Sierra Vista and 814 other hospitals are featured in a special advertisement in the “America’s Best Hospitals” issue of US News & World Report (August issue) to commemorate their receipt of Get With The Guidelines Gold, Gold Plus, Silver or Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award. A total of 961 awards were given for achievement in coronary artery disease, stroke and/or heart failure treatment.       

Hospitals recognized in each category achieve at least 85 percent compliance to Get With The Guidelines measures. Those achieving 85 percent compliance for 24 consecutive months receive the Gold Performance Achievement Award, with the Silver Performance Achievement Award going to those with 85 percent compliance for 12 consecutive months. Special recognition is also given for those hospitals achieving 85 percent compliance in two or all three categories and/or for being in 75 percent compliance with heart failure and/or stroke measures.

Get With The Guidelines is a hospital-based quality-improvement program designed to ensure that hospitals consistently care for cardiac and stroke patients following the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. The program addresses coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. Currently more than 1,400 hospitals participate in the program.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s advertisement recognizes Sierra Vista’s commitment and success in performance achievement.

“The American Heart Association is pleased to recognize its top Get With The Guidelines participants,” said. Lee Schwamm, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chairman of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Healthcare providers who use Get With The Guidelines are armed with the latest evidence-based guidelines and immediate access to clinical decision support, using a set of tools that have been shown to improve delivery of evidence-based care. The goal of this initiative is to improve the quality of life and help reduce deaths and disability among patients with heart disease and stroke.”

Published scientific studies are providing us with more and more evidence that Get With The Guidelines works.  Patients are getting the right care they need when they need it.  That’s resulting in improved survival.”

“We are proud that the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have chosen the ‘America’s Best Hospitals’ issue of US News & World Report to recognize Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for our achievements in their Get With The Guidelines program,” said Candace L. Markwith, Sierra Vista’s CEO.  “Get With The Guidelines gives our professionals the tools and reports they need to effectively treat our coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke patients.”

Each backpack was stuffed for a specific child with goodies such as crayons, Hannah Montana folders, notebooks and other essential school supplies. Sierra Vista was provided with general profiles of each child; age, sex, grade level and their individual preferences such as themes (ponies, race cars) and colors. Some backpacks also include sweatshirts, water bottles, blankets, stuffed animals and lunch boxes. This year, the backpacks will also include Burger King certificates, thanks to the generosity of local franchise owners Mike and Shirley Humerian. Both local television stations were on-hand to document the event.

Coloring Contest Winners:

Preschool-Anna McDonald (Great Beginnings Preschool)

Kindergarten-Abby Lewis (Pat Butler School)

First Grade-Luis Heredia (Winifred Pifer Elementary)

Second Grade-Sarah Kramer (Sinsheimer Elementary)

Third Grade-Jose Alvarez (Adams Elementary)

Fourth Grade-Julia Franzmann (Teach School)

Fifth Grade-Darinka Garcia (Winifred Pifer Elementary)

The tune is to The Beatles song I Want to Hold Your Hand.

The lyrics have been rewritten and are being performed in the video by local doctors and nurses for an upcoming hand washing campaign.

The musicians and actors in the music video, called "I'm Gonna Wash My Hands," are staff at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

"We're going around to all the nursing units and having our staff do little skits to the music," said Claire Grantham, Infection Preventionist at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

It is a fun way to promote a sometimes dry issue: hand washing.

Lyrics include:
Oh please, say to me,
You'll use that foamy can.
Then pass it on to me,
We'll disinfect our hands.
We're gonna wash our hands
We're gonna wash our hands.

So where did they get an idea like this?
Think pink.

Staff at a hospital in Oregon created a music video set to Jay Sean's song "Down" to raise awareness for breast cancer. All donned pink gloves.

To date, it has more than 10 million hits YouTube.

"Our goal is to be better than them, we'll see!" Grantham said jokingly.

Of course, we'll keep you updated on its hits, as soon as it hits YouTube.

Just as a side note and to make sure the message is lost in the lyrics, here's a couple reminders of how to properly wash your hands:
use a nickel or quarter sized amount of soap, wash thoroughly for 15 seconds (a good rule of thumb is to sing the happy birthday song, twice), use a paper towel to dry your hands and use that paper towel to turn off the faucets.

Also, use soap and water when your hands look dirty, after using the restroom and before preparing or eating food.

Otherwise, an alcohol-based hand rub will do.

On Tuesday, Dr. Elaine Yin of Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center performed the hospital’s first procedure using the daVinci Surgical System — a $1.8 million robot that a physician remotely controls to perform minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Yin looked at a 3-D image of the surgical area as the daVinci translated her movements into precise, 360-degree movements of surgical instruments inside the patient. She removed the uterus of Karon Cushing by making five 1-centimeter incisions. In the past, these abdominal hysterectomies have involved 12- to 14-centimeter incisions. Smaller incisions mean reduced trauma to the body and faster recovery time.

Sierra Vista is the only hospital between Santa Barbara and Salinas to offer the technology, which the hospital expects to use for urological, gynecological, ear, nose and throat, and other general surgical procedures.

The People’s Kitchen of San Luis Obispo has served a hot noon-time meal to those in need everyday of the year, for the past twenty-five years. The non-profit organization relies on volunteers to prepare and serve the food, volunteers like The Group. Committed to this endeavor, The Group has set aside the second Monday of each month to volunteer at The People’s Kitchen. Putting their daily activities on-hold for a few hours, they meet at the hospital cafeteria, load up the van with enough food and milk for 100 people and then drive to the Prado Day Center, where dozens of hungry people are lined-up to receive what is most likely the first bite of food they’ve had all day. There, they serve lunch to others.      

While it may not be much, these people, whether unemployed, homeless or just plain down on their luck, have come to depend on these daily meals. The success of The People’s Kitchen is due to the volunteer efforts of many individuals, including Claire Grantham, RN, Karen Kelly, RN, Remonia Ashmore, RN, Patricia Everhart, RN and Judy Melendez, RN. Their generosity and commitment to the health and wellbeing of our community vividly illustrates the overall character each of these women possess.