Sept. 2, 2014

Postoffice to close mail chutes

Wesley Medical Center steps up to ice bucket challenge

Remembering longtimeWesley School of Nursingdirector Elaine Dohmeier,Page 8

Pediatrics hospitalist Dr. StephanieKuhlmann to speak inAmsterdam,page 2

In Touch editor: Andi Easterly, Marketing and Public RelationsSend items to andrea.easterly@wesleymc.com

Galichia's Troy Biggs and LauraStoffersonpass out nuts of thanks, page 3

See MAIL, page 4

Wesley Medical Center employees helped make history last week

when they joined more than three million people around the world who participated this summer in the wildly popular ice bucket challenges to bene-fit the ALS Association.

Nearly 50 Wesley employees along with CEO Hugh Tappan accept-ed the challenge and dumped ice cold water on their heads on Aug. 27 on the top level of the public parking garage.

Wesley will match every dollar donated by employees as a result of the

C u l t u r e o f A l w A y s

Wesley CEO Hugh Tappan now challenges Wichita-area healthcare providers to get drenched for ALS

See ICE, page 6

Employees, patients and visi-tors will not be able to use the U.S. Postal Service mail chutes in buildings 1 West, 3 and 4 after Sept. 10.

The post office notified Wesley Medical Center that it will no longer pick up at these locations due to insufficient mail volume. Postal officials will seal off the mail chutes on Sept. 10.

Outgoing mail will continue to be picked up at the hospital Monday through Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the mailroom, which leaves employees and visitors several options for mailing letters.

"All mail will need to be funneled through our mailroom for pick-up," said Brian Leabo, market director for Plant Op-erations. "Nursing personnel need to be made aware of this

ICE FLOW: Wesley employees accept the ice bucket challenge for ALS

|Family

Longtime Wesley School of Nursing director dies

Registered nurse Elaine Margaret Dohmeier, who served as the Wesley School of Nursing director for a decade, died Aug. 18. She was 79.Dohmeier, who earned a master's degree in nursing administration

from the University of Washington, served as director from 1972 to 1982, when the nursing school closed, Wesley Medical Center librarian Jane Tan-ner said.

The Wesley School of Nursing graduated its last class in 1982, bringing the total number of graduates to 2,432 since it opened in 1912.

Some Wesley employees remember Dohmeier, praising her high stan-dards and professionalism.

"Elaine Dohmeier was a passionate advocate for patients and fami-lies, being at the center of everything we do as nurses," said Beth Eagleton, Wesley's director of nursing excellence. "She had very high expectations of her faculty and relentlessly pursued the goal of producing only the highest quality nursing graduates. It was an honor and privilege to have worked with her and learned from her."

Dohmeier

Coworkers bid farewell to Kristi FroeseKristi Froese, director of Pediatrics at Wesley Medical Center, wrapped up her 13-year career at Wesley on Aug. 29 to embark on her new path as chief nursing officer at a hospital in Texas.

Froese credited Wesley's unwavering support as the reason behind her successful career trajectory from a staff nurse in 2001. She received her mas-ter's degree in healthcare leadership in 2013.

"This is an amazing place to work," she said. "Leadership is very support-ive of people here. But when employees take ownership of their units, amaz-ing things happen."

Froese

Join the Wesley Warriors!The Komen race is right around the corner on Sept. 27. Help us meet our goal of at least 100 Wesley Warrior participants!Team members receive an exclusive t-shirt, camo bandana and other goodies. Plus, team members get to wear their Wesley Warriors t-shirt to work on all Fridays in October! Join today:

http://tinyurl.com/WesleyWarriors

In Touch deadlineIn Touch is published every two weeks. Submit story ideas, photos or suggestions to Andi Easterly at andrea.easterly@wesleymc.com or send via interoffice mail to In Touch | Marketing #920

Movers

Dr. Stephanie Kuhlmann, DO, Wesley Medical Center's pediatrics hospitalist and pediatrics medical director, will speak in Amsterdam this month at an international conference on stillbirths and infant survival. Kuhlmann will present –

alongside three Wichita colleagues with whom she collaborated – on her baby safe sleep project success.

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&shakers

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Congratulations to four Wesley Medical Center em-ployees whose creative ideas won them an HCA

Innovators award and a $1,000 facility prize in August.

The annual HCA Innovators awards recognize employees who have contributed to higher quality and lower costs within the company.

Their ideas support the facility's strategic plan, demonstrate an awareness of financial impact and pro-vide sustainable value for the cost.

The facility winners' ideas are being submitted to Wesley's division level for a shot at a $2,500 prize.

Four Wesley employees earn HCA Innovators facility awards

F C U SFamily • Ownership • COmmuniCatiOn • unFOrgettable experienCe • saFety

These sTandards of behavior emphasize The beliefs and aTTiTudes ThaT govern The operaTions of The Wesley fam-ily and provide a frameWork for each of us To supporT high-qualiTy and safe care for every paTienT, every Time. here, We highlighT employees, volunTeers and parTners Who exemplify These sTandards every day.

A moment with...

Duane sMithVolunteer, wesley mediCAl Center

Many hospital volunteers try to put themselves in patients’ shoes. But Duane Smith, a volun-teer at Wesley Medical Center, doesn’t have to try hard.

Instead, he draws from his personal trage-dy to provide comfort and company to waiting and anxious family members.

More than five years ago, when he first began volunteering, Duane’s wife, Pat, was in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Pat lived in a nursing home, where Duane visited daily to feed her lunch, clean her teeth and, most importantly, keep her company.

At the time, volunteering was a much-needed bright spot in his day, as Duane coped with steadily losing his beloved wife.

“I call volunteering Found Time,” he said. “Oth-erwise, I’d be sitting around, feeling sorry for Pat or for myself. But that’s no way to live – you’ve got to be making a contribution to the world. Pride lasts longer than pain. That’s what I always tell myself.”

After Pat passed away last February, Duane continued his volunteer work, sitting with the families of some of Wesley's young-est patients in its Ronald McDonald House family room.

"If they want to talk, tell me their worries and anxieties, I'm there," he said. "I always tell them they're in the right place, that their

child is in the best hands here at Wesley." Duane, now 82, spends 10 days a month in the

family room – and that's less than half of his volunteer responsibilities. In total, he volunteers 24 days out of each month.

Through his work, Duane carries on Pat’s mem-ory. Several years ago, he donated children’s books once owned by Pat – who ran a preschool in the family’s home – to Wichita elementary schools. Duane now visits the schools four days every month to read to preschoolers and first-graders.

Pat’s legacy also is evident in Duane’s connec-tion with the Alzheimer’s Association, where he uses his experience to help families and caregivers through their challenging times.

It’s a full plate, but Duane doesn’t let anything slow him down. Guest Services Manager Carol Strick-er is quick to laud Duane not only for his dedication, but for his quick sense of humor.

“Every day when he leaves, he says, ‘I’ll see you another day!’” she said. “He says we’re stuck with him – but we couldn’t be happier about that.”

It’s an arrangement that suits Duane as well. “My mantra is, if you’re not good, you’re not done.

What you’re doing has got to be positive. And at the end of the day, if you’ve met the challenge head-on, you’ll feel good.”

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Unforgettable Experience

Smith

WichitaBusiness Journal's

Honoree

Jared ShawNeoNatology

Why he won:He helped develop an application named ePDSA (electronic Plan-Do-Study-Act) to address the inefficiencies of the old method of creating and managing PDSA cycles, and create enhancements made possible by the application of newer technologies.

GreG Urmeylab

Why he won:He helped create new, nonreportable result fields in MEDITECH that catch additional blood gas test results and added these to the interface screen. Now alert levels can be set that will trigger a message to the lab tech concerning anyabnormal values so the tech can notifythe patients' care giver.

Joe Slechta, tina neSterPharmacy

Why they won:Isoproterenol injection prices increased dra-matically at the beginning of 2014. Pharmacy learned that electrophysiology ordinarily did not use the entire vial per case. They want-ed to look at how they could use resources more responsibly. They implemented a program where they would pre-determine how many vials were needed each day and prepare infusions accordingly rather than waste extra amounts.

Wesley, ED physicians reach agreement for continued careEmCare and Emergency Services Professional Association have reached an agreement that will ensure ESPA’s physicians and caregivers continue to provide expert care in the Wesley Medical Cen-ter emergency departments. “ESPA has provided quality emergency med-icine to this community for nearly 50 years, and we are thrilled that this level of experience and expertise will remain within the Wesley family,” said Hugh Tappan, Wesley president and CEO. “We look forward to continuing to develop our rela-tionship with EmCare, which also provides expert physician coverage for our hospitalist program and in our Galichia emergency department.” The agreement provides a new leadership struc-ture that will help streamline processes to create more efficient patient care. The new structure also will improve ongoing physician recruitment efforts. “The ESPA physicians are excited to continue providing excellent care in the Wesley emergen-cy department,” said Dr. Kent Potter, DO, ESPA’s president. “We are looking forward to working with Wesley and alongside the EmCare physicians to decrease patient wait times, enhance patient ser-vice and provide the best patient care.”

3A Culture of Excellence ... In All We Do

Every patient, every time.

Peoplelll Servicelll

Qualitylll

Financelll

IRON CHEF: Wesley Medical Center Executive Chef Curtis Isley gave judges a run for their taste

buds when he whipped up some ice cream made with peaches, beet powder and – the secret ingredient – kettle corn at Saturday's Old Town Iron Chef competition at the Farm-er's Market. Isley took home the top

prize last year and was back to defend his title. While he didn't win the wooden spoon this time – that went to Ben George, executive chef for the Ambassador for his arranchera tacos – Isley said everyone was a win-ner among these talented chefs. "It was fun," Isley said. "It shows support for the community, support for the Farmer’s Market and ev-eryone helps one another. I'll be back next year."

NURSING EDUCATION FAIR, PART 2: Mark your calendars for Sept. 23-25, the second of two mandatory education fairs designed to train Wesley Family patient care staff (nurses, assistants, techs, etc.) in low-frequency, high-risk services that impact quality of care. The fair will take place in the Intrust Learning Cen-ter from 7:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-4:30 p.m.

EXCELLENT CARE: Several units at Galichia Heart Hospital were treated to boxes of Nifty Nuts last month from a very appreciative patient: "Our family was very pleased with the care (our mother) received and our interactions with the staff and doctors."

hospital's participation."ALS is a debilitating, horrible disease with no

cure, and these ice bucket challenges have caused a lot of people to pay attention," Tappan said.

As of Friday, donations to the ALS Association topped $100 million from this summer’s Ice Bucket Challenges, ALS Association officials reported.

The challenges quickly became viral sensations as many people – from celebrities to local businesses – challenged one another and put videos of their par-ticipation on social media. Tappan specifically called out Galichia Heart Hospital CEO Steve Edgar to a chal-lenge as well as all Wichita-area healthcare providers.

"It's on," Edgar said afterward. "I live for this stuff." Galichia held its own Ice Bucket Challenge event on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurodegen-erative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and

the spinal cord. Eventually, peo-ple with ALS lose the ability to ini-tiate and control muscle move-ment, which of-ten leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis.

Tom Donnay, hospital preparness coordinator, had multiple buckets of water dumped on him in honor of his cousin, David Kutz, who died from the disease.

"At a Donnay reunion this summer, the challenge was placed to all of us to participate in the ice bucket challenge," Donnay said. "This ol' Minnesota boy isn't afraid of a little cold water."

ALS Association officials said they have been blown away by the record-breaking, history-making support this summer.

Assocation president and CEO Barbara Newhouse promised to use the money raised in the best, most ef-fective way possible. "These funds will be used to fund cutting-edge research as well as care and support to people living with the disease,” she said.

This means a lot to employees such as security of-ficer Cpl. Jovey Fry and ED West nurse Jill Hallowell, both who care for a man who has lived with the disease for 12 years and counting.

"It's heartbreaking to watch someone go through this," said Fry, a home health aide to Jeff Hallowell, who shares a son with Jill Hallowell. "These challenges have blown the top off the money raised to fight this, and that's a great thing."

ICE, continued from page 1

Ice bucket challenges break records for ALS

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ICE ICE BABY: from the top: Wesley CEO Hugh Tappan with administrative fellow David Hoffenberg, left; Tom Don-nay gets iced – rather zealously – by colleagues; Phillip Gwost is ready for bucket wielder Linda Butler, left; and VP of Business Development Tripp Owings cools down.

HCA MATTERS: HCA is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services, comprised of locally managed facilities that include 165 hospitals and 115 freestanding surgery centers in 20 states and London. In 2013, HCA invested $1.9 billion incapital spending to expand or bring new services to the communities we serve.

How to donateWesley is matching all Wesley Fam-ily donations to the cause through Sept. 5 to include Galichia's event.

Drop off any ALS donations to Ad-ministration at any campus and Wes-ley will cut a final check for the ALS Association.

HIGH-RISK OB: instructor Roy Williams with nurses (from left) Renae LaMadline, Jodi Dick and Heather West-erfield on Aug. 22

FROM LEFT: VP Controller Troy Biggs, unit clerk Helen Wil-son, nurse Damanda Marshall and ACNO Laura Stofferson

4 5

change, as they may be asked to put items in the mail for patients and visitors."

Here are new guidelines for getting mail where it needs to go:

• Employees can continue to place mail in one of two gray mailbox-es in the hospital. One is in Building 4 by the staffing office and the other is in Building 1 by the surgery elevator, said Carol Strick-er, Guest Services manager. Her employees check those boxes every day and send mail down to the mailroom.

• Guest Services will continue to make roughly 60 mail stops every day throughout the hospital in the usual locations to pick up inter-office and outgoing mail.

• Employees can take mail directly to the mailroom in the basement of Building 3. Mail also can be sent to the mailroom in interoffice envelopes marked "Mailroom #912, ATTN: USPS Mail."

• Units can collect patient letters and send them to Guest Services for delivery to the mailroom. This can be done in person or via interoffice mail.

• Employees can take mail directly to Guest Services on the first floor in Building 2.

Personal mail must be pre-stamped, but can still be mailed through the mailroom. All unstamped mail should be work-related, Stricker said.

MAIL, continued from page 1

Mail collection boxes to be sealed after Sept. 10

Did you know...WageWorks replacement cards are coming soon!There are approximately 50,000 current Health Care FSA participants who have a WageWorks card expir-ing soon. Cards expire every three years, so affect-ed participants will receive a replacement card from WageWorks in the next few months.

Register now for the TownsendCardiovascular Nursing Symposium

The popular continuing educational symposium for coronary care nurses will take place this year on

Sept. 12 at the Wichita Marriott. The program is coordinated by Staff Development at Wesley Medical Center on behalf of the Wichita Medical Research and Education Foundation. The one-day symposium brings national and local expert faculty to Wichita to present on a variety of cardiovascular related topics. The symposium is approved for 7.5 contact hours for RNs, LPNs, LMHTs and Respiratory Continuing Education. MICTs and EMTs can earn 6 hours. Cost is $55 in advance or $65 for walk-ins. For more information, contact Staff Development at Wes-ley at (316) 962-3080.

The TAVR Team at Wesley Medical Center reached a milestone in July by performing its 20th Trans-Catheter Aortic Valve Replacement. The TAVR team involves many people to prepare for and perform the procedure, including physicians, OR and cath lab staff, anesthesi-ologists, a valve clinic coordinator and a perfusion specialist. "We are very excited to have the TAVR program here at Wesley," said Cherise Becker, surgery manager. "It’s nice to have options for pa-tients who aren’t healthy enough to undergo open heart surgery." Wesley is one of only 13 hospitals in HCA that perform TAVRs.

TAVR team milestone

Coca-Cola products in cafeteria about to get high-tech makeover

This and ThaT

NO MORE PICK-UPS: The United States Postal Service will no longer pick up mail from its collection boxes in buildings 1 West, 3 and 4 after Sept. 10

Women's renovation project enters final phaseThe hallways are done, the beautiful new

rooms are completed and now renova-tion of the Women's Hospital's lobbies on floors three, four and five in Building 3 be-gins.

Starting Sept. 2 through Nov. 17, con-struction workers will block off two out of the three main elevators in Building 3, leav-ing one open for staff and visitors to use.

This is the final phase in the $36 mil-lion Women's Hospital renovation, which began in June 2013.

"We’re taking it down to the concrete and rebuilding back and making the rooms more user friendly and brighter," said Brian Leabo, Plant Opera-tions market director. "It’s a big change."

The 65,000-square-foot construction project in-cluds the renovation of 65 patient rooms and an addi-tion of 16 new rooms.

Women who stay in Wesley's newly renovated pa-tient rooms enjoy Lincor TVs, which give patients ac-cess to their clinical information, medical records and

test results. Besides watching television programs, pa-tients can get on the internet, listen to the radio, play video games and Skype, all from their bedside.

While blocked off elevators are never fun to navi-gate, the entire project should be completely wrapped up by December, Leabo said.

"We're almost done," he said. "There's going to be a little pain for a lot of gain."

NEW ROOMS: A renovated room in the Women's Hospital

Organizers need at least 60 volunteers to help out at this year’s Halloween in the Park event Oct. 24 sponsored by Wesley Medical Center. That includes a dozen volunteers in the Teddy Bear Clinic and anoth-er 50 or more to help in other areas. Interested? Contact Mollie Triplett at margaret.triplett1@wesleymc.com.

Wesley Medical Center's cafeteria will soon be home to Coca-Cola's trendy new touch-screen beverage dispenser. The Freestyle dispenser means customers can choose from more than 120 drinks, Food Services Director Roger Hanson said. The dispenser features 82 exclu-sive beverages, 52 non-carbonated beverages, 72 low- or no-calorie drinks and 96 caffeine-free bever-ages. Hanson said he plans for the new dispenser to be installed on Sept. 12 and will be holding a fun kickoff event with Coke-branded prizes. "We think it creates a little more fun with soda," he said. "Also, it's something our competitor does not have, too!"

FREESTYLE: The new Coca-Cola machine

Volunteers needed forHalloween in the Park

IN THE ZONE: From left: Marilyn Erhart, Dr. Sanjay Khicha, Dr. Omar Ali, Dr. Brett Grizzell and Dr. Assem Farhat