St. Francis-Mooresville surgeon explains orthopedic therapies Oct. 28

INDIANAPOLIS – Hip and knee pain shouldn’t keep people from leading active and rewarding lives – and St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers wants to show you how.

The St. Francis “Road Show” will be coming to town at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Occasions Banquet Hall, 415 E. Hendricks St., Shelbyville, Ind. In the spotlight is a hip and knee replacement seminar.

John Meding, M.D., will explain the latest procedures in joint replacement and arthritis treatments. He is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in adult reconstructive surgery and joint replacement.

Meding is a surgeon with Joint Replacement Surgeons of Indiana, a practice group whose Center for Hip & Knee Surgery is affiliated with the St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville.

The Center has been ranked No. 1 in Indiana for joint surgery three years in a row by HealthGrades, one of the nation’s premier health-care rating companies.

To register for this seminar, call St. Francis toll-free at 1-877-888-1777.

More information about the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/Ortho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=23.

St. Francis reaches agreement with feds on kyphoplasty billings

INDIANAPOLIS – St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers has reached a settlement with the U.S.Department of Justice regarding the billing of kyphoplasty procedures performed at its Beech Grove and Indianapolis campuses from 2002 to 2005.

The settlement is part of a nationwide investigation of hospitals regarding kyphoplasty billing practices. St. Francis will pay Medicare $3.15 million for those cases that did not meet the criteria for inpatient admission.

Upon being notified of the investigation, St. Francis cooperated fully with the government and took immediate action to investigate its practices. It is important to note that the probe had nothing to do with quality of care, patient safety or medical necessity, hospital officials emphasized.

The focus of the investigation was on the lack of documentation to support the treatment in an inpatient setting.

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive spinal procedure used to treat painful, progressive vertebrae compression fractures. It involves using a balloon-type device to restore the height and shape of the affected vertebrae, followed by using a strengthening bone cement.

In August 2008, St. Francis was notified by the Department of Justice that it was part of a nationwide investigation related to a lawsuit brought against Kyphon Inc. The suit alleged that Kyphon encouraged hospitals and physicians to perform kyphoplasty as an inpatient procedure, when an outpatient setting may, in some cases, have been more appropriate.

Regardless of whether the procedure was provided in the inpatient or outpatient setting, all patients who had the procedure performed at St. Francis received appropriate, medically necessary and high quality care, hospital officials emphasized.

St. Francis is a non-profit health care organization focused on its mission of providing quality and compassionate health care services to the community.

“St. Francis Hospital is committed to compliance with all federal and state health-care regulations. We have taken the necessary steps and implemented new policies to ensure compliance and to prevent similar incidents from occurring,” said Robert J. Brody, St. Francis president and chief executive officer.

New St. Francis Emergency Department serves 31,000 patients in its first year

Hospital meeting critical need for residents in Mooresville and surrounding areas

MOORESVILLE, Ind. – Whether it’s a sick child in the middle of the night, a serious sports injury or a sudden severe health issue, residents of northern Morgan and southern Hendricks counties are turning to the area’s newest emergency department, celebrating its first anniversary on Oct. 1.

The year-old Emergency Department at St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville is far exceeding the predicted number of patients using its services. More than 31,300 patients have visited the ED in its first year of operation – nearly twice what was originally projected.

“The number of people we are treating underscores just how badly such a service was needed in this community,” said Jared Stark, executive director of the Mooresville hospital. “We had heard as much from many community leaders prior to our opening the ED, and since then, the response from residents has been extremely positive. While we wish no one would ever need emergency services, we’re glad we’re nearby when they do.”

“The opening of the Emergency Department was the culmination of our recent expansion in Mooresville to address the health care needs of the growing northern Morgan, Hendricks and southwestern Marion counties,” said Robert J. Brody, president and chief executive officer, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. “St. Francis-Mooresville has built on its foundation as a renowned specialty hospital — known for excellence in orthopaedics, colon and rectal care, women’s services and many other areas — to become a full-service hospital, addressing all the health care needs of our community.”

In the same year the Emergency Department opened, the hospital added:
· A new 34-bed orthopaedic inpatient unit;
· A 26-bed adult medical-surgical inpatient unit;
· An eight-bed Intensive Care Unit;
· Six new operating rooms with the latest in surgical technologies;
· A new laboratory; and
· An on-site office for Indiana Heart Physicians for expanded cardiac services.

With the expansion, the hospital grew from 258,000 square feet to nearly 400,000 square feet.

The Emergency Department is staffed by 22 board-certified emergency physicians from Emergency Physicians of Indianapolis, several specialty physicians, in-house hospitalists who facilitate patient admissions, and nurses trained in acute care and trauma situations. The department features state-of-the-art equipment and includes 14 treatment rooms, two acute care rooms and a community room for emergency medical services professionals.

Emergency Department physicians and medical staff have access to wireless communication technology and bedside charting for improved caregiver communication and efficiency.

The department also is an access point for St. Francis’ renowned Emergency Heart Attack Response Team (EHART) approach to cardiac care. The more quickly a patient showing signs of a heart attack is admitted into the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab for treatment, the better the chances are for survival. EHART dramatically improves the hospital’s door-to- intervention time, which can mean a significant improvement in heart attack outcomes.

The Emergency Department, located just south of the main hospital entrance, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

St. Francis doc answers moms’, daughters’ questions about HPV

PLAINFIELD, Ind. – You’ve probably heard about the vaccine that helps prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) in women. But if you have a young daughter, chances are you have countless questions about HPV and the vaccine.

St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers invites mothers and daughters to get the facts about HPV 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the St. Francis Plainfield Health Center, 315 Dan Jones Road in Plainfield.

April Hoffman, D.O., who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology at St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville, will lead this candid talk about HPV and cervical cancer. Hoffman will discuss the effectiveness of the vaccine, why and when to vaccinate your daughter and more.

All guests who attend this event will be entered in a drawing for a “coach” bag. Refreshments will be served, and reservations are required.

For more information or to register for this free event, call 317-782-4422 or visit StFrancisHospitals.org/women.

St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis construction project picks up pace

INDIANAPOLIS – St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is moving ahead again on the construction of an inpatient bed tower at its campus on the far south side of Indianapolis.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce construction is resuming with the St. Francis Hospital Indianapolis campus consolidation project,” said Robert J. Brody, president and chief executive officer. “Construction had been delayed because of the turbulent economic environment. Though at the time, the delay was disappointing, it was determined that a fiscally conservative approach was most appropriate.

“Today the situation has improved,” Brody added. “After careful and ongoing evaluation of key economic indicators and the financial performance of the hospital, the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Board of Trustees voted to resume the project at full steam ahead. We are most grateful for the board’s confidence and support.”

St. Francis officials last March announced the postponement of the project until there were visible signs of an improved economy.

“Throughout these past long months of unprecedented economic challenges, the dedication, stewardship and loyalty of our St. Francis family has been a guiding and stabilizing influence in our ability to respond positively to the environment while continuing to move our mission forward,” said Chief Operating Officer Keith Jewell, who has been overseeing much of the project since its inception in 2007.

Although considerably slowed, the work never did come to a standstill. In recent months, much of the exterior of the bed tower has been finished and some windows and framing put in place.

Tonn and Blank Construction of Indianapolis and Michigan City is performing the work.

New features and additions included in the consolidation are:
-- 221 inpatient beds in the six-story bed tower (177 medical-surgical, 30 intensive care, 14 observation)
-- New and renovated outpatient surgery area, adding 10 new suites, and a café near the waiting area
-- New and expanded emergency department with 68 treatment rooms, a satellite laboratory, CT scan and ultrasound rooms
-- New pharmacy area and expanded lab services
-- Expanded imaging services
-- Areas for nursing administration, medical staff offices, medical staff library and respiratory therapy
-- New hyberbaric chamber used for wound care
-- New cafeteria
-- New main entrance located on the east side of the facility

More than 1,600 new parking spaces already have been added at the hospital campus.

The consolidation is part of an overall plan to migrate inpatient and other services from St. Francis-Beech Grove to the Indianapolis hospital.

Inpatient services are expected to fully migrate from Beech Grove to Indianapolis by the first quarter of 2012.

Last spring, St. Francis employees inscribed their thoughts, hopes and prayers on the "topping" beam to be placed at the crest of the inpatient bed tower.