news notes · news&notes vol. 8 no. 9 | april 2013 donate life month in april is an important...

SHANDS EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER VOL. 8 NO. 9 | APRiL 2013

cOVER gifTED: THE iMPAcT Of ORgAN DONATiON

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NEWs NotEsExPAND YOuR ViEW WiTH THE big PicTuRE

LifEQuEST EMPLOYEE SHARES HER PERSONAL cONNEcTiON TO TRANSPLANT AND DONATiON

TRANSPLANT TRADiTiON bONDS SiSTERS AND THEiR AuNT

Kidney transplant team accepts a challenge other centers turned down (p. 14)

2 News&Notes | april 2013

FsC LoGo

NEW&NExt . . . . . . . . . . . 4 the latest system scoop

FaCEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 see who’s making news at shands

Kudos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 recognition for standout employees and programs

to do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ideas for your agenda

NEWs&NotEsVOL. 8 NO. 9 | APRiL 2013

Donate Life month in April is an important reminder of the need for organ and tissue donors and the power of the gift of life. That’s why we dedicate our April issue of News&Notes to organ donation aware-ness. For the last three years, we’ve profiled transplant recipients, donors and care teams. We’ve reported the latest statistics from Life-Quest, our organ procurement arm at Shands, and we’ve encouraged readers to join Florida’s statewide organ donation registery, Donate Life Florida. You can find more informative and touching stories about organ donation in this year’s newsletter. But who better to articulate the impact of organ donation than transplant recipient and survivor Jack Kemper? He recently shared his story and grattitude with us in the following letter:

“After a lifetime of struggling with a genetic lung disorder, two years ago my life was saved by becoming a recipient of a single lung transplant. After years of daily breathing treatments and also being tied down to oxygen, I was freed by that dona-tion of a lung. The donation has given me the opportunity of continuing my life with

my loved ones. Since my life was saved by the transplant I have seen the birth of two of my grandchildren and felt well enough to take a trip to see my family up north. My wife and I will soon celebrate the 25th anniversary of our marriage. I have been able to watch my youngest child grow into a most terrific young man and am looking forward to watching his high school graduation next year.

During my four-month hospital stay, Habitat for Humanity, with the help of volunteers from my church, built my family and me a house of our own. I have been so inspired to give back for all that has been given to me, I recently became a part of Citizens on Patrol, and I am now volunteering to help keep my community safe. All of these things I have been able to see and do and look forward to are because of a gift given to me out of love and care for a fellow man. I wish to express gratitude to all the families who have been involved in the organ dona-tion process of a loved one. I would also like for anyone who is an organ donor or even thinking about becoming an organ donor, to know that their decision is a life-saving gift.”

To learn more about organ donation or to register to become

a donor, please visit http://www.donatelifeflorida.org.

Allison WilsonNews&Notes Editor

timothy M. Goldfarb Chief executive officer

Wanda J. English senior Director, strategic Communications and public affairs

Kim Rose Director, strategic Communications and public relations

allison Wilson Communications Coordinator News&Notes editor

Madelyn West Creative services Coordinator News&Notes Designer

to contribute to future issues of NEWs&NotEs:

phone: 352-265-0373 Fax: 352-265-0603

to view NEWs&NotEs online, please visit the employee tab on Bestnet, located on the shandsConnect portal.

Please put NEWS&NOTES back in holder, share with co-workers or recycle.

uf&SHANDS | SERVicE

Paying it forwardSurvivor shows gratitude for the gift of life

News&Notes | april 2013 3

NEW&NEXT

uf&SHANDS | PEOPLE

Expand your vision with The Big PictureNew communications project focuses on life at UF&Shands

Trying to explain our organization to someone outside UF&Shands is like using a thousand words to describe a picture.

We work for one of the nation’s largest, most respected and most diverse academic health systems. Our reach goes way beyond our main campuses in Gainesville and Jacksonville. Our collective workforce includes more than 22,000 University of Florida and Shands staff working under the shared UF&Shands umbrella. Each person contributes to the organization’s strength and success.

You may provide hands-on, life-changing medical care and support to patients and their loved ones. You may work behind the scenes in operations or administration. You may take part in research to develop solutions and improve quality of life. You may educate fellow health professionals by teaching in a class-room, by a patient’s bedside or out in the field. Whatever your role, you have a special place here. Your work matters.

So how can we connect with colleagues who are geographi-cally far away? How can we appreciate other staff we might never get to know? How do we discover what we have in common?

Join me to look at The Big Picture, a fun and interactive internal project we’re introducing this month. Starting Monday, April 15, please visit TheBigPicture.UFandShands.org for diverse views from staff across the system. Our goal is to pique your interest and share what life at UF&Shands is like for our col-leagues.

We all see things differently. Our differences generate innova-tion, creativity and teamwork – the hallmarks of UF&Shands. I’m proud to be part of a fascinating and complex organization with such interesting and talented people. I hope you are, too.

Sincerely,

Tim Goldfarb, CEOShands HealthCare

Visit The big Picture to: “Name that View” – we will upload photos on Mondays, wednesdays and Fridays from campus and ask you to guess where they were taken. select the right answer and be entered into a weekly prize drawing for a $25 gift card. at the end of the campaign two grand-prize winners will receive an ipad mini.

“How We See it” – Hear audio interviews featuring staff discussing their perspectives of life and view photos of them in their workplaces. personal stories told by fellow employees help us see UF&shands through others’ eyes.

“Setting Our Sights” – the site will include articles and snippets about accomplishments, goals and priorities highlighting the breadth of work you do across the organization.

“Photo gallery” – View a gallery of snapshots taken across our campuses and read about each picture and who took it. and then step up to a “photo spot” in a location near you to have YoUr picture taken. we want to capture a picture of you with someone who’s “on your team” – ideally a colleague from another department with whom you enjoy working. if you are employed by shands, bring a UF colleague, or vice versa. Bring props that will personalize the photo. then visit the photo gallery to see yourself and spot people you know.


NEW&NEXT

uf&SHANDS | PEOPLE

Help promote lifelong health this springA new study helps parents and children with healthy habits

Please tell families interested in signing up for the program or who have questions to call the Healthy Kids office toll-free at 866-673-9623.

Digestive and Kidney Diseases.“The UF study may help to fill a

need in rural areas for programs that help children establish healthy eating and physical activity habits,” Janicke said. “Rates of childhood and adult obesity are higher in rural areas compared to urban areas, and unfortunately, easily accessible options for health promotion programs are hard to find in rural settings.”

Parents will receive information to help them navigate consumer marketing practices that may challenge parents’ efforts to make healthy choices for their families. They will learn strategies to help support and motivate their children to try new foods and to be more physically active. Children and parents will also sample healthy foods during meetings and participate in games and other activities.

Half the families will begin the program soon after enrolling and the other half of participating families will start the program 10 months after registering.

Healthy Kids Program team members are currently screening interested participants in Flagler, Putnam and Suwannee counties, with the first sessions beginning in May. All meetings will be held at the local UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension offices in participating counties. Families will be given $10 per session for travel costs.

Please tell families interested in signing up for the program or who have questions to call the Healthy Kids office toll-free at 866-673-9623.Team members will help parents determine their family’s eligibility for the program. N&N

The Healthy Kids Program, a study begin-ning this spring for children and parents who live in Flagler, Putnam and Suwannee counties, is a four-month program that aims to help children and parents work together to establish behaviors that can promote healthy weight and lifelong health. It is designed to help parents and their children ages 3 to 7 who are at the higher end of the growth chart establish healthy eating and physical activity habits. Parents will learn how to manage real-life challenges related to nutrition and fitness and how to make gradual lifestyle changes. There is no cost to families who participate.

“Young children who continue to be at the higher end of the growth curve are at greater risk for long-term obesity, as well as associated health problems, such as Type 2 diabetes,” said David Janicke, Ph.D., UF College of Public Health and Health Professions associate professor of clinical and health psychology.

The Healthy Kids team includes physicians, nurses, nutritionists, behavioral health psychologists and an exercise physiologist. The study is a joint effort between researchers at UF&Shands, UF/IFAS Extension and local UF/IFAS County Extension offices. The project is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and


NEW&NEXT

uf&SHANDS | QuALiTY

Quality and safety through a patient’s eyesHelp us improve patient safety by taking the April survey

Seconds before a drunk driver collided into Marcus Engel’s car, all he saw were headlights. Hours later, floating in and out of consciousness in the hospital, a volun-teer said two words to Marcus that would inspire his campaign to get health care pro-fessionals to realize that sometimes, the best (and only) thing they can do is be present for their patient.

“That volunteer said the two most compassionate words a human can share to another: ‘I’m here,’” Marcus said.

Twenty years after the accident that left then-18-year-old Marcus blind and in need of multiple reconstructive surgeries, he draws from his experiences in health care to inspire others to keep patients’ needs first.

To kick off Patient Safety and Quality week in March at UF&Shands, Marcus spoke to a crowd of about 100 patients, staff and visitors at an event hosted by the Quality team. He shared philosophies from his “I’m Here” campaign and stories

Help make UF&shands a safe place for patients and employees by taking the patient safety and Quality survey (available through april 17) online through the shands portal.

about how he has overcome obstacles and continues his journey to understand the question everyone asks when trauma happens: “Why?”

“If any of this has helped you today or keeps you in this profession,” Marcus told the crowd, “then you’ve helped me answer the ‘why?’ ”

Le Jones, R.N., B.S.N., C.C.T.C., , Shands at the University of Florida Liver and Kidney Transplant program manager, said the insight she gained from Marcus’ speech was “priceless.”

“I found his straightforward way of addressing the issues refreshing,” Jones said. She plans to share his suggestions at team meetings and lend the four books she purchased to her staff.

Randy Harmatz, UF&Shands chief quality officer, said that all UF&Shands staff can impact how our organization approaches patient safety and quality by “simply being there for our patients.” N&N

Marcus Engel spoke to audience members during his keynote address at Patient safety and Quality Week.

NEW&NEXT


uf HEALTH SciENcE cENTER | SERVicE

Lab notes: What’s happening at UF?Check out some recent developments in research and education at the University of Florida Health Science Center.

The UF College of Medicine rose three spots in U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings of the nation’s top research medical schools. UF is ranked No. 45, up from No. 48 in 2012, according to the publication’s annual “Best Graduate Schools” rankings, which were released March 12. Among public medical schools, UF now ranks No. 22 nationally. “This accomplish-ment reflects the hard work and day-to-day commitment of our talented faculty and staff toward providing the best medical education possible to our students and innovative and high-quality care to our patients, and lead-ing the way in scientific discoveries that will benefit generations to come,” said Michael L. Good, M.D., UF Col-lege of Medicine dean.

UF is the highest-ranked medical school in the state of Florida.

»Pharmacy researchers at UF have isolated a new marine compound they believe may lead to improved drug therapies for pulmonary diseases by inhibiting their progression rather than managing their symptoms. Known as symplostatin 5, the compound was extracted from blue-green algae collected in Cetti Bay, Guam, by Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., UF associate professor of medicinal chemistry. The new compound targets an enzyme overactive in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, acute respiratory distress syndrome, cystic fibrosis and other diseases. “These compounds can potentially offer a new opportunity to treat COPD and related diseases in a different way and possibly more effectively,” Luesch said.

»UF researchers have found changes in the behavior and in the brains of mice in withdrawal from methamphetamine addiction. These findings may affect the way physicians treat recovering methamphetamine addicts, the researchers reported in the journal Synapse. “When people treat drug addicts, they need to know that during withdrawal, people in recovery may experience cognitive consequenc-es,” said Habibeh Khoshbouei, Ph.D., UF College of Medicine neuroscience associate professor. “Their brain chem-istry has changed.” Khoshbouei and colleagues studied mice during full-blown methamphetamine addiction, examining their behavior and looking at the activity in the hippocampus, a region of the brain known to be involved in memory retention and formation. In mice on methamphet-amine, they saw no signs of changes in the hippocampal activity or in their observed behavior. But the animals experiencing withdrawal showed changes in their ability to remember things and had a decrease in neuronal activity. N&N

this month:u.s. news & world report rankings

pulmonary disease and blue-green algae

methamphetamine withdrawl studies


FACES

Cindy Allen’s experience as the mother of a transplant recipient and as a living organ donor brought her to the field of health care, most recently as a LifeQuest family advocate. In this role, she offers compassion and guidance for families whose loved ones have passed away and are considering the option of organ donation.

Cindy’s journey with organ donation began when her daughter Molly Allen was born with cystic fibrosis, the genetic disease that would ravage Molly’s lungs and pancreas. Molly’s first two weeks of life were spent in a neonatal intensive care unit, and by the time she was 3 months old, it became clear to Cindy and her husband that their daughter would be facing a unique battle with her health.

Cystic fibrosis produces a thick and sticky buildup of fluid in the lungs and pancreas, and it causes severe congestion and breathing problems for its sufferers. Molly often would need IV antibiotic treatments, and she frequently would need to be hospitalized for her condition.

Despite her challenges with her health, Molly’s life was full and normal. She had many friends and became a

SHANDS | PEOPLE

Sharing the gift of experienceLiving organ donor and mother of transplant recipient brings compassion and experience to LifeQuest.

cheerleader in high school. She was an honor student listed in Who’s Who in American High Schools and had a keen sense of humor.

“She found more to laugh about than anyone I ever knew,” Cindy said, “and she had the biggest blue eyes, dark curly hair and porcelain skin.”

When Molly turned 15, it was evident her health was declining, and her pulmonologist suggested to her parents that it was time to start thinking about a lung transplant. Knowing that not all patients who are placed on a transplant waiting list are able to find a suitable match, Molly’s parents chose a transplant program in Missouri that also performed living-donor lung transplants on pediatric patients. While Molly waited on the list, Cindy and three of her siblings were tested as potential living lung donors.

“The wait was long and difficult,” Cindy said. “Molly’s health declined, and a decision was made to go ahead with the living donor transplant.”

In March of 2000, shortly after Molly’s 16th birthday, Cindy and her sister, Patty, Molly’s Aunt, each donated a lower lobe of their lungs to Molly.

“Things went very well for a few months,” Cindy said. “Patty and I were back to normal in a few weeks, and Molly was doing really well. We were so thankful.”

The Allens spent the summer of 2000 at the beach and getting ready for the upcoming school year. But in September, Molly’s pulmonary function tests indicated a significantly decreased capacity, and she was flown back to her transplant center via an air ambulance. Tragically, Molly passed away the following month.

Cindy’s personal experience with both sides of organ donation has put her in a unique position to help families like hers cope with the grief and gratitude surrounding the gift of life.

“I will always be thankful that I had the opportunity to donate part of my lung to my daughter,” Cindy said. “Most of all, I’ll always be thankful that I was her mother.” N&N

Organ donation by the numbers today 117,151 patients are listed nationally for organ transplants; 4,629 of them are listed at centers in Florida.

l-r, Ben allen (Molly’s father), Caitlin (Molly’s sister), Molly and Cindy allen

there are 1,665 adults and children listed for lung transplants.

roughly 18 people die each day because a suitable match is not found.

there are 1,761 children on the national waiting list.

source: organ procurement and transplantation network, as of march 1, 2013.

FACES


Sometimes 24-year-old Brittney DeLuke experiences “dancing hands,” a term she uses to describe the invol-untary hand movements she experi-ences between spells of paralysis.

When Brittney was 3 months old she was misdiagnosed with epilepsy, a common neurological disorder in which a person repeatedly suffers from seizures. After seeing several neurolo-gists, at age 12 she was diagnosed with alternating hemiplegia of childhood.

Alternating hemiplegia of child-hood is a rare neurological disorder estimated to affect one in a million people, but the number of affected people may be higher due to the com-mon misdiagnosis of the disorder, said Irene Malaty, M.D., University of Florida College of Medicine movement disorders assistant professor and UF National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence medical director.

Hemiplegia occurs when part of the body enters a state of paralysis. The spells of paralysis vary by patient.

uf&SHANDS | SERVicE

Outsmarting a rare neuro disorderUF expert uses Botox injections to treat symptoms

They can range from numbness to complete loss of feeling and movement. Patients may experience weakness or severe painful posturing in the limbs, which can last minutes, hours or days.

Sometimes one or both of Brittney’s hands will stop working for a day, some-times she spends 20 minutes without being able to walk, talk or blink.

Malaty began to inject botulinum toxin (Botox) into Brittney’s hands to help combat her dancing hands. Botox is typically used in patients with dys-tonia, a movement disorder that causes the muscles to co-contract and spasm involuntarily. At times, Brittney also experiences dystonia symptoms.

Because it is difficult to find patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood in common geographi-cal areas, it is difficult for doctors to conduct research to treat the disorder. Malaty has had to carefully listen to Brittney’s symptoms and consult anec-dotal reports to learn what other doc-tors have tried in similar cases.

Brittney, who now lives in Oviedo, moved to Florida from New York City about five years ago.

“When we moved down here I was very nervous about finding a neurolo-gist,” said Sheri DeLuke, Brittney’s mother. “Even though we are two hours away we are very confident in our decision to go to Shands.”

Today Brittney plays baseball and cheers with the Oviedo Challenger League. She volunteers two days a week at a high school mail room and front desk, and attends a day program for young adults with disabilities.

“Despite all that she has to endure, her spirits remain high for the most part and she usually has a smile on her face,” Sheri said. “She is surrounded by so many people who love and adore her, and for this we are truly blessed.” N&N

Brittney deLuke

“When we moved down

here I was very nervous about

finding a neurologist.

Even though we are two hours away we are

very confident in our decision to go to Shands.”

sheri deLuke, Brittney’s mother.


FACES

Wendy Driggers’ family calls her “the guinea pig.” After all, she paved the way for a series of transplants in her immedi-ate family. Diagnosed as an adult with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2001, Driggers received her first lung transplant in 2004 at Shands at the University of Florida. Next, her aunt, Delvia Mott, who had been diagnosed with the same dis-ease a few years earlier, received a lung in 2011. Then last year, Driggers’ older sister, Laurie Merritt, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2000, received her new lung. Today, all three women are thriving.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, progressive lung disease that causes excess fibrous connective tissue. The family’s journey began in the 1990s, when Merritt and Driggers’ father was diagnosed with the condition and sadly passed away while waiting for a lung transplant. His sister and daughters have since recovered quickly from their transplants and are back to living healthy, active lives. The women’s care teams were led by Maher Baz, M.D., a UF College of Medicine professor of medicine and pulmonologist, along with Juan Salgado Campo, M.D., a UF pulmonology special-ist who provides clinical care, post-surgi-

SHANDS AT uf | PEOPLE

Family tiesTransplant tradition bonds sisters and their aunt

cal critical care and long-term care for lung transplant patients.

“We call Dr. Baz and his team our angels. They have been so wonderful with us and our families,” said Mott after a follow up appointment in early March. Merritt said, “I can live again. I can go to church and sing without oxygen.”

The women have formed a strong support system because of their shared transplant experience.

“We try not to live the disease,” Drig-gers said. “We just live our lives; we live each day, and we have a lot to live for.”

Driggers is married and has two grown daughters. Merritt has a 22-year-old son and had a 19-year-old daughter who died in a car accident. The tragedy gave Merritt even more of a reason to live so she could be there for her remaining child. Mott is married with four grown children.All three women strive to celebrate their gifts of life by bringing attention to organ donation.

“You never live in the world of trans-plant or think it’s something that could happen to you,” Driggers said. “Until Dad went through it, we just weren’t aware. I definitely think it needs to be out there more.” N&N

Lori Merritt, delvia Mott and Wendy driggers

“We try not to live the disease, we just live our

lives; we live each day, and

we have a lot to live for.”

Wendy driggers


FACES


iNTERNATiONAL DigNiTARiES ViSiT uf AND SHANDS

Members of the polish delegation recently toured Florida for a week, meeting with area leaders and medical professionals, including many at the University of Florida and shands at UF.

bryan Prine, M.D., is the University of Florida orthoCare after Hours practice medical director. when prine (right) first met 87-year-old ira Goodwin (left), she told him that his great-grandfather was her delivery doctor when she was born. prine, who completed all of his studies and medical training at UF, said Goodwin is a pleasure to have as a patient and exemplifies how he has been able to carry on the legacy of his great-grandfather, who moved to lafayette County after finishing medical school in 1900. “i said to her, my great-grandfather brought you in to this world, and i’m going to help you keep walking on it.’”

shands HealthCare Ceo tim Goldfarb, right, shakes hands with University of rzeszów president aleksander Bobko, as he welcomes a delegaton from rzeszów, poland to shands at the University of Florida. From left are regional Vice Governor slawomir Miklicz, rzeszów Mayor tadeusz Ferenc, rzeszow City Hall international Cooperation Director Marzena Furtak-Zebracka, and Ed Jimenez, shands at UF senior vice president and chief operating officer.

rzeszów, poland Mayor tadeusz Ferenc (center) is flanked by shandsCair Neonatal respiratory therapist Lily Irwin (left) and shandsCair Neonatal Nurse Jenny Knight, R.N., at shands Critical Care Center. the polish delegation also included, from left, University of rzeszów president aleksander Bobko, rzeszów University of technology Vice president adam Marciniec, regional Vice Governor slawomir Miklicz, rzeszów City Council Chairman andrzej Dec and rzeszow City Hall international Cooperation Director Marzena Furtak-Zebracka.

thomas Payton, M.d., M.B.a., F.a.C.E.P., UF College of Medicine assistant professor and shands at UF Clinical operations vice chair, provided a tour of the shands Critical Care Center. From left are regional Vice Governor slawomir Miklicz, rzeszów City Council Chairman andrzej Dec, rzeszow City Hall international Cooperation Director Marzena Furtak-Zebracka, and rzeszów University of technology Vice president adam Marciniec.

Great-grandfather of Bryan prine, M.D.

“Not many people can say they’ve treated the same patient their

great-grandfather treated.”


KUDOS

SHANDS | QuALiTY

HHS recognizes Shands for high organ donation ratesAwards demonstrate excellence in providing life-saving organs for transplant

Shands at the University of Florida, Shands Jacksonville and our LifeQuest Organ Recovery Service were recently presented with 2012 Medals of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resource and Services Administration for their success in achieving and sustaining outstanding rates of organ donation and organ recovery.

Our two teaching hospitals, Shands at UF and Shands Jacksonville, were among 404 hospitals nationally that received the prestigious Medals of Honor. To be eligible for the Medals of Honor, hospitals must have had eight or more eligible organ donors during the 24-month measurement period and met or exceeded a 75 percent donation conversion rate (the percent-age of donors compared to all deaths that met eligibility criteria for organ donation).

Shands at UF received a silver Medal of Honor for achieving the conversion rate metric plus having a 10 percent or greater rate of donation after cardiac death. Shands at UF had an 84.7 percent conversion rate and a 25 percent DCD rate.

Shands Jacksonville was one of only 22 hospitals in the nation and two in Florida that earned gold Med-als of Honor for achieving all three performance measures, the third being a rate of organs transplanted per donor of 3.75 or greater. Shands Jacksonville had a 75.4 percent con-version rate, a 16.3 percent DCD rate and 3.9 OTPD rate.

LifeQuest, which is Shands’ feder-ally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) and serves a 36-county region of northern Florida, was among 18 of the nation’s 58 OPOs

that received silver Medals of Honor for having sustained or exceeded the 75 percent conversion rate during the cohort, as well as having reached one of the other two performance mea-sures. LifeQuest’s conversion rate was 79.3 percent, and its rate of DCD was 15.2 percent.

“The hospitals in our service area have made great strides to ensure that all patients who could poten-tially donate life-saving organs for transplantation are referred to our program,” said Danielle Cornell, LifeQuest executive director. “Their unwavering support of the donation program, their commitment to honor donor designations, and their devotion to the thousands of Floridians in need of life-saving and life-enhancing trans-plants is to be commended.”

Five other hospitals in LifeQuest’s donation service area also received Medals of Honor in 2012, and Shands at UF is the only one to have been awarded Medals of Honor at all seven National Learning Congresses. N&N

“The hospitals in our service area have made great strides to ensure that all patients who could potentially donate life-saving organs for transplantation are referred to our program.” danielle Cornell, lifeQuest executive director.


KUDOS

uf&SHANDS | SERVicE

UfandShands.org goes mobileHealth resources on the go

Now it’s easier than ever to access UF&Shands’ diverse online health resources when you’re on the go, thanks to our new mobile Web presence.

We launched the new UFandShands.org website last year as a well-designed, patient-focused site to help visitors quickly access our services and providers. The site is a huge success and gets on average about 450,000 page views each month. Visitors can quick-ly find a physician, make an appointment, look up a condition or disease, and easily access maps and contact numbers.

We quickly noticed that about 20 percent of our website visitors access our site from mobile devices, predomi-nantly smartphones. This is a 17 per-cent increase from a year ago. Because our top priority is making our patients’ experiences at UF&Shands the best they can be, that includes their online experience of our organization.

So the UF&Shands Communica-tions and IT Web Services Team set out to develop a new mobile site that did not sacrifice the depth of content of the primary site for portability. They addressed the challenges mobile users face because of the small screen size of a phone, and the difference between using a mouse on a regular desktop versus your thumb or finger on a mobile device.

Now when you can look up UFandShands.org on your mobile device you will find a compact opti-mized, mobile-friendly site.

It’s easy to make an appointment on our mobile site.

That’s because patients make about 800 online appointments on our web-site each month, and the number is growing.

The home screen provides quick access to the patient care resources our visitors want most.

You can easily access, read and scroll through all the sections of our regular desktop site.

Kudos to the Web Services team for continually assessing how our online tools are used and responding/adapting quickly with innovative solu-tions to the needs of our users. N&N

fROM THE HOME ScREEN, YOu cAN QuickLY LiNk TO ® find a location

® find a provider

® Look up a health topic

® find a research study

the entire ufandShands.org site is available on the mobile site – all 20,000 pages!


KUDOS

SHANDS REHAb HOSPiTAL | QuALiTY

Shands Rehab Hospital applies new technology to patient careTablets, video games and a Mondopad become tools for therapy

Shands Rehab Hospital is using the latest technology to transform the rehabilitation experience.

The rehab staff at the hospital uses iPads, Wii gaming systems and a Mondo-pad in therapy treatments. Lana Watson, M.H.S., O.T.R./L., Shands Rehab Hospital clinical coordinator of technology and edu-cation as well as speech and recreational therapies, said these tools offer patients the chance to incorporate fun, engaging activi-ties into their therapy.

“Everything we’re doing related to technology is to make therapy as motivat-ing and client-driven as possible,” she said. “We’re not stagnant because the world isn’t stagnant. Technology isn’t stagnant.”

Staff members use therapy-related apps on the iPads, such as “Coach’s Eye,” which records video of the patient perform-ing tasks like transferring from a bed to a wheelchair. The therapist can then play a slowed version of the video to see the patient’s movements and understand what he or she can improve. The therapist can even mark on the video, circling areas that should be developed.

“Our technology initiative would not be successful if it weren’t for our excellent team of therapists.” Watson said. “They take a creative approach to therapy and are innovative with the technology we have.”

The Mondopad is a 55-inch touch screen, video camera, sound bar and com-puter — basically a big-screen iPad, that utilizes Windows 8. Patients can draw or play memory games that improve their balance, coordination and strength as they stand to complete the tasks. The Mondo-pad and the iPads can even connect to each other so staff can control and project pre-sentations from the iPad to the big screen.

Watson plans to develop the technol-ogy programs even further to fit patients’ needs. Currently, her team is working to facilitate video chats between patients and their loved ones as a hospital-wide initiative.

“I really feel like the more connected you are through friends and family, the better your recovery is and the more hope you have after your injury,” she said. “That’s really our next stage for technology at the hospital.”

The hospital staff is working to get more iPads through a few grant opportu-nities. They hope to be able to customize them for patients. Even now, staff members have a list of the apps available to patients, so after they leave, they can keep working with the same technologies they used in the hospital.

“Patients can take this home after they leave, so it’s not just something they have while they’re here,” said Jessica Cromwell, Shands Rehab Hospital aide and secretary. “They can continue learning, continue therapy and continue recovery.”

The facility also has two Wiis with balance boards, which patients can use for therapy or in their leisure time. Tools like these can make rehabilitation feel fun, even if it is hard work.

“Our goal is for a patient to have an excellent stay while they are at the hospital with excellent and evidenced-based care,” said Suzanne Questell, P.T., Shands Rehab Hospital director of rehab, case manage-ment and business development. “They receive three hours of therapy a day, but we want to assure that the rest of their day is worthwhile and engaging.”

Watson and her team are also enhanc-ing their current volunteer program with technology. They have created a social media and technology track for volunteers who can assist patients with updating their Facebook status, playing iPad games and video chatting with loved ones.

“We all know we live in a digital age,” said Watson. “So why can’t a hospital be in the digital age? Or even leading it?” N&N

“Our goal is for a patient to have an excellent stay while they are at the hospital with excellent and evidenced-based care.” suzanne Questell, P.t., shands rehab Hospital director of rehab, case management and business development.


TO DO


Answering the call Shands at UF transplant team takes on a challenge other centers turned down

For many transplant patients, the call for a life-saving organ usually comes in the middle of the night. For ReAnne Walcott, it came while she was on vacation outside the continental U.S.

Walcott, a Florida resident, was in Kona, Hawaii, when she received the call that a donor kidney matching her rare blood type was available in July.

“There is only so much time during which an organ is transplantable,” said Shelly Morgan, R.N., the Shands at the University of Florida Kidney Transplant Program coordinator who was on-call when the organ became available. “Communication and coordination are imperative.”

Three flight connections and one car ride later, Walcott made it back to Gainesville to receive her healthy, new kidney.

About 10 percent of people waiting for a transplant in the U.S., like Walcott, are blood type B. Patients with this rare blood type typically wait the longest for a kidney match, about four years in Florida and up to nine years in New York. With a team committed to strong patient outcomes and

thoughtful optimization of organs, Walcott waited just a little more than a year.

Several centers turned down Walcott’s donor’s kidneys. Because the organs came from an infant, they were more technically challenging to transplant than adult kidneys. The Shands Transplant Center accepted the kidneys, however, and split them between two recipients.

“It would have been easy for us to turn these kidneys down, as other centers did,” Morgan said. “The challenge is deciding how we can use them because we are here to safely maximize the scarce resource of donor organs to help the patients.”

Ivan Zendejas, M.D., UF College of Medicine assistant professor of surgery, performed the transplants. He said many centers do not transplant pediatric kidneys or may choose to implant two small kidneys into only one recipient

“We know how hard it is to do two transplants out of a single pediatric donor and how long blood type B patients wait to receive a life-saving organ, but we had the chance to duplicate the gift of the family that donated their child’s kidneys, and that means a lot.”

Walcott has since met the recipient of the other kidney, Ja’mes Thomas. The two kidney recipients affectionately call each other “Sis,” and are doing very well. The young kidneys will grow with each of the patients and mature to their size, allowing them to live healthy and active lives free from dialysis. The kidneys were the smallest Zendejas has transplanted. He credits a skilled academic program, a dedicated multidisciplinary team, and up-to-the-minute communication for the successful outcome.

“The training I received here at UF was so complete with a lot of expertise to do these kinds of cases,” Zendejas said. “It’s a combination of having skilled people who are willing to do the tough cases and experienced mentors who are here to guide you.” N&N

“...we had the chance to

duplicate the gift of the family that donated their child’s kidneys, and that means a

lot.” Ivan Zendejas, M.d.,

assistant professor of surgery in the University of Florida College of Medicine

(L-R) Ja’mes thomas and Reanne Walcott


TO DO

uf | SERVicE

Learn more about Parkinson’s disease during April UF expert reaches out to offer hope with new book

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, a call for people nationwide to learn more about Parkinson’s disease and advocate for people who live with it. Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder typically associated with tremor, slowness of movement and muscle stiffness. According to the National Parkinson Foundation, 1.5 million Americans currently have Parkinson’s disease, and 50,000 -60,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year.

At present, there is no lab test that will clearly detect Parkinson’s disease. In order to arrive at a diagnosis, the physician takes a family and health history from the person, and performs a thorough physical and neurological examination, observing the person’s movements and muscle function. Early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is critical so that appropriate treatment can begin. The diagnosis typically occurs after spending only an hour or two with an expert, but the use of a complete interdisciplinary team can have great benefits for continued patient management.

Research shows that in addition to advanced medications, movement and exercise have a very positive influence on disease symptoms and is central to maintaining balance and mobility in people with Parkinson’s.

Michael S. Okun M.D., UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration co-director and UF College of Medicine professor of neurology, is considered a world’s authority on Parkinson’s disease treatment.

The center is unique in that it is comprised of more than 45 interdisciplinary faculty members from diverse areas of campus, all of whom are dedicated to care, outreach, education and research. Okun has been dedicated to this interdisciplinary care concept since his appointment as the National Medical Director for the National Parkinson Foundation in 2006.

Okun has written an informative new book, Parkinson’s Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life, which was released on March 20. The purpose of this book is to create a simple forum for Parkinson’s disease patients to learn and exchange the secrets that can help them to live a happier life.

“I believe that every patient, and every family member touched by Parkinson’s and by chronic neurological disease, can find and kindle hope,” Okun said. “Hope leads to happiness, and happiness will lead to a meaningful life.” N&N

Michael s. okun M.D., released his new book parkinson’s treatment: 10 secrets to a Happier life on March 20.

: TREMOR OR iNVOLuNTARY MOVEMENTS

: RigiDiTY Of MuScLES; SLOWNESS Of bODY MOVEMENT

: SHuffLiNg gAiT

: LOSS Of fAciAL MObiLiTY

: SPEEcH DifficuLTiES

: iMPAiRED bALANcE

: DEPRESSiON AND ANxiETY

: DETERiORATiNg HANDWRiTiNg

iNiTiAL WARNiNg SigNS Of PARkiNSON’S DiSEASE iNcLuDE:

anyone experiencing any symptoms associated with parkinson’s disease is encouraged to see a doctor to help diagnose the illness and rule out other possible symptom causes. For more information on parkinson’s please visit http://mdc.mbi.ufl.edu/.


TO DO

®code of Conduct, review and understand.

®Obey the regulations and policies that apply to your job.

®Make compliance awareness part of your job duties.

®Pledge to always do the right thing.

®Lead by example.

®identify potential problems.

®Attend educational and mandatory training sessions.

®Notify your supervisor if you know of or suspect possible wrongdoing.

®contribute to open and honest communication.

®Encourage co-workers to adopt our culture of compliance.


PLEASE SuPPORT uf&SHANDS bY TAkiNg THE cOMPLiANcE AWARENESS SuRVEY

TO LEARN MORE:email anne Meiring, senior quality improvement specialist, patient experience, UF&shands, at [email protected]

anthony Clarizio, executive director, shands HomeCare and elderCare of alachua County, at [email protected].

uf&SHANDS | SERVicE

YOu’RE NEVER TOO YOuNg TO bE HEARD

some of your patients may have prepared a plan for what they want to happen if they become unable to make their own medical decisions. You might even have worked with families to help make sure that their relatives’ medical wishes were carried out.

But what about your wishes?

what would you want to happen if an unexpected accident or illness left you temporarily or permanently unable to say which treatment and care options you prefer?

everyone 18 and older is encouraged to complete a living will and designate a health care surrogate to speak on his or her behalf if the need arises. to help you with the process, UF&shands is joining others around the country in

observing National Healthcare Decisions Day on april 16 to highlight the need to plan for unforeseen medical circumstances and care near the end of life.

“But how do i even begin to think about that?” you might be wondering. “Do i need to complete a specific form? what should i do with such a form once it’s completed? and how do i make sure that what i write in those documents is what really happens when it matters most?”

Drop by the shands at the University of Florida atrium 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, april 15, for help answering these and other questions during our National Healthcare Decisions Day preview event. also pick up information, worksheets and forms you can use to prepare your medical advance directives. shands

Vista and shands rehab Hospital will hold information sessions on april 16. For more on National Healthcare Decisions Day, visit http://www.nhdd.org. and look out for announcements on additional information sessions for employees.

Make a commitment to yourself today to start thinking about advance directives — you’re not too young to make your health care decisions known.

at UF&shands, National Healthcare Decisions day is just the beginning. we are working to encourage and help our medical staff and patients prepare advance directives, and to streamline the process so information can be stored centrally and easily retrieved from any point of care in the health system. stay tuned for more information.

Corporate Compliance and ethics week is a nationally recognized event, and we’d like you to please support our culture of compliance at shands. employees are encouraged to complete the Compliance awareness survey, which will be available online april 8 -26.

the survey is confidential and only takes a few minutes to complete. Your answers will help the shands Compliance program be more effective. remember, compliance begins with YoU! You can access the survey by clicking on the link we will share in shands News during april.

news notes · news&notes vol. 8 no. 9 | april 2013 donate life month in april is an important...

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