- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAnne Arundel Medical Center announces Monica Brown Jones, MD, as its new chair of Women’s and Children’s Services. Dr. Jones comes to AAMC from Duke University Medical Center as well as WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, N.C. While at WakeMed, she served as vice chair and chair for quality improvement for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Since 2014, she has served as assistant professor of gynecologic oncology at Duke University Medical Center, and assistant professor of gynecologic specialty surgery at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Jones assumed the role of chair of Women’s and Children’s Services at AAMC in November. In this position, she oversees all inpatient and ambulatory departments and services within the service line. “We are pleased to welcome Dr. Jones to Anne Arundel Medical Center,” said Mitchell Schwartz, MD, chief medical officer and president of physician enterprise at AAMC. “She has made significant contributions to her field and shares our strong focus on quality outcomes. She is the perfect person to lead our Women’s and Children’s services into the future. ” Dr. Jones is board certified and fellowship-trained in gynecologic oncology. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in ovarian cancer at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., and gynecologic oncology fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., where she remained on staff for five years prior to moving to North Carolina. Dr. Jones also holds a Master of Science degree in clinical trial and translational research from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. She attended medical school and completed her OB/GYN residency at the University of Cincinnati.
- Men's Health, Women's Health, PediatricsGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAbout one in four men and women in the United States have the human papilloma virus, or HPV, which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer. It can also lead to several other types of cancers, including cancers of the mouth, throat and anus. Fortunately, there is a vaccine that can prevent it. The HPV vaccine has been available since 2006. Because there is no screening for most of the types of cancers that HPV causes, it’s important to prevent HPV before it becomes deadly. As the medical community learns more about how the vaccine works, we have learned that the immune system responds better when children receive it at a young age. We are also aware that many parents have concerns about the safety of the HPV vaccine. We want to reassure you that the HPV vaccine is safe. All vaccines used in the United States are required to go through extensive safety testing before the Food and Drug Administration licenses them. After they are in use, the FDA continually monitors these drugs for safety and effectiveness. There have been many studies to make sure the two vaccines that protect against HPV are safe. These studies have not uncovered any major safety concerns. Like any vaccine, the HPV vaccine can cause side effects, though many who receive the vaccine experience no side effects at all. Some of the most common side effects are soreness or redness at the site of the injection, fever and headache. Other vaccines for adolescents can cause the same side effects. Fainting can happen after many medical procedures, including vaccination. Fainting after getting a shot is more common among adolescents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tell the doctor or nurse if your child feels dizzy or light-headed. You may have seen stories circulate online that link the vaccine to infertility, seizures and chronic conditions. The data about the vaccine doesn’t support these claims. About 14 million people, including teens, become infected with HPV each year. We recommend that all boys and girls who are 11 or 12 years old get two shots of HPV vaccine six to 12 months apart. Kids who receive their two shots less than five months apart will require a third dose of the vaccine. If your child is older than 14, he or she will need to receive three shots over a six-month period. The benefits of the HPV vaccination far outweigh any potential risks. Immunizing your child against HPV is a significant way to prevent multiple cancers later in life. Please talk to your pediatric provider about questions you have regarding effectiveness, safety, or timing of this important immunization.
- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogIn September 2017, Tamiko Stanley joined Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) as manager of Diversity and Inclusion. This is a new position for AAMC, created as a result of the work of the Board of Trustee’s Health Equity Task Force — dedicated to eliminating health disparities in our community, and strengthening AAMC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Tamiko comes to AAMC from Pittsburgh, Pa., where she worked in the diversity field for a number of large organizations, including FedEx Supply Chain, the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Pirates. In this Q&A, Tamiko shares her perspective on and aspirations for her new role. What does your role as manager of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) mean to you? My role as the head of D&I means a great deal to me. I’m helping us do our part in reducing health disparities, and ensuring a culturally competent workforce that reflects the communities we serve. And helping to build and foster a workplace where all employees feel valued. I’m proud to be a part of an organization committed and dedicated to this mission. What does D&I mean? D&I means the opposite of indifference about difference. It means being intentional about difference. Fundamentally, diversity is people who offer difference in ethnicity, gender, culture and values. Inclusion is the action-orientated piece to diversity. It is the act of bringing together these differences and harnessing the power they bring. It is done by encouraging involvement and giving voice to all perspectives in order to contribute to the collective. Why is it important in an organization? The relationship between success and effective D&I is proven. D&I produces a more creative and innovative workforce that delivers effective, efficient and impactful solutions. Specifically in health care, culturally competent interaction and culturally customized care make each patient, family, colleague and community encounter better. At the core of it all, it’s the right thing to do, the smart thing to do, the responsible thing to do, and the only business-sensible thing to do for future success. How do we begin to practice and implement D&I strategies at AAMC? Our strategy will start with equipping our personal tool boxes, so that we each can contribute to fostering inclusion. That starts with dialogue. The overall goal is for diversity and inclusion to be integrated into what we do every day. Are other organizations engaged in similar initiatives? If you look at the world’s most successful companies, you’ll find a successful D&I strategy embedded in those organizations. We’ll learn from those organizations and benchmark ourselves for success. How will we know if those strategies are working? Success will come in many forms, both tangible and intangible. Tangible goals include increased diversity in the organization and more diverse applicant pools for positions. More diversity in position promotions and more diverse vendors, as well as increased patient and community satisfaction. Perhaps even more importantly, we’ll see intangible impact. There will be more inclusive work groups, more freely shared ideas, and innovation in unplanned and unforeseen places. We’ll see more shared experiences and openness from all members of different cultures, background and orientation. There will be times of evaluation, reassessment and realignment. But we’ll know our strategies are working by making continuous progress toward our goals and, ultimately, accomplishing those goals. How does AAMC’s focus on D&I impact the community at large? Our D&I efforts will have positive impact on the community. We’ll look to the community for feedback, guidance and support. And we’ll continue to strengthen our community partnerships for enhanced recruitment and hiring practices, supplier diversity initiatives and much more. Ultimately, we’ll prioritize and respond to the changing and culturally specific needs of our community. Why is it important for all employees to be actively engaged in D&I? What responsibility do we have? We’ll only go as far as the participation of our employees take us. We each have a responsibility to share our uniqueness and extend the best of what we have to offer. That means participating in awareness events and initiatives, serving on the diversity council or on an event committee, volunteering as a mentor, or any one or more of the exciting opportunities to come. What are some of the immediate things you’ll be working on? What can we expect in your first year? Some of our immediate actions will include policy review, data collection for perception and attitude, goal setting for culture development, workforce and supplier diversity, awareness and inclusion initiatives, and identifying members for the diversity council, community partner network, and champions of inclusion committees. Beyond that, we have so much in store. Everyone can expect to feel a slight bit of communication overload as we plan to keep our workforce and community informed on where we’re headed.
- News & Press Releases, Women's HealthGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAnnapolis OB-GYN Associates has joined Anne Arundel Medical Group (AAMG), a multi-specialty physician group that is part of Anne Arundel Medical Center. AAMG is one of Maryland’s largest multi-specialty practice groups, providing an array of healthcare services including primary care, women’s health and specialty care. Annapolis OB-GYN Associates has 18 providers and is a recognized leader in women’s healthcare in the region. The practice has been associated with AAMC since it opened in 1971. Its merger with AAMG was executed in November 2017. “We’re proud and excited about the addition of Annapolis OB-GYN Associates to the Anne Arundel Medical Group network of premier physicians,” said Peter Odenwald, vice president of Physician Services at AAMC. “Annapolis OB-GYN Associates has established a long-standing reputation in our community. Now, we’re pleased to combine that with Anne Arundel Medical Group’s clinically integrated network as well as Anne Arundel Medical Center’s award-winning women’s care.” “Joining Anne Arundel Medical Group is a natural step for our practice amidst the changing face of medicine,” said Fred Guckes, MD, President at Annapolis OB-GYN Associates. “The partnership provides us greater resources as well as access to better care coordination for our patients’ healthcare needs.” Annapolis OB-GYN Associates has locations in Annapolis, Chester, Pasadena and Gambrills. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 410-573-9530 or visit www.AnnapolisObgyn.com.
- OrthopedicsGeneral Page Tier 3BlogHip and knee replacements have grown to become one of the most popular and successful elective operations ever performed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 1.1 million total joint replacements performed in the U.S. in 2012. Estimates show that by the year 2030, there’ll be 572,000 hip replacements and 3.48 million knee replacements performed annually in the U.S. Given the high demand, hospitals are studying ways to best provide this care to patients. This is especially true at Anne Arundel Medical Center. When I started doing joint replacement surgeries 13 years ago, the average length of stay for a patient who had hip or knee replacement was three nights. This is changing. Patients are going home sooner. For instance, four years ago at AAMC, only 10 percent of patients who had hip and knee replacement surgery went home on the first postoperative day. This year in July, we saw 80 percent of patients who had a hip replacement, and 60 percent of patients who had a knee replacement, go home in one day. This includes a growing number of patients going home the same day of their procedure. How is it possible to be discharged the next day, or even on the same day, after this type of procedure? The answer lies in a team approach always focused on the patient. There are a growing number of programs focused on helping speed up postoperative recovery, supporting early discharge and decreasing postoperative complications after joint replacement surgery. Locally, there is the Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program at AAMC. Early on, we were concerned that with a shorter length of stay patients may need to come back to the hospital with medical or surgical issues, but this was not the case. Our data shows that earlier discharge does not increase re-admissions. With high-quality hip and knee replacement surgery, patients have a safe recovery — even when they go home on the day of surgery. Advancing outcomes in joint replacement surgery Hospitals and surgeons continue to engage in work to further improve joint replacement care. Here in Annapolis, the joint replacement team at AAMC is developing clinical programs to increase the number of patients who leave the hospital earlier and get on the road to recovery faster. And by using predictive models, we’re able to better understand and choose patients who are good candidates for going home on the day of surgery. Postoperatively, we’re working closely with physical therapists to develop protocols to use after surgery to accurately show when a patient is safely ready to go home. Our efforts are focused on early recovery, to get you back to your own home and normal life sooner without hip or knee pain. Author James MacDonald, MD, is a joint surgeon at the Center for Joint Replacement at AAMC. To see the latest outcomes report from AAMC’s Center for Joint Replacement, visit askAAMC.org/JointOutcomes. To reach his practice for an appointment, call 410-268-8862.
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