August, 2015 - Mercy Medical Center

The SPHS
August 18, 2015
A Sisters of Providence Health System Publication
Mercy Physician Oversees Worldwide
Women’s Health and Education Initiative
The Mission of the Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS) calls
its colleagues to serve as a transforming, healing presence in the
community. Mercy Medical Center’s Rita Luthra, MD, embraces the
SPHS Mission and expands its reach by providing a transforming,
healing presence all over the world.
Dr. Luthra is President of the Women’s Health and Education Center
(WHEC) and is Editor-in-Chief of the e-learning publication WomensHealthSection.com, which is dedicated to women’s well-being and
health care worldwide. A Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, she has also worked with various international
organizations, such as UNA-USA, Peace Corps and the World Health Organization. Recently, Dr. Luthra traveled to New York to make a presentation about the WHEC at the United Nations.
According to Dr. Luthra, the aim of the WHEC is to improve maternal
health through education.“Education improves health, while health improves
learning potential. Education and health complement, enhance and
support each other; together, they serve as the foundation for a better
world,” said Dr. Luthra. “Our website is designed as a resource for health
care providers and the general public with articles that provide an overview of current clinical management guidelines in respect of women’s
health, focusing on the components integral to providing optimum care.
According to Dr. Luthra, there is a dire need for this information. “Every
year, 529,000 girls and women die at childbirth. Over 300 million women
worldwide suffer from either short- or long-term complications arising
from pregnancy or childbirth, with around 20 million new cases every
year. Most of these deaths and disabilities are preventable,” she said.
Continued on Page 7
SPHS Welcomes Medical Students
At a reception in July, Mercy Medical Center
officially welcomed the first cohort of 16 medical students from University of New England
College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford,
Maine. While at Mercy, these students will
spend their third-year clerkship rotating
through the disciplines of Medicine, Surgery,
Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Behavioral
Health, Family Medicine and Community Health.
“These students selected Mercy Medical
Center as the clinical setting for the next step
Continued on Page 8
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Inside Sisters of Providence Health System
Mercy Announces $500,000 Gift for
Cancer Center Capital Campaign
Mercy Medical Center is pleased to
announce that Balise Motor Sales has
made a $500,000 gift to Transforming
Cancer Care—The Capital Campaign
for the Sister Caritas Cancer Center. The
Balise gift will support the 26,000 square
foot expansion of the Cancer Center that
will bring Radiation Oncology services
and Medical Oncology services together
under one roof. By 2022, the demand for
outpatient cancer services in this region is
expected to grow by 26 percent.
“While I knew cancer is a major health
concern, I had no idea how great the need for
cancer services is in our community,” said Jeb
Balise, President of Balise Motor Sales. “When
my brother Mike (Balise) was diagnosed with
cancer, a friend of mine put me in touch with
a physician at Mercy, Dr. Mohamed Hamdani,
who educated me about Mike’s condition and
helped me understand that Mike wasn’t alone,
and neither was I.”
A cancer survivor himself, Dr. Hamdani
serves as Chair of the Capital Campaign for
the $15 million expansion of the Sister Caritas
Cancer Center. In addition to increasing treatment space, the project design will allow for
enhanced communication among oncology
providers, improve access to existing cancer
TRANSFORMING
T H E C A P I T A L C A M PA I G N F O R T H E
S I S T E R C A R I TA S C A N C E R C E N T E R
From left to right, Philip Glynn, MD, Director of Oncology, Mercy Medical Center; Mohamed P. Hamdani, MD, Chair of the
Cancer Center Capital Campaign; Jeb Balise, CEO of Balise Motor Sales; Mike Balise, Vice President of Balise Motor Sales; and
Daniel P. Moen, President and CEO, SPHS.
center services, and provide a more private setting for patients during treatment.
“The Sister Caritas Cancer Center takes great
pride in serving as a place of hope and healing
for those who seek cancer care. The generous
support we have received from Jeb Balise, Mike
Balise and Balise Motor Sales is a testament
to the vital role the Cancer Center plays in the
in the local community,” said Daniel P. Moen,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Sisters of
Providence Health System.
“What excites us most about this project is
that people right here in our community will
have access to extremely high quality care, including clinical trial drugs, without having to
travel,” said Balise. “We can’t think of anything
more gratifying than making lives better for
families in times when it matters most.”
Mercy Night at Valley Blue Sox
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CANCER CARE
During Heritage Week in July, SPHS employees
were invited to attend a Valley Blue Sox game at
MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke. The game was
sponsored by Mercy Medical Center. John Sjoberg,
Vice Chair of the SPHS Board of Trustees, took to
the mound to throw out a ceremonial first
pitch—a perfect “strike.” The SPHS Marketing
Department provided giveaways to attendees
at the game and SPHS employees were able to
enter a special raffle for Valley Blue Sox items.
Inside Sisters of Providence Health System
Annual Brightside Golf Classic
Raises Over $95,000
Warm temperatures and high humidity
didn’t slow down golfers at the 35th Annual
Brightside Golf Classic on July 27. 160 golfers
participated in the tournament, playing on two
courses: Springfield Country Club in West
Springfield, and Twin Hills Country Club in
Longmeadow. The event raised $95,104 to help
continue the important work of Brightside for
Families and Children as a non-profit child welfare and family support organization for at-risk
children, adolescents and their families.
“Since its founding as an orphanage in 1881,
Brightside has strived to meet the needs of the
region’s most vulnerable children and adolescents. And while those needs have changed
considerably over the years, Brightside has
adapted by restructuring its programs and services in order to continue to provide assistance
to those in need,” said Daniel P. Moen, President
and Chief Executive Officer, Sisters of Providence
Health System (SPHS).
The funds raised through this year’s Golf
Classic will help support Brightside’s efforts
to assist children, adolescents and families in
need through family outreach and stabilization,
psychiatric and medication evaluation and
management, special education, and therapeutic mentoring.
William Wagner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chicopee Savings Bank; Matthew
Sosik, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Easthampton Savings Bank; John Kendzierski,
President, Professional Drywall Construction,
Inc., and Paul Fritz, served as co-chairs of the
Brightside Golf Classic. Wagner was also presented with the Corridan Award for his longstanding commitment to Brightside’s mission
to serve and support children and families in
Continued on Page 8
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Inside Sisters of Providence Health System
Mercy Adult Day Health
SPHS Celebrates
Heritage Week 2015
July 19 marked the 165th birthday of Catherine Horan, who became
known as Mother Mary of Providence when she founded the Sisters of
Providence of Holyoke. Each year, the facilities that make up the Sisters
of Providence Health System set aside time to celebrate Heritage Week
to remember and honor all of the Sisters of Providence, great women
whose many stories teach about hope, courage, community, God’s
providence, and service to those in need. Events throughout SPHS
included daily reflections, collections for Providence Ministries and
Kate’s Kitchen, employee barbeques and ice cream socials.
Mercy Hospice
Farren Care Center
Mercy Home Care
Providence Place
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Inside Sisters of Providence Health System
Mount Saint Vincent
Care Center
Mercy Medical Center
Mary’s Meadow
Saint Luke’s Home
Providence Behavioral
Health Hospital
Mercy LIFE
5
SPHS Values in Practice
Mary’s Meadow at Providence Place Retains 5-Star Rating
Mary’s Meadow at Providence Place has
retained a 5-Star quality rating from the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS), the government agency’s highest
possible rating.
The CMS rating for Mary’s Meadow at Providence Place is posted on the Nursing Home
Compare website, https://www.medicare.gov/
nursinghomecompare/search.html, which contains quality of care information on every
Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home
in the country, including over 15,000 nationwide. Following a review of performance in the
areas of Health Inspection, Quality Measures,
Staffing and RN Staffing, each facility is given
an overall rating of between 1 and 5 stars. A
5-Star rating indicates quality that is “much
above average.”
“The exemplary care provided at Mary’s
Meadow at Providence Place is indicative of the
entire staff’s commitment to high quality and
service excellence. The 5-Star recognition from
CMS is tangible evidence that they are meeting
their goals to the benefit of our residents and
patients,” said Daniel P. Moen, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Sisters of Providence
Health System.
According to CMS, the 5-Star quality rating system provides consumers with information that can be helpful in selecting a nursing
home. “While the CMS rating system provides
detailed information about staffing and quality measures, it isn’t a substitute for visiting
a nursing home and meeting the staff. Taken
together, these sources of information can help
individuals make the best skilled nursing facility decision for their loved ones,” said Christopher McLaughlin, Chief Operating Officer,
Mercy Continuing Care Network.
Earlier this year, Mary’s Meadow at Providence
Place earned a deficiency-free survey from the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
(DPH), with services meeting or exceeding
state and federal standards. To receive such a
survey, skilled nursing facilities must successfully complete a rigorous evaluation regarding
staffing levels, quality of care, safety, food services and cleanliness of facilities. A deficiencyfree rating from DPH is one of the top indicators
of excellence for skilled nursing facilities.
Mercy Medical Center’s annual Mass
Mercy Hosts Annual Decon Drill Decontamination Exercise with the
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Springfield Fire Department (SFD) was held in June. The exercise tests the ability to successfully deploy equipment and decontaminate multiple patients who may be exposed to chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear, or explosives contaminants. Mercy staff practiced alongside SFD members
to set up decontamination equipment, review the decontamination process, and account for all
equipment as it was packed away into storage. Mercy staff also tested proficiency in donning and
doffing Personal Protective Equipment used during interactions with potentially contaminated
patients. The exercise gave Mercy and SFD an opportunity to practice the mass decontamination
process together as they would in a real incident, and to train new staff members and firefighters.
SPHS Values in Practice
Mercy Grooves at the Jazz Festival
The 2015 Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival, sponsored in part by Mercy Medical Center,
drew a huge crowd to Court Square for a day of fun and family entertainment on August 8.
Lou Durkin, MD, FACEP, Medical Director of Mercy’s Emergency Department (ED), Erin Daley,
RN, Interim Nurse Manager, and the staff of Mercy’s ED provided first aid services and offered
bottles of water at the daylong event. Volunteers also helped out by collecting new socks for
distribution by the Health Care for the Homeless program. In all, hundreds pairs of socks were
collected at the Jazz Festival and at various Big Y locations throughout the region.
Left photo, from left to right: Louis J. Durkin, MD, FACEP,
Medical Director, Emergency Department; Erin Daley, RN,
Interim Nurse Manager, Emergency Department; Magdaly
Nunez, ED Tech; and Tanya Miller,ED Tech. Right photo, from
left to right: Sean Fallon, Community Benefit and Health
Manager; Peter Newland, Executive Sales Manager, StenTel
Transcription; and Doreen Fadus, Executive Director of Community Health, Mercy Medical Center.
Mercy Physician Oversees Worldwide Women’s Health
and Education Initiative Continued from Page 1
The WHEC’s e-learning project, Womens
HealthSection.com, provides information on a
wide variety of topics, such as Medical Disorders
and Pregnancy, Diagnostic Ultrasound, Gynecology, Pain Management during Labor and Delivery,
and Healthcare Policies and Women’s Health.
Readers who “click” on one of these topics have
the opportunity to review numerous articles on
different elements of the subject. These articles
are available in six languages: Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish.
WomensHealthSection.com continues to
grow in popularity, not only as a tool to promote
universal access to health information, but also
as a valuable continuing medical education
system. The e-learning project is currently available in 227 countries, serves 13 to 14 million
subscribers every year and has 35,000 to
40,000 visitors each day.
“The use of information science and telecommunications to support the practice of
medicine when distance separates the caregiver from the patient is perhaps the best way to
make medical care more affordable and more
accessible in every country,” said Dr. Luthra. “A
strong and vital health workforce is an investment in health for today and the future. It has a
profound effect on all citizens of the world, and
political, social and economic systems.”
Health-care providers usually have interest
or passion in a particular global issue or a particular region of the world. Preparing the next
generation of health-care providers in the international arena, deepening their knowledge
and improving the skill set for a career in global
health and global governance are needed. The
programs expose health-care providers to both
the academic training and practical knowledge
necessary for developing a career trajectory that
will focus the passion of health-care providers
and actualize their desire to have an impact on
national and international health-care policies.
The program is building the capacity to care.
In 2006, the Center began to develop scientifically based practice guidelines, in the form
of practice bulletins, with a view to improving
maternal health. The guidelines are derived
from the best available evidence of clinical efficacy and with consideration given to costs,
with recommendations explicitly linked to
the evidence. These evidence-based practice
guidelines are intended to be a means of improving the quality of health care, decreasing
its cost and diminishing professional liability.
They are proscriptive in nature and, therefore,
directive in approach. The Center’s board of
physicians identifies, evaluates and synthesizes evidence from the medical literature to
produce the practice bulletins, which serve as a
readily available introduction to and overview
of the topic.
“International development has moved
beyond charity. It has reached a new, globally
competitive stage, bringing with it enormous
strategic and economic implications for all the
nations and citizens of the world in the years
ahead,” said Dr. Luthra. “The challenge and opportunity are here. Let us make every mother
and child count!”
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Around the Sisters of Providence Health System
Mercy Medical Center Welcomes Medical Students Continued from Page 1
on their journey to becoming a physician and
we welcome their interest and enthusiasm,” said
Scott A. Wolf, D.O., MPH, Senior Vice President
of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer,
Mercy Medical Center, and Chief Operating Officer, Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS).
“Additionally, their arrival at Mercy marks the
first step in our preparation for a fully accredited Residency Training Program in Family Medicine and Behavioral Health to begin in 2017.”
The medical students will serve under the
direction of Joseph Podolski, D.O., Vice President
of Academic Affairs, Mercy Medical Center. Before joining SPHS, Dr. Podolski served as Director of Medical Education at Eastern Connecticut
Health Network, where he developed programs for both medical students and residents.
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine has been recognized by
U.S. News & World Report for national leadership in primary care training and rural medicine. The College of Osteopathic Medicine is
fully accredited by the American Osteopathic
Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.
“These medical students have received
comprehensive training in on-campus learning
laboratories to develop their clinical skills and
hone their understanding of anatomy and
osteopathic manipulative medicine. We are
hopeful they will consider returning to Mercy
once their education and training are com-
MEET STANLEY KONIECZNY
West Springfield native Stanley Konieczny has a long history
with Mercy Medical Center. While in high school, he worked
in Dietary Services at Mercy, preparing sandwiches and working
on the grill. Now returning as a medical student, Konieczny
looks forward to working closely with Mercy physicians and
“learning as much as he can” while moving through the rotation of clinical specialties with an eye toward determining
his main areas of interest. After medical school, he plans to
return to Western Massachusetts to practice medicine.
Around SPHS
Paying Tribute to a Hero—Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Sullivan
SPHS/Mercy was honored to join many others, including Peter Pan Bus
Lines and the Spirit of Springfield, in supporting the family of Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Sullivan during the fallen serviceman’s funeral services and
reception. Although the funeral was private, there was a great outpouring of
public support for the family from throughout the region and across the country.
More than 1000 Marines joined others from the community to pay their respects and participate in the services. Mercy’s contribution helped to offset the
cost associated with hosting the large group of servicemen.
City Stage and Symphony Hall Tickets
SPHS employees can buy discounted tickets for the 2015-2016 entertainment
line-up at City Stage and Symphony Hall. Log onto citystage.symphonyhall.com,
use the promo code MERCY, and save 10-percent on tickets. You can also buy
City Stage and Symphony Hall tickets before they go on sale to the general public.
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A MEMBER OF TRINITY HEALTH
plete,” said Dr. Wolf.
According to the American Osteopathic Association, approximately 60 percent of practicing
osteopathic physicians practice in the primary
care specialties of family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and
gynecology. Many D.O.s also fill a critical need
for physicians by practicing in rural and other
medically underserved communities.
Annual Brightside Golf Classic
Raises Over $95,000
Continued from Page 3
need. The Corridan Award is presented each year in memory of
James Corridan, who worked with community leaders to build
awareness about the important work done at Brightside and was
instrumental in establishing and organizing the annual golf tournament.
“The support of our sponsors and participants in the annual
Brightside Golf Classic is essential to our ability to continue to
bring hope and healing through the programs and services of
Brightside for Families and Children, and we are tremendously
grateful for their generosity,” said Diane Dukette, Vice President,
Fund Development, SPHS.
For more information about supporting Brightside, please visit
mercycares.com/ways-to-give or call at 413-748-9920.
The SPHS Journal is a publication of the Sisters of Providence Health System. Please send submissions to Mary Orr,
Media Specialist, Marketing Department, phone: 748-7217, e-mail: Mary.Orr­@sphs.com. SPHS JOURNAL ONLINE AT:
http://sphsma.che.org/ or MercyCares.com.