Community Health Network News Releases

Community Health Network to provide sports medicine program for Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township; New services expand healthcare relationship with school system

Community Health Network — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Indianapolis, IN---Students in the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township will have access to a wide range of sports medicine programs and services provided by Community Health Network, beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. The school board recently voted to extend the current partnership between the MSD of Lawrence Township and Community to include the sports medicine program and services. The comprehensive range of medical services now available in the school district is unique to Central Indiana.

The sports medicine program is part of a broader relationship between Community Health Network and the school system. Community launched an employee health and wellness center for the MSD of Lawrence Township employees and their covered dependents in April of 2011. The center, located at 8501 East 56^th Street, is housed in remodeled space at Community Health Pavilion-Fort Ben, and has a strong focus on wellness and disease prevention. Last July, Community Health Network hired the MSD of Lawrence Township school nurses to continue providing exceptional medical care for students, as well as enhancing the continuity of care with clinical education resources and support from the network.

The sports medicine program component calls for Community Health Network to provide athletic trainers to cover the school system’s middle and high schools, beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. A team physician will be available at each high school. Community will provide sports physicals to the middle and high schools. Other services will include a certified strength and conditioning coach at the high schools during the academic school year, as well as physical and occupational therapy available through Community’s outpatient Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers.

“It is thrilling to expand our long-standing partnership with Lawrence Township schools to the venue of sports medicine,” said Jon Fohrer, CEO of ambulatory services at Community Health Network. “The township has a long and storied history of athletic success and we look forward to working with its student athletes, as they continue on their path to excellence. Not only are these students shining stars within their sport, they can also be tremendous ambassadors in the community for healthy lifestyle choices.”

Community Health Network-employed nurses staff 20 school nurse clinics throughout Lawrence Township Schools. Community is providing additional nursing staff to support vacancies left by vacations and time off. The network also provides durable medical equipment to all the MSD of Lawrence Township school clinics, in-service educational seminars and support materials for nurses, and ensures proper state certification for all staff nurses.

"Lawrence Township is very pleased with the expansion of our Community Health Network partnership to include unprecedented nursing services for our children, said Joanie Emhardt, coordinator of health services for Lawrence Township schools. “Our nurses have become part of a larger team of professionals with access to resources that will ultimately improve the health and well-being of our students."

About Community Health Network

Ranked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana’s leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, health pavilions and doctor’s offices, as well as workplaces, schools and homes. As a non-profit health system with over 100 sites of care and affiliates throughout Central Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, specialty and acute care hospitals, surgery centers, home care services, MedChecks, behavioral health and employer health services. To learn more, visit eCommunity.com or call 800-777-7775.

About the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township

The ninth largest school district in the state, the MSD of Lawrence Township serves just under 16,000 students. Throughout Indiana, Lawrence Township is recognized as a “lighthouse” school district, a reputation built over the years based on the district’s award-winning staff, high-achieving students, supportive community, innovative educational programs, and nationally recognized character education initiative. Located in the northeast corner of the greater Indianapolis area, Lawrence is a residential suburban community of 95,000+ and home to Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park and Geist Reservoir. With families from widely diverse cultural, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds, the Lawrence community values and embraces diversity as one of its greatest strengths.

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Sickweather and Community Health Network team up for Super Bowl

Community Health Network — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Indianapolis, IN---While watchful eyes have been paying close attention to the weather forecast for Super Bowl weekend, another kind of forecast is being monitored by Sickweather, the world’s first real-time service that forecasts sickness and allows fans to self-report common illnesses, such as colds and the flu, based on their geographical location. After fans report illnesses at Sickweather.com, they’ll be able to schedule an online appointment at one of Community Health Network’s MedCheck locations for treatment. Appointments can be made via a smartphone through MedCheck WebAhead, a scheduling application.

"February is the height of cold and flu season in the U.S. and there will be plenty of Super Bowl patrons who won't let a cough stop them from going to the big game," said Graham Dodge, CEO & co-founder of Sickweather. "We'll not only be tracking the impact of the Super Bowl on the health of Indianapolis, but also directing visitors and locals alike to the nearest MedCheck clinics, so they can get the help that they need."

Community and Sickweather are placing reciprocal links on their respective web sites. Once on the Sickweather.com website, fans and visitors can see a Central Indiana map, along with the six MedCheck urgent care clinics located around Indianapolis. They can then automatically link to a quick and easy real-time appointment scheduling mobile application to book an appointment and avoid the wait.

"The Super Care Clinic, established by local healthcare providers and located in Super Bowl Village, is still the most convenient option for Super Bowl fans,” said Dan Rench, vice president of eBusiness at Community Health Network. “However, if they are staying with family and friends in surrounding areas of the city, our MedCheck WebAhead smartphone scheduling application can be a huge time saver.”

About Community Health Network

About Sickweather

Sickweather is an online social health network and the world’s first real-time sickness mapping and forecasting server, currently available in a public beta release. For more information, please visit: http://www.sickweather.com

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Howard Regional board approves letter of intent for affiliation with Community Health Network

Community Health Network — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Kokomo/Indianapolis, IN---James P. Alender, president and CEO of Howard Regional Health System, and Bryan Mills, president and CEO of Community Health Network, announced today that a letter of intent has been signed with respect to a formal affiliation between the two organizations. The signing of this document is a proactive response to dramatic changes pending in the healthcare industrydriven by futurehealthcare reform. It signifies completion of a significant step towards closer alignment and initiates a planning process that will allow Howard Regional Health System, as an affiliate of Community Health Network, to continue as a strong, locally-governed healthcare organization, whileserving as a regional medical center for north central Indiana.

“This exciting step toward a strong and vital future for locally-governed healthcare could not have been accomplished without the passionate dedication shown by the board members of both organizations,” Alender said. “Their commitment to solid fact finding, thoughtful strategy review and community benefit resulted in an agreement that seeks to protect current healthcare resources while pursuing many areas of growth. As hospitals continue to face the dauntingchallenges resulting from healthcare reform and greater than ever demands for medical care, our region is now well positioned for reliable, community-driven healthcare andinnovative responses and services.”

“We are thrilled to be working closely with Howard Regional on plans for the system’s affiliation with Community Health Network,” said Mills. “We strongly support the role local hospitals play in delivering convenient and accessible health care to residents in their communities, and we look forward to partnering with Howard Regional on identifying ways to make it easier for patients to get the comprehensive care they need.”

The announcement followed the January 26 meeting of Howard Regional’s Board of Trustees, which voted and approved pursuit of the affiliation. Because Howard Regional is a county hospital, partnering with Community is subject to the approval of the Howard County Council and the Howard County Commissioners.

“While there are still some uncertainties regarding the future of healthcare reform,” Alender said, “we have considered our strategic options and determined that it behooves us to make a timely decision about partnering with an organization that will allow us to continue to fulfill our mission to provide exceptional quality, patient-centered care. Community Health Network, with its compatible mission and values and track record of successful partnership arrangements, is the natural decision for both our hospital and our community at large.”

“In 2010, Howard provided close to $20.5 million in uncompensated and charity care in more than 17,000 hospital visits.” Alender continued. “This is up significantly from prior years. Although healthcare reform initially promised healthcare for all, the details of such a plan have not been finalized. Obviously, with the changing demographics and the challenges of the future for the Kokomo area, it is in our region’s best interest for Howard Regional to be able to maintain care for those who can’t otherwise afford it.”

Details of the letter of intent are based upon continuing to operate a full-service acute care hospital and other healthcare facilities in Howard County. Alender anticipates no disruption of services provided in Kokomo. “As a matter of fact,” Alender explained, “a major advantage of partnering with Community is that we will become a regional medical center. As a regional medical center we can continue, and enhance, our ability to provide specialized medical care locally.

The letter of intent also states that in the future, two-thirds of the Howard Regional Board of Trustees will be residents of Howard and contiguous counties, ensuring continued locally-based governance.

“Affiliation of Howard Regional with Community will provide Howard with access to the Community Health Network programs that an independent, stand-alone hospital could not possibly duplicate,” Alender said. “These include such things as enhanced group purchasing programs, lower-cost capital, health information and technology resources, and enhancements to current evidence-based medicine. Shared services will maximize the value to both organizations,” he added, “and will better position Howard Regional to respond to the regional challenges presented by healthcare reform and other changes in the healthcare industry.”

About Howard Regional Health System

Howard Regional Health System is a regional acute care hospital system comprised of two hospitals on three campuses with a total of 199 beds. Accredited by the Joint Commission, the system provides a broad range of acute care and ancillary services. Its Main Campus is the location of Howard’s acute care hospital, a number of physician offices and an extensive ambulatory surgery center. Howard Regional Health System West Campus Specialty Hospital offers inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services, and the Downtown Campus houses outpatient behavioral health. Howard-affiliated physician offices and specialized clinics are located throughout Howard County as well as in Clinton and Miami counties.

About Community Health Network

Ranked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is central Indiana’s leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, health pavilions and doctor’s offices, as well as workplaces, schools and homes. As a non-profit health system with over 100 sites of care and affiliates throughout central Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, specialty and acute care hospitals, surgery centers, home care services, MedChecks, behavioral health and employer health services. To learn more, visit eCommunity.com or call 800-777-7775.

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Health network announces Westview’s new name: Community Westview Hospital; Name change reflects alignment of osteopathic hospital with Community

Community Health Network — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Indianapolis, IN---In a move that capitalizes on its June 2011 affiliation agreement with Community Health Network, Westview Hospital has changed its name to Community Westview Hospital, officials announced today. New signage, to be placed starting this week, will reflect this name change.

“We are excited about Community Westview’s name change,” said Bryan Mills, president and CEO of Community Health Network. “This formal step in our affiliation signifies Community Westview’s advancing collaboration initiative. Meanwhile, with our newly expanded presence on Indianapolis’ west side, Community Health Network is happy to be increasing access to quality healthcare services for residents of West Central Indiana.”

Community Health Network plans additional growth of existing inpatient and outpatient care services on Community Westview’s Guion Road campus and in surrounding communities. For example, an ambulatory health pavilion is planned for Speedway, which would further increase access to coordinated healthcare services for local residents. The proposed health pavilion, which would be located along Main Street in downtown Speedway, would provide a variety of medical and health services including family practice and pediatric physician practices, as well as ancillary services such as lab, imaging and physical therapy. The health pavilion also would serve as a family practice residency training facility for osteopathic residents.

“Our collaboration with Community Health Network in the development of the health pavilion in Speedway is a great example of why we pursued this affiliation,” said Jon Anderson, president and CEO of Community Westview Hospital. “The expanded resources this affiliation affords is going to allow us to provide an expanded array of healthcare services important to meeting the health needs of the communities we serve.”

Besides expanding Community Health Network’s coverage on the west side, Community Westview Hospital will play a key role in helping Community Health Network grow its osteopathic medicine business. Patients receiving care at Community now have access to physicians offering osteopathic medicine, which focuses on a holistic approach to care that emphasizes wellness and prevention. In addition, Community Health Network and Community Westview Hospital strongly support the new College of Osteopathic Medicine at Marian University, currently under construction and scheduled to open in fall 2013.

About Community Health Network

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Community Health Network to provide clinical support and volunteers for Indy’s Super Cure; Network employees to volunteer time, expertise and breast tissue samples for project

Community Health Network — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Indianapolis, IN---Community Health Network will provide clinical support and volunteers for Indy’s Super Cure, a massive two-day event to obtain healthy breast tissue for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at IU Simon Cancer Center, which will serve as the kick-off to Super Bowl week in Indianapolis. Six Community Breast Care physicians, Timothy Goedde, M.D., Robert Goulet, M.D., Christina Kim, M.D., S. Chace Lottich, M.D., Nate Thepjatri, M.D., and Erin Zusan, M.D., along with more than 100 other Community Health Network employees, will volunteer onsite January 28 and 29 during Indy’s Super Cure, in an attempt to reach a goal of 700 tissue donors.

The Komen Tissue Bank is the only repository in the world to collect normal breast tissue and match it with serum, plasma and DNA. Leading breast cancer researchers believe the Komen Tissue Bank may be one of the keys to finding a cure for breast cancer. The focus of this tissue collection event is on minority women who are healthy and have not developed breast cancer. International researchers will study how normal tissue develops into malignant tissue, one key to ultimately finding a cure for the disease that strikes one in eight American women.

Community Breast Care, an integrated physician group at Community Health Network, is participating in the project with its entire team of physicians, who will perform a minimally-invasive procedure to collect the healthy tissue samples. In addition, Community’s Serve 360° employee volunteer initiative will assist Indy’s Super Cure, a project of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee, by offering volunteers who will serve as greeters, hosts, laboratory assistants, computer assistants, height/weight data collectors, phlebotomists, and surgical assistants at the event. Community employees are also volunteering to donate healthy tissue for the project.

“Each Super Bowl tries to leave a positive mark on the community where the game is played,” said Linda Hajduk, vice president of organizational effectiveness for Community Health Network. “However, this particular Super Bowl project has the potential to save lives in years to come, and Community Health Network is excited to play a major role it making it successful.”

The large volume of tissue samples to be collected at the event, from about 350 donors each day, is made possible by the ATEC® minimally-invasive auto breast biopsy device. It allows physicians to extract healthy tissue from the donor’s breast in a quick and minimally-invasive manner. The device was developed by Timothy Goedde, M.D., breast surgical oncologist at Community Health Network.

“This entire tissue bank project has the potential to unlock some of the mysteries of breast cancer, not only for treatment advances, but also for prevention,” said Goedde. “I am happy that Community is a part of this project.”

Community Health Network has opened two locations this month to host orientation sessions with city-wide volunteers participating in Indy’s Super Cure.

About Community Health Network

Ranked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana’s leader in access to innovative and compassionate healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, in convenient health pavilions and doctor’s offices, in the workplace, at schools, in the home and online. As a non-profit health system with multiple sites of care and affiliates throughout Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, acute care and specialty hospitals, surgery centers, physician offices, home care services, walk-in care centers and employer health services. To put the needs and the convenience of patients first, Community pioneers advanced treatments and world-class health information technologies, with a focus on ease of access to exceptional care.

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