The Wright Stuff - Sept. 9
Dear WVU Medicine colleagues,
Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a great week. Tomorrow, WVU’s legendary basketball coach Bob Huggins will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. This is a long-overdue but much-deserved honor for Coach Huggins. He’s not only a great ambassador for college basketball, WVU, and the state of West Virginia, he’s also a passionate champion for our Cancer Institute, and has raised awareness and millions of dollars for cancer care for West Virginians through the Norma Rae Huggins Cancer Endowment Fund. (In fact, he raised over $230,000 just last month for the Cancer Institute at a fundraising dinner in the Beckley area!)
I’m thrilled, as I’m sure you are, that Coach Huggins is receiving this recognition, and I’m counting the days – just 59 of them – until the WVU basketball season starts! Congratulations Coach Huggins!
Sunday is Grandparents Day, so here’s a big shout out to all you grandparents out there!
An interesting fact about Grandparents Day – just as Mother’s Day, Grandparents Day can trace its roots to West Virginia!
A West Virginian named Marian McQuade is the founder of National Grandparents Day. Her advocacy efforts ultimately led to the creation of Grandparents Day as an annual observance here in West Virginia in 1973. She then shifted her focus to the United States Congress, which ultimately passed a resolution in 1977 recognizing Grandparents Day as a national holiday. President Jimmy Carter later proclaimed it a national holiday in 1978.
It turns out that Marian McQuade is the grandmother of two of our team members: Morgan Petitte, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, is a pharmacy specialist in the Allied Health Solutions Specialty Pharmacy; and Lailah Rice, PA-C is a physician assistant in the cardiology department at Thomas Health System. (Lailah is also the chair of the National Grandparents Day Board of Directors. ) 😊
So, Grandparents Day has an extra meaning to these two ladies, and I’m sure it’s a special day for many of you as well! Happy Grandparents Day!
Marian McQuade poses with two of her granddaughters, Tiny Morgan (on the left) and Lailah (on the right). Morgan and Lailah are both WVU Medicine team members!
As always, thank you for your great work and everything you do for our patients! If you’re not working this weekend, be sure to take time to recharge!
IN OTHER NEWS
​​Caring for Yourself and Others
This is National Suicide Prevention Week, and September is also National Suicide Prevention Month. It seems that more and more as a society we’re identifying and recognizing the importance of mental health and realizing, that although someone’s life may seem perfect or trouble-free, they may still be suffering. It’s crucial to continue to raise awareness about the seriousness and scope of mental illness, which includes suicidal and self-harm ideation. Support is always the key and understanding and research are the path toward improving this issue. For those of you who have been touched by the suicide of a friend or family member, I sympathize with you. And for those who suffer from with depression or other mental health issues, know that WVU Medicine has many support resources as well as clinical options for you. Please count on your colleagues and friends to help you. We all want you to succeed and be with us a long time!
WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute Featured in National Magazine
Congratulations to the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute for being featured in Harper’s Magazine, the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States!
"On a bright summer day in July 2021, James Fisher rested nervously, with a newly shaved head, in a hospital bed surrounded by blinding white lights and surgeons shuffling about in blue scrubs. He was being prepped for an experimental brain surgery at West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, a hulking research facility that overlooks the rolling peaks and cliffs of coal country around Morgantown."
Find the full article here: https://bit.ly/3AuuT8d
WVU Medicine Children’s NICU Team Getting Ready for Opening Day
Clinical team members from WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital are working hard to prepare for the Hospital’s grand opening on September 29.
On Wednesday, Carla Spangler (right), a neonatal nurse specialist with WVU Medicine Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and Melissa Leadbeater (left), a clinical associate with the NICU team, were busy packing bedside carts in the new NICU. The carts will provide everything team members need as they care for their tiny patients. Carla and Melissa have made great headway in packing the carts – they’ve already completed 33 of them and have just 17 to go!
With 50 beds, the new NICU will continue to carry the designation of Level IV, the highest level of neonatal care. The unit, which cares for the most medically fragile and critically ill babies, received its Level IV designation last year; was the first to receive such a designation in West Virginia; and remains the state’s only Level IV NICU.
Memorial Program at Princeton Community Hospital Awards 22 Scholarships
The Princeton Community Hospital Foundation has awarded 22 local students a total of $30,750 in scholarships during the 2022-23 academic year through its J. D. Muldoon, MD, Memorial Scholarship Program.
The program was established by friends, family, and associates of Dr. Muldoon after his untimely death in 1998. He was a respected member of the Princeton Community Hospital medical staff from 1983 to 1998. The memorial scholarship fund was created specifically for PCH employees, their family members, and non-traditional students who wish to pursue careers in healthcare.
Recipients this year cover a variety of medical fields including nursing, laboratory, physical therapy, medical imaging, and pharmacy.
In the top photo are J. D. Muldoon Scholarship Program committee members from left, PCH Foundation Chairman Dr. Gopal Pardasani, Committee Chair Elizabeth Muldoon, PCH Foundation Director Crystal Mabe, Stacy Smith, and Dr. Gordon Prescott.
In the bottom photo, Gordon Prescott, MD, left, a cardiologist, and Gopal Pardasani, MD, a pathologist, joined Princeton Community Hospital on the same day in July 1974. They have remained close friends and colleagues over the past 48 years. Both men worked closely with Dr. Muldoon and have served as scholarship committee members for many years. Drs. Prescott and Pardasani are semiretired but continue to work several days each week.
Dr. Jessica Hott Receives Immunization Champion Award Winner for 2022
Congratulations to Jessica Hott, DO, FACOG for having been recognized as an American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 2022 Immunization Champion Award Winner! This award was announced during August’s National Immunization Awareness Month and recognizes Dr. Hott’s passion for providing the highest level of care for the obstetric population, including helping her patients have the best understanding of the facts, which can help them make a confident and informed decision to choose vaccination.
ACO West Virginia Earns High Quality Marks, Saves Medicare Money
ACO West Virginia, an affiliate of WVU Medicine and the largest accountable care organization (ACO) in West Virginia, improved care for nearly 40,000 Medicare beneficiaries in West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and according to recently released performance data from the federal agency that administers the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), ACO West Virginia saved Medicare $14.8 million by meeting quality and cost goals in 2021.
A market-based solution to fragmented and costly care, ACOs empower local physicians, hospitals, and other providers to work together and take responsibility for improving quality, enhancing patient experience, and keeping care affordable. The MSSP creates incentives for ACOs to invest in transform care by allowing them to share in the savings they generate after meeting defined quality and cost goals.
ACO West Virginia’s achievements resulted in a shared savings payment of $7.2 million, the largest shared savings payment ever achieved by a West Virginia headquartered ACO.
Medicare data shows that ACO West Virginia also earned a quality score of 88.66 percent on performance measures ranging from preventive health checks to use of computerized health records to prevention of avoidable hospitalizations.
In 2021, 475 ACOs caring for more than 11 million beneficiaries nationally participated in the MSSP, generating gross savings of $3.62 billion based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services methodology for setting financial benchmarks. After accounting for shared savings earned by ACOs in 2021, estimated net Medicare savings were $1.66 billion.
Congratulations on to the ACO WV Virginia team and its leadership - Ben Gerber, ACO executive for ACO West Virginia, president and CEO of Peak Health, and chief strategy officer for the West Virginia University Health System; and Kevin Halbritter, MD, chief operating officer and medical director of ACO West Virginia – for this achievement!
WVU Medicine Camden Clark’s Transport Team Awards “Weldon the Bear” Recognition to 3 North
Congratulations to the team on WVU Medicine Camden Clark’s 3 North unit for being selected as the August 'Weldon the Bear' award winner for a job well done! 3 North, which specializes in cardiac telemetry, was nominated by the Transport Team for always being a team player and going out of their way to help with patients.
Transport writes in their nomination, “There is always someone waiting to assist with anything, and everyone is always friendly. We enjoy that they always address us by name and are so caring. Thank you, 3 North for making us feel valued and appreciated!”
Well done, 3 North!
Barnesville Hospital, Reynolds Memorial Hospital, and Wheeling Hospital Participate in Belmont County, Ohio Fair
Team members from Barnesville Hospital, Reynolds Memorial Hospital, and Wheeling Hospital took turns manning a booth at the Belmont County Fair, which kicked-off this week and continues through Sunday. An annual tradition and event that dates to 1849, the fair attracts thousands of people from the area. The three hospitals also worked as one and sponsored several shows at the fair. Always good to see the WVU Medicine brand, especially in Ohio! 😊
Represent! United Hospital Center and Jackson General Hospital In the Community!
WVU Medicine representatives were featured at a couple of community events recently.
In the photos at the top are providers who served as Parade Marshalls at the 2022 Italian Heritage Festival in Clarksburg. At left are Jamie Rudash, BSN, RN, CLC, patient educator of Maternal Child at UHC; Matthew J. Honaker, MD, WVU obstetrics and gynecology at UHC; and Misty Harlow, RN, nurse manager of obstetrics at UHC. At right is Brian C. Policano, MD, Pediatrician at Pediatric Associates.
In the bottom photo, Jackson General Hospital had a table at the recent Community Baby Shower in Ravenswood. Jackson General was one of the sponsors of the event, which is organized by the Jackson County Family Resource Network.
CAPE Program Deadline Extended to September 30
We’ve extended the Clinical Advancement for Professional Excellence (CAPE) program deadline to September 30, 2022, for hospital-based direct care RNs in eligible job codes.
(This program does not apply to Barnesville Hospital, Harrison Community Hospital, Uniontown Hospital, or Wheeling Hospital.)
Below are instructions for those nurses who need to complete their five annual competencies and for those nurses who want to apply to a higher CAPE level.
Nurses who were approved in January 2022
If you applied for a level 3, 4 or 5 nursing position during the July 2021 through September 2021 application process and were approved for that new level in January 2022, you will need to submit your five annual competencies by September 30, 2022, to maintain your current CAPE level.
- Log into HROneSource and click on the CAPE icon
- Click on Submit CAPE Application link, then Annual Progress
- Complete and submit five competencies in HROneSource to maintain this level.
Nurses who were directly hired into a level 3, 4 or 5 position
If you hired into a level 3, 4 or 5 nursing position between January 2022 and June 2022 you will need to submit your five annual competencies by September 30, 2022, to maintain your current CAPE level.
- Log into HROneSource and click on the CAPE icon
- Click on Submit CAPE Application link, then Annual Progress
- Complete and submit five competencies in HROneSource to maintain this level.
For both groups above, if you do not complete your five annual competencies by September 30, you will no longer be eligible to remain at your current level and will revert to a level 2.
Nurses who want to apply for a level 3, 4 or 5 position
All eligible hospital-based direct care registered nurses who are interested in applying for the next level, should log into HROneSource and click on the CAPE icon.
- Click on Submit CAPE Application link, then Application
- Upload the appropriate documents into UltiPro
- Please complete the application for your current level to demonstrate that you have met all competencies to advance to the next level.
All approved CAPE job titles and rate changes from this application period will be effective mid-January 2023.
All competencies, applications and documentation must be submitted by the extended deadline of September 30, 2022.
If you have any additional questions, please contact HROneSource at 833-599-2100 or submit an HR Service Request online at HROneSource.org.
Grand Rounds for the Week of September 12
To receive free CME credit:
- Please ensure your full name is on your Zoom login so that you can easily be identified.
- If you have not participated and received credit for Grand Rounds via Zoom, please complete the Credit Request Form located in the chat box during the Zoom lecture. You will only need to complete this form one time. This ensures that appropriate information is on file to match your login name and that the correct person is receiving credit.
To view previously recorded Grand Rounds, visit the archive.
Also, mark your calendar for the Appalachian Addiction and Prescription Drug Abuse Conference set for Sept. 22-24. Learn more.
A FINAL THOUGHT…
