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SFM Announces Scholarship Winners for 2006
Working as a family physician has many rewards, but I take particular
pleasure in seeing children grow up. Last year, Sound Family Medicine
instituted a scholarship program at Emerald Ridge High School and, this
year, we expanded this program to several local high schools. We invited
students who have a connection to Sound Family Medicine, either as
patients, employees or as children of employees, to apply. Applicants
who are planning careers in a health care related field were given
special consideration.
This year I had the pleasure of attending the scholarship awards
ceremonies at Puyallup, Rogers, Emerald Ridge, and Bethel High Schools.
These ceremonies gave me the opportunity to see many special young
adults, ready to go forth on their own as college freshmen this fall.
This year’s recipients of the Sound Family Medicine Scholarship were:
Alain Flores at Puyallup High School; Anne Morgan Wheeler, Jamie Maki
and Melissa Sturzen at Emerald Ridge High School; Tracy Olson from
Bethel High School; and Donald Peterson from Rogers High School.
 Two
of these graduations brought back special memories. The first was
Puyallup High School’s, where I presented Alain Flores his scholarship.
You see, on my wall at home, over my desk, is a plaque from the Babe
Ruth Cubs baseball team, given to me as thanks for coaching the team. On
the plaque is #30, Alain Flores. I remember Alain as one of only two 10
year olds in the National League, (upper division) of the Babe Ruth
league in his 10 year old season. I brought this plaque with me. To give
him back my autograph on a scholarship, and to look him in the eye as a
grown young man made my day a lot better.
 The
second graduation was at Bethel High School’s ceremony at PLU’s Chris
Knutson Hall. As I read the name of the winner, Tracy Olson, I thought
it sounded familiar. As I read the application letter, which spoke of
her twin sister, I realized that Jaimie Olson’s mom had entrusted me
with her care during her pregnancy, way back in my first year in
Puyallup. The Olson twins were a highlight of my first year in our
community. The family had moved away for several years, but has moved
back, and to see Jamie all dressed up as a graduating senior makes me
realize why I love my job.
Seeing babies and children become young adults, seeing young adults
become older adults, and helping older adults cope with the perils of
aging, all add to the quality and perspective of my career in medicine.
I am blessed to practice with a group of physicians at Sound Family
Medicine who work together to provide care I feel really good about to
our community. I am also blessed with many patients who have allowed me
to work with and for them over many years and to share their lives. This
is really why a career as a family physician is such a special calling,
and is so rewarding.
Congratulations to each of our 6 recipients, and best of luck in the
future.
If you or your child would like to apply for
next year's scholarship,
please
visit our website at
www.soundfamilymedicine or see your high school
counselor.
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SFM Rocks n’ Rolls for a Cure at Relay For Life Raising Over $4K
People from all over the Puget Sound gathered at Sparks Stadium in
downtown Puyallup to walk from June 23 to the 24 in the Race for the
Cure. The American Cancer Society’s fundraiser, Relay for Life is an
overnight celebration of life dedicated to present and former cancer
patients, their families and friends. The common theme of the Relay is
to have members of teams continuously walking, running or rolling around
the track for 24 hours, to honor those who are surviving cancer, those
who have died from it and the efforts of all who fight it. In this
year’s Relay For Life, Sound Family Medicine had over 40 team members
and friends participate, walking around the clock. Many groups had
brought tents for those who were waiting to walk or needed to rest.
SFM’s tent was clearly visible in the middle of the field, banners and
decorations setting it apart from the rest. They walked proudly and with
purpose raising over $4, 011.00. Sound Family Medicine is a proud Silver
Sponsor of the ACS Rock n’ Roll for a Cure Relay Walk. The event was
extravagant and quite entertaining. Kicking off with evening ceremonies,
and an acknowledgement to all that had died. The full 24 hours was
filled with contest, raffles, activities, and lots of entertainment,
food and fun. Tired but proud, all of the Sound Family Medicine members
look forward to the goal they have for next year and want to thank all
that participated in the Relay.
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Qualis
Health Recognizes Organizations
Improving Quality of
Healthcare
July 20, 2006 -- SEATTLE – Qualis Health presented five local
healthcare organizations with the 2005 Award of Excellence in Healthcare
Quality during its annual “Transformational Strategies for Quality
Improvement in Healthcare” conference on Tuesday. The awards are given
by the healthcare quality improvement organization to facilities that
have demonstrated innovation in achieving measurable improvements in
healthcare quality.
Winners of the 2005 awards were Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical
Center, of Seattle; Northwest Kidney Centers, of Seattle; Sound
Family Medicine, of Puyallup; Providence Hospice & Home Care, of
Everett and Swedish Physicians, of Seattle.
“The accomplishments achieved by these organizations were meaningful and
important to patients," said Jonathan Sugarman MD, MPH, president and
CEO of Qualis Health, who presented the awards. “The improvements
required considerable effort, a collective and sustained commitment to
change and the vision to collaborate around a shared goal. Qualis Health
is pleased to recognize these organizations for achieving measurable
change and impacting the health of the communities they serve.”
Winners were selected by an independent panel based on objective
measurement of clinical outcomes and improvement data over the previous
year.
Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, a 250-bed
facility ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation,
serves as the pediatric referral center for Alaska, Idaho, Montana and
Washington state. Qualis Health awarded the Seattle-based organization
the 2005 Award of Excellence in Healthcare Quality for measurable
improvements made in its Parenteral Nutrition (PN) program. While
PN programs are used by hospitals to coordinate complex prescription
orders, they are often associated with incidences of medication error.
Applying lean, a performance improvement methodology designed to
increase staff productivity, Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical
Center standardized and improved their PN ordering system and created a
model designed to reduce the risk for medication errors. Accepting the
award was Polly Lenssen, RD, CD, MS, manager, Clinical Nutrition, and
Lizabeth Postetter, RN, BSN, manager, IV Team and Acute Care Float Pool.
A critical function of dialysis treatments for kidney patients is
removal of unhealthy levels of acid from the body. Because of their loss
of kidney function, dialysis patients develop metabolic acidosis. This
is a condition characterized by a disruption in the body's acid-base
balance, which can cause severe health complications or death if not
corrected several times per week by dialysis. Effectiveness of the
dialysis treatment in correcting this problem is based on the kind of
equipment, dialysis technique, dialysis solutions and dialysis treatment
prescription employed.
Seattle's non-profit Northwest Kidney Centers, the largest
provider of dialysis services in the Pacific Northwest, was presented
with the 2005 Award of Excellence in Healthcare Quality. The
organization received this award for improvements made in dialysis care
in addressing underlying issues in optimizing correction of metabolic
acidosis. In 2002, after identifying potential causes of suboptimal
correction and the introduction of new equipment into two facilities,
the organization, which serves more than 1,200 patients, implemented a
program that progressively improved the overall degree of acidosis
correction organization-wide.
The award was accepted by Dr. John Stivelman, chief medical officer,
Northwest Kidney Centers, and associate professor of Medicine, Division
of Nephrology, University of Washington School of Medicine.
Sound Family Medicine, a private, single-specialty family practice
based in Puyallup, was recognized with the 2005 Award of Excellence in
Healthcare Quality for their adoption and use of health information
technology to improve the quality of care for hypertension patients.
Nationwide, electronic medical record (EMR) systems are being adopted by
hospitals and smaller practices to improve care, reduce inefficiency and
address healthcare costs. As an early adopter of this new technology, in
1997 Sound Family Medicine began using an electronic medical record
system. In 2005, use of the database in their EMR coupled with process
changes allowed SFM providers to more effectively track and prescribe
treatments for patients with high blood pressure. Within a four-month
period, the practice managed to decrease the percentage of patients with
uncontrolled diastolic hypertension. Through use of the EMR, the
practice was able, to realize improved tracking, communication and
follow through in patient care. Sound Family Medicine Medical Director,
Edward Pullen, MD and Julie Wright, chief operations officer accepted
the award.
Providence Hospice & Home Care of Snohomish County, a non-profit
agency based in Everett, earned the 2005 Award of Excellence in
Healthcare Quality for improvements made in wound care for patients.
Recognizing that advances in technology presented an opportunity to make
comprehensive improvements in wound care for pressure ulcers, diabetic
ulcers and surgical wounds, the organization embarked on a program to
identify barriers to providing effective wound care, establish
standardized practice protocols, develop a full time wound care
specialist position and adopt technological, scientific and
evidence-based “best practices.” From 2003 to 2005, the organization’s
improved wound care resulted in fewer wound treatment visits, decreased
complications, enhanced documentation and analysis to prevent wounds as
well as the full adoption of the Braden scale, used by the industry to
better predict pressure ulcer risk in patients. Teri Berger, RN, wound
specialist of Home Care and Pat O’Maley-Lanphear, Quality Management
coordinator, accepted the award.
The wide-ranging care provided by Providence Hospice and Home Care
includes the service of physicians, registered nurses, medical social
workers, rehabilitation therapists, home health aides, chaplains and
volunteers. The collaboration and teamwork that is demonstrated by these
qualified individuals provides a comprehensive and caring medical
experience for patients who receive care in their home. Providence Home
Care has been serving the home health care needs of Snohomish County and
Camano Island since 1986.
In recognition of the efforts to build upon their quality diabetes care,
Swedish Physicians received the 2005 Award of Excellence in
Healthcare Quality. Consisting of 12 primary care clinics and more than
80 board certified physicians and registered nurses, Swedish Physicians
sought to expand their grassroots diabetes care program in early 2005 by
integrating and sharing medical best practices, driving continued
adoption of the chronic care model (an integrated approach to improving
care for chronic diseases such as diabetes) and building a diabetes
clinical information system framework to improve patient care. Due to
the changes implemented, many improvements were made across the Swedish
Physician system, including increased participation by patients in
creating their own treatment plans (self-management), better blood
pressure readings, improved cholesterol tests and more. The award was
accepted by Warren Fein, MD, medical director at Swedish Physicians.
About Qualis Health
Qualis Health is dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare
delivery and health outcomes for individuals and populations across the
nation. In operation since 1974, the non-profit, healthcare quality
improvement organization (QIO) is headquartered in Seattle, Washington
and has offices in Alaska, Idaho and California.
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