Casa Colina Night at The Ontario Reign

December 2013
This has been a landmark year for Casa Colina. Not only have we been entrusted with the care of more patients than
at any time in our history – more than 11,000 admissions. Not only have we, working together, continued an unprecedented
steady climb in fina ncial performance since 1998. Not only have we been able to keep health care costs for employees in
control, with no increases for yet another year. Not only do we remain a vibrant, dynamic part of our community’s health care
network – and the only free-standing, independent, non-profit rehabilitation hospital in California. Not only have we opened our
new Medical Offices Building, welcoming retail pharmacy, medical supplies sales, urgent care, and particularly primary care
physicians to our campus. And, mo st importantly, not only have we maintained the excellence of the care and individualized
attention we give to every patient.
What could be more than all that? During this year we have also taken the time to look back with respect at where
we’ve come from. We celebrated 75 years of service to the community with a year of events full of pride and memories. And
we’ve also taken practical steps to implement a vision designed to guarantee our future. We have broken ground and started
construction on a bold new chapter in our development. The 31-bed medical/surgical addition with its surgery and procedure
rooms is as forward-thinking and profound a change for Casa Colina as anything in our history.
I would like to thank each of you for your tremendous efforts to make this happen. There are exciting and challenging
times ahead for Casa Colina both in terms of what we will be able to do for patients and in terms of your personal opportunit ies
to contribute to that effort. We could not do any of this without the w ork you do every day. On behalf of the Board of Directors
and from the many, many letters and comments I have from patients, I want you to know you are very much appreciated. And
from my family to yours, may you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy, productive New Year.
~Felice Loverso, Ph.D., President and CEO
The holiday season is a time for enjoying the company of our
family and friends, marathon mall shopping t, office parties, and interaction with
many members of our community. A lot of handshakes and hugs are shared
during this time as everyone mak es it a point to gather in celebration.
Coincidentally, illnesses such as colds and the flu tend to flourish
during this time. And who wants to miss festivities due to illness? During this
time of year, it is important to clean your hands frequently.
Hand washing: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
That’s about as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice. Scrub
your hands vigorously; use friction while covering all surfaces of the hands,
including fingers.
Using alcohol-based hand rub: If soap and water are unavailable, u se
an alcohol-based hand rub containing at least 60 percent alcohol. Squirt a dime
to quarter-size amount in the palm of your hand and then rub all surfaces of
your hands and fingers until dry. Recommended times to clean hands include:
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Before eating
Before, during, and after preparing food
After using the restroom
After coughing, sneezing, or caring for someone who is ill
After taking out the garbage
After petting animals
So have fun this holiday season, and remember that the easiest way to prevent
the spread of infection is to clean your hands!
Casa Colina Night at
The Ontario Reign
Friday, January 24th 7:00 p.m.
at the Citizen’s Bank Arena
Bring the family and enjoy a night
of fun for everyone!
Tickets can be purchased in the
Human Resources Department
UNTIL January 10 th
*At a cost of $16.00 per ticket
WHAT A GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT
IDEA!
DON’T FORGET TO..
Update your address with Human
Resources no later than December
31st to make sure your W-2 is
mailed to the correct address.
Leilin Briscoe
Leticia Mercado
Dawnisha Warren
Juan Ramos
Scott Fullmer
Claudia Ramirez
Joshlyn Taylor
Medical Assistant - Clinics
Medical Assistant - Clinics
Patient Care Technician, Nursing
LVN/LPT Shift Supervisor, TLC
Director of Managed Care Contracting
Cashier, Patient Accounting
Residential Aide, Lucerne Valley REHIRE
Construction Update:
The parking lot behind the Imaging Center and the
Surgery Center was removed. The excavation of the
site began the day before Thanksgiving and is now
well underway. On the first day of excavation,
nineteen dump trucks, each pulling two trailers, went
through five times each with their trailers full of dirt;
that’s ninety-five
five loads in just one day! The process
will continue
ue for several weeks. Upon completion,
the contractor will compact the remaining soil and
grade the site in preparation for the foundation work.
The foundation work is anticipated to begin after the
New Year.
Have You Had A Recent Life
Change?
It is important to remember that when you have
a benefit life event, you ONLY have thirty -one
(31) days to come into Human Resources and
request a change to your benefits. Some life
events include:
 Birth/adoption of a child
 Marriage
 Divorce
 Death
 Loss or gain of coverage elsewhere
 Change in employment that affects
affec
benefits
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes
for the New Year.
From,
The Human Resources
Staff
A Leader In The Field
Michele Keilson-Alaniz,
Alaniz, Occupational
Therapist at Children's Services, in
partnership with Dr. Emily Rosario, Ina
Necesito, and some dedicated research
assistants, completed groundbreaking
research assessing the correlation of
pinch and grip strength to handwriting
other functional skills.
and
The research has been received with much
interest across the nation as multiple states have invited
Mrs. Keilson-Alaniz
Alaniz to present
present her findings
findings at their
their
occupational therapy state conferences. This year, Casa
Colina sent Mrs. Keilson--Alaniz to Nevada, Colorado, and
Florida to present her
er findings and the presentation was
also accepted to be presented at the World Federation of
Occupational Therapy's international conference in April of
2014. Casa Colina continues to establish itself as a center
of excellence as; as demonstrated by excit
exciting and
important research.
Casa Colina has many great employees making a
difference in their field and helping Casa Colina to stand
out as a leader in Rehabilitative Care. We also want to
recognize the following employees who presented at
recent conferences.
Jamie Dausilio – Rehabilitation Nursing,
Laura Espinoza – National Brain Injury Society,
Dianne Whiting – American Congress of Rheumatology,
Suzi Johnson – California Physical Therapy Association,
Judy Attaway – Audiology
Casa Colina is thrilled to welcome Geneva Allen -Stewart as
our new Director of Patient Financial Services (Patient Accounting).
Geneva has over 25 years experience in the healthcare industry, with
over 15 years experience in hospital patient accounting. Ge neva’s
current focus lies with rebuilding patient accounting; becoming more
effective, efficient, successful, and removing labor intensive
processes to improve billing collection, payment posting and accounts
receivables. Geneva states it’s “about getting payers to pay us”.
The main goal is to apply best practice methods that will
improve our revenue cycle, billing and collection processes towards
exceeding our goals and improving cash flow for Casa Colina that is
already successful.” Geneva is also a memb er of our RAC Team and
is specifically in charge of the claims and initial notification side of the
RAC audits, monitoring the Patient Accounting side and Medicare
side, ensuring billing, collection and that the information is posted
correctly. Working clo sely with Gina Ruiz (Medicare Biller/Collector),
Susan Quinn (Corp Compliance Officer), Linda Leyva (Corp
Compliance Analyst), and Jennyfer Poduska (Dir In -Patient & Case
Management). The RAC Team works hard to respond to notices from
Medicare, distribute the information and hold Medicare accountable
for their mistakes, seeking to avoid financial impacts for Casa Colina.
Geneva mentions “it’s exciting to work with hard working
accountable teams here at Casa Colina that strives for successful
resolutions.” In just a few short months, Geneva has revamped our
Patient Accounting Department and we look forward to seeing what
she has in store for the future.