Wednesday, August 23, 2017

GBMC: the only healthcare system in Maryland to reach HIMSS 7 for both Inpatient and Ambulatory Care

Back in early June, we had representatives from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) evaluating our healthcare system on the use of electronic health records. As you know, GBMC has been utilizing the Epic system since this past October.

I am very pleased to announce that GBMC HealthCare has achieved Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) for our inpatient care and ambulatory care! This award represents a lot of hard work to eliminate paper records and get all of our patients' information in one electronic file.

EMRAM is a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic record systems and includes eight stages (0-7) that measure a hospital’s implementation and utilization of IT to optimize the care that patients receive. Stage 7 represents the most advanced patient record environment. HIMSS Analytics developed the EMRAM as a tool to compare information technology maturity in health care organizations. Less than 5 percent of hospitals in the United States have achieved Stage 7 certification.

This accomplishment is due to the commitment and effort of the GBMC staff which includes our highly-skilled team of physicians, nurses, other clinicians and IT professionals. I want to thank all of my GBMC colleagues for this achievement especially Dr. Fred Chan, our Chief Medical Information Officer, Cindy Ellis, Epic Project Director, Dave Hynson, GBMC’s Chief Information Officer, Chase Roberts, Finance/Operational Efficiencies Manager and Mary Swarts, the Epic Nurse Champion, who all played an integral role in getting us to this point.

Achieving this recognition is something we all should be proud of.  It exemplifies our true commitment to ‘one patient, one record.’ Without this, we cannot reach our vision of being the community-based health system where every patient gets the care that we would want for our own loved ones.

Congratulations Dr. Kline!
Recently, I learned that Dr. Antonie “Tonie” Kline, the director of our Pediatric Genetics at the Harvey Institute for Human Genetics, will receive the RARE Champions of Hope in Medical Care and Treatment Award for her development of the Multidisciplinary Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) Clinic Program. This award honors physicians for their notable efforts in rare disease advocacy, science, collaborative medical care, and treatment.

CdLS is a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body. The features of this disorder vary widely among affected individuals and range from relatively mild to severe. An estimated 20,000 people in the U.S. have CdLS but remain undiagnosed and without support services.

Dr. Kline has coordinated free bi-annual Multidisciplinary CdLS Clinics for Adolescents and Adults at GBMC. During these small clinics, patients meet with Dr. Kline and a group of volunteer specialists. Patients and families are provided with behavioral plans, treatment protocols and valuable information on expectations for the individual’s current stage of life. This service helps families in knowing what to expect as their loved one with CdLS ages, and they are able to bring these protocols back to their personal physicians, educators, and caretakers.

As the medical director for the CdLS Foundation, Dr. Kline is also involved in both national and international research related to the condition. Over the years, she has established other clinics throughout the country; provided consults to roughly 300 children at biennial CdLS National Family Conferences; raised approximately $85,000 and has organized the Foundation's running group, Team CdLS Baltimore.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Kline on her recent achievement and for her efforts to help people with CdLS.

Baltimore City Fire Department Gives To GBMC
Last Friday, Baltimore City Fire Department Chief Niles R. Ford and members of the Local Unions 964 and 734, visited our Sandra and Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center and kindly presented us with a generous monetary donation.

From the sales of a few hundred pink Baltimore City Fire Department t-shirts, they were able to raise $8,500 which will be used by our breast cancer center in providing holistic breast cancer support; such as breast surgery aftercare kits, therapy, and other recovery options.

We are truly honored that these men and women of valor chose us to be the recipients of their efforts to bring awareness and aid in our fight against breast cancer. I want to thank all the firefighters, not only for their generosity and caring but, for what they are doing for our community.

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