A patient was recently discharged from the hospital, where they started insulin. The pharmacist called the patient at home to check on them and ask how they were dosing their medication. While the discharge notes showed they’d been taught how to dose their medication when their blood sugars were elevated, the patient told the pharmacist, “I Googled it.” The pharmacist knew too much or too little of this high-risk medication could lead to serious side effects and provided education on how to dose the insulin based on the provider's instruction. The pharmacist sent a note to the provider explaining there was confusion and recommended reinforcing how to administer and dose the insulin at the next visit to make sure the patient was continuing the dosing plan provided by the provider and not Google. The outreach potentially prevented the patient from returning to the hospital and may have even saved a life. “Proactive care includes anything we can do to prevent someone from needing a higher level of care or developing complications that require additional resources to treat or care for them,” said Jeff Olson, PharmD, MBA, BCACP, director of Pharmacy Population Health. The Pharmacy Population Health team trains their eyes and ears to keep people and communities healthy.
According to the U.S. Centers for Control and Prevention, nearly 20% or 51.6 million Americans experience some form of chronic pain. To better support Utah and Davis Counties’ growing communities and enhance access to care for patients, we've expanded two comprehensive pain management clinics on the campus of Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital in Provo and near Intermountain Layton Hospital in Layton. Now, more patients in those communities will have improved access to specialized physical medicine rehab, neurologists, physical therapists, and behavioral health therapists. “Our goal is to work as a team with the patient at our center of attention, so patents leave our clinics looking forward to life and not another appointment,” said Chris Gappmayer, executive director for the Intermountain Health Medical Group. “If you think about your families almost all of us have either had a need for these specialties or know someone who has. These specialties are definitely needed in our communities.”
Every week, Laundry Services washed 15 carts of items that were mis-sorted, leading to 22,500 pounds of extra laundry. That is, until one caregiver’s innovative solution solved the problem, saving time and the cost of unnecessary laundry.
The lightbulb moment for Jeanne Falk, MD, came when she was working for an insurance company. There was a weight threshold for bariatric surgery – meaning she would have to deny patients who didn’t weigh enough. “I thought, wait a minute. So you have to be in worse shape before we can help you?” she said. That insight led her to a new career quite literally dedicated to helping people live the healthiest lives possible. Trained as an obstetrician-gynecologist, which she practiced for 18 years, Dr. Falk left the field for a time to work as a medical director for an insurance company – which led her back to practice, but not as an OB-Gyn. She now serves at the Lifestyle Medicine and Wellness Center in Park City, Utah as Intermountain Health’s sole full-time integrative medicine provider. We caught up to talk about complimentary medicine, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the two easy things she thinks everyone should make part of their daily routine.
For Josh Swires, RN, clinical nurse manager of the Emergency Department at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, Colorado, the journey from a new graduate nurse on a Medical-Surgical Oncology unit to leading an entire Emergency Department was both challenging and transformative. His career pivot was made possible through Specialty Nurse Advancement Programs (SNAP), a unique program offered at Intermountain Health's Peaks Region care sites in Colorado and Montana. “The SNAP program offers nurses the chance to transition into specialty areas such as the Emergency Department, Intensive Care, Operating Room, and Labor and Delivery,” said Lindsay Reitzer, RN Education SNAP and NRP program manager. While participating in the program, Josh had the hands-on experience and mentorship needed to navigate the fast-paced environment of emergency care. “ED nursing has a different flow than inpatient care, and this program did an excellent job preparing me for that,” said Josh. “I felt supported by my new team and the SNAP instructors, and by the end of the program, I was confident in my ability to independently care for patients in the ED.” The program not only gave Josh the skills needed to succeed, but also allowed him to grow professionally in ways he hadn’t anticipated. “It allowed me to transition into an area of nursing that normally requires prior experience. SNAP gives you that experience in a supportive environment, and then you truly excel,” Josh explained.
Since joining the enterprise nursing leadership team at Intermountain Health in July, Toni Haddox, VP of professional development and practice excellence is settling into her role where she will lead the development, management, and implementation of Intermountain’s nursing professional practice, professional development, nursing education, training programs, and clinical nursing research. We recently spoke with Toni to learn more about her vision and what attracted her to join the Intermountain nursing team.
Congratulations to the following 15 Intermountain Health hospitals for receiving an 'A' Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group in their Fall 2024 report! Good Samaritan Hospital - Lafayette, Colorado Platte Valley Hospital - Brighton, Colorado Saint Joseph Hospital - Denver, Colorado St. Vincent Regional Hospital - Billings, Montana Alta View Hospital - Sandy, Utah Cedar City Hospital - Cedar City, Utah Intermountain Medical Center - Murray, Utah LDS Hospital - Salt Lake City, Utah Logan Regional Hospital - Logan, Utah McKay-Dee Hospital - Ogden, Utah Park City Hospital - Park City, Utah Riverton Hospital - Riverton, Utah Spanish Fork Hospital - Spanish Fork, Utah St. George Regional Hospital - St. George, Utah Utah Valley Hospital - Provo, Utah This national recognition showcases our efforts to prioritize patient safety and protect patients from preventable harm and errors. Leapfrog’s Grade ‘A’ highlights the performance of our caregivers and system safety leaders, who strive to continuously provide safe patient care and help people live the healthiest lives possible.
We are thrilled to be recognized with nine 2024 eHealthcare Leadership Awards, including the prestigious Mark Gothberg Organizational Commitment Award! 🎉 These awards celebrate excellence in health websites and digital initiatives, recognizing the pivotal role of digital communications in achieving healthcare organizations' business objectives. The Mark Gothberg Organizational Commitment Award is the eHealthcare Awards' highest honor, recognizing industry leadership, innovation, and commitment.
Brittany Dayzie-Nez, a patient care technician in the Mom and Baby unit at St. George Regional Hospital in St. George, Utah, regularly interacts with mothers and expectant families. Brittany is of Navajo descent and helps Native American moms and babies feel connected to their culture, traditions, and history. Thanks to Brittany’s efforts, patients can bring traditional cradleboards to their hospital stay and embrace other cultural practices.
“It’s kind of wild to look back at my life eight years ago — I was barely making it. I could have lost my two children because of the choices I was making.” Alishea Waite’s life looks very different now. Her path included parenting two kids alone, doubting her abilities, getting help from public assistance, and battling addiction. It also includes recovery, marriage, support from friends, recognition from leaders, and what she calls a “life-changing” chance to be part of the St. Vincent Regional Hospital community and Intermountain Health. Whether in her recovery, her career, or her education, Alishea’s mindset is to always set the bar higher for herself. Read about her journey from addiction to a volunteer firefighter and now a surgical technologist by leveraging Intermountain's training program.
