- General Page - Tier 2We want to encourage you, as a patient at Luminis Health, to speak openly with your health care team, take part in your treatment choices, and promote your own safety by being well informed and involved in your care. Because we want you to be a partner in your care, we want you to know your rights as well as your responsibilities during your stay at our hospital. We invite you and your family to be active members of your care team. Descargar derechos de los pacientes de AAMC y aviso de no discriminación.YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: Receive considerate, respectful, and compassionate care. Receive safe care without neglect and abuse. Abuse includes verbal, mental, physical or sexual abuse. An exam and treatment for emergency medical conditions and labor. Be free from restraints and seclusion unless needed for safety. Know the names and jobs of the people taking care of you if staff safety is not a concern. Have respect shown for your personal values, beliefs, and wishes. Be called by your proper name and pronoun of choice in an environment that maintains your dignity. Be treated without discrimination based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, religion, language, or your ability to pay. Have a family member or person of your choice and your personal doctor notified of your admission to the hospital. Receive a list of protective and advocacy services when needed. Ask for a cost estimate of your care if it does not slow down your care. Receive information in a way that you understand for free. This may include: Sign language and someone who speaks and understands your language Other formats like large print, braille, audio recordings, and computer files Vision, speech, hearing, and other temporary aids as needed Receive information from your doctor about your diagnosis, prognosis, test results, and outcomes of care. Access your medical records according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Be involved in decisions about your care including your discharge plan. You will be told of your discharge in a timely manner. Before your discharge, you will receive information about follow-up care. Be screened, assessed, and treated for pain. Refuse care. We are not responsible for any medical issues that occur if you refuse care. Let someone stay with you ( see our visitation policy). You may choose who may visit you. You may also change your mind about who may visit. Choose someone to make health care decisions for you if you cannot. Make or change an advance directive. We can give you information on advance directives. We can also help you complete an advance directive if you do not have one. Give written permission before receiving non-emergency care. We will tell you the benefits and risks of the care. We will advise you of options, along with benefits and risks if any. Agree or refuse to take part in medical research. Agreeing or refusing will not affect your care. Allow or refuse any images of you for reasons other than your care. Expect privacy and confidentiality in care discussions and treatments. You have the right to a copy of your medical records and to request changes to those records. You have the right to request who has seen your personal health information. Contact Medical Records for more information. Receive a copy of the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices. Discuss ethical issues with the Ethics Service. The operator or staff can call the Ethics Service for you. Receive spiritual services from Staff Chaplains or your own clergy by calling the operator or asking staff to assist you. File a complaint and have the complaint reviewed. Filing a complaint will not affect your care. Talk to your doctor, nurse, or department manager if you have a concern. You may also contact our Patient Relations team at 443-481-6890 or [email protected]. If your concern is not resolved to your liking, you may also contact: Maryland Department of Health Office of Health Care Quality 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Second Floor Columbia, MD 21046 410-402-8015 or 877-402-8218 Maryland Department of Health website The Joint Commission The preferred method for submitting a complaint to the Joint Commission is online using the Joint Commission's safety event reporting form. Mail: Office of Quality and Patient Safety The Joint Commission One Renaissance Boulevard Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois 60181 The care you receive depends partially on you. Therefore, in addition to the Patient’s Rights, you have certain responsibilities. These responsibilities are presented to you in the spirit of mutual trust and respect. YOU ARE EXPECTED TO: Give complete and accurate information, including your full name, address, telephone number, date of birth, Social Security number, insurance carrier and employer when it is required. Provide the hospital or your doctor with a copy of your advance directive if you have one. Provide complete and accurate information about your health and medical history. This includes your current condition, past illnesses, hospital stays, medicines, vitamins, herbal products, and any other matters of your health, including perceived safety risks. Ask questions when you do not understand information or instructions. If you believe you cannot follow your treatment plan, you are responsible for telling your doctor. You are responsible for outcomes if you do not follow the care/treatment plan. Actively participate in your pain management plan and let your doctors and nurses know how well it’s working. Leave valuables at home. Bring only necessary items for your hospital stay. You are responsible for your own belongings. Treat all hospital staff, other patients, and visitors with courtesy and respect; follow all hospital rules and safety regulations; and be mindful of noise levels, privacy, and number of visitors. Threats will not be tolerated. Provide complete and accurate information about your health insurance coverage and pay your bills on time. Keep appointments, be on time, and call if you cannot keep your appointments. Not take pictures or record staff in any way without their permission. Most importantly, it’s your responsibility to inform us if you believe any of your rights have been or may be violated. You may do this at any time by calling our Patient Relations team at 443-481-6890 .0
- Behavioral Health, Pediatrics, UncategorizedGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThe heroin epidemic in Maryland continues to make headlines, with both Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Anne Arundel County officials having declared it a “public health emergency.” But as any parent would tell you, it’s not just heroin they worry about but a whole host of temptations that seem to be impacting kids at even younger ages. Parents are still the primary influence on their teens. According to research done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, approximately 93 percent of teens reported their parents would be disappointed if they used alcohol, cigarettes or other drugs. Education is definitely one of the biggest keys in the fight against adolescent drug use. The earlier we can teach them about the importance of decision making and what drugs and other substances can do to their body, the better chance we have of them not wanting to try them. Information changes every day. It will be hard to combat something you know very little about. Educate yourself and make sure that you are really listening to your child and talking to them without bias and judgement. Our children are informed of many things and it is our job to make sure that the information they get is valid. The Academy of Pediatrics calls it Purposeful Parenting. The National Institute on Drug Abuse cites the importance of family bonding saying it is the bedrock of the relationship between parents and children. Some tips to keep in mind: Be a parent to your child, not a friend. Educate yourself about what’s happening in your child’s school, in the community and about resources available to help. Be a positive role model and promote positive behaviors. Communicate effectively. Good communication helps reassure family members that they care about each other and appreciate each other’s efforts. Good everyday communication can also make it easier to bring up issues, make requests when needed and resolve conflict when it arises. Every family needs ongoing communication about shared interests and concerns, such as running the household, recreational activities and solving problems, to name just a few. Family members also need to be able to express feelings to each other and talk about motions such as happiness, anger, sadness, concern and anxiety. Learn more about the J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center, a 16-bed mental health hospital for adults opening in March. The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation offers these tips on things to remember for effective communication with your child: Expressing Positive Feelings We all feel good when our efforts are acknowledged. Try deliberately expressing positive feelings using these steps: Look at the person. Tell the person what he or she did that pleased you. Tell him or her how it made you feel. Expressing Negative Feelings To air negative feelings in a way that will help resolve them, try these steps: Look at the person and talk with a serious tone of voice. Tell the person what he or she did that displeased you. Tell him or her how you feel as a result and be specific. Make a request for change, if possible. Express Feelings Clearly with “I” Statements Describe your own feelings and avoid putting others on the defensive. For example, instead of saying “you really ticked me off when you were late for dinner last night,” try saying “I was angry when you came home late for dinner last night. I’d appreciate it if you’d be on time or call if you’re going to be late.” You will be surprised how comfortable a child is about talking about drugs, especially if it is something that is so prominent in their environment. A parent’s knowledge of drugs, positive influence and productive conversations with children can carry their child a long way in having a healthy and productive drug-free life. Author Keshia Brooks, BSPH, MBA, is supervisor of Prevention Education and Family Wellness at Pathways, Anne Arundel Medical Center’s substance abuse and mental health treatment facility. You can reach her office at 410-573-5422. Originally published Jan. 15, 2016. Last updated Feb. 11, 2020.0
- Employee SpotlightGeneral Page Tier 3BlogSome say adversity is life throwing you a curveball to make it better. For every defeat or challenge you face, there’s a seed of growth and improvement planted with it. By his mid-30s, Earl Shellner’s life priorities were launching his own business, making money fast and partying with friends. This included traveling around the country frequently and missing important family events. Things quickly changed when adversity came ‘knocking on his door.’ It turns out, life had a different set of priorities for Earl. In 2013, Earl had a plane ticket bound to San Diego to spend the winter before returning to launch his business back in Maryland. Right before leaving for his trip, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The diagnosis meant 25 sessions of radiation, 12 sessions of chemotherapy and two months of oral chemotherapy at Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC). His outlook? “Cancer saved my life,” affirms Earl. “It completely changed me. One time, I found out my cousin was taking my mom to the hospital for heart issues while I was at Mardi Gras partying. Another time, I flew all the way to Houston to meet with a friend and didn’t even think of calling my grandparents who live there. When I found out about my cancer, I realized how really great my family is and that I wasn’t paying attention to them. I lived a totally different life but I like the person I became a lot more now.” When Earl completed his treatment, he experienced “chemo brain,” a symptom cancer survivors use to describe thinking and memory problems that can occur after cancer treatment. He couldn’t remember how to spell his name, called people by the wrong name and would have the same conversations repeatedly without noticing. One of the nurses informed him that AAMC had just started a program for cognitive behavioral therapy. “They thought they could maybe help me with my situation,” he says. “I started attending meetings for speech therapy and, after looking at the data, they said I was improving dramatically just from the therapy. I was told there were only four other patients doing this at the hospital and I thought to myself, ‘If it’s working for me so well, it must work well for others too.’” Having experienced what so many had already lived through, he was adamant in using his lessons to help others. Today, working as a patient family advisor (PFA), Earl has a different perspective toward his priorities. “I made it my goal to use the experiences I had lived through to make everything better for our patients,” he says. “I remember one time I was sitting in the infusion center getting my fluids and a woman approached me after she read an article I wrote with information about the cognitive program at AAMC and how to find help. She said she needed to thank me because she had attended one of the behavioral therapy courses and it had helped her dramatically. Knowing that I’m helping others is what brings me the greatest joy.” Earl has been a PFA at AAMC for four years. In April, he won the 2019 Beryl Institute’s Innovative Patient/Family Advisor Innovation Award for leading and inspiring an innovation that has improved the experiences of patients and their families. PRO TIP: “Sit down to think about the pros and cons in your life and find out what’s important to you. Once I realized the partying and the money were all gone, I realized there is so much more out there. Plan for tomorrow, live for today and enjoy life.” If you know a great individual or a fantastic team going above and beyond to make a difference, make sure to let us know! Looking for a career in health care? We invite you to join a diverse and collaborative team of professionals working together to innovate the future of health care for our entire region. Check out our career opportunities. Advisors directly influence our policies, programs and practices. This role allows people just like you to help us deliver the best health care experience possible. If you’re interested, please contact our advisor coordinator at 443-481-6054 or use our online form.0
- Community, Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogCharlotte Wallace makes her way inside Morris H. Blum Senior Apartments. She knocks three times on one of the wooden doors. ‘I’m a nurse with Anne Arundel Medical Center,’ she identifies herself. The lock slowly turns. Before Wallace knows it, a hand quickly grabs the bag she’s holding and then disappears with the sound of the door shutting. ‘Thank you,’ they shout from inside. She smiles, grabs another bag and repeats the process. She does this with more than 150 tenants in that building alone. “Some of the seniors we visit are scared and close the door immediately,” she said. “Others give us Halloween candy in exchange as a thank you and some are just excited to see new faces.” Wallace explained a few of the residents are not as in tune with the news or updates. As a result, they’re confused as to why Wallace and her team are there. “We answer their questions and give them as much education as we can,” she added. Wallace is a community health nurse at Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC). Her main role is to bridge the hospital and the community. When news about coronavirus (COVID-19) broke, she knew she had a lot of work to do. She started by contacting community partners to look at ways to slow down the spread of the virus. This meant looking at the ‘wrong trends,’ misconceptions and ways to close the gap. To do this, she launched the COVID-19 Community Outreach program. The primary goal of the program is to decrease the spread and hospitalization of COVID-19 patients. This is achieved through increased education and improved access to support and health services. “We quickly discovered there was a gap in some of our housing units,” Wallace explained. This was primarily the case where subsidized seniors, disabled adults and homeless shelter residents lived. Wallace had already built relationships of trust and understood the systemic problems in the community. As a result, her approach included passing out educational fliers and kits to meet basic needs. On April 14, she started to knock on doors to personally distribute the kits. To date, she has visited 18 different locations around Anne Arundel County – conducting visits in 14 of those locations by herself. Just a couple of weeks later, another team at Doctors Community Hospital (DCH) did the same in Prince George’s County. This team covered 10 additional locations. “We used the same program in Prince George’s County,” said Leslie Strimel, director of Case Management, Social Work and Transition for Care at DCH. “We sent out a nurse practitioner to the communities that the county identified as being in need of this program.” Just like in Anne Arundel County, Strimel said low-income seniors in residential facilities formed these communities. Each COVID-19 Community Outreach kit has two cloth masks per resident, two laundry detergent pods and a bar of soap per apartment, along with educational resources. The printed resources are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines simplified by Wallace to help residents understand how to best protect themselves. Each kit also includes fliers that explain how to wear a mask, how to protect yourself and others, how to wash your clothes during the pandemic and much more. In Prince George’s County, the educational material includes the 211 number, which is also a crisis number for behavioral health. According to Wallace, the identified gaps already existed. However, the outbreak made these and the need to close them more obvious. “Some people told me that they just wash their clothes in hot water and don’t use any soap,” she said. “With the pandemic, a lot of our most vulnerable residents are taking a bigger burden. ‘Just doing telehealth’ is not possible without a phone or an email address. Some of these residents don’t even have a landline.” Wallace goes out at least twice every week and visits several sites to distribute kits. Additionally, she gives out kits with instructions. These are specifically for management at the sites and include best practices to protect their residents. Wallace also uses visits as an opportunity to conduct screenings. These include screenings for mental health and nutrition. According to her, many seniors she visits are scared, isolated, already limited and depressed. “We came across a senior who was very depressed,” she said. “I went through a basic screening and I gave the person the crisis response number in case they needed to reach someone. I was giving out that number at least once per building, which is common.” To date, the program’s teams conducted over 2,900 visits in Anne Arundel County and over 2,250 visits in Prince George’s County. And while it is hard to measure the true impact of the outreach, Wallace is confident the team is helping many during this difficult time. “One day, a team entered a floor to find a gentleman, with rotted nubs for teeth, standing in the hallway,” she said, adding that he started to cry. “He said he thought we missed him with our ‘masks and laundry soap’ after his sister, who lives in the same building, called him to tell him that the nurses came by her apartment.” After a short screening, they noted that he had major food insecurities and connected him to the Senior Nutrition Program. Another resident received her kit and couldn’t stop hugging it. “She was so excited to receive two laundry detergent pods,” Wallace said. Similarly, Ursula Friton, manager of Transitional Care at DCH, said residents in Prince George’s County have been very welcoming of the program. According to her, it’s been very new but a great experience both for the DCH team and the seniors. “There was a big need for this program in our county,” she said, explaining that the program is on its third week. “Seniors are happy to see us and very grateful to get their kits.” The outreach teams in both counties plan to continue working with managers at the various facilities. They plan to support the most vulnerable communities, even after the pandemic subsides. Wallace and Strimel are working with both counties and the Maryland Health Department to reach other communities that are in need of resources and information.0
- Behavioral Health, Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogOur mental health is just as important to care for as our physical health. This is especially true when we’re naturally feeling more stress, fear and anxiety due to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These feelings can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions for anyone, both adults and children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminds us that learning to cope with stress makes you, the people you care about and your community stronger. Mental health refers to our feelings, emotions, thought patterns and behaviors. We all experience positive and negative feelings—that’s completely normal. The only difference from one person to another is how much it affects our daily functioning and how we cope. Mental disorders can affect anyone, anywhere Mental illness affects millions of people each year. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found nearly half of Americans report the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting their mental health. For the past year, we’ve led a training program on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a mental health condition. Just as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) helps you assist someone having a heart attack, you can help someone experiencing a mental illness by understanding how to respond to certain signs. You can help, too Having the right tools and knowledge to help can be lifesaving. It’s important if you live with or know of someone who may have a mental illness to know how to have the conversation that encourages them to get the help they need. Tips from evidence-based training include: Pay attention and approach the individual. If you live with someone experiencing a mental illness, no one notices changes more than you. Identify the stressors in their environment. Did anything change environmentally to cause their behavior change? Did they change jobs? Are they having problems with their relationships? Don’t be afraid to approach the person and ask about anything you’re noticing. Validate and honor their experience. Let the person know they’re not alone or that they should not be ashamed of their feelings. “You’ll be fine” doesn’t validate how someone feels. Be respectful of the person and how they feel about their experience. Get informed. There are endless resources available to help someone who’s experiencing a mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health First Aid and NAMI are just a few of the many organizations that provide free tools for those looking to learn more about mental health or seek to train themselves. Encourage them to seek help. Any time there’s a concern, you should talk with them. Someone may tell you they’re fine or that they don’t need help, but that doesn’t mean they’re okay. If the person’s behavior changes and is causing distress, encourage them to seek help. Early intervention can prevent symptoms from going from mild to severe. If it’s causing distress to the person, it’s time to seek help. If behavior or thinking starts to get dangerous—toward you or someone else—it’s a must to get help. Get them to their nearest emergency room. Call 911, if needed. Emergency rooms are safe and have protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Know that we’ve expanded services to better support people who are in a psychiatric crisis. The J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center provides both inpatient and outpatient options for care. The medical center provides a brand new state-of-the-art inpatient psychiatric hospital, as well as our relocated psychiatric day hospital. Both have procedures in place to protect our patients from COVID-19. Living with someone who has a mental illness can be challenging, especially now. You can help us share the message that no one should be ashamed to admit they have a mental illness. If you’re well informed and equipped to intervene earlier on, not only are you helping to reduce stigma around mental illness, you’re addressing one of the most important public health issues of our time. Authors Donna Phillips, M.A., is the clinical director at the J. Kent Mcnew Medical Center’s Psychiatric Day Hospital. You can reach her at 667-204-7311. Maria Winters, LCPC, is a mental health clinician at AAMC. You can reach her at 667-204-7311.0
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