Salem Hospital Offers Specialized Treatment to Restore Balance Disorders
April 30, 2008

Premier Healthcare Alliance, Adventist Health and Salem Hospital recognize Rep. Darlene Hooley for her efforts to improve patient care while safely reducing costs
April 10, 2008

College healthcare scholarship program open for application
March 20, 2008

American Idle: Childhood Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes
March 10, 2008

Grant will help hospital battle infections
March 5, 2008

Regional call for art entries
February 22, 2008

New day and time for blood pressure checks
February 22, 2008

Salem Hospital Offers Specialized Treatment to Restore Balance Disorders

April 30, 2008

Balance problems can be assessed and improved with vestibular therapy

For most of us, balance is something we take for granted. But for those who suffer from balance problems, stepping onto escalators, changing positions or walking when there isn't much light can cause dizziness and unsteadiness. W

hen this happens specialized treatment is necessary and Salem Hospital Regional Rehabilitation Center offers a unique combination of skilled staff and equipment to help patients eliminate and cope with the nauseating dizziness.

"Specific types of balance issues and/or dizziness arise from problems in the vestibular system, and they require specialized training to be treated effectively," says Cathy Kosboth, physical therapist and certified vestibular rehabilitation therapist with Salem Hospital. "Vestibular therapy is a very specialized type of therapy that deals with disorders of the vestibular labyrinth in the inner ear or the areas of the brain that process information from the labyrinth. This system has five different structures that detect and process movement of the head and body and the body's position relative to gravity."

With two physical therapists, both nationally certified in vestibular rehabilitation, and the SMART EquiTest system for evaluation, vestibular disorders can be identified and treated non-invasively at Salem Hospital Regional Rehabilitation Center.

In addition to other clinical measures, the center uses a computerized vestibular diagnostic evaluation and training system to assess disorders and determine a treatment plan.

"I developed balance issues and disorientation following my service in Afghanistan," says Salem Hospital Regional Rehabilitation Center patient, Major Cathie Raaf, R.N. "At first I didn't know up from down, but since beginning treatment I've been very pleased with the results and my progress."

Treatment for vestibular disorders varies depending on the actual cause and can last anywhere from just two visits to weeks of therapy. For most patients balance disorders can be completely eliminated and for others it can be greatly improved. In addition to treating the problem, center therapists teach life skills for how to compensate for the dizziness.

"For many people balance problems are a fact of life. Fortunately these problems can be treated and improved," says Kosboth. "The specialized assessment and treatment offered at Salem Hospital Regional Rehabilitation Center is very effective in improving function for those with dizziness and balance disorders."

Premier Healthcare Alliance, Adventist Health and Salem Hospital recognize Rep. Darlene Hooley for her efforts to improve patient care while safely reducing costs

April 10, 2008

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Premier healthcare alliance and two of its Oregon hospital members today honored U.S. Representative Darlene Hooley (D-OR) for her leadership in advancing legislation to include unique device identification (UDI) language in last year’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill. 

Congresswoman Hooley was presented with the “Healthcare Transformation Award” on Capitol Hill by Premier and Adventist Health. The award recognizes members of Congress for their efforts to improve healthcare quality while safely reducing costs.

“We salute Congresswoman Hooley for her efforts on this important patient safety issue,” said Norman Gruber, president and CEO, Salem Hospital. “The value of a national UDI system in reducing medical errors and facilitating device recalls is critically important to today’s healthcare system and our efforts to improve quality and patient safety.”

Congresswoman Hooley played a significant role in enacting legislative language that required the FDA to create a UDI system for medical devices.

Her efforts led to the “Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007” (H.R. 3580), which contained this important language and was approved in the House and the Senate and ultimately signed by the President.

“We are proud to honor Congresswoman Hooley with this award for her efforts around an issue that has great potential to positively impact our nation’s healthcare system,” said Larry Mitchel, director, Government Relations, Adventist Health, which owns Tillamook County General Hospital located in Tillamook, Oregon. “A national UDI standard will help us track medical devices like we can track any other product. This is the first important step towards broad use of common identifiers, which will lead to a more reliable, safe and efficient healthcare system.”
 
“The UDI standard has great implications for our entire healthcare system to improve patient safety and reliably track outcomes in patients who have implanted devices,” said Congresswoman Hooley. “I am honored to receive this award from the Premier healthcare alliance, Adventist Health and Salem Hospital.”

President Bush signed into law on September 27, 2007, legislation that includes a provision requiring the FDA to put into place a UDI system to expedite and increase the reliability of medical device recalls and reduce healthcare costs.

On March 26, the Advancing Patient Safety Coalition, comprised of prominent hospital, physician, nursing, research, quality and patient advocacy organizations, sent a letter to the FDA, urging them to develop a mandatory UDI system for medial devices and requesting a timeline from the FDA on its plans to publish a proposed rule.

The coalition believes a UDI system is a critical factor to improving patient safety, reducing medical errors, facilitating device recalls, improving adverse event reporting and improving post-market surveillance efforts.

“Congresswoman Hooley has been a true leader in making this happen,” said Blair Childs, Premier’s senior vice president of Public Affairs. “We have the ability to track spinach that has E. coli back to the field where it was grown, but we can’t track a recalled medical device because there is no unique numbering system. We owe it to all healthcare consumers to tackle this important issue.”

About Adventist Health
Adventist Health is a not-for-profit, faith-based health system operating in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.

Founded on the Seventh-day Adventist heritage of Christian health care, Adventist Health is comprised of 18 hospitals with more than 2,800 beds, nearly 18,000 employees, numerous clinics and outpatient facilities, the largest system of rural health clinics in California, 15 home care agencies and three joint-venture retirement centers with a fourth on the way. For more information, visit www.adventisthealth.org.

About Salem Hospital
Salem Hospital Regional Health Services is one of the largest of Oregon's 57 acute care hospitals and operates the busiest emergency department in Oregon.

It is a not-for-profit hospital, licensed for 454 acute-care beds, and is guided by a 15-member volunteer Board of Trustees. The hospital is the city's largest private employer, with approximately 3,500 full- and part-time employees.

There are 465 physicians on the active medical staff, representing 46 different specialties, who admit patients to the hospital. More than 275 volunteers provide non-medical support for the hospital.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Serving 1,700 U.S. hospitals and more than 49,000 other healthcare sites, the Premier healthcare alliance and its members are transforming healthcare together.

Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates one of the leading healthcare purchasing networks and the nation's most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information. A subsidiary operates one of the nation's largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups.

A world leader in helping healthcare providers deliver dramatic improvements in care, Premier is working with the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve hospital performance.

Premier’s Safety Institute provides publicly available safety resources and tools to promote a safe healthcare delivery environment for patients, workers, and their communities.

Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia, and Washington.

For more information, visit www.premierinc.com. Established to improve the health of communities, Premier and its members are transforming healthcare together.

College healthcare scholarship program open for application

March 20, 2008

Salem Hospital Foundation scholarship applications for half-time or full-time students in medically related fields of study are now available.

Students must be residents of Marion, Polk or Yamhill Counties and have applied to a college in their field of healthcare study before applying for this scholarship.

Last year the Salem Hospital Foundation awarded $127,500 to 91 students from Marion, Polk and Yamhill Counties, and has granted more than $1 million since the scholarship program was established in 1968.

Special scholarships are presented in the memories of Dr. John Alsever, Dr. Cass Bailey, Nita Carter, R.N., Kathy deMarrais, R.N., Dr. Carl and Olive Emmons, Rollin Haag, Mrs. Happ Jackson, Hattie Bratzel Kremen and Elmera (Tiny) Richardson, R.N.

To receive a scholarship application packet, log on to www.salemhospital.org, click on the link "Support Salem Hospital" then "Foundation Scholarships" or contact Greta Mauze at 503-561-5576 or e-mail: greta.mauze@salemhospital.org.

Applications must be postmarked by May 15 to be considered. Final selections will be announced by June 20, 2008.

(Some undergraduate or prerequisite study may not qualify for the scholarship. Please contact the Foundation office at 503-561-5576 if you have questions.)

American Idle: Childhood Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

March 10, 2008

Learn how to improve the health and well-being of your child at Salem Hospital's health forum, Thursday, March 13, 6:30–8 p.m., at the Salem Hospital Wedel Conference Center. The event and parking are free. Call 503-561-5138 to register.

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the United States over the last few decades. Unfortunately, children affected by obesity have numerous health complications and have a relatively poor quality of life.

Daniel Marks, M.D., Ph.D., will be discussing the genetic and environmental factors that are leading to an increase in childhood obesity and diabetes—with an emphasis on practical lifestyle changes that can be made to improve the health and well-being of our children.

Daniel Marks practices at Doernbecher Children's Hospital and his special interests include weight regulation in children and adolescent endocrinology. His clinical areas of interest are all aspects of pediatric endocrinology, pediatric obesity and failure to thrive.

Thanks to the Gehlhar family and the Salem Hospital Foundation for sponsoring this event.

Grant will help hospital battle infections

March 5, 2008

Salem Hospital has received $90,000 through the CareOregon Care Support and System Innovation (CSSI) Program to support a project aimed at preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

This hospital initiative is one of several of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's "5 Million Lives from Harm" national campaign focused on improving patient safety.

The project includes focused attention on the early identification and management of patients who are at high risk for developing and/or transmitting MRSA infection, increased attention to hand hygiene practices, and proper cleaning of equipment and the patient environment.

The CareOregon grant will allow the hospital to hire a performance-improvement specialist to assist with implementing the necessary changes, as well as fund patient and family education and a public awareness campaign.

"Getting the grant is a big boost to the project," says Kristen Myers, R.N., with the hospital's performance improvement department. "Having an expert dedicated to being the change agent and helping overcome barriers will help the project be successful."

"This project is a great example of the hospital's increased focus on patient safety and improving patient outcomes and efforts to provide quality care second to none," says Myers.

Salem Hospital received its first CSSI project funding in 2005 when $104,535 was granted by CareOregon in support of the Family Birth Center Clinic which provides prenatal care to high-risk, underserved pregnant women in this region.

The continuation of this project was approved in 2006 with an additional $66,005. In 2007, the CSSI program provided $100,000 to fund a project to reduce post-surgical complications.

About CareOregon
CareOregon is a health plan that serves Oregonians who are eligible for the Oregon Health Plan (OHP).

Each year, CareOregon through the Care Support and System Innovation program provides funds to healthcare organizations of all sizes for projects to make healthcare more safe, effective, timely, efficient, patient-centered and equitable.

About Salem Hospital
Salem Hospital Regional Health Services is one of the largest of Oregon's 57 acute care hospitals and operates the busiest emergency department in Oregon.

It is a not-for-profit hospital, licensed for 454 acute-care beds, and is guided by a 15-member volunteer Board of Trustees. There are 465 physicians on the active medical staff, representing 46 different specialties, who admit patients to the hospital.

More than 275 volunteers provide non-medical support for the hospital. The hospital is the city's largest private employer, with approximately 3,500 full- and part-time employees.

Regional call for art entries

February 22, 2008

Salem Hospital announces a call for fine-art media from artists of all ages who live in Oregon, preferably in the Willamette Valley.

The hospital will select art for a new patient-care tower scheduled for opening late spring 2009.

All entries must be electronic format and received no later than April 30, 2008. The artwork will be selected by June 1, 2008.

Two-dimensional entries must be fine-quality prints or original oil, watercolor, egg tempera, pastel, acrylic, mixed media or graphics by the artist.

Three-dimensional work is limited to wall application and cannot exceed 25 pounds. Video is excluded from this call.

The selected art will be used throughout the new building.  Some pieces will be used to make limited edition reproductions for placement in patient rooms and other locations. 

Entries must be for sale and the selling price must be noted. Works submitted should be appropriate for installation in the new Salem Hospital patient-care tower.

There is no cost for item submission nor limit of submissions per artist. Final selections will be chosen by a juried panel of community members based on the work’s artistic excellence in reflection of the theme "Nature."

Provide high quality digital images to: martin.morris@salemhospital.org or by mail to Martin Morris, Salem Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 14001, Salem, Oregon 97309.

Questions? Please contact Karen Allen at kallen@hksinc.com.

New day and time for blood pressure checks

February 22, 2008

West Valley Hospital will offer free blood pressure checks on a new day and time, beginning in March.

Blood pressure checks are available on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, from 2 to 3 p.m., in the surgery department of West Valley Hospital, 525 Washington Street, Dallas.

The hospital had offered the blood pressure checks weekly.

"We hope that having this blood pressure check once a month won't cause an inconvenience to our community," says Eric Buckland, West Valley Hospital administrator. "We needed to make this change because the community's use of the hospital has increased. The hospital has become busier in large part due to the additional physicians that the hospital and Salem Health have brought to the Polk County area in an effort to make healthcare more readily available close to home."

To learn more about the hospital's blood pressure check clinic, call 503-623-8301.