Cape Fear Valley EMS World Champs Again

FAYETTEVILLE – For the second time in three years, a Cape Fear Valley Health EMS team has won the most prestigious EMS competition in the nation.

The 9^th Annual Journal of Emergency Services (JEMS) Games was held last week in Baltimore, M.D., pitting the best EMS teams against one another in graded competition. The games are open to any team in the world. This year’s participants included powerhouse squads from Miami-Dade, Las Vegas and FDNY.

Cumberland County EMS paramedics Lee Westbrook, Larry Smith, Brian Pearce and Joseph Crowder, all EMT-Ps, represented Cape Fear Valley Health in winning the two-day competition. Westbrook is a Lead Paramedic. Smith is a Fleet Maintenance Supervisor. Pearce is Director of Cumberland County EMS. And Crowder, the team’s newest member, is a Training Officer and Assistant Chief over EMS system development.

Pearce, Smith and Westbrook have known, worked and competed in EMS competitions together for more than a decade. They reside in the Eastover community a few miles apart and have volunteered with the Eastover Fire Department, where they respond to fire and medical emergencies.

All the competing teams were tested for clinical skills during day one, including a hazardous materials accident simulation and a heart attack response. The three teams with the best overall scores advanced to the final round and were graded on mock disaster drill performance before an audience of their peers.

Cape Fear Valley’s final scenario was a tornado involving seven patients and just 20 minutes to treat each victim. The simulation was eerily reminiscent for Westbrook and Pearce, who both responded to tornadoes that ravaged western Cumberland County last April.

Cumberland County EMS will receive approximately $20,000 in EMS prizes for the victory, including a $10,000 video airway device, a training mannequin and carbon monoxide detector. 

Cape Fear Valley’s EMS team first won the JEMS competition in 2010, beating 16 other teams. That year’s squad included Dave Cuddeback, a Duplin County EMS training officer, who served as a technical advisor to Westbrook, Smith and Pearce. 

Culbreth Named 7 South Manager

FAYETTEVILLE – Melissa Culbreth, BSN, has been named Patient Care Manager for 7 South at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

The Fayetteville native joined Cape Fear Valley Health in 2004 as a Staff Nurse on 7 South. She previously held the position of Nursing Supervisor. Prior to that, she was a Staff Nurse in the Emergency Department. 

Culbreth received her associate’s degree in Nursing from Sampson Community College in Clinton. She received her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing, based in Illinois.

In her new duties, Culbreth will be responsible for all patient care services within 7 South, including care for joint replacement patients. 

Burg Named Supply Chain Director

FAYETTEVILLE – Jeff Burg has been appointed Corporate Director of Supply Chain Services at Cape Fear Valley Health.

The Miami native has more than 30 years of managerial experience and previously served as Director of Materials Management / Environmental Services at BryanLGH Health System in Lincoln, Neb. Prior to that, he was Director of Environmental Services with the health system.

Burg earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He received his master's degree in Health Services Administration also from Central Michigan University. 

In his new position, Burg will oversee central purchasing and supplies management for the health system.

Faircloth Named 3 Valley Pavilion Manager

FAYETTEVILLE – Robin Faircloth, RN, has been appointed Patient Care Manager for 3 Valley Pavilion at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

The Massachusetts native joined Cape Fear Valley Health in 1993 as a Staff Nurse. She was previously Patient Care Manager of 3 Valley Pavilion – South. Faircloth was a Resource Nurse at 3 Valley Pavilion prior to that.

She received her associate’s degree in Nursing from Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Mass., and is currently pursing her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from The College Network. 

Cape Fear Valley Named Top Performing Hospital

FAYETTEVILLE – Cape Fear Valley Health has been named a Top Performing hospital for 2011 under QUEST, a performance program developed by the federal government.

Based on third-year results, the health system received awards for top performance in the areas of saving lives, safely reducing patient care costs, and delivering the most reliable and effective care.

As a result, Cape Fear Valley will receive a $20,000 monetary award for meeting its goals under the program. 

QUEST was created in 2008 by the Institute for Health Improvement and the Premier healthcare alliance. Its goal is to incentivize hospitals to increase healthcare quality, while also reducing costs, to prepare for changes in the healthcare industry.

Cape Fear Valley has been named a Top Performing hospital for all three years of the project.

More than 150 hospitals nationwide joined QUEST in 2008 to set initial performance goals and then try to meet them annually under the project. Participating hospitals can collaborate and share knowledge with each other to develop best practices, which benefits all hospitals.

The federal government will soon begin penalizing poor-performing hospitals by reducing their Medicare reimbursement payments. Higher performing hospitals will receive bonuses. QUEST hospitals consistently outperform other hospitals at a lower cost, benefitting everyone.

Cape Fear Valley Earns National Quality Award

FAYETTEVILLE – Cape Fear Valley Health is being rewarded for consistently delivering high quality care.

The health system was named an Attainment Award winner under the Health Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) Project for 2011. As a result, Cape Fear Valley Health will receive $50,000 in additional insurance reimbursement payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The federal agency partnered with the Premier healthcare alliance to create the pay-for-performance study six years ago. The project’s goal is to improve patient care quality and to determine if financial incentives are effective at improving patient care quality among hospitals. Just 272 hospitals participate in the study nationwide.

Cape Fear Valley Health won for its work in the areas of heart attack, heart failure, heart bypass surgery, pneumonia, hip and knee replacement surgery and surgical care improvement. To date, the health system has received 23 HQID awards and received more than $450,000.

CMS issued out approximately $12 million in additional incentive payments to just 211 hospitals in 2011. Overall, CMS has awarded more than $60 million throughout all six years of the HQID project.
HQID is the first CMS incentive program of its kind. It measures such things as prescribing a daily aspirin to prevent heart attacks and teaching heart failure patients to weigh themselves daily. These are considered best practices, which lead to best patient outcomes.

The Premier healthcare alliance is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide and 78,000 other healthcare facilities, which collaborate to improve quality and cost-effectiveness. To learn more, visit www.premierinc.com.

CMS Continues Medicare, Medicaid Funding To Cape Fear Valley

FAYETTEVILLE – Cape Fear Valley Medical Center entered into a collaborative agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that ensures that Medicare funding to the hospital is not terminated.

The arrangement allows Cape Fear Valley the opportunity to step back and take a methodical, comprehensive review of all policies and procedures at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center instead of simply rushing through another survey process. Cape Fear Valley has asked The Greeley Company, a nationally recognized CMS policy expert, to assist in the review process.

Cape Fear Valley has been working with The Greeley Company since Dec. 2, 2011, to make improvements in the Emergency Department and the discharge documentation process. Among the improvements in the ED are the addition of a physician in the triage area to provide more timely medical screening exams and the addition of a clinical person in the ED waiting room to perform reassessments on patients and work with the triage nurse and ED physician to identify patients whose condition may warrant a higher priority.

“We welcome this opportunity to work in partnership with CMS,” said Michael Nagowski, Cape Fear Valley Health Chief Executive Officer. “Cape Fear Valley has worked with CMS and has been recognized for five years in a row as part of the Healthcare Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) project. To date the health system has received 23 HQID awards and received more than $450,000 in additional payments from CMS. We expect this collaboration with CMS will further enhance our operations and quality.”