Community Health Network Foundation

Cardinal Health Foundation officials announced Community Health Network Foundation has been awarded a $14,300 grant to fund a research project to improve medication reconciliation practices at patient discharge.

Through the 2010 Cardinal Health Foundation E3 Grant Program, more than $1 million in grant funding has been awarded to help United States hospitals, health systems and community health clinics improve the efficiency and quality of care. Forty organizations in 25 states have been awarded grants and Community Health Network is the only Indiana health care provider to receive funding.

Dan Degnan, Community Health Network medication safety officer, will conduct the “Improving Medication Reconciliation Practices at Discharge” research to study improvements that could drive health care effectiveness, efficiency and excellence.

“The pharmacy department at Community Health Network is very excited to receive the recognition, trust and research grant from the Cardinal Health Foundation,” Degnan said. “Safety has always been a priority at Community Health Network and this research funding will help to advance this priority by assessing the best way to prevent medication errors when patients leave the hospital.”

 “We are grateful Cardinal Health Foundation has awarded the funding needed to study ways we can continue our efforts to improve patient safety and accuracy,” said Michele Thomas Dole, Community Health Network Foundation President and CEO. “This study is one more way our network is putting our patients first.”

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $96 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care.

We hope all of our donors join us for the July 10th grand opening event celebrating the expansion of Community Hospital South! Come and see how your generosity is raising the bar and setting new medical excellence standards!

Saturday, July 10, 2010
Noon to 4 p.m.

…It’s a level of health care treatment that’s patient-centered, coordinated and focused on quality of care, ranging from everyday ordinary care to treatment for your most critical needs.

Entertainment: Performance by The Street Beats Group, a drumming and dance troupe. Street Beats performs all over the world, and participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver–performances at 1 and 3 p.m.

Attractions:
- Check out our robot: See da Vinci® surgical robot demonstrations in the educational area on the first floor.

- Explore our services: Booths featuring Wellspring Pharmacy, Community Breast Care, Community Physicians of Indiana and more are located throughout the first floor.

- Tour the tower: Go at your own pace, and feel free to ask us questions along the way.

- Meet some local celebrities:  Boomer and Freddy, the official mascots of the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever – Noon to 2 p.m.
Rowdy, the Indianapolis Indians mascot – 2 to 3 p.m.

- Admire some art: Discover indoor and outdoor creations by Hoosier artists, specially designed for our healing environment.

- See who’s on the air:
Radio Disney – Noon to 1:30 p.m.
WIBC – 2 to 4 p.m.

Refreshments: Visit Bamboo Café on the first floor of the patient tower for a complimentary selection of beverages and light snacks.

The grand opening celebration will feature tours to learn about some of the newest additions to our building:
- State-of-the-art ortho/neuro/spine unit
- Beautiful labor/delivery/recovery/postpartum suites
- Brand-new special care nursery
- Surgical suites with the latest technology, including the da Vinci surgical robot
- Community Health Pavilion, a new model of primary care to meet every family’s needs
- Art, elements from nature and “green” materials to create an environment that promotes healing
Community Heart and Vascular, a new integrated way to care for your heart, resulting in better health

I’m thrilled to share with you some exciting news! With the support of 780 generous employees, we exceeded our Employee Campaign goal and raised more than $417,000 that will be used to fund important efforts to put patients first and to invest in our employees. Thank you.

You gave because you care and your gifts are investments made to fulfill our network mission. These gifts will support various patient care programs and will fund medical scholarships and education for our employees. And, they will provide support to employees in their most difficult time of need.

While we celebrate the generosity of our employee donors, I know the work is not yet done. Now, more than ever, our patients and employees need the support only our donors can provide.

Here are some ways you can help:
• Celebrate a co-worker’s success with a tribute gift.
• Make a memorial donation in honor of a loved one.
• Contact us to learn more about how you can include Community Health Network Foundation in your will and for complimentary planned giving consultation.
• Encourage your family, friends and colleagues to learn more about the impacts our donors are making by sending them to eCommunity.org.

If you were not able to contribute during the Employee Campaign, I invite you to consider Community Health Network Foundation as a future charitable option. You can make a donation anytime, and for any reason, by visiting eCommunity.org or calling us at 355-GIVE. Your support will make an impact and will be greatly appreciated.

I started my new role with the foundation just 60 days ago and I am so inspired by the generosity of our employee donors. I am sincerely grateful for every gift and for every donor who joined our growing network of employee support. I look forward to working with all of you and hope you contact me with any questions or opportunities you may have.

Best wishes,

Michele Thomas Dole, M.S., CFP®
President and CEO, Community Health Network Foundation

Anyone who knows Anita Harden knows what it is like to be touched by an angel.

For 35 years, she’s served Community Health Network patients with respect, compassion and a loving heart. As a behavioral health nurse and business leader, she helped build Community’s behavioral care program and become an advocate for mentally-ill patients in central Indiana.

Anita is a true friend to our foundation and has been a generous donor and philanthropic leader for many years, including her recent committment to serve as our interim President and CEO that ended in April. But, with news she shared today, we were again touched by an angel.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning to celebrate the completed renovation of the new Behavioral Health Pavilion, located on the Community North Campus, Anita announced she has made a $60,000 gift to Community Health Network Foundation to establish an endowment to benefit mentally-ill patients in central Indiana.

Her generous gift will establish the Anita J. Harden Endowment to Benefit the Seriously and Persistently Mentally Ill and will be used to provide education, training and necessities needed to improve the quality of life for central Indiana patients diagnosed with serious and persistent mental illness. These programs and services, not normally covered by insurance or publicly-funded sources, will attempt to prevent hospitalization and support the patients’ on-going daily living needs.

“My donation is an investment in creating a way for these patients to live with respect and be treated with compassion as we help them mange their lives,” she said. “This is my opportunity to ensure the patients I love, so many times called the ‘lost population,’ will be cared for in perpetuity.”

Anita is working with us to raise more funds for this endowment and if you are interested in making a gift to support her commitment to these patients, please click here.

Thank you, Anita, for being an angel to so many.

Read the entire press release>>

With opening events planned in early July, excitement is building for the opening of the expanded facilities at Community Hospital South! In just a few weeks, we’ll open the doors to showcase a state-of-the art medical facility designed to put patient needs first and facilitate the delivery of innovative medical care.

Community Health Network Foundation’s board of directors and professional staff are extremely grateful to our donors who generously supported the Community Hospital South expansion. Their gifts to our capital campaign will be used to fund programs for medical excellence and innovation, invest in state-of-the-art medical technologies, ensure the delivery of exceptional patient care and support the creation of a healing environment. With the support of our donors, we are transforming health care.

To share the excitement, and provide you with a preview of what’s happening with the project, we invite you to read the following stories and watch these videos.

Community Health Network opens new health pavilion on south side of Indianapolis

Community Hospital South opens new maternity suites; special care nursery set to open this month

Community Hospital South expansion shows commitment to green building

Community Hospital South opens new operating suites, marking completion of first phase of Next Evolution expansion project

Stay informed and join our celebration:

Follow Community Hospital South on Facebook

Visit eCommunity.com/south for more updates

Read the Community Hospital South expansion fact sheet

Community Health Network’s MedCheck walk-in clinics have once again been recognized by Consumer Choice Awards as the “Best Urgent Care” in Indianapolis. This marks the third year in a row that local consumers have voted MedCheck best in the city.

Consumer Choice conducts an independent annual survey of 40,000 consumers and business leaders in central Indiana. Consumers and business leaders were asked to rate value and service in select categories. MedCheck clinics were rated tops among all competitors in the urgent care category in Indianapolis.

The recognition fits well with the network’s strategic imperative of improving access for patients, as well as its commitment to provide high-quality care and service. “We are pleased to receive this recognition, and it is a demonstration of our staff’s commitment to improving the experience our customers have with us,” says Jon Fohrer, CEO, ambulatory services. “We are actively moving to a more retail model that offers multiple locations and convenient hours, that gets patients in and out quickly and provides efficient care at affordable prices.”

Today we announced details about a $500,000 donation from Indiana Surgery Center South physicians to support The Next Evolution of the Community Hospital South Capital Campaign.

The announcement of the major gift increases the fundraising total to $1.2 million and closes the campaign ahead of the $1 million planned goal.

Barbara Coury, our vice president of development, said the $500,000 gift represents a unified commitment donors have made to transform health care on the south side of Indianapolis and in Greenwood.

“The gift made by these physicians is an important investment in guaranteeing Community Hospital South is a south side cornerstone for the best coordinated, connected and convenient health care,” Coury said. “They join more than 150 additional donors who also share this commitment and contributed to the success of this fundraising campaign.”

“We believe our gift of financial support will fund the next generation of medical excellence at Community Hospital South and greatly benefit our patients and families,” said Bipin Patel, M.D. and Indiana Surgery Center South medical director. “On behalf of the very committed 65 physicians making this gift, we celebrate the up-coming opening of the expanded hospital and the high-quality health care that will be practiced there for years to come.”

Donations collected to support the expansion of Community Hospital South will be used over time to fund programs for medical excellence and innovation, purchase state-of-the-art medical technologies, ensure the delivery of exceptional patient care and to install a collection of original Indiana artwork that will create a healing environment for patients and visitors.

The Next Evolution of Community Hospital South will include a five-story, all-private room patient tower, state-of-the-art surgical suites and expanded outpatient services with convenient access. The $130 million project is on schedule, with the grand opening of the patient tower slated for mid-year 2010.

Physicians contributing to the $500,000 donation include:
 
Tessa M. Asdell, M.D.
Richard L. Bohnenkamp, M.D.
Michael L. Boothe, M.D.
Scott D. Bowers, M.D.
Sohelia-Zia Boyer, D.O.
Glen A. Brunk, M.D.
Patricia A. Burton, M.D.
Paul F. Cain, D.P.M.
Steven M. Clark, M.D.
Benjamin J. Copeland, M.D.
Andrew J. Corsaro, M.D.
Edward J. Diekhoff, M.D.
James R. Dunlop, M.D.
Heidi M. Dunniway , M.D.
David B. Ensley, M.D.
Thomas H. Fairchild, M.D.
David J. Fang, M.D.
Jason J. Gutt, M.D.
Deepak Guttikonda, M.D.
Cara E.  Hahs, M.D.
Mark M. Hamilton, M.D.
Charles E. Hughes III, M.D.
Richard W. Jackson, M.D.
Thomas L. Jackson, M.D.
Olaf B. Johansen, M.D.
W. Terry Jones, M.D.
Kevin E.  Julian, M.D.
Donald G. King, M.D.
Stephen R. Klapper, M.D.
Eric Y. Knoll, M.D.
Frederick R. Lane, M.D.
Earl E. Lanter, M.D.
Mark A. Lazar, D.P.M.
Mathew J. Libke, M.D.
S. Chace Lottich, M.D.
Jonathan B. Lupton, M.D.
Juliet M. Maillet, M.D.
Jonathan A. Mandelbaum, M.D.
Kurt R. Martin, M.D.
Daniel M. Maxfield, M.D.
R. Barry Melbert, M.D.
Scott T. Miles, M.D.
Maximillian S. Newell, M.D.
Danny Ngo, M.D.
Stephen J. O’Neil, M.D.
Bradley Orris, M.D.
Andrew C. Parker, M.D.
Bipin A. Patel, M.D.
Roberto R. Patron, M.D.
Bryan K. Perkins, M.D.
James P. Perry, M.D.
Nicole S. Perry, M.D.
Christopher Pesavento, M.D.
Charles A. Salazar, M.D.
Daniel B. Salvas, M.D.
Jeffrey S. Stevens, D.P.M.
Chadwick Strain, M.D.
David Szentes, M.D.
Richard S. Troiano, M.D.
Vidyasagar S. Tumuluri, M.D.
Jeffery D. Vaught, M.D.
G. Alan VonStein, M.D.
J.K. Winckelbach, D.P.M.
Wendy S. Winckelbach, D.P.M.
Thomas C. Wisler, Jr., M.D.

As we celebrate this wonderful season of giving, it is our pleasure to share with you an exciting, and historical, donor announcement.

Jack Heiney (sitting) announced his donation in a meeting with (l-r) Anita Harden, Community Health Network Foundation Interim President and CEO, Bryan Mills, Community Health Network President and CEO, and Yvonne Shaheen, George Geiger and Katie Betley, all Community Health Network board members.

Community Health Network Foundation has received a $1 million cash donation from John W. “Jack” Heiney, who has made the largest financial donation in our history.

Jack made the unrestricted gift to fund our mission to support Community Health Network’s commitment to improve the health of the central Indiana communities Community serves. Jack told us he also made this donation to celebrate his wife, Betty, who passed away in July 2009 after they enjoyed 68 years of marriage. He claims she was always supportive of his volunteer commitments to Community, and was instrumental in founding the Jack and Betty Heiney Society, our planned giving society.

 The unrestricted donation will support Community’s future greatest needs and will provide funding to improve community health through outreach, wellness and prevention programs, to invest in Community’s network of health care facilities and employees who deliver the best coordinated and convenient care possible, and to lead patient-centered health care reform.

To forever celebrate this gift, Betty’s memory and the decades of board service Jack has provided us, we are naming a portion of Community Hospital North the John W. “Jack” and Betty Heiney Patient Care Tower. The board room at Indianapolis-based Visionary Enterprises, Inc., a Community Health Network partner, also commemorates Jack with a display of his numerous career and civic accomplishments.  

Patients, families, physicians and employees will forever be grateful for the extreme generosity Jack and Betty Heiney have provided to Community. This gift will undoubtedly change the lives of countless people over many years. We celebrate Jack and Betty and thank them for investing in our work to serve the community, the true reason our network exists.

Jack Heiney (sitting) with the following Foundation staff members (l to r): Ryan Chelli, Anita Harden, Barbara Coury, Kyle Henne, Marcy Zunk, Melodie Kent, Jack Beatty, Marsha Wager and Debbie Ahaus.

Community Health Network Foundation, the philanthropic organization of Community Health Network, has received a $7,500 Putting Patients First grant from the Association for Medical Imaging Management (AHRA)  and Toshiba that will be used to create a pediatric safety and quality program designed by the medical imaging department at Community Hospital East.

Receiving one of six annual grants awarded to health care providers across the country, Community will use the grant to create the Pediatric CT Imaging Simulation Program, an Internet-based simulation that will be used to educate pediatric patients and their caregivers about the CT diagnostic imaging process. Community is the only health care provider in Indiana to receive the grant.

 “Community Health Network is continually looking for ways to improve our patients’ experiences by putting them first,” said Melisa Mattingly, program director for the School of Radiologic Technology at Community Health Network.  “The Putting Patients First Program supports the organization’s commitment to patient safety.” 

Programs funded by these grants are used to create best practice tools to share with other hospitals and institutions.  Community Hospital East’s winning proposal involves the development of an Internet-based computer learning management program for pediatric patients to use at home or at the hospital at any point before their scheduled imaging procedure.  Once developed, the program will be accessible to patients online and at computer kiosks in two Community Health Network facilities.  The hospital’s medical imaging department is hoping that this program will improve patient understanding of the procedure, therefore reducing the need for sedation and repeated imaging.  Work on the grant project has already begun and completion is expected by summer 2010.

Other recipients of the AHRA and Toshiba Putting Patients First grant include: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta of Egleston (Atlanta, Ga.); Memorial Hermann Outpatient Imaging Division (Houston, Texas); Highline Medical Center (Burien, Wash.); Shields Health Care (Quincy, Mass.); and St. Patrick Hospital  (Missoula, Mont.). Putting Patients First is funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

About Community Hospital East
Community Hospital East is a comprehensive acute care facility located at 1500 N. Ritter Ave. With a vast array of surgical capabilities, emergency room services, cardiovascular care, comprehensive cancer care, total joint program, and an innovative wound healing center, Community Hospital East provides an exceptional patient and family experience.   Ranked among the top 10 integrated health care networks in the nation, Community Health Network has more than 90 sites of care throughout central Indiana. This includes Community Hospitals East, North and South in Indianapolis and Community Hospital Anderson; The Indiana Heart Hospital, a dedicated heart hospital; Indiana Surgery Centers; Community Physicians of Indiana; Community Home Health Services; MedCheck walk-in care centers and MEDPOINT express convenience clinics; employer health services; nursing homes; and other health care facilities. Community Health Network is committed to getting you well and back to your life. For more information about Community Health Network or to find a physician, call 800-777-7775 or visit eCommunity.com.

“I tell people that the letter ‘I’ in Indianapolis stands for ‘innovation.’ This may look like a small idea, but it’s a big idea.”

The big idea to which Jane Pauley refers is the eastside Indianapolis health center that bears her name. Pauley, an eastside native best known as an anchor for NBC’s “Today” and “Dateline” programs, visited Indianapolis to help cut the ribbon and open The Jane Pauley Community Health Center, operated by Community Health Network in space donated by the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township.

“This is the story of a partnership of a group of people who recognized that there’s a need for health care,” Bryan Mills, Community’s president and CEO, told the crowd of more than 200 who gathered September 23 for the center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This is an example of what we believe others can do; it’s something we hope people can replicate.”

The model to which Pauley and Mills refer is a clinic that provides holistic care—including wellness, medical, mental health, dental and social services—regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. Though it’s located within Warren Township’s Renaissance School, it serves not only students and their families but the entire eastside community. “This is the nexus of the two things most important to me: health care for underserved people, and public education,” Pauley told the gathering.

“The focus of this community health center is primary health care,” Robin Ledyard, M.D., president of Community Hospital East and one of the center’s creators, told ribbon-cutting attendees. “Primary health care meets about 80 percent of people’s needs. This is access for the public where they need it, not in the ER, where that care can become confusing and expensive.”

Also speaking was Jeff Bennett, Warren Township trustee. He hailed the center’s progressive integration of health services, and added that it also will provide access to a wide range of social services, including food stamps and heating assistance. “We want this to be a front door to getting these services.”

Peggy Hinckley, Ph.D., superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township, is a strong believer in the importance of meeting the health care needs of students. “Warren Township is very focused on closing the achievement gap,” she says. “Children are better learners and can focus on their work when they feel well.”

Indeed, says Pauley, good health care services are essential just to keep kids in school learning, rather than at home sick. As an example, she points to asthma as one of the most common chronic ailments facing children. Citing Children’s Health Fund studies, Pauley says a child getting regular treatment for asthma misses an average of seven fewer days of school each year than a child whose asthma is not well controlled. Plus, “for every child who gets proper treatment for chronic asthma, $4,500 is saved annually.”

Health care costs are a major stressor for many families, observes Art Bouvier, who owns the Papa Roux restaurant two miles south of the center and serves on the center’s advisory board. As a small-business owner, he’s been unable to get adequate insurance for his family, so he plans to take them to the center for their primary health care needs. For those who are uninsured or underinsured, “you spend a lot of time wondering how bad is bad enough to get medical attention.”

At the ribbon cutting, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard praised the spirit of partnership that is behind this kind of project. “We are all extremely fortunate to be in a city in which great generosity toward each other is the norm,” he says, calling the center “a place of hope.”

Mills said it offers an example of what people in the community can do when they decide to solve a problem rather than waiting for someone else to provide the solution. “This is us saying, ‘we can do this on our own.’”

Added Dr. Hinckley, “See what happens when well-intentioned people with caring hearts come together with an idea?”

For Pauley, joining in the partnership offers the chance to draw attention to the needs of the underserved, as well as cutting-edge ways to meet those needs. As for having her name attached to a project that tackles an issue so important to her—“there probably hasn’t been a bigger honor afforded me in my lifetime.”