WINTER 2013 • VOLUME 16 NUMBER 4 Children’s HOSPITAL & MEDICAL CENTER OMAHA, NE Laura J. Redoutey, FACHE President Working with you for a healthy Nebraska nebraskablue.com Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Healthier Nebraska WINTER 2013 » A magazine for and about Nebraska community hospitals and health systems CHAIRMAN, 2013 NHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ronald Cork in this issue Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital, O’Neill 2013 NHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Cindy Alloway Children’s Hospital & Medical Center reduces pediatric Alegent Creighton Health Lakeside Hospital, Omaha Paulette Davidson, FACHE radiation exposure 4 Bellevue Medical Center, Bellevue Marty Fattig, ACHE Nemaha County Hospital, Auburn Glenn Fosdick, FACHE Kearney County Health Services’ facility updates The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha Carol Friesen improve comfort, care and safety 8 Bryan Health, Lincoln Jim Hansel Garden County Health Service, Oshkosh Michael Hansen, FACHE State speeches will provide insight into 2014 Columbus Community Hospital, Columbus Harold Krueger priorities for health care 10 Chadron Community Hospital & Health Services, Chadron Victor Lee, FACHE Boone County Health Center, Albion Leslie Marsh NHA Leadership Institute 2014 Class XI Lexington Regional Health Center, Lexington 12 Daniel McElligott, FACHE Saint Francis Medical Center, Grand Island Gregory Nielsen Great Plains Regional Medical Center, North Platte Laws and regulations don’t always put the patient first 14 Roger Reamer Memorial Health Care Systems, Seward Laura Redoutey, FACHE - Ex-Officio Nebraska Hospital Association, Lincoln Quest for Excellence focuses on quality 16 Kimberly Russel, FACHE Bryan Health, Lincoln James Ulrich Community Hospital, McCook NHA volunteers at Food Bank of Lincoln Victor Witkowicz 18 Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Lincoln NHA STAFF Laura J. Redoutey, FACHE, president The environment of health 20 Jon Borton, vice president, educational services Lori Brandl, executive assistant Heather Bullock, member services & events manager David Burd, vice president, finance Texting protected health information 22 Meghan Chaffee, staff attorney Kevin Conway, vice president, health information Timoree Klingler, advocacy specialist Barbara Jablonski, accounting specialist Al Klaasmeyer, vice president, NHA subsidiaries Kim Larson, director of marketing Vicky Pfeiffer, administrative assistant Bruce Rieker, vice president, advocacy Adrian Sanchez, director of communications Monica Seeland, vice president, quality initiatives Cindy Vossler, director of health data Maria Witkowicz, director of accounting EDITOR Adrian Sanchez, director of communications [email protected] Healthier Nebraska is published quarterly by the Nebraska Hospital Association, 3255 Salt Creek Circle, Ste. 100, Lincoln, NE 68504, (402) 742-8140, www.nhanet.org. All rights reserved. pcipublishing.com Created by Publishing Concepts, Inc. DISTRIBUTION David Brown, President • [email protected] Healthier Nebraska is distributed quarterly throughout hospitals For Advertising info contact in Nebraska. It reaches all hospital department heads including Deborah Merritt • 1-800-561-4686 ext. 109 administrators, hospital physicians, managers, trustees, state [email protected] legislators, the Congressional delegation and other friends of Nebraska hospitals. Edition 67 A magazine for and about Nebraska hospitals and health systems. 3 Children’s Hospital & Medical Center reduces pediatric radiation exposure A Graduate Program for Nurse Leaders College of Nursing University of Nebraska Medical Center 4 A magazine for and about Nebraska hospitals and health systems. Vibrant decals act as a distraction technique for children undergoing scans in the Radiology Department at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, further promoting a child-friendly environment and safer imaging. Twisted metal. Shattered glass. A 10-year-old is rushed from the scene of a fierce automobile collision to the Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center. He says his tummy hurts. His breathing sounds abnormal and he is vomiting. The ER team suspects blunt trauma year in “The Lancet” that children to the boy’s torso and orders a and young adults who had multiple computer tomography (CT) scan. CTs have a small increased risk of Consumed with worry, his parents leukemia and brain tumors in the can rest easier on one front – their decade after their first scan. child will not be exposed to any “We know radiation exposure more radiation than is absolutely is a key concern for parents and necessary. received the Quest for Excellence Award we’ve been very proactive in addressing “Whenever radiation is involved in a from the Nebraska Hospital Association for that concern,” said Nicole Hardin, Children’s procedure at Children’s, we take every a continuous quality improvement project radiology manager. precaution to ensure that the amount focused on reducing the radiation dose in The CT dosing project, she said, of radiation used is the bare minimum CT scans, a diagnostic tool that delivers supports Children’s strategic goal of being necessary to achieve an accurate result,” significantly more radiation than X-rays. the unparalleled leader for pediatric care in said Sandra Allbery, M.D., a pediatric About 68 million CT scans are the Heartland. The impetus for the initiative radiologist at Children’s Hospital & Medical performed in the U.S. each year, about 10 was four-fold: Center. percent of them in children, according to Children’s efforts have earned it fresh the American College of Radiology. National accolades. The organization recently Cancer Institute researchers reported last continued on next page A magazine for and about Nebraska hospitals and health systems. 5 continued from last page • A trend of young patients often receiving very high radiation doses, often equaling adult dosing parameters, was discovered after reviewing CT images completed at ouside facilities. • A commitment to support the Image Gently campaign sponsored by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, an initiative that aims to promote radiation protection in the imaging of children. • The ongoing evolution of the patient population at Children’s. • A desire to reduce radiation exposure by utilizing non-radiation imaging techniques such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging whenever possible. An underwater theme welcomes families to Children’s radiology department. Customized wraps and sea life decals contribute to a more soothing, child-friendly atmosphere. “Approximately 40 percent of children seen in our organization have chronic standardization of the process, while Hardin adds, “Radiology staff education health conditions. These conditions preserving the quality of the images. We was essential to the success of this project. increase the risk of repeated exposures to also wanted to educate referring physicians All radiology technicians and radiology CT scans,” Dr. Allbery said. about the appropriateness and efficacy of physicians completed the Image Gently “Our project aim was to decrease CT as a diagnostic exam for children,” she provider training course on reducing CT patient radiation dosage through explained. radiation exposure.” When your technology is too important to fail... Healthcare Experience Intellicom is the technology provider of choice for many of the premier health care organizations in Nebraska. We understand the technology issues that face the healthcare industry today and have designed solutions to specifically meet these demands. • Network Engineering • Wireless • EMR Integration • Web Design and Hosting • Cabling • Voice over IP (VoIP) • Managed Services • Virtualization • Security Cameras 1700 2nd Avenue | Kearney, NE 68847 | intellicominc.com | 308.237.0684 6 A magazine for and about Nebraska hospitals and health systems. The CT dosing The results of the project project team, which are tangible and substantive, included a radiology but there is more work to be fellow, the radiology done. patient care manager, “We have reduced the radiology technicians radiation dose administered and the performance as much as we can while improvement using our current technology,” manager, met six Dr. Allbery said. “Our next times over a five steps include moving to new month period. Their technology to continue to work resulted in reduce radiation dose.” the implementation The Quest for Excellence of several major award is designed to processes, including: recognize Nebraska hospitals • Developing for their outstanding quality and applying Nicole Hardin, Radiology Manager, Children’s Dr. Sandra Allbery, pediatric radiologist, improvement activities. It a method to Hospital & Medical Center Children’s Hospital & Medical Center is jointly sponsored by the calculate the Nebraska Hospital Association, minimum other concerns such as a significant CIMRO of Nebraska, the necessary radiation dose for previous radiation exposure, and if Nebraska Association of Healthcare Quality, each patient based on a series of alternatives need to be considered. and the Nebraska Department of Health conversion factors for age, size and & Human Services System Office of Public type of CT exam. “By developing a process to Health. • Requiring a standard review consistently use these conversion factors, “It is truly an honor to receive this award,” of every CT exam scheduled we were able to standardize practice and Hardin said. “It supports what everyone here