Collectively, we’ve made incredible progress in our commitment to patient safety since we began our journey to become a High Reliability Organization (HRO) two years ago – thank you for speaking up for safety! We know that though we are using this week in March to celebrate our patient safety achievements and increase awareness, safe care is our focus every day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 134 million adverse events occur each year due to unsafe care in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries, resulting in some 2.6 million deaths. Additionally, some 40 percent of patients experience harm in ambulatory and primary care settings with an estimated 80 percent of these harms being preventable, according to WHO.

Some studies suggest that as many as 400,000 deaths occur in the United States each year as a result of errors or preventable harm. Not every case of harm results in death, yet they can cause long-term impact on the patient's physical health, emotional health, financial well-being, or family relationships.

With our shared dedication to safety and quality, every day we continue our work to become an HRO. Learning from our safety events is fundamental to achieving this aspiration. Since our HRO journey began, we have received hundreds of shared learnings that have prompted improvements and positively impacted patient care across our connected ecosystem.

The following are just a few examples of the incredible work our incredible people have done to improve patient safety over the past year:

• Hospital acquired pressure injuries are a patient safety indicator (PSI) and require us to follow our standard processes in order to prevent harm. The report of a pressure ulcer wound out of St. Anthony North Health Campus prompted an improvement in process which includes:
  • Each of our 17 hospitals undergo quarterly prevalence studies as part of their Pressure Ulcer Prevention Programs (PUPP).
  • All entities were asked to require all primary care nurses to assess a wound at every shift, including the removal of wound care dressings to assess wound beds.
  • Our entities are leveraging our wound care nurses to identify and train wound care champions to expand expertise on units.
• Multiple reports were received from across Centura Health regarding IV piggyback medications being missed and the absence of an alarm indicating the IV tubing was clamped. Delayed administration of medication increases the risk of patient deterioration and/or increased length of stay. Prompted by this shared learning, Centura Health implemented the following:
  • Associates are asked to review the Alaris BD Secondary Set-Up Guide for IV piggyback infusions to decrease medication delays.
  • Associates are to Pay Attention to Detail and follow a multi-step process.
  • A message now populates on the PCU/Brain reminding the associate to unclamp the secondary IV tubing.
  • Associates are asked to Practice Self-Check Using STAR and ensure drops fall in the secondary drip chamber and not in the primary drip chamber.
  • Clinical associates are using Team Check during bedside shift report to check medications are being administered.
• During an MRI, thermal burns are a potential cause of injury. At St. Anthony Hospital, small metallic threads in a patient’s clothing caused a minor burn injury during an MRI. Because of this shared learning, entities were asked to evaluate adopting the practice of patients only wearing hospital provided gown/scrub pants for MRI procedures. Scripting was provided to schedulers for attire recommendations. The MRI care team now practices Self-Check using STAR as part of pre-procedural safety checks and including a risk assessment for metal.

One year after the COVID-19 pandemic altered our lives, there now is hope for a return to some form of normalcy. At vaccination clinics and pharmacies across the nation, hope is being injected one shot at a time. But will the current vaccines really protect us from the coronavirus? Let’s explore the effectiveness of each of the currently available vaccines and more.

As a reminder, all Centura associates are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a Centura Health facility at no charge, as long as supply is available. If you have not yet received a vaccine and would like to, please know that each associate’s personalized invitation does not expire. Details regarding how to schedule an appointment were emailed to each associate with the subject line ACTION REQUIRED: Invitation to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and that invitation remains active indefinitely. We will continue to administer vaccines as supply is available, and we are committed to vaccinating every associate and provider who would like to receive the vaccine.

Will a COVID-19 vaccination protect me from getting sick with COVID-19?

Yes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 vaccination works by teaching your immune system how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19, and this protects you from getting sick with COVID-19.

Being protected from getting sick is important because even though many people with COVID-19 have only a mild illness, others may get a severe illness, have long-term health effects, or even die. There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you, even if you don’t have an increased risk of developing severe complications.

What is the efficiency of each vaccine?

Trial study data of the EUA approved vaccines show they are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 and severe disease that requires hospitalization. To learn more about each vaccine click on the following links:

• Pfizer/BioNTech
• Moderna
• Janssen/Johnson & Johnson

At the beginning of March, Centura Health Information Technology (IT) began to introduce the Microsoft (MS) Teams platform across our connected ecosystem. MS Teams will replace Skype for Business instant messaging and introduce a collaboration platform where associates can create project sites, share documents, collaborate and communicate as part of your daily work. The deployment is cascading across our connected ecosystem following the schedule below:



Skype for Business instant messaging will no longer be supported by Microsoft and will be discontinued in July 2021.  By moving to MS Teams, IT is proactively providing a replacement for Skype for Business instant messaging, as well as a communication and collaboration platform that is fully integrated with SharePoint.

Learn more
Once MS Teams is deployed to your workstation, virtual training and online resources will be available through the Learning Pathways link within MS Teams. Available now are:

• Chat Tip Sheet: How to begin using the instant messaging feature in MS Teams.
• How to use Chat video: Short video walk through of how to use Chat
• MS Teams Installation Experience: What to expect and recommended settings.
• MS Teams Overview: What is changing and how to prepare.
• MS Teams End User Guide: General usage of MS Teams
• MS Teams Site Owner User Guide: SharePoint and Teams Site Owner Usage

Centura is proud to sponsor the St. John Paul II Foundation’s Converging Roads conference series, taking place both in person and online on Saturday, April 10 for the first time in Denver at Risen Christ Parish from 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

The conference theme is Ethical Challenges in Health Care: A Practical Approach and will feature seven presentations from local and national experts, including Natalie Rodden, MD, palliative medicine physician from St. Anthony North Health Campus. Attendees, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and chaplains can receive up to seven hours of continuing education credit! Conference topics include artificial intelligence and the common good, religious liberties, the duty to care when facing personal risk, navigating moral distress and others. Click here to view the full conference agenda.

• In-Person Registration: $69-$149 based on CME/CNE inclusion.
• Online Registration: $39-$119 based on CME/CNE inclusion.

The American Stroke Association honors people who strive to overcome stroke — the Number 5 killer and a leading cause of disability in the US. The Stroke Hero Awards honor those who educate, inspire and bring awareness about stroke locally or nationally.

This year, the Centura Stroke Coordinator’s group has been nominated for the Voter’s Choice Group Hero’s Award. Our Centura Stroke Coordinators and Stroke Champions throughout the organization have worked together to ensure that no matter where patients present for care, they receive the latest treatments and can hope for the best possible outcome.

Over the last year, the group has successfully rolled out new, revised Stroke Packets making important reference documents for time sensitive stroke care available at the fingertips of clinicians. They have revised patient education booklets to make them more interactive and encouraging patients to identify and control risk factors for stroke. In addition, they have implemented leading-edge technology with imaging technology and can now support treatment of patients with wake up or unwitnessed onset of stroke.

While each of our hospitals, urgent and emergent care centers and outpatient treatment centers provides a different level of care for stroke, stroke patients touch every one of these areas. Centura’s commitment to stroke care results in some of the best stroke care in the country.

Click here to vote for Stroke Hero’s and support our Centura colleagues!

The past year has been challenging during the pandemic, but it has invited connection and deepened relationships, as we have worked to support each other and provided hope to our communities.  Learning about your unique experience and engagement is crucial, and we invite you to share your story with us in Centura Health’s Associate and Physician Engagement surveys beginning tomorrow.

Designed to measure key drivers of workplace engagement, these surveys are an opportunity for you to share your unique experiences working at Centura. Your participation ensures we obtain valuable feedback from you, as we work to achieve Centura Health’s 2025 aspirations.

The confidential surveys run through March 31 and may only be taken online. Check your Centura Health email inbox tomorrow morning for a message from our survey partner, Glint (survey@glintinc.com), that will provide a link to the survey and access instructions. The full associate survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, and the survey questions will cover important engagement topics about your unique experiences.

We are committed to building a culture where you can live your mission, grow in your purpose and encounter meaningful and exciting experiences. Your engagement is our priority! Thank you in advance for taking time to complete the survey and sharing your important feedback with us.

Questions?
Please contact your human resources leader or email engagement@centura.org.

If you’re on a Centura Health medical plan and haven’t yet completed your yearly preventive care visit, don’t delay – schedule it today! Some providers may not have available appointments for several weeks. Click here to find a Centura Health physician near you.

Inspire Wellbeing is our all-new associate wellbeing program that’s designed to offer the vital support you need to amplify all the things that inspire your wholeness. In this new program, just like in Code You, associates and their covered spouses will complete wellbeing activities to earn points toward health insurance premium reductions, or a cash reward for associates not on a Centura medical plan.

To help ensure our incredible people have time to earn your full rewards, the Inspire Wellbeing deadline has been extended to April 30, 2021. We heard your feedback, and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues we want to make sure you have time to complete your Yearly Preventative Care Visit* and other vital components of caring for your whole health.

There’s still time, but don’t delay! Some providers may not have available appointments for several weeks, so schedule your preventative care visit today! Click here to find a Centura Health physician near you, and be sure to log in to the Inspire Wellbeing platform to complete all the steps to earn your full reward.

Associates on a Centura Health medical plan: Start earning in five easy steps! Earn 1,000 points by April 30 to earn the full $1,000 health premium reduction! It’s easy to get started earning: ✔ Log in to Inspire Wellbeing. ✔ Take five minutes to complete your wellbeing survey to earn 100 points. ✔ Complete your tobacco status attestation to earn 400 points. ✔ Confirm you have completed your preventive care visit to earn 250 points. ✔ Complete other fun wellbeing activities to earn 250 program points. Together, these activities equal your full $1,000 incentive! Your covered spouse can also earn 1,000 points, for a total of up to $2,000 in health premium reductions. Click here for a program checklist with more details about how to access programs and earn your full reward.

Not on a Centura Health medical plan? You can still earn rewards by completing wellbeing activities through Inspire Wellbeing! Earn at least 250 points by April 30 to earn $250. Your cash reward will be paid to you in the first quarter of the new plan year (July – September 2021).

*The yearly preventive visit may be completed with a virtual telehealth visit with your provider.

Registration questions?
Contact the wellbeing customer service team at 888.282.0822 or info@navigatewell.com.

Program questions?
Email Christy Ewing at alisonewing@centura.org.

Associate benefit plan or wellbeing questions?
Contact the People Resource Center at 1-888-622-1111 or at peopleresourcecenter@centura.org.

On Tuesday, March 23, Centura will enable changes in our electronic health record to meet the requirements of the 21st Century Cures Act. While our patients have always had access to a significant amount of their electronic health information through the patient portal, as well as their full medical record upon request through the Health Information Management (HIM) department, patients will now have real-time access to more of their health information through the patient portal. For a quick overview of these changes, view this video.

The types of inpatient and outpatient clinical notes that will be accessible to patients in real-time through the patient portal include the following notes authored by physicians and advanced practice providers:

• Discharge Summaries
• Emergency Department Provider Notes
• Final Operative Notes
• Labor and Delivery Notes
• Outpatient Progress Notes

• Labs
• Pathology
• Radiology
• Neuro Diagnostics
• Cardio Diagnostics
• Pulmonary Diagnostics

• Provider and APP tip sheets
• Clinician and Nursing tip sheets
• Writing Patient Friendly Notes
• Delayed Results Release Options

Centura’s Newly Hired Mentoring Program has been updated to include twelve weeks of suggested guided conversation topics and milestones to help ensure mentees have access to the information, tools, and resources they need to feel connected to our ministry and to be successful in their new role.

Are you interested in welcoming and assisting with the onboarding of new associates? Great, our newly hired associates need you!  Sign up to mentor a newly hired associate or leader using this link Click here: Newly Hired Mentoring Program

Our program is designed to connect newly hired associates and leaders (mentees) with colleagues (mentors) who will provide personalized guidance and enhance the new hire’s onboarding experience, ultimately laying a strong foundation for success. Mentors and mentees will build a supportive, professional relationship over the course of three months to ensure mentees have all the information they need, develop a network, and feel a sense of belonging.

Key areas of focus for the newly hired mentoring program include Department Knowledge (tools and resources, key people, and core business functions and department specifics) and Organizational Knowledge (2025 strategy and goals, system/ entity structure, system/ entity culture, and mission). To further enhance the mentoring experience, mentoring pairs will have access to virtual mentoring technology, MentorcliQ.  This software will support the mentor and mentee throughout their mentoring partnership and contains the suggested guided weekly conversations and supporting documents in addition to other mentoring resources.

Questions?
Please reach out to mentoring@centura.org.

Are you looking to expand your skill set and elevate your career? As a valued caregiver, Centura Health wants to provide you with the opportunity to grow and develop, right here within our vibrant, connected ecosystem. We have extended our application window for our Nurse Residency Spring 2021 cohort for the Denver Metro area, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Canon City, and northern Colorado facilities until March 19 for our cohort starting May 17. Below are the links to submit an application: Please note, these applications work best in Chrome. For Pueblo/Canon City Nurse Residency Program, apply here For Colorado Springs Nurse Residency Program, apply here For Denver Metro Nurse Residency Program, apply here Denver Metro req includes: Avista Adventist Hospital (Louisville, CO) Castle Rock Adventist Hospital (Castle Rock, CO) Littleton Adventist Hospital (Littleton, CO) Longmont United Hospital (Longmont, CO) Parker Adventist Hospital (Parker, CO) Porter Adventist Hospital (Denver, CO) St Anthony Hospital (Lakewood, CO) St Anthony North Hospital (Westminster, CO) To apply to any of our residency programs, visit www.centura.org/careers and select Centura Health Associates, Internal Marketplace. You may be prompted to provide your Centura Health username and password to access the internal career site. If using a home computer, a VPN or Duo connection is required. To view the single job posting for all RN Residency Programs, search using keywords Nurse Residency Program. Details about each program and requirements are included in the job posting. Our Nurse Residency Program site also provides additional information about each residency program and the application process. Enabling associate career development is a top priority as we continue our journey to be the system of choice for our associates, physicians and our communities. Questions? Please email our Nurse Recruitment team at NurseRecruitment@Centura.org for more information.