Excela Health

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• What You Should Know About Aneurysms
• Excela Health Laboratories Selected as Software Test Site, Bringing Process Improvement and Savings to Health System
• Excela Health Physicians Earn Immunization Achievement Awards
• Excela Health Adds to Senior Leadership Team, Welcomes New President for Westmoreland Hospital
• Excela Health ‘Sounds the Alert’ About Dangers of Diabetes
• Tragedy Inspires Sisters to Help Drunk Driving Accident Victims
• Cyber Bullying: Excela Health Offers Suggestions for Keeping Kids Safe Online

An aneurysm is a weak or thin spot on a blood vessel wall, usually an artery. Some don’t pose any immediate danger, but an aneurysm that ruptures can lead to serious disability, and even death.  “An aneurysm can appear in various places, including the groin or leg. But they are often found in the abdomen or head,” explained neurologist Michael A. Sauter, MD, co-director of Excela Health’s Neuroscience Center at Latrobe Hospital.

Abdominal Aneurysms:

These aneurysms primarily affect men older than age 60. Risk factors include:

• Age
• Family history. Having a first-degree relative with history of an abdominal aneurysm may raise risk as much as 29 percent Medical conditions such as high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, vascular disease, Marfan’s syndrome, diabetes and syphilis.
• Smoking

The most commonly reported symptom of an abdominal aneurysm is pain in the abdomen, side or back. Other symptoms may include a feeling of fullness, nausea and vomiting. Usually, however, these types of aneurysms cause no symptoms at all. They are often found by doctors during routine exams or in the course of treatment for something else.  A ruptured abdominal aneurysm can kill without warning. So, doctors sometimes recommend regular monitoring of small aneurysms and surgery on larger ones.

Brain Aneurysms:

According to Dr. Sauter, brain aneurysms can occur at any age, but are more likely after age 25. Surgery carries risks, so symptom-free aneurysms are usually left untreated as long as they stay small. A large, painful, leaking, or ruptured aneurysm requires immediate surgery.  Though about 5 percent of adults have brain aneurysms, these rarely rupture. Those that do rupture may send out warnings days or even weeks in advance. A slow blood leak may trigger a sudden, severe, and persistent headache, sometimes accompanied by nausea or vomiting, loss of consciousness, dizziness, stiff neck or vision problems. Dr. Sauter recommends that individuals experiencing a combination of these symptoms or persistence of these symptoms should go contact their primary care physician immediately. When a brain aneurysm bursts, it releases blood into the brain, causing a hemorrhagic stroke. “It’s frequently easy for people to ignore these symptoms, attributing them to stress, lack of sleep or any other malady. My best advice is to pay attention to your body and when something isn’t quite right, take preventive measures before something as drastic as a brain aneurism occurs.”  “In any type of aneurysm can be life-threatening or at least life altering,” explains Dr. Sauter. “The best thing people can do it pay attention to their risk factors and develop a collaborative relationship with their physician.”

Board certified in neurology and neurorehabilitation, Dr. Sauter has been newly credentialed in vascular neurology. This certification acknowledges that 25 percent of his caseload is in this area. For more than 15 years, Dr. Sauter has been engaged in research and clinical trials in acute and chronic stroke. Most recently, he has helped Excela Health to meet the Get With The Guidelines criteria from the American Heart/Stroke Association, for which Excela Health hospitals have earned the gold award. 

To learn more about aneurysms and stroke risk, contact Excela Health’s Call Center, toll free, 1-877-771-1234, or visit www.excelahealth.org.

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Excela Health laboratories served as a beta test site for a software solution for anatomic pathology data processing. Based on the thorough testing efforts and smooth implementation at Excela Health, no other beta testing for this software was needed before the upgrade goes into general release throughout the United States and Canada. Already experienced with the full functionality of PowerPath® by Impac Software, and eager to adopt the new enhancements, a small team of Laboratory personnel conducted an intensive eight-week test trial of the software upgrade.

“We were very excited to be asked to be a test site and be on the leading edge of software enhancements in the industry. The new technology will help us streamline our processes, and provide all relative information in one system.” noted Carol Slonecker, director of Laboratory Services, Excela Health.

One of the most significant benefits of the new upgrade is the ability to automate and batch process documentation scanned into the system.  Documents are barcode labeled. The PowerPath® system reads the label and auto assigns the document to the respective case. Scanning capability, previously limited to 250 documents in a day, has increased to 50 pages per minute. Excela Health went live with the system May 11. Rose Piper, Laboratory office supervisor, who led the team, commented “this was the smoothest live ever. Some people didn’t even realize we had upgraded.” She commended all her team members for an excellent job. Team members included: Ben Cerro and Joan Golden, Information Technology, Deborah Glessner, Cytology Lab and Jonathan Keen, Histology Lab.

Beyond the process improvement, participation as a test site also provided financial benefits for the health system, with the Laboratory receiving the $20,000 upgrade at no charge.

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Three Excela Health physician practices have been named to the Ninety Percent Club by the Southwest Immunization Coalition, Pennsylvania Department of Health Division of Immunization for 2008: N.B. Krishnappa, MD, Irwin; Children’s Community Pediatrics, Jeannette; and Latrobe Family Medicine, Latrobe. They were honored during the coalition’s annual immunization symposium, April 21 at the Four Points Sheraton, Greensburg  This quality assurance recognition is based on participation in the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program with a high level of immunization coverage for children by age 2, and a high level of compliance with program standards. The Southwest Immunization Coalition Recognition of VFC Providers is derived through a random sampling computer analysis of immunization records during an onsite review of the VFC program and procedures. More than 80 practices were visited in 2008.

In presenting the awards, the coalition noted that data collection is an imperfect process to account for myriad of challenges faced by medical providers and that all deserve recognition and encouragement for vaccine administration. 

Statewide the coverage rate for public providers is estimated to be 73% by the age of 24 months utilizing 2008 data within the Pennsylvania Statewide Immunization Registry. National 2008 estimates [phone sampling survey] for Pennsylvania are 80% for this same vaccine series in a broader age range of 19-35 months of age. National immunization data can be viewed at www.cdc.gov.

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Excela Health welcomes Ronald H. Ott, MPH, to the senior leadership team, as president of Westmoreland Hospital and the Jeannette campus, effective April 6, 2009.

He joins Peggy Hayden, president, Latrobe Hospital, and Jeff Zewe, president, Frick Hospital, in providing local leadership under the health system’s distributed delivery model. All report to Kim Hollon, Excela’s interim Chief Executive Officer, and assist in interpreting Excela Health’s mission, vision and values across our service area.

Ott comes to Excela Health with 30 years experience at UPMC McKeesport, where he has served as president since 1991. During his tenure, the hospital received national recognition for its quality and patient outcomes. UPMC McKeesport received the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from the Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum as well as the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence three times. UPMC McKeesport was also one of the first UPMC facilities invited to participate in the Highmark Pay for Performance Program based on their excellent patient care outcomes. 

In accepting this new leadership position at Excela Health, Ott noted: “I have been very impressed with Excela Health's superior reputation and strong market presence. Excela Health is known for providing excellent patient care and has received national recognition for their quality outcomes. I am very pleased to join the team of caring professionals and hospital family.

“I know Excela Health is dedicated to providing the highest quality patient  care possible and is the Provider of Choice for the large number of communities that they are proud to serve. I am very proud to be a part of this commitment and to accomplishing Excela Health's mission and vision of clinical and operational excellence and continued growth as a major player in the region's health care market.” 

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Excela Health is joining the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to "Sound the Alert" about the dangers of diabetes. Diabetes has become the greatest public health crisis of the next quarter century. To address the burden of this disease, the ADA is issuing an urgent call-to-action for Americans to find out their risk for type 2 diabetes during the 21st annual American Diabetes Alert® Day, March 24. Nearly 6 million Americans have diabetes, but don’t even know it. Another 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes, placing them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

On American Diabetes Alert Day, held the fourth Tuesday in March, the ADA encourages people who are overweight, physically inactive, and over the age of 45 years to take the Diabetes Risk Test. The Diabetes Risk Test requires users to answer simple questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Test will show users whether they are at low, moderate, or high risk for pre- diabetes or diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Test is available by contacting the Excela Health Call Center, toll-free, 1-877-771-1234, or by visiting www.diabetes.org/alert. Individuals who determine they have are at risk also may contact the Excela Health Call Center to enroll in Diabetes Awareness and Prevention, a four-week class that begins April 2.

Certified by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), Excela Health’s Diabetes Centers offer nationally recognized comprehensive education. ADA certification is the leading quality assurance that individuals with diabetes will receive state-of-the-art, up-to-date information and the skills necessary for self-management. The centers are conveniently located in Greensburg, Jeannette, Latrobe and Mount Pleasant at Excela Health’s hospital campuses.

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It was a typical fall day for the Faulkner family of Mount Gilead, Ohio, with 18-year-old Elizabeth home from college for the weekend. A bright, popular student, the teen was studying to be a psychiatrist with a promising life ahead. In a single, fateful instant her dreams and plans were shattered when she was killed by a drunk driver in October 2006. The driver ran a stop sign going 80 miles per hour. A sobriety test revealed a blood alcohol content of 2.74, three times the legal limit. The first-time offender was sentenced to five years in prison and a life-long suspension of his driver’s license. Elizabeth Faulkner‘s family got life.

“When you are a victim or loved one of a drunk driver, you get a life sentence. It never goes away,” described Faulkner’s aunt, Jodi Kreger, of Ligonier.

Keeping her niece’s memory and spirit alive, Kreger, Director of Revenue Cycle Management for Excela Health Physician Practices, is channeling her energies to advocating for victims and survivors as well as educating offenders who were apprehended while driving under the influence (DUI). 

Thanks to Kreger’s efforts, a MADD DUI - Drugs and Alcohol Victim Support Group will begin meeting at Latrobe Hospital, 6:00p.m. to 8:30p.m., March  26, Conference Room 1, Alex G. McKenna Education Center, First Floor. The first hour is an informal meeting where anyone interested in advocacy can learn more. A traditional support group component follows at 7:00p.m.

Support groups can help the bereaved and injured feel less alone and encourage them as they take steps to facilitate their healing process. The goal of a support group is simply to facilitate movement through the grief process, helping people face and work through their pain. Victims/survivors need reassurance that they have not been singled out for their tragedies. The isolation of the injured and bereaved slowly breaks down as the group emerges.

To register for the upcoming support group, contact Traci Vetovich, MADD Victim Services Specialist, 1-866-828-16660 or e-mail maddwa@zoominternet.net.

In addition to MADD, Excela Health is a host site for Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Emotions Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Behavioral Health Services are also available for those who need therapeutic services for a diagnosis aggravated by drugs or alcohol.

For information on support groups or behavioral health services, contact Excela health’s Call Center, toll free, 1-877-771-1234 or visit www.excelahealth.org.

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If you’re a parent, you know just how technology-savvy kids are today. If they aren’t talking on their cell phone, they’re chatting online or texting. All this technology has benefits, but it also has drawbacks. And one is a new twist on an age-old problem.

While the bullies of the past did their dirty work on the playground, bullies now often go unseen and unknown. Cyber bullying, also called electronic aggression, occurs when someone uses electronic media — the Internet, a cell phone, or another device — to send or post messages or images in order to emotionally hurt or embarrass another person. For example, a teen might pretend to be someone else online to trick a classmate into giving personal information. Or someone might post sensitive information about another person, or send a teasing or threatening instant message. 

According to Judy Welty, RN, Excela Health’s clinical coordinator of the inpatient child and adolescent unit located at Latrobe Hospital, recent studies indicate 42 percent of students admit to being bullied, while 35 percent admit to being threatened online. The Journal of Adolescent Health reported that another recent study demonstrated nearly 20 percent of sixth to eighth graders have some experience with cyber bullying. Yet another study reported in the same journal found a 50 percent increase in the percentage of teens who were victims of online harassment from 2000 to 2005.

Many states have been debating this issue vigorously due to the significant harmful effects. In July 2008, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signed a new measure into law requiring all schools in the Commonwealth to institute a cyber bullying disciplinary code by January 2009. The new law now allows for detention and even expulsion in cases of online attacks.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the state of Pennsylvania defines bullying including cyber bullying as “any intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act, or a series of acts: (1) directed at another student or students, (2) which occurs in a school setting, (3) that is severe, persistent or pervasive, and (4) that has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's education, creating a threatening environment, or substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school, and "school setting" shall mean in the school, on school grounds, in school vehicles, at a designated bus stop or at any activity sponsored, supervised or sanctioned by the school.”

While states like Pennsylvania have made some legislative progress, there are steps both parents and kids can take to combat cyber bullying.

For Parents

• Keep the computer in a “public” space, such as the family room. Monitoring children’s online activities may reduce the risk of them becoming victims or perpetrators of electronic aggression.
• Explain that cyber bullying is harmful behavior. Review expectations for online behavior and make it clear there will be consequences for unacceptable behavior.
• Consider installing parental control filtering software or tracking programs.
• Tell the child you may review his or her online communications if you think there is reason for concern.
• Inform the child’s school if a problem is detected.
• Talk with your child about what he or she is doing online.

For Kids and Teens

• Seek help from an adult, whether it’s a parent, a school teacher or another adult with whom you are comfortable. Realize it is OK to be afraid; it is not OK. to be afraid alone.
• Be careful of what you do or say in person or online because it can be forwarded to your friends or posted online within seconds.
• If you receive a threatening e-mail, do not open it.
• DO NOT erase threatening e-mails or delete messages on MySpace or any other social media. Records of cyber bullying might be needed for litigation.
• NEVER give out personal information or meet someone in person that you’ve met online.

“It’s a dangerous world. It’s more important than ever before for parents, teens and even schools to keep the communication lines open,” added Dr. Rosenthal. “Parents should also seek professional help for their child or teen, if they suspect the child is overly anxious, is suffering from long-term depression or is at risk for suicide.”

Beyond inpatient services for children and adolescents, Excela Health offers school based therapy and outpatient services for families. To learn more, visit www.excelahealth.org or contact the Excela Health Call Center, toll free 1-877-771-1234.

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