September 23rd, 2014

In the News

Big News: Advocate and NorthShore Are Merging

On September 12, Jim Skogsbergh, Advocate President

and CEO announced that Advocate Health Care and

NorthShore University HealthSystem intend to combine to

create Advocate NorthShore Health Partners (ANHP).

When complete, ANHP will be the largest integrated health

care delivery system in Illinois and the 11th largest not-for-

profit health care system in the United States, serving 3

million patients annually.

ALGH President Rick Floyd invited all associates to join

him for an Associate Forum on the day the merger was

announced. A number of associates who were able to step

away from work had an opportunity to ask any questions

they had regarding the big news.

For those of you who did not have a chance to join the

forum, here’s a list of Frequently Asked Questions. As

Jim Skogsbergh pointed out in a message that was sent to

all Advocate associates, while we don’t yet have all the

answers, in the coming months, our combined leadership

teams and Boards of Directors will make smart, thoughtful

decisions on how we can best advance quality patient

care, improve efficiencies and help make health care more

affordable for our patients.

The agreement is subject to multiple regulatory approvals,

including the Federal Trade Commission, the State of

Illinois and the United Church of Christ. Closing of the deal

is expected in early 2015.

#StoriesOftheGirls Campaign Has Started

Have you seen our new Stories of the Girls campaign?

There are so many ways you can support the campaign

and get involved!

1. Join us for the Get Your Pink On event on October 1

Wear pink on October 1st to help raise awareness about

breast health.

Stop by one of our tables to get your raffle ticket & enter to

win one of the exciting pink prizes.

7am-8:30am Parkside Building (by the reception desk)

11am-1pm Top Deck Café

2pm-3pm Parkside Building (by the reception desk)

2. Join the conversation

Whether you or someone you know is newly diagnosed, a

survivor or just curious, join the conversation on the

Stories of the Girls message board.

3. Snap a photo, post it and win!

Tag @advocatelutheran on Instagram and we’ll repost

your photo.

September 23rd, 2014

Chicago Bulls Opens the Advocate Center

Click to take a look at the photos on Instagram.

The Advocate Center, new downtown training facility for

Chicago Bulls, opened on September 12.

“Today is a historic day for our team and the City of

Chicago, not only for officially opening this world-class

facility, but because we are bringing our Chicago Bulls

downtown,” said Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf at the opening ceremony. Joining the celebration were

three special Advocate patients who officially cut the

ribbon. Heart transplant patient, Ray Thompson, pediatric

patient, Ricardo Guthrie and breast cancer survivor, Janice

Bailey, were thrilled to join the festivities.

“We are looking forward to working closely with Chicago

Bulls Charities as they focus on health and wellness, youth

education, and violence prevention,” said Jim Skogsbergh,

Advocate President and CEO.

The Center is located across from the United Center on

South Wood Street between Monroe and Madison Streets.

The facility is approximately 60,000-square-feet in size.

Read more.

Magnet Re-Designation

Representatives of the Magnet Recognition Program of the

American Nurses Credentialing Center will make a site

visit to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in November.

We are requesting a Magnet re-designation for nursing for

a third time. To meet a new requirement, we will also be

holding a community hearing, to enable residents and

patients in the area to provide input about our care. That

is scheduled for the evening of November 13th in Johnson

Auditorium.

ILPEx Visit

Congratulations for a job well done! Our Illinois

Performance Excellence site visit concluded last Friday.

Thank you to everyone for your engaged participation in

this process. Over 200 associates and leaders were

interviewed and the examiners attended five meetings.

The panel of ILPEx judges will review their feedback on

November 19. Shortly after that we will receive notification

of our award status. The final feedback report will be

received mid-December.

Wisdom 4 Health on Thursday, October 16th in

Olson Auditorium

The benefits of good nutrition and physical activity in

cancer prevention and survivorship will be discussed at

Wisdom 4 Health, on Thursday, October 16 beginning at

5:30 p.m. in Olson Auditorium. Our nationally recognized

physicians will join representatives from the American

Cancer Society in presenting. There will also be a cooking

demonstration by Chef Jennifer Eisen, House 406. The

program is a collaborative between The Women’s

Physician Group at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

and the American Cancer Society North Shore Regional

Leadership Board. The cost for the program is $20 and

reservations are required. For more information or to

register contact Debra.Velchek@cancer.org by Monday,

October 13th.

Stroke Risk in Women: Hot Topics

The Neurosciences Institute at Advocate Lutheran General

Hospital is presenting “Stroke Risk in Women: Hot Topics”,

on Saturday, October 18th, from 7:15 a.m. until noon at

Olson Auditorium. The speakers will address key topics

related to women’s health including the impact of oral

contraceptives and hormone therapy replacement,

neurological issues in pregnancy and gender issues

related to stroke. 3.75 credit hours are being offered for

the symposium. The registration fee is $25 and

registration can be completed at

advocatehealth.com/seminars or by calling

1.800.3.ADVOCATE (1.800.323.8622).

September 23rd, 2014

Reminder to Return Survey

The 2014 Physician Satisfaction Survey has been

mailed to all Medical Staff at Advocate Lutheran General

Hospital. Please complete it and return before October

28th. We appreciate your feedback.

NSQIP Recognition

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical

Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) has

recognized Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, as one of

44 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals that have achieved

meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care. The

hospital has received recognition from ACS, each year, for

the past five years.

“Good surgical outcomes require not only a good surgical

team, but also support from nearly every hospital service,

says John White, M.D., Chair of the Department of

Surgery at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

“Therefore, surgical outcomes reflect the strengths of the

entire hospital. We are very fortunate to have great

strengths in nearly every area of our hospital from

outstanding consultants, to great nurses, to wonderful

housekeeping and maintenance personnel.”

Legislative Forum

On Monday, October 20th, we will have the unique

opportunity to hear from our local legislators about nursing,

as well as other health care issues. With the adoption of

the Affordable Care Act, as well as decreasing health care

volumes and revenue, a lot is changing in our industry. All

associates are invited to attend.

2014 Legislative Forum on Nursing and Health Care

Issues

Monday, October 20th, 1:00-2:30 p.m.

Johnson Auditorium

Colorectal robotic surgery live-tweet

On Friday, September 12, Slawomir Marecik, MD, a

colorectal surgeon at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

performed a robotic colorectal surgery that was transmitted

live to Warsaw, Poland as a way of educating almost 300

surgeons there. The surgery was also live-tweeted with

#roboticsurgery to engage our followers and promote the

surgery service line.

Not sure what color vial to use … there’s a link

for that.

As an outcome of daily Safety Huddle event reports and

from feedback at patient safety process improvement

meetings, the laboratory has heard that having an easy

method to obtain lab specimen collection information

would be very beneficial to non-lab care givers.

A new hyperlink is now available on Advocate On-line (the

intranet) that directs users to the ACL laboratory test

directory that lists all clinical laboratory specimen collection

information. This allows all associates to directly access

specimen collection information including correct specimen

container, anticoagulant and recommended sample

volume.

To access clinical laboratory specimen collection

information, user can simply go to:

‘Lab Specimen Collection Directory’ > under the

‘Everyday Resources’ > on the ‘Lutheran General

Intranet’

This link will bring you to a search box where you can input

test name that will then display detailed information.

Join us for Heart Walk on September 28th

If you register to join an Advocate Lutheran General Heart

Walk team and donate or raise $50, you will receive this

great Advocate Health Care hoodie! Only registered

walkers can get one! Easy registration on the internet.

Click on Chicago Heart Walk.

September 23rd, 2014

Sweet treats and raffle for the HeartWalk

Wednesday, September 24, Patty Maratto will be making

her rounds with treats from Jarosch Bakery in Elk Grove

Village. All items in the cart will be featured for just $1 and

100% of the proceeds will go to the HeartWalk.

Making Strides against Breast Cancer Walk

Join the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital team at

the Saturday, October 25th Making Strides for

Breast Cancer Walk, sponsored by the American

Cancer Society. It will be held in Hodges Park in Park

Ridge. Join online at

www.MakingStridesWalk.org/parkridgeil

Nursing Alumni and Retiree Breakfast

Saturday, September 13, Advocate Lutheran General

Hospital hosted a Nursing Alumni and Retiree

breakfast. Retired and alumni nurses came from as far

away as Arkansas to learn about the Emergency

Department Expansion and Renovation project and to

swap stories from school and work.

Alumni Carol Knutson and Jean Mau brought in two tables

full of historical memorabilia, including an original wool

cape from Lutheran Deaconess, a commemorative edition

of the Tri-Bar (the school of nursing year book) and copies

of ‘News in General,’ the original Momentum.

Retired Nurse Alice Schatz summed the event up well,

“When nurses get together, we always have fun. It is just

so nice to get to see friends you haven’t seen in a while

and to meet new people from the Lutheran General

family. With so much going on, this event also really

helped let me know about the new projects and programs

at the hospital.”

See more photos on our Instagram page.

Recognition

The Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplant Program at

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital has been named a

Center of Excellence for the Myelodysplastic Syndrome

(MDS) Foundation. It recognizes our expertise in treating

MDS, a bone marrow failure disorder.

September 23rd, 2014

Q & A on the enterovirus

Medical experts at the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention are keeping a close watch on the outbreak of a

severe respiratory illness caused by enterovirus

D68. Since mid-August through mid-September 16, there

have been 130 people, in 12 states, with confirmed

cases. Those affected are likely to be infants, children and

teenagers who do not yet have immunity from previous

exposures to these viruses.

(Click image see video)

One of the states with confirmed cases is Illinois, where

children who became very ill had difficulty breathing and

wheezing. Dr. Ronda Oram, pediatric infectious disease

specialist at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge,

IL, says they are seeing an increased number of children

hospitalized with respiratory illness. But, Dr. Oram says

parents should not panic if a child has sniffles or a mild

cold.

For mild respiratory symptoms, parents can give a child

over-the-counter medication for pain and fever. Aspirin

should not be given to children. If parents are in doubt

about the severity of their child’s condition, they should

consult their pediatrician.

Glenbrook Pediatrics Joins ACMG

Glenbrook Pediatrics has announced that they will

integrate into Advocate Children’s Medical Group (ACMG),

one of the state’s largest medical groups, effective today.

The five-physician practice offers general pediatric,

adolescent, and young adult health care. Additional

services include consultation on behavioral and

development issues, care of chronically ill children,

comprehensive asthma care and much more. The practice

has been providing care for over 25 years. The physicians

include Dr. Patrick J. Gries, Dr. Lori Walsh, Dr. Mary R.

Higgins, Dr. Michelle M. Groboski and Dr. Vipul Singla.

The North Maine Fire Department Open House

The North Maine Fire Department hosted their annual

open house on Saturday, Sept. 20. This year's open house

commemorates 44 years of service to the community.

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital had a display,

medical play for kids, demonstration on how to wear your

helmet correctly, giveaways, and temporary tattoos. “Many

people told us how Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

was their hospital. One woman sang the praises of our

Labor and Delivery nurses,” said Kathy Tanouye, Manager

of EMSS/Trauma Services. “We also have upcoming open

houses at Park Ridge and Norwood Park fire houses both

on Oct. 4th and Glenview FD open house Oct 18th, said

Kathy.

Gluten-Free Picnic

The Pediatric Celiac Center is sponsoring a gluten-free

picnic for children ages 5-11 and their families. The free

event is scheduled for Sunday, October 5th

at Prairie

Lakes, Multipurpose Room in Des Plaines from 11:30

am to 1:30 pm. The picnic is intended to give kids the

skills they need to live gluten-free. Registration is

required. Contact Carrie Ek at

carrie.ek@advocatehealth.com or call 847.723.7176.

September 23rd, 2014

5th Annual Pet Therapy Picnic

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and Advocate

Children’s Hospital hosted the 5th Annual Pet Therapy

Picnic on Monday, September 22nd from 12pm-2pm. The

picnic started with the blessing of the therapy dogs, their

owners and program supporters, who then spent some

time together, had lunch, and participated in the dog talent

show. Because of the unpredictable weather conditions,

the picnic took place inside, in Olson Auditorium.

“We organize this picnic to thank our pet therapy

volunteers and their dogs for their valuable time and what

they do every day to help our patients heal,” said Magda

Scanlan, Manager, Volunteer Services. “We use pet

therapy both with adults and children and they love the

program. Dogs can provide comfort, make patients feel

better, and also help them with their motor skills. A child

who is having difficulty walking may feel more willing to get

up and walk a dog,” added Magda.

Third Des Plaines River Trail Bike Ride

The 9-mile, family-friendly Des Plaines River Trail Bike

Ride took place Saturday, September 20th, starting and

ending at the Historic Methodist CampGround. All riders

had to wear a helmet to participate. Our team from Trauma

Services was selling helmets for those who didn't have

one. They sold 22 helmets. They also checked and

refitted/repadded helmets for other participants. Over 100

people registered for the ride. There was free food and

entertainment at the campground, after the ride.

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