Health. All proceeds from the bake sale will
go toward the employee emergency fund.
Want to help out? Bring your baked goods to
the cafeteria from 7 till 9 a.m. The auction will
begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2 p.m.
Employees will be treated to lunch in the
cafeteria from 11 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. (A site in
Clayton will be determined.) For night shifts,
departments will be called to pick up meals
about 7 p.m.
Remembering loved ones
Johnston Health will hold its annual Community Memorial Service at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2 at
the Johnston County Agricultural Center on
N.C. 210, west of Smithfield. The service is
open to all who have experienced the loss of
a loved one. Participants are invited to bring
a fabric swatch representing their loved one.
These pieces will be sewn into a memorial
quilt.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Hospital
gets ready
for PCI
Critical care transport
vital to cardiac service
Brandon Godwin, a nurse in the Smithfield emergency department, helps
paramedic student Josh Nichols double-glove during an impromptu training session Tuesday on how to gown up in personal protective equipment. Godwin is helping the ED staff prepare for the prospect of treating
a patient with Ebola.
Staff practices, prepares
for threat of Ebola virus
False alarms help ED tweak processes
T
wo patients who came to the
Smithfield emergency department on Wednesday were seen
and quickly ruled out as having
Ebola. Such false alarms are
becoming fairly common in hospital EDs
across the country as the public becomes
jittery about the threat of the virus.
Ronnie Syverson, infection preventionist for Johnston Health, says the two
separate cases had one thing in common:
Both patients had traveled or been in
contact with someone who had traveled
outside of the U.S. But neither of those
destinations had been to a country affected by the Ebola outbreak, he says.
Asking the right questions is key to
determining if patients have contracted
the virus. “We can’t be fearful. We have
to stay focused. We have stick to the
facts,” he says. “The risk of contracting
the illness here in the U.S. is still very
low. We all need to find peace in that.”
To aid and educate the staff, Syverson
is sharing an Ebola screen, which consists of three pertinent questions for patients. “These are the pieces of the puzzle,” he says. “These are the questions we
should be asking.”
 Have you traveled outside the U.S.
to a country affected by the Ebola outbreak within in the last 30 days?  Have you come in contact with anyone having symptoms and diagnosed or
suspected of having Ebola?  Do you have any of the follow symptoms: fever of greater than 101.5, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea,
abdominal pain, unexplained bleeding or
bruising? “If the answer to all three questions is
yes, then it’s reasonable to be suspicious,”
Syverson says. In the clinical setting, the
staff member would then give patient a
mask to don and call the ED charge nurse
right away.
In both cases on Wednesday, Syverson
says the ED followed proper procedures and
protocols, including isolating the patients
and decontaminating EMS responders.
“This was good practice,” he says. “It allowed us to identify areas that we need to
improve.”
Over the past several days, Syverson says
a committee of directors and senior staff has
been meeting to put together and shape a
policy specifically for Ebola. As the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention sends
out new information daily, the committee
makes changes.
“It’s a living, breathing document,” he
adds. When it’s complete sometime next
week, the committee will post it on Quicklinks.
Among other things, the ED staff has
been practicing donning and doffing personal protective equipment.
Outside the hospital, Syverson meets on
Mondays with representatives from Johnston County agencies: EMS, the office of
emergency management, the 911 emergency
call center and the health department. They
also listen in to the daily teleconferences
from the CDC.
“We’re doing everything we can to prepare,” he says. “We’re keeping each other
informed, and we’re working and planning
together.”
Want to learn more about Ebola? Check
out the websites for the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control to get up-to-date and factual information.
We wish her well
Volunteers, physicians and staff are invited to a reception honoring Linda Allen, chief
nursing officer for Johnston Health, who is retiring after having worked with the hospital
for more than 30 years. The reception is from 2 till 4 p.m. on Oct. 29 in the cafeteria.
The addition of a critical-care transport service at Johnston Health is the latest step in
getting ready for interventional cardiology
procedures, including stenting, set to begin in
January.
Rex Critical Care Transport is opening a hub
here in Smithfield, and it will begin aroundthe-clock service on Monday. The transport
team will have its quarters along the hallway
behind the emergency department and will
park its ambulance near the bay.
Last month, Johnston County Commissioners approved a franchise for the critical-care
transport service. From its base at the hospital,
the ambulance will respond to calls also from
hospitals in neighboring counties.
“It’s a traveling ICU unit,” says Tracey Carson, who is the administrative director overseeing the interventional cardiology program.
“It has all the tools, including a ventilator, to
get critically ill patients safely to a hospital
that can offer more specialized care.”
When Johnston Health begins its interventional cardiology program, Carson says Rex
Critical Care will provide a second, dedicated
ambulance. On procedure days, the ambulance
will park at the Women’s Pavilion entrance,
which is closest to the cath lab.
Also, Carson says Johnston Health has an
agreement with Rex Hospital to treat those
patients who may need open-heart surgery. A
requirement of the program is that the hospital
must transport those patients, from the cath lab
to the hospital offering open-heart surgery,
within 90 minutes.
Drs. Willis Woo and Matthew Hook, interventional cardiologists with N.C. Heart &
Vascular, will perform the procedures. These
will be done in the existing cath lab until the
hospital gets state approval to build a larger
lab. An architect is now preparing the drawings for a shell space next to the ED. If all
goes as planned, the new lab could be ready
by May.
Following the procedures, specially trained
staff will care for the patients in designated
cardiac-observations rooms on the bridge of
second floor (formerly 2 East). These rooms
will have telemetry so that staff at the bedside,
at the nursing station around the corner, and in
the ICU can all see the patients heart monitors.
Carson says the cath lab staff has been training since August with their peers at Rex.
To get the lab ready, the hospital has purchased an intravascular ultra sound system.
Using catheters, physicians can get images of
diseased blood vessels from inside the artery.
It provides detailed and accurate measurements of the vessel and areas of plaque.
Also significant, directors of the Johnston
Health board approved the interventional cardiology program at their September meeting.
Meet the critical care teams
You’re invited to meet the Rex Critical Care
Transport team during a gathering at 4:30 p.m.
on Oct. 23 at the Smithfield emergency department’s ambulance bay. In addition, UNC
Air Care will be on the helipad, weather permitting, to offer a peek inside its helicopter.
All who come to the meet-and-greet event will
be eligible to enter a drawing for two floorseat tickets to the N.C. State vs. South Florida
basketball game on Nov. 23 at PNC Arena.
Take time to come out and welcome these
critical-care transport teams, whose services
will enhance the care and treatment of our
patients here in Smithfield and Clayton.
Nov. 5, 2014
LADIES NIGHT OUT
NOTEWORTHY
Marketing department wins awards
The marketing department of Johnston
Health has won two awards in a contest put
on by the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing Society. For its Health
Chats Speaker Series, the department won a
Golden Tusk Award for overall marketing/
communications program. Also, its patient
testimonial ads won a Wallie Award in the
category for campaigns in consumer/trade
publications. The awards presentation is
Dec. 4 during the society’s 2014 fall conference in Charleston, S.C.
New jobs draw more
than 3,000 applicants
RNs win quarterly quality awards
The RNs on fourth floor have won the
HCAHPS award for showing the most improvement in managing pain. The quality
committee determined the winner after comparing patient satisfaction scores for the
quarter ending June 30 with the most recent
quarter, ending Sept. 30. The RNs will receive three hours of paid time off. (This will
be pro-rated for part time staff.)
The RNs on staff at the Clayton emergency
department won the core measure award for
getting closest to the 90 percentile in managing long-bone pain. They will also be given
three hours of paid time off.
Love a parade?
Would you like to represent Johnston Health
as a volunteer marshal for the Clayton
Christmas Parade? The parade steps off at 3
p.m. on Dec. 13. Marshals are needed to
stand along the route to ensure that spectators don’t hinder the parade’s movement. If
you’re interested in the volunteer gig, contact
Alison Drain, director of the foundation, who
is this year’s parade chair. The parade is an
event of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce.
Shot days scheduled for November
Need a shot or a tuberculin skin test?
Employee health will hold its walk-in clinic
from 7 a.m. till noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m.
in the Bright Leaf tower office on Nov. 21. In
Clayton, shots will be offered from 7:30 a.m.
till noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. in the lab on
Nov. 18. No appointments are necessary.
Decked out in pink
Diane Dolese of Clayton, top right, was among the more than 200
women who came to learn and have fun on Oct. 28 during the third
annual Ladies Night Out at Johnston Health Clayton. Members of the
staff offered free chair massages as well as mammogram sign-ups and
valuable info about women’s health. Guest vendors such as Retha
Beasley of Retha’s Wreaths and Denetra Jackson of Patty Cake Bakery
sweetened and livened up the event. In the photo above, staff participating from the radiology and scheduling departments were, from left,
Lisa Cotton, Crystal Johnson, radiology director Patricia Weaver, Robin
Burkhart, Amanda Bruckner, Tina Randazzo, Eddie Bennett and Brandy
Frederick.
Growing a mo to change face of men’s health
It’s Movember, and CEO Chuck Elliott
and ten Johnston Health Mo Bros are growing moustaches to raise awareness about
men’s health, including prostate and testicular cancers.
Elliott says a urology group associated
with UNC Health Care challenged him to
participate in the Movember Foundation’s
campaign. To spread the fun, he invited
members of the leadership team to grow
with him. Those who signed on were Tim
Hays, Doug Harrison, Ricky Byrd, Hank
Long, Michael Thompson, Kyle McDermott, Greg Baker, Daniel Register, David
Sellers and Shannen Turnbaugh.
Elliott says all of the men started with
clean shaven faces on Nov. 1 and will
grow their moustaches through Nov. 30.
Click here to visit their web site, http://
moteam.com/johnston-health, contribute
to the cause and learn more about men’s
health issues.
Those who wish to write checks rather
than donate online can make them out to
the Movember Foundation and give them
to one of the Mo Bros for mailing.
We’ll follow their progress, too, on our
Johnston Health Facebook page.
The Johnston County Arts Council is
featuring Cleveland High School in its
latest art exhibit along the Women’s
Pavilion hallway. The art teacher is
Charlene Bowling.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
Emily Bass .……………...social media
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Ramping up
for Clayton
inpatients
Knitting for patients
The women of the prayer shawl ministry at Holy Cross Lutheran Church
on N.C. 42 west of Clayton have knitted 20 blankets and shawls and 18
hats for patients undergoing chemotherapy at Johnston Health. At left
and right, Elaine Reese and Sheila Hirt recently delivered the items--all
with a hopeful message attached. The ten or so women in the group
meet on the first Saturday of every month to knit for a cause. Their
handiworks have also gone to patients at the SECU Hospice House.
While the construction
crew is wrapping up work
on the three-story wing at
Johnston Health Clayton,
the human resources department here in Smithfield is
busy building the staff
needed to operate the inpatient services there.
Nearly 200 employees, a
MaryLynn Smith
mix of full-, part-time and
as-needed positions, will be
needed. These will include about 90 nursing
positions and 100 other support roles such as
secretaries, technicians and transporters.
Ashley Drotzur, the recruiter for Johnston
Health, says she has received nearly 3,000
applications since posting the jobs in midOctober. These include about 60 transfer requests from Johnston Health employees, many
of whom live in the Clayton area and want to
work closer to home.
“The majority live in Johnston County and
the Raleigh area,” she says. “We’re getting
many calls, and we’re encouraging everyone
to look online.”
Drotzur says the goal is to fill the positions
by the first week in December so that new
hires can attend orientation and begin training.
MaryLynn Smith, who was recently named
the administrative director of inpatient nursing, may have the longest list of positions to
fill. She will begin interviewing applicants this
week for eight leadership positions and, soon
afterward, 60 staff positions—36 of which
would be fulltime.
She will oversee critical care and all inpatient medical/surgical/pediatric nursing.
Heidi Spicer, formerly the director of surgery at Clayton, was named administrative
director of specialty nursing, which includes
obstetrics and emergency services. She has
several positions to fill as well, including 44
for women’s services, which will begin Feb. 1.
“It’s exciting and challenging,” says Smith,
who has been the director of the intensive and
progressive care units during the past year and
a half. “This is my first administrative director
role. I’m looking forward to working with all
departments.”
Smith says Jackie Ring, chief nursing officer
for Johnston Health, will do the formal interviews with the finalists for the leadership positions.
Smith says she’ll be looking for experience
as she fills the nursing positions in Clayton.
“We’re going to need strong, experienced
nurses who can handle sudden swings in patient ratios,” she adds. “Here in Smithfield,
we’ll be better able to train and mentor nursing graduates who are newly hired.”
She says employees already on staff will be
the first applicants considered for the new
jobs.
Smith, who grew up in Long Island, N.Y..
has 10 years of leadership experience in emergency and critical care nursing.
She and her husband and three daughters
moved to North Carolina from Kenner, La., in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She had
been the director of critical care at Kenner
Regional Medical Center before leaving in
2005. Her education includes a master’s in
health care management.
Back in HR, Drotzur is using every spare
moment to train her own successor, Millie
Wilson, who is an HR assistant. When the
inpatient wing opens, Drotzur will transition
to an HR generalist and will work primarily in
Clayton, and Wilson will have recruitment
duties.
Whitley takes on new role
as Home Care and Hospice liaison
Lisa Whitley has
nursed patients recovering from sickness and surgeries,
and prepped them
for procedures. Now
she’s helping them in
a different way.
As the caretransition quality
liaison for Johnston
Health Home Care
and Hospice, Whitley
is making it easier for
Lisa Whitley
physicians to care for
patients in their
homes.
Whitley has more than 18 years of nursing
experience with Johnston Health. Before
taking on her new role, she worked in the
heart catheterization lab for five years. Earlier
in her career, she worked in surgery, endoscopy and intensive care. Her experience
outside the hospital has included short stints
with a hospice agency and a dialysis center.
As the liaison, Whitley will be the face of
home care and hospice. She will arrange for
services that require the skills of a nurse or a
physical and/or occupational therapist. She
will explain services to patients and families,
help determine eligibility, and assist with
completing necessary paperwork.
“We can assess, monitor and identify problems that can be taken care of at home,
which is a better option for most patients,”
she adds. “We want to achieve positive patient outcomes while making processes as
easy as possible for physicians.”
If a patient, for example, has fallen a number of times at home, a home health nurse
can perform a physical assessment to help
determine the cause. The staff can then work
with the physician on a plan of care to address the problem.
“I think it’s important that patients understand their disease process and how they
can manage symptoms at home,” she says.
Whitley particularly enjoys working with older
patients and helping them understand hospice. “I want patients and families to be able
to consider hospice care early enough to get
the full benefit of our services, if they so
choose,” she adds.
A native of Erwin, Whitley and her husband, Zack, live on Brogden Road in Smithfield. They have two sons, Zeke, 17, and
Zeb, 12.
To contact Whitley for more information,
call 919-628-7476.
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s the list of employees and volunteers
joining us in October:
Fulltime: Kathryn King, CNA, Behavorial
Health; Erin Tharington, respiratory therapist;
Sanoj Shakya, (MLT) lab in Smithfield; Debara Williams, RN, fourth (surgical/ortho);
Sarah Fair, RN, progressive care unit (PCU);
Heather M Chilsen, RN second, med/surg;
Scott Gantt, EVS worker; Amanda Nunnery,
document leader, HIM; John Sicat, Fresenius
nurse in dialysis; Kimberly Redding, RN,
Home Health; Beth Joslyn, medical technologist, lab in Smithfield; Kristina Butler, medical
assistant, JMA - Internal Medicine; Marcia L.
Sennholtz, CNA, third (pediatrics and med/
surg); Bonnie Shackelford, patient access
registrar; Hunter Bunn, EVS worker; James
Mitchell, EVS worker; Stephanie Fernandez,
EVS worker; Hannah Warren, patient service
worker; Pamela Dyson, cook.
Part-time: Rachel Johnson CT tech, Clayton; Nera O. Bryant, quality follow-up nurse;
Smithfield emergency department; Amanda
Thornton, patient advocate, administration.
PRN: Sharon Gronendyke, patient care
assistant, progressive care unit (PCU); Kayla
Baker, patient care assistant, second (med/
surg); Sonya Moore, phlebotomist, lab in
Smithfield; Lori B. Radford, RN, Clayton
emergency department; Karen Ennis, RN,
second; Robert Gonzalez, RN, Clayton
emergency department; Kristi Shepard, RN,
Smithfield emergency department; Maurice
Watson, security officer in Smithfield; Kathryn
Hewett, CNA, third; Bernice Irving, CNA,
SECU Hospice House; Arlene Smith, cardiovascular ultrasound tech, cardiology in Clayton; Nicole Davis and Miranda Harper, CNAs,
third.
Volunteers: Beth Huber, Patricia Foote,
Reginald Buie, all hospital volunteers.
Shot days Nov. 18, 21
Need a shot or a tuberculin skin test?
Employee health will hold its walk-in clinic
from 7 a.m. till noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m.
in the Bright Leaf tower office on Nov. 21. In
Clayton, shots will be offered from 7:30 a.m.
till noon and from 1 till 3:30 p.m. in the lab on
Nov. 18. No appointments are necessary.
Project Access has been recognized for its positive impact on Johnston Health. At center, CEO Chuck Elliott presents the You Make a Difference recognition award to director Georgia Anthony. At left, Patsy Stewart, diabetes
educator, nominated the staff for the award. Other staff members are Tracy Auman, medical assistant, and Barbara Miles, program specialist. Greg McClain, at right, is chairman of the standards committee, which oversees the
recognition program. Absent from photo was Rebecca Hunt Hawley, the nurse practitioner for Project Access.
Project Access recognized for making a difference
I
n her work as a diabetes educator for
Johnston Health, Patsy Stewart sees
patients referred to her through Project Access. Last month, she wrote
the following story about how the department contributes through the organization’s five pillars. The program operates
along the former human resources and
marketing hallway at the Johnston Medical Mall.
People: What sets Project Access apart is
the care the staff has for clients and one
another. It’s a small department yet the
staff is able to accomplish so much and
with limited resources. Employees work
closely as a team to meet the needs of
underserved people in Johnston and Harnett counties. It’s amazing when you consider all that they have done since organizing six years ago.
Quality: Patients share their stories with
me about the quality of care they have
received through the program. For example, a patient told me that he had not been
to the doctor in four years until Project
Access worked to get him an appointment.
“I believe I would have died without the
help of Project Access,” he said.
On another day, I witnessed an act of
kindness. The director of the program,
Georgia Anthony, escorted a patient who
had lost her way to my office. Georgia had
been waiting in the lunch line at the Cyber
Café when she saw the woman who was
lost and asked if she needed assistance. I
think this shows how the staff goes above
and beyond to meet the needs of the people
enrolled in the program.
tient services and diagnostics such as X-rays
and lab studies.
In 2010, The Duke Endowment awarded a
three-year grant to continue Project Access
in Johnston County and to replicate the
program in Harnett County. Since 2008,
Project Access has enrolled more than 1,800
Johnston residents and 250 patients from
Harnett. The value of these donated services
is more than $11 million. The program recently re-applied for an additional two-year
grant from The Duke Endowment.
Growth: Project Access began in 2008
with a grant from the Kate N Reynolds
Charitable Trust. The hospital agreed to
donate services for the enrolled patients
while providing in-kind donations of office
space, phones and technical assistance for
the staff.
In the first year, 30 primary and specialty-care providers volunteered to see
patients in their offices and to donate the
cost of services. During 2008, 376 qualified patients were enrolled and received
care valued at more than $1.6 million.
These services included office visits, inpa-
Value: Without the resources and preventive
-care services provided through Project
Access to our community, we would see
more hospital admissions and emergency
department visits from those who can least
afford it.
Innovation: Project Access tries to meet all
needs from flu shots to foot care. They believe in taking risks for the good of the organization and the people that we serve.
Because they’re imaginative and take initiative, they’re able to meet the expectations of
their clients.
Crocker grateful
for recognition
at hospice social
Clerk of Superior Court Will Crocker
likes to say that God gave him a wonderful wife, many friends and a very good
memory.
At the Johnston Health Foundation Social on Oct. 9, the soon-to-retire clerk got
hugs, handshakes and accolades for his 35
years of service to the hospital and community. But he was quick to turn the focus
to hospice, the cause to which all had
been invited in his honor.
“Hospice is a wonderful thing,” he said
afterward. “I was proud to have been a
little part of an event to support it.”
As his wife, Rita, was nearing the end of
her life, Crocker brought in sitters around
the clock to help out. But it was the hospice nurses who were the most helpful, he
says in hindsight.
“When she needed medicine for pain at
2 in the morning, they were there. I was
able to spend time with Rita and to hold
her hand,” he says. “They were helpful in
so many ways.”
In his honor and in her memory, Johnston Health has placed a bench and plaque
in the flower garden behind the SECU
Hospice House. He says Rita understood
the demands of his office and reminded
him to let go of his job’s worries and frustrations that oftentimes followed him
home.
As for the hospital, Crocker remembers
administering the oaths of office to trustees for first time on July 3, 1966, when
Lloyd Gilbert was in charge. And for his
At the recent Johnston Health Foundation Social, Rep. Leo Daughtry of
Smithfield (at center), and Dr. Cary Bizzell of Clayton, a foundation board
member, present Will Crocker with a plaque for his service to the hospital
and the community.
last time, he swore in the returning hospital
board members on Oct. 16, 2014.
But it was his work behind the scenes that
hospital insiders will remember most: his
assistance in securing guardianships, claims
to estates and other such legal documents
important to the care and wellbeing of patients and their families.
“Thank you all for what you’ve done for
me,” Crocker told the hospital board that
night at the meeting. But board chairman
Bobby Parker said it was Crocker to whom
the board owed thanks. And all rose to give
him one last hardy round of applause.
The First Citizens Bank Annual Golf Classic at the Pine Hollow golf course in Clayton in raised more than $60,000. And the
social, held the night prior at the Portofino
Clubhouse in Clayton, raised more than
$19,000. Proceeds will go to support the
Check out our virtual tours
You can now tour Johnston Health without leaving your own home.
Virtual tours of the hospital and outpatient departments are now a feature of our Johnston Health web site.
Nov. 19, 2014
ENHANCING CANCER CARE
NOTEWORTHY
In reflecting on tenure, Ring says
highlight was opening Clayton
Jackie Ring says she’s looking forward to
mountain living and
the challenges of
running a small hospital.
On Dec. 29, the
chief nursing officer
will begin her duties
as president and
CNO at HighlandsCashiers, a 108-bed
hospital that is part
of Mission Health.
“I will definitely
miss the people,”
says Ring, whose
last day here will be
Jackie Ring
Friday. “I treasure
the relationships that I have developed at
Johnston Health and in the community over
the past eight and a half years.”
Ring says she will most remember her tenure as chief operating officer at Johnston
Health Clayton during which she played a
key role in planning for and opening the outpatient center in October 2009, which has
since earned a reputation for providing quality care and customer service.
“It has been an incredible experience and I
have been blessed to work with such wonderful leaders and staff. I will miss them all,”
she says.
Outside of work, Ring is finishing courses
for her doctorate degree in December and
will take the next year or so to write her dissertation. She says the class work has
broadened her perspective and challenged
her to think in different ways.
In addition to her bachelor’s degree in
nursing, Ring has master’s degrees in business and health care administration.
Also, Ring serves on the North Carolina
Board of Nursing. The 14-member board
implements policy and oversee the activities
of the Board of Nursing.
In a Nov. 11 announcement to the organization, Chuck Elliott, CEO and president of
Johnston Health, said Ring had provided
“exceptional leadership and contributed significantly to the outstanding growth and quality improvement” that had occurred during
her tenure.
“We will miss her as a vital member of our
administrative team,” he said. “We’re also
happy for her and celebrate with her as she
enters this new challenge.”
Ruth Marler, chief operating officer, will
serve as the interim CNO until Johnston
Health can find a permanent successor. A
search will begin in January after the opening
of the inpatient wing at Johnston Health
Clayton, Elliott said in the announcement.
We wish her well
Debbie Batten, manager of same day surgery, is retiring after 32 years. A reception
honoring her will be held Friday in the doctor’s dining room of the cafeteria from 2 till 4
p.m. Staff and volunteers are invited to attend.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Grant OTW
to fund
new program
Community paramedics
will provide in-home
care to chronically ill
More than 40 original local works of art are going up this month at the
medical oncology clinics in Smithfield and Clayton. The Art for Hope
Campaign is among the ways that Johnston Health is enhancing its environment and care for patients. Above, Garry Gavitt, an accountant in the
finance department, has volunteered to hang the paintings.
Art, wellness, a navigator
Cancer care committee works toward accreditation
G
arry Gavitt, an accountant in the
finance department, has carpentry
skills, loves art and empathizes
with patients undergoing cancer
treatment. So when the opportunity presented itself to hang new artwork at Johnston Health Hematology and Oncology, he
gladly obliged
Through the Art for Hope campaign led by
the Johnston Health Foundation, donors
contributed more than $11,000 to acquire
colorful, engaging paintings to spruce up the
hallways, exam rooms and treatment areas
of the oncology clinics in Smithfield and
Clayton.
The artful environment in Smithfield will
complement an education and wellness program set to begin in January. The program,
made possible through a $5,000 grant secured by the foundation, will offer education, nutrition classes, art therapy and water
aerobics.
These new projects are examples of how
Johnston Health is enhancing its services for
patients with cancer. Behind the scenes,
important work has already been done to
improve cancer care and treatment.
Since convening in March 2013, the
Johnston Health Cancer Care Committee,
made up of physicians and staff members
from several disciplines, has been meeting
nearly every week to review cases and to
collaborate on plans of care for the newly
diagnosed.
“Through the conferences, we’ve been
able to foster multidisciplinary discussions
and provide more timely decisions on the
best treatments and support for patients,”
says Caroline Hester, who is the administrative director overseeing cancer care services.
The committee is working toward earning
national accreditation for the cancer care
program. And by January, the group will
have met a long list of standards and will be
ready to apply, she says.
An annual report published and disseminated in December will give an overview of
services and upcoming initiatives. It will
also feature the ways in which Johnston
Health is raising awareness about cancer,
and educating and supporting patients.
In September 2013, Johnston Health did a
survey to assess the health needs of the community, and the results showed, among other
things, a high incidence of tobacco use and a
lower incidence of scheduling routine mammograms and pap smears.
Community Outreach
ANGEL FUND: In May, the Johnston Health Champions 5K raised
$13,600 for patient needs.
LADIES NIGHT OUT: Staff offers
helpful info about prevention,
nutrition, health care services.
“Those needs have been another
driver,” Hester adds. “We’ve taken that
information, and we’re trying to fill the
disparities.”
Toward that end, the Angel Fund has
been helpful to patients who are struggling financially and, for example,
can’t afford co-pays, pain medications
or gas to get to and from doctors appointments, Hester says. Recently, use
of the fund has been expanded to provide free mammograms for those who
qualify.
Among its patients, the hospital sees
the highest incidence of cancer in the
breast and lungs, Hester adds. The cancer program will soon add a full-time
patient navigator who will focus on
patients diagnosed with those two types
of cancer.
“We want to enhance our care and
ensure that we have quality, comprehensive services for our patients,” Hester says. “Cancer is such a taxing disease that we want patients to be able to
get the care they need right here in
Johnston County.”
A Johnston County EMS
paramedic typically spends
his day en route to 911 calls.
But the thrust of a program
now in the works would have
specially-trained paramedics
checking in with certain patients at home, for example, to
see if they’re taking their
medications or are well
enough to get to their doctor’s Beverly Legath
appointment the next day.
Rather than responding to 911 calls, the
community paramedic will try to prevent
them. In short, it will be his job to help chronically ill patients proactively manage their own
care after leaving the hospital.
Johnston Health has received a $350,000
grant from The Duke Endowment to implement this care-transition program, which will
include local agencies such as EMS and
Johnston County Mental Health.
Beverly Legath, director of case management, wrote the grant application. She says the
program is designed to prevent costly readmissions and to reduce non-urgent visits to the
emergency department.
“More importantly, this is an opportunity to
deliver care in a more coordinated and efficient way,” she says. “We’re helping patients
maintain accountability for their health. This
program says that we care.”
Johnston County EMS would be responsible
for hiring and training two full-time advancedpractice paramedics. If all goes as planned, the
program could be up and running by July.
The program would focus on patients who
are at high risk for readmissions and frequent
non-urgent calls to EMS. This could be due to
their disease state, for example, diabetes,
COPD and heart failure, and/or social factors,
such as living arrangements.
“These patients have medically and socially
complex needs and live at home. They feel
they have no health care options other than
emergency services,” she says. “The community paramedic program can begin to address
their medical and social needs in a costeffective way that promotes better use of
health care resources.”
Johnston Health earns
‘Top Performer’ recognition
from The Joint Commission
We are pleased to announce The Joint
Commission has recognized Johnston Health
as a 2013 Top Performer on Key Quality
Measures®. Johnston Health has been recognized for its excellence in accountability
measure performance shown to improve care
for certain conditions and is one of 1,224 hospitals in the United States to achieve the distinction as a 2013 Top Performer.
Johnston Health has been recognized for its
achievement on the following accountability
measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.
“At Johnston Health, we have made it a top
priority to address patient safety and quality
health care by improving upon our evidencebased care processes,” said Chuck Elliott,
CEO and president of Johnston Health. “We
are proud to be named a Top Performer and
thank our entire hospital staff for its knowledge, teamwork and dedication to improve
Johnston Health’s performance.”
Dec. 3, 2014
MAKING FITNESS FUN
NOTEWORTHY
Can’t sleep? Visit our lab
Did you know there’s a service at Johnston
Health to improve your sleep?
You can check out the newly renovated
sleep lab during the Smithfield-Selma Chamber of Commerce Eye Opener from 7:30 till
9 a.m. on Dec. 11. Johnston Health is hosting this networking event to show off its services to the business community as well as
to staff, administrators and hospital leaders.
In leading quality, she
values communication
with staff, physicians
Share the love
Want to share Christmas with a needy child?
You can help make the holiday special by
picking a gift tag now through Dec. 17 from
the Angel Tree, a program of Johnston
County Social Services for children in foster
care and infants of needy mothers in the
adolescent parenting program. The trees are
in the education department, Women’s Pavilion and in the administration office at Clayton.
A free meal; poinsettias for sale
Johnston Health will treat employees to a
holiday meal on Dec. 10. Serving times are
from 11 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria in
Smithfield and in the conference room in
Clayton. Departments will pick up meals at 7
p.m. for the night staff. Also that day, you
can contribute to the employee assistance
fund by purchasing a red poinsettia for $15.
Wear an ugly sweater; build a pretty box
Got decorating skills? Tap into your creative
side by decorating a box for the canned food
drive to support the Salvation Army food program. Judges will choose the most creative
entries for a first-, second- and third-place
recognition on Dec. 17. It’s also the day to
wear an ugly Christmas sweater. No offensive designs, please.
ELC’s got talent
Staff, volunteers and visitors are invited to
the Early Learning Center’s Christmas show
at 3 p.m. on Dec. 19 in the auditorium of the
Johnston Medical Mall. The 3- and 4-yearolds will be singing and playing the Kristal
Bells.
Bloodmobile to visit Jan. 22
Employees are encouraged to donate blood
during the next visit of the American Red
Cross Bloodmobile from noon till 4:30 p.m.
on Jan. 22 in front of the hospital. To schedule an appointment, call Kim Thompson at
ext. 7736. All donors will receive a gift.
Reaching the goal for CPR
Chest pain coordinators Hank Long and
Kenny Gooch have met their goal this year of
teaching hands-only CPR to 1,000 people.
They’ve taken the blue manikins to business
expos, health fairs, community events and
festivals across the county, and handed out
certificates to the newly trained. Among the
people he has met, Long says a volunteer
firefighter who survived a recent heart attack
stands out. “I’ve come to appreciate how
every person is a blessing to our communities, and that this project has been worth it all
if it helps to save even one life,” he said.
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Holloman
promoted
to director
Personal trainer Frankie Benavidez leads exercises during the Healthy
Kids program. Twenty children have enrolled in the first session.
HealthQuest kicks off program
to get youngsters fit, healthy
I
t’s not what you might expect:
Eight young people in a circle,
doing squats, faces flushed and
smiling.
“That’s what happens when you
exercise; it makes you happy,” says personal trainer Frankie Benavidez, who is
leading classes two nights a week for the
Healthy Kids program at HealthQuest.
Now in their fifth week, the students have
gotten over their shyness, made friends
and seemingly embraced their hour-long
routines.
The class of 9- to 12-year-olds meets at 6
p.m. followed by the teens at 7. Altogether, there are 20 participants. In addition to the weekday sessions, they come in
on Saturday mornings, too.
Through the jumping jacks, bear crawls
and sit ups, Benavidez calls out to the
students by name, encouraging them to
keep pace. He explains which muscles get
worked, then later quizzes everyone on
what he or she has learned.
He talks with them, too, about attitude,
commitment, work ethic, accountability.
There’s daily homework to do, and
Benavidez, this week, will distribute paper
slips for parents to initial as they watch
their children complete exercises.
“He’s cool,” says Christina Hernandez of
Smithfield, a fifth grader. “I love doing
everything, and I’ve made friends.”
April Beasley drives from Newton
Grove to bring her 11-year-old daughter,
Courtney, to the program. Five years ago,
Beasley had a gastric bypass to lose
weight, and she doesn’t want her daughter
to face the same prospect when she grows
up, she says.
So far, so good.
Since beginning the program, Courtney
has been snacking less, drinking more
water and watching her portion sizes at
meals. Beasley is hopeful that the exercise
program will help her daughter shed
pounds and lower her blood pressure.
“I just want her to be happy. I want her
to be healthy,” she says.
HealthQuest launched the 12-week program in November with support from the
Johnston Health Foundation, which has
raised money to pay for scholarships. The
awards are based on financial hardship
and health-risk factors. Otherwise, the
fees are $200 for members and $250 for
non-members.
In addition to exercise, a dietician leads
sessions on nutrition.
A local cardiologist, Dr. Benjamin Atkeson, suggested starting a health education program for children, says Alison
Drain, director of development for Johnston Health. He has since contributed
$10,000 to the scholarship fund and
pledged $40,000 over the next four years.
“It’s important for the medical community to address prevention,” he told Drain
in an interview. “Eliminating smoking
from public places was a good start. Now
we must deal with obesity.”
Drain says the foundation has received
other contributions to the program, and
she’ll soon send out letters asking HealthQuest members for support.
Benavidez says he’s thrilled with the
opportunity to work with young people.
“We’re always trying to create and put
into place programs to improve the fitness
of children and to get their parents involved with healthful activities, too.
“Making wise choices about what you
eat, and learning to lead an active lifestyle
is a good lesson for us all,” he adds. “And
it doesn’t have to be drudgery. It can be
fun.”
For more information about the Healthy
Kids program, call 919-938-7581 or look
for the HealthQuest page on the Johnston
Health website. If you would like to contribute to the Healthy Kids Fund, contact
the foundation at 919-938-7169. When Cynthia Holloman became quality
coordinator five years
ago, she took a job
working weekends at a
local nursing home.
Still in love with bedside nursing, it was her
outlet for patient care.
Now that she’s director of quality, Holloman says she’ll give
up the weekend job.
Rather than taking care
of one patient at a
Cynthia Holloman
time, she’ll now have
opportunities to improve outcomes for all
patients.
And that’s what Holloman likes most about
quality. “Quality can touch everything,” she
says. “You can make a difference in so many
ways.”
Holloman, who has worked with Johnston
Health since earning her nursing degree 17
years ago, started out taking care of patients in
orthopedics, labor and delivery, and endoscopy.
When the hospital needed a uniform process
for scheduling procedures, she moved into a
new role and opened the community wide
scheduling department. Eventually, she took
on patient registration and initiated bedside
registration in the emergency department.
Her first quality-related task was developing
a formal peer review process for nurses. After
a few years, she moved into the quality coordinator position, and liked it right away.
While auditing charts, she saw the value of
looking at data. And in learning about regulatory processes, she came to understand and
appreciate how the federal government leads
hospitals to do clinical tasks, large and small,
to positively affect patient outcomes. Those
processes range from practicing good hand
hygiene to calling time outs before starting
surgery.
“Most caregivers love their patients, but
don’t like the paperwork,” Holloman adds.
“That’s why it’s so important for us to explain
why we need to follow processes. We all want
the same things, just sometimes for different
reasons.”
Holloman says communication goes a long
way toward helping the hospital meet quality
goals. She thinks it’s important to give feedback right away to staff and doctors. “We’re
here to help, not punish,” she adds.
“If we’re not meeting a core measure, then
it’s more likely that a patient can be readmitted to the hospital,” she says. “It’s not
only costly for us, but it means that patient is
losing time with children or grandchildren.
“Quality is where we can make a difference,” she says. “That’s why we want to perform at our very best.”
Endo has a new look
Patients like the new accent color, and the staff likes the look, flow and orderliness of the endoscopy
area. The changes were brought about from a week-long rapid improvement event last month. Amy Skinner, clinical coordinator, says the staff now tracks patients on a dry-erase board rather than thumbing
through paper tacked to a wall. Noisy bronchoscopes, which had been out in plain sight, now neatly hang in
a storage room at the end of the hall. Staff members now have an office, formerly used for storage, from
which to chart and make phone calls. Until now, their desk had been in a middle bay, which is now free for
patients to use. Skinner says new curtains and office chairs are on the way. And she’s still working on
fitting everything in a central storage area. “It’s a work in progress,” she says. “But it already feels so much
better.” Patients are also enjoying the small TVs in the prep bays. Not all had been working. And the procedure room is less cluttered and more organized so that staff can move around in low light without tripping
on cords. Also notable, the department improved its scheduling process for patients. The result: a better
experience for patients and a more manageable work day for staff.
Following an RIE, the endoscopy area
is better organized and clutter-free.
Dec. 17, 2014
TIS THE SEASON FOR FUN, GIVING
NOTEWORTHY
ELC’s got talent
Clayton draws
positive reviews
ahead of debut
Expansion will enhance
services, economic profile
Staff, volunteers and visitors are invited to
the Early Learning Center’s Christmas Show
at 3 p.m. on Dec. 19 in the auditorium of the
Johnston Medical Mall. The 3- and 4-yearsolds will be singing and playing the Kristal
Bells.
I
t’s all coming together.
Construction is now complete on the $50 million inpatient expansion at Johnston
Health Clayton, and crews began
moving in the beds, equipment and
furnishings this week.
What follows are some of the insights shared by a local businessman, physician and town planner as
Johnston Health moves toward
opening its new wing on January
10, 2015.
Bloodmobile to visit Jan. 22
Employees are encouraged to donate blood
during the next visit of the American Red
Cross Bloodmobile from noon till 4:30 p.m.
on Jan. 22 in front of the hospital. To schedule an appointment, call Kim Thompson at
ext. 7736. Johnston Health has set a goal to
schedule at least 25 donors. All donors will
receive a gift.
A flu uptick across the state
Since the beginning of November, the Clayton and Smithfield emergency departments
have seen 50 cases of the flu, many of them
children.
Ronnie Syverson, infection preventionist,
began distributing cough etiquette kits to
departments in late November.
Department of Health officials say it's still
early in the flu season, but as of last week,
the virus has become widespread in Eastern
North Carolina. So far this season, 238
cases have been reported in the state, more
than 150 of them in just the last few weeks.
A reputation for service
Save the date for Clayton opening
You’re invited to the ribbon cutting at 1:30
p.m. and the tours from 2 till 4 p.m. at Johnston Health Clayton on Jan. 10, 2015.
Ashly Hardin, secretary for PCU, whipped up her Christmas sweater from
scratch. A battery pack kept her lights twinkling through the day. Her
ensemble brought smiles to patients and doctors. On Wednesday, the
staff contributed 1,900 pounds of canned goods, all of which will go to
the food pantry at the Salvation Army. Radiology contributed the most:
284 pounds. Employees also voted on their favorite decorated collection
boxes. Results are below. Behavioral Health received honorable mention.
An invitation to the open house in
the form of a direct mail card will
go out soon to 45,000 households
in Johnston County. The card,
which was designed by the Ron
Sloan agency in Four Oaks, has
photos of the new wing’s features,
including the atrium. The event will
also offer activities for children,
indoors and out.
Jim Lee of Clayton has never been a patient at
the emergency department at Johnston Health
Clayton, but he’s steered plenty of people right
up to the front door.
As a partner with the Walthom Group, a commercial and residential development firm, it’s
his job to sell prospective homebuyers on Clayton. And the hospital, he says, has been one of
the most impressive tools in his kit.
When he takes visitors on a tour around town,
he pulls into the Clayton campus and stops at
ED’s front door.
More than most folks, Lee recognizes the
value of an ED to a small town. He was once a
volunteer EMT in nearby Garner, and remembers long ambulance trips through heavy traffic
to big hospitals. “Those were stressful minutes,” he says.
But there’s comparatively less traffic on N.C.
42 West. The campus is a five- to 10-minute
drive from most Clayton neighborhoods, and
the wait to be seen in the ED is always short, he
says.
“People don’t realize they need emergency
services until they do, and then it’s the most
important thing in the world,” he says. “Not
only does Johnston Health Clayton look nice
and new, but it’s got the latest technology, high
-caliber physicians and the service is extraordinary.”
A magnet for development
Clayton planning director David DeYoung
says Johnston Health Clayton has indeed been a
catalyst for growth. And the hospital’s expansion was among the factors prompting Moody’s
Investor Service to upgrade the town’s bond
rating in September, he said.
“We expect that the N.C. 42 corridor will
remain one of the fastest growing areas within
the city limits,” he says. “People move to Clayton because it’s a great place to live and play.
Knowing that there is now a full service hospital just minutes from downtown will be an additional draw.”
In the five years since opening, Johnston
Health Clayton has welcomed new neighbors,
including a 100-bed nursing home, a 77-bed
assisted living center and a 36,000-square-foot,
two-story medical office building.
Convenient services for patients
LifeLiner is published on the first and
third Wednesdays
by the Marketing and Community
Relations Department
2nd: Radiology
Suzette Rodriguez…...writer, editor
To submit news items,
call 938-7103 or email
[email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
1st place: Pre-Admission Testing
3rd: PCU
Through the past 14 years, Ghulam Shaikh,
M.D. has seen businesses and rooftops spring
up around his internal medicine practice at the
commercial area clustered around I-40 and N.C.
42, which is a few miles west of Johnston
Health Clayton.
Dr. Shaikh thinks the addition of inpatient
services will be a plus for his patients, many of
whom are retirees. “The campus is easy to get
in and out of,” he says. “They don’t have to
travel as far, nor sit for hours in an emergency
department.”
Email for all on the way
Starting in January, employees who have
been without email will be the first to get the
UNC Health Care addresses. During a second phase, those employees with email will
switch from the Johnston Health system to
the new email system.
The new system will have limitations. Most
notably, users will be assigned quotas depending on their roles. For example, directors
will be allowed 3.4 gigabytes of email storage, while managers and physicians will be
allowed 2.8. MIS will send out warnings when
users get close to exceeding their quotas.
Also notable, deleted emails will disappear
after 24 hours.
“We’re excited about everyone getting on
board with the new system,” says Teresa
Chappell, director of MIS. “It’s important to
have the ability to communicate effectively
with all employees.”
Check out the pillar boards
Info posted on the pillar boards around both
campuses is now easier to read. Also new,
minutes from the monthly leadership meetings are now attached to boards as well as
copies of weekly huddle topics and the LifeLiner, a newsletter distributed twice monthly.
Jessica Springer, director of Lean, assisted
the communications committee with designing and summarizing the info, which reflects
the organization’s goals and objectives.
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees and volunteers
joining Johnston Health in December.
Full-time: Crystal Felice, manager of the
Clayton lab; Niya Hagans and Jason Elks,
respiratory therapist; Chelsey McDaniels,
CNA, SECU Hospice House; Michele Price,
hematology supervisor, Smithfield lab; Casey
Tyndall, Jacqueline Dayton, Hela Letaief and
Deena Matthews (Clayton), pharmacy techs;
Sheri Styron, nuclear medicine tech in Clayton; Leslie Cushing, aquatics trainer, HealthQuest; Carolyn Ellis, director of cardiac services; Sharon Hardison, RN, oncology in
Smithfield; Mark Melville, Holly Cranford and
Shelia Townsend-Phillips, RNs on third floor
in Clayton; Jessica Perry, RN, progressive
care in Clayton; Dominque McLean, RN on 2
East; Mark Smith, staff pharmacist for Smithfield and Clayton; Noah Bell, staff pharmacist
for Clayton; Lindesy Strickland, physical therapy assistant in Clayton; Candace Bombardier, RN, labor and delivery, Smithfield; Tiffany Borbas, patient care assistant, third floor
in Clayton; Dione Clark, Donna Grande, OR
techs, Clayton; Jason Guerrero, patient
transporter for CAT scan, Clayton; Lucel
Lassiter and Stephanie Olive, CNAs, third
floor in Clayton; Heidi Rowan, phlebotomist,
Clayton; Mark Shutt, Frank Starry, Tyler
Tripp, John Zhoroff, all security officers in
Clayton; Linda Squires, Tunisia Jenkins,
Britany Baker, Shavon Jackson, Willie Johnson, Carolyn ONeal, Justin Ramirez, Lakeshia Soloman, Stephanie White, Pamela
Wiggs, Donquetta Williams, Richard Wilson,
Shanetta Clark, Donald Crenshaw, all food
services; Joshua Burnette, food services
manager; Melissa Phelps and Jane Guziak,
food services supervisors; Christopher
Farmer, Christopher Murray, Beverly White,
Cleveland Anderson, Manny Badillo, Freda
Harris, Ricardo Kearney, Lissette Ramirez
and Marlene Rios, environmental services
workers;
Part-time: Susan Musico, department secretary, Johnston Health Foundation/
development; Corinna Walker, RN on 2 East;
Jason Argila, physical therapy assistant in
Clayton; Deborah Wall, clinical chaplain in
Clayton; Bianca Price, CNA, third floor in
Clayton; Joann Tippett, RN, progressive care
in Clayton;
PRN: Karie Hodges, RN, third floor in Clayton; Simone Mignott, patient registrar;
Stephanie Shaffer, pharmacy tech; Holly Tipton, patient care assistant, behavioral health;
Melissa Bowers, nuclear med tech in Smithfield; Christina Garner, RN, operating room;
Paula Koenig, perinatal technician, labor and
delivery in Smithfield; Cherish Scott, EKG
tech, Clayton; Ninoschka Smith, RN on 2
East; Michael Williams, OR tech in Clayton;
Deanne Mizner, physical therapist, Clayton;
Kayla Messer, CNA, third floor in Clayton;
Keith Pagano, security officer in Clayton;
Volunteers: Beverly Adams, Marjorie Coker,
Joyce Kidd, Mary Krysty, Mary Lu Stott,
Caroline Armstrong, Kenneth Armstrong,
Glendora Barbour, Shirley Daniel, Ogden
Headington Jr., Jared Holliday, Carol Otten,
Ava Dunston, Linda Fitzgerald, Carolyn
Jones, Sandra Masten-Rossini, Linda
McKeel, Michael Medlin, Alice Rogers, Cynthia Thompson.
Collection results
The Activities Committee would like to thank
the Engineering Department for helping collect
and weigh the food, and the department champions who encouraged the collection and decoration of the boxes. The following departments
had the most pounds per FTE.
Pre-admission Testing: 21.2 lbs (127 total)
Sterile Processing: 13 lbs/fte (103 total)
Engineering: 12.1 lbs/fte (177 total)
100 Pound Club
Case Management
Sterile Processing
Pre-Admission Testing
3rd Floor Nursing
Behavioral Health
Engineering
Food Services
Radiology
100
103
127
159
170
177
180
284
Other Departments
Marketing
Cardiology
Finance
Education
Clayton
PCU
Human Resources
JMA Suite 100 Med Arts
Health Info Mgt
Business Office
9
37
41
57
63
63
68
82
89
94
A boost for the employee emergency fund
The sale of poinsettias last week raised $328.50 for the employee emergency
fund. Since January 2014, 11 employees have received assistance totaling
$4,932. The fund has a current balance of $1,627.31. Tammy Wood, benefits
specialist, is HR’s liaison to a committee that reviews requests, and it’s her
job to screen applications according to the policy’s guidelines. She says there
are coworkers among us who are struggling, even though employed. And
their problems aren’t always of their making. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. A
fire, a flood, a health emergency. The fund is a way that employees can help
one another through tough times, she says. Above Doug Harrison and Beth
Barefoot were among the directors taking turns Dec. 10 at the sales table.
Holiday schedules for departments
Department
Admnstratn
Amb Imaging
Business
Cardiac Rehab
Crdio Strs Lab
Case Mgt
Cath Lab
Comm Wide
Compliance
Early Learning
Education
Emergency
Emp Pharmacy
Endoscopy
Engineering
Finance
Food Services
Foundation
Gift Shop
HealthQuest
HIM
HmCr & Hspce
HR
Infction Cntrl
JMA offices:
Clayton
Rhmtlgy
Nrlgy
Lab (S&C)
Mrktng/ComRel
MIS
Med Onc (S&C)
*Rad Onc(S&C)
Med Staff Off
OR
Project Access
Quality
QuikMed
Radiology(S&C)
Rehab:
Outpatient
Inpatient
Registration:
Outpatient
ED
Resource Mgt
SameDay(S&C)
Special Procds
*Spiritual Care
Strl Processng
Wound Center
Dec. 24
OCSA
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
7 a.-5 p.
*EO
open till noon
closed
open
closed
open till 12:30
open till 2 p.m.
open till noon
open
closed
ABP
Dec. 25
OCSA
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
EO
24 CC
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
24 CC
closed
ABP
Dec. 26
OCSA
open
closed
closed
open
open
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
open
open
24 CC
closed
open
closed
open
open
open
open
closed
ABP
Dec. 31
open
open
open till noon
open
open
open
open
open
open
open
open till 4 p.m.
open
open
EO
open till 2 p.m.
open
open
open
open till 12:30
open till 5 p.m.
open
open
open
open
Jan. 1
OCSA
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
EO
24 CC
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
24 CC
closed
ABP
open
open
open till noon
open
closed
24 CC
open
open
open till noon
open
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
24 CC
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
24 CC
open
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
open
open
open
open
open
open
open till 4 p.m.
open
open
open
open
open
open
open
open
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
24 CC
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
EO
open
open
closed
closed
closed
open
open
open
closed
open
6 a.- 5 p.
open
open till noon
closed
EO
open
open
open till noon
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
6 a.-2 p.
open
closed
open
open
closed
open
open
6 a.-5 p.
open
open till noon
open
open
open
open
open
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
(OCSA) On-call service available
(EO) Emergencies only
(ABP) Available by pager
(24 CC) 24-hour call coverage during closing
*An on-call administrator can be reached through the switchboard operator
*To reach radiation oncology for emergencies, call 919-713-1502
*Spiritual Care will use volunteer chaplains for emergency coverage. (Ask the switchboard operator to call the on-call
chaplain if needed.)
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s the list of employees and volunteers
joining us in November. Welcome aboard!
Fulltime: Rodney Barbour and William
Wright, security officers; Donna Pautke and
Kayla Pilkington, patient care assistants on 2
East; Kelcy Connolly, nursing assistant, behavioral health; Laura Horton, RN, Smithfield
emergency department; Nelda Johnson,
Smithfield staff pharmacist; April Maupin,
EVS worker; India McArthur, nursing assistant, SECU Hospice House; Tiffany Turnage,
Smithfield pharmacy tech; Danny Weston,
patient care assistant, 2 East; Lisa Cramer,
RN, behavioral health; Wendy Anderson, RN,
labor and delivery; Landon Jernigan, nursing
assistant for flex unit.
Part-time: Maria Trejo, Micah Barlow, Devin
Cockrell, Devon Murphy, Sheena Murphy, all
patient access registratrars.
PRN: Michelle Sawyer, RN, Clayton emergency department; Mintoria Stockton, RN,
third floor.
Volunteers: Donna Bilski, Bonnie Hall, Beth
Huber, Evelyn Klemstine, Donna Kozlowski,
Judy Lowe, Jeanne Houser, Judith Hudgins
and Lois Smith.
Departments
announce
holiday closings
Department
*Admnstratn
Amb Imaging
Business
Cardio Strs Lab
Case Mgt
Cath Lab
Comm Wide
Compliance
Copy Center
Early Learning
Education
Emergency
Emp Health
Emp Pharmacy
Endoscopy
Engineering
Finance
Food Services
Foundation
Gift Shop
HealthQuest
HIM
HmCr & Hspce
HR
JMA offices
Lab (S&C)
MIS
Med Onc (S&C)
*Rad Onc(S&C)
Med Staff Off
OR
Project Access
Quality
QuikMed
Radiology(S&C)
Rehab
Outpatient
Inpatient
Registration
Outpatient:
ED:
Resource Mgt
Same Day (S&C)
Special Procds
*Spiritual Care
Strl Prcssng
Wound Center
Nov. 27
OCSA
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
24 CC
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
OCSA
closed
closed
EO
24 CC
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
EO
Nov. 28
OCSA
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
7 a-5 p
EO
24CC
closed
open
closed
closed
open
closed
OCSA
closed
closed
open
24 CC
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
open
closed
open
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
EO
open
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
open
open
open
(OCSA) On-call service available
(EO) Emergencies only
(24 CC) 24-hour call coverage during closing
*An on-call administrator can be reached through
the switchboard operator
*To reach radiation oncology for emergencies,
call 919-713-1502
*Spiritual Care will use volunteer chaplains for
emergency coverage. (Ask the switchboard operator to call the on-call chaplain if needed.)
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Johnston Health Foundation held its first annual volunteers recognition dinner last Thursday at the Johnston
Medical Mall. From left, Cliff Painter was among the three retiring board members honored for service, outgoing
chair Lucy Coats was named “Board Member of the Year,” and local businessman and community leader Durwood
Stephenson was named “Volunteer of the Year.”
Foundation thanks volunteers, leaders during banquet
Director points up successes in 2014, increase in gifts, donors over past 2 years
T
hey’ve both given generously and
worked tirelessly behind the
scenes.
Last Thursday, the Johnston Health
Foundation honored its outgoing chair,
Lucy Coats, as “Board Member of the
Year,” and local business and community
leader, Durwood Stephenson, as
“Volunteer of the Year.”
Kyle McDermott, vice president of
support services, helped organize the
foundation in 1992 and still serves. During his presentation, he thanked Coats for
her 40 years of service to the hospital—15
of those while serving on the foundation
board.
“She gives of her time, talent and treasure,” McDermott said. “She engages others in giving; she is an ambassador; she
influences others through her quiet, yet
strong disposition. She cares deeply about
the hospital and Johnston County.”
Coats, who was director of anesthesiology before retiring last year, has given
significantly to the foundation’s campaigns and initiatives over the years.
David Mills, who is the board’s incoming chair, did the presentation for Stephenson. He talked about the businessman’s reputation for integrity, fairness
and sound business dealings as president
and founder of Stephenson General Contractors.
Outside of work, he and his wife,
Vickie, have a nonprofit corporation to
Project Access
wins grant
The Duke Endowment has
awarded Johnston Health a
grant for $329,750 that will
continue Project Access for the
next two years. At right, Rebecca Hawley, who is the program’s part-time nurse practitioner, sees a patient in the
Project Access clinic, which is
open Thursdays from 6 till 9
p.m. Located at 711 North
Street, the medical office is
shared Monday through Thursday with a wellness program
serving employees of Johnston
County government. Johnston
Health owns the building and
provides it to the Project Access program as an in-kind donation. Since 2008, Project Access has enrolled more than
1,800 Johnston residents and
250 patients from Harnett. The
value of these donated services
is more than $11 million.
assist at-risk children. Also, Stephenson
has served on the N.C. Board of Transportation, the N.C. Banking Commission and
on the executive committee of the N.C.
Global Transpark Trustee Board.
As for his work with the foundation,
Stephenson chaired the capital campaign
for the SECU Hospice House, raising more
than $4 million. He also reached out to
local industries and assisted the foundation
in raising nearly $500,000 to renovate
space for the behavioral health holding
area as part of the larger emergency department expansion project.
“Durwood has given of his time, talent
and treasure to support the cause of improving health care for the people in our
communities,” Mills said. “He’s really the
volunteer of the decade. In the 25 years
that I’ve known him, it’s been an honor
and a pleasure.”
Stephenson and Coats were both surprised with the awards.
“The honor has come with being associated with the people here,” Stephenson
said. “When I see the hospice house parking lot full, I’m gratified knowing that
people have a place to pass with dignity
and peace.
“When you reach out and help serve, you
never know how great the impact can be,”
he added.
Coats said she had enjoyed her tenure on
the board and felt proud of the foundation’s work. “We’re making a difference in
the lives of patients, from helping them get
critical medications to helping them with
transportation to doctors appointments.”
Fundraising successes: In all, the foundation raised $290,000 this year through its
four campaigns and events. These were the
Johnston Health Champions 5K, the First
Citizens Bank Annual Golf Classic, the
Foundation Social and the Art for Hope
campaign. In addition, the foundation applied for and received a $5,000 education
and wellness grant for cancer patients.
Gifts are increasing: The foundation
received 1,769 gifts in the year ending Oct.
31, which was nearly three times the number
from two years ago. Also significant for the
same period, the number of donors grew
nearly six-fold, from 116 to today’s 687.
On saying thanks: “Volunteers take time
away from families, jobs and hobbies to
make a difference, and they can affect
change for the world. So it’s important to
thank and recognize them, to pause and to
celebrate accomplishments. They’re truly
diamonds in the rough.” --Alison Drain,
executive director of the foundation.
New officers, members: David Mills is
the chair; Julia Narron, vice chair; Jim Jenkins, treasurer; and Stewart McLeod, secretary. Jeff Pope of Four Oaks Bank and
Tammy Holt of SECU are new. The board
also thanked retiring members Joe Austin,
Cliff Painter and Patti Hooper.
Endowments:
A way to give
well into future
A Benson woman’s gift
is now helping patients
here at Johnston Health
During her lifetime, Benson native Cara
Lee Priest was known as a selfless, giving
person who liked to save her money.
After her death in August 2009, her family
chose to honor her memory with an endowment through the North Carolina Community
Foundation. Because of that gift, Priest is,
now and forever, helping to provide services
and programs benefitting patients at Johnston
Health.
Kemp Mosley, an associate attorney at
Narron, O’Hale & Whittington, P.A., in
Smithfield, says there are many benefits to
endowed charitable gifts. “The grantor is
able to truly perpetuate the gift and to define
the potential uses,” he says. “The principal
will always remain intact. The charity will
receive perpetual annual benefits. And the
endowed gift remains 100 percent tax deductible.”
A concern for many donors is how their
permanently endowed gift will be managed
and invested.
The North Carolina Community Foundation works with investors to make sure their
money is invested wisely, says Alison Drain,
director of the Johnston Health Foundation.
“They are a fixture in charitable gift management and hold many endowments set up
on behalf of nonprofits across the state, including our own Johnston Health Foundation,” she says. “Having that expertise and
experience gives donors peace of mind,
knowing that their money will be kept safe.”
Drain points out that Johnston Health faces
challenges as it continues to serve uninsured
and underinsured patients while also adapting to changes in the health care industry.
“An endowment for the hospital can have a
huge positive impact if the gift is invested
wisely and allowed to grow with donations,”
she said.
Drain says financial donations can be made
directly to the Johnston Health Foundation
Endowment or donors can set up new endowments by making a gift or leaving a bequest in their will.
The foundation’s page on the Johnston
Health website provides language that can be
used when making a charitable bequest to the
Johnston Health Foundation Endowment.
“Giving money to an endowment is investing in the future of a community,” Drain
adds. “It’s one way to ensure that our children and their children have a better place to
live and work.”
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees joining us in July.
Fulltime: Edward Metzel, director of the
emergency department; Adrienne Windham,
RN, third floor; Faye Hatcher, RN, second
floor; Elizabeth Colclasure, RN, ED; Douglas
Fryar, RN, ED; Catherine Rzany, RN, PCU;
Crystal Davis, RN, PCU; Maurice Cleveland,
security officer; Patricia Johnson, grill cook;
Ulises Vaquez, EVS floor tech; Beatrice
McKnight, food service worker; Kelly Moore,
grill cook/cashier; Kimberly Rau-Dasnoit,
dietary aide; Nallely Sanchez, EVS worker.
PRN: Erica Thomas, certified nursing assistant, third floor; Lori Kimmerly, medical assistant, JMA-Clayton; Hettie Peele, RN, behavioral health; Amber Hudson, respiratory
therapist.
Volunteers: Suzanne Fitzgerald
Save the date
A public ribbon cutting for Johnston Health
Clayton’s inpatient wing will be held Jan. 10.
The marketing department is in the early
stages of planning for the Saturday event.
The hospital will open to inpatients on Jan.
14 with OB service beginning later in February.
At center, Shelby Holt, director of cardiopulmonary services, accepts the You Make A Difference certificate from
CEO Chuck Elliott. Respiratory therapists are. from left: Wendy Banks, Willsheana Clark, John Forbes and Morgan
Rogerson. The other therapists are: Diana Allen, Tonya Murphy (clinical coordinator), Connie Knowles, Kimberly
Aycock, Melissa Runyon, Cynthia Williams, Kristin Kelemen, Eric Odongo, Frank Barnes, Kristina Schrader, Michael
Berumen, Rob Bulgarino, Will Mtendera, Karonica Nelson, Lynn Hufton, David Dixon, John Yee, Pam Vargas, Amber
Hudson and Charles Warren.
Respiratory therapy honored for making a difference
E
very department has a story to
share. Shelby Holt, director of
cardiopulmonary services, wrote
the following story of how respiratory therapists are making a difference.
The recognition program is an extension
of the Standards Committee.
On Monday, CEO Chuck Elliott presented the You Make a Different certificate to the staff and praised them for their
dedication and commitment to patients.
The story illustrates how the department
contributes in the areas of the five pillars.
People: When a patient crashes, who gets
called to help out? It’s the respiratory
therapist.
The respiratory care department is
made up of a diverse group of professionals who deliver care to patients of all
ages. Because they’re often needed in
many places at once, they’re adept at
multitasking and prioritizing. The staff
works well together and with other disciplines, relying on their individual
strengths to give the best care possible.
Education for a respiratory therapist
includes a concentration in disease processes known to cause difficulty breathing
in patients. The therapist learns different
treatment modalities and determines
which is best for each patient.
Quality: Therapists care for the patient
while in the hospital, and they use every
opportunity to teach the patient how to
care for themselves at home. This may
include teaching patients how to use an
inhaler, how to breathe a certain way or
how to quit smoking. Respiratory therapists are always prepared to help patients
better manage their disease.
The respiratory care department responds to all code blues and jets within the
hospital and other buildings on campus.
Therapists are known to be the experts and
are often called upon when patients are
not doing well. Sometimes a crisis situation, such as intubation, can be avoided if
the patient’s condition is recognized soon
enough.
The department examines missed medications and pulmonary function reading
turnaround time as quality measures to
look for ways to improve the care of patients. Therapists have improved missed
medication rates by increasing awareness
of what was being missed and why. They
are also looking at ways to avoid missing
medications.
Growth: The demand on respiratory therapists is projected to increase as Baby
Boomers age and as the number of patients diagnosed with asthma and COPD
goes up. Respiratory therapists will be at
the forefront of treating these patients.
The respiratory care department is responsible for many procedures. Therapists
perform nebulizer treatments, pulse oximetry, incentive spirometry, chest physiotherapy, arterial blood gases, bronchoscopy assistance, pulmonary function studies, and assistance with conscious sedation, just to name a few.
The therapists are capable of performing
intubation when needed and are experts at
mechanical ventilation, invasive and non-
invasive. With the ICU staff, the department
helped to initiate a ventilator-acquired
pneumonia policy shown to reduce the incidence of that type of infection.
The department recently took over the
administration of inhalers. This has enabled
the therapists to teach patients the proper
technique for self-administering an inhaled
medication. It has also helped to decrease
duplication in medications, which reduces
expense to the hospital and improves patient
safety.
Value: The respiratory care department
flexes when needed to reduce labor expense.
The staff helps monitor productivity and
helps decide when it is time for a staff member to flex off. This is evenly shared between
all members of the department. The staff is
constantly looking for ways to conserve
supplies while still providing proper patient
care.
Innovation: The respiratory care department is working to develop evidence-based
protocols. Evidence-based protocols deliver
improved patient outcomes and appropriate
allocation of services.
Recently added equipment includes a high
-flow oxygen setup capable of delivering
high amounts of oxygen to patients through
a special cannula. This is for patients who
have a low arterial oxygen level but are
moving air without difficulty. Use of this
equipment in the right patient group could
prevent the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation. This would have the
effect of decreasing length of stay and reducing expense for the hospital and patient.
Survey results
prompting
café changes
A majority of the 237 employees responding to a food services survey in June
said they were satisfied with their overall
dining experience, including how quickly
and efficiently they were served.
While most of the responses about the
taste of the food were positive, a good
number of employees said they would
like to have more food choices, said Russ
Currie, director of the food services department.
In a comment section, employees asked
for more food options at night, more variety of soups and Southern food, and additional days of the exhibit station where
the chef prepares a special dish.
Chef Tim Brennan says changes are
already in the works. He plans to expand
the exhibit station to five days a week and
to insert new soup recipes into menu.
While it’s not feasible to keep the salad
bar open at night, he’s looking at stocking
more grab-and-go items for the night
shift.
Brennan says diners may be unaware
that the grill, which is open through the
Melanie Heath prepares the grab-and-go salads on Tuesday. The café
will begin preparing more of these items for the night shift in response
to a recent food services survey.
night and wee hours of the morning, offers healthful options such as fish tacos,
turkey burgers and grilled chicken breasts.
So what else might surprise café diners?
“Ninety percent of our vegetables are
fresh and grown in North Carolina. Deliveries arrive Monday, Wednesdays and
Fridays,” he says. “A small percentage of
the vegetables are frozen. Canned items
are kept as an emergency back-up, in case
the kitchen loses power.”
Brennan says the staff must follow recipes for preparing the dishes so that they
have the proper nutritional values. “We
can’t deviate, especially for patients,” he
says.
Also, he says diners may be surprised
that most of the sauces and entrees are
made from scratch, including the lasagna,
meatloaf and fried chicken.
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of the employees hired during
June.
Fulltime: Alicia Bailey, social worker/
discharge, case management; Thomas Callon, security officer; Wanda Dean, patient
registrar; Rachelle Fuller, patient care assistant, second floor; John Griffin, lab technician/registrar, Smithfield; Rosaura Laabidi,
specialty RN, Smithfield emergency department; Mindy Lapanne, patient access registrar, Smithfield; Brenna Parker, RN, second
floor; Lisa Peacock, social worker/discharge,
case management; Lindsey Tart, RN, Smithfield emergency department; Kristen Tew,
medical lab tech, Smithfield lab; Karissa Witkamp, pharmacy tech, Smithfield pharmacy;
Siamora Woodard, preschool team teacher,
Early Learning Center; Lindsay Tart, nurse
practitioner, QuikMed; Ashley Heath, patient
access registrar; Ashlynn Eason, RN, third
floor; Shannon Boney, RN, third floor; Amber
Tart, RN, ICU; Shelby New, RN, ICU; Benjamin Duncan, security officer; Robert Barnes,
floor tech, EVS; Laura Jasmine, social work
case manager, case management; Sheritta
McCleary, patient financial counselor, business office; Divina Dela Cruz, patient care
technician, dialysis; Penny Schott, Charles
Sanders, Cassie Recore and Ty’Quanna
Vinson, EVS workers; Jerry Markham, floor
tech, EVS; Courtney Barber, food services
worker, cafeteria.
Part-time: Lynn Parker, charge auditor,
health information management.
PRN: Lesley Gleave, respiratory therapy,
Smithfield; Tiffany Lewis, teacher assistant,
Early Learning Center; Emily Metcalf, RN,
third floor; Kimberly Rozier, physical therapy
assistant, Smithfield; Shadae Sanders, patient care assistant, second floor; Caitlyn
Wynn, CNA, flex unit in Smithfield; Logan
Langdon, cardiovascular ultrasound tech,
cardiology; Tiffany Stanley, phlebotomist, lab;
Jackie Brockington, RN, behavioral health;
Cathy Purves, RN, cardiology; Joseph
Comeau, speech language pathologist, home
health.
Department
closings
for July 4
Department
*Admnstratn
Amb Imaging
Business
Cardio Strs Lab
Case Mgt
Cath Lab
Comm Wide
Compliance
Copy Center
Early Learning
Education
Emp Health
Emp Pharmacy
Endoscopy
Engineering
Finance
Foundation
Gift Shop
HealthQuest
HIM
HmCr & Hspce
HR
JMA offices
MIS
Med Onc (S&C)
*Rad Onc(S&C)
Med Staff Off
OR
Project Access
Quality
QuikMed
Radiology(S&C)
Registration
Outpatient:
ED:
Resource Mgt
Same Day (S&C)
Special Procds
*Spiritual Care
Strl Prcssng
Wound Center
July 4
OCSA
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed/24 CC
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
OCSA
closed
closed
closing at noon on Thursday,
all day Friday/ 24 CC
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
EO
open
closed
(OCSA) On-call service available
(EO) Emergencies only
(24 CC) 24-hour call coverage during closing
*An on-call administrator can be reached through
the switchboard operator
*To reach radiation oncology for emergencies, call
919-713-1502
*Spiritual Care will use volunteer chaplains for
emergency coverage. (Ask the switchboard
operator to call the on-call chaplain if needed.)
Before retiring at the end of April, purchasing manager Dan Kelley (far left) nominated his department for the You
Make a Difference recognition. From left, the resource management staff is made up of Kevin Grams, Ann Parker,
Terrel Stanton, Robbie Taylor, Rebecca Hurley, Dan Norris, Barbara McDougle, Melanie Hulth, Tamala Buie, Ed Clifford, Dan Pate Jr. and senior director of support services Kyle McDermott.
Materials management honored for making a difference
F
rom the basement of the Johnston
Medical Mall, a cadre of employees makes certain the hospital and
outlying clinics get the supplies
they need to treat and care for patients.
On the shelves of the distribution center,
the department of materials management
stocks and distributes 1,214 line items
ranging from catheters to nasal cannulas
to soy infant formula. The department
also manages about 4,000 line items hospital-wide as well.
Employees also run a copy center and
are responsible for courier and mail services, shipping and receiving, distribution
and purchasing. They negotiate pricing
for supplies, capital equipment and construction projects.
Before retiring at the end of April, Dan
Kelley, the manager of purchasing, wrote
the following story of how the department
makes a difference at Johnston Health.
The department was recognized with the
“You Make a Difference” award last Friday. Kelley returned for the presentation,
which was led by the Rev. Greg McClain,
manager of spiritual care services and
chairman of the standards committee. The
recognition program is a project of that
committee.
People: Our 11 employees take pride in
what they’re doing. Cross-training is a key
element to our success. Every employee
has the basic knowledge of his or her
counterpart’s responsibilities and can
without hesitation cover for one another to
ensure that deliveries go out on time to
serve our customers. Their combined work
service to Johnston Health is more than
200 years. We’re proud to say that we
have “zero” turnover. And our employees
often receive accolade about their work.
Growth: Supply-chain management is
going through an evolution of consolidation. The “standalone” community hospital can no longer survive in today’s healthcare environment. In order to further reduce expenses and streamline the supply
chain process, we’re currently working
with UNC Health Care and the affiliated
hospitals to evaluate the potential of consolidating supplies purchases. This could
create greater purchase volumes which
can lead to superior buying power.
Quality: We think of everyone at Johnston
Health and our community as our customers. We’re always striving for excellence.
In our receiving area, for example, Kevin
Grams, our gatekeeper of supplies and
equipment, ensures that arriving shipments
are in good condition, accurate and delivered quickly to the end user. This is true for
all other employees within the department,
too.
Value: The products value-analysis committee led by our department is responsible for
evaluating the expense and efficiency of
products proposed for hospital use. The
group, which is made up of employees with
clinical, administrative and financial backgrounds, meets the second Wednesday of
every month. It follows a stringent process
that enables us to control cost and avoid or
eliminate duplication. Too much inventory
or stocking a little-used product can tie up
space and waste money. Keeping a balance
in our inventory can be challenging and
difficult, a constant game of chess.
Innovation: The use of automated dispensing cabinets, called Omnicells, for issuing
supplies is being entertained. This would
eliminate the use of “stickered” supplies
that are inefficient and costly both by material and labor. The patient is automatically
billed for the product as it is dispensed.
Another consideration is diagnosis-based
charges rather than charges based on the
patient’s initial diagnosis upon admission.
Many of our colleagues in other hospitals
are doing this with good results.
Sleep lab rooms get new decor
Sophie and Randolph Reid
Tuesdays with Sophie
Patients and staff in the behavioral health wing receive a special
visitor every Tuesday afternoon.
Randolph Reid, a retired homebuilder, brings his therapy dog,
Sophie, at 4 p.m.
They stay for an hour.
Reid has owned the Golden Doodle since she was 8 weeks old.
Shelly Malone, director of behavioral health services, says the dog
makes everyone smile.
“She’s so friendly and lovable.
We all look forward to her visits,”
she says.
Patients who come to the hospital for
sleep studies now have more comfortable,
decorative quarters in which to spend the
night.
The four sleep rooms on third floor are
getting new mattresses, paint, curtains and
bedspreads. The upholstery on the chairs
in the rooms has a sheep motif—a fitting
touch.
Remodeling for two of the rooms is
complete, while the other two are close to
being finished.
So what happens during a sleep study?
Tracey Woodruff, the administrative
director who oversees the service, points
out that the studies are painless.
When patients arrive at night, a technician places sticky patches with sensors on
the scalp, face, chest, limbs, and a finger.
While the patient sleeps, the sensors record brain activity, eye movements, heart
rate and rhythm, blood pressure, and the
amount of oxygen in the blood.
Also, elastic belts placed around the
chest and belly measure chest movements
and the strength and duration of inhaled
and exhaled breaths. Wires attached to the
sensors transmit the data to a computer in
the next room.
“The wires are very thin and flexible,”
Woodruff says. “They are bundled together so they don't restrict movement,
disrupt your sleep, or cause other discomfort.”
Fresh paint, new colors greet patients in the sleep lab. The four
rooms on third floor have been remodeled and are getting new furnishings.
Woodruff says a physician order is
needed for the studies. To schedule an appointment, call 866-937-6692.
Respiratory
therapy is
life-long love
Welcome to Johnston Health
Here’s a list of employees joining us in May.
Full-time staff: Khrystian Warren, CNA,
wound center; Angela Deans, director of patient financial services; Rebecca Bir, patient
care assistant, behavioral health; Volha
“Olga” Zatsirka, patient care assistant, emergency department; Leanne Nichols, RN, hospice house; Stacey Costanza, RN, oncology;
Elisa Pendergrass, RN, hospice house; Rebecca Evans, RN, wound clinic; Alfreda
Smith, RN, operating room; Bethany Hacker,
remote coder, HIM.
PRN: Danielle Tucker, patient care assistant, med surg floor; Katherine Thompson,
social worker, behavioral health; Aaron
Godwin and Ashley Johnson, CNA, third floor
pediatrics; Robert Lewis, MRI technician,
Clayton; Hannah Hall, patient access registrar, patient access; Edina Hood, radiology
technician, radiology; Virginia Chafin, RN,
hospice house.
Part-time: Amanda Blanton, birth registrar,
health information management.
Volunteer: Alfred Cotham, hospital.
David Dixon recognized
as Ambassador of Month
Community outreach op
Divine Destiny Day Care, an adult day care
center at 612 Powell Street in Smithfield, is
seeking donations of gently used shoes, sandals and flip-flops for a fundraiser through the
end of June. The center will accept the shoes
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or a pick-up may be
arranged by calling director Katrina Boylan at
919-934-7144.
Department
closings
for Memorial Day
Department
*Admnstratn
Amb Imaging
Business
Cardio Strs Lab
Case Mgt
Cath Lab
Comm Wide
Compliance
Copy Center
Early Learning
Education
Emp Health
*Emp Pharmacy
Endoscopy
Engineering
Finance
Foundation
Gift Shop
HealthQuest
HIM
HmCr & Hspce
HR
JMA offices
MIS
Med Onc (S&C)
*Rad Onc(S&C)
Med Staff Off
OR
Project Access
Quality
QuikMed
Radiology(S&C)
Registration
Outpatient:
ED:
Resource Mgt
Same Day (S&C)
Special Procds
*Spiritual Care
Strl Prcssng
Wound Center
May 26
closed
closed
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed/24 CC
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed/OCSA
closed
closed
closed/24 CC
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
closed
open
closed
(OCSA) On-call service available
(EO) Emergencies only
(24 CC) 24-hour call coverage during closing
*An on-call administrator can be reached
through the switchboard operator
*To reach radiation oncology for emergencies, call 919-713-1502
*Spiritual Care will use volunteer chaplains
for emergency coverage. (Ask the
switchboard operator to call the on-call
chaplain if needed.)
*Employee Pharmacy will fill new emergent
prescriptions only
At top, massage therapists Marci Thames and Michelle Killane work their
magic. Below left, Kim Hurley shows Troye Honore and her daughter,
Gaelen Campbell, both of Clayton, how to find breast lumps. And at right,
Caroline Hester checks a blood pressure during Ladies Night Out.
LNO: Health screenings, food, fun
A
ladies night out at the Johnston
Medical Mall can be fun and
informative, too.
The free event put on by Johnston Health mixed healthful advice and
screenings with shopping for jewelry,
home goods and beauty products. It drew
about 200 women.
“A free massage was my motivation to
come,” said Crystal Fornwalt of Princeton
as she snacked with a friend at the Cyber
Cafe. “But now that I’m here, I’m seeing
lots of things I’m interested in.”
At the eatery, women had their pick of
fruits, veggies, sandwiches and sweets—a
spread catered by Johnston County Industries, which runs a culinary training program with support from Johnston Health.
Troye Honore and her daughter, Gaelen
Campbell, both of Clayton, came together.
At the oncology table, Kim Hurley, manager of oncology services for Johnston
Health, was challenging them to find the
five lumps in a squishy teaching prop for
breast self exam.
“I’ve learned that you have to press
hard,” Campbell said afterward.
At the nutrition table, a large dispenser
with ice water and slices of fresh oranges
and lemons made for a pretty, healthful
drink. As they filled cups, dietician Louisa
Sherrill and an intern, Elizabeth Alexy,
encourage women to think before they
drink.
By skipping a 20-ounce Coke every day,
a person can lose 25 pounds in a year,
Alexy said. “Drinking well makes a difference.”
Anaira Knight, a former Johnston Health
intern, taught hands-only CPR at another
table. Those who learned the life-saving
technique left with a colorful certificate.
Patsy Stewart, a diabetes education
nurse, and her director, Lori Martin,
pricked fingers to check blood sugar. And
Marisa Hamilton, manager of Johnston
Home Care & Hospice, and administrative
director Caroline Hester checked blood
pressures.
Staff from radiology, the women’s pavilion and local OB/GYNs offices also talked
with women and handed out samples and
helpful pamphlets. Susan Ramsey of the
Eastern Carolina Division March of Dimes
shared tips on healthy pregnancies.
Charlotte Fournier, a crime scene investigator with the Johnston County Sheriff’s
Department, offered basic tips on how
women can avoid looking like targets for
crime.
“There are a lot of predators out there,”
she says. “We need to be aware of our
surroundings. As you’re walking to your
car, don’t text or talk on the phone. Keep
your head up, swing your arms and stand
up straight.”
Fournier said the event provided the
perfect audience for her safety message.
And it’s a great way to focus on health,
too, she added. “I had a great time.”
RIE focuses on ED patient flow to beds
Nearly 15 percent of admissions come
through the hospital through emergency
departments. So the patient’s transition
from the ED to an inpatient bed needs to
be as smooth and quick as possible.
Toward that end, a team of employees
during an RIE last week tackled four
situations identified as causing delays in
patient flow. These centered on patient
transports to the units, the call reports
between the ED and the floors, and the
notification to environmental services to
clean inpatient rooms.
Here are the changes and processes the
team put into place to end those delays:
The daily huddle to discuss patient census and staffing is now at 1 p.m. rather
than 11 a.m. Also, the huddle now includes staff from the Clayton ED. The
later time allows a fuller picture of how
many admissions to expect.
The bed placement staff is now giving
to the ED nurse the names of the receiving nurses and their Ascom numbers
(wireless phones) for calling the report.
The ED secretary now scans and electronically sends the admit orders to registration rather than physically carrying
over the paperwork. Also, there’s a plan
to use the charge nurse to help facilitate
patient transport.
Nursing units will record times for the
following steps: discharge from floor, patient discharge from Meditech, and time to
complete patient-room cleaning.
The team has also identified who can
request a “stat clean” for a room and for
what reason.
“Early feedback from the staff is that they
love getting the Ascom number,” says Jessica Springer, director of Lean process
improvement. “An early trial is showing
that it works well. The staff also liked the
change in the daily huddle time.”
From left, staff participating in the
RIE last week were Kevin Smith,
Gail Hudson, Mary Lynn Smith, Beverly Farish, Anaira Knight, Elizabeth
Robertson, Joy Haggins-Parrish and
Dr. Don Pocock, who is vice president of medical affairs.
David Dixon enjoys being a respiratory
care practitioner so much that he has two
full-time jobs. He’s at the hospital six nights
straight, takes off a day, and then works six
nights straight at Rex Healthcare in Raleigh.
Even after 38 years, he still loves the profession.
“Not many people get the chance to do
what I was called to do,” he adds. “I can’t
wait to get to work every day.”
Dixon has been with Johnston Health for
three and a half years, and he has been with
Rex about six months. After 90 days on the
job, the Raleigh hospital presented him with
its grateful patient award. A family was so
impressed with his care that they made a
sizeable donation in his honor.
Patients here at Johnston Health have been
impressed, too. So much so that they asked
that Dixon be recognized as an ambassador
of the month.
During a presentation at the end of April,
Ruth Marler, Johnston Health’s chief operating officer, read aloud excerpts of compliments passed along by two families whose
loved ones received care from the respiratory therapist. Both described Dixon as
being compassionate and taking the time to
explain every detail and step of the procedure or treatment.
“The care delivered stood out and was
very much appreciated,” Marler said. “The
greatest compliments our co-workers receive are those coming from patients and
families.”
Shelby Holt, director of cardiopulmonary
services, says Dixon has a great bedside
manner. “He’s good to his patients, and they
remember him,” she says.
In a typical night, Dixon sees as many as
35 patients. He is trained in emergent and
routine care for all patients, from newborns
to the aged.
Dixon grew up in Wake Forest and
worked in a grocery store while going to
high school. It was the store owner who
suggested that he check out respiratory therapy as a career. At the time, her brother-inlaw was director of respiratory care at then
Wake Memorial Hospital.
On his next day off, Dixon shadowed the
director and liked what he saw. “I was impressed with the rapport that the respiratory
therapists had with the staff, and the respect
they had from the medical community,” he
says.
After graduating with an associate degree
in May 1977, Dixon took a job as assistant
director of respiratory care at Nash General
in Rocky Mount. Two years later, he was
promoted to director. “I ate, slept, drank and
breathed it,” he said of his work.
During his career, he also sold medical
equipment related to respiratory care, which
required travelling all over the country. For
those 12 years, he often spoke at healthrelated conventions and trade shows.
For 11 years, Dixon was a shift supervisor
at WakeMed, where he oversaw 16 respiratory therapists. “I walked 11 miles a night
and burned 3,000 calories,” he said.
When he and his wife, Eve, a critical care
nurse, decided to dial back their work life,
they worked nights, Fridays through Sundays. But after a while, Dixon wanted more
to do during the weekdays. And that’s when
he signed on for two full-time jobs.
One month out of the year, the couple
takes time off to travel to foreign countries.
They also like spending time at the beach
and entertaining their grandchildren.
From left, Shelby Holt and COO
Ruth Marler recognize David Dixon
as the February Ambassador.
Staff launches
support group
for patients
with COPD
Better Breathers Club a
passion for Clayton RT
A cardinal and yellow warbler visit the
birdfeeder in Lori Martin’s back yard.
She captured the image in January following a snow.
An eye, passion for photography
Lori Martin, director of education, says her
first love is photography. From the sunroom
of her home in the Cleveland community, she
uses a Nikon Coolpix P5 10 to capture images of birds.
The point-and-shoot camera has a 42x
zoom, which is equivalent to a 1000mm lens.
She sets the camera to the sports mode for
rapid-fire shooting.
In November, Martin says she’s headed to
Churchill, Canada to see polar bears in the
wild. She’s already planning to buy a new
camera with an even longer zoom to take
with her on the trip.
What’s your passion? If it’s photography,
share your favorite photo. Or take a picture of
your artwork or handiwork to share with others. Send it to the LifeLiner, and we’ll publish
it.
Supporting cancer patients
Got a sweet tooth? Here’s a way to satisfy a
craving and to help cancer patients who are
struggling with expenses related to their
treatment. Johnston Health Hematology and
Oncology is having a bake sale from 9 a.m.
till 2 p.m. on April 17 (tomorrow) at the
Johnston Medical Mall. All proceeds will go
toward the Angel Fund. For more info or to
donate, contact Arqueta Lindsey at 989-2192
or [email protected].
Good Friday schedule
Department
*Admnstratn
Amb Imaging
Business
Cardio Strs Lab c
Case Mgt
Cath Lab
Comm Wide
Compliance
Copy Center
Early Learning
Education
Emp Health
Emp Pharmacy
Endoscopy
Engineering
Finance
Gift Shop
*HealthQuest
HIM
HmCr & Hspce
HR
JMA offices
MIS
Med Onc (S&C)
*Rad Onc(S&C)
Med Staff Off
OR
Project Access
Quality
QuikMed
Radiology(S&C)
Registration
Outpatient:
ED:
Resource Mgt
SameDay(S&C)
Special Procds
Spch Thrpy
*Spiritual Care
Wound Center
April 18
closed
closed
closed
losed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed
open for shot clinic
closed
EO
closed/24 CC
closed
closed
open
closed
closed
closed
closed
closed/24 CC
closed
closed
closed
EO
closed
open till noon
closed
EO
closed
open
closed
closed
EO
coverage till 3 p.m.
closed
closed
(EO) Emergencies only
(24 CC) 24-hour call coverage during closing
*An on-call administrator can be reached
through the switchboard operator
*To reach radiation oncology for emergencies,
call 919-713-1502
*Spiritual Care will use volunteer chaplains for
emergency coverage. (Ask the switchboard
operator to call the on-call chaplain if needed.)
*HealthQuest will be closed Easter Sunday
At top, from left, Ja’net Brooks paints with her daughter, Kawau, who is
an ELC graduate; Joshua Martinez, 3, shows off his shark art; the ELC’s
four-year-olds sing for the crowd; and Trooper Chad Summerlin, a parent
volunteer, brings his cruiser for children to explore. Finch Wallace, 3, is
the son of Michelle and Banks Wallace of Smithfield.
OPEN HOUSE SHOWS ELC’s COLORFUL, FUN SIDE
W
hen Trooper Chad Summerlin
of Princeton was offered a
promotion in a neighboring
county last year, he turned it down. A
move would mean that he would have to
pull his two daughters, Aubrey and
Maisen, out of day care at the Early
Learning Center.
And for him and his wife, Kadie, leaving was out of the question.
“We stayed here because of the Early
Learning Center,” said Summerlin, who
has been a parent-volunteer at the center’s
spring festival for the last three years.
“It’s had that big of an impact on us.”
Every year, Summerlin dresses in his
uniform and lets children play and eat
snacks in the front seat of his state highway patrol cruiser. And upon request,
he’ll turn on the blue lights.
The Saturday outing, held April 5, is
purely about children having fun. Inside,
the little ones painted (and got their faces
painted) and played bingo. Outside, a
story time gathered a small group underneath a tent. Children climbed aboard a
fire truck and an EMS ambulance until
the volunteers were dispatched to an
emergency. A police cruiser was also a
hit.
The Early Learning Center children
sang and played the hand bells for a rapt
audience of parents, grandparents and
instructors. And some of them, including
the center’s director Helen Patterson,
joined in when a HealthQuest dance instructor led a Zumba class.
Dwight Morris, executive director of the
Johnston County Partnership for Children,
was a guest speaker at the public event.
He said that when children play, they
learn soft skills such as how to get along
with others. “It all begins in the early
years,” he added. “Ninety percent of a
child’s brain is developed before age 5.”
Also, Morris praised Johnston Health
for investing in children through the Early
Learning Center, and he applauded Patterson and her staff for their passion.
“Children are the best resource we’ve
got,” he said. “It’s just smart to invest in
their early education.”
HQ challenges staff to log 10,000 steps a day
HealthQuest Fitness & Wellness Center
is participating in the Worldwide Walking
Challenge to take 70,000 steps in seven
days.
Here’s how you can participate.
Complete a registration form at the reception desk of HealthQuest Fitness &
Wellness Center and receive your log
form. Walk everyday from April 28 to
May 4 and log your daily steps.
Return your form to HealthQuest no
later than May 7. All participants will
receive a prize.
The challenge will begin April 28 and
will end May 4.
A kickoff event will be at 8:30 a.m.,
12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on April 28 in
the Johnston Medical Mall. HealthQuest
will be giving away pedometers to the
first 30 people who register.
If you choose to participate in the chal-
lenge, you can purchase a pedometer
from a local store. You may also log your
steps by the mile.
“If you have an average stride of about
two and a half feet, it takes a little more
than 2,000 steps to walk one mile. Five
laps around the interior of the medical
mall is equivalent to one mile,” says Ashley Scott, director of HealthQuest.
Adults in the U.S. walk between 2,000
and 3,000 steps per day, she says. “To
stay healthy, you should get at least 30
minutes of physical activity on most days
of the week. Walking 10,000 steps a day
can help you achieve that goal.
“If your goal is to lose weight, start slow
and gradually work up to walking 12,000
to 15,000 steps a day.
“Our ancestors averaged 15,000 to
20,000 steps a day. So get stepping and
count on feeling great,” she said.
Terrie Ray thought
she wanted to be a
certified public accountant until the day
she visited her grandmother in the hospital and witnessed a
lifesaving event. Sick
with cancer, her
grandmother had
suddenly stopped
breathing, and the
respiratory therapists
Terrie Ray
on the code team
quickly inserted a tube to open her airway.
“Watching the way they worked has always
stuck with me,” says Ray, who has been a
respiratory therapist for the past 15 years. She
went on to shadow an RT before enrolling at
Fayetteville Tech and earning an associate
degree.
After her clinical rotations at Cape Fear
Valley, she worked at the hospital for the next
eight years. Along the way, she earned her
bachelor’s degree.
When Johnston Health Clayton opened in
October 2009, Ray, who lives near McGee’s
Crossroads, was hired in the emergency department. Since then, she’s been working toward a master’s in health care management.
Early on in her career, Ray wanted to start a
chapter of the Better Breathers Club, which is
a support and educational program for people
with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases,
called COPD for short.
Since January, she’s been working with the
education department and The American Lung
Association of North Carolina to put together
a local program. On Tuesday, Ray led the first
meeting in Clayton.
“My goal was to establish the purpose of the
club, to find out what they need and what we
at Johnston Health can do to make things better,” she says.
The club will meet from 3 till 4 p.m. on even
months at Mount Pleasant Advent Christian
Fellowship in Clayton and on odd months at
the HealthQuest kitchen in Smithfield.
Kim Woodard, an RN from the cardiopulmonary rehab program at HQ, will lead the
Smithfield meetings, the first of which is May
20. Also, Joyce Fountain, a respiratory therapist in Clayton, will help out with the program.
“I’ve had aunts and uncles who died with
COPD,” Ray adds. “Seeing what they and
other patients have gone through has made me
even more passionate about starting the support group.”
Ray says one out of every four COPD patients has depression and half are smokers.
“Because smoking is a comfort to them when
they’re feeling down, it’s doubly hard to get
them to quit,” she adds. “Smoking makes
COPD worse, so it’s a viscous cycle.”
Through the club, she’s hoping to introduce
patients to exercise and education through the
hospital’s cardiopulmonary rehab program. At
every meeting, members will get the latest
information on respiratory health care to help
them better manage their disease.
The club is open to caregivers and family
members, too.
Respiratory diseases are the third leading
cause of death, behind cancer and heart disease, Ray says. And women are now dying
more often from COPD than men.
“Many of us breathe fumes from cooking
and second-hand smoke, which can lead to
asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis,”
she says.
Ray compares the lung’s elasticity to blowing up a balloon. “What you breathe can cause
the lining of the lungs to lose their elasticity,
and then they can’t move air. You’ve got to
have healthy lungs to support good heart function.”
If you would like to find out more about the
club, contact Ray at [email protected]
or call 919-585-8923. Also, here’s a link to a
handout, which can be downloaded and copied for distribution: http://johnstonhealth.org/
community/classes-and-events/supportgroups/better-breathers-club/.