Research Medical Center Receives Get With the Guidelines Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

Research Medical Center has received the Get With the Guidelines (GWTG) Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association for its excellence in the treatment of patients with heart failure. The award is only given to hospitals that achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all GWTG Heart Failure Quality Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and have achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with four of nine GWTG Heart Failure Quality Measures to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.

A Message From the Chief Nursing Officer

Let me just say how proud I am to walk in this community and often hear great stories about the care we provide. I am proud of the nursing team we have at Research Medical Center. We have numerous accomplishments and a dedicated team who provides award-winning, quality care to our patients and the community we serve.

For your consideration, I am providing factual data and a list of accomplishments that you all have helped us achieve at Research Medical Center. These accomplishments speak for themselves and prove that we are safe, our patients receive world-class care and we have achieved national recognition for these and other efforts. It has been through our own internal hard work and dedication that Research Medical Center is recognized as a premier medical facility in the Midwest and one of the region’s providers of choice for health issues.

Some of our accomplishments include:

• Missouri Award of Excellence for Patient Safety in 2011 and 2009
• 20% increase in employee engagement throughout the hospital over the past five years
• 117% improvement in turnover rate over five years
• 25% improvement in patient satisfaction over the past five years
• Numerous Joint Commission accreditations and certifications in heart failure, stroke and cancer care
• American Heart Association Triple Gold recognition for heart and stroke

I believe that part of the reason for the success of many of these accomplishments is due to our active Shared Governance nursing councils. These Councils offer leadership to their peers through:

• Nurse Executive and Nurse Practice Councils
• Nursing Quality Peer Review Council
• Nurse Retention and Nurse Research Councils
• Professional Development and Education Council
• Outpatient and Regulatory Readiness Councils

These are high-functioning, peer-led workgroups who are making a difference in the processes and improvements at Research Medical Center.

Research Medical Center has a strong culture of professional, high-quality care that has been provided to our community and the patients we serve for 125 years. I want to thank the nurses and the entire healthcare team for the outstanding care they provide to our patients every day.

Cindy Johnson, RN, BASN, MHA
Chief Nursing Officer
Research Medical Center

Rockhill Greens Groundbreaking Ceremony

The official launch of Rockhill Greens took place last week with the demolition of the 6601 A building. Rockhill Greens will integrate senior housing and commercial businesses on the Research Brookside Campus.

Matt Sogard Named Chief Operating Officer

Research Medical Center recently named Matt Sogard as its chief operating officer effective February 1, 2012. Matt has extensive experience in operations and healthcare administration that will serve as a great asset in his new role at Research Medical Center as he continues to develop and lead our operational excellence.

Since 2005, Matt has been in an administrative role with Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, an HCA-HealthONE facility, in Denver, Colorado. Since 2008, he has held the position of chief operating officer. His enterprise-wide responsibilities have included operational, clinical and financial performance for perioperative, imaging, laboratory and other hospital services. He has led numerous capital improvement projects and drove the completion of many operational improvement initiatives including leading the development and construction of the $150M Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. As the chief administrator of the pediatric hospital within a hospital, he led the strategic planning and medical staff development for pediatric and neonatal services.

Matt has also driven the hospital’s growth teams, led employee engagement and culture refinement efforts such as leadership development teams, a hospital recycling program, 100 Fixes in 100 Days, employee appreciation lunches and formal leadership rounding.

Prior to Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Matt was with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa from 2004 to 2005.

Matt obtained a master of health administration and master of business administration from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. His bachelor of science in biology was obtained from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Matt is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

He is married with four children, and is an avid sports fan. Please join us in welcoming Matt to our team.

VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Kansas City Begins Construction at Research Medical Center

Facility Designed to Meet the Community’s Needs for High-Quality Hospice Services for Terminally Ill Patients with Complex Symptoms

VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Kansas City today announced the ground-breaking of construction this month of its first local inpatient hospice unit (IPU) at Research Medical Center (RMC). Designed to meet the community’s needs for hospice services for terminally ill patients with complex symptoms, the facility is slated to be completed and begin accepting patients in March 2012.

The project, located on the seventh floor of RMC at 2316 East Meyer Boulevard, will create in its first year approximately 25 new jobs at the VITAS IPU. Like all other VITAS IPUs, the 9,000-square-foot, 16-bed facility is being built to ensure maximum comfort for patients and their families, with amenities that are designed to feel like home and include kitchen, dining and sitting areas as well as a “serenity room” for quiet contemplation and meditation.

“We look forward to providing the high-quality, compassionate hospice care service for which VITAS is known and that our patients and their families expect,” said VITAS of Kansas City General Manager Julia Vandervelde, who has worked for VITAS for four years.

“Our community has an unmet need for inpatient hospice beds,” explains Susan Shreeve, chief financial officer at Research Medical Center. “We are very pleased to be able to work with VITAS to provide this service to our community. It is a great benefit to our patients and their families.”

Research Medical Center Earns ACR Accreditation

Research Medical Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in stereotactic breast biopsy as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

A breast biopsy is performed to remove cells — either surgically or through a less invasive procedure involving a hollow needle — from an area in the breast suspected to be cancerous. These cells are examined under a microscope to determine a diagnosis. In stereotactic breast biopsy, a special mammography machine helps guide the radiologist’s instruments to the site of an abnormal growth.

The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

Midwest Hand Center Performs Intricate Surgeries to Treat Traumatic Injuries

Vik Zadoo, MD, FACS
Medical Director
Midwest Hand Center

Like many of us, Glen Moore took his hands for granted. They were there when he needed them—whether it was operating a large drill press at his manufacturing job, working on cars, creating one of his wooden wishing wells for family and friends, or playing video games on his PlayStation. The 56-year-old Grandview resident didn’t think much about his hands until one February morning when he was injured on the job.

Something went wrong with the drill press Moore has operated for decades. His left gloved hand was caught by the machine, which swung him around so that his right hand dragged across the press, cutting into tendons, tissue, and bone.  Moore’s supervisor called 9-1-1, and Moore was quickly transported to Research Medical Center’s Emergency Department.

From the minute he was rolled into the ER, Moore knew he was in good hands.

“I sat in the examining room, trying not to think about my hand,” says Moore, who knew he had been severely injured. “The nurses and physicians kept me calm until Dr. Zadoo walked in and introduced himself.”

Vic P. Zadoo, MD, FACS, is medical director of the Midwest Hand Center at Research Medical Center and is only one of a few doctors in the Kansas City area who specializes in microvascular hand surgery. This premier hand center treats traumatic hand injuries—such as Moore’s—in addition to offering elective procedures and treating upper extremity injuries.

That day in the ER at Research Medical Center, Dr. Zadoo quickly determined that Moore’s injury had not only damaged some of his vital wrist bones, but also the link between his hand and wrist had been broken, destroying the tendons that raise fingers.

“Like many hand injuries, Glen required a series of surgeries to repair, restore and reconnect bones, tissue and tendons,” says Dr. Zadoo, who trained at the prestigious Christine Kleinart Institute in Louisville, Ky.

The first surgery Moore underwent took four hours, and Dr. Zadoo was confident that his patient—whom he describes as tough and determined—would eventually return to the job and activities he loves.

“Glen has a motivation and drive that really helped him in the recovery process from his four hand surgeries,” says Dr. Zadoo. “He was willing to work hard in the rehabilitation phase, collaborating with his physical therapist to transition back into everyday life.”

The Hand Center uses advanced technology including the LEICA OH4, a sophisticated microscope that combines Swiss optics and Japanese robotics. This device, among others, was used in Moore’s series of operations to restore the use of his hand and fingers.

“It’s similar to a big video game, and helps us reattach the complicated and microscopic network of blood vessels,” says Dr. Zadoo. 

Moore, who went through a six-month program of intensive physical therapy at the Research Medical Center Brookside Campus, appreciates the relationship he developed with the straight-shooting surgeon who brought life back to his damaged hand. “I told Dr. Zadoo it was important how honest he was with me every step of the way,” he says. 

Dr. Zadoo says the success of Glenn’s outcome is a two-way relationship.

“With Glen, it’s about the physician-patient relationship and his remarkable attitude that contributed to a successful outcome,” says Dr. Zadoo.

Moore, who has returned to his job doing light-duty work and also can now play video games—has a few wishing wells on his drawing board. These days, he doesn’t take his hands for granted anymore.

“They’re precious to me,” says Moore.  “I’m glad Dr. Zadoo thought so, too.”

For more information about the Midwest Hand Center at Research Medical Center, visit www.midwesthandcenter.com.