Mark J. Garcia, M.D., FSIR, andhis colleagues in Vascular &

Interventional Radiology atChristiana Care have developed arevolutionary way to treat chronic orhard blood clots relating to deep veinthrombosis (DVT), enabling manypatients to resume active lives with-out debilitating pain.

And the world is beginning to notice.

“They’re back to work. They’re backchasing their grandchildren,” he says.

“There’s a tremendous improvementin their quality of life.”

Dr. Garcia, section chief of Vascular &Interventional Radiology and directorof Christiana Care’s Vascular &Interventional Radiology FellowshipProgram, and his team combine stan-dard treatment with newer, ultrasoundenhanced techniques.

To form a channel through the clot, theinterventional radiologist usescatheters and traditional balloon

Innovative vascular intervention bringshope for chronic deep vein thrombosis

Mark J. Garcia, M.D., (right), section chief of Vascular & InterventionalRadiology, channels through a hardened deep vein thrombosis in preparation forvacuuming out the debilitating, painful clots.

C O N T I N U E D N E X T PA G E

2 ● F O C U S J u l y 2 , 2 0 0 9

Recently, Craig Pilczuk of North CapeMay, New Jersey, found Dr. Garciaafter an exhaustive search for a spe-cialist who could help him. Two yearsago, Pilczuk was 38 when his left legsuddenly became swollen. Diagnosedwith DVT, he was put on blood thin-ners.

Patient could not workPilczuk, who works in maintenance,could work only about an hour a daybefore his leg began to swell. He couldno longer take his daily walk. Outingswith his wife and two children toamusement parks were impossible.

“I went from doctor to doctor andfrom hospital to hospital,” he recalls.“Every doctor I saw told me there wasnothing to do but let the Coumadinwork.” Then Pilczuk heard about Dr.Garcia. “Dr. Garcia was the first per-son who gave me any hope,” Pilczuksays.

When Pilczuk came in for his proce-dure in November 2007, his leg wasswollen and painful, his skin leatheryand discolored. He arrived atChristiana Hospital at 6 a.m. and went

angioplasty, possibly vacuuming outthe clot. The team then tries to dis-solve the clot, using a combination ofultrasound and medicine.

“When the clot is young, it’s soft likejelly and is easy to suck out,” Dr.Garcia says. “When the clot is old, itbecomes hard like concrete, so wehave to chisel our way through.”He and his partners have used thetechnique for more than 18 months ondozens of patients.

Sparks international interestCalls about the procedure have fromcome from as far away as Dubai andEngland. And patients have comefrom California, Utah and Coloradofor treatment.

With growing interest in the tech-nique, Dr. Garcia routinely presents atmeetings of the Society ofInterventional Radiology. InSeptember, he will present an abstractbefore the European InterventionalRadiology Society in Portugal. InNovember, he will present in NewYork to the Society of VascularSurgeons.

home 12 hours later.“A week later, my leg was back to nor-mal size, color and texture,” Pilczuksays. “I had my life back.”

Today, he remains on blood thinnersand wears compression stockings. Heis working full time, has taken a part-time job, walks for an hour every dayand enjoys outings with his family.

From acute to chronicDr. Garcia and his colleagues didn’tset out to treat chronic clots. Butbecause some patients he treated foracute clots also suffered from chronicclots, he treated them, too.

“We discovered that we could createchannels that weren’t there before torestore the blood flow,” Dr. Garciasays.

But, he continues, “The most impor-tant thing we’ve learned is thatpatients and their doctors shouldn’tgive up. Some of these clots can betreated.”

Mark J. Garcia, M.D., will present pioneering DVT therapy before theEuropean Interventional Radiology Society in Portugal and the Society ofVascular Surgeons in New York.

DV T, C O N T I N U E D

two-hour procedure—the patientreturns home the next day.

By contrast, abdominal aneurysm sur-gery takes at least three hours, andpatients must remain in the hospitalfor approximately a week after thesurgery. The UNITE stent, alreadywidely used in Europe, not only offerspatients new options but also less timeaway from home and in rehab.Patients return for checkups every sixmonths.

And Dr. Ierardi says this technology isleading to more applications.Christiana Care is already involved incarotid stent trials and will soon moveto thoracic stent trials, giving evenmore patients more options.

Thanks to Dr. Ralph Ierardi, M.D.,and colleagues at Christiana Care

Vascular Specialists, Inc., abdominalaortic aneurysm patients who havenot been good candidates for opensurgery or commercially availableendografts now have another option:LeMaitre’s UniFit Aorto-Uni-iliacStent (UNITE) Graft.

“This is very exciting technology. Itallows us to treat a whole category ofcritically ill patients who would other-wise be relegated to medical manage-ment and probable rupture,” says Dr.Ierardi.

Aneurysms in the abdominal aorta arethe most common type of aneurysm, aweakening in the wall of an artery,causing it to stretch and bulge.

Ruptures usually are fatalIf they rupture, aneurysms may befatal: They are the 13th leading causeof death in the United States. Only 20percent of these patients reach emer-gency care, and only 20 percent ofthese—four out of a hundred peoplewith ruptured aneurysms—survive.

Surgery is the most common methodof repairing aortic aneurysms, particu-larly when an aneurysm hasruptured. But patients who may notbe good candidates for surgery orwho prefer to have a less invasiveprocedure can choose to have a com-mercially available endograft stentplaced.

The stent, a Y-shaped polyester-coat-ed tube that runs from the aorta intothe internal iliac arteries, attaches tothe inner walls of the aorta, above andbelow the aneurysm, insulating the

blood flow from the weakened arterywall. But even this stent is not suitablepatients with diseased or smaller thannormal or arteries.

To help these patients, Christiana Carejoined 20 other research sites acrossthe United States in Phase 2 trials ofthe UNITE stent. The UNITE stent is asingle, flexible tube running from theaorta into only one of the iliac arteries.

In the second year of the five-yearstudy, Christiana Care, with sixpatients enrolled, is second only toEmory University School of Medicine,which has eight.

Stent tailored to patient’s needsWhen Dr. Ierardi’s team determinesthat a patient is a good candidate forthe UNITE stent, team members dis-cuss options with the patient. If he orshe agrees to participate in the study,LeMaitre designs the stent specificallyfor the patient. Once the stent is inplace and the team ensures that it isworking properly—usually about a

New endograft helps Christiana Care vascular specialists address inoperable aortic aneurysms

Ralph Ierardi, M.D., ofChristiana CareVascular Specialists, isa leading principalinvestigator inLeMaitre’s UniFitAorto-Uni-Iliac Stent(UNITE) Graft study.

4 F O C U S J u l y 2 , 2 0 0 9

Christiana Hospital’s unit 4C hasserved as GetWellNetwork’s

(GWN) super user for the past ninemonths. The unit has seen a 69 percentincrease in survey scores relating tohow well nurses explain medicationsto patients.

A “question of the day,” directed topatients through GWN, enablespatients to provide daily feedbackabout their stay. If things are not goingwell, an attending nurse or nursemanager can immediately addresspatient concerns and improve patientperceptions while patients are stillhere, according to Nurse ManagerSharon Urban, RN.

A hospital-wide initiative is underwayto customize the “question of the day”for all units using GWN.

Written concerns drop 60%According to Katherine Pereira-Ogan,RN, BSN, BC, MSSL, director ofService Excellence, written concernssubmitted to the Patient RelationsDepartment are at a record low, downmore than 60 percent. “We believe thedrop in patient relations referrals maybe the result of patients’ using GWNto voice concerns when they occur,rather than post-discharge,” saysPereira-Ogan, adding that overallpatient satisfaction scores are on therise.

With GWN, patient satisfaction scoresare noteworthy: a 23 percent increasein nurses explaining things in wayspatients understand and a 33 percentimprovement in patients receivinghelp quickly.

Usage up 98 percentGWN also affects patient education. InIn April 2008, only 109 patientsaccessed health videos through GWN.By April 2009, patients accessed 1,107videos, 427 people learned about handhygiene, 664 watched the safety video,and 131 watched the influenza video.

Other enhancements Medication Education: When apatient’s medications are entered inPowerchart, patients receive educa-tional materials about current ornewly prescribed medications, theirside effects and possible drug interac-tions. Geared to improving self-advo-cacy, GWN records when patients

review, complete or decline informa-tion.

New links: DeafMD.org, a medicalinterpretative site for the deaf andhard of hearing is now available under“My Health Websites.”

Christiana Care’s new Lost and FoundWeb site is available under“Communicate.”

Patients give nurses high marks for explainingmedications, with help from GetWellNetwork

Shining Stars Winter/Spring 2009

January: Leslie D. Tyson, RN, 3B/3C

February: Donna DiOrio, 6EFood Services Specialist

March: Andrew Wedel, RN, 7E

April: Kristina Santora, RN, 4C Staff Development Specialist

GWN study showsoutcomes improvewith GetWellNetwork

Christiana Care will be one of threesites in the nation to implement

GetWellNetwork’s Heart FailureInteractive Care Plan (HFICP), followinga successful one-year pilot study of thetechnology at 282-bed Sentara VirginiaBeach (Va.) General Hospital.

Results from the study at show remark-able improvement in outcomes from2007 to 2008:

■ Length of stay–13% reduction

■ Readmission rate 30 dayspost-discharge–74% reduction

■ Patient satisfaction–43%improvement.

One of the most common and still grow-ing reasons for hospitalization, heart fail-ure requires that patients be involved inmanaging their chronic condition.

GetWell Network’s HFICP engagespatients and their families early in theprocess—with outstanding results.

White paper available onlineA full copy of the white paper, entitled"Improving Heart Failure Outcomesthrough Interactive Patient Care: TheSentara Virginia Beach General HospitalExperience," can be downloaded atwww.getwellnetwork.com.

For more information: www.getwellnet-work.com.

Your T-shirt design could be the one thatall your Christiana Care colleagues wear!

To enter your T-shirt design:

■ Draw your art work on plain white (unlined) 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

■ Draw and submit two sketches for judging.- One sketch should be a simple black

outline of your design. - The other should be a color version of the black-

and-white sketch.

■ Send computer drawings or files via e-mail as .pdf attachments. Please be prepared to provide separations or black-and-white artwork.

■ Send your entry to Joanne Matukaitis, RN, MSN, CNA, BC, director, Patient Care Services, Cardiovascular/Critical Care in Suite 1003.If you need more information, call 302-733-2633.

All entries must be received by July 20.

Christiana Care is sponsoring the 18thAnnual American Heart Walk onSunday, Sept. 13 at the WilmingtonRiverfront.

in addition to raising funds to fightheart disease and stroke, the AmericanHeart Walk promotes awareness aboutthe diseases. William S. Weintraub,M.D., FACC, chief of Cardiology anddirector of the Christiana Center forOutcomes Research, is honorary chair.

Join one of several teams fromChristiana Care already listed on theHeart Walk Web site. Or, call your co-workers, friends and family and startyour own team.

Be sure to register your team on theWeb site.

Win a pizza partyIf your team raises the most money orhas the most walkers, you and yourteam will win a pizza party!

Join the American Heart Walk Sept. 13

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The day I met my patient, “Mr.Joe,” did not start well. It was

only 07:30 and Mr. Joe’s daughter hadalready called.

“Did he have this done? What did thetest say?”

“Well ma’am, I just got here. I haven’teven met your father yet.”

When I did meet Mr. Joe, he actuallyscared me a little. He was shaking andcould not stop, he was in so muchpain. He had compression fractures.He was also a smoker and had nothad a cigarette in about 10 days.

When I first looked at him, it seemedas if he was thinking, “Oh great, someyoung girl that has no clue.” I couldn’tget a handle on him. I couldn’t jokewith him. I got that look that says,

“get out of here.” I usually can changea person’s mood by joking, but Icouldn’t seem to break him.

I’d move him gently and pat him soft-ly, but I was always afraid he wouldyell and scream, if he had the energy.Once, while I was doing so, he turnedto me and said, “You’ve just said ‘OK’twelve times.”

I couldn’t help laughing. He hookedme.

Days went on and we both loosened. Imet his daughter and his wife, a sweet

woman, so caring for her husband.Still, something with Mr. Joe wasn’tright.

His pain was unbearable, even scary.Then there was that glimmer of hopeone day.

Kyphoplasty. Back and forth the doc-tors went. The heart is strong, thelungs are not. Let’s do it under thisanesthesia. No, let’s do it like this.Every day a different excuse and adifferent promise all in the samebreath.

Then one Friday morning during shiftreport, I heard: “Mr. Joe has been NPOsince midnight for a kyphoplastytoday. Consent is signed.”

This day could not get any better. Icould not wait to see him. The call

from prep and holding came at 8 a.m.,earlier than everyone expected. Mr.Joe was scared but so anxious to getrid of the pain.

I told him that he was not going toreturn to this room after the surgery,but he would be right upstairs and Iwould be able to visit him. I called hiswife with the news of the early sur-gery time and she was just as excited,but you could sense her nervousness.

We packed up his room and waitedfor the call on his new room number.

A couple hours had passed when Ireceived the phone call that I nowrealize would change Mr. Joe’s life; itwas prep and holding.

“We’re sending him back. We’re notdoing the surgery. Anesthesiarefused.”

When he came rolling down the hall-way, my heart was in my throat. Wegently transferred him back into hisbed. Still shaking, still in pain. Hegave me a little smile, he looked sosad. I went to down to the familywaiting room to get his wife anddaughters. I just sat there with them.We talked; we were angry. Such highhopes squashed again. What wasgoing to happen next?

Back in his room, I asked him if every-thing was okay, then I caught myself.I‘d said “okay,” which he despised. Hetook my hand, gave me another smileand started to cry. He said to me, “Iwatched my father die like this and Ialways said I didn’t want to die likethis.”

He said it, whispered it, just to me. Hedidn’t want his family to hear. I had tocry. He kissed my hand and I kissedhis forehead. I told him he wasn’tdying. I wasn’t going to let him.

The rest of the day seems like a blur.We did everything we could to makehim and his family comfortable. Andthen the day was over and we werenowhere.

While I was off for a couple days, Mr.Joe was on my mind. What were theygoing to do? What could they do forhim? My little “master,” as I calledhim one day. He loved that. I remem-ber that smile he gave me that day Isaid that to him.

We had several funny encounters that

Mr. JoeBy Christina H. Wilson, RN II, BC

“ ... as a bedside nurse, you never justcare for the patient; you really dotake care of the entire family.”

the time, but I have seen enoughpatients worsen during their hospitalstay and pass away. It was somethingabout how much the family dependedon me during the hospitalization.Even when Mr. Joe was no longer onour unit, the family still came to me,still depended on me. Even with theirloved one in such a dire state, the fam-ily was happy to see me.

It is the perfect example of how, as abedside nurse, you never just care forthe patient; you really do take care ofthe entire family.

I kept thinking about. There was thatone time when I was turning him andjust happen to find his wedding bandstuck to his buttock; I loved telling hiswife about that one. Then there wasthe time when he found out hisdaughter was calling the nurses everymorning. He had no idea! So, ofcourse, I had to joke with him and tellhim that she actually called me athome; he believed it for a while.

When I did come back after my timeoff, he was no longer there. Things gotworse over the weekend and he wasmoved to stepdown.

I had to go see him, my little “master.”He was one floor down and one roomover. I walked in the room and sawhim and saw his wife. We hugged.

“Joe, your Christina is here,” sheannounced.

But he was a different person. Stillshaking, still in pain, but now wearingan oxygen mask. Those elastic bandswere cutting into his face. I went overto him and he looked so scared. I held

his hand and gave him a kiss. I didn’twant to cry in front of him because Ididn’t want him to see me scared.

I stayed for a minute, just couldn’tstay any longer. Mrs. Joe walked withme out into the hallway, so strong shewas. “Hospice is coming in today totalk to us,” she told me. It was for thebest, exactly what he needed at thispoint. I gave her another hug.

I went and saw them one more timethat night before I left for the day. Mrs.Joe said that the Hospice House wasable to take him tonight. We both saidat the same time, “It’s the best forhim.”

I never saw her cry. She was such astrong woman. I gave her another hugand kissed him again on the foreheadand walked down the hallway, crying.

Mr. Joe died that Saturday. One weekand one day after the excitement andeventual disappointment of surgery.

I don’t know why I connected withMr. Joe so much. Not that I see it all

Nurses Week is an opportunity fornurses to reflect on their work

and to be recognized for their invalu-able contributions to health care.

More than 120 nurses were honored atthe Nurse Excellence Awards ceremo-ny, the crowning event of the annualweek-long celebration of Nursing.

At Christiana Care, it is also areminder of the continuous journey ofnursing excellence and specifically therigorous, two-year journey towardMagnet certification, a prestigious des-ignation awarded by the AmericanNurses’ Credentialing Center to hospi-tals that satisfy a demanding set of cri-teria measuring the strength and qual-ity of nursing.

Christiana Care has passed thehalfway point in that process, with thesubmission of binders due in Auguston five model components of the pro-gram: Organizational Overview;Transformational Leadership;Structural Empowerment; ExemplaryProfessional Practice; and NewKnowledge, Innovations andImprovements.

The winner of the distinguishedPartners of Nursing Award is the teamthat developed the ElectronicMedication Administration systemknown as EMAR.

“The leadership and support from theentire EMAR IT Team was incredible,”says Janet Cunningham, RN, MHA,

Vice President ProfessionalExcellence/Associate Chief NursingOfficer. “Looking back, it’s amazingthat a project of this magnitude wentso smoothly, and today we know ourmedication administration is muchsafer.”

In the system, nurses use handheldscanners to check the bar code on eachmedication against the bar code on thepatient’s hospital wrist band. The sys-tem eliminates medication errorsthrough the “5 Rights,” ensuring theright patient gets the right medicationin the right dosage by the right routeat the right time.

Reflecting on Nurses Week at Christiana Care

C L I N I C A L N E W S

8 ● F O C U S J u l y 2 , 2 0 0 9

■ Publishing

Presentations

Formulary Update

1 0 ● F O C U S J u l y 2 , 2 0 0 9

C L I N I C A L N E W SC L I N I C A L N E W S

Anew Observation Status FactSheet published by Christiana

Care’s Case Management Division willhelp employees understand thecomplicated documentation require-ments for classifying a patient foreither observation (outpatient) orinpatient status, Christiana Care’sCase Management Division has pub-lished an Observation Status FactSheet.

“Physicians and the hospital benefitfrom documentation and billing thatappropriately reflect the care deliveredto the patient,” says Diane Bohner,M.D., FACP, medical director ofUtilization Management.

Correct documentation is criticalbecause it ensures appropriate hospi-tal billing—and timely reimburse-ment. If a physician and the hospitalbill for different patient status, third-party payers such as Medicare mightdelay payment.

Discrepancies in billing status anddocumentation that does not meetMedicare requirements do much morethan delay payment. If medical docu-mentation does not support inpatientstatus, the hospital must bill for obser-vation status—a lower rate.

More important, the Centers forMedicare and Medicaid Services hiresrecovery audit contractors (RACs) toreview Medicare payments forhospital stays, particularly for one,two, or three-day stays. When theRACs find a payment for inpatient sta-tus that is not supported by medicaldocumentation, Medicare recovers theoverpayment from the hospital.

Incorrect documentation putsChristiana Care at risk for millions ofdollars. Over three years, audits

recovered almost $700 million fromhospitals in California, Florida andNew York. The audits for this areabegin in August—and can go back asfar as October 2007.

“As the delivery of health carebecomes ever more complex, physi-cians and the hospital must worktogether to stay abreast of changingMedicare rules,” says Dr. Bohner.

For any patient admitted to acute care,

whether in observation or inpatientstatus, both the history and the physi-cal must demonstrate medical necessi-ty. And this clinical documentation,not length of hospital stay or type ofbed occupied, determines a patient’sstatus.

To ensure that documentation forobservation status meets Medicarerequirements, physicians must do eachof the following:

■ Date and time the observation order,progress note and discharge order.

■ Specify either “admit to

observation” or “admit as an inpa-tient.” Orders written to “admit to Dr.X” or “admit to floor bed” are inter-preted as inpatient status—even ifother documentation does not supportinpatient status.

■ Either admit or discharge patients inobservation status within 24 hours.The need for observation status rarelyexceeds 48 hours.

■ For surgery outpatients who need

further monitoring, document the rea-son the patient is being placed inobservation status.

■ Check that both the physician andhospital are billing for the same status.

Patients who are not responding totreatment or whose condition changesmay be converted from observation toinpatient status.

But the change requires an “admissionto inpatient” order and documentationdemonstrating a medical need for thechange in status.

New fact sheet explains how to document patient status

“Both physicians and the hospital benefitfrom documentation and billing thatappropriately reflect the care delivered tothe patient.”– Diane Bohner, M.D., FACP

Medical director, Utilization Management

After 30 years ‘Diz’ Brosmer, CCRNstill gets excited about learning

The Surgicenter’s Linda (“Diz”)Brosmer, RN, CCRN, has achieved

a significant professional milestone.

At the annual National TeachingInstitute (NTI) of the AmericanAssociation of Critical Care Nurses(AACN) in June, Brosmer was one ofonly 108 nurses in the United Stateshonored for 30 years of continuousCritical Care Registered Nursecertification.

CCRN certification is an expert cre-dential reserved for people who meet

rigorous practice, continuing educa-tion and testing requirements in theirspecialty. Different from the RNlicense, which ensures that a nurse hasthe required entry-level knowledgeand skills to care for patients,certification validates a nurse’s knowl-edge, skills and experience in caringfor critically ill patients.

Since 1979, when the head nurse in theopen-heart recovery area where shewas working encouraged her to apply,Brosmer has consistently maintainedher certification, offered through theAACN Certification Corp.

“When you attend continuingeducation classes and NTI, you learnabout new technology and have theopportunity to exchange ideas withnursing colleagues,” says Brosmer.“You remember why you became anurse. You get excited all over again.”

Offering study groups and full-dayreview sessions as well as paying forcertification exams, Christiana Carepromotes its nurses’ certificationefforts. And according to Brosmer,nursing colleagues encourage andsupport each other through the some-times grueling certification process.

Looking for some recreational funwith your coworkers?

Christiana Care’s bowling league willbe start its 42nd season this year andis looking for more bowlers! Theleague bowls on Tuesday evenings atPrices Corner lanes. Bowling starts onTuesday, Sept. 15, and the season lasts28 weeks. Bowling starts each week at6:30 p.m. The co-ed league consists of4-person teams. The league had 16

teams last year and is always lookingfor more! Employees and our familymembers are eligible to bowl.Employees are welcome to join indi-vidually or bring in a complete teamof four bowlers. If you are interestedin bowling, contact Lil Noonan(league secretary) attnoonan@christianacare.org. An orga-nizational meeting is scheduled Aug.11 at 6:30 p.m. at Prices Corner lanes.

Rebecca D. Walker, RN, MSN

The Delaware Board of Nursing(DBN) elected Rebecca D. Walker,RN, MSN, JD, SANE-A, president inJune. Her term of office began imme-diately.

Walker, an RN II and forensic nursein the Emergency Department atChristiana Care, has been anemployee here since 1988, starting asa unit clerk and later working as asurgical ICU nurse.

She graduated with in from DelTech,and earned a BSN at WilmingtonUniversity and an MSN at WesleyCollege. Walker also has a lawdegree from the Widener Universityand practices as a defense lawyer fornurses in health care litigation.

A vice president on the DBN for ayear-and-a-half, she succeeds PamelaZickenfoose, Ph.D.

The Board of Nursing is an agency ofthe Delaware Department of State,Division of Professional Regulation,charged with protecting the health,safety and welfare of Delaware's citi-zens by establishing rules and regu-lations for the licensure and practiceof professional and practical nursing.

Board of Nursingelects Walkerpresident

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G E N E R A L N E W S

Christiana Care is organizing ateam of employees to ride in the

National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyBike to the Bay Oct. 3-4.

The course starts in Dover and ends inRehoboth Beach, Del.

You can choose to cycle the entirecourse (150 miles, 75 miles each way)or start at points along the way tocycle shorter distances. Spouses,friends and other non-employees arewelcome to join our team.

ReadyTom Norton, administrative directorof Cardiology, invites anyone who canride a bike to train with him and oth-ers in July, August and September toprepare for the ride. To register, go tohttps://secure3.convio.net/nmss/site/TRR/858472612 and search forChristiana Care.

SetBy registering, you agree to raise atleast $250 for the Delaware Chapter ofthe National Multiple Sclerosis Society.The goal of the Christiana Care teamis to recruit 20 cyclists and raise morethan $5,000.

A community of individuals commit-

ted to achieving a world free of MS,the Chapter helps more than 1,500Delawareans living with MS and theirloved ones by funding cutting-edgeresearch, driving change throughadvocacy, facilitating professional edu-cation, and providing programs andservices that help people with MS andtheir families move their livesforward.

GoInformation and practice sessionswill be held throughout the trainingperiod according to the followingschedule:

July 12, 10 a.m., Wilmington, 10 miles.Chris Johansen, leader

Aug. 2, 10 a.m., Landenberg, Pa., 12miles, Tom Norton, leader

Aug. 23, 10 a.m., New Castle, 15 miles.Chris Johansen, leader.

Aug. 23, 10 a.m., Odessa, 20 miles.Tom Norton, leader.

A team dinner (with a team photo-graph) will be held at ChristianaHospital on Friday evening, Oct. 2.

For more information, contact TomNorton at 302-733-1148 ortnorton@christianacare.org.

The deadline to apply for theAchieving Competency Today (ACT):Issues in Health Care Cost, Quality,Systems, and Safety, fall 2009 course,is Aug. 30.

ACT is an interdisciplinary curriculumincluding Christiana Care residentphysicians, RNs, pharmacists andallied health learners, with moduleson the following topics:

Performance improvement

Patient safety

Measurement and outcomes analysisin quality improvement

Interdisciplinary team concepts

Our U.S. health care system and abrief history and comparison withother models

Health care economics (who pays,payment structure, variations in accessand cost of care not related to qualityof care);

Health care legislation

Change theory

Budgets

Approval processes as they relate toconducting a performance improve-ment project.

Learners will be assigned to interdisci-plinary teams to design a performanceimprovement project plan as part ofthe course deliverables.

To register, e-mail Theresa Fields attfields@christianacare.org or call 302-733-1137 with learner information.Enrollment is limited to 24.

National MS Society Bike to the Bayteam getting set to ride Oct. 3-4

Deadline for ACTcourse registrationis Aug. 30

Wear sunscreen all year round

History behind getting “a tan”

Degrees of sunburn

Without sunscreen, light-skinnedpeople can develop a painful sunburnin as little as 15 minutes.

Wearing sunscreen helps prevent cancer anda variety of other long-term health problems

The 2009 result, 3.98, compares favor-ably with the 2008 result, 3.96.

When employees were askedwhether they agreed with thestatement:

Q2. Christiana Care is a Great Placeto Work.

The number of participants whoanswered 5, or strongly agree: 35 percent.

The number of participants whoanswered either 4 (agree) or 5:86 percent.

Overall, 2009 results for Q2 were 4.00.

Individual departments are encour-aged to continue working on theirefforts to make Christiana Care aGreat Place to Work!

All employees will have the opportu-nity to participate in the 2010Employee Satisfaction andEngagement Survey.

1 4 ● F O C U S J u l y 2 , 2 0 0 9

In light of the uncertain economicenvironment and as a one-time cost

savings measure, Christiana Careelected not to partner with the GallupOrganization this year to completeour employee satisfaction and engage-ment survey.

Instead, the Human Resources teamrandomly selected 1,000 employees toreceive a brief employee climate survey.

We had a 64-percent participation rate.

Overall, our results remain stablecompared to our 2008 full censusemployee survey.

Using a 5-point Likert scale,when employees were asked to:

Q1. Please rate how satisfied areyou with Christiana Care as a

place to work.

The number of participants whoanswered 5, or extremely satisfied: 36 percent.

The number of participants whoanswered either 4 (satisified) or 5:88 percent.

Survey shows employees rate our healthsystem favorably as a place to work

Bowling leagueoffers recreationalfun with coworkers

Christiana Care’s bowling league willbe starting its 42nd season this yearand is looking for more bowlers!

The league bowls on Tuesdayevenings at Prices Corner lanes.Bowling starts on Tuesday, September15th, and the season lasts 28 weeks.Bowling starts each week at 6:30.

The co-ed league consists of 4-personteams. The league had 16 teams lastyear and is always looking for more!Employees and our family membersare eligible to bowl.

Employees are welcome to join indi-vidually or bring in a complete teamof 4 bowlers if available. If you areinterested in bowling, contact LilNoonan (league secretary) via e-mailto tnoonan@christianacare.org. Anorganizational meeting is scheduledfor August 11 at 6:30 at the PricesCorner lanes.

G E N E R A L N E W S

Upcoming Events

Congratulations from the CICU staff toto Jamie Bailey, BSN, RN, CCRN, onher recent promotion to RN II. Greatjob, Jamie!

The staff on 2D at Christiana Hospitalcongratulates Carol Slijepcevic, BSN,RN, on her recent certification from theAmerican Nurses Credentialing Center.Congratulations on a job well done,Carol.

Congratulations to the following forgraduating from Wilmington University:■ Robert Cortez■ Judy Pantalino■ Elaine Sherman.

and to Renee Collins and Porcia Jeffreysfor receiving a Certificate ofCompletion for the ECHO Program.

– Your PMRI colleagues

Congratulations to Senior Social WorkerDanielle Brown for receiving theLeukemia and Lymphoma SocietyPatient Service Award for the DelawareChapter 2008-2009. The award is forDanielle's dedicated support for help-ing the Society fill its mission.

Congratulations

Join the Wilmington Blue Rocksfor Family Health Care Night onSaturday, July 18, at 6:05 p.m.

The Blue Rocks play theFrederick (Md.) Keys.

Christiana Care employeesreceive a special discount rate of$7 per ticket.

July 18 is also SNL CharactersNight and Delaware Lottery CapGiveaway Night at the BlueRocks game.

The first 1,000 adults receive acap courtesy of the DelawareLottery. In addition, FrawleyStadium offers tribute to SNL'smost popular characters like theconeheads, church lady, WayneCampbell and many more.

Order your tickets by faxing backthe Family Healthcare Nightorder form found on the portalsunder externalaffairsnews/FamilyHealthcareNight.pdf.

Www.christianacare.org now features ORLive, Webcast surgery that takes viewers

into the operating room to watch procedures upclose.

Just this week, we were able to bring you live“Two Techniques for Total KneeReplacement Surgery,” offering anaction-packed view of our highlysuccessful treatment for people whosuffer from severe knee damage ordegeneration.

If you missed the OR LiveWebcast on June 30, you can stillsee it on our Web site. Just follow thelinks from our home page to previousWebcasts.

Did you know?A trip to the OR can be fascinating