July-September, 2003

St. John's ranked No. 27 among America's Top 100 Health Systems

Through a focus on delivering the best clinical outcomes for patients, St. John's Health System has achieved improvements in quality, financial stability and physician-driven care at its six hospitals, 90-plus physician offices and health plan offerings, according to a new ranking of the nation's integrated health care networks.

St. John's has risen from No. 53 to earn the No. 27 spot on the 2003 "IHN 100" ranking by Verispan, formerly SMG Marketing Group. The Chicago-based research firm has ranked health care networks for the past six years based on their financial and clinical performance and degree of integration.

"St. John's categories that had increases in points included hospital utilization, outpatient visits, integration (disease management, consolidated services and single signature contracts) and integrated technology," says Lisa Caine, Verispan's market segment manager for the rating system.

As St. John's moves forward, the emphasis will be to continue to improve the relationship between operational measures and quality outcomes to benefit our patients, area employers and their employees, according to Jay Eckersley, St. John's president/CEO.

"The focus on integration has resulted in improved clinical outcomes in the care of people with certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma and congestive heart failure," says Donald Wantuck, M.D., St. John's board chairman. "The extent to which our organization is integrated and the physicians and staff address common problems and develop common programs together is extraordinary."

New pastoral services director joins St. John's

Rick Erickson joined St. John’s as director of pastoral services in April. Erickson comes to St. John’s from Franciscan Skemp Healthcare in Wisconsin, where he served as director of pastoral care since 1997. Previously, Erickson was director of pastoral care at St. Mary’s Health Center in St. Louis for 16 years.

St. John’s Clinic - Lebanon - Surgery ranks among top 10 percent of medical practices

St. John’s Clinic - Lebanon - Surgery was ranked among the top 10 percent  of medical practices nationwide in patient satisfaction by Press Ganey, an independent research firm that measures satisfaction in nearly 6,000 client facilities nationwide. Lebanon Surgical Center’s scores were compared with those of approximately 12,000 physicians in Press Ganey’s extensive databases. More than eight million patient satisfaction surveys are completed annually.

Karen Tabb, D.O., Summer Walthall, M.D. and Frank Roam, D.O. are surgeons at Lebanon Surgical Center. Tabb has been with St. John’s since 1994; Walthall since 1997 and Roam since 2000.

“Everyone from the doctors to the receptionist generally care about each individual patient and they treat them as if they were their family and friends,” says Tabb. “Not to be cliché, but we try to treat people the way we want to be treated.  The reason I went into medicine and specifically surgery is because it’s a place you can fix physical problems and restore someone to good health again. Seeing the patient do well and feel they’ve really been taken care of at a time they really need it is gratifying.”

St. John’s Branson physician certified as medical review officer

Charles Woodall, D.O., St. John's Clinic - Branson West, recently qualified as a certified medical review officer. Certified MROs work with employers to provide drug testing mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

MROs make the final determination of whether a positive laboratory test represents substance abuse.

U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, effective Aug.1, 2001 require that physicians acting as MROs successfully complete an MRO training program and an exam.

"The certified MRO also acts as a valuable resource to protect the company," said Woodall. "We help them with policies and regulatory issues."

Woodall's MRO services are available through St. John's clinics in the Branson area, as well as his own clinic. For specific information, call 417-272-8497.
 

Federal Administration on Aging provides grant for St. John’s caregiver programs

Many adults find themselves becoming primary caregivers for parents or spouses who are aging or have long-term illnesses. While caregivers are still juggling the stressors of everyday life, whether they are raising children, holding down a job or both, the added stress of taking care of an individual can be overwhelming. Sometimes, caregivers forget the importance of taking care of themselves.

St. John’s Behavioral Health offers a caregiver support group as well as other caregiver services, such as individual counseling, Tai Chi Chih classes and massage therapy.

Earlier this year, the federal Administration on Aging office allocated $5,000 every six months to St. John’s Health System to help caregivers pay for caregiver services not covered by insurance.

If you are 60 years of age or older and a caregiver or if you are caring for someone who is 60 years of age, you are eligible for this program. Please call St. John’s Behavioral Health Services at 417-841-3707 Monday through Friday during business hours or 417-885-3083 after business hours to inquire about the caregiver program. “This grant money is to help people care for themselves and loved ones in a healthy way,” says Lauri Carlson, administrator for St. John’s Behavioral Health Services.

New outpatient surgery center opens on St. John's campus

St. John's new 130,000-square-foot outpatient surgery center and medical office building opens in July at the corner of Seminole and National in Springfield.  The new surgery center will relieve space constraints in the operating room at St. John's Regional Health Center  as well as decrease the likelihood of bumping elective surgeries when staff and operating rooms are needed for trauma cases, said St. John's Vice President Jay Guffey, The facility is projected to accommodate 10,000 to 12,000 outpatient surgery cases per year. The facility will house St. John's Eye Specialists, orthopedists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, dermatologists and a spine and pain center.

St. John's Heart Institute offers new drug-eluting stents

St. John's heart patients now have an opportunity to receive one of the most highly anticipated medical products for treating clogged coronary arteries.

The new drug-eluting stent received approval by the Food and Drug Administration in late April amid media hype for its demonstrated positive clinical results in eliminating tissue re-growth inside the artery. Re-growth can lead to re-blockage (restenosis) and potential repeat procedures.

St. John's cardiologists implanted the new stent for the first time April 24 at St. John's Regional Health Center's state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab in Springfield.

"We equate this day to the day we first began angioplasty procedures," said Ron Smalling, M.D., just before starting the hospital's first drug-eluting stent procedure on patient Harold Blakemore. "It has the potential of sparing tens of thousands of patients the need for repeat angioplasties or bypass surgery."