2015 Awards & Annual Report

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program

HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital’s pulmonary rehabilitation program recently earned certification by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) for the appropriate and effective early outpatient care of patients with pulmonary issues. Pulmonary rehabilitation programs are designed to help people with pulmonary problems (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and other respiratory symptoms) recover faster and improve their quality of life. The program includes exercise, education, counseling, and support for patients and their families.

“This certification demonstrates our program’s excellence and commitment to essential standards of pulmonary care,” said Nancy Demars, director of cardiopulmonary services at Sacred Heart Hospital. “Our patients and family members can feel confident in knowing that our colleagues have the experience and skills necessary to deal with the variety of issues of a life-changing pulmonary diagnosis.”
AACVPR-certified programs are recognized as leaders in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation because the programs offer the most advanced practices available. The certification is valid for three years.

Coverdell Stroke Champion

HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital was recently recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Health Service’s Coverdell Stroke Program for becoming a Coverdell Stroke Champion.
As a Coverdell Stroke Champion, the hospital continues to implement stroke quality improvement and work with emergency medical service to improve transitions of care, while sharing data and practices to improve stroke care throughout the nation.
In 2001, Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement state-based registries that measure, track and improve the delivery and quality of stroke care. The registry was named the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry after the late U.S. Senator who suffered a fatal stroke in 2000. In 2012, the Wisconsin Department of Health services became one of 11 states funded to participate in Coverdell Stroke Program. The objective of the program is to assist hospitals and emergency medical services providers in their mission to provide the highest standard of stroke care for all residents.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

“Hospitals that have coordinated with community-based efforts have shown a reduction in re-hospitalization rates,” says Jeannie Pittenger, RN, MSN, CNRN, stroke program coordinator at Sacred Heart Hospital. “With a stroke, time lost is brain lost. This recognition demonstrates our commitment to stroke care coordination. From onset of symptoms to rehabilitation and prevention of subsequent stroke, we are committed to providing the highest level of stroke care to people in our region.”

Greenhealth Partner for Change

HSHS Sacred Heart & St. Joseph’s hospitals were awarded the 2015 “Greenhealth Partner for Change” Award by Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading health care community that empowers its members to increase their efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care through tools, best practices and knowledge.

The award is one of the organization’s Environmental Excellence Awards given each year to honor outstanding environmental achievements in the health care sector.

The Greenhealth Partner for Change Award recognizes health care facilities that continuously improve and expand upon their mercury elimination, waste reduction, recycling and source reduction programs. At a minimum, facilities applying for this Award must be recycling 15 percent of their total waste, have reduced regulated medical waste, are well along the way to mercury elimination, and have developed other successful pollution prevention programs in many different areas.

“All of us at Sacred Heart Hospital work as a team to set our environmental goals and strive to not just meet but exceed them,” said Julie Manas, president & CEO, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital. “We are honored to be recognized for our efforts in helping to create an environmentally sustainable health care institution.”

“As health care ministries, our hospitals are called upon to care for our patients and we must also care for God’s beauty in all of creation,” said Joan Coffman, president and CEO, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital. “No act is too small to protect the Earth for generations to come.”

The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards were presented May 14 in Portland, Oregon, at the CleanMed Conference & Exhibition. Shanna Miller, director of environmental services, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, and Rick Beckler, director of the environment, Hospital Sisters Health System, attended the conference.

5-Diamond Patient Safety Facility

Eau Claire, WI – HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital’s Renal Dialysis Centers, located at both HSHS Sacred Heart & St. Joseph’s hospitals, have earned renewed status as a “5-Diamond Patient Safety Facility” by Renal Network 11. As the quality control arm for Medicare, Renal Network 11 (serving MI, MN, ND, SD, and WI) is one of 18 networks in the U.S., established by the federal government to improve the quality of dialysis and kidney transplant services for people with end-stage renal disease.

Diamonds are earned by completing educational modules designed to build a culture of patient safety within the dialysis unit, promote patient safety values, create an awareness of patient safety issues, and help the dialysis unit learn more about specific areas of patient safety.

The 5-Diamond Patient Safety Program is endorsed by the American Nephrology Nurses' Association, the Renal Physicians Association and the National Renal Administrators Association.