Health
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital is making upgrades to its facilities in order to improve safety for its patients and staff.
This month, Sutter Lakeside Hospital will install bariatric lifts in all four of the intensive care patient rooms. These lifts are mounted on the ceiling and allow hospital staff to transfer, lift and transport patients using an overhead track system. The lifts can be raised and lowered by a motor via a control panel.
“These lifts will improve both patient and staff safety,” said Chief Administrative Officer Siri Nelson. “Nurses and aides, in particular, do a lot of lifting throughout their workday. These lifts will make it possible to lift and transport critically ill patients safely and effectively with very little physical effort on the behalf of staff.”
The new lifts are just one piece of Sutter Lakeside’s overall plan to continue to highlight patient safety.
This fall, Sutter Lakeside Hospital launched a standardized communication technique known as S-BAR. This communication technique allows staff and physicians to share patient information in a concise and structured format, ensuring all critical information is passed from one caregiver to the next.
S-BAR, which stands for “situation, background, assessment, recommendation,” is used during patient hand-offs at nursing shift changes, patient transfers to other levels of care and critical conversations between physicians and staff.
“S-BAR was actually designed by the U.S. Navy as a communication system. Hospitals around the country have used it to improve efficiency and accuracy, so that patients get the right kind of care that they need when they need it,” explained Teresa Campbell, chief nursing executive at Sutter Lakeside.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital is also continuing to improve its documentation related to Core Measures.
Core Measures are designed to improve the quality of health care by instituting a national, standardized performance measurement system. They were created as part of value based purchasing by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
There are 35 different Core Measures that fall into four categories: care for pneumonia patients, congestive heart failure, surgical care infection prevention and acute myocardial infarction.
Each category includes a list of actions that represent evidence based clinical practices that have demonstrated improvements in patients’ health over time. Core Measures have been proven to prevent recurrences and reduce the risk of complications.
“Core Measures help us improve patient care quality by focusing on the results of their care,” said Tammy Spitzer, RN and quality delivery specialist with Sutter Lakeside. “Instead of reviewing patient charts after their release from the hospital, we now evaluate their charts during their inpatient stay to ensure that all patients are treated with the state-of-the-art care practices.”
“I’m excited to be a part of health care today at Sutter Lakeside,” said Sutter Lakeside Chief Administrative Officer Siri Nelson. “We have the tools that we need to ensure that our patients receive the safest care and that our staff is able to perform their jobs with both a high level of accuracy and a low risk of injury.”
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UKIAH, Calif. – Michele Ford Barrera, LVN, has been named the new gastroenterology (GI) coordinator at Ukiah Valley Medical Center.
“You need a good sense of humor when talking about GI,” said Barrera.
Barrera, who accepted the position in August, was selected for her vast knowledge of GI services and experience in working with local GI specialists Harry B. Matossian, M.D., and Brian L. Hanson, M.D., said Heather Van Housen, UVMC chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care.
“Michele is helping to develop a more robust GI program at UVMC,” said Van Housen. “Her knowledge and skill will be utilized in performing procedures, helping us acquire equipment and the supplies we need to provide advanced up-to-date services for the communities we serve.”
According to Barrera, “I have a great working relationship with the GI specialists, Drs. Hanson and Matossian, and with the general surgeons that perform specialized GI procedures already. I look forward to working even more closely with them to ensure we’re providing our guests with the most excellent care possible.”
In addition to working with the physicians, Barrera explained, “I will also be responsible for coordinating staff training on new technology and procedures, implementing infection control and performance improvement programs and coordinating and performing preventive maintenance on equipment.”
Most importantly, Barrera shared, “UVMC has the most advanced GI procedures available anywhere in Lake and Mendocino counties, so there is no need to travel further than UVMC.”
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Donors, employees and physical therapy patients gathered at the Sutter Lakeside Hospital campus on Aug. 30 to celebrate the opening of the completed outdoor mobility park.
The park will provide a private space for those recovering from illnesses and injuries to master real-world skills, from navigating difficult terrains to redeveloping fine-motor skills under the watchful eye of a physical therapist.
The mobility park allows patients to build their physical skills while developing the sense of confidence necessary to accomplish these tasks in a public environment.
Dr. Martin Brotman, Sutter Health senior vice president of education, research and philanthropy, spoke about the importance that philanthropy will play in the future of health care.
“Philanthropy actually has a Greek origin. ‘Philos’ means ‘loving’ and ‘anthropos’ means ‘man.’ So the word means “love of mankind in general,” Dr. Brotman explained. “And Lake County particularly exhibits this quality.”
Chief Administrative Officer Siri Nelson agreed with Dr. Brotman’s sentiments. “I am just so excited to share this project with you. The mobility park, this space that we’re looking at right now, would still be just grass and trees without your generosity and support. Thank you for believing in this project.”
Director of Rehabilitation Services Joe Prisco introduced a physical therapy patient who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony to guests, adding, “The mobility park will make an enormous impact on so many people for years to come. It provides a higher level of rehabilitation that will help our community members gain the essential level of skills that they need to return to an active, satisfying and happy life.”
Certification of the park is expected to be completed before Oct. 1 and physical therapy patients of Rehabilitation Services at Sutter Lakeside will use the park immediately.
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EMERYVILLE, Calif. – More than 80 percent of drivers age 65 and older regularly take medications, yet only half have talked to a medical professional about possible safety issues related to driving.
With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, AAA Northern California strongly urges seniors to understand how medications may affect their ability to drive safely.
By using Roadwise Rx, an online tool, seniors can access personalized information on how their medications can impact their safety behind the wheel.
Developed by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Roadwise Rx details common side effects of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
The tool generates personalized feedback on how medications, herbal supplements and foods, interact with each other, causing potential risk for drivers.
Seniors are encouraged to discuss the confidential results with their doctor or pharmacist to learn how to mitigate possible crash risks.
“Earlier research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that nearly one out of five older drivers use five or more prescription medications,” said AAA Northern California spokesperson Cynthia Harris. “With medical conditions typically on the rise as people age, and treatment often dependent on medicinal interventions, there was a critical need to develop a tool to help older drivers understand the safety risk.”
Roadwise Rx is not a substitute for professional medical advice, but it is the only tool of its kind that looks at medications and associated driving hazards.
A recent AAA survey found that women (58 percent) are more likely than men (46 percent) to seek counsel on the risks of driving while on medication, yet this is an issue that all older drivers and their families need to address.
Roadwise Rx lets users more easily pool together their pill bottles' information and talk to their doctor.
Due to chronic medical conditions, older adults often must take multiple medications. Certain types of medications, like antidepressants, have been shown to increase crash risk by up to 41 percent.
Ingredients like Diphenhydramine, commonly found in over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, can have the same effect on driving as being above the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration.
It is estimated that by 2020, just eight years from now, nearly one in six people will be age 65 or older and most of them will still be licensed to drive.
Roadwise Rx is available, at no cost, to all seniors and their families at www.SeniorDriving.AAA.com .
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