- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThe American Hospital Association (AHA) has recognized Anne Arundel Medical Center President and CEO Victoria (Tori) Bayless as a 2018 Grassroots Champion. Bayless was honored at the Maryland Hospital Association’s annual meeting in June. Each year, the AHA, in conjunction with the state hospital associations, recognizes the achievements of grassroots leaders with the prestigious Grassroots Champion Award. The award recognizes a hospital leader from each state who most effectively educates elected officials on how major issues affect the hospital’s vital role in the community, who have done an exemplary job in broadening the base of community support for the hospital, and who are tireless advocates for hospitals and their patients. “Victoria Bayless is being recognized as a 2018 Grassroots Champion for her commitment to working to improve the issues affecting her hospital’s community,” said AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels. “Her leadership in advocacy has created an open dialogue with elected officials, which in turn has broadened community outreach and education for both Anne Arundel Medical Center and its patients.” “Tori is a steadfast advocate and champion of Anne Arundel Medical Center’s mission to enhance the health of the people we serve,” said Gary Jobson, AAMC board chair. “In doing so, she demonstrates unyielding passion, commitment and innovative thinking toward advancing causes that positively impact the health needs of the community. This honor is well deserved.” Bayless has been at the frontline of advancing important initiatives to strengthen the provision of health care in Anne Arundel County and the surrounding region. Most recent efforts include increasing access to mental health care and working to expand cardiac surgery services. Bayless joined AAMC as vice president of Clinical and Support Services in 2005. She was promoted to chief operating officer in 2006. In September 2009, Bayless was named president and chief operating officer and was promoted to CEO in 2011.
- OrthopedicsGeneral Page Tier 3BlogGoing for a joint replacement or spine surgery can change your life in many positive ways. Freedom from pain and improved mobility are two main advantages, and who wouldn’t want that? There are 719,000 total knee replacements and 332,000 hip replacements performed annually in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In fact, more than 7 million people in the country have had a knee or hip replacement surgery. And about 400,000 people in the U.S. undergo spine surgery each year. If you’re planning for either of these surgeries, it is likely your recovery could take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months. Now, a joint replacement or a spine surgery is a big decision and you’re probably thinking about it quite a bit. But it’s also important to think about your comfort after you return home. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your time spent healing: Clear your walking paths! You need enough room to navigate comfortably to all the areas in your home you frequently use. Pick up rugs, remove animal and baby toys, clothing, totes or any other items from the floors. Choose your best chairs. Have a firm, comfortable armchair with an ottoman or a recliner chair to rest in and get your legs up. Low furniture is difficult to move in and out of, so you may need to raise the seat height. Secure railings. If you have to take the stairs to get to your bedroom, bathroom or anywhere else in your home, make sure you have a good railing to use. Loose or incomplete rails will not provide the stability you need to navigate safely your stairs. Adjust your bed height. Have a bed that you can get into and out of that is not too high. If this is not an option, make sure you have a good footstool handy to use as a step to allow you to sit back in your bed when getting into it. Be careful with pets. Keep pets secured away from you when you are moving around your home. Pets can trip you when they are underfoot! Prepare the bathroom for your limited mobility. If you can, install a grab bar next to your toilet and in the shower to assist you with balance and rising from a seated position. Since challenged mobility is a temporary limitation, you may opt to purchase a raised toilet seat with arm rests or a commode seat with multiple uses (like the 3-in-1 commode) in lieu of grab bar installation. A seat for the shower is also helpful and can be as simple as a plastic lawn chair or a specialized bathtub bench to slide into the shower in a seated position. There are a lot of thoughts that cross your mind when you are going to go through surgery, but it’s also important to take some time to think about how you can best take care of yourself once you’re home. Pay attention to the little things that you usually overlook and make sure that the layout will give you the safest and most comfortable environment. But most importantly: make sure you can reach the jar of cookies in the kitchen! A little sweetness always makes things a little better. Author Marilyn Pfeiffer is an outpatient home visit therapist at Anne Arundel Medical Group (AAMG) Physical Therapy. You can reach her at 443-481-1140. To learn more about PT360 Home Therapy, visit aamgphysicialtherapy.com
- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAnne Arundel Medical Center has entered into a partnership with CipherHealth, a health care technology company committed to improving patient outcomes and experiences through enhanced communication and care team coordination. The partnership centers on supporting patients in their transition home. AAMC chose to adopt CipherHealth’s Voice Patient Communication Platform with the objective to effectively engage patients and their families. Following up with patients after discharge is a proven method to increase compliance, outcomes and satisfaction. AAMC’s project team worked closely with the CipherHealth team to ensure that the program addresses the following: Communication with patients in their preferred language Utilization of the right mode of engagement – call or text Personalization based on the patient’s condition and care needs If a patient indicates they need assistance when they receive a Voice call or text, an alert is automatically routed to the appropriate hospital staff, who is then able to call the patient back and address their concern. “AAMC has always invested considerable effort in effectively engaging patients. We believe that most often, it comes down to communicating with patients the right way and at the right time,” said Sarah Haas, manager of health care payment redesign programs at AAMC. “We are thrilled to work with AAMC on this exciting initiative to engage patients in the critical time following a procedure,” said Katie Mills, client success manager for CipherHealth. “AAMC’s dedication to their community by ensuring patient needs are addressed quickly, is exactly what our products aim to achieve.”
- Cancer CareGeneral Page Tier 3BlogKimberly Collins lives in southern Maryland, about two hours away from Anne Arundel Medical Center. Yet she still traveled to AAMC to get a second opinion on her breast cancer diagnosis — and then, ultimately, treatment and breast reconstruction. “That’s a drop in the bucket for getting good care,” Kimberly says. She opted to undergo a double mastectomy with Wen Liang, MD, a breast surgeon at The Rebecca Fortney Breast Center at AAMC, followed by reconstructive surgery with Devinder Singh, MD, chief of Plastic Surgery at AAMC and medical director of AAMG Plastic Surgery. AAMG Plastic Surgery’s plastic surgeons work closely with the breast surgeons, oncologists and radiologists at The Rebecca Fortney Breast Center — a level of collaboration that is unusual in highly specialized care. “When I walked into the breast center, I knew I was in the right place,” Kimberly says. Dr. Liang, she says, treated her not just as a cancer patient, but as an individual person. A breast cancer diagnosis is terrifying, Kimberly says. She was drawn to Dr. Liang’s compassion as well as her expertise and knowledge. “Dr. Liang wanted to see for herself what she was looking at,” she says, adding Dr. Liang didn’t give the scans to the radiologist until she reviewed them. “And she actually had some questions,” Kimberly says. “She went that same afternoon during my consult to the Radiology department and had them read my films with her questions included. When you have a doctor with that much buy-in and partnership in your diagnosis and treatment — you don’t question it.” Kimberly says she’d spent a lot of time researching Dr. Liang, but no time researching a plastic surgeon. That’s when the partnership between The Rebecca Fortney Breast Center and AAMG Plastic Surgery was especially important. “If I had had to research a plastic surgeon — it would have changed my whole emotional journey,” she says. “When I meet with a breast cancer patient after hermastectomy, there are always a lot of questions. And rightfully so,” says Dr. Singh. “Chief among them, what kind of reconstruction are we talking about?” Kimberly opted for silicone implants to eliminate the need for extra incisions. Other methods of reconstruction, including deep inferior epigastric perforator artery (DIEP) or superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) flap reconstruction involve using the patient’s tissue from another part of her body, such as the abdomen or thigh. Dr. Singh was “the jewel in my crown” of treatment, Kimberly says. Dr. Singh says it’s a team effort. Ken Collins, Kimberly’s husband, adds that the team approach was evident as Drs. Liang and Singh worked to include all members of their family, including their two children, in discussions about Kimberly’s care. “Everybody was a part of it,” he says. “It was an incredible experience that I wish I had never had.” Like AAMG Plastic Surgery on Facebook for the latest updates from the practice’s medical team.
- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThe American Hospital Association (AHA) has recognized Anne Arundel Medical Center for leadership and innovation in quality and performance improvement. AAMC is a finalist for the AHA Quest for Quality Prize for demonstrating an alignment with AHA’s five commitments of access, value, partnership, well-being and coordination to advance the health of the communities it serves. AAMC is being recognized for its innovative patient- and family-engagement strategies, use of sophisticated information technology, focus on employee wellbeing, leadership and Board commitment to quality, and outstanding patient safety and quality outcomes. “Anne Arundel Medical Center is committed to delivering the best quality care to our patients,” said Victoria Bayless, AAMC president and CEO. “We are constantly engaged in ways to improve quality and create new dynamic ways of care delivery. We are honored to be recognized by one of the industry’s leading organizations for our efforts.” Announcing the 2018 honorees, AHA’s President and CEO Rick Pollack said, “These hospitals and health systems have been remarkable leaders in elevating the quality of care they provide to their patients and communities while demonstrating an organization-wide commitment to excellence. The lessons provided by this year’s winner and honorees serve as an inspiration to the entire field.” This year, AAMC is also the recipient of the AHA NOVA Award for hospital-led collaborative efforts that improve community health. AAMC is recognized for its Annapolis Community Health Partnership, the collaborative instrument behind AAMC’s Community Clinics. AAMC’s Forest Drive and Morris Blum clinics are doctor’s offices that provide high-quality, low-cost primary care to uninsured and underinsured populations. AAMC will be recognized at the AHA Leadership Summit in San Diego on July 26.
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