University Hospitals

At University Hospitals, we believe in the importance of work-life balance and know that investing in our caregivers well-being is essential! This is why we actively encourage our caregivers to utilize their earned Paid Time Off (PTO). Did you know that we offer PTO Bridging? Experienced professionals in certain specialty areas like Nursing, Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, and Lab are able to leverage their expertise to earn a higher amount of paid time off. Those with 5+ years of relevant experience may qualify to start their career at UH with an elevated PTO accrual rate! Whether you start, grow, or end your career with University Hospitals, we recognize the value and dedication that our caregivers bring. Ready to join a team that values you and your overall wellness? Explore available roles today! https://lnkd.in/dMmuSbA3 #UHCareers

Research shows that while 10% of pediatric patients are labeled as being allergic to penicillin, fewer than half actually are. Some kids, for example, are labeled as suspicious for allergy after receiving amoxicillin for an ear infection and developing a mild rash. “That's probably the most common thing we see,” says Ankita Desai, MD, Division Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation John Kennell Chair of Excellence in Pediatrics. “It's not a true anaphylactic allergy. A lot of times that penicillin label gets put on the chart, but we don't know if this is a true drug allergy or not. In some cases, it might have been a virus. It may have been a whole host of things that cause rashes in kids.” Whatever the cause for the confusion, one thing is clear: It’s crucial to have the most accurate information possible about penicillin allergy status when providing the optimal treatment for kids with infections, Dr. Desai says. “Penicillins and that family of antibiotics are first-line agents for a whole host of infections in pediatric patients,” she says. When you don't have those in your back pocket, you're forced to use alternative regimens that may not be as easily tolerated, may have more side effects and may not cover the bacteria that we need to target.” To address this important issue at UH Rainbow, Dr. Desai and colleagues conducted a quality improvement project aimed at delabeling inaccurate penicillin allergy in hospitalized patients – one of the first published efforts to look at pediatric inpatients. Overall, the project resulted in 16 of the 40 patients screened being successfully delabeled. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gGxyTTeJ #pediatricinfections #penicillin #qualityimprovement #physicianexcellence #patientsfirst

Most patients at UH receive care from a Med-Surg Nurse at some point during their stay. Our Med-Surg Nurses play a vital role in delivering a high standard of specialized care. In honor of Medical-Surgical Nurses Week, we want to recognize these dedicated professionals, the largest group of specialty RNs, for their essential contributions. Thank you to our incredible team! See what Lynnsey W., Registered Nurse, has to say about what she values most about her role in Med/Surg and why UH is a place where you can grow and thrive. If you're a new grad RN considering a career in Med-Surg nursing, or an experienced RN looking to join UH, we invite you to discover what makes nursing at UH special. See what Lynnsey W., Registered Nurse has to say and apply today! https://lnkd.in/eSTrPdfe #UHNursing #UHProud #UHCareers #MSNW24

Congratulations to University Hospitals Chief Operating Officer Paul Hinchey MD MBA, who was selected as part of Crain's Cleveland Business 2024 Class of Notable Leaders in Healthcare. According to Crain’s, those selected for this year’s class “continue to innovate and educate, not just keeping Cleveland at the center of the healthcare universe but at the forefront of keeping the public healthy.” As Chief Operating Officer responsible for all University Hospitals’ clinical operations, including a community hospital network composed of 21 healthcare facilities, one of Dr. Hinchey’s biggest career wins was implementing the Systems of Care operating model, which empowers the health system to deliver patient-centered, efficient and coordinated care, noted Crain’s. Dr. Hinchey was also chosen for what he does outside the office. As someone who continues to be active in the EMS community where he started his healthcare career, Dr. Hinchey is a teacher for the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) board certification program, said Crain’s. To read more, visit https://lnkd.in/gVCR7A9C #UHProud #healthcareleadership #leadership #patientcenteredcare #crainsnotables

Through the Cliff Appreciates program, UH CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, likes to recognize our non-physician caregivers who stand out for living the UH values with the Bravo Awards. Today’s caregiver spotlight focuses on Jason Pirtz, RN, who is being recognized as a Bravo Award winner for providing service excellence and demonstrating an outstanding commitment to patient care and engagement as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for UH Cleveland Medical Center. Amidst a hectic schedule, Jason noticed a patient looking lost and took the time to personally escort him to his appointment at UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute. This thoughtful action made a significant impression on the patient, who was so moved by the experience that he wrote to our CEO to express his gratitude. The patient's note highlighted the exceptional level of care and concern demonstrated by Jason, which he has shared with many others. By leading with such compassion and dedication, Jason not only provided excellent service but also positively represented the ethos of patient engagement at UH. We decided to chat with Jason to learn more about him and how he lives the UH values: As COO, how do you live the UH values? Working for a large healthcare organization brings amazing opportunities, but I don’t believe that we can provide the best care possible for the patients we serve without first focusing on teamwork and a consistent drive toward service excellence. Ultimately, I feel that it is my responsibility to create an environment of teamwork that sets our caregivers up for success. How do you support the needs of the various caregiver teams? This is one of my favorite questions to answer as I feel the ultimate commitment to all of UH Cleveland Medical Center’s caregivers. Whether it’s advocating for new technology, creating a safe environment, streamlining workflows or upgrading our facility, everything we do is important to our mission. I live by the motto that “If you are not serving a patient then you better be serving someone who is.” What do you like best about working at UH? I have a great appreciation for the relationships that I have built within the organization over the past seven years. The caregivers who I work with are not just employees -- they are my friends and colleagues. I trust them, and these relationships are the reason why we are able to do the very challenging work that we do. What’s been your most memorable experience at UH? I think my most memorable moment was UH’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. When I was very new in my role at UH Cleveland Medical Center, I had the opportunity to serve as Chief Operations Officer within the Hospital Incident Command structure. I was so proud of our caregivers and their unwavering commitment to our community during that time. It was absolutely amazing! #UHProud #serviceexcellence #teamwork

Today’s UH Health Care Hero spotlight shines on Jacob Abrahamowicz, an accountant in the Management Service Center, who is being honored for the UH value of Service Excellence, particularly because of the patient and respectful way he works with his colleagues and others. Jacob is also being recognized as a Bravo Winner by UH CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, as part of his Cliff Appreciates program. Jacob is a relative newcomer to University Hospitals. He started in 2019 at UH Elyria Medical Center in EVS, and soon moved to Care Connections. For the past year, Jacob has been an accountant at our Management Services Center, working in UH Cash Applications. That is quite an impressive rise, and it speaks to Jacob’s work ethic and drive. As a member of the Revenue Cycle/Cash Application team, Jacob is the subject matter expert on the J.P. Morgan banking software we use and was the lead in a collaborative effort to update the JPM bank reconciliation system. This was an extremely important role, because as UH transitioned to Epic, we also implemented a new cash reconciliation management solution through JP Morgan. For 18 months, the entire team had to work diligently on continuing to post cash in our legacy systems, as well as in Epic, while also managing and updating the JP Morgan reconciliation. This was a combined effort among Revenue Cycle Management, IT, Treasury, and JP Morgan representatives – and Jacob was the person who trained new and existing users, created training material and allocated work among 40 users. As you might guess, Jacob also was answering the many questions that users had, while he was simultaneously working on the updates to the JP Morgan software. “Jacob is a great detective,” says one of his work colleagues. “He is really good at finding issues within the Healthcare Link program and working them through to completion.” Another colleague says, “Jacob is always willing to hop on a call to discuss questions or concerns with team members, vendors and leaders at any time, whenever needed.” For all his skills and dedication, and the patience with which he helps his colleagues learn the complexities of new programs, we are proud to name Jacob as a UH Healthcare Hero. #UHProud #caregiverspotlight #serviceexcellence #collaboration

Sapna Thomas, MD, works as a gastroenterologist primarily out of UH North Ridgeville Health Center, also seeing patients at UH Elyria, UH Parma and UH St. John medical centers. The combination of office visits and procedures that initially drew her to the gastroenterology specialty characterize her practice today. Colonoscopies are a significant part of it – and come with their own issues and challenges for ensuring a good patient experience, Dr. Thomas says. “Endoscopy or colonoscopy is not a procedure that patients really want to have done,” she says. “With colonoscopy, the prep that they take is not always easy. They come in tired, they're hungry, they're uncomfortable. They have a lot of misconceptions about it. Trying to make that a little bit better is important.” “I think the most important thing we as physicians can do is listen,” she adds. “Giving patients privacy, explaining things to them, spending the time to talk to them and answer their questions and not letting them feel rushed, not looking at a computer, makes the whole process a little better.” And when one colonoscopy goes a little better than expected, it can lead to others among the patient’s family and friends. “Our goal is to have them go out and tell people to get their colonoscopy done,” Dr. Thomas says. Read more about Dr. Thomas at https://lnkd.in/gD2uFgEp #GI #gastroenterology #endoscopy #colonoscopy #earlydetection #physicianexcellence #patientsfirst

Every year as part of his annual entity visits, UH CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, likes to shine a spotlight on our Health Care Heroes. In a recent visit to UH Ahuja Medical Center, Dr. Megerian shined a spotlight on Larry Barette Jr. BSN, RN who began working at UH Ahuja Medical Center as the assistant nurse manager in the Emergency Department and is now an ICU nurse and part of the Rapid Response Team, as well as the lead for the Resuscitation Committee. Dr. Megerian also recognized Larry as a Bravo Winner as part of his Cliff Appreciates program. Larry’s colleagues say he is deeply invested in making sure patients receive the best care possible. When Larry was assistant nurse manager of the ED, he found ways to decrease wait times, as well as to lower the number of patients who leave the ED without being seen by a clinician. And he did this while helping open the brand-new emergency department. Larry is a member of the team that responds to all hospital codes, and he is one of the nurse experts called when a patient quickly needs a higher level of care. He partners with providers for every Code Blue and serves as a critical care resource for all of UH Ahuja. In fact, he is considered a ‘go-to’ caregiver for challenging patient care issues. His co-workers describe Larry as always lending a hand, and as a wise decision maker who takes time to teach staff new skills. Patients say they know they are in good hands when he is taking care of them. He is the kind of provider who makes every team he is part of stronger. Congratulations Larry for your dedication and for all that you do so well! #UHProud #caregiverspotlight #rapidresponse #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #nursing

Sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are complex and often require multiple interventions for patients to see improvement. At UH, key members of the multi-specialty team tasked with achieving this for our patients are speech-language pathologists. “We were approached by our sleep medicine group because they were looking for alternative treatment modalities for patients unable to benefit fully from standard treatment approaches,” says Lindsay Zombek, CCC-SLP, Supervisor for Speech-Language Pathology at the UH ENT Institute. “There is a lot of overlap in our patient populations.” Speech-language experts at UH have developed protocols based on current research. There is some precedent established, for example, for using certain exercises to strengthen the muscles in the throat and help prevent airway closures. Sleep medicine specialists make the initial diagnosis of OSA and identify patients who could benefit from speech-language services. During the initial appointment, a therapist completes a thorough assessment. When exercises are introduced, the expectation is that individuals will commit to completing the exercises at least six days a week for three months. “Sometimes, we’ll add expiratory and respiratory muscle strength training devices known as breathers,” Zombek says. “Once we ensure patients understand and can complete the exercises, we follow up every one to two weeks and evaluate progress at around the three-month mark before transitioning patients to a maintenance program they can continue on their own.” Read more at https://lnkd.in/gK2S_bEW #sleepdisorders #OSA #SLP #speechlanguagepathologists #patientsfirst

Today’s UH Health Care Hero spotlight shines on Kevin Wininger who brings outsized energy and focus to his role as a radiology technician at UH Samaritan Medical Center. In just over two years on the staff, he’s become a crucial member of our cath lab team, working closely with the cardiologist or electrophysiologist or charting cases in the lab. When he isn’t helping in the lab, you’ll find him filling in at the CT department. Kevin is also being recognized as a Bravo Winner by UH CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, as part of his Cliff Appreciates program. Those who work with Kevin say the knowledge he brings to his important role is amazing -- and he loves to pass it on. This means everything from educating co-workers about policies and procedures, to writing articles about radiology, to approaching local universities to give their exercise physiology students rotations through the cath lab. Kevin is a tireless champion for UH Samaritan. When UH Samaritan had its first STEMI case with a door-to-balloon time of just 32 minutes and great outcome for the patient, Kevin took the time to share the details and the pictures. Those who know him say his pride and commitment are palpable. At the same time, co-workers say Kevin’s not afraid to challenge the status quo to better serve our patients. He was instrumental, for example, in helping navigate an involved process with the Ohio Department of Health to gain approval for a process to reduce radiation exposure for our patients. As a result, this practice is going to be used across the UH system – a great example of “patients first” in action. Quite simply, Kevin strives to be the best at what he does. One co-worker puts it well: “His passion is deep, and his drive is amazing. I am very thankful to have Kevin on my team.” Thank you, Kevin, for your unwavering dedication. Your enthusiasm for your work is something we all strive for at University Hospitals. It’s an essential element we can all look to as we work every day to get the best possible outcomes for our patients. #UHProud #patientsfirst #caregiverspotlight #bestplacetowork #radiology #cardiaccathlab