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Sharon Regional Hospital Reports More ER Visits
SHARON, Pa. -- Sharon Regional Health System recorded a 15.7% increase in emergency department visits during its fiscal year, thanks to a new model of care delivery within its Emergency Care Center known as PhysicianFirst. The program places the emergency room physician at the beginning of the emergency care treatment process.
Through PhysicianFirst, patients presenting themselves at Sharon Regional from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. are first seen by a board certified emergency medicine physician who makes a rapid assessment and immediately orders any necessary tests and care orders, even before registration, resulting in significant improvements in patient care, safety and satisfaction, says John R. "Jack" Janoso Jr., Sharon Regional Health president and CEO.
The Emergency Care Center also received a 2012 Achievement Award from the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania for operational excellence.
Janoso and Robert Jazwinski, chairman of Sharon Regional's board of directors, presented this information at a recent board meeting. The fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.
During the last fiscal year, the Cancer Care Center in Hermitage became one of the first sites in the nation to treat advanced prostate cancer with Provenge, the first drug in a new therapeutic class known as autologous cellular immunotherapies. The center also began offering specialized physical, occupational and speech therapy services to help cancer patients overcome the many conditions that often accompany a diagnosis of cancer.
Sharon Regional noted a 10.5% increase in outpatient revenues and a 2% increase in net patient revenue over the previous year. In August, the health system completed the installation of its electronic health record system throughout its physician offices followed by the implementation of the hospital EHR system.
Sharon Regional also announced formation of the Sharon Regional Health Foundation, a separate 501 (c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary designed to enhance and promote health care services offered in the communities served by Sharon Regional through partnerships, fundraising, and stewardship. The new foundation has a board composed of community leaders and works with local and regional charities in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
The health system expanded into Lawrence County with the opening of the Neshannock Diagnostic and Specialty Center on Wilmington Road in Neshannock. Also, Sharon Regional’s heart and vascular institute was named an Aetna Institute of Quality for heart attack treatment related to heart catheterization and angioplasty. It also received an American College of Cardiology Silver Achievement Award that recognized its implementation of a higher standard of care for heart attack patients.
The system also joined a small number of hospitals across the country in offering therapeutic hypothermia, an innovative procedure designed to protect brain function and increase survival rates in patients resuscitated after suffering cardiac arrest.
During fiscal 2012, Sharon Regional was recognized by Blue Cross/Blue Shield as a Blue Distinction Center for knee and hip replacement. The health system also received an Achieving Patient Care Excellence award from VHA Pennsylvania; recognition from the American College of Radiology as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence; advanced certification in Cardiac Rehabilitation from the American Association of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation; and a Gold Star Quality Achievement Award from UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.
Sharon Regional contributed more than $304 million to the area’s economy last year, according to methodology used by the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. Sharon Regional directly contributed more than $173 million to the local economy, including more than $58 million in salaries, plus an economic ripple effect produced an additional impact on local businesses of $131 million, with more than $28 million coming from the salaries of additional jobs that were created. Additionally, as a nonprofit community hospital, Sharon Regional provided more than $10.7 million in free and uncompensated care and also provided care to Medicare and Medical Assistance patients in which the reimbursement for this care was $3.6 million below the cost to provide it.
Other accomplishments during fiscal year 2012 included:
- Development of a new pulmonary rehabilitation program through the respiratory therapy department.
- Renovation of two inpatient rooms for exclusive use for hospice terminally ill patients.
- Partnering with Life Line Screenings to offer a series of screenings for the early identification of risk for stroke and cardiovascular disease throughout the region.
- Implementation of CT colonography, a radiologic study that is an alternative to optical colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer and polyps.
- Partnering with Penn State’s Shenango campus to offer residents a unique opportunity to earn both a diploma in nursing from Sharon Regional’s School of Nursing and a baccalaureate in nursing from Penn State Shenango.
- Naming the new IT Center at the LindenPointe Innovative Business Campus in Hermitage the James E. Feeney Technology Center in honor of Feeney’s 34 years of service on the board of directors.
- Receiving a $110,000 check from the Sharon Regional Auxiliary representing proceeds from the 2012 charity ball, the largest amount raised in the event’s history.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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