The St. Elizabeth School of Nursing celebrated its December commencement ceremony on Dec. 16 in the St. Francis Chapel at St. Elizabeth Central, 1501 Hartford St. in Lafayette.
The mid-year ceremony included the conferring of diplomas to the class of December 2011. The members of the class of December 2011 include: Mary Allen, Sister Chijiago Andrea Iheme (bachelor of science in nursing degree from Saint Joseph’s College), Natasha Nicole Juniper, Christina Marie Pearson, Nina Gabrielle Pescetto, Allison Diane Watson and Alison Johanna Worden.
Patty Lunsford, a medical librarian at Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health, was the keynote speaker. Lunsford has served as a medical librarian at Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health since 1989.
The St. Elizabeth School of Nursing – Saint Joseph’s College Cooperative Nursing Program offers a seamless integrated diploma and bachelor of science in nursing curriculum in nursing that prepares graduates to become eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN).
After passing the national licensing examination, St. Elizabeth School of Nursing graduates may practice as registered nurses.
For more information on the St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, please call (765) 423-6400 or visit www.steson.org.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Franciscan Alliance selected to participate in Medicare Accountable Care Organization
Health system is first in Indiana and among few nationally to participate in program
INDIANAPOLIS – Franciscan Alliance today (Dec. 19) announced it has been selected to participate in the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model, a transformative new initiative sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center.
The Franciscan Alliance ACO is the first and only Pioneer ACO in Indiana and among the first in the country to partner with Medicare as an ACO. Initially, this partnership includes Franciscan St. Francis Health (which operates hospitals in Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville) and other affiliated hospitals and physician groups.
“More than 22,000 Medicare patients in Indianapolis and central Indiana will be served initially by our ACO,” said Jennifer Westfall, Franciscan Alliance ACO executive director. “From an industry perspective, the ACO model encourages organizations such as hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare providers to collaborate closely, thus bringing down the overall costs of medical care.”
Franciscan Alliance will work with CMS to provide area Medicare beneficiaries with higher quality care, while reducing growth in Medicare expenditures, through improved care coordination.
The Pioneer ACO Model is designed to encourage the development of patient-centered, team-based care, with health-care providers delivering coordinated, high-quality care for their patients. Franciscan Alliance ACO was chosen specifically by Medicare for the Pioneer Program.
“These Pioneer ACOs represent our nation’s leaders in health systems innovation, providing highly coordinated care for patients at lower costs,” said Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator of CMS. “Franciscan Alliance has demonstrated significant experience in providing high quality, coordinated care, and we are excited to partner with them.”
Under the Pioneer ACO Model, CMS will provide incentives for participating health care providers who form an organization to coordinate care for patients. Providers who band together through this model will be required to meet quality standards based upon, among other measures, patient outcomes and care coordination among the provider team.
CMS will use robust quality measures and other criteria to reward ACOs for providing beneficiaries with a positive patient experience and better health outcomes, while also rewarding Franciscan Alliance for reducing growth in Medicare expenditures for the same patient population.
Unlike a managed care plan, Medicare beneficiaries will not be locked into a restricted panel of providers. The Pioneer ACO Model is not a health plan or managed care plan. Under the Pioneer ACO Model, beneficiaries seeing doctors participating in an ACO will maintain the ability to see any doctor or healthcare provider, as well as the full benefits associated with traditional Medicare, but with the added benefit of a more coordinated care experience.
Today’s announcement was the culmination of a competitive selection process that began in May 2011 with the national release of a Request for Applications from CMS. Franciscan Alliance was selected based on its demonstrated capabilities to offer high quality, coordinated care.
With 14 hospitals in Indiana and Illinois, Franciscan Alliance provides care for more than 2.9 million outpatient visits and more than 100,000 inpatient discharges every year with the most effective medical treatments and innovative technology.
Franciscan Alliance, one of the largest Catholic health care systems in the Midwest, employs 18,200 co-workers and has more than 3,300 affiliated physicians – both primary care and specialists – serving nearly 4 million people in the system’s service areas.
To learn more about Franciscan Alliance and Franciscan St. Francis Health, go to www.franciscanalliance.org and www.stfrancishospitals.org.
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About the Pioneer ACO
The Pioneer ACO Model is one of a number of initiatives developed by the new Innovation Center. The Innovation Center was created by the Affordable Care Act to test new models of health care delivery and payment. For more information about the Pioneer ACO Model, visit the Pioneer ACO website at www.innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/pioneer-aco/. The Pioneer ACO Model is one of several initiatives underway at CMS designed to encourage the formation of ACOs. For more information, visit www.cms.gov/aco. For more information about the Innovation Center, visit innovations.cms.gov.
INDIANAPOLIS – Franciscan Alliance today (Dec. 19) announced it has been selected to participate in the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model, a transformative new initiative sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center.
The Franciscan Alliance ACO is the first and only Pioneer ACO in Indiana and among the first in the country to partner with Medicare as an ACO. Initially, this partnership includes Franciscan St. Francis Health (which operates hospitals in Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville) and other affiliated hospitals and physician groups.
“More than 22,000 Medicare patients in Indianapolis and central Indiana will be served initially by our ACO,” said Jennifer Westfall, Franciscan Alliance ACO executive director. “From an industry perspective, the ACO model encourages organizations such as hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare providers to collaborate closely, thus bringing down the overall costs of medical care.”
Franciscan Alliance will work with CMS to provide area Medicare beneficiaries with higher quality care, while reducing growth in Medicare expenditures, through improved care coordination.
The Pioneer ACO Model is designed to encourage the development of patient-centered, team-based care, with health-care providers delivering coordinated, high-quality care for their patients. Franciscan Alliance ACO was chosen specifically by Medicare for the Pioneer Program.
“These Pioneer ACOs represent our nation’s leaders in health systems innovation, providing highly coordinated care for patients at lower costs,” said Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator of CMS. “Franciscan Alliance has demonstrated significant experience in providing high quality, coordinated care, and we are excited to partner with them.”
Under the Pioneer ACO Model, CMS will provide incentives for participating health care providers who form an organization to coordinate care for patients. Providers who band together through this model will be required to meet quality standards based upon, among other measures, patient outcomes and care coordination among the provider team.
CMS will use robust quality measures and other criteria to reward ACOs for providing beneficiaries with a positive patient experience and better health outcomes, while also rewarding Franciscan Alliance for reducing growth in Medicare expenditures for the same patient population.
Unlike a managed care plan, Medicare beneficiaries will not be locked into a restricted panel of providers. The Pioneer ACO Model is not a health plan or managed care plan. Under the Pioneer ACO Model, beneficiaries seeing doctors participating in an ACO will maintain the ability to see any doctor or healthcare provider, as well as the full benefits associated with traditional Medicare, but with the added benefit of a more coordinated care experience.
Today’s announcement was the culmination of a competitive selection process that began in May 2011 with the national release of a Request for Applications from CMS. Franciscan Alliance was selected based on its demonstrated capabilities to offer high quality, coordinated care.
With 14 hospitals in Indiana and Illinois, Franciscan Alliance provides care for more than 2.9 million outpatient visits and more than 100,000 inpatient discharges every year with the most effective medical treatments and innovative technology.
Franciscan Alliance, one of the largest Catholic health care systems in the Midwest, employs 18,200 co-workers and has more than 3,300 affiliated physicians – both primary care and specialists – serving nearly 4 million people in the system’s service areas.
To learn more about Franciscan Alliance and Franciscan St. Francis Health, go to www.franciscanalliance.org and www.stfrancishospitals.org.
###
About the Pioneer ACO
The Pioneer ACO Model is one of a number of initiatives developed by the new Innovation Center. The Innovation Center was created by the Affordable Care Act to test new models of health care delivery and payment. For more information about the Pioneer ACO Model, visit the Pioneer ACO website at www.innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/pioneer-aco/. The Pioneer ACO Model is one of several initiatives underway at CMS designed to encourage the formation of ACOs. For more information, visit www.cms.gov/aco. For more information about the Innovation Center, visit innovations.cms.gov.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health Auxiliary awards annual scholarship
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| Tamara "Tammy" King, scholarship recipient |
Established in 2008, funding for the scholarship came from the Washburn Health Careers Fund, which was created in honor of Mary B. Washburn, a long-time volunteer of the St. Elizabeth Auxiliary, as well as other sources and activities. Criteria for the scholarship include being a student at the St. Elizabeth School of Nursing within one calendar year of graduation, maintaining a minimum 3.0 GPA and demonstrating financial need.
King is currently pursuing a bachelor’s of science in nursing degree from the St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, with an expected graduation date of May 2012.
King is a member and secretary of the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) and continues to work diligently at St. Elizabeth School of Nursing. She works for Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health as a patient care intern for the Resource Team. Her future plans include working as a nurse in the medical/surgical area or emergency room. She would like to also specialize in wound care.
King has lived in the Crawfordsville area for most of her life. She is married to her husband, Doug, and they have two children, Sara and Mackenzie.
The St. Elizabeth School of Nursing – Saint Joseph’s College Cooperative Nursing Program offers a seamless integrated diploma and bachelor of science in nursing curriculum in nursing that prepares graduates to become eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN).
After passing the national licensing examination, St. Elizabeth School of Nursing graduates may practice as registered nurses.
For more information on the St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, please call (765) 423-6400 or visit www.steson.org.
For more information on the Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health Auxiliary or volunteering, please call Karie Shepherd, Volunteer Services, at (765) 502-4249 or apply online at www.ste.org/volunteer.
Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health Auxiliary elects officers for 2012
The Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health Auxiliary held its annual membership meeting on Dec. 6. During the meeting the following officers were elected:
For more information on the Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health Auxiliary or how to join, please call Karie Shepherd, Volunteer Services coordinator, at (765) 502-4248 or e-mail karie.shepherd@franciscanalliance.org. To apply online, please visit www.ste.org/volunteer.
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| 2012 Auxiliary officers, identified left to right: Joyce Dost, Karen Jordan, Delores "Dee" Levy, Ramesh Chhabra, Ellen Reppert, James Moore and Eldon Hood. |
- Joyce Dost, President: Dost volunteers at the gift shops at St. Elizabeth East and St. Elizabeth Central. She has also served as a member-at-large on the Auxiliary Board.
- Karen Jordan, Vice President: Jordan volunteers at the gift shops at St. Elizabeth East.
- Ellen Reppert, Treasurer: Reppert volunteers at the gift shops at St. Elizabeth East and also volunteers at Guest Services.
- Delores “Dee” Levy, Recording Secretary: Levy volunteers in the surgery waiting room and gift shops at St. Elizabeth East.
- Ramesh Chhabra, Corresponding Secretary: Chhabra volunteers at the gift shops at St. Elizabeth East and also volunteers at Guest Services.
- Eldon Hood, Red Coats co-chair: Hood has served as a Red Coat for 19 years delivering items for Pharmacy. He has served as Red Coats co-chair for several years.
- James Moore, Red Coats co-chair: Moore has volunteered as a Red Coat in Pharmacy, Cardiopulmonary, flower cart and pediatric tours. He has served as Red Coats co-chair for several years.
For more information on the Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health Auxiliary or how to join, please call Karie Shepherd, Volunteer Services coordinator, at (765) 502-4248 or e-mail karie.shepherd@franciscanalliance.org. To apply online, please visit www.ste.org/volunteer.
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