Lab and Pathology Services

How does your work touch other departments?

An interview with Jim Snider

BY THE NUMBERS IN YOUR WORDS BETTER MEDICINE2 3 6

Sherry Heumann prepares one of the 1.5 million tests the Lab performs each year at St. Anthony’s

SPOTLIGHTO U R C U L T U R E A N D M I S S I O N I N A C T I O N • J U L Y 2 0 1 5

Laboratory and PathologyServices

BEHIND THE SCENES:

4Page

2

Patients served by the Lab each year

Average number of miles walked each day by a

Lab phlebotomist making his or her

rounds

Timeframe for most outpatient

tests, from collection to results

Almost

ANALYZ ING EXCELLENCE : Laboratory and Pathology Services at work

2

B Y T H E N U M B E R S

150+Number of phone calls

handled by the Lab’s own call center each day

Percentage of Lab tests done on-site:

1.58

MILLION

HOURS

EIGHT

Number of billable tests performed by the

Lab each year

Number of St. Anthony’s lab service center locations around the community

• Call 1-877-5MY-LABS •

Number of Laboratory57,000

More than

5 PATHOLOGISTS

< St. Anthony’s newest lab location, at 1001 S. Kirkwood Rd.

to5 6

SPOTLIGHT

98 percent

100100Number of

Lab employeesNumber of

Lab employees

3

JULY 2015

Visit SAMCare to see more responses.

Our winner:

How does your daily work touch other departments or units?

Faster, easier, better ways of finding the bacteria or virus causing fever and/or diarrhea are now being done by the microbiology laboratory at St. Anthony’s. This helps the doctor choose a more effective treatment for the patient earlier. With the help of the Pharmacy, we are now able to include a suggestion for the proper antibiotic to use when one of the “super bugs” is detected. This has helped St. Anthony’s Pharmacy to make sure that the right antibiotic is used, and this has saved us from using expensive antibiotics.

Maria Ali Khan Microbiology Supervisor

We communicate with Pathology during our biopsies. The ladies who come to assist us are always very respectful and helpful.Briana BuchholzSonographer, Ultrasound

I am a nurse in the Radiation Oncology department and we rely heavily on the St. Anthony’s Laboratory and Pathology Services. Frequently, we are waiting for a confirmation of a cancer diagnosis before we can begin treatment. If we call and inform them that we are waiting for a positive path before treatment, they will give us a result as soon as one is available, and a lot of times, the pathologist working the case will call our radiation oncologists directly. This helps make sure that the patients who need treatment get it quickly! Ashley Allen, R.N.Radiation Oncology

I appreciate the work that our Lab techs do on the night shift. They are some of the best phlebotomists that I have had the pleasure to work with and always call to ask when they can combine draws to save my patients discomfort. They are attentive to the needs of the patients as well. Plus, they are just great at getting their specimen in one stick and I know that my patients appreciate that!Jennifer Green, R.N.4 South

Just yesterday, I had a biopsy at SAMC and my doctor had a pathologist look at my core biopsies. Everyone involved was absolutely wonderful, so caring and gentle. I was very afraid, but they made the experience very relaxing.Cathy GreenwaldMedical Receptionist, St. Anthony’s Health Care Partners

At the Discharge Call Center, we collect patient perception that includes how much they love the staff. We send specific names to managers via our survey. We also refer patients to nominate nurses for the DAISY Award by providing phone numbers or explaining how to email the DAISY Award Team.Anita Rogers, L.P.N.Discharge Call Center

Every person impacts the lives of others in some way or another. The cleaning staff makes our hospital look great and keeps us healthy by taking care of the germs. The food preparers give us healthy choices which keep us healthy, and returning to work day after day. The Security department keeps an eye on things and protects us from harm. And let’s not forget the greeters, who are friendly and welcoming. The nurses, medical assistants, lab techs and doctors strive to deliver patient care and satisfaction. We are a team and work family. There is not just one department that is better than the other; we all play a part in the bettering of St. Anthony’s Medical Center.Athina Ott, R.M.A. (Registered Medical Assistant)St. Anthony’s Internal and Geriatric Medicine

Number of Laboratory

PATHOLOGISTS

FACES in the LAB

4

SPOTLIGHT

any around the medical center know Laboratory and Pathology Services as that mysterious place on the first floor that collects specimens and spits out results.

Indeed, the Lab performs 1.5 million tests per year from specimens obtained in the hospital and at eight different specimen collection and blood draw locations. Behind those impressive figures is a team of five medical doctors (pathologists) who examine slides and create reports and 100 specially trained employees in several departments: pathology, cytology, microbiology, molecular microbiology, chemistry, urinalysis, coagulation, hematology, specimen collection, and transfusion services (blood bank). It’s also home to an automated immunoassay and chemical testing platform known as “the track.” This flurry of activity requires the Lab to have its own call center for queries and test results and two Information Technology staffers to keep the instrument and other system interfaces up and running.

The Lab touches every patient.“Even outpatients who are scheduled to have surgery typically will

have preoperative lab tests to make sure that their clotting is in order,” said Ronna Lodato, M.D., pathologist for 19 years at St. Anthony’s and medical director of the Laboratory. “Our employees are very dedicated, and we have a lot of expertise, both on the technical side and on the pathology side.”

The “face” of the Lab for many is its front-end staff, phlebotomists who take to the hallways of the medical center each morning with their carts to draw blood and collect specimens as ordered by the patients’ doctors.

“They get to see and interact with the patient, and they’re extraordinarily good at it,” said Renee Rockwell, a Lab employee for 26 years and director for the last 15. “Our technical staff sees a tube, and to us, that tube is the patient. That patient’s life can be changed in a positive or negative way, based off of the result we turn out, and that’s an important mission for this Lab.”

• Halid Rahmanovic Technical Assistant, Preanalytics(Lab support tech)Age: 44 Years at St. Anthony’s: 8

Halid makes the rounds of the hospital to draw blood from patients, works in Central Processing, and spins and delivers specimens to the proper departments for analysis.

“We are very much a team here in the Lab and have a very good relationship. There is no ‘it’s not my job.’ We all try to help each other. I put in 110 percent, always.”

• Toni BoschertMedical Technologist IIAge: 62Years at St. Anthony’s: 40

Toni works in chemistry, urinalysis, coagulation and serology, and she prepares specimens for the reference lab. She previously served as technical director.

“It used to be that each lab tech would work in a given area. Now that we are working with fewer techs, we are all cross-training and learning more of the technical areas. I like knowing that indirectly I’m helping to save lives while working on the sidelines.”

Laboratory and Pathology Services

BEHIND THE SCENES:

FACES in the LAB

5

JULY 2015

Most of the Lab’s outpatient testing is done within eight hours from the time it’s collected to the time it’s resulted. The Lab is divided into preanalytics (collecting specimens) and analytics (processing and analyzing those specimens). Both are equally important.

“You have to be very careful about what you’re doing,” said Lab Support Tech Halid Rahmanovic. “You have to be very knowledgeable here, so that we do not make a mistake.”

Teamwork is key in the Lab. “Our team comes to work every day and puts the patient first,” Renee said.

“We’ve got a great group of folks who do a wonderful job and always want to do the right thing for the patient. And that includes the pathologists, too.”

• Shilah ParrishSupervisor, Histology/PathologyAge: 33 Years at St. Anthony’s: 2

Shilah supervises the processing of cassettes and preparation of slides for analysis containing tissue, biopsy or organ specimens, and immunohistochemistry tests (IHCs).

“We try to put ourselves in the patient’s place. You never know what it’s like to be a patient, unless you’re the patient, anxious and wanting your results right then and there. It’s my job to make sure the results get out as accurately and as fast as possible.”

• Theresa StephensTechnical Assistant, Offsite Patient Service CenterAge: 33 Years at St. Anthony’s: 5

Theresa divides her time between the outpatient service center and the Laboratory call center, registering patients, drawing blood, reviewing work orders, and fielding more than 100 phone calls per day.

“I like the aspect that the job is different every day, and we meet new people every day. We’re the middlemen between the doctor’s office and the diagnosis: without our work, illnesses and conditions could not be diagnosed properly.”

The Lab at St. Anthony’s:

• Has a Laboratory Utilization Team to help physicians order the right tests for the right reasons at the right time (from about 3,000 tests currently available).

• Earned the Missouri Team Quality Award from Missouri Quality Association, 2006

• Is fully accredited by the College of American Pathologists and inspected by The Joint Commission

• Includes five pathologists, each with specialties: Medical Director Ronna Lodato, M.D., surgical pathology; Emily Popovic, D.O. and Heather Wright, M.D., hematopathology; Veronica Zotos, M.D., microbiology; and Tara Evans, M.D., cytopathology.

Milestones and Markers

Becky Farmer, histology tech, tests tissue samples

6

SPOTLIGHT

An interview with

Chief Operating Officer,St. Anthony’s Physician Organization (SAPO)

In 2013, SAPO’s leadership was changed to include a new board of directors with a physician majority and a dyad structure of management, which pairs physician leaders with administrative personnel at every level of management. How did this leadership model influence your decision to join the St. Anthony’s team?I was fortunate in working, for many years, with a large multispecialty hospital and physician clinic in central Illinois in which a joint leadership model of governance was utilized. I think that experience and the opportunity to work with an organization that is physician-driven, that employs a solid leadership model, and is committed to excellence led me to St. Anthony’s.

How is this team approach by doctors and administrators improving management decisions within SAPO?The dyad leadership model that we employ shows accountability for clinical quality, service excellence and financial performance, which allows us to leverage our skills toward more effective problem-solving and implementation. Making the dyad model work requires trust; significant, regular communication, and true respect of the other partner. When this happens, no matter in what forum, when one person in the dyad speaks, everyone knows that he or she speaks for both. The decision-making process we employ is becoming part of our cultural fabric for the organization.In simple terms, each – whether physician or administrator – owns the overall performance of the enterprise under him or her. Neither is permitted to delegate accountability for common areas of responsibility or blame the partner for his or her lack of performance in this regard. The success of each is tied to the other. This common direction has allowed us to more effectively evaluate situations and develop opportunities for solutions.

Recently, SAPO began a five-year strategic plan designed to standardize best practices within the organization and lead SAPO to become a quality leader in the area. The strategies include recruiting and retaining quality physicians and support staff, improving methods and efficiencies in clinical quality and service excellence, and developing a patient-centered medical home model, or population health management. How are the recruitment efforts for doctors progressing?

Jim Snider joined St. Anthony’s

Physician Organization as Chief

Operating Officer in October

2014. A native of Mt. Vernon,

Ill., Jim earned his master’s

degree in health administration

from Western Illinois University.

His prior positions include

administrative director of

regional health for Carle

Foundation Hospital and vice

president of physician practice

management for Community

Health Systems.

Jim Snider

7

JULY 2015

Front row, from left: Megan (daughter), Jim, Lisa (wife), Callie (daughter)

Back row, from left: Eric (son-in-law), Scott (son), Brittney (daughter-in-law)

Our process of physician recruitment is a multi-faceted series of processes and procedures. It involves working with the SAMC Leadership Team; the SAPO Board of Directors; the SAPO Dyad Committee; and individual SAPO physicians to ascertain future physician needs and then strategizing with respect to how best to approach attracting the most qualified candidates for the current and anticipated vacancies. We feel very fortunate that we have had 23 new physicians join SAPO since July 2014, many with direct ties to the St. Louis community. St. Anthony’s Medical Center continues to be a very attractive location for new physicians.

SAPO is developing the Patient-Centered Medical Home model, or a system of care in which a primary care physician works with patients, families and other health care professionals to identify and access needed medical and nonmedical services. How is that effort coming along? John Stolze, our Patient Centered Medical Home director, is preparing us to be certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a patient centered medical home. We are working specifically with the staff and the doctors at St. Anthony’s at Telegraph Family Medicine and St. Anthony’s at Southfield Family Medicine to help develop the policies, procedures and workflows that will help us meet that standard.

What recent achievements at SAPO are you most proud of? Earlier this year, SAPO celebrated two milestones in its use of electronic medical records: certification by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of 52 physicians for Stage 2 of meaningful use of electronic health records, and certification of 22 SAPO practices as the first in the St. Louis area to achieve Stage 6 for ambulatory use of electronic medical records by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics.Three new primary care doctors are scheduled to join SAPO this summer, and a new office will open in Eureka in July. In addition to the existing providers who are moving to the third floor of our new St. Anthony’s at the Kirkwood Campus (Big Bend Boulevard and South Kirkwood Road) this summer, negotiations are underway with three more doctors and two nurse practitioners to move into that location.

Jim and his wife, Lisa, are in the process of selling their former home in Champaign, Ill., and are looking for a home in St. Louis. They have three children and two grandchildren. Jim is a big fan of Cardinals baseball and enjoys outdoor activities, travel and reading.

Spotlight is published quarterly by the Marketing Department of St. Anthony’s Medical Center.

Writer: Robbi Courtaway, ext. 4003 Photography: Christy Siebert, ext. 4934 Graphic design: Stephen Walker, ext. 4767

St. Anthony’s Medical Center 10010 Kennerly Road, St. Louis, MO

(Front parking lot at the corner of Tesson Ferry and Kennerly Road)

Activities will include a blessing from Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop of St. Louis; a short video showing the history of

St. Anthony’s; the burying of a time capsule containing 40 items that St. Anthony’s employees selected; and much more!

Cupcakes and beverages will be served.

On May 28, the East Central Region of the State of Missouri EMS Committee recognized the best of the area’s pre-hospital and hospital heroes at its fourth annual Exceptional Life Saver Awards luncheon and reception. The event honored 15 outstanding lifesaving actions from the East Central area, which takes in more than 100 fire departments and districts, hospitals and dispatch centers in the city of St. Louis and St. Louis, Jefferson, St. Charles, Lincoln, Franklin and Warren counties.

“It’s a whole afternoon of celebrating our emergency medical system and the people who make it happen in our region,” said Amy Brammer, B.S.N., R.N., Trauma Program Manager and an organizer of the event, for which St. Anthony’s served as a sponsor.

Five St. Anthony’s doctors and nurses who participated in two of the 15 saves, were honored.

Brett Arb: Back in rhythmLast summer, while playing soccer at Vetta Sports Concord, Brett Arb began feeling lightheaded and collapsed. A doctor on the field administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation while another bystander grabbed an automated external defibrillator that saved his life.

Paramedics rushed Brett to St. Anthony’s, where his heart-pumping function was measured at less than 20 percent. Brett received an internal cardiac defibrillator from Gregory Botteron, M.D. The 33-year-old carpenter is back to his regular life once again with his wife, Trina, and two young daughters.

Wayne Huff: A second chance In November, Dr. Allen diagnosed Wayne Huff with a 99 percent blockage of his left anterior descending artery (known as the widowmaker). Dr. Allen knew Wayne needed to be out of the hospital to care for his wife, Mary, who was undergoing breast cancer surgery at the time, so he fitted Wayne with a temporary wearable defibrillator, a device that patients wear under their clothes that monitors the heart continuously.

Nine days later, Wayne suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in his bathroom and collapsed to the floor. His heart spiked into a dangerous, deadly rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. Wayne’s wearable defibrillator detected the arrhythmia and delivered a treatment shock that restored his normal heart rhythm and saved his life. He was rushed by paramedics to St. Anthony’s, where Dr. Allen implanted a defibrillator for long-term protection. Today, Wayne is enjoying life with his wife, Mary, three children and five grandchildren.

S A V I N G L I V E S

St. Anthony’s staff honored

8

Congratulations to

cardiologist Christopher

Allen, M.D., David Miller,

R.N., and Corrine O’Brien,

M.D., for helping to save

the life of Brett Arb.

And congratulations to

Dr. Allen, Charity Huff,

R.N., and Damon Vincent,

M.D., for helping to save

the life of Wayne Huff.

Wayne Huff with his wife, Mary

From left: Kristine Kempf, EMT-P Mehlville Fire Protection; Michael Bingham,Central County Dispatch; David Miller, R.N., B.S.N.; Ferdinand “Fred” Coste; Christopher Allen, M.D.; Sara Dayley; Trina and Brett Arb