A Discussion with a National Hero

This morning, I had the honor of serving as the host for a virtual question and answer session, with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

This was a unique opportunity to discuss COVID-19, our healthcare system, and our response to the global pandemic with Dr. Fauci, a world leader in infectious diseases. He addressed several issues ranging from updates about a vaccine and the possibility of other treatments for the coronavirus to the challenges schools have encountered due to COVID-19 and lessons learned in preventing future infectious disease surges. You can watch the video here.

I want to express my appreciation to Dr. Fauci for his participation in today’s event. Today also happens to be the 55th Birthday of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (How cool is that?!). But most of all I want to thank him for his years of service to our country, most notably during the AIDS epidemic and for his guidance now during the COVID-19 pandemic. His calm reliance on the scientific evidence has been invaluable.

I would like to thank the GBMC community for providing the questions before-hand and for watching today’s event. I also want to offer my gratitude to Rebecca Barnes, one of our campaign project managers in our Philanthropy Department for securing Dr. Fauci’s involvement and to our marketing department for coordinating this incredible event. Thank you! 

One step closer?
This week we hosted a virtual site visit with examiners from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award! This year, due to COVID-19, the process could not be done in person, yet despite this change, the examiners were able to speak with us to validate the information we submitted in our application. 

Like last year, they reviewed all three of our work systems: Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Gilchrist, and GBMC Health Partners. Everyone did a WONDERFUL job in telling them our story and for that I am so grateful and proud of all of you! I cannot name all of those who worked so hard to make the examiners’ visit a huge success, but I need to thank, Carolyn Candiello, Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety, Keith Poisson, Chief Operating Officer, Lisa Groff Reuschling, RN, Clinical Director Women and Child Health, Shelby Davis, Quality Outcomes Analyst, and Zebe Jacobson, Quality Improvement Resolution Specialist, who spent countless hours assuring that the survey went off without a hitch!

Now that the visit is over, the examiners will file a report that will be reviewed by the Baldrige judges, who will determine if we have achieved the award. This has been a tough year for all of us, and it would be great to have a celebration after we hear in mid-November. Until then, all we can do is wait and be proud of what we have accomplished together.

Epic Turns Four at GBMC

I can’t believe that this past Thursday (Oct. 1) was the four-year anniversary of our “flipping the switch” and going live with Epic – our electronic medical record (EMR) across the GBMC HealthCare System. It is clear that “one patient, one record” has been a huge change accelerator for us. 

Since 2016, our Epic program has received some of the highest honors possible. Earlier this year, I was proud to announce that we received the prestigious Summa Cum Laude designation, the highest level of achievement for Epic users in Epic’s Honor Roll Good Maintenance Grant Program, and we achieved a score of 9 out of 10 on the Epic Gold Star program. The Gold Star program exists to incentivize Epic users to get the most out of the software’s capabilities. In late 2019, we also achieved the Davies Award of Excellence, the highest achievement for the use of electronic records from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and for the first time the Surescripts White Coat Award. This award acknowledged our organization’s ability to positively impact patient safety, increase speed to therapy, and improve first-fill adherence and patient satisfaction by improving e-prescription accuracy.  

These are only a few of the recognitions we have received over the years that clearly illustrate our success with Epic. Without question, these achievements are 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 my GBMC colleagues for so many achievements in such a short period of time.