“CaroMont Regional Medical Center is excited and proud to offer this innovative service to our community,” said Tristy Love, Stroke Coordinator.  “Acute stroke patients will be evaluated by the ED physician and receive a neurology consult within minutes of arrival. Our goal is to provide rapid evaluation and treatment for stroke and other neurological emergencies; and, to provide our patients and the communities we serve, with the best possible outcomes.”

Quick assessment and treatment is critical for patients with stroke and other neurological conditions. When an ED physician at Caromont suspects that a patient is having a stroke, SOC are ready to evaluate the patient within 15 minutes via a cart enabled with two-way sound and video much like Skype. With the assistance of the ED physician and staff, the neurologist will facilitate an examination of the patient, view the CT scan and have an opportunity to interact with the patient and family members. The neurologist, along with the ED physician, will make an assessment to determine the best treatment for the patient.

The patient response has been very positive, with the only downside being that hugging a computer screen just isn’t the same as hugging a real person. However, Caromont physicians and nurses are more than happy to provide hugs when necessary!

Specialists On Call currently provides teleneurology services to more than 300 hospitals nationwide and has conducted over 60,000 consultations via telemedicine since the company’s inception.  Their experience and commitment to clinical quality has earned them both the leadership position within the telemedicine industry as well as The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval.

“With stroke, time is of the essence,” commented Specialists On Call’s CEO, Dr. Joe Peterson.  “We offer fast, high quality neurology care from highly trained neurologists.  It’s a win for the patients, their families and Caromont Regional Medical Center.  We’re thrilled to be working with them and making a real difference within their community.”

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About Caromont

Caromont is an independent, not-for-profit healthcare system located in Gaston County, North Carolina. It is the county’s largest employer employing nearly 4,000 employees and is supported by a medical staff of more than 300 physicians. Caromont is comprised of eight affiliates including Gaston Hospice and Caromont Medical Group, 43 primary and specialty practices and its flagship facility, Caromont Regional Medical Center (CRMC), a 435-bed magnet hospital for nursing excellence.

Caromont is a viable health care entity that provides the community with high quality care at a minimal cost and is committed to ensuring that every man, woman and child in Gaston County is given every opportunity to live a happier and healthier life. Caromont has been recognized for its quality and overall performance by the following experts:

• Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals 2012
• Top Performer in the Joint Commission Key Quality Measures for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical cal in 2010.
• HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ for 4 years in a row, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
• A 2011 Top Performing Hospital for providing high quality, efficient care as a part of the Premier Healthcare Alliance QUEST program. 

CaroMont Health is located at 2525 Court Drive in Gastonia, N.C., and can be reached at (704) 834-2000. Additional information is available at www.caromonthealth.org.

About Specialists On Call

Specialists On Call, Inc. (SOC), is the leading provider of physician consultation via telemedicine.  The first Joint Commission-accredited telemedicine company, SOC provides more than 300 hospitals across the US including leading health systems with vital 24/7/365

on-demand access to highly qualified, telemedicine-experienced, board certified, fellowship trained specialty physicians.  SOC reduces the cost of on-call coverage, provides otherwise hard to find specialty coverage, improves patient care & hospital financial dynamics, and improves the workplace satisfaction of physicians and staff at our hospital clients by reducing the call burden and providing specialty backup.

For more information please visit www.specialistsoncall.com

Media Contact
Amy Levitt, Marketing Director
571-882-0722
levitt@soctelemed.com

This year, Gaston County is host to a community Food Revolution Day event to raise awareness about the importance of good food and better education for everyone focusing on three simple actions—cook it, share it, live it. Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s popular campaign to get people cooking at home, the event at Discover YOU! will be jam-packed with fun, interactive booths and demonstrations surrounding the revolution theme. People will walk away with tips on how to consume more nutritious, wholesome foods that are locally available.

Featured Chef, Megan Lambert with Johnson and Wales will share a special recipe from her very own book which will be available for purchase on-site.

Other featured guests and demos include:

• Master Gardener
• Girls on the Run
• MyPlate
• The Healthy Kitchen
• Eating Local
• Mt. Holly Farmer’s Market
• Cancer Fighting Foods
• Strawberry Sale
• Build your own Trail Mix

And, as added bonus, children 17 and under who visit Discover YOU!, an interactive health and wellness experience while attending the event, will receive free admission with a paid adult.

So, if you’ve been waiting for an excuse to get healthier and get educated about leading a healthier lifestyle, now’s the time! Visit Discover YOU!’s Facebook page for more information and to RSVP to attend.

Quality and safety standards are in place for a reason across every service and industry with the sole purpose to protect the health and wellbeing of consumers including healthcare. Because of healthcare’s inherent purpose which is to save and improve people’s lives, healthcare agencies are held to even higher standards.

“This is very encouraging and reaffirms our trajectory of a culture of patient safety,” said Doug Luckett, Interim CEO. Patient safety is our number one priority everyday and we owe it to our community we serve to provide just that. We are honored again to receive this recognition and are encouraged to uphold this status through continuous improvements every year.”

The Hospital Safety Score was compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety (April 2013), Hospital Safety Score is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families.

“Earning an ‘A’ on the Hospital Safety Score demonstrates that this hospital has exhibited excellence in our national database of patient safety measures,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “I’d like to congratulate Caromont Regional Medical Center (CRMC) for your achievements and encourage you to continue to put a priority on the safety of your patients.”

To see CRMC’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, which provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. Local hospitals’ scores are also available on the free mobile app, available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s eight-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco).

About The Leapfrog Group

The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group

was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

About Caromont

Caromont is an independent, not-for-profit healthcare system located in Gaston County, North Carolina. It is the county’s largest employer employing nearly 4,000 employees and is supported by a medical staff of more than 300 physicians. Caromont is comprised of eight affiliates including Gaston Hospice and Caromont Medical Group, 43 primary and specialty practices and its flagship facility, Caromont Regional Medical Center (CRMC), a 435-bed magnet hospital for nursing excellence.

Caromont is a viable health care entity that provides the community with high quality care at a minimal cost and is committed to ensuring that every man, woman and child in Gaston County is given every opportunity to live a happier and healthier life. Caromont has been recognized for its quality and overall performance by the following experts:

• Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals 2012
• Top Performer in the Joint Commission Key Quality Measures for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical cal in 2010.
• HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ for 4 years in a row, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
• A 2011 Top Performing Hospital for providing high quality, efficient care as a part of the Premier Healthcare Alliance QUEST program.

CaroMont Health is located at 2525 Court Drive in Gastonia, N.C., and can be reached at (704) 834-2000. Additional information is available at www.caromonthealth.org. 

“We recognize that the difficult decision to change the Hospital’s name has been upsetting to some in our community.  As a veteran myself, I have invited the leaders of the Veterans’ groups to meet with me, Board Member Donnie Loftis and County Commissioner Tracy Philbeck, to discuss concerns around the name change and how Caromont plans to honor our heritage. We want to share the research and data behind the naming decision–a decision that was not made lightly,” said Doug Luckett, Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Caromont sincerely wants to ensure that our heritage remains the anchor of this organization and for all of our present and future veterans in Gaston County. “I am confident that we can come together around what is best for the independence of our community hospital while preserving the history that made it so great,” said Mr. Luckett.

In 2010, Caromont approached Gaston County Schools about taking their wellness program into the school system which was met immediately with open arms. The Health Revolution made its first pilot debut in the private school setting in 2011 followed by Gaston County Schools: Southwest Middle, Ashbrook High and last but not least, Bessemer City schools.

When Principal Rebecca Wilson first learned that her middle school would have the opportunity to take part in the program last fall, she was elated because she had already been considering a lifestyle change of her own. She realized that in order to help make this program a little more appealing to staff they would need to incorporate a little healthy competition. So, she asked the principal at the high school if he would be open to taking on the challenge with his team, as well. Of course, James Montgomery, Bessemer High Principal, couldn’t pass down a challenge, and so the Bessemer Middle vs. Bessemer High Revolution was set in motion.

Bessemer Middle School

Bessemer Middle was the first to begin the program in September 2012 to December 2012. Despite the holiday overlap, Principal Wilson rallied her colleagues to meet the program head on and much to her surprise 32 faculty members signed up. To start, each participant completed a Health Risk Appraisal comprised of questions pertaining to lifestyle habits that when answered total the individual wellness score. The aggregate of participants’ scores determines the overall team’s wellness score which in their case was 68. Everyone received a pedometer to wear at all times to calculate total number of steps walked each day.

Over the course of eight weeks, representatives from Caromont’s Wellness Team visited the middle school one afternoon a week to conduct health and wellness sessions with staff. Principal Wilson shared that because of teachers’ confining schedules’ it’s more difficult for them to find time for themselves, especially when it comes to their health.

Caromont experts representing various disciplines including nutrition, sleep medicine, fitness and stress management visited the school to educate and provide simple, yet effective tools to get and maintain healthier habits.

“I realized in the end that health isn’t just about weight loss,” said Wilson. “And because I’m so busy, I don’t take time for myself. But, now I’ve learned to dedicate at least 30 minutes each day to me.”

In the end, Wilson lost a total of seven pounds, dropped overall inches and lowered her blood pressure all of which helped her begin her journey to be healthier.

Bessemer High School

Principal Montgomery introduced the health concept to his staff during a leadership meeting this past January, and again it was received with full support. Beginning at the end of January, 45 high school faculty members voluntarily started their journey to health.

“I basically became the cheerleader for the staff providing them with encouragement and support along the way,” said Montgomery. “It was exciting and Caromont was terrific to work with!”

April 9marked the end of Bessemer High’s eight weeks to better health with 37 faculty members crossing the finish line.

The celebration…Drum roll, please…

Both schools were extremely successful. The combined weight loss for both schools totaled 220 pounds with eight faculty losing over ten pounds alone.

“This was the first time two schools issued a challenge to one another,” said Debbie Bellenger, Director of Health and Wellness at Caromont. It was very fun and added a little more excitement with the final outcomes and the grand finale. The partnership with Gaston County School System is valuable in supporting Caromont’s call to action to improve the health of the Gaston community,” said Bellenger.

But, like every competition, there has to be a winner. Based on the highest percentage of weight loss combined with the percentage of participants with improved wellness scores, the winner for the Bessemer Middle vs. Bessemer High Health Revolution Challenge 2013 went to…..Bessemer High!

Everyone walked away a winner with a healthy lunch and celebration.

Summary of Results:

WARNING: don’t let one meal set you back, particularly when you’re dining out.

Avoid 8 Dining Out Danger Zones

1. Large meat entrees pack calories.
Look at the calories in these big steaks, offered in many popular steakhouses:
– 14 oz New York 819
– 12 oz sirloin 877
– 12 oz prime rib 1,445

Solution: Choose fish or chicken or a small meat appetizer or share large portions with someone.

2. Drinks can be surprisingly high in calories when they are high in fat or large:
– Large soda, 26 oz 330
– King soda, 35 oz 430

A shake can have as many as 680-990 calories and creamy coffee drinks 240-510 calories.
These are high in fat and sugar. Alcohol is high in calories, too. Most people don’t realize how many beverage calories they are consuming.

Solution: Choose a small soda or a diet soda, unsweetened tea or water. Large sodas may seem like a bargain but they really pack too many calories for those watching their weight.

3. An unlimited bread basket is a big source of calories, especially when you’re hungry.

Solution: Keep in mind, there are around 77 calories per ounce for bread, not including butter!  Skip the bread basket and order salad with dressing on the side when you are seated.

4. Huge portions sabotage you:
Look how many calories are in this meal that is made of all large-sized items:
– Whopper with cheese, mayo 850
– Large fries 500
– Large soda 330
– Total 1,680

Solution: Choose regular sized burgers and pair with a salad (dressing on the side) and diet soda to reduce calories per meal to about 415.

5. Large desserts and baked items are too easy to eat without realizing calories:
Large desserts and baked items usually contain 500-1,000 calories.

Solution: Choose a lower calorie dessert, like fresh fruit or a small scoop of ice cream. Or share one large dessert between 4 people.

6. An all-you-can-eat buffet invites stuffing of high-fat/calorie items:
Research has shown that the greater the variety of foods offered at a meal, the more calories are consumed. Most all-you-can-eat buffets contain foods that are laden with sugar, fat and calories.

Solution: Choose an all-you-can-eat salad bar and GO LOWFAT!

7. Going out hungry invites stuffing:
Solution: Eat a small low-fat snack or meal like fruit before you go out. That way you will make better choices and you won’t overeat.

8. High-fat foods pack on pounds:
Foods that are fried or contain a lot of fat and cheese usually contain about double the calories as their plain low-fat counterparts. Two ounces of French fries packs a hefty 174 calories, but a two-ounce baked potato only 52.

Solution: Try to select restaurants where baked and grilled items are a specialty. Avoid foods with a lot of fat or cheese. Choose a large low-fat salad and then small appetizer.
Source: FoodandHealth.communicationstm

Many of our own employees and volunteers are honored veterans. We absolutely want our community to understand our deep regard for them and all veterans in our community. This esteem could never be diminished regardless of what the future may hold for health care. Thank you to all those who have called and e-mailed to express your gratitude for what CaroMont does for those who depend on us for health, healing and hope.

Recognized for the aforementioned and its mission to be a leader in promoting individual health and vibrant communities, the second place 2013 Healthiest Employer Award for large business this year goes to CaroMont Health.

Friday, a crowd of about 300 gathered uptown to celebrate recent accomplishments at the Charlotte’s Business Journal’s Healthiest Employer Awards Luncheon and health expo. Among those present to receive the award on behalf of CaroMont Health was Jerry Levine, Chief Medical Officer, Andrea Serra, Vice President of Health and Wellness and Debbie Bellenger, Health and Wellness Director.

“This achievement is the result of our incredible team of employees,” said Andrea Serra, VP. “And, it’s because of our employees’ persistence, dedication and inspiration that we are on the road to achieving our goal of a healthier lifestyle.”

In 2010, CaroMont’s nearly 4,000 employees began their journey to health and wellness. By taking employee goals and weaving them into corporate health strategies, the motivation for change started happening. These included incentives for healthy behaviors, offering clinical health risk appraisals (CHRAs) to employees and changing the philosophy of food service management from a retail-focus to a health focus all of which set the culture shift in motion.

Today, when you walk into CaroMont’s cafeteria, employees and visitors really have no excuse when it comes to choosing healthy meal options. The color-coded food program easily signifies the healthiest meals and the Weight Watchers point system serves as a guide for patrons following this nutrition program. Healthy foods are now less expensive, more accessible and more bountiful. Calorie and fat content prompt customers to pause before splurging on that chocolate chip cookie and opting for a succulent, red apple fresh from the local farmer’s market. And, for those who prefer international cuisine, sushi is made fresh daily.

The healthy food selection goes beyond just the cafeteria. All vending machines throughout the hospital are stocked with 60 percent healthy snacks and a Registered Dietitian oversees the creation of hospital catered meals for meetings and events.

Since the health revolution began, there are more employees at a healthy weight and less obese now than two years ago.

Health and fitness is also significant to employees’ wellness. Formerly Cardiac Rehab, the enhanced CaroMont Health and Fitness Center offers over 40 cardio and strength training classes each week all the while under the clinical surveillance. The center is free to employees and is offered for a nominal fee to families, and is also open to the community. Some employees have taken their health goals to an all new high and are now certified instructors in Zumba and cycling, made possible through on-site training at the fitness center.

Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the ever increasing demands of life, and over time, can lead to serious health problems. This is why stress management is so important to a person’s overall health. CaroMont gets this and now provides on-site stress management workshops and exercises for employees throughout the work week. Instead of allowing stress to take over, CaroMont employees can take advantage of yoga classes, guided walks during lunch and breaks and other stress reduction techniques led by the Wellness Team.

Other wellness incentives include metabolic and circulatory self-management programs, exercise consultations, personal training, fitness testing and new fitness center member orientation and health screens and tobacco cessation classes. CaroMont is a smoke-free facility.

“The journey to health and wellness is just that, a journey,” said Serra.  “It’s a marathon—not a sprint—to the finish line, and our eye is on the prize—to make CaroMont Health and Gaston County a healthier place to live.” 

CaroMont Health placed fourth overall in all divisions of the Corporate Challenge.

Since last year, CaroMont has focused on two strategic goals: 1) to increase the number of EE’s moving three or more days per week, and 2) to increase the number of EE’s at a healthy weight. And, what better way to motivate than to train for the Charlotte Corporate Cup? By way of health and wellness programs at work, employees met not only the organizational challenge but also a personal goal.

“The workforce fully embraced this challenge and were there on race day to enjoy the event and keep moving together,” said Debbie Bellenger, Health and Wellness Director.  “This included three members of Senior Leadership team who ran and volunteered with us!  We are delighted to bring the Cup to CaroMont!”

Overall, 2,750 runners showed up to run this year’s race. Money raised from registrations will go to support the YMCA and all its many services/programs that nurture the potential of kids and teens, promote healthy living, foster a sense of social responsibility and strengthen the foundations of community.