Admin

Cleveland, June 12, 2017 ―  St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.

These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. They focus on appropriate use of guideline-based care for stroke patients, including aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

“A stroke patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute stroke treatment is delayed. This recognition further demonstrates our commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely,” said Dr. David F. Perse, President and CEO of St. Vincent Charity.

“St. Vincent Charity continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients. The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke further reinforces our team’s hard work.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

CLEVELAND, OHIO, April 12, 2017 – The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization committed to driving quality, safety, and transparency in the U.S. health care system, today released new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide.  St. Vincent Charity Medical Center was one of 823 hospitals to receive an “A” for its commitment to reducing errors, infections, and accidents that can harm patients.

“Patient safety is at the forefront of our work every single day,” said Dr. David F. Perse, president and CEO. “That’s why we choose to participate in efforts such as the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. We are certainly proud of our achievements and are pleased to receive our second consecutive A grade. However, we remain vigilant in all our patient safety efforts.”

“Hospitals that earn top marks nationally in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, ‘have achieved  the highest safety standards in the country,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “That takes commitment from every member of the hospital staff, who all deserve thanks and congratulations when their hospitals achieve an ‘A’ Safety Grade.”

Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

To see St. Vincent Charity’s full grade, and to access consumer-friendly patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org or follow the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

About St. Vincent Charity Medical Center

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is Cleveland’s faith-based, high-quality healthcare provider. Our distinguished doctors and caregivers are devoted to treating every patient with clinical excellence and compassionate care. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s expertise focuses on addiction and behavioral health, the Center for Bariatric Surgery and the Spine and Orthopedic Institute. Owned by the Sisters of Charity Health System, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center provides Care Beyond Medicine. For more information, visit www.stvincentcharity.com.

Cleveland (April 7, 2017) United Way of Greater Cleveland received a $4.51 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish the CMS Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model. Four clinical sites will adopt the model designed to connect patients with health-related resources – Cleveland Clinic for primary care and emergency health service, MetroHealth for primary care, emergency health and labor and delivery service, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center for behavioral health service and Care Alliance Health Center for primary care. United Way is one of only two organizations selected in the state of Ohio and one of 32 selected nationally.

“Currently, there’s a disconnect between healthcare and social services,” said United Way President and CEO August Napoli. “Creating an AHC in Greater Cleveland will allow our health system to build a bridge and holistically assess a patient’s wellbeing and refer them to proper health care and social service agencies to address basic needs such as housing instability and food insecurity.”

An AHC is a CMS model to address the health-related social needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries through assessment, referral and community navigation services, leading to improved care delivery, enhanced quality of care, reduction of the total cost of care and inpatient and outpatient health care utilization.

“In this model, we will support community-based innovation to deliver local solutions that address a broader array of health-related needs of people across the country,” said CMS Deputy Administrator for Innovation & Quality Dr. Patrick Conway. “As a practicing pediatrician, I know the power of a model like this to help address the health and social support needs of beneficiaries and their families and caregivers.”

Over a five-year period, the $4.51 million grant will be used to embed United Way 2-1-1 community resource navigation specialists into seven Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Care Alliance Health Center sites. The grant will create and support community partnerships for technology, workflow design, evaluation and planning. Additional dollars will be utilized for necessary equipment and supplies.  

Cleveland with a poverty rate of 36 percent, East Cleveland at 42 percent and Warrensville Heights at 19 percent have 209,000 residents who are Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries; these cities were selected as the AHC service areas.

Patients receiving health care at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital; MetroHealth’s Main Campus, Broadway Health Center, Brooklyn Health Center and Thomas F. McCafferty Health Center; St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Care Alliance Health Center’s Central Neighborhood Clinic will be screened for health-related social and basic needs such as housing instability and quality, food insecurity, utility needs, violence and transportation barriers. The screening will be followed by a community resource assessment and referral from United Way 2-1-1 community resource navigation specialists.   

“United Way 2-1-1 is a free and confidential 24/7 help center with a robust database with more than 4,000 organizations, providing nearly 25,000 local services in our area,” said United Way 2-1-1 Director Diane Gatto. “Our specialists will create a customized plan to address patients’ health-related social needs and then follow up to ensure the patient is able to implement the plan.”  

The AHC grant allows for United Way to organize an advisory committee comprised of partners, including clinical sites Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Care Alliance Health Center, along with Better Health Partnership, CareSource, Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Reducing Health Disparities and Center on Urban Poverty, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Hyland, Creator of OnBase and Ohio Department of Medicaid.

The grant also allows for a one-year planning and training period to finalize the intervention, organize and structure the advisory committee as well as hire and train staff. Starting in May 2018 through May 2020, the AHC will aim to serve 75,000 or more Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries per year.

  ###

United Way of Greater Cleveland is committed to addressing the effects of poverty throughout our community. Through the work of our 128 funded programs and the generosity of our community, United Way strives to ensure families and individuals are healthy and financially stable; our children are well educated and on the road to reaching their greatest potential and even those carrying tremendous burdens are safe and provided with resources to become self sufficient. For more information, visit www.UnitedWayCleveland.org.

Cleveland, Ohio (March 9, 2017) – St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has received a $200,000 grant from the William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Foundation to support a new community outreach program aimed at helping adolescents in the Central neighborhood—the Resilient Youth Project.

With 82% of children in Central living in poverty and only 32% of residents graduating high school, Central youth fight huge barriers to stay on course toward high school graduation and a better future. They are vulnerable to problems with employment, health, safety, neglect, and self-esteem.

The Resilient Youth Project will enroll 20 youth ages 13-15 years from the neighborhood in work and activities designed to teach both life and job skills, as well as promote education and community impact, all while earning a small stipend. A dedicated employee from St. Vincent Charity will oversee the Resilient Youth Project. Working with the Central Recreation Center and St. Philip’s Christian Church, the program’s Outreach Specialist will create supervised, concrete identity and self-image building projects. Additionally, the funds will help to develop adult-supervised projects that promote job readiness and self-sufficiency. Teenagers in the Resilient Youth Project will participate in multiple enrichment activities on a monthly basis such as field trips to explore future job opportunities and mentorship/leadership programs.

“I’ve worked with the kids in the Central neighborhood for many years and the Resilient Youth Project is going to be extremely beneficial to those who participate,” said Bill Myers, Manager of Cleveland’s Central Recreation Center. “The activities and opportunities they are going to be involved with are going to help prepare them for high school and beyond.”

An estimated 40% of health outcomes are determined not by genetics or lifestyle, but by powerful social and economic factors such as education, employment, safety, and family stability. The objective of this program is to help create an environment that supports good physical and mental health and social and economic well-being, keys to resilience in dealing with the major stressors of poverty.

With an overarching goal of improved community health, the Resilient Youth Project will enhance the health of the local community by:

• providing a safe location for youth to spend substantial amounts of time engaged in constructive activities with like-minded peers
• providing multiple supportive adult relationships to help youth form healthy bonds with consistent positive role models
• providing stipend income to promote the dignity and value of work, increase job-readiness, and teach financial literacy
• engaging families in intentional activities focused on strengthening relationships

“For many years, St. Vincent’s Outreach Department has worked with the Central Recreation Center and other neighborhood organizations that are committed to strengthening the bonds of the families of the Central neighborhood,” said David F. Perse, MD, president and CEO.  “We are excited to further develop that relationship and create a lasting impact on the children in our neighborhood through the Resilient Youth Project.”

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center announced today that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® for Chest Pain Certification. The Gold Seal of Approval^® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. 

St. Vincent Charity underwent a rigorous on-site review in October 2016. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with national disease-specific care standards as well as with Chest Pain-specific requirements. Clinical practice guidelines and performance measures also were assessed. 

Established in 2002 and awarded for a two-year period, The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification evaluates clinical programs across the continuum of care and addresses three core areas:

• Compliance with consensus-based national standards;
• Effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care; and
• An organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities.

"St. Vincent Charity has thoroughly demonstrated a high level of care for patients with Chest Pain,” said Patrick Phelan, interim executive director, Hospital Business Development, The Joint Commission. “We commend St. Vincent Charity for becoming a leader in Chest Pain care, potentially providing a higher standard of service for patients in its community.”

"St. Vincent Charity is pleased to receive Chest Pain Certification from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” added David F. Perse, MD, President & CEO of St. Vincent Charity. “The certification provides us with the framework to create a culture of excellence for those in our community.”  

Cleveland, OH – (January 19, 2017)—St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, Cleveland’s downtown hospital, has expanded its board of directors and elected new board leadership beginning January 1, 2017.

Robert W. Varley has been elected as Board Chair by the governing committee. He assumes the leadership position held for more than 10 years by Melvin G. Pye, Jr. Varley, retired earlier this year as Managing Director, State and Local Affairs at Dominion Resources Services, Inc. A member of St. Vincent Charity’s board since 2010, he also serves on the board of Cuyahoga County Public Library and The Leadership Center.

“I believe there is a place for Catholic health care in our city,” said Varley. He sees opportunities for St. Vincent Charity to lead not only in addressing the opiate crisis, but also in meeting the needs of the downtown community through its expanding relationship with Cleveland State University.

Board leadership also includes, Mary Lou Stricklin as Vice Chair; Jeff Weaver, Executive Vice President & Group Head of Credit Portfolio Management at KeyBank as Treasurer; and Brent Buckley, of Buckley King as Secretary.

Others joining the St. Vincent Charity Board of Directors are:

        John Bastulli, MD                                           St. Vincent Charity Medical Center

            Alex Diaz                                                           Eaton Corp.

            Mike Frantz                                                      Frantz Ward LLP

            Jim Kavalec                                                      Bernstein Global Wealth Management

            Tim Panzica                                                      IQ Advisors, LLC

            Rosemary Sweeney                                          Buckley King

            Margaret Wong                                               Margaret W. Wong & Associates Co. LPA

 “We are grateful for the many years of service that Mel Pye has given to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center,” said Dr. David F. Perse, president and CEO of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, about the outgoing chair. “I’m confident that Bob’s leadership and the fresh perspectives of new members will add tremendous value to our efforts and I look forward to working with them.”

CLEVELAND, OH—(December 29, 2016)—St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s commitment to the community it serves is sharpened through its deepened understanding of the breadth and type of health needs present in the community. The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) serves as a quantitative and qualitative tool to identify the greatest health needs within our community and where the hospital can have the greatest impact.The full report is available here.

The 2016 CHNA was completed by The Center for Health Affairs working with St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and adopted by the St. Vincent Charity Medical Center Board of Directors on December 7, 2016.

The 2016 St. Vincent Charity Medical Center CHNA will serve as a foundation for developing an implementation strategy to address those needs that (a) the hospital determines it is able to meet in whole or in part; (b) are otherwise part of its mission; and (c) are not met (or are not adequately met) by other programs and services in the hospital’s market area. 

This assessment considered multiple data sources, some primary (survey of market area residents, hospital discharge data) and some secondary (regarding demographics, health status indicators, and measures of health care access).

The report provides the following information:

• ·         A demographic profile of the hospital’s primary and secondary market areas;
• ·         Description of the economic status of the population, as a whole, within the hospital’s primary and second market areas (e.g.  poverty, unemployment);
• ·         Community issues which are either related to health and/or access to health care;
• ·         Health status indicators (e.g. morbidity rates for various diseases and conditions, and mortality rates for leading causes of death);
• ·         Health access indicators (e.g. uninsured rates, ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) discharges, and use of emergency departments);
• ·         An outline of the types of health issues related to hospitalization, both in St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and in other area hospitals;
• ·         Availability of community-based health care facilities and resources.

After a thorough analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center through its Community Benefit Steering Committee identified the following health needs that impact the community served by the hospital as its priorities for the 2017-2019 period. These include:

·         Access to mental health and addiction services

·         Obesity and food insecurity

·         Quality of care focusing on culturally appropriate care, health literacy and access

Work has begun on a three-year strategic implementation plan that will be presented to the St. Vincent Charity Board of Directors for approval in April 2017.

For more information about community benefit, the Community Health Needs Assessment or the CHNA Strategic Implementation Plan, please contact Wendy Hoke, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at wendy.hoke@stvincentcharity.com. 

Does a loved one use heroin, pain pills, marijuana, alcohol or other drugs? If so, there is help and there is hope. If you are concerned, plan to attend our FREE educational sessions held the second and fourth Saturday of the month, beginning January 14, 2017.

Addiction is a brain disease that can be treated. Our educational sessions, held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Rosary Hall, located on the second floor of the West Administration Building on the St. Vincent Charity campus, will help families better understand addiction.

Complimentary parking is available. Lunch is NOT included, but is available in the hospital cafeteria.

Registration is required. Please call Joyce Pleasant at 216-363-2609 or 216-363-2580 ext. 4 to register. You can also email joyce.pleasant@stvincentcharity.com.

CLEVELAND, OHIO, October 31, 2016 – New Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide and provide the most complete picture of patient safety in the U.S., were announced today by The Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center was one of 844 hospitals to receive an “A”, ranking among the safest hospitals in the United States.

“Patient safety is an ongoing priority for us at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center,” said Dr. David F. Perse, president and CEO. “We work extremely hard to ensure that our efforts translate into the best possible care and outcomes for our patients. We are proud of this recognition, but remain vigilant in our patient safety efforts.”

“Protecting patients from harm is the most important charge for any hospital,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We recognize and appreciate ‘A’ hospitals’ vigilance and continued dedication to keeping their patients safe.”

Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

To see St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s full grade, and to access consumer-friendly patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org or follow The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

From the beginning of time, people from all cultures have turned to stories to illustrate and examine the human condition. Stories have the power to touch our souls, enhance our understanding and transform our thinking.  At St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, we are surrounded daily by powerful stories of faith and healing, overcoming adversity and innovation in care—stories that illuminate Care Beyond Medicine.

In service of the magical pull and power of storytelling, we are proud to introduce RADIANT [www.svcradiant.com], our St. Vincent Charity Medical Center blog that shines a light on the patients we serve and the caregivers who heal through powerful words and images. This is not the place for press releases. Those will still appear on our hospital website as will a link to the blog. RADIANT, however, is for deeper engagement.

To be radiant means to send out something in rays or ways that cannot be seen, but that embody the qualities of happiness, love and health. We hope people find new reasons to engage meaningfully with St. Vincent Charity Medical Center through the narrative of those closest to us.

I hope you take a moment to read some of the stories. We intend to publish twice weekly to start. Examples of the kinds of stories we will share include:

·         Caregivers from all departments who goes above and beyond

·         Physicians who demonstrate extraordinary compassion and excellence

·         Patients who overcome adversity or touch others deeply with their experience

·         Innovations that makes life better for patients and the community

The STORIES page includes some featured patient stories. When you click on MORE STORIES toward the bottom of the page, you will see all of our current blog posts. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me at 216.363.7440 or email wendy.hoke@stvincentcharity.com.