Grand Rounds December on Nashville Medical News

Grand Rounds December

Role of Statins in Reducing H1N1 Mortality Rates Studied

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers are studying statins as a way to reduce H1N1-related deaths. Gordon Bernard, MD, associate vice-chancellor for Research at Vanderbilt and a critical care pulmonologist, believes statins may reduce flu-related deaths in the intensive care unit by as much as half.

"We know from studying infections that it's not always the bacteria that will kill you, but your own reaction to the bacteria can deal a lethal blow. We're learning that statins have an impact on the immune system and can dampen down that deleterious component of the immune response," Bernard said.

Bernard hopes to enroll patients in Vanderbilt's intensive care units who present with suspected H1N1 infection, and randomize them into two groups. One group will receive the statin rosuvastatin (Crestor, manufactured by AstraZeneca) every day for the duration of their hospital stay, and the other group will receive a placebo. Crestor was chosen because of its favorable efficacy and safety profile.

"Once a person with suspected H1N1 reaches the ICU, their mortality can be 20 percent or higher. Statins offer the potential to reduce it to 10 percent. Statins, if effective, could also reduce the patient's time on a mechanical ventilator in half from a current average of 14 days," Bernard said.

Bracken Becomes Chairman of HCA's Board This Month

In November, HCA announced that Richard M. Bracken would become chairman of HCA's board of directors, effective Dec. 15, 2009. He replaces Jack O. Bovender, Jr., 64, who will retire from the company, effective that same date.

In addition, R. Milton Johnson, HCA's chief financial officer and executive vice president, was elected to the board of directors, also effective Dec. 15.

"Richard has been an invaluable asset to HCA, and his years in both hospital management and executive leadership with the company provide him with a keen understanding of strategic operations and an appreciation for its culture," said Bovender. "I could not envision a better successor or a more qualified guardian of our company's legacy."

Bracken, 57, has served as president and CEO of HCA since Jan. 1, 2009 and has served as a director of the company since 2002. He was president and chief operating officer from January 2002 to January 2009. A veteran of more than 30 years in the hospital industry, he has been a member of HCA's executive leadership for most of his career, holding positions at the facility, division, and group levels within the organization.

Vanderbilt Opens Critical Care Tower

After nearly three years of construction, Vanderbilt University Medical Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the new 11-story, $169 million, Critical Care Tower (CCT) last month. The opening of the CCT represents the most significant increase in adult inpatient hospital rooms at VUMC since the hospital opened in 1980.

The CCT features 141 new acute-care inpatient rooms and 12 new state-of-the art operating rooms, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology throughout all areas and is designed to support the concept of patient and family-centered care. The new building houses VUMC's Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Neurological Intensive Care Unit and Medical Intensive Care Unit.

Let's Give Them Something to Talk About!

Awards, Honors, Recognitions

Repeating its award-winning tradition, Informatics Corporation of America captured "Best of Show" across both Provider and Insurance categories at Everything Channel's 2009 Healthcare IT Summit last month in La Quinta, Calif. Nashville-based ICA provides electronic solutions to hospitals, integrated delivery networks and health information exchanges. The company was chosen by attendees and earned this top distinction based upon its innovative solutions.

Baptist Hospital received the 2009 Outstanding Employer Award from the Tennessee Nurses Association during the TNA Annual Convention. The award recognizes the hospital's commitment to nurses and nursing excellence.

The eHealthcare Leadership Awards recently honored the best websites in the healthcare field. Nashville's Gordian Health Solutions (www.gordian-health.com), a personal health coaching company, earned gold in the Best Interactive Site category. The award specifically recognized Gordian's Web 2.0-based iCoach4You portal.

Maury Regional Medical Center's Charles (C.W.) Ball, MD, has been awarded the 2009 Family Physician of the Year Award by the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP). The award recognizes a TAFP member who has made an outstanding contribution to family medicine, to the advancement of health and/or medical training and education.

The American Society of Women Accountants Educational Foundation awarded the 2009 Balance Award to Nashville-based accounting firm KraftCPAs PLLC in recognition of the company's sensitivity to women within the accounting industry; leadership and mentoring opportunities for women; involvement and concern for the financial issues within the community; and implementation of policies, initiatives and programs that promote work/life balance.

Saint Thomas Hospital received the American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award, recognizing the hospital's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring stroke patients receive treatment for at least 24 months according to national standards and recommendations.

Jane Beasley, senior client advocate and paralegal at the Tennessee Justice Center, has received the Professional Award from the Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities in recognition of her work in improving and enhancing the lives of people with disabilities.

The Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association has named Marilyn Teolis 2009 Hospital Librarian of the Year. Teolis serves as medical librarian coordinator for Baptist Hospital and is responsible for providing evidence-based information to healthcare professionals so they can make treatment decisions and provide the highest level of care.

Recent Certifications & Accreditations:

Earl Swensson Associates, Inc. (ESa) is one of only five architecture and design firms nationally, and the only one in the southeast, to be certified as a charter member of the Planetree Visionary Design Network. This certification establishes ESa as a specialist in evidence-based healthcare design following the Planetree philosophy and its core components of healing design.

NorthCrest Medical Center was recently awarded accreditation for the Main Clinical Laboratory by the Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Also, two nurses in the Women's Services Department, Candy Mitchell and Ann Weaver, recently became International Board Certified Lactation Consultants.

THA Installs 2010 Board

At the Tennessee Hospital Association's annual meeting, which was held last month in Nashville, James Brexler, FACHE, president and CEO, of Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, was installed as chairman of the association's board of directors. Lawrence Kloess, III, FACHE, president, HCA's TriStar Health System, Brentwood, was elected chairman-elect of the board and will take over as chairman during the 2010 annual meeting.

Brexler has served as president and CEO at Erlanger Health System since 2004. He currently serves on the THA board of directors and has chaired the association's insurance reform task force, patient safety council and THA Solutions Group board of directors. Kloess was appointed president of HCA's TriStar Health System in 2005, which includes 18 hospitals and 10 surgery centers in Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia. Prior to this position, he served as president and CEO at Centennial Medical Center for seven years. He is president of the middle hospital district and a member of the THA board of directors.

New district representatives on the THA board from Middle Tennessee include: Scott Raynes, CEO of NorthCrest Medical Center and Robert Otwell, CEO of Maury Regional Medical Center. Wright Pinson, MD, chief medical officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Michael Clark, president of the American Division for LifePoint Hospitals, join Wes Littrell, chief administrative officer for Saint Thomas Health Services, as at-large members of the board from the Nashville area.

Centerre Launches New Service Line, Appoints Division Head

Brentwood-based Centerre Healthcare Corporation, a national provider of inpatient acute rehabilitation services, recently announced the establishment of its new Rehabilitation Unit Contract Management division and appointment of Gregg Stanley as division head.

Created to assist hospitals with improving their clinical, operating and financial performance of existing acute inpatient rehabilitation units, the division will provide a full range of management services including program development, benchmarking, clinical quality management, strategic planning and market development. Stanley, who will oversee development and day-to-day operations of the new division, was previously a division president for Symbion Healthcare. Prior to that, he spent 10 years in acute inpatient rehabilitation at AdvantageHealth, where he served both as CEO of a 120-bed rehabilitation hospital and as a regional vice president. He is a Certified Rehabilitation Administrator.

Vanderbilt Sports Medicine Opens Cartilage Treatment Center

To address the needs of Middle Tennessee's injured professional athletes and weekend warriors alike, Vanderbilt Orthopaedics has formed the Vanderbilt Center for Cartilage Repair and Osteochondritis Dissecans Treatment, a center dedicated to treating cartilage disorders.

Located at the Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute on the main campus, The Cartilage Center is one of few clinics in the nation dedicated to cartilage repair, and it is the first in the world to focus clinical and research efforts on osteochondritis dissecans, a rare condition in which a fragment of bone and cartilage separates causing pain, swelling and mechanical issues. Although rare, the disorder is an important cause of joint pain in adolescents. The center will also offer treatment for focal cartilage problems. Part of Vanderbilt's Division of Sports Medicine, the new center is directed by James Carey, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation.

Bashian Joins Centennial Heart Cardiovascular Consultants

Gregory G. Bashian, MD, recently joined the staff of Centennial Heart Cardiovascular Consultants at Centennial Medical Center. A new addition to the electrophysiology team specializing in atrial fibrillation ablation, Bashian is board certified in cardiology, nuclear cardiology and internal medicine, and board eligible in cardiac electrophysiology. He specializes in invasive and noninvasive management of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, pulmonary vein antrum isolation and implantation, extraction and management of pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators.

Bashian is a graduate of Yale University and received his medical degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He served his internship and residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, where he also completed a fellowship in nuclear cardiology. Bashian completed clinical fellowships in cardiovascular medicine and cardiac electrophysiology and pacing at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Hubbard Joins Saint Thomas Heart at MTMC

Saint Thomas Heart at Middle Tennessee Medical Center recently welcomed cardiologist Carlos A. Hubbard, MD, PhD. Hubbard specializes in invasive and non-interventional cardiology, nuclear cardiology, echocardiography, vascular medicine, vascular ultrasound and heart failure management. Saint Thomas Heart, the cardiac division of Saint Thomas Health Services, has more than 60 cardiac specialists, 25 regional sites and Tennessee's largest network of accredited Chest Pain Centers.

Hubbard is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology and board eligible in echocardiography. He attended medical school at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, and in 2007, completed his fellowship in cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio

Two Physicians Join Sterling Primary Care

Julia Gomez, MD, and Robert Macmillan, MD, have joined Sterling Primary Care, located in the Physicians Pavilion at Centennial Medical Center on Patterson Avenue. Both are board certified in family medicine.

Gomez is a graduate of Medical College of Wisconsin and completed her residency at Rush-Illinois Masonic Family Practice in Chicago. Macmillan received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Tennessee Family Medicine.

Two Children's Hospital Pediatric Clinics Move to One Hundred Oaks

Last month, two clinics moved from the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to new facilities at Vanderbilt Health at One Hundred Oaks. The Pediatric Allergy Clinic and the Adolescent Medicine Clinic are both now seeing patients in their new offices on Thompson Lane.

Four physicians from the Vanderbilt Asthma, Sinus and Allergy Program (ASAP) will staff the Pediatric Allergy Clinic at One Hundred Oaks. The clinic will provide enhanced allergy testing and injections. The Adolescent Medicine Clinic will house four physicians, two psychologists, a nutritionist and a social worker previously located in the Doctors' Office Tower and at the Williamson County clinic on Edward Curd Lane. A special multidisciplinary team will staff the clinic's eating disorders program.

BlueAdvantage Adding Counties to its Tennessee PPO Network

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will add 45 counties to its Medicare Advantage Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network in 2010. In total 67 counties across Tennessee will have access to the company's Medicare Advantage PPO network, which includes approximately 15,741 physicians and 85 hospitals and medical facilities throughout Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee counties that are part of the 2010 PPO network expansion, include Maury, Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson. Open enrollment for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries ends Dec. 31. For more information on BlueCross' BlueAdvantage PPO plans, visit www.bcbst-medicare.com.

HealthStream Partners with OnFocus Healthcare

Nashville-based HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSTM), a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the healthcare industry, announced in November a new partnership with OnFocus Healthcare, Inc., a healthcare enterprise performance management solutions company, to power the "HealthStream Improvement Center^TM."

This new online system was designed to be a powerful tool to optimize and accelerate the execution of improvement plans — including those based on results from employee, physician, and community surveys — as well as patient HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) surveys. Using the Improvement Center, hospital leaders charged with improving outcomes can easily collaborate with their employees in real-time to effectively manage progress toward achieving their goals to improve HCAHPS scores, employee engagement, physician satisfaction, and a variety of other business and clinical outcomes.

Healthways Acquires HealthHonors

Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY) recently announced the acquisition of HealthHonors, a market-leading behavioral economics company that specializes in behavior change science and optimized use of incentives, in a cash for stock transaction. Healthways will integrate the HealthHonors science and technology into Embrace™, Healthways' comprehensive information system, to enhance sustained engagement in healthy behaviors.

One key differentiator offered by HealthHonors is their Dynamic Intermittent Reinforcement™ proprietary software that determines the lowest economic reinforcement necessary for an individual, based on behavioral patterns, to maintain his or her healthy behavior. HealthHonors has been able to show, in trial and commercial environments, a range of 33 to 56 percent increase in sustained adherence to targeted behaviors, while decreasing incentive budgets.

News from Passport Health

In recent weeks, Franklin-based Passport Health Communications has launched a major upgrade to its healthcare payment processing services to facilitate upfront collections and announced the addition of a new patient access expert.

The new eCashiering solution expands Passport's cash tracking and credit card processing services to include electronic check payment processing, setting up payment plans to the hospital or a third party, and allowing patients to pay via Internet or by phone.

The company has also hired Ellie Henry as revenue cycle solutions analyst. She was previously senior director of access at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa. Henry's expertise in hospital front-end management will help Passport improve existing technology and develop new solutions for patient access and revenue cycle management. She will also work with clients in a consultative role to optimize business processes and workflow.

Southwind Adds to Senior Management

Nashville-based Southwind Health Partners®, a physician practice management and consulting firm, recently announced the appointment of two senior executives to its management consulting team. Lewis Greenberg, MD, is an internal medicine physician who has served in leadership positions at Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania and the CHRISTUS Health System in Texas. He is the first physician member of the Southwind Health Partners management consulting team. The second addition, Daniel Schmidt, brings more than 35 years of executive experience in physician practice management to Southwind. He has held executive positions at the Detroit Medical Center in Michigan, Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, and Dean Clinic in Wisconsin.

Nashville Hospital Authority Names CIO

Robert Sumter, PhD, has been named chief information officer for the Nashville Hospital Authority. Previously, he served as CIO for the military's largest healthcare facility, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. Sumter received his undergraduate degree from Limestone College, a master's in computer information systems from Webster University, and his doctorate in Health Services from Walden University.

Alive Hospice Names Bordelon CFO

Alive Hospice President and CEO Jan Jones recently welcomed Missy Bordelon as the agency's chief financial officer. In that role, Bordelon directs the financial operations of Alive Hospice and plays a critical role in ensuring the agency's financial wellness; overseeing stewardship of resources; and strategic planning. Prior to her appointment with Alive Hospice, Bordelon served as director of revenue cycle at Lafayette, La.-based LHC Group Inc., a provider of home-based and facility-based post acute health care services, and was chief financial officer for Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. She holds an MBA from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Bouressa Named Nursing Director for Baptist Women's Health Services

Deborah Bouressa has joined Baptist Hospital as nursing director for women's health services.Her responsibilities include providing direction and formulating strategy to grow women's services and evaluating new trends and innovations. She also oversees Baptist Hospital's maternal infant services, which include labor and delivery, high-risk/antepartum, postpartum, nursery and neonatal intensive care units and c-section surgery center.

Bouressa has more than 10 years of nursing leadership experience. Most recently she served as vice president of women's services at Bon Secours St. Francis Health System and administrative director of nursing at St. Francis Women's & Family Hospital in Greenville, S.C. She completed a master's degree in nursing administration and bachelor's degree in nursing from Medical University of South Carolina.

Baptist Hospital delivers more than 7,000 babies each year, more than any other hospital in the region.

Clinical Research Trials Launched in Brentwood

Steve Samudrala, MD, of America's Family Doctors (www.AFDclinics.com) and Dennis Lawhun of InvestiClin Research have begun conducting clinical research trials in Brentwood. Current research includes studies in diabetes, pre-diabetes, heartburn and arthritis. The research team is interested in the recruitment of appropriate patients and in working with physicians and other providers to ensure qualified candidates have access to studies.

NorthCrest Welcomes New Directors

NorthCrest Medical Center recently welcomed two new directors to their leadership team, Lisa Linville, RN, has been named director of NorthCrest's Critical Care Unit and Dana Mires, RN, is the new director of NorthCrest's Medical Surgical Services.

Linville has more than 20 years of nursing experience with progressive advancements. Her multi-disciplinary nursing experience includes critical care, cardiac catheterization, and radiology. A graduate of University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill, she is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Health Services Administration. Mires has more than 14 years of patient centered, quality focused service. She has served in both front-line nursing and nursing administrative roles. She received her Associate Degree in Nursing from Aquinas College and is currently participating in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Master of Science in Nursing Program.