June 11, 2018

In a hospital that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it is good to take a moment to recognize the hard-working colleagues around you. The clinicians and staff who provide care in OHSU Hospital and Doernbecher Children's Hospital care for patients with acute needs and advanced illness, while simultaneously helping tomorrow's health professionals prepare for independent practice.

Each year, the OHSU Professional Board recognizes exemplary contributions to patient care during its Professional Staff awards ceremony. "This is our opportunity to recognize people in the institution who are really making a difference," said Paul Flint, M.D., chair of the OHSU Professional Board and professor and chair of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, OHSU School of Medicine, during the June 7 ceremony.

Congratulations to the following clinicians and patient care teams for receiving the 2018 Professional Staff Awards for Excellence.

Innovation in New Models of Clinical Care and Interdisciplinary Teams

• The inpatient hospice pilot team: Jessica Bordley, M.D., assistant professor of medicine (hematology and medical oncology), OHSU School of Medicine; Ines Koerner, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, OHSU School of Medicine; Alicia Sampson, B.S.N., R.N., quality specialist, Healthcare Quality Management; Travis Scott, B.S.N., R.N., nurse educator, Healthcare Clinical Education Services; and Susan Yoder, B.S.N., R.N., director of patient relations, OHSU Healthcare

• Why they won: "OHSU saw a need to supplement our already excellent comfort care model with an additional option for our patients and their families with the creation of a General Inpatient Hospice Program. This multi-disciplinary team brought this to fruition by first running a neurosciences pilot then expanding to cardiovascular patients. This required input from many levels of the organization. In addition to improving end of life care for patients and families, this program has had positive impact on our quality safety initiatives."

Clinical Quality and Systems-Based Clinical Care

• Daisuke Yamashita, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, who, upon receiving the award, recognized the OHSU Practice Plan for the opportunity to do this work and called it "truly a team award."

• Why he won: "Dr. Yamashita is the medical director of the Family Medicine Department and has done significant work regarding appointment access for our patients. In the past 1.5 years they have significantly decreased wait times for both return patient and new patient appointments. Additional changes were made to ensure availability of urgent appointments. Daisuke is a leader in improving clinical quality, and other clinics look to him for guidance in these areas."

Professionalism at OHSU

• George Keepers, M.D., professor and chair of psychiatry, OHSU School of Medicine. Sean Stanley, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, OHSU School of Medicine, accepted the award on Dr. Keepers' behalf. 

• Why he won: "Dr. Keepers has made a tremendous contribution to professionalism at OHSU on multiple levels. He has served as chair of the Committee on Professionalism for several years and in this capacity he also plans the annual Professionalism Week every November at OHSU. Dr. Keepers serves as a resource and counselor to many across campus for questions related to faculty mentoring, coaching and development."

Missions of Education and Research in the Clinical Setting

• Office of Clinical Integration and Evidence-based Practice: Elizabeth Crabtree, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of clinical integration and EBP, OHSU Healthcare, and assistant professor of medical informatics and clinical epidemiology, OHSU School of Medicine; Doan Ha, Dr.PH., M.P.H., program manager for EBP implementation; Marcy Hager, M.A., program manager for EBP guideline development; Stephanie Halvorson, M.D., associate professor of medicine (hospital medicine), OHSU School of Medicine; and Tovah Kohl, M.A., program manager for EBP guideline development.

• Why they won: "The Office of Clinical Integration and Evidence-based Practice, and all providers and staff who have participated in the creation of evidence-based practice guidelines this year, have continually lived up to their vision of promoting evidence-based best practices that support clinical decision-making. This work is grounded in medical knowledge, supported by research, and disseminated through education. … This body of work has enriched OHSU, our providers, and staff on multiple levels."

Improving the Culture of Service Excellence

• Neisha D'Souza, M.D. R '13 F '14, assistant professor of psychiatry, OHSU School of Medicine.

• Why she won: "Dr. D'Souza has worked relentlessly to improve the patient experience at the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic. … She has worked tirelessly to improve the process for screening patients to come to our clinic, which ensures patients are seen in a timely manner by a physician who is well-suited for them, or that they are referred elsewhere if we are unable to meet their needs. … She has worked hard to improve the resident educational experience, which in turn helps the many patients we serve."

 

Pictured (top to bottom):

Team care: (left to right) Renee Edwards, M.D., M.B.A., chief medical officer, OHSU Healthcare, with members of the inpatient hospice team, including Alicia Sampson, Susan Yoder, Dr. Koerner, Dr. Bordley, Travis Scott, and Dr. Flint.

Improving access: Drs. Flint, Yamashita and Edwards

Follow the evidence: (left to right) Dr. Flint, Tovah Kohl, Doan Ha, Dr. Halvorson and Dr. Edwards

With trainees and patients in mind: Drs. Flint, D'Souza and Edwards

Celebrate: Atif Zaman, M.D., senior associate dean for clinical and faculty affairs, OHSU School of Medicine (in yellow shirt) chats with the EBP team and Dr. Edwards following the ceremony.

All photos courtesy OHSU/Jordan Sleeth