Stroke Programis Golden — Again

— Page 5

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It’s Only a Drill!EmployeesInvited toA Special

Sneak Peek

08.14.19

…Check My NorthBay, Your Employee Portal, for News in

Real Tim

e…

Day-in-the-LifeExercise Puts

North Wingto the Test

See SNEAK PEEK, Page 11

INSIDENew Hires 2Welcome New Physicians 3 Pharmacy’s Dream Team 4 Video Contest 7Open Staff Returns 7ICU Refresh 10Here Comes Disaster 16

His Quick Thinking Saves a ChildIt sounds like something you might read about in

a superhero comic book. A person in distress yells desperately for help and suddenly, from out of no-where, a man in a suit jumps in to save the day.

In this case, however, it was not fiction. The distressed person yelling for help was Fairfield mom Esperanza Rodriguez whose 18-month-old daugh-ter, Lexie, was having a seizure in the parking lot

Meet Harvey Heart, Shorty Breath, Cye Atica and Arthur Ritis.

They’re just four in a cast of 29 wonderfully fictitious patients who — in the form of volunteers — reported for Day-in-

See DAY, Page 12

The hybrid surgery suite was packed with participants and observers during the drill.

Art SmithSee SAVES, Page 8

Mark your calendar — a spe-cial sneak peek into the North Wing at NorthBay Medical Center has been scheduled for employ-ees from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

“We are fast-approaching the finish line on the North Wing project, and we’re excited to invite our employees for a spe-cial preview,” said Aimee Brewer, president of NorthBay Healthcare Group.

Plans call for having employee “experts” stationed around the North Wing to answer any and all

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TO REMEMBERDATES

IN THE NEWSPEOPLE

LETTERS

DATES

PEOPLE

NEW FACESWELCOMEWELCOME

LETTERS

Deborah ArnoldCertified Nurse Assistant, 1-West Med/Surg.VacaValley Hospital

Michael CamposClinical Nurse IEmergency RoomNorthBay Medical Center

Kristine CayetanoClinical Nurse IIUnit 1800NorthBay Medical Center

Christopher CorcoranRespiratory Care Practitioner IIRespiratory TherapyNorthBay Medical Center

Valeria Del ToroClinical Nurse II2 North Acute SurgicalNorthBay Medical Center

Stacey DykesOccupational Therapy AssistantNorthBay Medical Center

Jennifer FariaMedical AssistantOccupational HealthHilborn Administration Center

Jessica GanzonClinical Nurse II, 2 North Acute SurgicalNorthBay Medical Center

Kristina-Marie GardClinical Dietitian, Nutrition ServicesNorthBay Medical Center

Stephanie Joy GarzaClinical Nurse II, Unit 1800 NorthBay Medical Center

Natalie GomezMedical Assistant, Ambulatory Float PoolHilborn Administration Center

Lauren HustedPatient Services Rep.Center for Primary Care, Vacaville

Areli Ibarra, Medical Assistant IIOtolaryngologyGateway Medical Plaza

Kyung Sun JangMedical Oncology NurseMedical Oncology VacaValley Wellness Center

Samantha LaBareClinical Nurse II2 North Acute SurgicalNorthBay Medical Center

Grace LengEmergency Room TechnicianEmergency RoomNorthBay Medical Center

Aubrey LohserClinical Nurse II2 North Acute SurgicalNorthBay Medical Center

Melissa MatthewsClinical Nurse IIEmergency RoomNorthBay Medical Center

Karen MoraEnvironmental Services AideEnvironmental ServicesNorthBay Medical Center

Irene NavaMedical Social Worker, Social ServicesNorthBay Medical Center

Troy PaceSecurity Officer I, SecurityVacaValley Hospital

Francisco PlazolaClinical Nurse II, 2 North Acute SurgicalNorthBay Medical Center

Madison PowersEmergency Room TechnicianEmergency Room, NorthBay Medical Center

RamanjotCertified Nurse AssistantUnit 1800, NorthBay Medical Center

Diana RamirezClinical Nurse II2 North Acute SurgicalNorthBay Medical Center

Aaron RuizClinical Nurse IIUnit 1800NorthBay Medical Center

Muey Chow SaephanClinical Nurse II2 North Acute SurgicalNorthBay Medical Center

Joy Ann SarmientoCertified Nurse AssistantUnit 1800NorthBay Medical Center

Kylie SchirberClinical Nurse IIUnit 1600NorthBay Medical Center

Sukhminder SinghUltraSonographerUltrasoundNorthBay Medical Center

Darin StoddardProcedural TechnologistAmbulatory Surgery CenterVacaville

Catherine TurnerClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care UnitNorthBay Medical Center

Denice Velazque RamirezNutrition Associate ICafeteriaNorthBay Medical Center

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She added that she chose family medicine because she enjoys caring for patients of all ages, and has a particular focus on geriatrics.

NorthBay Healthcare recently welcomed fam-ily medicine physician Kevin Xunan, D.O., to the Center for

Primary Care, Vacaville.Dr. Xunan earned his medical degree from Touro

University, College of Osteopathic Medicine and also his master’s degree in public health from Touro.

Prior to joining NorthBay, Dr. Xunan worked at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Now Urgent Care Center, South Florida.

Dr. Xunan said he has a heart for helping pa-tients live happy and healthy lives. “A good day, for me, is when my patients are smiling as they leave my office, feeling we’ve accomplished our goals or understand what the next steps for their care will be,” he said.

Two new Center for Primary Care physicians have joined NorthBay Medical Group, both with a focus on family medi-cine.

NorthBay Healthcare recent-ly welcomed family medicine physician Nguyen Khoi Nguyen, M.D., to the Center for Primary Care in Fairfield.

Dr. Nguyen earned her medical degree from St. George’s University, School of Medicine, Grenada, West Indies and holds a bachelors in biochemis-try from the University of California, Davis. She completed her residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso.

“I consider it a privilege to care for my patients. I am there to meet their medical needs but I care for the whole person and want to care for all of their concerns,” Dr. Nguyen said. “I want my pa-tients to feel they are getting what they need when they see me.”

Two New Physicians Focus on Family Medicine

Nguyen Nguyen, M.D.

Joining Primary Care

Dr. Xunan JoinsVacaville CPC

Dr. Nugyen Movesinto Hilborn CPC

Kevin Xunan, D.O.

Suzie Seaborne has joined NorthBay Healthcare as prac-tice manager for Specialty Care Services.

She has been in the medical field for 35 years and comes to NorthBay from UCSF Benioff Chil-dren’s Physicians. For the past 13 years, she has served at the op-erations director level for primary and specialty practices.

At NorthBay, she will over-see the diabetes, endocrinology, infectious disease, neurology, neurosurgery, osteopathic ma-

nipulative medicine (OMM), pulmonology and spine services, according to Justine Zilliken, as-sistant vice president, Specialty & Surgical Services.

“Suzie has demonstrated suc-cess in service line development, change management, program implementation, budget man-agement, team building, per-formance improvement for high value patient experience, and cultivating strong provider rela-tionships,” Justine said.

“She holds a bachelor’s degree

in business management from Saint Leo University and is also a proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force,” Justine added.

“I was attracted to NorthBay because it serves the community that I live in and I know several people who work here and love their jobs,” Suzie said.

She will split her time between offices in the Fairfield and Vacav-ille clinics, and can be reached at ext. 7306 or through email at Susan.Seaborne@NorthBay.org.

Seasoned Veteran Steps into Role for Specialty Care Practice Manager

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NorthBay Healthcare’s phar-macists are highly skilled and have the certification to prove it.

Ryan Seo, director of Pharma-cy Services, recently congratulat-ed three pharmacists on earning certification in several specialties:w Ashley Rogers received

board-certification in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy;w Gina Copak received board-

certification in Pharmacotherapy;w Chris Smith received board-

certification in oncology.They aren’t alone in display-

ing expertise, Ryan noted. “More than 80 percent of NorthBay pharmacists are residency-trained and/or board-certified, representing five board special-ties (Ambulatory Care, Critical Care, Nutrition, Pharmacothera-py, and Oncology),” he said.

Board-certification demon-strates that an individual pos-sesses a certain high level of knowledge and skill in addition to that of a general practitioner.

“These are some impressive accomplishments and numbers,” Ryan said, “and they are a testa-ment to the quality and compe-tency of our pharmacists.”

Dan Ford, pharmacy clinical practice manager agreed, noting that 82 percent of the pharma-cists are either residency-trained or board-certified, and that four are double board-certified. He added that NorthBay is “on track in the next year or so to add a

few more notches in our belts,” including more residency grads completing specialty programs after which they should go on to pass their respective specialty boards.

“I am so honored and hum-bled to work with such an out-standing team,” he said.

Chief Medical Officer Seth Kaufman was not surprised.

“When I discuss the strengths of NorthBay to non-NorthBay

physician colleagues, the cre-dentials and commitment of our pharmacy team is high on the list,” he said. “Our pharmacists are just so good. I see this when I need help in the ED, in our ad-ministrative leadership work and in the studies that come through the internal review board.”

“A certified dream team,” added Wayne Gietz, vice presi-dent of Ambulatory. “Congratula-tions to all.”

Pharmacy’sCertified

Dream Team

NorthBay Healthcare’s latest winner in the #HealthTipTuesday campaign on Facebook is Barbara Nelson Burke, who happens to be an outpatient support rep-resentative with North-Bay. Barbara posted a comment on our July 2 #HealthTipTuesday post and was entered in the monthly drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.

Our LatestHealth Tip Winner

The Pharmacy Services “Dream Team” of newly certified pharmacists includes (left to right) Ashley Rogers, Gina Copak and Chris Smith.

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For the fourth year in a row, NorthBay Medical Center has received the American Heart As-sociation/American Stroke Asso-ciation’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achieve-ment Award and also qualified for recognition on the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll.

The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensur-ing stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment ac-cording to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

At a recent stroke steering committee meeting the award was presented by Elaina Gunn, senior regional director, Qual-ity and Systems Improvement at American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

“Caring for our patients is our No. 1 priority,” said Beth Gladney, NorthBay Stroke Program man-ager. “So we are proud to have achieved this recognition for fol-lowing the latest research-based standards for stroke.”

NorthBay is dedicated to im-proving the quality of care for its stroke patients and Beth praised the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative. “The resources help us track and measure our success in meeting these guide-lines to improve patient out-comes,” she said.

NorthBay earned the award by meeting specific quality achieve-ment measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speed-ing recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on manag-ing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

Achieving the Gold-Plus award recognizes NorthBay for 85 per-cent or higher adherence on all

achievement measures and 75 percent or higher adherence with additional select quality mea-sures in heart failure, stroke and/or resuscitation for two or more consecutive years.

NorthBay Medical Center also received the association’s Target: Stroke Elite award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-bust-er tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Ad-ministration to treat ischemic stroke.

“Both recognitions highlight our teamwork and our provider, staff and administrative focus on excellence in care delivery for Solano County,” said Beth.

“We are pleased to recog-nize NorthBay for their commit-ment to stroke care,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee.

Stroke Program Again Earns the GoldA team of employees celebrate the Gold Plus Quality Achivement Award for the NorthBay Stroke Program.

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NorthBay Awaits Baby-Friendly News

Physicians are Out and About with Doc Talk Live Lecture Series

NorthBay Healthcare is eagerly awaiting redesignation results from a July survey by Baby-Friendly USA, Inc.

NorthBay received its original Baby Friendly designation in August 2014 and every five years a two-day survey is conducted to verify that the hospital is still meeting all of the requirements for the title.

Heather Troutt, clinical manager, Women and Children’s Services, said it will take eight to 10 weeks for results from the July 2-3 survey to be communicated, however she said surveyors did comment on “how well orga-nized we were and how it is so nice to be in an en-vironment that is so supportive of breastfeeding.”

NorthBay is the only hospital in Solano County that is designated as Baby Friendly.

“This is so important because it really sets us apart,” Heather said. “Even if our moms choose not to breastfeed, they are kept together with their baby 24/7. Our moms and babies get a chance to bond with skin-to-skin contact. These two things greatly impact the overall experience. The Baby Friendly steps are in our blood. It is what we do.”

She said NorthBay has progressed since first earning the designation.

“Other initiatives that have taken place since our original designation include delaying all baby

baths for at least 12 hours and we of-fer donor breast milk to our well baby population if clinically indicated,” she said. “We are very proud and look for-ward to receiving some positive feed-back.”

Specifically, the designation requires that NorthBay meet 10 specific steps:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.

2. Train all health care staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy.

3. Inform all pregnant women about the ben-efits and management of breastfeeding.

4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.

5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if they are separated from their infants.

6. Give infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.

7. Practice rooming-in — allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.

8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.9. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to

breastfeeding infants.10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding

support groups and refer mothers to them on dis-charge from the hospital or birth center.

NorthBay physicians — ex-perts on joint replacement, ankle and foot care and vascular dis-ease — are fanning out into the community to share their knowl-edge of health issues as part of NorthBay Healthcare’s Doc Talk Live program.

Brandi Upton, M.D., vascular surgeon with NorthBay Health-care, shares signs and symptoms of vascular disease, as well as prevention tips and treatment options, during a lecture at 10 a.m. Aug. 29 at the Green Valley Administration Center.

Guests will hear how periph-eral arterial disease (PAD) af-

fects about one in 20 Americans, many of whom are men over the age of 60. Smoking is one of the causes and it can lead to muscle pain and cramping, coldness to the touch and sores on the feet, among other symptoms. RSVP at NorthBay.org/SimpleTests.

Andrew Brooks, M.D., who offers hip and knee replacement surgery, as well as partial knee replacement through the North-Bay Joint Replacement Program, will discuss patient options on Aug. 21. His talk begins with registration at 5:30 p.m., fol-lowed by a lecture from 6 to 7 pm., saving time for questions

from the audience. The presenta-tion also will be held Green Valley Adminisration Center. RSVP at NorthBay.org/Joint.

Kevin Miller, D.P.M., will dis-cuss how slips, trips and falls can affect our feet and ankles, and what can be done to get you up and walking again, starting at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 18 at the Vaca-Valley Wellness Center, 1020 Nut Tree Road, in Vacaville. RSVP at NorthBay.org/Footpain.

There is no cost to attend the Doc Talk Live events, but reser-vations are requested. Visit www.NorthBay.org. or email Events@NorthBay.org for more.

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The third set of Open Staff meetings for 2019 are coming up in two weeks, where employees will hear more about the year ahead for NorthBay Healthcare, according to Konard

Jones, president and CEO.Konard wants to ensure employees

have the opportunity to ask questions, either at the meetings or in advance, and encourages employees to either come to Open Staff with questions in mind, or to send them, anonymously or not, through Interoffice Mail or by email to Diane Barney in Public Rela-tions, at dbarney@northbay.org.

As always, a video synopsis of the open staff discussion will be available

on the employee portal, posted several days after the last session, for those who were not able to attend.

Do You Love NorthBay? Tell Us!Video Contest Sets Stage for Employee Engagement Survey

Open Staff Meetings to Return in Aug. 26-30 Monday, Aug. 26

Green Valley Administration Center, Conference Room 154

9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 27NorthBay Medical Center,

Annex Rooms 3-47:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 29Hilborn Administration Building

Conference Room 229AB10:30 a.m.

Friday, Aug. 30 VacaValley Hospital

Cafe Conference Room8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

In an effort to both emphasize and encourage employee engage-ment, NorthBay Healthcare’s Human Resources depart-ment is launching an employee video contest.

It officially kicks off Sept. 1 and runs through Sept. 20, according to organizer Donna Da-beck, manager of Talent Acquisition.

Employees will be asked to use the video to an-swer one of two questions:

1. Why do I love to work at NorthBay?2. What makes NorthBay Healthcare a great place

to work?Contest rules are still being worked out, and will

be published soon in a future issue of FYI. The idea is to limit the video to about 30 seconds, although shorter videos will be welcome.

Employees can film the video themselves on their mobile device, or with a video camera.

“We’re not going to hold the quality of the video against them,” assured Donna. “It will be judged on content, pure and simple. We’re looking to hear from

our employees who geniunely love working at North-Bay to tell us what makes it so special. We’ll use the vid-eos to share with potential employ-ees and the com-munity, because we’re proud of our organization.”

For those who are not comfortable with using a smart phone or video camera, Donna plans to do two site visits, where employees can come and record their video with her.

Preliminary plans call for her to set up on the campuses of NorthBay Medical Center and North-Bay VacaValley Hospital, although exact locations have and dates have not yet been determined.

“We’re trying to be inclusive so anyone who wants to participate will be able to,” she said.

There will be prizes, and winning entries will be shared on My NorthBay, your employee portal and on NorthBay’s Facebook page.

The contest ends shortly before NorthBay be-gins its Employee Engagement Survey this fall. Watch for more details coming soon in FYI.

8

at NorthBay Medical Center. And the hero in a suit was NorthBay Patient Experience Ambassador Art Smith.

“I had left some papers in my car so I went out to get them and as I was walking back to the Welcome Pavilion, I heard a woman screaming ‘Help! Help, my baby’s not breathing!” said Art. “I turned and saw her hold-ing the baby and our eyes locked and I just dropped everything and ran over.”

“I was yelling and yelling for help and it seemed like nobody was coming,” says Esperanza. “And then this man was there and he said, ‘Give the baby to me,’ and he grabbed her and ran to the emergency room.”

Art was focused on getting the baby safely into the hands of medical staff, he said.

“I was going to run but I remembered that one of my shoelaces was untied. I had noticed it earlier and was going to tie it when I got back from my car,” he said. “So once I had the baby, I decided to walk as fast as I could, not to run, because I didn’t want to trip and drop the baby!”

Inside the emergency room, staff worked to help the baby, who was having the seizure due to a high temperature.

“I was just praying ‘Lord, don’t let that baby die,’” Art recalled. “But the medical team was so professional and then I saw the baby’s foot move.”

Flooded with relief, he realized that Esperanza, who also had her 11-year-old daughter, Martha, with her was still in the waiting area. “I headed over there and they were crying and I told the mom, she’s going to be OK.”

Esperanza and Martha were taken back to be with baby Lexie then, so Art simply headed back to work. He was shaken, though.

“I just sat down and started boo-hoo crying,” he admitted. “I’m a dad and I just thought about my own kids when they were babies. It was very emo-tional.”

He checked back after work and the family was already checked out and headed home. “I didn’t even know their names,” said Art.

Esperanza, who has four daughters, said the entire ex-perience was something new. “I never had a child go through that,” she said. “She had been having a fever and was dehydrat-ed and only wanted water. But something wasn’t right and so I decided to take her to the E.R.”

During the drive, her daugh-ter Marta sat in the back next to Lexie’s car seat. It was Martha who saw the baby go into the seizure as Esperanza was park-

ing.“She screamed ‘Mom, she’s

having a seizure’ and I looked back and the baby’s eyes were rolled back in her head,” Esper-anza said. “I didn’t even turn the car off. I jumped out and started to tear her out of the car seat. It was Martha who got in and turned the key off and grabbed my purse. She was brave.”

Esperanza gives Art the credit for helping the baby and her.

“He came out to the waiting area and was telling us the baby was going to be OK and hugging me,” she said. “I was thanking him and he said ‘Don’t thank me, thank the Lord.’” He was the one who calmed me down.”

Art has nothing but praise for Esperanza and the NorthBay Emergency team.

“For her to have the faith to hand the baby to me and entrust NorthBay, says a lot about her and NorthBay,” he said. “She did the right thing and it all turned out good.”

Saving..(From Page 1)

EsperanzaRodriguez is thankful to Art Smith for saving her baby, Lexie. Her daughter Martha (far right) was brave during the or-deal, she said.

9

Rafael Rovira, Solano Community College tennis coach, hands out tennis balls to kids during the 2018 Net Gen event.

Tournament Will Reach Out to ‘Net Gen’Young tennis fans will get

to learn about the game again this October when the NorthBay Healthcare Men’s Pro Champion-ship returns to Solano Commu-nity College.

The professional tournament benefits the Chris Cammisa Ten-nis and Education Foundation, a nonprofit that not only helped establish the men’s and women’s tennis programs at SCC, but also provides tennis and a related educational program to under-served youth in Solano County.

One of the ways of reaching out to youth during the tourna-ment is by using the U.S. Tennis Association’s Net Generation Pro-gram. The mission of “Net Gen” is to introduce children to tennis, a sport they might not normally be exposed to but could poten-tially play the rest of their lives. Racquets, balls and pop-up nets are all provided.

Children play with equipment that fits their size and age and they get to meet an instructor and ask questions. Last year, co-tournament director Rafael Rovira, the tennis coach at So-lano, ran the Kids’ Day “Net Gen” program on a Friday evening during the 2018 event with local children from The Leaven in Fair-field. The plan this year is to host another worthy group again with Northern California pro instruc-tor Michael Friedman leading the instruction.

The goal of the USTA is to build its community involvement and grow the future of tennis through its “next generation.” It allows children to get involved beyond the gates of area country clubs.

Rafael and Troy Rondeau, a youth tennis specialist with the USTA’s NorCal Chapter, reached out to local schools in 2018 by

bringing the Net Gen program to schools in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District. Many of the schools were given a $1,000 Net Gen package featuring the racquets, balls and popup nets for use in their own physical edu-cation classes.

“The USTA is using our Chal-lenger tournament, along with others, to showcase this activity and show how NorCal is involved in its communities,” Rafael said. “The kids will be able to par-ticipate and then sit with their parents and watch the matches. Some will be selected to take the court on Friday, and Sunday during the finals, and be coin flip-pers or walk the players out onto the court.”

The $100,000 NorthBay

Healthcare Men’s Pro Cham-pionship is part of the Association of Tennis Profes-sionals’ Challenger series and features many of the top up-and-coming play-ers from around the world. There will 48 singles players

and 16 doubles teams compet-ing beginning Monday, Oct. 7 and running through Sunday, Oct. 13.

The NorthBay tournament is the final leg of the men’s world-wide Association of Tennis Profes-sionals Challenger Tour’s swing through Northern California

Tickets for the seven-day tournament will go on sale once the schedule is finalized this fall. All seating is in close proximity to the courts. There are also numer-ous opportunities to be a tourna-ment sponsor, volunteer, and for youth as “Ball Kids,” during the matches.

For information, visit www.FairfieldProTennis.com. Contact tournament director Phil Cello at (707) 853-0915, or via email at Cellotennis@Comcast.net.

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Big Refresh in the Works for ICU

Shelley Johnson, di-rector of Critical Care

Services, inspects some of the upgrades to flooring and base-

boards in the ICU rooms at NorthBay

Medical Center.

With work completed to up-date the second and third floor public corridors and family loung-es at NorthBay Medical Center, a project to upgrade the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit is well under-way.

The work on the second and third floors, completed last month, was designed to mod-ernize existing spaces and bet-ter tie those areas to the new wing, which will open later this year. The ICU project will refresh patient rooms and plans are in the works to bring new overhead lift equipment (like that which is included in the new wing) in the near future.

“Work started in our middle pod of NorthBay ICU,” explained Shelley Johnson, director, Critical Care Service. “Work is now mov-ing through the other two pods, one pod at a time.”

Shelley said plans call for in-stalling lift equipment in the ICU

at VacaValley Hospital, once the work at NorthBay Medical Center is complete.

She said the eventual install-ment of the equipment is a vital upgrade for ICU patients and their caregivers.

“The Society of Critical Care

Management and the Association of Critical Care Nursing strongly advocate early mobility of most patients,” she said. “Mobility improves respiratory status, de-creases the risk of skin pressure injuries, helps minimize delirium, and has so many more benefits.”

Work has begun in earnest on the eastern side of the ICU at NorthBay Medical Center.

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Evidence-based

ConferenceNears

Sneak Peek ... (From Page 1)questions as employees take self-guided tours through the three floors. Refreshments will be provided in our roomy new dining room on the first floor.

“We hope employees from across the organization will have time to walk all three floors, visit our sparkling surgical suites and the new Post Anesthesia Care Unit on the third floor, inviting patient rooms on 2 North, and see state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment on the first floor,” said Aimee.

“And be sure to check out the artwork throughout the building, specifically selected to be bright and engaging. We believe art has healing qualities, so every piece was selected with that in mind,” said Aimee.

Watch for an invitation to land in your email box soon.

Special September Publication Date for FYI FYI will move its publication day from Wednesday to Thursday,

for one time only, the week of Sept. 9.“It’s a one-time move, specifically so our Public Relations team

can cover the grand opening festivities of the North Wing on Tues-day, Sept. 10,” explained FYI editor Diane Barney, director of Public Relations. “There’s a lot happening, and we want to share stories and photos right away.”

NorthBay Healthcare’s 6th An-nual Evidence-Based Practice & Research Conference will be held on Friday, Aug. 23, at NorthBay Healthcare’s Green Valley Admin-istration Center and registration is still being accepted.

The theme of this year’s event is “Attain, Engrain, Sus-tain – Pathway to Implementa-tion Science,” said Elisa Jang, R.N., clinical nurse specialist. “A growing amount of EBP literature is now focused on the field of implementation research — the uptake of interventions that have proven effective into routine practice, with the aim of improv-ing population health.”

Keynote speaker is Dr. Sha-ron Tucker, who is a Grayce Sills Endowed Professor, Research Core Director, and Nurse Scientist for the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for EBP at The Ohio State University.

The conference is open to all healthcare professionals who are interested in exploring the challenge of delivering evidence-based care and attempting to keep pace with the latest rec-ommendations for excellence in clinical practice.

Conference participants will learn strategies to translate evidence into practice and have an opportunity to discuss a wide variety of clinical issues that will be presented.

Visit www.NorthBay.org/con-ference for additional information on this year’s conference.

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Day ... (From Page 1)

the-Life duty Tuesday, Aug. 6, to put NorthBay Medical Center’s North Wing to the test.

And despite working in a whole new environment, North Wing staff handled the drill very well, according to Jim Bollig, senior director, Perioperative Services.

“We found lots of little things, which we expected, but I’m impressed with the involvement we’re seeing, both from staff and the physicians. They’ve come up with great questions, and their engagement is helping us to be better prepared for when the wing opens. It all seems more real to everyone now.”

Staff rolled through 29 scenarios during the 10-hour drill. In one, “Bonnie Blockage” experienced a Code Stroke on 2 North, testing the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and stat meds delivered through the pneumatic tube system.

“Poppy P. Helmrich” had a post-partum hemorrhage after a normal delivery and was rushed up to the hybrid operating room where, among other tests, EVS was challenged with a major blood spill.

“Lotta Frothy,” an 82-year-old heart failure patient, experienced a Code Blue and after the RRT team arrived, the “family” requested that life-saving measures be halted, just as the chaplain arrived. A full trauma activation was initiated after “George Sean Williams” arrived in the ED with a gunshot wound, and as he was being sent to the OR his family started a fight in the 2 North Waiting Room, testing Security’s

See DAY, Page 13

Handing out assigments (above) were Dr. Tiffany Schegg and Maureen Al-lain, R.N. Taking volunteer sign-ins were nurses Nina Robinson, Valerie Valen-tin and Sherille Dickinson (at left).

Staff on 2 North (right) familiarize

themselves with the new CareAware smart

phones (right). The War Room team (far

right), including Isaac Brown, Kortney San-chez and Eric VanPelt

(with Security Manager Tyler Jobson in the

background) logs in-coming messages sent from global observers

carrying iPads.

Annette Tuatagaloa, R.N., and Orlando Rios, Sim Lab Technician, are ready for the drill.

13

She’s all smiles now, but an allergic reaction is in Lauretta Graham’s future (above). Justin Hovey confers with Alyan-na Arceo, R.N., about medications (right) moments before the patient’s STEMI.

response times. As staff wheeled patients into and out of

elevators, down unfamiliar halls and up from Diagnostic Imaging to the PACU, they were followed by a cadre of “global observers” with clipboards in hand. The observers noted everything from missing signage to non-functioning thermostats or scanners, from missing fall risk magnets to CareAware smart phone connection issues. Others, armed with iPads, sent messages back to the War Room, where Eric Van Pelt, Kortney Sanchez, Jessica Schneider, Bryan Jackman and Issac Brown logged their observations

Day ... (From Page 12)

See DAY, Page 14

Rapid Response Team members Natalie Correll-

Yoder, R.N., (right) and Chris-

tina McCauley, R.N., were

ready to enter the room of a patient in dis-

tress, but before they could, the patient’s family

asked for life-saving efforts be

stopped.

Dr. Seth Kaufman (right) and team respond to a Code Blue resulting in a patient death, after family asks for life-saving care to stop. Although just a drill, the event affects volunteer Leah Illingworth (center, below), who is consoled by Chaplain Natalya Johnson and Elizabeth Scott Paulson, R.N.

14See DAY, Page 15

on an Excel spreadsheet for later resolution.

Shelley Johnson, director, critical care service, was a global observer. “This exercise has been good because it shows us how the flow goes. For example, we have a scenario where a patient is taken to nuclear medicine in Diagnostic Imaging and it’s important for people to know where that is, and how long it takes to get there.”

Timing was another issue Se-curity faced, as they handled the Code Gray (combative person) scenario. Security guards arrived within 30 seconds of hearing an overhead code call for help in 2 North’s waiting room, and Tyler Jobson, manager of Security, was pleased with that swift response. “Our goal is to respond to a page in under two minutes, but we have a lot more real estate to cover when this wing opens, and we’re going to prepare for that.”

“This drill has been incredibly valuable in helping us identify 80 to 85 percent of the work flow challenges we’ll see in this new building,” said Pete Zopfi, D.O.,

Day ... (From Page 13)

After a patient (right) experiences

a post-partum hem-orrhage, the Rapid

Response Team rushes her from L&D

to the hybrid oper-ating room, where

observers (lower right) are on hand

to note the surgical team’s response,

which includes quickly transferring

her to the Pheno surgical bed.

A child’s mannequin (above), tucked away in a corner of the cafe, chal-

lenges Security’s response to a Code Purple (child abduction). Volunteer patient Lily Fei (right) spends time

looking at the GetWell Network.

15

as he waited for his “trauma patient” to arrive from the ED, “but I’m confident our creative and skilled staff will, in real time, find solutions for the other 15 percent. We’ll identify problems and find fixes for the future.”

Volunteer Amber Blanc, who played L&D patient Poppy P. Helmrich, said that while her situation was “chaotic,” staff handled the emergency with a calm demeanor, although it was a tight squeeze in the elevator from L&D to the third floor.

“With all the emergency staff in there and the hospital bed, it really filled up, but all along the way, everyone’s bedside manner was good and they explained everything that was happening to me,” she said.

“It’s controlled chaos,” observed Tiffany Schegg, M.D., who along with Lacy DeQuattro, SIM Center program coordinator, and Maureen Allain, R.N., created the drill scenarios. “But chaos is normal for a hospital. We’ve identified many important system and equipment changes that need to be made, and overall I’m impressed with the level of engagement from staff and clinicians. It shows how much we care for our patients.”

“This day will definitely help us to be better prepared,” Jim said. “Will there be a second Day in the Life? Oh yes, we’ll do this all again on Aug. 20, but it will be more about processes vs. patients.”

Day ... (From Page 14)

The surgical team re-sponding to the case of “Billie Rubin” and her gallbladder issue dressed in full surgical garb dur-ing the drill for the sake of videorecording and photography. The drill began in the Emergency Department, and then was elevated to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit for prep, before arriving in the surgical suite.

Pre- and post-surgical care, overseen by Mika Miriani, R.N., (above) are tested in several scenarios. Envi-ronmental Ser-vices Aide Lead Jessica Tafolla responds to a call for cleanup in a surgery suite.

16

TO REMEMBERDATES

IN THE NEWSPEOPLE

LETTERS

DATES

PEOPLE

NEW FACESWELCOMEWELCOME

LETTERS

Disaster Drill Results Revealed in Next FYI

08.20.19 Day in the Life Drill #2, NorthBay Medical Center08.21.19 Doc Talk with Andrew Brooks, M.D., GVAC, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.08.23.19 Evidence-based Practice Conference, GVAC08.26.19 Open Staff Meeting, GVAC, Room 154, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.08.27.19 Open Staff Meeting, NorthBay Medical Center, Annex Roms 1-2, 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.08.29.19 Open Staff Meeting, Hilborn Administration Center, Room 229AB, 10:30 a.m.08.29.19 Doc Talk with Brandi Upton, M.D., GVAC, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.08.30.19 Open Staff Meeting, VacaValley Hospital Café Conference Room, 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m.09.18.19 Doc Talk with Kevin Miller, D.P.M., NorthBay VacaValley Wellness Center, 11 a.m. to noon

It was a day for disasters and there were plenty of them, but it all happened too late to make it into this issue of FYI.

The plan was to put NorthBay Medical Center staff — specifically the North Wing teams — to the test when it comes to response on a variety of unfortunate events, from fire alarms to a poten-tial child abduction, and from bomb threats to an active shooter episode. There were even plans to cope with hazardous material spills and an earth-quake.

How did we do? You’ll have to read about it in the Aug. 28 issue of FYI.

“We set it up to be a no-fault opportunity to refresh or enhance everyone’s disaster skills, and to familiarize ourselves with the layout of our new wing,” said Peter Stocks, emergency management coordinator.

Staff used the drill to learn the location of emer-gency phones and evacuation routes. A “hotwash” was planned to discuss what went well and identify opportunities for improvement, according to Peter.

Spot a blue Transport Chair randomly parked around NorthBay Medical Center campus without a patient in it? You can help the Guild in a huge way just by letting them know where it is, and they’ll come retrieve it.

Just dial a volunteer at extension 3120, and an automated system will answer, ex-plained Jane Hilliard, director of Volunteer Services.

“Ask for a NorthBay floor volunteer, and if there is one on duty you can ask them to come pick it up.”

Even though the Guild recently bought additional chairs, they are still in high de-mand.

“We need them desperately in the Wel-come Pavilion, since this is our main access point for patients,” she added. “Just let-ting us know where these blue chairs are will save us hours spent hunting for them every day.”

Guild: Help ReturnTransport Chairs

If you missed the recent lecture by NorthBay Healthcare urologist Herkanwal Khaira, M.D., on an amazing new way to treat enlarged prostates, don’t despair. Two more talks are scheduled this year.

Dr. Khaira will present information on UroLift during Doc Talk Live events from 6 to 7 p.m. Sept. 12, at the Hampton Inn & Suites, 945 Hartle Court in Napa and from 1 to 2 p.m. Dec. 12, in Vacaville. For more infor-mation, visit: www.NorthBay.org/Urolift.

Magazine Donations are Welcome

Urologist WillOffer Two More

Prostate Lectures

Dr. Khaira

The NorthBay Guild is looking for donations of books and current magazines. They will be made available to visitors in the Welcome Pavilion, in waiting rooms and on the book carts. Donations can be brought to the wel-come desk at VacaValley Hospital or NorthBay Medical Center. If no one is at the desk, look for the bin labeled “donations” under the desk.