The Heart Hospital at Deaconess Gateway and the University of Southern Indiana partnered with the Indiana Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in 2008, to conduct a three-year national initiative, Care Transitions, designed to reduce re-hospitalizations for their Medicare patients. The final result was a 14.74% reduction in 30-day re-hospitalizations in the targeted community.

Re-hospitalization represents a major opportunity to improve care for patients and families. That is why The Heart Hospital at Deaconess Gateway and the University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and Health Professions partnered with Health Care Excel (HCE), the Indiana Medicare QIO, to address this important health care topic.

The first step in the Care Transitions project was to receive funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to coordinate care in 14 tri-state communities. Once the funding was secure, HCE chose the Evansville Hospital Service area, which included Vincennes, based on opportunity for improvement and strong history of community support. In 2010, having restructured their community, Evansville participated in innovative work focusing on community-based transitions and has further reduced re-hospitalization rates by 13.65% to date. The preliminary results of the project are reported as part of a larger evaluation in the January 23, 2013, issue of JAMA.

Executive Director and Chief Nursing Officer of The Heart Hospital at Deaconess Gateway, Becky Malotte commented, “Through our partnership on Care Transitions with the University of Southern Indiana, we have engaged student nurses and social work students in utilizing the Coleman Model and “Teach Back” model to help set personalized goals with patients and their families. Completing a Personal Health Record provided patients key information to take with them in the transition out of the acute care hospital setting to outpatient and other segments of the health care system. We have continued these efforts with follow up phone calls to our patients and have seen significant improvements in hospital readmissions.” Dr. M. Jane Swartz, Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Southern Indiana, stated, “We have seen great student benefits through our participation in this project and have incorporated the Coleman Model into our curriculum here at USI.”

Executive Director Malotte added, “HCE offered The Heart Hospital an opportunity to look at how we could reduce readmissions, be budget conscious, and provide the best quality of care possible for our Medicare patients. The project offered us the opportunity to collaborate with other local health care providers, stakeholders, and partners to bring awareness to this important initiative.”

Currently, The Heart Hospital at Deaconess Gateway is continuing its mission to empower the Evansville community by disseminating educational tools such as medication safety information, personal health records, and important questions to ask when patients are discharged from the hospital.

For more information, contact The Heart Hospital at Deaconess Gateway, at 812-842-4784.

i. The 13.65% is for the current project rehospitalization rates with the 2011 reconfiguration of the community. The rate for 2008 quarterly data from baseline (01/01/2008-03/31/2008) to end of contract (04/01/2010-06/30/2010) is 14.74% relative improvement rate.

ii. Jane Brock, MD, MSPH (2013). Association Between Quality Improvement for Care Transitions in Communities and Rehospitalizations Among Medicare Beneficiaries. JAMA , 381-391.

Please join us for a 90 minute lecture to celebrate heart month at St. Mary’s!
Dr. Umang Patel, Electrophysiologist with Ohio Valley HeartCare, will provide an educational lecture with a question and answer session immediately following. Dr. Patel will present case studies and discuss the important role of EMS with cardiac arrhythmia patients, such as SVT and out of hospital arrest. This lecture will also be available to view online.
February 21, 2013
1230 CST
St. Mary’s Manor Auditorium
Cost: FREE
Lunch included for those registered to attend. Continuing Education Hours will be provided
Please RSVP to Keith Miller at kgmiller@stmarys.org by February 20 in order to ensure lunch. Be sure to include your name and if you plan to attend in person or online.
Instructions on how to view the online presentation will be emailed upon RSVP.

As part of the University of Evansville’s Andiron Lecture Series in the liberal arts and sciences, Matthew Knoester, assistant professor of education, will present “International Struggles for Democratic Education.”

Knoester will speak at 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 6 in Eykamp Hall (Room 252), Ridgway University Center. His lecture is free and open to the public.

Knoester holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and a PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and was formerly a teacher in the Boston Public Schools, where he taught in a small, democratically run school founded by MacArthur award winner Deborah Meier. He recently published two books on democratic education: an edited volume, International Struggles for Critical Democratic Education, and a book about the school where he taught in Boston, Democratic Education in Practice: Inside the Mission Hill School.

“In this lecture, I’ll discuss these books, making a case that expanding access to educational opportunities is important for cultivating democratic citizenship,” Knoester said. “I will explain why this project is threatened by the current focus on marketization of schooling and by the view that the primary purpose of schools is training for economic development, rather than preparation for democratic self-rule.”

Established in 1982, the Andiron Lectures offer research, commentary, and reflection from many fields of study. Presenters are primarily drawn from the faculty of UE’s College of Arts and Sciences but also include faculty members and administrators from across the University campus and occasional contributions from the regional community. The Andiron Lectures are sponsored by the University of Evansville College of Arts and Sciences and supported by a generous gift from Donald B. and Jean Korb.

For a full schedule of 2012-13 Andiron Lectures, please visit http://www.evansville.edu/speakers/andiron.cfm.

For more information, please contact series coordinator M. Christine Mohn at 812-488-2585 or the College of Arts and Sciences at 812-488-2589.

Sherry Ocker, fourth grade teacher at Highland Elementary School, is this month’s recipient of the EVSC Cause for Applause Employee of the Month award. The award is designed to recognize individuals in the EVSC who go above and beyond their regular job responsibilities.

Ocker was nominated by EVSC Grant Manager Ryan Williams for her hard work, ingenuity and bold ideas, plus her dedication to all the students at Highland and those who live in the Westbrook Mobile Home Court. According to Williams, Ocker was instrumental in arranging the donation of an EVSC “mobile classroom” that was no longer in use by the corporation to Westbrook Mobile Home Court so students have a safe place to go after school. At the mobile classroom, students who live in Westbrook can have an after school snack, receive homework help and have the opportunity to participate in educational games and activities.

“Because of nothing but hard work and a bold idea from Sherry, these students have a safe, clean, and fun place to go after school. Sherry doesn’t just deserve applause, she deserves a standing ovation, and I’m excited to see her receive what she deserves,” Williams said.

Ocker has been an employee of the EVSC since 1998.

EVSC Cause for Applause began in November 2012 and Ocker is its fourth recipient. Anyone can nominate an employee of the EVSC for the award. Deadline for nominations is the third Friday of each month. Go to http://www.evscschools.com/community/nominate-evsc-employees-exemplary-work for the nomination form. Paper forms are available at the schools for those without access to the Internet.

Evansville Police arrested 34 year old GEORGE GREENWELL III after he struck a University of Evansville security officer with his car.

A U of E security officer was checking GREENWELL for suspicious behavior inside the University Center. GREENWELL made his way to the parking area as the security officer followed him.

Evansville Police were called due to GREENWELL’S suspicious behavior. Prior to EPD officers arriving, GREENWELL got into his car and fled the scene. As he tried to exit the parking lot, he struck the security officer with his car. The security officer landed on the hood and GREENWELL drive about 200 yards before abruptly stopping. The security officer fell off the car and was injured when he landed on the pavement. GREENWELL backed up, drive around the security officer, and left the scene.

Security personnel were familiar with GREENWELL from prior contacts and gave EPD officers his name. GREENWELL was located at his home and was taken into custody.

GREENWELL was arrested for Criminal Recklessness CL-D Felony.

Stop Letting Our Building Codes Erode
Guest Editorial By Jordan Baer

During the previous mayoral election, Lloyd Winnecke pledged to invest in Downtown Evansville. One of the first things he did was sold his house on the east side and moved all of his worldly possessions into a condominium sized apartment overlooking Main Street. I applaud this decision.

Small and mid-sized apartments and condos aren’t the only thing going up in Downtown Evansville. Although it has been a far cry from the 2001 master plan we were given, the area has also seen the city invest multi-millions of dollars into the arena, the Centre, and the riverfront. In fact, the city spent about $4 million just to make the roads go both ways.

It now appears that one office doesn’t know what the other office is doing, or should I say seemly don’t care. With the city sticking hundreds of millions of dollars into developing Downtown Evansville, one would think that they would at least want the buildings located downtown to be up to code. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t happening.

Recently, I drove through Downtown Evansville. I took a stroll down Main Street, which is the main gateway out of Downtown Evansville from the Ford Center. On this road alone, I saw numerous buildings that make Evansville look like “Little Detroit.” If you head north on Main Street from the Civic Center, you will see a vacant store front that once housed Frontier Liquor but still appears to be operational as a storage area for limousines. As I approached the building, I noticed an outdoor part of the roof had been caving in for quite some time. How this roof has not fallen into the small parking lot and then into the streets I will never know.

< Building codes aren’t just about rebuilding Downtown Evansville or even keeping it in an acceptable condition. Rather, these codes were put in place for public safety. Today, any pedestrian can simply walk up to and/or by any of these buildings that are in dangerous conditions. Is that really good public policy? Another example of neglect of the building codes was when the Executive Inn was left in one big pile of rubble by Klenck Demolition Company because the city allegedly didn’t pay them for services rendered; our city worked franticly to block it off from the public and ordered the rubble to be removed immediately for the sake of public safety. There are numerous buildings located on Main Street that are in violation of city codes, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. Many homes in the districts surrounding Downtown Evansville are even worse than these two buildings. This begs the questions, why has our city allowed our building codes to erode? How often are these buildings and houses being inspected by the city? Does the city have a master plan for bringing all buildings up to code? I find this situation to be extremely hypocritical given that Roberts Stadium, which was never condemned and not even close to being in the same shape as the buildings in Downtown Evansville, is being demolished entirely. It makes absolutely no sense to invest in Downtown Evansville if we aren’t going to enforce the building codes. If you were from out of town and you were going to an event at the new arena, the Centre, and/or Casino Aztar would you hang around Downtown Evansville after the event if you saw these types of buildings on your way in? If you were running the city, would you want visitors walking up to and around these types of structures? If we are going to invest in Downtown Evansville, we simply cannot let our codes erode. For this reason, I have created another blog and with the goal of encouraging the powers that be to begin cleaning up Evansville’s blight. This new blog, titled “Fight The Blight!” will begin its task by lobbying for fair and effective building code enforcement as well as cleanup of abandoned structures. It will also work on addressing the enormous blight in the 3rd Ward neighborhoods just north of the Lloyd Expressway and slightly west of the old Hercules Motor Plant by lobbying to include these areas in programs such as Front Door Pride, Keep Evansville Beautiful Committee, and the EPA’s Jacobsville Remediation Plan Committee. Once you click on the blog, you will be able to view pictures of both of these areas on the blog as well as receive updates on any improvements taking place. Please take time to view these pictures. http://fighttheblight.blogspot.com/ Last but most importantly, I want to stress that I am not proposing the continuation of the mayor’s demolition of all things old policy that we have seen carried out on Division Street and at the corner of First Avenue and Morgan Avenue. Yes, there will be some buildings that are not up to code that will need to be demolished. But at the same time, there are a lot of buildings with value in both Downtown Evansville and the Third Ward that need to be preserved, renovated, and kept in good standing with our local codes. One of the greatest things our city has accomplished was bringing the Pagoda up to code. And, I also want to thank the Kunkel Group for the work they have done on the old Knights of Columbus Hall. Pagoda Before:

Pagoda After:

I appreciate the 80,000 + visitors who have supported the 4 other blogs- EvansvilleMovingForward.blogspot.com, RememberRobertsStadium.blogspot.com, EvansvilleRail.blogspot.com, & AGraveInjustice.blogspot.com. With your continued support, I believe we can accomplish the goal of getting Downtown Evansville completely up to date with our building codes and on its way to a completely safe, revitalized, and marketable area in our city. Every building on every road should be up to code!
Disclaimer: This article is posted by the City-County Observer without editing, opinion, or bias

1940’s Big Band Musical Revue

Two shows – April 18 at 7:30pm and April 19 at 2:00pm

Tickets go on-sale Friday, February 8 at 10:00am.

Seats are $49, $39, $29 and $21.

Tickets go available at The Centre Box Office, at Ticketmaster online or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Group rates available off top three ticket prices, contact Centre Box Office for details.

TICKETS MAKE GREAT GIFTS!

THE CENTRE

The Really Big “Game” Show – Feb. 9 @ 7:00pm

Rodney Carrington “Laughter’s Good” Tour – Feb. 16 @ 8:00pm

Jim Gaffigan “The White Bread” Tour – Mar. 29 @ 7:00pm

Daughtry and 3 Doors Down In Concert – Mar. 4 @ 7:00pm

George Jones “The Grand Tour” – Mar. 23 @ 7:30pm

Jim Gaffigan “The White Bread Tour” – Mar. 29 @ 7:00pm

Centre’d On Kids “Junie B. Jones”-Apr. 4 @ 9:00am & 12:00pm

66th Annual Home Show – Apr. 6-7 @ 9:00am-6:00pm

Casting Crowns “The Acoustic Sessions Live” – Apr. 11 @ 7:00pm

Scooby Doo Live! “Musical Mysteries” – Apr. 17 @ 6:30pm

In The Mood-1940’s Big Band Musical Revue – Apr. 18 @ 7:30pm, Apr. 19 @ 2:00pm

Alice In Chains “2013 North American Tour” – May 22 @ 7:30pm

DPatrick Presents
BROADWAY AT THE CENTRE 2012-2013

A Chorus Line – Feb. 20 @ 7:30pm

Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight! – Apr. 5 @ 7:30pm

Rock of Ages – May 9 @ 7:30pm

Visit www.smgevansville.com for more information.

JOURNEY
with guests
LOVERBOY
and
NIGHT RANGER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2012
ON SALE NOW
RESERVED TICKETS: $69.50/59.50/49.50
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT TICKETMASTER.COM, ALL TICKETMASTER OUTLETS, THE FORD CENTER BOX OFFICE OR CHARGE BY PHONE
1-800-745-3000.