Well Beyond Medicine: The Nemours Children's Health Podcast

So much goes into providing quality health care - and a quality health care experience. Passion, communication and holistic integration are just three of the many qualities that go a long way toward keeping Nemours patients - and their families - healthy and happy. Our guests today each exemplify these qualities. 

SEGMENT 1:  Pediatrician Dr. Jonathan Miller manages the primary care practice at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. He does so with a passion for his patients in mind - and carries in his heart one patient in particular as he performs his daily clinical work, and as the Medical Director for Medical Director for Value Based Care at Nemours.

SEGMENT 2: We’ve heard it time and again - communication is key to success. It’s a philosophy that Dr. Gary Josephson, Chief Medical Officer for the Nemours Florida Division believes whole heartedly - with a recognition that listening is an indispensable piece of the communication puzzle.

SEGMENT 3: According to the National Association on Mental Illness - NAMI - stigma is when someone views a person in a negative way just because they have a mental health condition. In the last decade or so, there has been a concerted effort across the country to reduce that stigma and to strive for more integration between the provision of mental health services alongside those for physical health. For psychologist Dr. Shana Boyle sees that as a win-win for the patients she works with in Jacksonville.

Nemours associates who have been with the enterprise for decades possess what is known as "institutional knowledge," that  that unique combination of experience, values, and information about crucial trends, projects, and perspectives that define the organization's history. Let's meet three of those long-standing employees, who share the unique gifts and talents that only longevity with a single institution can bring to bear. 

SEGMENT 1: Respiratory Therapist Tim Cox has been with Nemours - in one capacity or another - for just about 30 years. He is currently the Clinical Director for Anesthesiology at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, but he began his career here over three decades ago as so many do: as the father of a patient. 

SEGMENT 2: Another mainstay at the A.I. Dupont Hospital is Joan Hussey. About 12 years ago, she found herself at one of life’s crossroads. She’d been a stay-at-home parent for 20 years, and successfully raised three sons into three fine young men. So what path would Joan follow next? She thought long and hard about where she’d been - and where she wanted to be next. She has found a home at Nemours as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief of General Surgery - a position she has found fulfilling in many, many ways, not the least of which are patients and patient families she encounters, as exemplified by one little girl. 

SEGMENT 3: Ali Johnston is the patient reimbursement supervisor for the Nemours Enterprise. She grew up in the greater Jacksonville, Florida area, and has been involved with Nemours since she was a patient at the Nemours Children’s Speciality Care at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. This is where she went almost daily as a young teen to undergo treatment for a common heart condition known as super ventricular tachycardia.   Fast forward to today, and we see Ali - now a mom of a young son - had no hesitation on where to go when he needed a minor medical procedure - straight to Wolfson and Nemours. 

Healthcare today is a heavily data-driven field. It seems as though there is a a metric for just about everything we do as we go about our work. 

Then there are the "human elements," those small yet incredibly powerful moments between people without which the healthcare experience would be incomplete. 

This episode brings together three stories of the incredible immeasurable intangible acts that exemplify the important of the human element in healthcare. 

SEGENT 1: Meena Davis is an administrative coordinator in the Department of Nursing and Leadership at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Her desire to work at Nemours is driven by her love of helping others. Yet when Meena stopped in for her podcast interview, she was nervous. For moral support, she brought with her a friend and colleague for moral support: Jessica Jordan. It turns out, Jessica has provided moral support for Meena before, and the two spoke openly about the importance of having a trusted colleague upon who one can rely for a listening ear. 

 

 

SEGMENT 2:

Nurse Leonine Nicoleau is part of a remarkable team that provides in-patient rehab services team at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. According to Leonine, this team works hard to leverage their differences in order to best suit the needs of every patient at any given time, every single day - even if it is as simple as a group patient lunch, or a room full of donated board games!

SEGMENT 3:

Jessica Jordan from the Nemours Continuous Improvement Team returns to tell the story of an immeasurable yet vitality important connection between a patient, a paper graduation cap, and the associates who stood ready to bid celebrate the success of one young person - and bid that patient farewell after a long hospital stay. 

Nemours "Kudos" is rolling out across the entire enterprise!

What is it, exactly? Jane Mericle, Chief Nursing and Patient Operations Officer at Nemours Children's Health System teams up with Peter Adebi, who serves as Chief Human Resources Officer, to explain everything you need to know to take part in this new employee recognition platform!

Stories from the associates of the Nemours Children's Health System, including a team of over 100 who helped one family's deepest desire become a reality; a colleague who found a home at Nemours simply be responding to a job posting; and a Jacksonville-based team that works to resolve payor disputes while always remembering there are real people - real children - behind those bills! 

SEGMENT 1:

Dr. Jay Deshpande is an anesthesiologist by training, and serves as the Chief For Quality and Safety for the Nemours Florida operation. Yet he remains focused on the patients and families he serves, as demonstrated by the story of one little girl and the Nemours team of over 100 associates that he led to help her family’s deepest wish come true.

SEGMENT 2:

For Shawnya Calp, discovering Nemours was like love first sight. She had no healthcare background when she responded to a job posting for an applications analyst based in Wilmington, Delaware. But as she researched the organization and met people during the interview process, she knew she had found herself a professional home - and just in the nick of time.

SEGMENT 3:

We visit the Nemours Central Business Office (CBO) to meet Shannon Harpe. Shannon works on the payer dispute team. It’s a role she’s had for 16 “long and happy” years. In many ways it’s a patient advocate role that she and her team treat with a personal touch. 

Across the Nemours enterprise, associates seize myriad opportunities to forge career paths that are in alignment with the value of helping others. Whether it's the doctor who finds satisfaction in alleviating pain in children, a patient care representative who has first-hand knowledge of what it's like to face cancer 

First, let’s meet Jessica Lopez. For more than 3 years she’s been a patient service representative in the ambulatory care center at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Jessica had her sights set on working for Nemours long before that, though - for reasons that are strong and personal. 

 

Carlos was joined in the interview space by his fellow in-patients hospital registration supervisor Christian Burgos. Together, they supervise 16 registrars, who work around the clock to gather a patient’s insurance and demographic details. With a team that large, there is one factor the counts above most others. Here’s Chris:

 

Finally, let’s talk about managing, minimizing and alleviating pain in kids. That’s the daunting job faced each and every day by pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Galaxy Li. For Dr. Li, it’s a great calling to help relieve the pain experienced by his patients.

 

Carlos Perez and Christian Burgos are the in-patient registration supervisors at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando.

 

Dr. Galaxy Li is a pediatric anesthesiologist based in Jacksonville, Florida.

 

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato

Music has a profound and positive effect on humans. We explore the magical powers of music with a song from a Nemours associate, and the story of a little girl's first dance upon hearing music for the very first time

SEGMENT 1: Joelle Dellorbe-Just, administrative coordinator for volunteer services at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando  not only creates beautiful music (she'll sing us into the New Year), she also understands the powerful positive impact it has on others, including a Nemours patient named Aniyah. 

SEGMENT 2: At the A.I. Dupont Hospital of Children in Wilmington, Kathy Vicario is a familiar face. She serves as faculty liaison for the Department of Surgery. She’s been with Nemours for 33.5 years and has seen her share of change: all for the good. For Kathy, the connection with Nemours goes beyond the professional: she has three personal reasons to be thankful that Nemours has such a strong presence in the Delaware Valley: her triplet daughters.

Across the Nemours enterprise each day, associates work diligently to keep stress and anxiety at a minimum for parents and kids. The Nemours associates featured in "Merriment and Mirth" have different methods they employ to keep stress and anxiety at bay: for one, it's working with insurance companies so parents don't have to; for another, it making a concerted effort to learn a little something about each child that crosses her path; for a third, it's simply by being a self-described "big kid." 

SEGMENT 1: Who’s the the embodiment of merriment and mirth at the Nemours Jacksonville South Clinic?  ’Tis the season to think the answer is Santa Claus, but in this case registration specialist Robert Rosenbaum. He’s a 16-year associate with a background in adult orthopedics who found a home at Nemours because, he believes, he is just a big kid!

SEGMENT 2: In her role as an inpatient hospital reimbursement analyst, Eladia Reyes works to help patient families get the insurance coverage their plans offer for the services their children receive at Nemours. Essentially, she wrestles for reimbursement for services so parents can focus their efforts on their child's health needs. While parents may not be aware that Eladia is working hard on their behalf, she knows exactly what parents and their kids are experiencing - she see it in black and white - and understands the importance of her success, not only for the enterprise, but for that child, his/her family, and all the children to follow. 

SEGMENT 3: Patient Service Representative Erin McClintock is the first point of contact for hundreds of kids and their families each month at the Deptford, New Jersey Outpatient Clinic. Large numbers? Yes! Yet Erin makes it a point to remember little details about each patient that helps personalize their Nemours experience: their favorite school subjects, the sports they play, or the music they like. It's that kind of individual attention to detail that won Erin accolades from a grateful patient family who were impressed with her positive impact on the life of their daughter. 

Teamwork is essential in healthcare. No single person can be an expert in every aspect of the field. Today’s episode demonstrates the importance of teams working together for consistency and balance in the unpredictable world of emergency medicine, the need for empathy across teams working directly with patients and families, and about developing the talents and skills of Nemours associates so they can better serve the teams with whom they work and, ultimately the patients whom we serve.

SEGMENT 1: Some people like routine - the idea of knowing that their work day has a particular - and predictable - ebb and flow. Dr. Shiva Kalidindi is not one of those people. He’s a pediatric emergency physician at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, and has been with the hospital since it opened in 2012. Despite unpredictable, 24/7 work life, Dr. Kalidindi enjoys many aspects of his work - first and foremost, his team, which provides consistency and balance to the work at hand.

SEGMENT 2: When your teenaged daughter is facing major emergency surgery, your mind would likely become hyper focused on saving her life. You want and expect the best care possible from the moment you walk in the door, until you and your child leave after surgery and followup, her her health restored. Nemours registration specialist Samala Huff understands that exact situation - because she’s lived it - and she carries it with her with each patient and family she encounters at the Jacksonville clinic.

SEGMENT 3: Keisha Morris is all about on-the-job performance - and not just her own. As a Nemours talent development specialist at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, she’s all about helping other Nemours associates to develop their skills and talents for the benefit of the patients we serve. Here’s how she does it.

Members of a transport team receive the support they need from a manager following a devastating patient outcome, a family gives back despite the loss of three of their children, and the rollout of "Just Culture" across the Nemours enterprise - it's all covered in this episode of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast, "Opening Doors." 

SEGMENT 1:

Paul Brust, RN, MSN, started in healthcare at the age of 19 as an ambulance driver, earning his undergraduate and Masters degrees in nursing with specialities in burn emergency and trauma. He arrived at Nemours five years ago to lead the critical care transport team at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington as the nurse manager. His work, however, is to not only support patients and families, but his fellow Nemours associates, too. Nothing demonstrates his leadership qualities better, however, than how he approaches, supports and helps his team members bounce bsck after the death of a child. 

SEGMENT 2: 

Philanthopy in healthcare has a long and storied history, particularly here at Nemours. Maggie Hightower is the Director of Fund Development for Nemours Children’s Speciality Care in Jacksonville, who not only fills us in on the importance of philanthropy in healthcare today - but also has the story of one family whose devastating loss inspired them to help other sick kids and their families pay for the healthcare they need. 

SEGMENT 3: Have you heard the term "Just Culture" here at Nemours? It's being rolled out across the enterprise, and is a culture that holds organizations accountable for the systems they design and for how they respond to staff behaviors fairly and justly. Marci Pawlik is the Nemours Business Director for Imaging,  who also serves as an employee engagement chairperson at the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. She talks also about the connection to employee engagement and patient satisfaction.