“Expanding access to quality affordable health care is a priority for our administration,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “The investments we have made in our health care industry help give our families peace of mind and make Kentucky a safer, healthier place to call home.”

 (Brooks exit #121), South Hospital is ideally positioned to support one of Kentucky’s fastest growing regions. In addition to inpatient beds, including a 10-bed intensive care unit, the new full-service acute care hospital is bringing more providers. It will also provide enhanced heart care services, including cardiac and vascular catheterization labs and STEMI Network for faster treatment of acute heart attacks, expanded emergency capabilities including a “fast track” area for quicker treatment and discharge, expanded cardiopulmonary services, state-of-the art pharmacy, laboratory and sterile processing areas and increased surgical suites for inpatient and outpatient procedures.

“When access is improved, health is improved — and that is why UofL Health is investing in Bullitt County,” said Tom Miller, UofL Health CEO. “Our mission is to transform the health of our communities, and this hospital allows us to serve more patients with world-class and transformative care.”

As part of an academic health system, the hospital brings additional advantages, including access to a comprehensive collection of medial expertise and early access to innovative treatments.

“The need for a full-service hospital in this area is well-documented,” said University of Louisville President Kim Schatzel. “This remarkable new facility brings together expanded high-quality services and the expertise of an academic medical system. It will allow more of our doctors and nurses to serve the people of Bullitt County and the surrounding community.”

The project has evolved the existing medical center, built in 2006, into a hospital, tripling the size of UofL Health’s presence in the area, adding more than 100,000 square feet and an additional two floors. In addition to inpatient services, the new hospital also now includes all the support amenities such as food service, a cafeteria and chapel.

“This hospital builds on the legacy of care established here for nearly 20 years,” said Dorie Shelburne, UofL Health – South Hospital CEO. “Now, as a full-service community hospital, we will provide much-needed inpatient care. When an overnight hospital stay is required, most patients will be able to stay close to home and closer to their family.”

To support the expanded care, more than 150 new employees have joined the team, including nursing and ancillary positions.

“The evolution into an inpatient hospital brings convenience, but much more. South Hospital will improve quality care and medical outcomes for our patients,” said Dr. Emily Volk, South Hospital chief medical officer. “Our medical team includes specialists in critical care, orthopedic surgery and interventional cardiology, just to name a few, along with the continued connection to our larger UofL Physicians network.”

South Hospital anticipates serving patients from Bullitt, Spencer, Nelson, Meade and Hardin counties, along with southern Jefferson County. With the opening of South Hospital, UofL Health now includes nine hospitals across the system.

“They’re kind of consumed with the computer instead of having eye contact on you,” said Dr. Jason Saleem, a researcher and assistant professor at the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering.

But Saleem is trying to fix that through design. He worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to test whether their new exam room design would positively impact patient care. The new design mounts the computer monitor to the wall with a moveable arm, rather than stationary in the corner.

“The VA has a new emphasis on veteran experience,” said Dr. Jennifer Herout, who was on the VA advisory board for the project. “And Dr.��Saleem’s work is one important aspect of outpatient visit experience.”

Backed by a grant from the , Saleem’s team tested the idea by setting up model exam rooms in UofL’s Center for Ergonomics, where Saleem is also the director. One room had the new design, and another had a “legacy” design where the computer was stationary in the corner of the room.

The team tested the rooms on 28 volunteer primary care physicians to see how the changes affected their efficiency, errors, mental workload, amount of screen sharing with the patient, eye gaze on the patient, situation awareness and workflow integration.

In the test, the rooms showed little difference in terms of physician efficiency, errors and time spent with the patient. But the new layout did show significant improvement in patient-centricity measures.

For example, doctors spent 75 percent more time sharing the computer screen with their patients in the room with the new layout than they did in the model legacy room, allowing patients to more actively participate in their own care.

“…previous research indicates that patients have better outcomes when they are more involved in the delivery of their own care,” said Dustin Weiler, who worked on the project while completing his master’s degree at UofL. He’s also the lead author on the resulting paper, published in IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors.

The UofL research also showed that physicians had a reduced cognitive load (down 31 percent) when using the new room design, because of the closer proximity of the computer screen in relation to the patient. They also gave higher ratings for situational awareness (up 14 percent) and workflow integration (up 17 percent).

The team repeated the lab tests in a follow-up field study at the Phoenix VA Medical Center, which has already implemented the new exam room design in one of its clinics. That test yielded very similar results and support for the new exam room design.

“While much of the focus in healthcare lately has been on technology, the physical configuration in which the technology is located is critical to its successful use,” Herout said.

Saleem is now working on a new grant application to extend this research into ways to optimize the exam room layout in the patient-centered medical home model of care. He’s hoping to work with several health care sites across the U.S., including some clinics at UofL.

Listen to Saleem’s .��

Heather Hibbard, BSN, RN, manager of the medical oncology and infusion center at the University of Louisville , is being honored for making a difference in the lives of cancer patients. Hibbard is one of seven health care providers who will be in the spotlight at the Third Annual Commitment to Compassion Luncheon, sponsored by Passport Health Plan, Insider Louisville and the Compassionate Louisville Healthcare Constellation. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Muhammad Ali Center.

Hibbard uses her training as well as her personal experience to make life a little easier for cancer patients. Her father and grandfather were diagnosed with lung cancer within one month of each other, and passed away one month apart in 2013. Although it was a painful time for her, that experience helps her understand how to improve care provided to the patients at the Brown Cancer Center.

Hibbard says she wants to provide the kind of care for patients and families that she would want to receive. To help make things easier, she developed a lab and line room where patients can have their vitals and lab work done before seeing the physician. This reduced patient wait times by two thirds.

“Cancer does not have to be a death sentence, but the patients need top-notch, nurturing and individualized care,” Hibbard said. “My one goal in life is to make a difference in cancer care – to give others hope that we are doing everything we can as an oncology center. I have a great group of people who want better care for their patients and I help them in reaching that goal.”

It is often little things that make a difference for patients.

“You don’t ever hear, ‘thank you for accessing my port,’” Hibbard said. “But you do hear ‘thank you for being gentle with me,’ ‘thank you for listening,’ ‘thank you for calling home health and getting things set up so my life is a little easier.’”

The Commitment to Compassion luncheon, emceed by television health and science reporter Jean West, will include recognition of the compassionate care honorees, a performance by the West Louisville Boys Choir and a panel discussion on “Innovative and compassionate care in West Louisville.” Reservations are available .

No joke. They are there to teach medical students about choosing and preparing food that will sustain their own health as well as give them the tools to talk about food realistically with their patients.

The culinary medicine program is a new eight-week elective for students at the University of Louisville School of Medicine designed to help future physicians understand the challenges their patients face in obtaining, selecting and preparing foods. Eat 2B Well was conceptualized by Toni Ganzel, MD, MBA, dean of the School of Medicine, Jon Klein, MD, PhD, vice dean for Research, and Karan Chavis, the dean’s chief of staff. UofL nutritionist Diana Pantalos, PhD, RDN, developed the curricular content.

Eat 2B Well was modeled on at Tulane University, developed by Timothy Harlan, MD.

With increasing evidence that a poor diet causes or exacerbates many chronic diseases, it is more important than ever for physicians to help their patients eat well. However, physicians traditionally learn about nutrition in terms of science and clinical impact, which doesn’t always translate to helping patients eat better. Eat 2B Well is aimed at helping future doctors understand the issues their patients face in terms of resources, time and food preparation skills.

“Many of the chronic health problems that burden the Commonwealth, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, can be prevented through good nutrition. The goal of Eat 2B Well is to equip UofL medical students with the real-world practical knowledge of nutrition and healthy cooking so that they can best help their future patients,” Klein said.

Each Eat 2B Well class includes instruction on practical nutrition, disease association, and food preparation from a team that includes a registered dietitian/nutritionist, a professional chef and a member of the Medical School faculty. Local chefs, including Anoosh Shariat of and , Kathy Douglas of the and Bobby Benjamin of provide instruction for the food preparation portion of the class.

Joining the medical students in the classes are students from the culinary track of , an education, job training and leadership program for low-income young adults ages 18-24. Classes include discussion of issues associated with food insecurity and the health problems resulting from poor nutrition. Class groups will then prepare meals utilizing cost-conscious ingredients readily available at grocery stores and markets in West Louisville, and prepared with equipment available in low-income homes.

“To talk comfortably about food, medical professionals need to be respectful of individuals’ food cultures, to understand how complex social factors influence food habits and to have hands-on experience preparing food themselves,” Pantalos said.

In the near future, organizers are planning to extend the program to include community engagement activities, providing at-risk families with food preparation education.

is providing food for the classes, which take place at , 340 W. Chestnut St. Additional sponsors include Gordon Food Service and Save-A-Lot Grocery. New Roots, Inc. and the Sullivan University and Jefferson Community and Technical College culinary arts programs have provided logistical support.

Celebrity chefs:

• Eneitra Beattie, Brown Forman Corporation, Bourbon Street Café
• Bobby Benjamin, Butchertown Grocery
• Kathy Douglas, Fresh Chef Experience
• Tina Lee, Fresh Stop Market, Dare to Care
• Lorita Rowlett, Fresh Stop Market
• Anoosh Shariat, Anoosh Bistro, Noosh Nosh
• Gabe Sowder, Wiltshire Pantry
• Andrea Wells, Farm to Baby Louisville

The Hospitality Committee, chaired by Shannon Fitzgerald and Dr. James Harrison, consists of four sub-committees planning ways to improve and maintain patient-centered care and a warm, hospitable climate for faculty, staff and students.��Those committees are Hospitality, Teamwork, Communication and Professionalism & Responsibility.

The Professionalism & Responsibility Committee recently helped sponsor guest speaker, Dr. Macey Henderson, faculty member of Johns Hopkins University, who educated students, faculty and staff on “Professionalism in Social and Digital Media.”

The Hospitality Sub-Committee, chaired by Leanne Hardin, celebrated the addition of new shrubs and flowering potted plants that adorn the main entrances of the School of Dentistry.��Other Hospitality committee members include JoAnn Mattingly, Debbie Carrico, Debbie Wright and Dr. Sharon Carpenter.

In addition to aesthetic improvements, the school also is now offering free shuttle service from the UofL Healthcare Outpatient Parking Garage at 414 E. Chestnut St. to the school for new and returning patients.

Dean Bradley and the Dental Leadership Council fully embrace the work of these committees and the continuous quality improvement brought to the school and all who give and receive care here.��

Helping homeless animals

The School of Dentistry also recently organized a drive for HSC faculty, staff and students to donate items to Louisville Metro Animal Services to help care for homeless pets.

In collaboration with a similar effort on the Belknap campus, the “Puppy and Kitten Shower” led to donations of dog and cat food/treats, paper towels, sanitizing wipes, dishwashing liquid, bandaging materials, rubbing alcohol and many other items.

A truckload of gifts, along with gift cards and cash were delivered to LMAS this month, and will help save the lives of baby animals.

The School of Dentistry helps coordinate efforts to help animals in need twice a year – the “Angel Tree for Homeless Animals” in November/December, and the “Puppy and Kitten Shower” in March/April/May.

“Our patients are integral partners in our dental education, and we value each individually as our students and faculty strive to provide the best in evidenced-based care,” said T. Gerard Bradley, BDS, MD, Dr.Med.Dent., dean of the School of Dentistry (pending UofL Board approval).

Guest speaker Christine Cassisi, director of patient experience, University of Florida Health Shands Hospital, Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality and Patient Safety, delivered a presentation on creating a vision for hospitality and service.

The model she described has been adopted at University of Florida Health to better meet patient needs in an attentive and compassionate way.

Throughout the presentation, Cassisi led faculty and staff through a series of exercises to brainstorm ideas about everything from creating great first impressions to resolving conflicts.

Several staffers shared examples of best hospitality practices – including talking with patients in waiting rooms about their ideas for improved experiences, and understanding what they appreciated about the School of Dentistry.

“Empowering patients to be active partners in their care is critical,” Cassisi said. “Patients should know that we value their input.”

Cassisi also talked about proper etiquette in shared spaces such as elevators; showing sensitivity to patient delays, wait time and inconveniences; and the importance of working together as a team with staff in other departments.

Bradley is assembling a committee to focus on a few ways to improve patient and student experiences at the School of Dentistry.

The Kentucky Cancer Program at the University of Louisville, Louisville Bar Association and Louisville Pro Bono Consortium are sponsoring the clinic, which will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 13 at Gilda’s Club of Louisville, 633 Baxter Ave. Free parking is available behind the building and across the street from the club.

At the clinic, attorneys will be available to offer help with life-planning documents under Medicare Part D, including wills, powers of attorney, health care surrogacy and living wills. They also will provide guidance on employee benefits during illness and government assistance that is available such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security disability insurance.

Although admission is free, RSVPs in advance are needed at 502-852-6318. For additional information, contact the Kentucky Cancer Program at jlcaud02@louisville.edu or 502-852-6318.

Photo provided by .