The 2012 Ohio Health Literacy Conference Series launches May 24 as a forum for people involved with health care to increase health literacy awareness and share resources to improve health literacy and ultimately, health outcomes. Sessions will be held May 24, June 13 and September 13, followed by a daylong Ohio Health Literacy Conference on October 26.

The individual sessions and conference are sponsored by St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Project Learn. They are designed for a variety of health care-focused workers, including:
 

• Hospital/health care staff
• Social workers
• Dieticians
• Health care administrators
• Public health professionals
• Physicians
• Nurses, and more

View the event listing here or view the conference series brochure here.

The introductory session on May 24, “Health Literacy: What Is It, What To Do About It, Why Is It Important?,” will increase the awareness of health literacy, describe the scope and implications of the health literacy problem, identity barriers faced by both patients and clinicians, and highlight specific strategies that enhance and further health literacy.

The sessions on June 13 and September 13 also include the “Writing for Easier Reading Workshop,” which is a skill-building session that will help participants learn how to re-write complex materials into plain language. It will focus on terminology related to health care, and it will also include exercises in assessing reading levels of written materials. The workshop, taught by industry experts, is an interactive, hands-on guide to the key principles of plain language usage that will enable caregivers to put their newly acquired skills into practice.

The culminating Conference Day on October 26 will provide participants with information on the relationship between health literacy and health outcomes, tools to use in daily practice to enhance clear communication, and resources which will assist in creating a new path toward improved understanding. Participants will hear from national and local experts and engage in interactive demonstrations.

The sessions and conference include CEU opportunities and are CME approved. Pharmacy and social worker educational credits are also available. Click here for more information and to register.

SPARK has a positive impact on children in Alliance, Ohio.

That was the message Joe French, Alliance SPARK director, presented on May 2 during the fourth annual SPARK Ohio Networking meeting at Walsh University in Canton. SPARK stands for Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids.

As part of his presentation, French highlighted results SPARK Alliance has earned from 2008 to 2011. Based on the KRA-L testing at the kindergarten level, data indicates SPARK students consistently academically outperform students that did not participate in the program. Statistics show an almost three-point difference in both 2008 and 2011 on a performance scale ranging from 18.5 to 23, meaning SPARK students consistently perform better, and by a sizeable margin.

“Research shows children who are prepared for kindergarten continue to do well in the early grades of elementary school and are more likely to graduate from high school and achieve success in life,” French reports. “SPARK has been working diligently over the past four years to increase the number of 'ready kids' arriving on the doorsteps of Alliance kindergarten classrooms. The KRA-L data shows children are more prepared for kindergarten because of their SPARK experience,” said French.

Click here to read an article in The Review about the May 2 presentation and about more SPARK results.

Staff members of the Sisters of Charity Health System participated in The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio’s Walk, Rock & Run event on May 5.

With 160 years of devotion to healing in Cleveland and beyond, the Sisters of Charity Health System proudly supported the Walk, Rock & Run's purpose to unify communities across Northeast Ohio while raising awareness of diversity issues.

The health system’s goal was to raise $1,500 to directly support The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio’s youth programming in nine Northeast Ohio counties.

Attracting $1,846 in donations, the Sisters of Charity Health System team was the top online fundraiser for the event, which raised an overall total of $14,342 to support The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio.

Wherever I am, wherever I go I can sense something of the power of God.
Even amid the clutter of our cities, built and abused by the hands of men,
there are reflections of divine splendor. God has made a path for us to walk in.
In His will there is order and purpose. She has given meaning to life,
goal and objective to this existence. This is the course which I must travel.

O God, These are the thoughts that crowd my heart today.
Accept them and respond to them, and enable me to realize anew
the security and serenity of Your loving presence in my life.

- Adapted from Psalms/Now. Leslie F. Brandt

Libby Anne Inabinet has joined Providence Hospitals’ Development Foundation as its president.

Libby Anne comes to Providence Hospitals from the American Red Cross where she served as the regional chief development officer for the Columbia, SC region and led a team that was recognized as the “Best Overall Fund Raising Chapter.” She also has experience as the South Carolina State Director for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. In addition, she is a Liberty Fellow, founding board member of Good Shepherd Day School, past board member of Palmetto Health Foundation Board of Directors and immediate past chair of the Converse College Board of Visitors.

“The energy that Libby Ann brings to our very young foundation will be invaluable to the Providence Hospitals team,” said Tommy Suggs, Chairman, Providence Hospitals Development Foundation Board of Trustees. “The current foundation was established less than two years ago and Libby Ann is the first President of the foundation hired by to the board of directors. We look forward to expanding the reach of the organization to allow us to better serve our patients and our community.”

The Providence Hospitals Development Foundation works to further the mission, ministry and purpose of Providence Hospitals primarily through raising funds that support the capital needs of the hospitals.

“Since this hospital began in 1938, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine have had an unwavering commitment to providing the resources necessary to support this community,” Inabinet said. “I am honored to serve in a leadership role for the hospital and excited about plans we have to generate support that will honor the sisters’ legacy.”

Libby Anne and her husband, Jeff, have two sons who attend the University of South Carolina.

The Early Childhood Resource Center (ECRC) experienced tremendous growth in 2011, which is detailed in its 2011 annual report. The annual report highlights community partners, accomplishments and community supporters. Memberships to the center rapidly increased in 2011, allowing more than 1,500 users to participate in family programs, make use of the library, production lab, and ECRC Inspiration Station, enroll in professional development classes, and network with others in the ECRC’s new facility.

Some additional accomplishments include:

• Opened the Inspiration Station, an interactive early childhood classroom designed to spark imagination and promote early learning and school readiness. Through Inspiration Station programming, the ECRC provided 150 high quality learning sessions to more than 2,600 children and families.

• Delivered 424 hours of high quality professional development to 2,800 early childhood educators in Stark County and throughout Ohio at community colleges and universities, child care centers, Head Start, and family child care homes.

• Awarded designation as an “approved provider” by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), allowing the ECRC to issue continuing education units (CEUs) to educators and related professionals.

To learn more about the ECRC and all of its accomplishments in 2011, download the complete annual report here.

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Sisters of Charity Health System leaders joined an event to launch the NEOMED-CSU Partnership Health Care Education and Urban Primary Care Initiative yesterday at Cleveland State University.

The April 30, 2012, event featured how NEOMED and CSU are working together in new ways to identify and train health care professionals to meet the challenges of creating a more diverse health care workforce that cares for medically underserved populations.

Urban health has been at the core of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s mission since 1851, when its founding sisters traveled from France to Cleveland to become the city’s first public health nurses. This steadfast devotion to serving the downtown Cleveland community has led to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s tremendous experience in responding to complex cases so prevalent in urban populations, including serving patients with multiple chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, glaucoma, heart disease and behavioral health problems. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has embraced urban medical education for many years, with an ACGME accredited program in internal medicine, as well as accredited programs in dentistry and podiatry. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is also an education site for many allied health professionals, including social workers, nurses, therapists, dieticians, pharmacists and others.

When work first began to establish the NEOMED-CSU Urban Primary Care Initiative, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center joined the effort and committed to:

• Serving as a primary site for experiential learning opportunities in urban medicine.
• Providing mentors and clerkship opportunities for NEOMED students. 
• And, supporting efforts to encourage NEOMED students to remain in Northeast Ohio for residencies.

Yesterday, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center furthered its commitment with a $25,000 gift to the NEOMED-CSU Urban Primary Care Initiative, which was presented by David Perse, M.D., president and CEO of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center; Sister Judith Ann Karam, president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity Health System (SCHS); and Giesele Greene, M.D., chief medical officer, Sisters of Charity Health System. The gift supports the NEOMED-CSU “education for service” initiative, which includes scholarships for students in exchange for service to the community. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center leaders look forward to being a resource in many ways to the NEOMED-CSU Urban Primary Care Initiative, and will continue to support the educational efforts to train future primary care physicians serving urban populations.

News coverage of the NEOMED-CSU Urban Primary Care Initiative launch includes:

• The Plain Dealer
• WCPN
• The Record

 Additional coverage from:

• Cleveland State University
• NEOMED

Two St. Vincent Charity Medical Center physicians will be honored at the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio (AMCNO) Annual Meeting Dinner and Awards Presentation on Friday, April 27 at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland. Louis Keppler, M.D., co-director of St. Vincent Charity’s Spine and Orthopedic Institute, will receive the 2012 Clinician of the Year designation for his long-time devotion and service to his patients.  The award was given in recognition that “Dr. Keppler exemplifies the highest ideals and ethics of the medical profession.”

At this same event, the academy’s foundation, the Academy of Medicine Education Foundation (AMEF), will bestow its inaugural AMEF Philanthropy Award on John Bastulli, M.D., St. Vincent Charity’s president of medical staff. He will be recognized for his “unparalleled commitment to the AMEF” and for his work as an outstanding fundraiser. It was through Dr. Bastulli’s vision and leadership that the AMEF launched the Marissa Rose Biddlestone Memorial Golf outing, which has become one of the major fundraising events for the foundation. The AMEF will present six local medical students with scholarships worth $5,000 each at the dinner.

The Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) recently named Mercy Medical Center as the recipient of the 2012 John Chapman Award for demonstrating exceptional environmental stewardship. Mercy was also one of 10 Ohio hospitals that received the 2012 Melvin Creeley Environmental Leadership Award. OHA’s Environmental Leadership Council selected Mercy to receive the John Chapman Award from a group of 10 Melvin Creeley Environmental Leadership Award honorees who are recognized for promoting sound environmental practices through environmental stewardship and exemplifying the best practices for other hospitals to follow. The John Chapman Award recognizes a hospital or health system that has shown excellence in initiating or supporting pollution prevention programs.

Results of Mercy’s focus on energy conservation, recycling, buying green and building green have been realized across the hospital. For three years in a row, Mercy has earned the U.S. EPA’s prestigious ENERGY STAR award, the national symbol for protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. Mercy recycled more than 51 tons of non-hazardous waste material in 2011 and thousands of light bulbs and batteries, plus Mercy recycles 10 to 15 tons of cardboard monthly. Mercy’s energy conservation efforts from 2009-2011 have yielded savings of nearly $2.7 million through reductions in electricity, water and natural gas consumption. Mercy will receive the John Chapman Award on June 12 during the OHA Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

Sister Judith Ann Karam, CSA, president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity Health System (SCHS), has announced the appointment of Terrence P. Kessler as general counsel for the Cleveland-based health system. He replaces Robert Maynard, who is retiring after 50 years of dedicated service to the community.

In his new role, Kessler will oversee the SCHS legal functions, including corporate governance, contracts, leases and financial transactions, as well as state and federal tax and health care regulatory compliance. He will also oversee the legal department and serve as a member of the senior leadership staff of the health system, which includes five hospitals, two skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, three grantmaking foundations, and numerous health and human services organizations in Ohio and South Carolina.

Kessler comes from Black, McCuskey, Souers & Arbaugh in Canton, Ohio, where he has been a shareholder since 1980. He joined the law firm in 1975 after graduating from The Ohio State University College of Law. His practice has focused on business and transactional matters, business finance, and state and federal taxation.

Kessler has been on the SCHS Board of Directors since 1998 and has served as board chair since 2006. With his appointment as general counsel, he will be resigning as a member of the board. He begins his new position on June 6, 2012.