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By JoAnne K. Clobus
Vice President, Marketing
& Public Relations,
Grove City Medical Center
In terms of innovation,
progress and performance,
this past year, Grove City
Medical Center proved that
size does not matter.
Grove City Medical Cen-
ter was one of a select group
of winning entries in the
Hospital & Healthsystem As-
sociation of Pennsylvania’s
2011 Achievement Awards
Program.
GCMC ’ s
entry, “Tran-
sitions in
Care” won
in the pa-
tient care
category, and was one of 168
entries received in that cate-
gory. The Transitions in
Care initiative is comprised
of several strategies de-
signed to reduce the number
of unnecessary readmissions
to the hospital.
Along with the award from
HAP, the team’s efforts were
recognized by the Highmark
QualityBlue program and
garnered the attention of the
Wall Street Journal.
“One of the most impor-
tant aspects of this award is
that it demonstrates the pow-
er of collaboration and part-
nership,” said Brad VanSick-
les, vice president of
operations, who led the initia-
tive. In response to the arti-
cle in the Wall Street Jour-
nal, VanSickles received
inquiries from health care
professionals from across the
country who wanted to learn
more about the program’s
success. He also spoke to
numerous groups locally and
regionally about its positive
impact on patients here.
For its second year of par-
ticipation in Highmark’s
QualityBLUE
Program,
GCMC achieved a score of
97 percent for its perform-
ance in hospital readmis-
sions, surgical safety, deep
vein thrombosis and emer-
gency department through-
put. “This score represents a
number of people from
across the organization work-
ing together to achieve a
common goal,” said VanSick-
les, “and how the power of
teamwork pays off.’’
Mary Blank, of High-
mark’s Hospital Performance
Management Department
commended the achieve-
ment and pointed to the in-
volvement of top leadership
as a key component to its
success: “To be successful,
hospitals need a strong lead-
ership commitment and
team driven initiatives to im-
prove outcomes. Rob Jack-
son, the CEO at GCMC is in-
volved in project teams and
is committed to providing
support and resources to
achieve goals.”
According to an annual re-
port published by the Hospi-
tal and Healthsystem Associ-
ation of Pennsylvania, Grove
City Medical Center con-
tributed a total economic im-
pact of nearly $77 million to
the area, which includes em-
ployees salaries, purchased
services and jobs created.
Additionally, the hospital
provides medical care to
those who cannot afford to
pay, and this past year saw
the number of patients who
needed and received finan-
cial assistance increase 145
percent.
Grove City Medical Cen-
ter welcomed nine new
physicians to its staff, who,
along with the hospital’s es-
tablished physicians have
brought access to the follow-
ing specialty services for
area patients in the past year:
ä Dr. Cheryl Thompson
joined Family Healthcare
Partners, practicing at their
Harrisville location.
ä Podiatrist Dr. Dawn
Stein joined the practice of
Premier Foot & Ankle, pro-
viding surgical as well as
wound care expertise.
ä Dr. Robert Landfried ac-
cepted the appointment of
Medical Director over the
Center for Pain Management
and expanded the pain man-
agement services.
ä Gastroenterology servic-
es by Dr. Katie Farah of Al-
legheny General Hospital
and Drs. Peter Molloy and
Donald Walters of Benbrook
Gastroenterology.
ä Plastic and cosmetic
surgery and aesthetic servic-
es by Dr. Beverly Carl.
ä Dr. Gene Marcelli of
Sharon Regional Health Sys-
tem is seeing patients in the
Center for Wound Healing.
Grove City Medical Cen-
ter’s employee wellness pro-
gram continues to evolve as
one of the area’s more pro-
gressive worksite initiatives
developed to manage health
insurance costs while im-
proving the overall health
status of the hospital’s work-
force.
With the addition of nico-
tine testing to the routine lab
testing required of each em-
ployee and their spouse en-
rolled in the hospital’s health
insurance plan, a remarkable
26 percent of the total tobac-
co users either kicked the
habit or took measures to
quit. The program also had a
remarkable impact on those
employees whose tests
showed they had high blood
pressure – 100 percent of
them improved in the past
year.
“This is the best possible
outcome of an employee
wellness program,” said
CEO Jackson.
For the fourth year run-
ning, Jackson has challenged
the hospital’s workforce to a
weight management contest,
with this year’s top loser net-
ting a grand prize valued at
potentially $3,000 in cash and
free health insurance premi-
ums for the entire year.
Grove City Medical Cen-
ter recently received a Silver
Aster Award for its television
commercial, “Caring to
Make a Difference.” The ad,
whch features Grove City
Medical Center physicians
and staff members, scored
among the top 12 percent na-
tionally, competing against
similar-sized organizations in
its category.
The Aster Awards pro-
gram recognizes outstanding
healthcare professionals for
excellence in their advertis-
ing and marketing efforts.
Entries are judged based on
their creativity, message ef-
fectiveness, production quali-
ty and overall appeal.
The concept for Grove
City Medical Center’s entry
was developed internally,
with Patrick Duff Creative
Media of Wexford producing
the commercial, which also
received the Grove City Area
Chamber of Commerce
“Best Marketing Effort of the
Year,” at their 2011 Red Car-
pet Event.
“Looking back on the past
year,” reflected Jackson, “I’m
so proud of our accomplish-
ments and the recognition
we’ve received. However,
nothing compares to the feel-
ing I get when I read a hand-
written comment from a pa-
tient whose life we touched
during their time with us. At
the end of the day, that’s
what we’re all about.”
E-2
THE HERALD,
Sharon, Pa.,
Sunday, February 12, 2012; HUBBARD PRESS,
Hubbard, Ohio,
Saturday, February 18, 2012 í
Outlook 2012
www.shar
Contributed
Dr. Robert Landfried, medical director of GCMC's Center for Pain Management expanded the center's scope of
procedures as well as the hours of availability, improving access for patients who need these services.
Medical Center proves
that ‘size does not matter’
PINE TOWNSHIP
The
Outlook
A community
point of view
By Lynda Pace
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It has been said, “Every
day you spend without a
smile, is a lost day.” Unfortu-
nately some people are so
self-conscious about the ap-
pearance of their smile they
seldom experience the joy of
giving to others one of the
best gifts they can give – a
smile.
But thanks to Dr. Charles
Gulland and his staff, you
can put an end to “lost days.”
“Dr. G,” as his patients re-
fer to him, has been been
practicing orthodontics with
offices in Hermitage and
Greenville for over 20 years.
His staff, with over 80 years
of combined experience,
pampers patients with kind,
compassionate and caring
treatment.
Even in
these trou-
bling eco-
nomic times,
orthodontic
treatment remains a great in-
vestment, both for yourself
and your children.
A great smile increases
one’s self-esteem and can
mean the difference between
success and failure in life’s
endeavors.
“We offer a completely
free initial exam during
which time Dr. Gulland will
outline a treatment plan de-
signed just for you.” explains
Treatment Coordinator Jamie
Pietrantonio.
Realizing that everyone
has different financial circum-
stances, Dr. G and his staff
work hard to make ortho-
dontics affordable for all fam-
ilies. “We have a variety of
payment options available for
our patients to allow them to
make orthodontics a reality
for them or their loved
ones,” explains Wendy God-
frey, treatment coordinator.
“We accept assignment of
most orthodontic insurances
and are able to work togeth-
er to find an acceptable fi-
nancial arrangement for the
balance of the cost.”
“We also work very hard
to eliminate some of the ‘hid-
den costs’ of braces,” ex-
plains Eileen Nadaud, clinical
supervisor.
“Often times people are
concerned about missing
work in order to obtain
braces for themselves or
their child which can affect
their paycheck. Our office
utilizes the latest technology
in brackets and wires allow-
ing us to produce great
smiles with less discomfort
and fewer appointments than
traditional appliances. We
also work very hard to run
on schedule, reducing your
wait time. This all adds up to
less time away from the of-
fice.”
For your fre
and to find out
make every da
our office today.
By Dee Dee
Office manager,
Premier Foot & A
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Patient Managers Brittany Cross and Vicki Orpen pose with Dr. Ch
Gulland.
The
Outlook
A community
point of view
‘Dr. G’ says smiles
make every day count