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| PAUL WINCHESTER |
INDIANAPOLIS – Two Franciscan St. Francis
Health physicians and a Franciscan Visiting Nurse Service were in the limelight
today (March 6) at the Indianapolis
Business Journal 2014 Health Care Heroes program.
Paul Winchester, MD, medical director of the
hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, was named finalist in the Physician
category. Gerald Walthall, MD, medical director of palliative medicine, shared finalist
honors in the Advancements in Health Care with Susan Hickman, PhD, associate
professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Franciscan VNS was a finalist
in Community Achievement in Health Care, which was accepted by Project Manager
Lori Melton.
This annual IBJ program recognizes individuals and organizations in the
health care industry that make significant strides improving the health and
well-being of the community.
Over the last decade,
Winchester has developed and guided a robust NICU for the sickest and most at-risk infants at the hospital’s
Indianapolis campus. As one parent of a former patient wrote: “I remember walking into the NICU and
Dr. Winchester smiling and welcoming me with open arms. After all my daughter
and I had been through I finally felt at peace and couldn't wait to have her
transferred under his care. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that I wasn't
the only advocate my daughter had.”
Winchester,
who also is a professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School
of Medicine, is highly regarded for his research. Specifically, he has studied
how maternal exposures to commonly used chemicals in the environment may change
human genes in subtle but serious ways in
utero and contribute to preterm births, birth defects, reduced fetal
growth, and the onset of adult diseases.
His
research has been substantiated in other academic venues and continues today,
expanding to address related issues. Winchester is considered an expert in such
studies and has been published widely in professional journals.
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| GERALD WALTHALL |
Walthall and Hickman were recognized for their
collaborative work in the formation of Physician Order for Scope of Treatment
(POST), which was approved by the Indiana General Assembly in 2013 The document
is used by providers to communicate treatment preferences of patients with
advanced illness or end-stage disease.
POST differs from an advanced directive or
living will because it is a valid doctor’s order that can be implemented
immediately. Such orders may range from whether to give antibiotics, resuscitate or whether to
insert a feeding tube. Patients can also pre-determine the duration of
treatment. The form is printed on bright
paper to make it immediately recognizable by any health care provider.
With the backing of several Indiana medical
professional organizations, Walthall and Hickman formed the Indiana Patient
Preference Coalition to present to state lawmakers.
Walthall, a retired otolaryngology surgeon, has been
affiliated with Franciscan
St. Francis Health for decades. He has served
as chief of surgery and held numerous clinical and administrative leadership
roles.
Franciscan VNS was recognized for its proactive Patient Health Coaching Program
designed to reduce hospital readmissions among patients who have chronic health
conditions and are served by VNS. Readmissions are a leading and costly
problem faced by the nation’s health care system, according to the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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| LORI MELTON |
The Patient Health Coaching Program involves
ongoing weekly phone calls, monitoring of vital signs and weight, along with
heightened questions regarding patients’ diagnoses. That information is
transmitted via secure telecommunications technology and is reviewed by a
critical care-trained registered nurse. In turn, the nurse is able to recognize
patients’ conditions and implement early intervention if necessary.
VNS and other Franciscan St. Francis clinical
operations have achieved a marked decrease in 30-day hospital readmissions for
heart failure and pneumonia. Additionally, the program has resulted in
measurable cost reductions for care.
Founded in 1913, VNS has a solid corps of skilled nurses,
certified home care aides, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech
pathologists, dietitians and medical social workers – all of whom work closely
with patients’ primary care and specialty physicians in more than 20 Central
Indiana counties. VNS aligned with Franciscan St. Francis in 2011.
This latest recognition is not the first time Franciscan St. Francis
Health staff have been recognized as Health Care Heroes. Click here to view past recipients.
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| Accepting for VNS from left, Coach Patricia Nicholson, Coach
Stephanie Blount, Program manager Lori Melton, Mike Puskarich, Beth Keultjes,
Rhonda Deluise, and Coach Stacey Ahlbrand. |
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| Drs. Walthall and Hickman shared honors for their work. |
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| Dr. Winchester is flanked by members of the Women and Children's Services Parent Advisory Group. |
