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September 2006 Newsletter
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Health Tip
To keep your bones strong, eat plenty of high-calcium foods. Drink skim or low-fat milk and eat non-fat or low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, broccoli, kale, and turnip and mustard greens. Daily Bread
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7 |
On this page:
  Local Educators Gathered With Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City Leaders To Discuss Ways To Expose Students To Health Care Careers Local educators gathered with Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City leaders to discuss ways to expose students to health care careers through opportunities such as the hospital’s Nurse Camp. The group also discussed ways to work together to educate students and their families about leading healthier lifestyles. Participants were: (first row, left to right) Pam Burrow, guidance counselor at South Fulton Middle and High schools; Cindi Thompson, Health Occupations Students of America advisor at Obion County Central High School; Michelle Johnston, school nurse and health science educator at Obion County Central High School; Becky Caldwell, dietitian at Baptist Union City; and Lorraine Gossett, wellness director at Baptist Union City. (Second row, left to right) Pam Wilson, school nurse at Black Oak Elementary School; Kay Cooper, guidance counselor at Obion County Central High School; Josephine Keightley, guidance counselor at Lake Road Elementary School; and Sheila Turner, school nurse at Hillcrest Elementary School. (Back row, left to right) Nick Parker, guidance counselor at Obion County Central High School; James Caldwell, chief nursing officer at Baptist Union City; Bill Wilder, vocational director at the Career Technology Center; Martha Townes, guidance counselor at Union City Middle School; Winnie Logan, guidance counselor at Union City High School; Ron Green with Northwest Tennessee Boys & Girls Clubs; Keith Frazier, principal at South Fulton Middle and High schools; Dan Boykin, principal at Union City Middle School; Don Hutson, administrator and CEO at Baptist Union City; and Skipper Bondurant, assistant administrator at Baptist Union City. Gary Houston, superintendent of Union City Schools, participated but is not pictured. 
Pati Salmon, far left, senior vice president, VHA and Stuart Baker, far right, chief operating officer, VHA, present the VHA Leadership Award to Teresa Vinson, director of review services, Baptist Union City, and Tammy Albright, nurse manager, Baptist Union City. Baptist Union City Receives VHA Leadership Award Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City recently received VHA Inc.’s 2006 Leadership Award for clinical excellence in cardiac care. Baptist Union City is one of 86 VHA member hospitals nationwide to receive the award, which honors organizations that have performed at the 90 percent level or higher on national clinical care measures. “Baptist Union City is dedicated to providing high-quality cardiac care to our patients,” said Don Hutson, administrator and CEO of Baptist Union City. “We are proud of the work our clinical staff and physicians do here every day, and this award validates their dedication and quality.” The award was presented to Teresa Vinson, director of review services, and Tammy Albright, nurse manager, at VHA’s Leadership Conference in St. Louis on May 21. VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national alliance that provides industry-leading supply chain management services and supports the formation of regional and national networks to help members improve their clinical and economic performance. With 18 offices across the United States, VHA has a track record of proven results in serving more than 2,400 health care organizations nationwide. Baptist Union City Installs New MRI Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City recently installed the Open Bore, 1.5 Tesla, magnetic resonance imaging system that combines a larger bore, or opening, for obese and claustrophobic patients with the ability to capture high-quality diagnostic images. “This new MRI enhances patient convenience and comfort,” said Robin Simpson, director of outpatient services for Baptist Union City. “The patient-friendly design makes it easier for larger patients and those with claustrophobia to have a MRI examination that produces high-quality images, reducing the need to repeat the exam.” Two-thirds of American adults are considered overweight, and the health care industry is challenged to accommodate these larger patients with imaging systems that were designed for people who weigh much less. In many cases, patients too large to fit inside the bore of a high-field MRI magnet have image studies done in open MRI systems with low-field magnets, limiting the diagnostic usefulness of the images obtained. The field strength of a magnet is measured in units of Tesla — the higher the number, the higher the field strength. The higher the field strength, the better the quality of images produced. “All patients deserve the same access to innovative medical imaging technology used for visualization, diagnosis and treatment planning for cancer, diabetes, heart and vascular disorders and other diseases associated with obesity,” said Don Hutson, administrator and CEO at Baptist Union City. “This new MRI will allow us to offer that to all our patients.” Claustrophobic patients present another challenge for MRI systems. If an MRI’s opening is not large enough, they may have to be sedated, adding to their inconvenience and the time it takes to schedule and perform an exam. The Siemens Medical Solutions MAGNETOM Espree features a bore opening that measures nearly 2.3 feet in diameter and has almost one foot of free space between a patient’s head and the magnet. The Espree also features the shortest 1.5 Tesla magnet available. Approximately four feet long, the magnet allows more than 60 percent of exams to be completed with the patient’s head outside the bore, helping to ease claustrophobia. Additional outpatient services at Baptist Union City include CT angiography, mammography, stereotactic biopsies, ultrasound, X-ray, nuclear medicine, coronary calcium scoring, heart catheterization, peripheral arteriogram and peripheral angioplasty/stent procedures. Baptist Union City Participates in 100,000 Lives Campaign In June 2006, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement , description of IHI, observed the 18-month milestone of its “100,000 Lives’ campaign. The campaign is a national initiative designed to save lives by using proven clinical practices and methods that research has shown significantly reduces surgical complications and enhances quality care. More than 3,000 hospitals nationwide, including Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City, pledged to participate in the campaign. During the campaign’s first 18 months, an estimated 122,300 lives were saved. As part of the campaign, Baptist Union City implemented the following initiatives:
“Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City wanted to participate in the ‘100,000 Lives’ campaign because it is important to our physicians and staff to continue to look for ways to enhance the quality of our care,” said Don Hutson, Baptist Union City’s administrator and CEO. Baptist Union City Offers Hospitalist Program Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City now offers a hospitalist program as a service to patients to enhance the quality of patient care. Two physicians, Dr. Gerald Stipanuk and Dr. Ayodele Olusanya, staff the program and are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to admit and treat patients. These physicians treat patients throughout the duration of their stay at the hospital and work with the patients’ primary physicians to coordinate care. “Baptist Union City is committed to providing its patients with high-quality, compassionate care, and this program allows us to continue to meet patient needs,” said Donald Hutson, administrator CEO of Baptist Union City. “Patients encounter the best of both worlds – being treated by an internal medicine physician while their primary care physicians continue to visit them in the hospital.” Goals of the program include greater convenience for patients, enhanced interaction with physicians and more timely care. Patients and family members are encouraged to let the hospitalists know about their personal preferences and ask questions about the course of care. “With this program, patients can receive more specialized care because they see the hospitalists throughout their time in the hospital,” Hutson said. “This allows the doctors to make decisions about patient care more quickly as situations arise or as a patient’s condition changes.” According to Hutson, shorter length of stay is another goal of the program because it can save patients money. A 2004 study by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Iowa City Health Care System and the University of Iowa has shown that patients treated by hospitalists have shorter hospital stays and spend less money on treatment compared with patients treated by nonhospitalist physicians. The hospitalists are part of Baptist Union City’s health care team and work with other physicians, nurses and other health care staff to coordinate inpatient care. After patients are released, the hospitalists provide the patients’ primary care physicians with a report of their hospital stay and a plan for their care after they go home. Patients will then return to their primary care physicians for follow-up care. “The hospitalist program is an asset for Baptist Union City’s patients,” said Dr. Robert Paul Hill, a member of the active medical staff at Baptist Union City. “Hospitalists can assess a patient’s progress in the hospital several times a day when needed and are uniquely positioned to provide high-quality, efficient care.”  Top of Page |
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