Happy Thanksgiving!

I tend to focus on what is not going well and needs to be improved. With our current financial challenges, I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about ways to lower our expenses and increase our revenue. So, this being Thanksgiving week, I really need some time to think about what I am really thankful for. 

My family, especially my wife, Tracey, is a source of strength and comfort for me and I do not thank them enough.  

At work, I am blessed with an outstanding group of Senior teammates. I am truly thankful for them. And we are very fortunate to have the best clinicians of all types – physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, and other allied health professionals. Where would we be without them? I am grateful for all that they do.

The unsung heroes are all our support staff and volunteers. I am incredibly grateful for them and all the value that they deliver every day. I am grateful for our patients who give us a reason to serve. 

I must also thank everyone in the community who helps me in some way – from our police and firefighters to the people who work at my dry cleaner and the supermarket.

 It is a cliché to say it, but I have so much to be thankful for. 

So, to everyone who reads the blog: Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. What are you thankful for? I’d love to hear about it – please leave me a comment!

GBMC Thanksgiving Day Turkeys and the Community
As per our annual tradition, GBMC provided turkeys to our employees and volunteers across our healthcare system to share with their families during Thanksgiving. We do this to say thank you for everything they do throughout the year to move us closer to our vision. 

While many on our team receive their turkeys, many choose to donate their turkeys to local charities. Chaplain Joe Hart and his team oversee this work along with Richelle Tighe from our Human Resources Department, who organizes the entire turkey distribution. 

This week, I received a nice note from a local church thanking us for the donation of 60 turkeys that will be distributed to those in need with their holiday Christmas basket.

This is a wonderful tradition, and I look forward to sustaining it in the future. 

Kudos!
Please join me in congratulating Angela “Angie” Feurer, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, as the new Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). Angie has been serving as our interim CNO since July of 2022, and during this time she has made significant strides in our nurse recruitment and retention efforts. 

Angie has been a nurse for 24 years, the majority spent in leadership roles. In addition to her time as interim CNO, Angie has served as Director of our Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Medicine/Telemetry, SAFE, and the Stroke Program. She played a critical role as Incident Commander throughout the cyber-attack and COVID-19 and continues to utilize these crisis mitigation skills as we face other challenges.

In her role as CNO, she values and looks forward to continuing interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the health system. I am grateful for Angie’s stepping up as CNO, and I look forward to working closely with her. 

Congratulations also to Michael Stein, MHSA, FACMPE, who has been promoted to Vice President, Clinical and Support Operations. In this new position, Mike will oversee oncology, radiology, laboratory, volunteers, food and nutrition, environmental services, patient transport, and the Service Response Center. 

Since starting at GBMC in 2014, he has been a proven leader for our organization. As Executive Director of Oncology Services, he has done an exceptional job in enhancing the care of cancer patients at GBMC and has led efforts in fundraising, marketing, contracting, performance improvement, business planning, and strategy for the oncology service line. He played an integral role in the planning and design of the Sandra R. Berman Pavilion, the future home of the Berman Cancer Institute.

Please join me in congratulating Mike!

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. It was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a black transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorates all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester's death and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Transgender people often experience prejudice when accessing healthcare services. Understanding the unique needs of our patients can help improve their healthcare experience.  Their needs include transition-related or gender-affirming medical care designed to align physical characteristics with gender identity. Transgender individuals may also have unique health needs in reproductive care, gynecologic and urologic care, and mental health. By taking time to learn more about the transgender experience in health care, you can play a part in bettering the lives of others.

So as part of living our vision phrase, “To every patient, every time we will provide the care that we would want for our own loved ones,” tomorrow (Friday 11/18) at noon we will recognize the day with a special ceremony in the Civiletti Conference Center.  Please click here to RSVP to attend in-person or virtually and/or to submit your ally pledge to support LGBTQIA+ equality and receive a ribbon of support from the Pride Committee.

I want to thank our Diversity & Inclusion Council for putting together this ceremony. I would also like to thank all the attendees who will take the time to join and to reflect on the lives we’ve lost to transphobia.

Celebrating Nurse Practitioner Week
There are over 355,000 nurse practitioners nationwide who provide care to millions of Americans. November 13-19 marks National Nurse Practitioner Week, and it is a good opportunity to highlight the excellent Nurse Practitioners working in our hospital, in our physician practices, and in Gilchrist. Please join me in thanking them this week for their tireless efforts which often go unrecognized.

An Innovative Model to Generate Health of Mind and Body

The holiday season can be a tremendously stressful time for many individuals who are struggling with a mental illness such as depression and anxiety. The pressure of trying to do everything, planning the perfect holiday, traveling to visit family, saying yes to each get-together, meeting those year-end deadlines, and the financial burdens of holiday shopping can take its toll on those who are prone to anxiety, depression and stress.

This week, Rachel Smolowitz, Ph.D., program manager of Sheppard Pratt Integrated Behavioral Health at GBMC, discusses our collaborative care model that delivers behavioral health services within our GBMC Health Partners advanced primary care practices, and answers some questions about the program. This is great work that we are doing with our Sheppard Pratt colleagues to move “upstream” to address issues such as anxiety and depression early in their course. 

Q:  How is a patient referred and what are some of the challenges that our Collaborative Care Model is helping to fix?
Many people struggle with the question “How do I find mental health support?” and Collaborative Care answers it clearly: “Talk to your primary care provider.” The primary care providers at GBMC can help their patients connect to a mental health provider either in the office, remotely, or in the community. Once a patient is participating in Collaborative Care, our goal is to help them develop the skills they need to become their own therapist and meet their goals. 

Q:  Beyond the benefit of patient convenience, why is it important to have a behavioral health program in the primary care setting?
Unfortunately, our society continues to have a stigma against mental illness. Many people are uncomfortable talking or thinking about mental illnesses even though about 25% of people experience mental illnesses. Having services in primary care helps to reduce the stigma of mental illness by addressing it as an important part of a person’s health. 

Q:  Do you think treating mental health conditions in primary care makes sense?
Another benefit to having behavioral health treatment in primary care is that the mind and body are interconnected. People may struggle with worries about issues like diabetes and hypertension, which could get in the way of complying with their treatment. Getting support means that they can learn how to manage their anxiety and take better care of themselves.  

Q:  What has surprised you about practicing this Collaborative Care?
I have been very pleasantly surprised to learn that brief, focused treatment is very effective in helping people to meet their goals. We start out working on developing goals that will be meaningful for people. We then identify some skills for them to learn and emphasize “homework” in between appointments. We also measure how they’re doing each month and discuss with them how their scores are improving over the months. 

Thank you…
I would like to thank our transporters who work hard to make sure that our patients move efficiently within the hospital. This week is National Patient Transport Week (Nov. 6—12).

Often, these colleagues are dealing with anxious patients who don’t know just what to expect on their way to their next destination within our hospital. While their primary role is to move people, they also help allay the fears of patients through their kindness and compassion. 

I want to thank Anthony Anderson, our Director of the Service Response Center and Patient Transport, and his amazing staff for all they do.

This week is also National Radiologic Technology Week and Forensic Nurses Week. I would like to thank all our registered radiologic technologists (RTs) and our forensic nurses for their very important roles in serving our patients. Please join me in saluting our RTs and forensic nurses for their commitment to quality, patient-centered care, for their hard work, and for their valuable role in helping us achieve our vision.

Way to Go…
We recently learned that GBMC received Primary Stroke Center re-certification from The Joint Commission.

This re-certification acknowledges that we have well-developed systems to care for acute stroke patients and help them improve their long-term outcomes. This recognition is a testament to the cohesive teamwork and evidence-based care we deliver to our stroke patients. 

I am proud of our team who worked very hard to re-certify. My deepest gratitude goes out to Ellen Deibert MD, FAHA, Medical Director of our Stroke Center and our Chief of the Division of Neurology; Barbara Smith Peace, MBA, MPH, BSN, RN, LSSGB, our Director of Quality and Patient Safety; Steve Benko, BSN, RN, CEN, Stroke Program Nurse Director; and Kristopher (Kris) Bachenberg, our new Stroke Program Manager.

Thank You to our Veterans!
Today, we will commemorate Veterans Day and take the time to remember the millions of American military personnel who have served to protect us. I want to thank our Diversity & Inclusion Council for sponsoring our organization-wide Veterans’ observance. This will be a great way to honor our employee and volunteer Veterans on our main campus, in our physician practices, and throughout Gilchrist. I know that I speak for all of us at GBMC HealthCare in offering our sincere gratitude for the personal sacrifices, past and present, of all our service men and women.

Providing Respectful Care to Frail Elders and Those at the End of Life

In honor of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, I wanted to thank all our Gilchrist colleagues for all they do. Gilchrist has created an exciting new joint venture with Luminis Health to provide the older residents of Anne Arundel County with the world-class continuum of geriatric services they need and deserve. 

LuminisHealth is regarded as a leading health system with inpatient and outpatient locations in eight counties, and Gilchrist is a nonprofit with more than a quarter-century of experience delivering exceptional elder medical care, hospice, and palliative care. Named the Luminis Health Gilchrist Lifecare Institute, this collaborative team provides comprehensive, coordinated medical care and support wherever patients need it, whether in a residential care community, a long-term care or assisted living facility, or in the comfort of their own home. Services are personalized to meet the unique needs of each patient. 

Anne Arundel is one of fastest-growing counties in Maryland. The county’s population has increased by more than 20 percent during the past 20 years and is now nearly 600,000 people in all, making it larger than Baltimore City. More than 15 percent of Anne Arundel’s current population is 65 years and over, according to the U.S. Census.  

The goal of the Institute is to better meet the needs of the elderly population and improve their quality of life while also reducing unnecessary hospitalizations. 

During the past six months of the joint venture, the Institute has achieved Medicare certification, created an inpatient palliative team on site at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, providing services 7 days a week, and launched the Geriatric Supportive Home Services program, where a primary care provider visits patients where they live.

I want to congratulate and thank the team for their commitment to treat every person the way they want their own loved one treated.

Congratulations!
I have always talked about how our physicians being named in the Baltimore magazine “Top Docs” issue is an extraordinary honor; well this year is no different! The community has again reminded us that GBMC HealthCare has the best surgeons, internists, pediatricians, family physicians, and other specialists in the market, and what makes this recognition special is that everyone on the list was chosen by their peers. 

This year’s issue acknowledges changes in medical care specialties with some new categories.   I want to applaud the 81 members of our medical staff across 40 specialties named a “Top Doc” along with Raya Wehbeh, MD, sleep medicine physician and GBMC’s Medical Director for Sleep Medicine. She was one of several physicians, from a pool of hundreds in the Baltimore area, selected to be profiled. Twelve members of the GBMC medical staff have made this list five years or more, and seven physicians who have been on the list 10 years or more.  

To all the “Top Doctors” at GBMC and Dr. Wehbeh: Congratulations from all of us! We are very proud of you. To view a listing of our “Top Doctors” and to learn more about who they are, please visit here. 

Since we are on the topic of Baltimore magazine, believe it or not, the publication is currently collecting votes for its 2023 Excellence in Nursing issue. Anyone can nominate a nurse—nurse managers, colleagues, patients—they just need to fill out the online form here. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Nov. 18.  

Thank you!!
Last week was National Respiratory Care Week and National Healthcare Facilities and Engineering Week (Oct. 23-29). I would like to acknowledge all of our respiratory therapists for playing a critical role in our healthcare system, especially during this surge of viral respiratory illness. Please join me in thanking them and our fabulous facilities team.