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Community Health Improvement
Program Highlights 2011
Introduction
Community Health Improvement Program Highlights 2011 Introduction The mission of Texas Health Resources is to “improve the health of the people in the communities we serve.” Texas Health takes its responsibility to its communities very seriously and invests charitable resources to promote good health and prevent disease. Not only does Texas Health provide health care to those who do not have the means to pay, its hospitals also conduct a variety of programs designed to improve health and prevent illness in the community. Texas Health’s community health strategies are driven by community health needs and are community-based.
Texas Health’s community benefit strategy includes confronting health problems at their source and emphasizes health promotion, disease prevention, and early treatment of illness. Texas Health’s hospitals provide free screenings for diseases that do not have early symptoms but that should be treated or managed early, such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension. Texas Health hospitals also provide free childhood and flu immunizations to the uninsured and high risk populations, as well as provide child auto passenger safety seats to new parents. The following is a sampling of the many Texas Health activities implemented at the hospitals/entities.
Texas Health Resources
Texas Health Resources is one of the nation’s largest faith-based, nonprofit health systems and has been the leading force for community outreach, education, and improvement programs that positively affect the lives and health of the communities it serves. For this reason, Texas Health has been a long-time supporter of and participant in car seat safety checks and/or distributions, as well as education. This is an investment in the community and commitment to ensuring the safety of infants and children in order to reduce severe child injury and fatality.
Texas Health has been involved in car seat fitting stations since 2004 in order to meet an established community need and out of the belief that ensuring the safety of children is a societal responsibility. Starting in 2011, Texas Health streamlined and began better coordinating its car seat safety efforts in the system’s 12 wholly owned, acute-care hospitals, which span 16 counties and are home to more than 6.2 million people. Child Automobile Safety Initiative (CASI) is a critical component of Texas Health’s Community Health Improvement focus on infant health and mortality. CASI is a comprehensive, holistic approach that strives to educate and raise community awareness about child passenger safety and the risk of unintentional injury from motor vehicle collisions. The focus is making car seats a central issue in the lives of children and parents so that attention to car safety is continued throughout youth, young adulthood, and adulthood.
CASI’s program model, based on the ecological perspective, includes four main components—Child Passenger Restraint Checks, Community Based Education, School Based Education and Training. Overarching program components include Advocacy, Texas Health Resources Policies and Procedures, Evaluation and Marketing. The program model provides flexibility for each hospital’s participation based on resources, while still structuring involvement in CASI. Thus, all Texas Health wholly owned hospitals will be involved in at least one of the program components. Centralized reporting, evaluation and marketing occurs under the leadership of System Services CHI.
Texas Health has also partnered with The Cooper Institute and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas to promote health in schools with the Healthy Zone School Recognition Program. This program gives schools resources to engage teachers, students, parents, and the broader community in a joint effort to improve the health of their communities.
The Attending Clergy Association (ACA) is a non-profit interfaith clergy organization within Texas Health Presbyterian Hospitals that enhances pastoral education for clergy, promotes physical, emotional and spiritual health in congregational and community settings, and links clergy to members of the health care team. In 2011, the ACA hosted various monthly and bi-monthly events for clergy in Allen, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman and Plano. An annual symposium was also held with 125 clergy participating in the event.
The Clinical Pastoral Education Program of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospitals offered full and part-time training programs for clergy from the community as well as to community clergy who were volunteering in the smaller hospitals. Annual training seminars were held for area clergy and congregational leaders on subjects of practical importance.
Chaplains/Pastoral Care members also served as resources for counsel and support for area clergy, worked with congregations and supported the Faith Community Nursing program. When called upon, members supported and served as proxy for clergy in the area by conducting worship and preaching, etc. Additionally, members helped facilitate dialog and change and offered support when area churches were experiencing conflict or crisis.
Future plans include the development of a clergy wellness program to help clergy manage stress and make healthy choices physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Texas Health Gives is an employee volunteer program that encourages employees to identify, organize and complete a community service outreach project. In 2011 Texas Health hospital/entity participants provided a total of 4,128 outreach hours.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen (THA) is continuing to respond to health preventative measures by sponsoring the Susan G. Komen Screening Day. This day was set aside to identify a target group of 20 women who were 40 years or older, uninsured and had never had a mammogram or had not had a mammogram in 10 years. The women received a clinical breast exam and a screening mammogram. They were also provided education on “Breast Cancer: Your Guide to Breast Self-Awareness.” THA worked in collaboration with the Susan G. Komen Foundation as well as the Ministerial Health Alliance in Farmersville.
THA also made a connection with pregnant teens through the Teen Pregnancy Outreach Program. Teen Pregnancy Outreach’s goal is to provide pregnant teenagers with health information and resources to support positive outcomes for mother and child. Participants attend monthly support group meetings that include the provision of important prenatal health information to ensure healthy infants, as well as preparing the young mothers for what they can expect during and after the birth of their babies. THA partnered with the Allen Independent School District and served 25 teenage mothers during 2011.
In addition, the Motivate to Move Program educated the community, specifically elementary aged students and their families, on healthier lifestyles including eating better and being more physically active. One hundred fifty-two Allen ISD students at 8 schools participated in the program which included information on ways of eating better and incorporating more physical activity into their daily routines.
Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital
Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital (THAM) is committed to working with community residents and organizations to make measurable, sustainable improvements in the health status of their senior populations. One program is the Cardiac Outreach Program, which has objectives that focused on heightening awareness about high blood pressure and heart failure and managing these chronic conditions at home. It taught participants when to call 911 or the doctor in order to prevent hospital admissions due to one of these conditions. THAM partnered with The Heart Place and American Medical Response to provide this program to the seniors within the community.
Additionally, in response to the increasing number of overweight and obese children, the inactivity of children and the resulting poor health consequences, THAM created a program that addresses eating habits and exercise. The Healthy Heroes Eat Right, Move More Program targeted 126 second grade students and their families and seven second grade teachers. The objectives of the program were to increase students’ activity levels, improve students’ food choices while at school and introduce accountability utilizing journals. The outcomes from the program showed that eight students (7%) reduced their BMIs, 20 students (17%) increased their BMIs, 90 students (76%) BMIs remained the same. This program was provided in collaboration with Speer Elementary School.
Furthermore, women and teens of east Arlington were taught the importance of breastfeeding, prenatal visits, childhood nutrition, basic infant care and more through the Women’s One Day Program. Fifty-four women plus their families attended the event and 100% completed the evaluation form stating that they were better informed. THAM collaborated with JPS Health Network, Hugh Smith Recreation and Senior Center, Safe Haven of Arlington and many other non-profit organizations to provide this event for the community.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne (THC) has implemented a Child Car Seat Safety Program to increase community awareness in Johnson County of child and infant safety using restraining devices, and offers free car seats to parents who show financial need. However, the education and fitting of a child/infant is done for anyone who has a child in a restraining device to assure maximal safety. Twenty-one community parents were seen through the scheduled care seat event.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas (THD) has consistently partnered with other agencies to provide care for uninsured adults. Patient Access Dallas (PAD) is a program started by Baylor Health Systems and the Dallas County Medical Society in 2002 for Dallas County uninsured adults. THD began enrolling uninsured patients in PAD in August 2005. In 2011, 183 physicians donated their time and expertise to the program. Additionally, an on-site PAD enrollment coordinator enrolled uninsured patients who qualify for the program, which provided free medical services to patients. In 2011, 2,227 THD patients were enrolled into the program.
The Search Program with Susan G. Komen (Screening, Education, Assessment, Registered Nurse Consultation, Help) was a program started in 2010 and was funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation to serve uninsured and insured women from Dallas County. Through this program, THD was able to serve 384 women in 2011. THD also partnered with several other organizations to provide these services to women including Mosaic Family Services, Catholic Charities of Dallas, North Dallas Shared Ministries, Healing Hands Ministries, Brother Bill’s Clinic and the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
THD has also been a clinic partner with Healing Hands Ministries since December 2007. Healing Hands Ministries provides low cost medical & dental care to uninsured residents living in Lake Highlands and Richardson. Healing Hands Ministries provided a medical home for uninsured patients from the community and THD and was staffed by 2 Texas Health Physician Group physicians who worked 36 hours per week at the clinic. In 2011, 597 patients were seen.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton (THDN) has positioned itself as a community resource for educational programs and screenings. Athlete Heart Screening for ages 14-18 (ECHO and ECG) was conducted in the summer of 2011. The summer of 2011 in North Texas went down in the history books as one plagued by ‘excessive heat warnings’ and ‘heat advisories.’ These extreme environmental conditions resulted in a number of deaths for North Texas athletes; as high schools forced students to endure outdoor sports practices despite the heat warnings. Heat exacerbating an athlete’s heart condition and resulting in death or other serious medical conditions is a common phenomenon and therefore the detection of a heart abnormality in an athlete is essential. As could have been expected the screening came as a relief to the multitude of concerned parents that brought their children to be screened. A total of 176 students were screened- with a total of nine with detected abnormalities. All of those who had findings were detected on the EKG, not on the echocardiogram.
The Women’s Center at THDN is committed to providing comprehensive programs for soon-to-be parents during and after pregnancy. Classes are offered to couples once-a-month educating them on the topics of labor, childbirth, and baby care; in addition to a monthly course granting couples guidance and tips on breastfeeding. A family-centered approach consists of including siblings in the process by conducting monthly tours of labor and delivery, arts & crafts, and educational videos and child-play in order to prepare older siblings for the transition to come. An average of 12 couples and five children attend monthly educational seminars.
THDN’s Newborn Clinic (formerly known as Cuddle Care) provides care to newborn babies who do not have a pediatrician and face DUHN for the first six weeks of life. Pediatricians were considering discontinuing privileges due to practice volume and on-call coverage of uninsured/Medicaid newborns; therefore funding the monthly salary of a physician to lead the clinic was a viable solution.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth (THFW) Faith Community Nursing Program (FCN) which will be celebrating its 10- year anniversary in 2012 is one framework used to provide benefits to our community. The mission of Faith Community Nursing is the intentional integration of the practice of faith with the practice of nursing to improve the health of the communities served by THFW. The FCN program helped decrease health disparities and provided greater access to health information, screenings to reduce risk factors. Twenty-five hundred flu vaccines were provided through this partnership to members of the community in 2011.
Several congregations provided a class called Faithfully Fit Forever, which is a health promotion and wellness program designed to improve physical activity, increase access to regular exercise, increase awareness and understanding of health, health risk, fear of falling, and promote fellowship and spiritual growth of members in a faith community. Analysis from surveys of this program revealed that this class offered a time for support and encouragement. Participants reported an improvement in spiritual wellness through regular devotional time. Additionally participants reported an improvement in mental and emotional health and in overall health and physical activity. THFW assists each Faith Community in performing a health needs assessment and provided programs based on those identified needs with follow-up provided by the FCN. THFW presently have covenants with 51 Faith Communities.
THFW is also part of the system wide Child Automobile Safety Initiative (CASI), the mission of which strives to educate and raise community awareness about child passenger safety and the risk of unintentional injury from motor vehicle collisions. The program strives to educate and raise community awareness about child passenger safety and the risk of unintentional injury from motor vehicle collisions.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford (THHEB) is committed to improving the health of its community by focusing on community health improvement efforts yielding measurable impact. For the past several years, Texas Health HEB has partnered with Urology Associates of North Texas, American Cancer Society, Oncology Care Unit and other agencies to coordinate and conduct an annual prostate screening event for men residing in the THHEB community. The men receive both a digital and blood prostate screening. The screenings are provided free of charge. In 2011, the screening event was expanded to a Men’s Health Day to address additional men’s health needs such as health, fitness/activity, mental health (depression screenings), sleep apnea/smoking cessation, nutrition, skin, and colon cancer. Eighty-five men participated in the event with a total of 22 (26%) minorities.
THHEB is part of the system-wide Child Automobile Safety Initiative (CASI), the mission of which strives to educate and raise community awareness about child passenger safety and the risk of unintentional injury from motor vehicle collisions. This program is provided in collaboration with Texas Health System Services and the First United Methodist Church of Hurst. In 2011, 82 individuals were served and it is estimated that 1,200 car seat checks were performed.
Additionally, The Families CAN! Health and Nutrition Program is dedicated to informing parents and children about simple ways to live a healthy lifestyle. THHEB’s goal was to engage children in recommend 60 minutes of daily activity and teach parents how to make quick and healthy meals on a budget with essential nutrients for children and adults. Families with children in 3rd and 4th grade in Title I Schools were targeted as well as local school-based clinics.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth (THSW) continues to support one of the fastest growing communities in the metroplex by offering educational programs covering a broad range of age related topics. THSW Seniorcising Program was designed for seniors to promote health education, wellness strategies, and healthy living with physical exercise. In 2011, 176 seniors participated in the Seniorcising Program and many participants have experienced an overall health benefit from low impact exercises and stretching. The Seniorcising Program has been a wonderful way to reach out to the community and provide a venue for socialization while maintaining health and fitness.
The Safe Sitter® Program offered by THSW prepares young adolescents for the profound responsibilities of nurturing and protecting children. Participants that successfully completed the program are able to seek jobs as “baby sitters” which will provide them with an income as well as enhance their future psychomotor skills as they mature.
The Faith Community Nursing Program services included health screenings, health education and flu vaccines and provided faith community nurses to the congregants for ongoing follow-up. In 2011, the THSW Faith Community Nursing program flourished with four new Covenants signed with local churches.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano (THP) partners with two indigent clinics in Collin County, the Collin County Adult Clinics and Frisco Cares Clinic to provide screening and diagnostic mammograms and ultra sounds to women from these clinics. The clinic refers women who either meet the criteria for yearly screening mammograms or have an already identified issue. By providing this service, breast cancer can be detected in a much earlier stage and prevent the metastases to other organs. THP provided 38 screening, diagnostic, and follow-up treatment when needed in 2011. Follow up treatment was provided by partnering with the Breast Bridge Network.
Project Access Collin County (PACC) began seeing its first patients in June 2011. PACC is a collaboration of the eight major hospitals in Collin County, volunteer physicians and specialist and the County to provide equal access to healthcare by providing a medical home in a physician’s office to uninsured indigent who live in Collin County. Hospitals refer patients that meet the criteria into PACC, then as needed the patients can be referred back to the hospitals for procedures if needed. There are 90 physicians, eight hospitals, and currently 115 clients enrolled in PACC. Total cost avoidance of healthcare cost is $45,000.
Additional programs include Faith Community Nursing (FCN), the mission of which is the intentional integration of the practice of faith with the practice of nursing to improve the health of the communities THP serves. The program consists of a hospital coordinator and faith community nurse. Both the hospital coordinator and the faith community nurse become liaisons to health care by educating the faith community about health services, wellness and disease prevention and by visiting people in their homes to offer care and support. A faith community nurse promotes physical, psychological and spiritual health for an individual or a group within a congregation. These nurses do not perform invasive procedures, prescribe or supply medications, or provide professional counseling.
The program offers training in faith community nursing including a basic parish nurse preparation course using the International Parish Nurse Resource Center Curriculum. It incorporates methods for developing and supporting faith community nursing programs, writing job descriptions, developing policies and documentation systems, supporting health ministries and other valuable faith/health resources. THP has established eight covenant relationships with local churches in the Collin County area.
THP sponsored local congregations 5K race injury tent, implemented a Documentation Tool, conducted four health risk profiles to churches, held nine health events and six flu clinics with over 10,000 contacts that received health wellness, and prevention education.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville (THS) has been a part of the Erath County service areas for over 80 years. THS is a part of the systemwide Child Automobile Safety Initiative (CASI), the mission of which strives to educate and raise community awareness about child passenger safety and the risk of unintentional injury from motor vehicle collisions. This program is provided to help ensure injury prevention and compliance with Texas State Law. The program involves Care Seat Safety Checks, where installed seats are examined for compliance against standardized documents and safety standards.
Texas Health Research & Education Institute
Texas Health Research & Education Institute (THRE) knows how important it is to give back to the community. THRE embraces the opportunity to partner with other non-profit organizations to identify needs and develop activities and programs that will have the most impact. One such program is the Allen Community Outreach Resale Shop where employees volunteered time to sort through inventory, stock the sales floor and build displays with proceeds from the sales benefitting those in need in the community.
Another activity embraced by THRE employees are Student Education Days. Each year, THRE’s Minimally Invasive Technology Center opens its doors to local science, math and healthcare magnets to teach students about careers in healthcare and specifically about education and research. The program served 58 students in 2011.
Texas Health Resources Charity Care and Community Benefit Value for 2011
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