A grant from CVS Caremark Charitable Care Trust will enable Cape Fear Clinic to expand much-needed mental health services to the low-income population of New Hanover and surrounding counties.

The $5,000 grant is one of 37 grants made to free and charitable clinics across the country.

“We are extremely grateful to the CVS Charitable Care Trust for its support of clinics like ours that serve those who have little access to quality health care,” John Devaney, the clinic’s executive director, said in a news release.

The grant will enable Cape Fear Clinic “to hire a part-time mental health care coordinator who will coordinate the clinic’s volunteer therapists, while providing direct crisis intervention and short-term therapy,” Devaney said.

Cape Fear Clinic’s mental health program is nationally recognized and has served as the model for similar programs established at other free and charitable clinics.

Devaney said that in 2013, the clinic’s 25-plus volunteer mental health professionals handled more than 800 patient appointments during evening hours.

“Now, with a permanent staff member, mental health services can be offered during business hours and will be better coordinated with the clinic’s medical and dental services and the clinic’s full-time, full-service, on-site pharmacy to ensure more holistic care for patients,” Devaney said.

This is the first year of a partnership between the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust and the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics that supports the needs of more than 1,200 such clinics nationwide and the people they serve.

The trust created a grant pool of $1 million for 2014, part of an overall commitment of $5 million it announced in 2013 aimed at helping people across the country gain access to quality health care.

NHRMC garners ‘A’ grade
New Hanover Regional Medical Center was given an A grade in this year’s update to the Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections.

The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is administered by The Leapfrog Group, an independent industry watchdog.

The Leapfrog Score, the first and only hospital safety rating to be analyzed in the peer-reviewed Journal of Patient Safety, is designed to give members of the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families, officials said.

“We take the safety of our patients very seriously,” Jack Barto, NHRMC president and CEO, said in a news release. “We have established a culture of continuous improvement at NHRMC, and although we are very proud to receive the highest grade from The Leapfrog Group, we will continue to look for new ways to provide the high quality care our patients expect and deserve.”

Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, said that hospital safety and transparency has become more of a central focus as patients become more engaged in selecting where to receive health care.

To see New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, go to www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

UNCW works to improve health care outcomes
The Southeastern North Carolina Regional Health Collaborative (SENCRHC) is working to improve health outcomes throughout the Cape Fear region.

University of North Carolina Wilmington’s College of Health and Human Services dean Charles Hardy is taking the lead in seeing that the outcomes improve permanently, college officials said.

According to the state’s 2014 County Health Rankings for North Carolina’s 100 counties, New Hanover ranks 10th in health outcomes, Pender 25th, Onslow 24th, Brunswick 34th and Columbus 100th.

To help the initiative move forward, UNCW recently announced that the College of Health and Human Services has received a $150,000 grant from the N.C. GlaxoSmithKline Foundation.

Over the next two years, those funds will be allocated to the SENCRHC, an initiative with the intention of improving the health of individuals, families and communities.

“Strategies will aim to enact change in New Hanover, Onslow, Columbus, Pender and Brunswick Counties through programs and interventions,” college officials said.

Program focuses on dementia care
A program on “Working with Dementia in Today’s World: An Education Resource for Health Care Professionals” takes place 8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m. on June 26 at The Terraces on Sir Tyler.

The program is sponsored by the South East Area Health Education Center.

The number of those with Alzheimer’s disease in North Carolina is estimated to grow from 170,000 in 2010, to more than 210,000 by 2025, according to officials. Alzheimer’s disease is also the fifth leading cause of death for people over the age of 65 in the U.S.

Organizers said the purpose of the program “is to enable the participant to understand how dementia impacts an individual’s ability to function; identify what is triggering a difficult behavior; and recommend a variety of non-pharmacologic interventions to manage or accommodate the behavior.”

Health care providers will have the opportunity to gain basic knowledge of dementia and how to provide improved outcomes of care, program organizers said.

The program is intended for RNs, LPNs, NPs and other health care professionals working with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. 

To register, go to www.seahec.net.

Flake receives designation
Donna Flake, director of the Health Sciences Library of the South East Area Health Education Center, recently received the Distinguished Member designation with the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP).

It’s the third time Flake received the designation.
 
The AHIP is part of the Medical Library Association’s peer-reviewed professional development and career recognition program. A Distinguished Member is the highest designation given to an active AHIP member.

SEAHEC’s Health Sciences Library is located in New Hanover Regional Medical Center and is one of the few medical libraries in the nation that has integrated its virtual library in the electronic medical record, officials said.

Funding for the library is supplemented by charitable donations through a program called Friends of the Library. Nearly a third of all doctors in the Wilmington area are Friends of the Library, and many nurses and businesses contribute to the program, according to SEAHEC officials.

Wilmington Health gets NCQA recognition
Wilmington Health family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics locations in Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Hampstead, Leland and Oak Island recently received recognition as Patient-Centered Medical Homes by the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Each location will be certified through 2017.

“Having so many departments at Wilmington Health recognized as Patient-Centered Medical Homes is an honor and something we’ve worked hard to achieve. We strongly believe in the idea of having a medical home, because it improves both the quality and continuity of care we provide our patients,” Wilmington Health CEO Jeff James said in a news release.

The Patient-Centered Medical Home program was developed to assess whether physician practices are functioning as medical homes.