Holiday Greetings

As we enter this special time of year, I want to take a moment to extend my warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a joyful holiday season to all. 

The holidays remind us of the importance of family, community, and gratitude. At GBMC HealthCare, we are grateful for the dedication and compassion of our staff, the trust and support of our community, and the commitment of our donors and partners. Together, we make a difference every day in the lives of those we serve. 

From my family to yours, may your holidays be filled with peace, love, and joy. Please stay safe and let us carry the spirit of giving and care into the new year. Thank you for being a vital part of the GBMC family. 

Celebrating Innovation and Excellence in Patient Safety

Last week, I shared my recent experience at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Forum.
This week, I am excited to highlight the exceptional efforts of GBMC's Quality Improvement team, whose work was presented during the forum. Experts from across the world submit their work for consideration, so being selected is quite an honor!  

Transforming Patient Safety with Technology and Teamwork 

Our team's presentation, titled "Leveraging Technology to Decrease the Incidence of Pulmonary Embolisms (PEs) and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVTs)," chronicled GBMC's success in reducing preventable PEs and DVTs by an astonishing 94% since 2019. This achievement demonstrates the power of a multidisciplinary approach, advanced technology, and evidence-based protocols in driving meaningful improvements. 

Some key strategies included: 

• Real-time dashboards in our Electronic Health Record (EHR): Empowering clinicians with immediate insights into patient risks and care opportunities. 
• Standardized order sets: Ensuring consistency in prophylaxis delivery. 
• Evidence-based protocols: Incorporating guidelines for risk assessments, appropriate timing and dosing of pharmacologic prophylaxis, and patient education to ensure adherence. 
• Proactive provider feedback systems: Promoting adherence to best practices. 
• Patient-centered education: Encouraging participation and compliance from those in our care. 

Through collaboration among clinicians, IT experts, and patient educators, our team has set a benchmark in patient safety—one that aligns seamlessly with GBMC’s vision: “To every patient, every time, we provide the care we would want for our own loved ones.” 

Thank you and congratulations to Joseph Fuscaldo, MD, Medical Director of Quality Improvement; Ryan Curran, Outcomes Manager; Marge Noel, Epic Liaison; and Ryan Perrott, PharmD, Epic Analyst, who led this effort and shared these insights at the IHI Forum, inspiring other organizations to replicate our success! 

Recognizing Everyday Excellence 

At GBMC HealthCare, we foster a culture of safety by encouraging early and frequent reporting of incidents and near misses. Guided by the principles of just culture, our focus is on learning and improvement—not blame. Rather than hiding mistakes, we view them as opportunities to identify and address system weaknesses, preventing future failures. 

In this spirit, I’m proud to celebrate Roxanne Sharkey, RN, as a recent recipient of the Great Save Award from our Quality and Patient Safety team. Roxanne exemplifies the “questioning attitude” that is key to high reliability. 

While reviewing a pediatric patient's discharge summary, Roxanne identified a potentially harmful prescription dose. Thanks to her diligence and teamwork with Dr. Rachel Plotnick, the error was corrected, and the patient’s family was guided toward safer pain management. This proactive approach not only prevented a potential overdose but also ensured the family felt supported during a stressful time. 

Thank you, Roxanne, for your diligence in keeping our patients safe! And thank you to all our staff for your vigilance in reporting incidents so we can continue to learn and improve.

A Week of Reflection, Recognition, and Celebration

This past week, I had the privilege of attending the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Forum, a gathering that always inspires those of us in healthcare. Among the many highlights was hearing from Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leader in public health whose career spans decades of service, from addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis to guiding us through the COVID-19 pandemic. His reflections were insightful and a reminder of what can be accomplished when public health is prioritized.

Another proud moment came when Carolyn Candiello, our Senior Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety, accepted recognition on our behalf (as I was at the Gilchrist Ball…see below) for our past achievement of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. It’s always gratifying to see the work of our teams recognized on such a distinguished platform. This recognition reinforces the importance of staying focused on quality and patient safety in everything we do. I continue to be thankful to all our staff for their work in making this recognition possible and for their commitment to maintaining the same high level of quality of care for all our patients.

As part of the forum, we also enjoyed keynote addresses from Kedar Mate, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer at IHI; Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, KBE, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow at IHI; best-selling author and executive producer, Tembi Locke; and Dannagal G. Young, Ph.D., Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware.

I appreciated the opportunity to learn from and catch up with healthcare colleagues from across the world at the forum.

The Gilchrist Ball

On another celebratory note, on Saturday, December 7, Gilchrist held its biennial Gilchrist Ball, marking 30 years of compassionate care. The event, attended by more than 375 supporters, raised an incredible $750,000 to benefit Gilchrist’s hospice centers across Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County. Guests enjoyed a wonderful dinner, shared stories, and danced to live music—all in support of a mission that makes a difference for so many families.

Click here to view a special video presentation that was shared that night.

Celebrating Sheppard Pratt’s New Crisis Center – A Win for Baltimore City

On Monday, I joined Sheppard Pratt and community leaders to celebrate the ribbon cutting for a new residential crisis center in Baltimore City. This much-needed facility addresses critical gaps in mental health care, providing tailored support for individuals in crisis while reducing strain on emergency departments. 

Located at the former site of the Gilchrist Center Baltimore, the center features two buildings with 16 beds each, offering both short-term crisis care and long-term residential support. Too often, individuals experiencing mental health crises spend days or weeks in emergency departments due to a lack of available mental health sites. This center bridges that gap, ensuring specialized care in the right setting. 

Dr. Harsh Trivedi, President and CEO of Sheppard Pratt, highlighted the urgent need for accessible mental healthcare, noting that Baltimore faces some of the nation’s longest emergency department wait times. With an estimated 25,000 city residents living with serious mental illnesses, this facility represents a vital step toward addressing their needs. 

The event also brought together Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen, Maryland Hospital Association CEO Melony Griffith, and other community leaders, reflecting the collective commitment to improving mental health equity. 

At GBMC, we’ve seen firsthand how prolonged stays by behavioral health patients impact emergency departments. Last year, Dr. Jeff Sternlicht, GBMC’s Chair of Emergency Services, testified to the Maryland legislature about this strain. Facilities like this one are essential to relieving pressure and improving outcomes for all patients. 

The transformation of this site into a mental health crisis center reflects a shared mission. In 2014, Gilchrist—GBMC HealthCare’s hospice and elder care experts—rescued the Joseph Richey House (later known as Gilchrist Center Baltimore) from bankruptcy to maintain access to high-quality hospice care for Baltimore City residents. When Gilchrist relocated operations to a state-of-the-art inpatient facility in 2021, we seized the opportunity to transfer the property to Sheppard Pratt in 2022, knowing their vision aligned with ours. If our loved one were in mental health crisis, we would want them to be treated in a facility tailored to best meet them where they are. 

This new center sets a higher standard for mental health services in Maryland and beyond. We are honored to support Sheppard Pratt in being part of the solution to a long-standing issue impacting healthcare. 

Recognizing Our Physicians 

On a celebratory note, earlier this week, we hosted our 34th Annual Physician Recognition Cocktail Reception at the Baltimore Country Club, Roland Park Clubhouse. It was a joy to gather with hundreds of our talented physicians and their guests to thank them for all they do for our patients and health system. This annual event is a small token of our immense gratitude.