The Bulletin: September 2006

The Bulletin is a monthly newsletter for Children's and community providers.

Board Approves Strategic Plan

Children’s Hospital Board of Trustees has unanimously approved a new strategic plan for the hospital. The five-year plan articulates strategies designed to support Children’s aspirations to be the institution of choice for children’s health care needs in Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, and a nationally recognized leader in pediatric health.

The plan was developed through intensive collaboration among the board, administrators, physicians, external partners and staff, and is organized around six strategic themes:

Build programs that set national standards for quality of care.
Drive clinical growth by improving access and service to families and physicians.
Prevent, treat and eliminate pediatric disease.
Recruit and retain the best people.
Develop the next generation of pediatric health care leaders.
Secure Children’s financial future.

Each of these themes is supported by specific initiatives. Progress will be tracked using a defined set of metrics.

Initiatives include:

Establishing clinical databases to benchmark Children’s programs
Recruiting 73 additional physicians to support service and growth
Enhancing Children’s existing outpatient facility in Bellevue and building other satellite outpatient facilities
Expanding Children’s fellowship programs in selected areas
Using Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) methodology to improve quality and safety while reducing costs
Developing 200,000 to 250,000 square feet of research space and securing land for further expansion

Community Physician Forum: Strategic Plan

Our Children Deserve the Best: Laying the Foundation for the Next 100 Years

Presentation on the new strategic plan by Dr. Thomas Hansen, Children’s president and CEO
Oct. 5, 7 to 8 a.m.
Hospital Board Room

CMS Clarifies Referral Requirements

To meet requirements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS), Children’s needs referring providers to specify whether their request for specialty care is for a consult or a referral (transfer of care).

According to CMS, a consult has three components: a question with a request for a response, a face-to-face evaluation, and the actual response to the requesting provider.

A referral indicates that you would like to transfer all or part of your patient’s care to a Children’s provider.

To meet this requirement, Children’s is modifying the New Appointment Request Form (NARF) to include both options, and asking you to select the one that applies to your request. The correct designation allows Children’s to appropriately bill for services and avoid fines for billing inappropriately.

By the CMS definition, a referral, also known as a transfer of care, only applies to a small number of our new patient visits, such as when a patient moves into our area and is referred to a clinic for care of a chronic health issue.

Please download the new NARF, located on the front page of the Medical Staff Web site, or you may request copies through the Children’s Resource Line at (206) 987-2500, option four.

As always, the most efficient way to request a consult or referral/transfer of care is by calling the Clinical Intake nurses at (206) 987-2080. For questions or additional information, please call Dr. Mark Del Beccaro at (206) 987-2599.

New Physicians Directory Mailed

The new Physicians Directory was mailed to faculty and referring providers the first week of August. The directory includes sections on Children’s providers, research faculty, community providers, graduate medical education, and medical and hospital leadership.

New features in the directory include:

Contact information, including online resources
More information about accessing services and resources
Site map of the Medical Staff Web site
Listings of specific clinics within each specialty
Clinics in which each faculty attends

If your contact information has changed, you can update it electronically on the front page of the Medical Staff Web site or fax changes to (206) 985-3118.

To request copies, please fill out a Health Care Provider Materials Request form, found on the front page of the Medical Staff Web site, or call the Children’s Resource Line at (206) 987-2500 or (866) 987-2500 and choose option four.

SmileMobile Offers Dental Services to Underserved Children

The SmileMobile, operated by Washington Dental Service (WDS) Foundation, provides oral health services to children from limited-income families who otherwise do not have access to dental care.

Children’s is now partnering with the WDS Foundation to staff the SmileMobile with dental professionals. The van makes scheduled stops in approximately 32 communities throughout Washington state each year.

SmileMobile services are provided on a sliding fee scale. Medicaid is billed if patients are covered, while most uninsured patients pay a minimum fee.

During these stops, local dentists, physicians, nurses and other health professionals can participate in training sessions on improving preventive oral health services in their communities. These sessions are approved for CME credit.

To find out the SmileMobile’s schedule for 2006, please visit the WDS Foundation Web site. If you are interested in having the van visit your community in 2007, please call Karri Amundson or Monika Foro at the WDS Foundation at (800) 572-7835, ext. 6303.

For more information about CME courses, please call Dr. Chris Delecki at (206) 987-7249 or send a request by fax to (206) 987-7206.

Access Update

The year-to-date median wait time for new appointments at Children’s continues to be three days less than in fiscal year 2005, despite reduced clinic schedules due to the implementation of Ambulatory Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE).

The wait times in half of our 30 specialty clinics have decreased this year, and currently only five have wait times in excess of 30 days.

In the coming weeks we will continue working to improve access by increasing efficiency in the new Ambulatory Care Building and in using CPOE.

Communicating with Parents of Children with Special Needs

The Children’s Center for Children with Special Needs “Talking with Parents” Web page offers suggestions for communicating effectively with parents about a child’s special needs.

“Talking with Parents” focuses on two situations:

When a provider identifies possible special needs that have not been diagnosed previously
When a provider needs to talk with parents on a routine basis

It features links to other resources on empathy and discussing sensitive issues.

You may also use Talking with Parents as a reference for parents who need help working with child care providers.

New Medical Staff and Allied Health Professionals

Welcome new medical staff members and allied health professionals.

Sara Dow, MD, Critical Care, Children’s
Tanya Filardi, MD, Neurosurgery, Children’s
Robert Hilt, MD, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Children’s
Jennifer Jerome, MD, Hospitalist, Providence-Everett
Denise Joffe, MD , Anesthesia, Children’s
Connie Lin, MD, Emergency Medicine, Children’s
Vongpheth Luangphaxay, MD, Hospitalist, Evergreen Hospital & Providence-Everett
Lauren Plawner, MD, Neurology, Children’s
Amy Shipley, MD, Emergency Medicine, Children’s
Klane White, MD, Orthopedics, Children’s
Laurie Williams, MD, Pediatric Associates Sammamish
Yoo-Lea Yea, DDS, MPH, Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic
Kathleen Aycock, ARNP, Neonatology, Providence-Everett
Stephen Janny, CRNA, Anesthesia, Children’s

Grand Rounds

View the schedule of upcoming Grand Rounds.

Grand Rounds Online

View online versions of recent Grand Rounds.

On-Call Schedule

The on-call schedule for inpatient services can be found in the secure area of the Medical Staff Web site. It is updated on a daily basis.