IBB : INSIDE BERKS BUSINESS

A FIVE DAY LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR EDUCATORS IBB: INSIDE BERKS BUSINESS

• The program pairs educators with Berks County Businesses • Educators spent four days on-site, at the business. • The teachers worked with business leaders, workers, human resource staff, and others in the business’s field. • Facilities were toured and processes were directly viewed. • Educators, informed by this experience, will make direct connections with these business and their students. Career options can be made clear to their students. THE READING HOSPITAL

CAREERS IN MEDICINE MY PROGRAM • Human Resources: Interviews, salary AT THE and benefits • UltraSound Department, Pharmacy, READING Cardiovascular Lab HOSPITAL • Dosimetry, Radiology, Pathology, Cardiology, Nuclear Lab • Clinical Lab, Chemistry Lab, Hematology, Microbiology SUMMARY OF BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

• The hospital has 11,000 employees as Tower Health; 7000 employees at the Reading Hospital. • There are 1100 job titles • The Emergency department sees 450 patients/Day, which is 7th in the nation and first in PA • Nonclinical positions are plentiful : IT, accounting, housekeeping, Security, HVAC, transporters, BioMedTechnology SUMMARY OF BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

• The HealthPlex is a recent $350 million addition with a level 2 Trauma suite , emergency area, surgical suites and patient rooms.

• The operating expenses for the Reading Hospital were $795 million for 2016. Net patient revenue was $838 million. SUMMARY OF BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

• The acquisition of five new hospitals to form “Tower Health” expands the patient base to 2.5 million people. • "This acquisition supports our strategic vision of remaining a strong, regional, integrated provider/payer system," Clint Matthews, CEO • There are some clear benefits that come with consolidation: • For the smaller hospitals, it provides access to technology, capital and specialists that wouldn't be available otherwise. • Being bigger also helps when it comes to billing, information technology, group purchasing READING HOSPITAL’S GREATEST ASSESTS:

• 1. All levels of employees were talented, intelligent and dedicated to their jobs. Team work! • 2. Five Hospitals were acquired in a recent merger, setting “Tower Health” as a regional leader in medicine. • 3. Access to cutting edge technology and specialists which is not available at smaller hospitals. TECHNOLOGY UTILIZED AT THE HOSPITAL THE DAVINCI SURGICAL ROBOTICS : JOB : SURGEON • Surgeon : education : 4yrs college science, 4 years medical school, 5yrs residency training . Starting Salary : $250,000 • Performs surgery on patients and communicates with the Pathologist and Pathologist Assistant in the AP Prep room via computer video link. LINEAR ACCELERATOR : RADIATION USED TO KILL CANCER CELLS…WITH CAT SCAN IMAGING RELATED JOB : PHYSICIST

• Physicist : Major in physics, 4 yrs college , 2 yrs Masters Degree • Starting salary $100,000 • Deals with radioactive materials and machines that use the materials. Responsible for testing the radioactive emissions from the machines. Dosimetry is the hospital department. TECHNOLOGIES: IMAGING TOOLS: CAT SCAN COMPUTER AXIAL TOMOGRAPHY RELATED JOB : CT TECH AND RADIOLOGIST

• Radiologist: Education : 4 yrs college science, 4years medical school, 4yrs of residency training. • Starting salary : $250,000 • The Radiologist reads the CAT scan and identifies abnormal tissues. • CT Tech : 2 yrs specific training, 6 months training at the hospital Starting : $15/hr, CT Tech sets up the patient in the CT scanner and operates the machine, and sends the images to the Radiologist. TECHNOLOGIES : PET SCAN : POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY

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Radioactive dyes are injected. ULTRASOUND : LOW COST IMAGING, NON-INVASIVE TECHNOLOGY : AUTOMATED CHEMISTRY – BLOOD TESTS.

Blood samples are delivered to the laboratory, set in a rack and robotics does the rest. TECHNOLOGY : FOOD DELIVERY ROBOTS

Robots deliver the patient food orders to stations which are 0.5 miles from the kitchen. TECH : THE PHARMACY ROBOTIC ARM

The hospital pharmacy serves 700 patients per day. The robotic arm produces the IV bags in a clean room with great accuracy. (3% error, human is 10% error) The Pharmacist noted that some chemotherapy solutions costs thousands of dollars. Some are $50,000. TECHNOLOGY : PHARMACY DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICINES AND COMMUNICATION

• Doctors use EPIC for electronic medical records, so prescriptions are computerized , not written. • The robotic system sorts and packages the medicines with a bar code matching the patient. JOB : PHARMACIST

• Pharmacist : Education : 4 yrs college (1 Clinical) , License test, 1 yr Residency at a Hospital. Reading has 3 spots. • Starting Salary: $120,000 • They mostly are working on The computer, checking drug orders for interactions and accuracy. PHARMACY : 1000 ITEMS IN INVENTORY, CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES 150 Omnicell Dispensing cabinets control the medicines at nursing stations. Inventory is controlled with the carousel and a “Narc Vault” Medicines are only dispensed with computer log ins THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FACING THE READING HOSPITAL

• 1. Five new Hospitals were acquired to create “Tower Health” • 2. Security needs have increased, both physically and in information technology. • 3. Language translation needs are increasing. • 4. New technologies are emerging. • 5. Some positions are hard to fill. FIVE NEW HOSPITALS WERE ACQUIRED TO CREATE “TOWER HEALTH”

• This is very new. Most employees were unsure about how they would be affected by the merger. • The small hospitals do not have the laboratory automation that Reading has. It is likely that patient tests will be sent to Reading. • Patients requiring specialist will be referred to Reading. SECURITY

• All hospitals need to secure patient information on their computer systems. Reading has invested in a robust IT department. • Reading has recently increased security in the Emergency Department with the addition of an armed guard. Metal detectors were added in recent years. • The Pharmacy, Laboratories and other areas require swipe card access. Additional security restricts access to narcotics in the Pharmacy. MANY LANGUAGES

• Translators are employed by the hospital. • Translators are needed even during surgical procedures, like a heart catheterization. NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE EMERGING

• The Reading Hospital has made significant investments to acquire cutting edge technologies, like the Da Vinci robot and the Linear Accelerator. HARD TO FILL POSITIONS

• There are 107 RN Nurse Openings – Recruitment lunches are held, referral bonuses are offered to employees, and benefits for nurses includes $8000/year for education. SKILLS NEEDED FOR THE JOBS AT THE HOSPITAL • The main skills needed are related to science training at various levels. There are positions that require only a high school diploma through those requiring the most advanced degrees like an M.D., Ph.D. • The H.R. director stated that, “Attention to detail and punctuality” were key attributes needed for applicants. A high degree of professionalism is required for success. Patient concerns and confidentiality of patient information are priorities. SKILLS NEEDED:

• Almost all of the jobs require interpersonal skills. • Some of the positions require the ability to perform under extreme pressure • Team work was required for many positions. PROJECT ABSTRACT : CLASS : BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

• 1. A unit will be done on Pathology. • Students will be given microscope slides of human tissues provided by the Pathologist at the Reading Hospital. • The Pathologist reviewed the cases under the microscope , with the instructor as part of the internship. PROJECT ABSTRACT : CLASS : BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

• The students will be assigned a case which includes a microscope slide of the human tissue. • They will take digital images, measure in micrometers and label cell types and cancerous cells. • The students will collaborate with the Pathologist, Dr. Swierzinski via Google Sharing. • Students present their conclusions in a class presentation. STANDARDS :

• 13.1.11A Relate Careers to interests, abilities, and aptitude. • 13.1.11E. Demonstrate workplace skills and knowledge. • Content : 3.1.12.A Analyze how cells in different tissues are specialized to perform specific functions. PROJECT ABSTRACT 2: CLASS BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

• 1. Career Exploration : Research and Web Page Construction • 2. Students will choose two medical careers from a list. • Students will do web research to identify the key requirements for the job. • Students will create a Google web page to be posted on the class web site with 3 images, information and a Google Form. STANDARDS:

• 13.1.11.B Analyze career options • 13.1.11.F Analyze career choices and preparation required. • Content : 3.4.12.A3 Demonstrate how technology promotes the advancement of science, STEM. PHOTOS