Bert Fish Medical Center Celebrates Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month in October

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Bert Fish Medical Center will join Planetree, as well as hospitals and health care organizations around the world this October to commemorate the fifth annual Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month. This year’s theme, “Transforming the Health Care Experience through Patient and Family Engagement,” and butterfly icon represents the significant organizational culture change and transformation to patient-centered care. Ultimately when patients report that they feel they are being treated with dignity, respect and compassion, when families express gratitude for being treated as full partners in care, and when health care providers are prideful of their work, the rewards are vibrant and uplifting.

 “As the only Planetree partner hospital in Florida, we are committed to improving medical care from the patient’s perspective,” said Steve Harrell, Bert Fish Medical Center CEO. “We focus on providing patients with compassionate, individualized care, and our affiliation with Planetree provides us with a unique approach for realizing that goal.”

Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month is sponsored and coordinated by Planetree, a not-for-profit organization based in Derby, Connecticut, partnering with health care organizations across the globe to advance patient-centered approaches to care.

Bert Fish Medical Center has been actively engaged in implementing the Planetree model for the past four years, focusing on service excellence and providing meaningful opportunities for patients and families to be actively involved in their care. Planetree programs currently in place include patient birthday and anniversary celebrations, bedside origami towel swans, a treasure chest for patients filled with puzzles, books and games, a prayer request box for patients to request prayer from the Prayer Team, patient-directed visitation schedules, lavender welcome bags, healthy cooking classes, hand massages, wireless internet and music in the lobby.

“Reorienting daily routines and standard processes to a more patient-centered approach can challenge long-held conventions. To foster sustainable organizational culture change requires persistence, perseverance, commitment and vision,” said Planetree President Susan Frampton. “Engaging patients and families is a cornerstone of providing quality health care. True partnerships humanize and personalize the patient experience.”

Located in the city of New Smyrna Beach, Bert Fish Medical Center is a 112-bed, nonprofit acute care facility. As the community hospital for Southeast Volusia County, Bert Fish Medical Center is the primary health care provider for over 50-thousand residents and thousands of annual visitors. Bert Fish Medical Center offers a wide range of services including ICU, PCU, surgery program, radiology, an oncology center, a wound care center and one of the busiest emergency departments of any hospital its size. Bert Fish Medical Center is the only hospital in Florida to be a Planetree ™partner, joining over a hundred other hospitals around the country in focusing on a renewed spirit of patient-centered care.

Bert Fish Medical Center Supports National Depression Screening Day With Free, Anonymous Mental Health Screenings

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Bert Fish Medical Center will offer free mental health screenings for depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders on Thursday, October 6, from 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., in the Schildecker Outpatient Lobby of the hospital, 401 Palmetto Street, New Smyrna Beach.

 This event is being held in conjunction with Mental Illness Awareness Week and on National Depression Screening Day (NDSD). The goals of NDSD are to call attention to the prevalence of mental health disorders in our society; to educate people about the signs of suicide and symptoms of mental health disorders, as well as the availability of effective treatments for mental health disorders; and to connect those in need to the mental health care system. This year, NDSD will feature new educational materials on stress and protecting emotional-well being during tough economic times.

The screenings will include a mental health self-assessment, a variety of educational resources, a confidential interview with a mental health professional to discuss results, and a list of local referral resources.

National Depression Screening Day is the nation’s oldest voluntary, community-based screening program that provides free screening and referral information for treatment of depression. More than half a million people each year have been screened for depression since 1991.

Depression is a common yet serious medical condition, characterized by pervasive low mood; loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities; and significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. Other symptoms can include difficulty concentrating, loss of energy, trouble sleeping, changes in weight, feelings of worthlessness and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

For more information about this event please call Janine Kosek, MSW, Clinical Coordinator, at 386-424-6546 or visit www.bertfish.com.

Bert Fish Medical Center Auxiliary Presents Hospital with $50,000 Check

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Bert Fish Medical Center was presented with a $50,000 donation from the hospital volunteer Auxiliary on Tuesday, September 20. Charlie Hemler, Auxiliary president, presented the check to Steve Harrell, hospital CEO, at the Auxiliary’s general meeting.

This is a significant gift not only because of the size but also due to the fact that paired with last year’s donation of $150,000, the Auxiliary wholly funded a new, high-tech nurse call system that will improve communication between patients and hospital staff and will ultimately improve patient care. The system is scheduled to be in place before the end of this year.

“I express my sincere thanks to the Auxiliary for their continued dedication of time, energy, and resources to make the Patient Care experience at Bert Fish the best it can be,” said Harrell. “They are such an integral part of who we are and what we do here in Southeast Volusia.”

More than 300 volunteers donate their time each year through the Bert Fish Medical Center Auxiliary, amounting to thousands of hours in volunteer service. In addition to giving of their time, the Auxiliary also raises money to support the hospital through various initiatives including lobby sales, the hospital gift shop, and the Pink Door thrift shop located at 115 Live Oak, New Smyrna Beach.