News & Events

The Medical Center Expands Newborn Care & Safety Program with Kohl’s
Mon  Feb 15, 2010

The Medical Center has expanded its obstetrics education class offerings for area residents with the help of Kohl’s Cares for Kids®. Because of Kohl’s support in the form of a $24,874 grant awarded to Commonwealth Health Foundation in October 2009, The Medical Center is extending the reach of Newborn Care and Safety classes for expectant parents.

Beginning this month, The Medical Center will offer Newborn Care and Safety classes at the Housing Authority on a monthly basis. The class teaches expectant parents essential skills that not only keep their baby healthy and safe, but also help parents feel confident and comfortable in caring for their newborn.

“In the Newborn Care and Safety class, parents learn everything from proper techniques for holding their baby to providing CPR in emergency situations,” said Amber Herman, OB Clinical Manager for The Medical Center. “While we typically have several thousand participants in our prenatal education classes every year, we know there is still a significant number of people we’re not reaching. By taking our classes to the Housing Authority, we’re able to help parents who may not otherwise have an opportunity to participate in prenatal education.”

The classes will be taught at the Housing Authority Learning Center on the last Tuesday of every month from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. All classes are offered free of charge, and the first class takes place on February 23. The Kohl’s grant also funds the purchase of safety tote bags for expectant parents who take part in the Newborn Care and Safety class. The tote bags, which include items such as a DNA identification kit, bath water temperature tester, infant CPR memo board, and baby safety gift set, are provided to parents at no cost.

The Medical Center and Kohl’s first partnered in 2006, and since then, Kohl’s has donated more than $74,000 to benefit children’s health initiatives in the community. With the grant money, The Medical Center has constructed two community walking trails at local elementary schools, and this is the second year to utilize the grant for expectant parents and their newborns.

Kohl's commitment to Commonwealth Health Foundation and The Medical Center is made possible through the Kohl's Cares for Kids philanthropic initiative. Kohl’s Cares for Kids includes a merchandise program featuring $5 books and plush toys where 100% of net profits go toward supporting hospital partnerships like this one. Through 2008, Kohl's has raised more than $126 million dollars through its merchandise program. Other components of Kohl's Cares for Kids include Kohl's A-Team associate volunteer program; the Kohl’s Kids Who Care® Scholarship Program, recognizing stand-out kids for volunteer efforts in their communities; and fundraising gift cards for local schools and nonprofit organizations.

Kohl’s Department Stores Award Grant for Newborn Care and Safety
Tue  Sep 22, 2009

Kohl’s Cares for Kids® has awarded Commonwealth Health Foundation with a $24,874 grant in support of The Medical Center’s newborn care and safety program.

The grant will fund the purchase of incentive safety bags for expectant parents who take part in The Medical Center’s Newborn Care and Safety class. The safety bags, which include items such as a DNA identification kit, bath water temperature tester, infant CPR memo board, choke tube tester, and baby gift set are provided to parents free of charge thanks to the generosity of Kohl’s Care for Kids®. The grant will also help The Medical Center provide additional newborn care and safety classes in the community.

“Currently, the Newborn Care and Safety class is taught one to two times per month at The Medical Center Health & Wellness Center in Greenwood Mall. This year’s grant will enable expansion of the Newborn Care and Safety class offerings by helping us reach further into the community,” said Amber Herman, OB Clinical Manager for The Medical Center. “Our goal is to reach out to those parents in high risk populations who may not have the opportunity to participate in prenatal education.”

“Since we began partnering with Kohl’s four years ago, they have donated more than $74,000 to benefit children’s health initiatives in our community” said Doris Thomas, Vice President of Marketing and Development for Commonwealth Health Corporation, parent company of The Medical Center. “With the grants we have constructed two community walking trails, and this our second year to utilize the grant for expectant parents and their newborns.”

Kohl's commitment to Commonwealth Health Foundation and The Medical Center is made possible through the Kohl's Cares for Kids philanthropic initiative. Kohl’s Cares for Kids includes a merchandise program featuring $5 books and plush toys where 100% of net profits go toward supporting hospital partnerships like this one. Through 2008, Kohl's has raised more than $126 million dollars through its merchandise program. Other components of Kohl's Cares for Kids include Kohl's A-Team associate volunteer program; the Kohl’s Kids Who Care® Scholarship Program, recognizing stand-out kids for volunteer efforts in their communities; and fundraising gift cards for local schools and nonprofit organizations.

About Kohl’s Department Stores

Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. Kohl’s operates 1,022 stores in 49 states. A company committed to the communities it serves, Kohl’s has raised more than $126 million for children’s initiatives nationwide through its Kohl’s Cares for Kids® philanthropic program, which operates under Kohl's Cares, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. For a list of store locations and information, or for the added convenience of shopping online, visit www.kohls.com.



About Commonwealth Health Foundation

Commonwealth Health Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Commonwealth Health Corporation (CHC). Commonwealth Health Foundation helps build relationships and partnerships across Southcentral Kentucky that will inspire charitable giving by individuals, foundations, corporations and organizations. These gifts help support the mission of CHC to care for people and improve the quality of life in the communities it serves. For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.commonwealthhealthfoundation.org or call (270)796-5543.



About The Medical Center

The Medical Center at Bowling Green is the flagship hospital for Commonwealth Health Corporation (CHC). Located in Bowling Green, Ky., The Medical Center is a 337-bed, full service, not-for-profit hospital specializing in heart, cancer care, obstetrics and neonatology, and orthopaedic services. With a mission to care for people and improve the quality of life in the communities it serves, CHC and its entities including The Medical Center at Bowling Green contributed $56.9 million in community benefit in fiscal year 2009. The Medical Center treats patients regardless of their ability to pay and annually provides millions in community benefit through charity care for the uninsured and shortfalls in governmental reimbursements (Medicare and Medicaid). To learn more, visit www.TheMedicalCenter.org.

Robotic Surgery Now Available at The Medical Center
Tue  Sep 1, 2009

The Medical Center is the first facility in Southcentral Kentucky to offer robotic minimally invasive surgery. The da Vinci® Surgical System, a $1.5 million investment, incorporates the latest advances in robotics and computer technology. The Medical Center will begin using da Vinci to treat patients with prostate cancer through prostatectomy, an operation to remove the prostate, and other urologic procedures. da Vinci will also be used for gynecologic surgery including hysterectomies.

“The da Vinci system provides surgeons with increased visibility, more precise control and a wider range of motion,” says Matthew E. Rutter, M.D., a board certified urologist with Graves-Gilbert Clinic who leads the da Vinci surgical team at The Medical Center. Dr. Rutter relocated to Bowling Green from Toledo, Ohio in August where he served as Director of Laparoscopy and Minimally Invasive Urology at the University of Toledo Medical Center and as Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Toledo College of Medicine. Since 2007, Dr. Rutter has performed over 200 robotic surgeries with the da Vinci Surgical System.

“The da Vinci system is ideal for delicate urologic surgery like prostatectomy, where the target site is not only tightly confined but also surrounded by nerves affecting urinary control and sexual function,” said Dr. Rutter. Nerve fibers and blood vessels are attached to the prostate gland. To spare these nerves, surgeons use the precision, vision and control provided by da Vinci to delicately and precisely separate them from the prostate before its removal.

By enhancing surgical capabilities, the da Vinci Surgical System helps to improve clinical outcomes. Patients may experience the following benefits over conventional open surgery: reduced trauma to the body, reduced blood loss and need for transfusions, less post-operative pain and discomfort, less risk of infection, shorter hospital stay, faster recovery and return to normal daily activities, and less scarring. Recent studies suggest that da Vinci prostatectomy may offer improved cancer control and a lower incidence of impotence and urinary incontinence.

During a robotic procedure, the surgeon makes dime-size incisions in the patient’s abdomen and inserts a robotic arm through each opening. One arm holds a high resolution camera and the other three arms hold micro instruments. The surgeon then sits at a console a few feet from the patient. Using a binocular-like viewfinder, the surgeon views a magnified 3D image of the surgical site. The surgeon places his fingers in the controls, and his hand movements are translated into precise micro-movements of the instruments. The instruments can move 360 degrees – providing even better range of motion than the human wrist – making it much easier to access and maneuver in smaller, more intricate areas.

For more information about da Vinci prostatectomy, call Dr. Rutter at Graves-Gilbert Clinic at (270) 783-3343 or visit www.TheMedicalCenter.org/daVinci.

The Medical Center earns Top Performer status in Medicare, Premier Healthcare Alliance VBP Project
Tue  Aug 25, 2009

The Medical Center has been named a top performer in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Premier healthcare alliance value-based purchasing (VBP) project that rewards hospitals for delivering high quality care in five clinical areas.

Based on fourth-year results from the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) project, The Medical Center earned an award for Top Performance in the clinical area of coronary artery bypass graft, ranking it in the top 20 percent of hospitals participating in the project for this clinical area. The Medical Center also received four awards for Attainment in the clinical areas of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), pneumonia, coronary artery bypass graft, and hip and knee replacement. Attainment awards are given to hospitals that attain or exceed the median level composite quality score (CQS) benchmark from two years prior. Due to its successes, The Medical Center will receive a bonus payment of over $48,000 from CMS, which awarded incentive payments of approximately $12 million to 225 hospitals.

Over the course of the first four years of the project, The Medical Center has received six overall awards, including two Top Performance and four Attainment awards in four clinical areas, receiving approximately $78,000 in awards. CMS has awarded more than $36.5 million over the first four years of the project.

“At The Medical Center, providing outstanding patient care is at the center of our mission,” said Connie Smith, Chief Executive Officer of The Medical Center. “We continually focus on quality improvement, and these awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff to provide the highest level of care for our patients.”

“The successes of the hospitals – small and large, urban and rural, teaching and non-teaching – in the HQID project have led to its consideration as the basis for key national health reforms,” said Susan DeVore, Premier president and CEO. “As the proposal of a national value-based purchasing program becomes a reality, hospitals participating in HQID will have six years experience with such a model.”



About the HQID project

The HQID is the first national project of its kind, designed to determine if economic incentives to hospitals are effective at improving the quality of inpatient care. Through the project, which has been extended by CMS for an additional three years, Premier collects a set of more than 30 evidence-based clinical quality measures from almost 250 hospitals across the country. The quality measures were developed by government and private organizations (for more information on the indicators, visit: www.qualitydemo.com). HQID tracks process and outcome measures in five clinical areas – acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), pneumonia, and hip and knee replacement.



About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

The Premier healthcare alliance is more than 2,200 U.S. hospitals and 58,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to improve healthcare quality and affordability. Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Premier has offices in San Diego, Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Washington.



About The Medical Center

The Medical Center at Bowling Green is the flagship hospital for Commonwealth Health Corporation (CHC). Located in Bowling Green, Ky., The Medical Center is a 302-bed, full service, not-for-profit hospital specializing in heart, cancer care, obstetrics and neonatology, and orthopaedic services. With a mission to care for people and improve the quality of life in the communities it serves, CHC and its entities including The Medical Center at Bowling Green contributed $55.7 million in community benefit in fiscal year 2008. The Medical Center treats patients regardless of their ability to pay and annually provides millions in community benefit through charity care for the uninsured and shortfalls in governmental reimbursements (Medicare and Medicaid). To learn more, visit www.TheMedicalCenter.org.

The Medical Center to Host Twelfth Annual Women's Conference
Tue  Aug 4, 2009

The Medical Center will present its twelfth annual women’s conference, A Day Just for Women, on Tuesday, September 29 at Sloan Convention Center from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“We are delighted to bring back Jeanne Robertson for this year’s women’s conference,” says Linda Rush, Director of Community Wellness for The Medical Center. “In 2006, she was a big hit, and we have had countless requests for her return. She will have new material, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for us.”

Jeanne Robertson is a humorist, motivational speaker and author from Burlington, North Carolina. She uses her positively funny style to illustrate that a sense of humor is much more than a laughing matter – it is a way of life. Her presentations will include Humor: Not Just for Laughs and Humor: An Integral Part of Success.

The second speaker is Dr. Leslie Crofford, a physician and professor at the University of Kentucky College Of Medicine. She also serves as the director of the University of Kentucky Center for the Advancement of Women’s Health. She will present Advancing the Health of Kentucky’s Women as well as facilitate an Ask the Physician: Q & A Session.

The cost of the conference is $50, which includes presentations, continental breakfast, lunch, health screenings and conference materials. Corporate tables of 10 are available for $450. Through participation in A Day Just for Women, the following continuing education units (CEUs) may be earned: 4.4 nursing CEUs and 4 dental hygienist CEUs. Registration deadline is Tuesday, September 1. However, early registration is encouraged due to seating limitations. For additional information on the conference, call (270) 745-1010 or 1-800-624-2318.

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