FirstHealth on the web
 The FirstHealth of the Carolinas Web site, www.firsthealth.org, has been redesigned to be more visual and customer friendly. Features include expanded patient and visitor sections as well as health care department information. A new health content feature also allows patients to research medical conditions.
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FHC receives NCAfE Award
FirstHealth of the Carolinas has received the North Carolina Awards for Excellence (NCAfE) Commitment (Level II) Award.
A program of the Industrial Extension Service at North Carolina State University, NCAfE assesses organizations against the performance excellence criteria established for the national Malcolm Baldrige Awards Program. Commitment Award winners have demonstrated—through their practice of performance management principles—progress in building sound and notable organizational processes.
FirstHealth was one of five organizations, four of them health care related, that received NCAfE awards at the N.C. Conference for Excellence at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro on Nov. 29.
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Wheelchair/Stretcher Maintenance volunteers get state honor
The Wheelchair/Stretcher Volunteer program at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital received the North Carolina Hospital Volunteers’ (NCHV) 2005 Patient Care Award. The volunteer membership group is affiliated with the North Carolina Hospital Association.
“The Wheelchair/Stretcher Volunteer Program has truly been a success due to volunteer efforts,” says Cindy Strother, administrative director of Guest Services at Moore Regional. “Volunteers saw a need, developed a plan and responded to that need, and then have advanced their services as new needs have surfaced.”
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Fund-raiser to benefit FirstHealth Cares
Proceeds from the annual Spring Event of the FirstHealth Montgomery Foundation will continue the Foundation’s support of FirstHealth Cares, a pharmaceutical assistance program for qualifying residents of Montgomery County. Nearly one out of six Montgomery County residents does not have adequate prescription drug coverage.
The Spring Event is planned for Saturday, April 22, at 7 p.m. at The Blair House in Troy, and will feature a silent and live auction, live music, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
For more information on FirstHealth Cares, call (800) 213-3284 toll-free. For more information on the FirstHealth Montgomery Foundation, call (910) 571-5024.
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MMH introduces new hospitalist program
Montgomery Memorial Hospital now has a physician on staff whose full-time job is only to care for patients in the hospital. Clark Pritts, D.O., is Montgomery Memorial’s first hospitalist.
Hospitalists are physicians who specialize in the care of hospitalized patients. Montgomery Memorial’s previous hospitalist program involved physicians affiliated with the hospital’s Family & Internal Medicine practice. Each maintained an office practice while taking turns in the hospitalist rotation. Dr. Pritts does not have an office practice, but partners with the patient’s primary care provider and other specialists involved in the patient’s care.
The advantages of a hospitalist program include increased efficiency and cost-savings as well as better patient care. For patients in the hospital, the care of a physician is available all day and as often as needed. There are also advantages for primary care providers who can spend more time seeing patients in their office while the hospitalist focuses entirely on inpatient care.
When Dr. Pritts learned that Montgomery Memorial was looking for a hospitalist, he decided quickly that it was the job for him. “The administration and physicians at Montgomery Memorial have a great, positive attitude,” he says. “They are very committed to providing good care for all of their patients.”
Born in Ohio, Dr. Pritts studied medicine at Michigan State University and later completed a residency in family medicine. He and his wife, Julie, have moved to Montgomery County from the small town of West Branch, Mich., where he practiced family medicine for several years.
“My goal at Montgomery Memorial is to be part of a team that makes sure there is a smooth transition—from being hospitalized and going home or to another appropriate facility—for the patient and the family,” he says. |
Clark Pritts, D.O. |
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Six RMH Nurses participate in advancement program
FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital has initiated six nurses into its newly developed Clinical Advancement Program. Based on the philosophy “First in Service, First in Care,” the program allows nurses to grow personally and professionally while being rewarded for their commitment to excellence in service and care.
The six newly initiated nurses are Jan Scholl, R.N., ICU; Mandy Higby, R.N., ICU; Chris Thrower, R.N., ICU; Melissa Burchett, R.N., ICU; Matthew Thompson, R.N., Outpatient Services; and Nancy Diggs, R.N., Labor & Delivery.
During a recent recognition program, RMH President John Jackson and John Stevenson, M.D., chair of the RMH Board of Trustees, provided words of encouragement and praise, and commended the nurses for their achievement and dedication to make Richmond Memorial Hospital a better facility.
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Westover named Foundation president
Kathy Westover |
Kathy Westover has been named president of the Foundation of FirstHealth. Her appointment, which became effective on Nov. 21, 2005, follows her service as the Foundation’s interim executive director, a role she assumed with the resignation of Terry Mohr earlier in the year.
Westover joined Moore Regional Hospital in 1988 and transferred to the Moore Regional Hospital Foundation in 1990. With her 1996 promotion to director of development, she became responsible for the implementation and management of Foundation support systems, implementation of the CARE Funds, and administrative support of Foundation governance and volunteer leadership.
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Since joining the Foundation, she has been directly involved with the success of both the In Love and Service and FirstHealth Hospice Challenge fund-raising campaigns. She currently is assisting with the development and implementation of FirstHealth’s Stepping Stones capital campaign.
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Magazine names FirstHealth HIM as one of nation's best
ADVANCE magazine has recognized FirstHealth’s Health Information Management (HIM) department as one of the top HIM teams in the country. The recognition, which came in the magazine’s Nov. 7, 2005, publication, noted the department’s close collaboration with FirstHealth Information Systems in taking all three FirstHealth hospitals to a fully implemented electronic health record (EHR) system with online charting.
The FirstHealth HIM department was one of two runnersup for ADVANCE 2005 HIM Team of the Year honors. First place went to Thompson Health of Canandaigua, N.Y., and the other runner-up was Columbus Regional Hospital of Columbus, Ind.
According to the ADVANCE story, the 70 employees in the FirstHealth department have a “clearly defined mission and accept responsibility at an individual level for keeping the team focused.”
ADVANCE magazine is a biweekly publication for health information professionals. According to the magazine, the tallied scores of the three winning teams were some of the highest scores ever and demonstrated the determination of HIM departments to “move forward while maintaining high quality.”
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Congressional visit
Charles C. Schirmer, M.D., (left) and Lab Director Elise Forest (center) accompanied Congressman Howard Coble on a recent tour of the lab at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital. Congressman Coble represents North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, which includes Moore County, in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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