Page 11 - SFHN Dec 2020

2020: A Year in Review... 2020: A Year in Review... 2020: A Year in Review...

Year in Review for the Palm Beach Health Network

The year 2020 was quite a year for the was the first hospital in and recognizes the exceptional care of
Palm Beach Health Network. We contin- Palm Beach County to per- mothers during and after labor and deliv-
ued to provide quality care during a glob- form a heart procedure ery.
al pandemic, our hospitals earned with the Impella 5.5™ West Boca Medical Center earned the
numerous awards, and introduced multi- with Smart Assist®, a new award of Favorite Pediatric Emergency
ple new procedures in a variety of service technology to enable heart Department by Broward Family Life
lines. Here is a review of some the recovery in patients whose Magazine. Readers of Broward Family
accomplishments from the Palm Beach hearts are too weak to Life Magazine, who vote on their family
Health Network. effectively pump blood on favorites in the community, select the
Delray Medical Center was named one their own after a heart award winners.
of Healthgrades 2020 America’s 50 Best attack. Cardiothoracic sur- West Boca Medical Center is also a 5-
Hospitals Award™. The distinction strategic growth, operations and finances geon, Dr. Nishant Patel, is the first sur- star recipient for Vaginal Delivery and C-
places Delray Medical Center in the top 1 for the hospital. Montgomery has over geon at the hospital to use the device for Section Delivery as recognized by
percent of nearly 4,500 hospitals 20 years of healthcare leadership experi- a procedure. Healthgrades, a leading resource that
assessed nationwide for its consistent, ence with an extensive background in Delray Medical Center and Palm Beach connects consumers, physicians and
year-over-year superior clinical perform- hospital operational, financial and strate- Gardens Medical Center achieved high health systems. This 5-star rating indi-
ance as measured by Healthgrades, gic excellence. performance marks in the category of cates that West Boca Medical Center’s
Delray Medical Center is the only hospi- Good Samaritan Medical Center is heart failure and chronic obstructive pul- clinical outcomes for Vaginal Delivery
tal in the state of Florida to be receive now offering MRI precision targeting for monary disease for the state of Florida in and C-Section Delivery are statistically
this distinction. prostate biopsy guidance, a new tool for the annual U.S. News & World Report’s significantly better than expected.
Delray Medical Center and St. Mary’s physicians to use to help men in the fight 2020-2021 Best Hospitals rankings for We would like to take this opportunity
Medical Center, are now certified from against prostate cancer. The UroNav adult clinical specialties. to thank our healthcare heroes, the entire
an additional agency for their compre- Fusion Biopsy System by Phillips is a St. Mary’s Medical Center and The staff of the Palm Beach Health Network,
hensive stroke programs. DNV GL- fully MRI-compatible interventional Palm Beach Children’s Hospital promot- who have worked tirelessly during the
Healthcare awarded the new certification device for Trans-Rectal Interventional ed Cynthia McCauley, Chief Admin - COVID-19 pandemic. Our community
to both Delray Medical Center and St. MRI of prostate gland. istrative Officer (CAO), to the role of has rallied around us, and we are appre-
Mary’s Medical Center for their compre- Good Samaritan Medical Center was Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In this ciative of your recognition and support.
hensive stroke care, a prestigious desig- also a recipient of Healthgrades 2020 role, McCauley continues to be responsi- We encourage everyone not to delay care
nation reflecting the highest level of Labor and Delivery Excellence Award™. ble for all strategic growth, operations for an urgent or emergent condition, and
competence for treatment of patients This distinction places Good Samaritan and finances for both facilities. we have taken the appropriate steps, and
who have experienced a stroke. Medical Center in the top 10% of all hos- St. Mary’s Medical Center is a recipient have precautions in place to ensure our
Good Samaritan Medical Center pro- pitals evaluated and recognizes the of the Healthgrades 2020 Labor and hospitals are safe. Please continue to
moted Sheri Montgomery to the role of exceptional care of mothers during and Delivery Excellence Award™. This dis- wear masks, social distance and wash
chief executive officer (CEO). In this after labor and delivery. tinction places St. Mary’s Medical Center hands to help us stop the spread.
role, Montgomery is responsible for all Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in the top 10% of all hospitals evaluated

UHealth Confronts the Pandemic with Innovative

New Processes and Protections

As it became clear that the global ilar to what we experi- been provided hospital i-Pads in the
COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant enced here in Miami in lobby to talk to their relatives.
threat to South Florida, UHealth Tower June and July,” Dr. “Is it still exhausting?” Falise asked.
and the rest of the University of Miami Ferreira said. “Through - “Yes, it’s still exhausting. It’s all about
Health System and Miller School of out the second spike of adapting as we learn more about the
Medicine responded aggressively and the pandemic, UHealth virus, and it’s about making ourselves
innovatively to ensure the safety of Tower was able to run full, comfortable as well as making the
patients, front-line medical staff, and stu- almost normal hospital patients comfortable.”
dents, and to provide the most effective operations and at the same Educating patients and providing
possible care to patients suffering from time manage the COVID- occupational therapy have made it possi-
this dangerous disease. 19 surge. In essence, we ble for the Tower to send patients home
In the early months of the pandemic, created a way in our surge sooner. Respiratory therapists, physical
every day presented a new challenge – plan for the hospital to therapists, and environmental services
beginning with creating a coronavirus manage COVID-19 and have all contributed to the hospital’s
ICU at UHealth Tower out of “a very “The moment COVID goes back up, we non-COVID-19 patients safely and effec- strength in caring for patients and pro-
non-traditional ICU environment,” said are able to accommodate these cases,” tively within the same facility.” tecting staff.
Joseph Falise, M.S.N., R.N., nurse man- said Dr. Ferreira. “We have a very com- In response to the pandemic UM has The health system’s ambulatory opera-
ager for the cardiovascular ICU, neuro prehensive surge plan that allows us to also conducted extensive research to tions also had to make fundamental
ICU and COVID ICU. have two-in-one hospitals.” develop diagnostic tests, antibody thera- adjustments as non-essential care was
Careful training, specialized monitors, Dr. Ferreira was one of three authors pies, and vaccines to fight the virus. cut back and patients delayed other vis-
plenty of personal protective equipment, featured in the New England Journal of Health care workers’ fear at the begin- its. The acceleration of virtual visits pro-
and a raft of new processes succeeded in Medicine for her expertise in managing ning of the pandemic gave way to confi- vided important, safe options for
protecting patients and staff. “We had an elective surgeries during COVID-19 dence as they successfully took extensive patients, and telehealth will continue to
all-out effort on everyone’s part to make surges. The article presented a mock sce- precautions and adapted new procedures be a major part of the health system’s
sure the nurses were safe,” Falise said. nario in which a hospital’s census was to confront a challenge none of them had medical care moving forward.
UHealth Tower has confronted the higher than 90% of capacity, with almost seen before. The hard-working, now exceptionally
pandemic by essentially creating a all ICU beds occupied, more than half by With no visitors permitted at the hos- experienced health care workers at
COVID hospital and a non-COVID hos- patients with COVID-19. pital, communicating with families has UHealth Tower and throughout South
pital within its walls, said Tanira B.D. UHealth’s planned approach was to been central to the team’s challenge. Florida are prepared for increases in
Ferreira, M.D., FCCP, chief medical offi- proceed with scheduled elective surgical Doctors, nurses, and patient experience COVID-19 cases – or the next virus.
cer of University of Miami Hospital and procedures but defer new cases when representatives have been calling “It’s a constant state of readiness,”
Clinics. Separate floors are designated needed if bed availability was limited. patients’ families every day, and some Falise said. “We have put certain things
exclusively for COVID cases, as needed. “The scenario in the article was very sim- families that don’t have any devices have in place that will be with us forever.”

South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com December 2020 11