Avera Bulletin - March 2008
Call for Entries forAvera Quality Recognition Program
In order to streamline processes and provide a better Avera Quality Recognition Program, Avera colleagues are asked to complete and return an Intent to Submit form found in the 2008 Avera Quality Recognition Program Nomination Book. Intent to Submit forms are due no later than March 31, 2008. Mail or fax the form to:
Avera Quality Awards Nomination
Avera Health
3900 W Avera Drive
Sioux Falls , SD 57108
Fax: (605) 322-4799
Completed nominations are due on May 23. The Avera Quality Congress is Aug. 27 in Sioux Falls .
Around the Avera World Invites Physicians and Families to Learn and Celebrate
March 28-29, 2008, is the first Avera-wide physician and family event and celebration. Called “Around the Avera World,” the gathering in Sioux Falls at the Best Western Ramkota and Washington Pavilion includes educational sessions, a celebration featuring international food and décor and a special CME session on robotic-assisted gynecologic surgery by Dr. Luis Rojas, gynecologic oncologist.
National Health Care Decisions Day Planned
Your wishes should be shared, whether you are 18, 35 or 80. Like your wishes for life-sustaining treatments and end-of-life care. Talk with your family, your friends, your spiritual advisor and your doctor about advance directives, such as durable powers of attorney for health care and living wills. Know the options and decide what is right for you. Then,put it in writing. Take action today.
Avera is hosting educational presentations on April 15at 5:30 p.m. After March 31, go to www.Avera.org. for more details, locations and tools to help you make your wishes known. The message also will be carried in the Avera Daily Line-Up and the spring issue of All of Us.
Avera McKennan Hospital Again Named One of the Nation's 100 Top Hospitals by Thomson Healthcare
Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center was today named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® by Thomson Healthcare, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care.
The prestigious national award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, financial performance and efficiency. This is the second year in a row Avera McKennan has been recognized with this honor.
The 2007 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success study appears in the March 17 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine. According to the study, the 100 hospitals in the study delivered the highest balanced performance across quality, efficiency, and financial stability. If all hospitals had performed at the level of these leading hospitals, they would have saved $253 million and 7,914 lives during the time period examined by the study.
The 15th edition of the Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success study uses a balanced scorecard approach and scores hospitals according to eight key organization-wide measures: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, patient safety composite, average core measures scores, severity-adjusted average length of stay, expense per adjusted discharge, profit from operations, and cash-to-debt ratio.
More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at www.100tophospitals.com.
Get Ready for Cover the Uninsured Week 2008, April 27-May 3
Forty-seven million Americans, including more than 9 million children, are living without health care coverage. It’s time to start planning for the sixth annual Cover the Uninsured Week and help get America covered. Watch for information about Avera’s efforts on behalf of the uninsured and contact the Mission Services person at your facility to find out local plans.
Avera Spring Conferences Around the Corner
On April 11, the Avera Parish Nurse Center hosts internationally known author and speaker Kathy Coffey at the Spirituality and the Healing Ministries Conference at the Holiday Inn City Centre, Sioux Falls . Kathy will address parish nurses, chaplains, pastors and others in the healing ministries on small ‘s’ sacraments and prayer in chaos, commotion and clutter.
Leaders, board members, physicians and sponsors from across Avera will gather on April 17-19 in Minneapolis for the Avera Leadership Conference: Strengthening the Ministry Through Integrity. Topics include diversity, philanthropy, the Avera Haiti project, moral ethics of health care, patient safety and leadership.
Other events include the Avera Foundation Fundraising Institute on April 3 in Sioux Falls . Contact the Avera Foundation for more information. May 7 is the date set for the annual Avera PACE Conference at the Ramkota Hotel, Sioux Falls . The event brings vendors and purchasers together and includes a golf outing. June 19 is the Avera Gerontological Nursing Conference in Sioux Falls .
Avera McKennan in Local Challengeof Oprah’s Big Give
ABC recently chose KSFY-TV as one of 100 affiliates to take part in a $10,000 grant to create a South Dakota version of the hit show “Oprah’s Big Give.” In the local version, KSFY and the Argus Leader have challenged three Sioux Falls businesses – Citibank, Target and Avera McKennan to ask their employees to brainstorm ideas on how to multiply the seed money and help three needy individuals or programs in the area.
Station Manager Kelly Manning wrote three $2,500 checks to the business to get the challenge started. The Sioux Falls event is a takeoff on a challenge started by talk show host Oprah Winfrey. In the new prime-time series, people compete to give rather than receive. The progress of the campaign will be reported in the Argus Leader and on KSFY. Presentations to the selected charities will be made in mid-April.
Avera Living Well Center
Avera Home Medical Equipment locations in Sioux Falls on 41st Street and South Cliff Avenue are now closed with the opening of the Avera Living Well Center at 33rd and Minnesota . The outlet in Avera Doctors Plaza 2 on the Avera McKennan campus remains open for the convenience of patients who are there for a doctor’s appointment.
The Avera Living Well Center is the premier home medical equipment superstore in the five-state region. It features:
- A large retail space of 5,000 square feet, with additional space for patient education and fitting rooms, repair facilities, staff areas and warehouse storage (total square footage of 21,000)
- An actual house within the showroom where customers can experience products in a home-like setting
- A car modified with a trunk lift, so customers can see how modifications can help them easily transport a wheelchair or scooter
- On-site vehicle modification
- An indoor track for testing wheelchairs, scooters and walkers
- Private rooms for patient education and fittings
- New product lines including therapeutic shoes for diabetics and Coolibar clothing, which protects against sun damage and skin cancer
- A family-friendly waiting area
- A large customer-service counter for patient confidentiality
A ribbon cutting event was held March 26, 2008, with a public open house scheduled from 1 - 3 p.m., Saturday, March 29.