We want to hear from you!
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PEER SUPPORT
for the MMC Medical Staff
Physician leader: Christine Irish, MD
Confidential • One-on-One • Peer Support
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FEATURED ARTICLES
- Mini-Z Survey Results
- Managing ED Patient Flow
- The Good News About Bad News
Scroll down to read these and other new articles and more.
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Letter from Joel and Lisa
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The hot, humid dog days of August are now behind us. Cooler breezes are coming!
In this issue we bring you an array of articles ranging from clinical topics — decreasing C-sections, communicating bad news, managing ED patient flow — to updates on the MMC Master Facility Plan, Acute Stroke Order Sets, as well as a Government Relations legislative and policy update.
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"
The little things? The little moments? They aren't little.
."
-
Jon Kabat-Zinn
This month's quote submitted by George Dreher, MD.
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Promoting Vaginal Birth and Reducing Cesareans
By Maria Tkacz, MHA, Project Manager, Center for Performance Improvement, and Debra Sepulveda, MD, MMP Obstetrics and Gynecology
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The
Women’s Health FY18 Clinical Transformation Project
is focused on cesarean reduction and labor support for the population known as NTSV (Nulliparous Term Singleton Vertex). This group presents the most favorable set of conditions for vaginal birth — women with a full-term, single baby in the head-down position (vertex), but is also the group that has the most labor complications — women having a first birth (nulliparous).
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Managing ED Patient Flow and Reducing Boarding
By Samir Haydar, DO, Director of Emergency Department Quality; Nathan Mick, MD,
Associate Chair Emergency Medicine; Mike Baumann, MD, Chair of Emergency Medicine; and Isabel Savoie, Center for Performance Improvement
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While it is widely accepted that boarding (which occurs today in the ED, post-surgical units and is also experienced by transfers waiting to come in) is a hospital-wide problem, the Emergency and Urgent Care Service Line made the commitment in August 2018 to address boarding and crowding in the ED.
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The Good News About Bad News
By Mary Becker, MD, Palliative Care Medicine
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We all need to give bad news to patients and families sometimes. These are difficult and stressful conversations, and yet most of us have had little training in how to do these well. “Oh I am just not good at that,” you say? Not true! Communicating well with patients and families who are dealing with serious illness is a
skill
most of us can improve.
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Mini-Z Survey Results
By Christine L. Hein, MD, Associate Medical Director, Emergency Medicine; Director, Peer Support Program; Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine
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The objectives of the Mini-Z survey are:
- To help individuals reflect on their experiences with burnout
- To help monitor burnout across the institution
As you review the results, we would like to highlight a few considerations. Overall, 74 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction with “their current job,” while 15 percent were neutral and 11 percent strongly disagreed.
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Revelations of the Laboratory Medicine Clinician Survey
By Victoria Parker, DO, and Tim Hayes, MD, DVM
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Thank you to everyone who completed our Laboratory Medicine survey of inpatient clinicians. The response was strong (83 percent completion rate!), and it provided the Laboratory with valuable insights on how best to meet the needs of our clinician users. Below is our action plan. Several items are underway; others require further work.
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U.S. News & World Report Names MMC ‘Best Regional Hospital’ For Sixth Straight Year
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U.S. News
&
World Report
has named Maine Medical Center as a “Best Regional Hospital” for the sixth consecutive year and as the best hospital in Maine in 2018 - 2019. MMC also was recognized as “high performing” in the specialty of urology and in eight common procedures and conditions included in the annual survey of U.S. hospitals.
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Master Facilities Plan Update:
Construction, Parking and Backfill
B
y Al Green, Director, Systems Planning and Regulatory Compliance
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I’m excited to share an update on the largest modernization and replacement project in MMC’s history, a patient-focused initiative that will enable us to meet the most urgent health care needs well into the future. As you’ve heard, this project will result in more private patient rooms, state-of-the-art procedural spaces and improved parking for patients and our colleagues.
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MMC, MMP Launch OpenNotes Initiative Oct. 31
By
Joel Botler, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Maine Medical Center, and Rebecca Hemphill, MD, FACP, Medical Director for Clinical Informatics, Maine Medical Partners
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On Oct. 31, 2018, MMC and MMP will make available to patients electronic copies of provider notes written after an ambulatory medical visit via our MyChart patient portal. The initiative is called OpenNotes, and it is intended to improve communication between patients and their health care providers, enhance engagement and ultimately support better health outcomes.
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MaineHealth Government Relations Legislative and Policy Update, August 2018
By Katie Harris, SVP, Employer and Government Relations
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On August 23, the Maine Supreme Court ruled that the state must submit a State Plan Amendment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement Medicaid expansion; however it did not rule on how such a plan would be funded. Instead, it sent the case back to the lower court to address the matter of funding and other constitutional issues that have been brought forth.
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Interlibrary Loans Made Easy
By Heather Kemp, Medical Librarian, and Dina McKelvy, Director, MMC Library and Knowledge Services
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Learn the process and ease of ordering interlibrary loan material from the MMC Library, along with some behind-the-scenes information.
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ED Acute Stroke Order Sets
By
Deborah A. Gregoire RN, MSN, CPAN, CCRN-K, Stroke Program Manager
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The following additions will be made to the list of ED Acute Stroke order sets on or before September 10. The order set #1908 ED Acute Stroke will have Alteplase administration removed to prevent duplication. These orders were developed by our Neurology colleagues and will be available across MaineHealth.
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New Removable Storage Device Encryption Policy
By B
arb Armstrong, Senior Director, Privacy & Security, IT, MaineHealth
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In order to better secure confidential patient and employee data and reduce MaineHealth system’s risk of a security incident, starting September 12, we will begin a four-week roll out of removable storage device encryption to all sites.
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Consultation Request Guidelines
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This document establishes guiding principles for the request of consultation in the acute medical care setting of Maine Medical Center. The intent is to achieve an effective practice to facilitate communication between the requesting physician and consulting physician, enhance medical decision making and improve patient outcomes.
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September Is Women in Medicine Month
September is the American Medical Association’s Women in Medicine Month, which showcases the accomplishments of women physicians, as well as highlighting advocacy related to women physicians and health issues that impact women patients.
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Free Symposium: Storytelling and the Healing Arts
Thursday, September 13
8:15 a.m. - 7 p.m.
UNE Biddeford Campus
This event will explore many stories of healing, from personal to professional to collective, using approaches from the arts, humanities, and health professions. It will encourage interdisciplinary conversation and offer insight into the various ways we use storytelling to heal, educate, and support professional growth.
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Brown Bag Series for Med Staff, Residents and Fellows
The Brown Bag series is on hiatus for September
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Publications, Achievements and Recognition
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Legislative Assistant Visits Virology Treatment Center
In order to gain a better understanding of the effectiveness and importance of infectious disease/HIV funding and programs at work, Evan Johnston, Senior Legislative Assistant at the U.S. House of Representatives was invited to visit the VTC in August.
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Faculty Appointments and Promotions
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Events and Important Dates
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Medical Staff Dinners
Wednesday, October 17
5:30 p.m.
Dana Auditorium
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Southern Maine Harm Reduction Conference
Friday, October 26
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Innovation Hall, UNE, Portland
Join the University of New England, the Collaborative SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) Training Grant, and the City of Portland’s Public Health Division for a series of workshops about ideas and strategies aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with substance use and other high-risk behaviors.
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Medical Volunteers Needed for the Maine Marathon
Sunday, September 30
6 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Portland
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We Want Your Article Submissions
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Your participation is essential to making The Scope a dynamic and sustainable publication. Please submit articles of 250-300 words to
thescope@mmc.org
. Include practitioner’s byline with title, credentials and appropriate contact for further information.
We publish on the first Wednesday of each month, all submissions are due one week prior to publication.
Learn more.
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Medical Staff Value, Mission and Vision Statements
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Value Statement
The Medical Staff of Maine Medical Center values both individuality and collaboration. We will continually pursue higher value health care. We embrace a culture of curiosity and life-long learning. We are partners with Maine Medical Center, and we mirror its values of compassion, service, integrity, respect, and stewardship.
Mission Statement
The Mission of the Medical Staff of Maine Medical Center is to provide affordable, high-quality health care to our community. We teach future health care providers and develop innovative ways to improve the health of our community. In partnership with the Medical Center, we proudly accept our responsibility as one of Maine’s leaders in patient care, education, and research.
Vision Statement
The Medical Staff of Maine Medical Center will be the driving force within Maine Medical Center leading the way to making Maine the healthiest state in the nation.
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