WELCOME TO OUR NEW PROVIDERS

Disruptions in Availability of BD BACTEC Blood Culture Media Bottles - Letter to Health Care Providers

July 10, 2024

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aware that the U.S. is experiencing interruptions in the supply of BD BACTEC blood culture media bottles because of recent supplier issues. The disruption in supply of this device is expected to impact patient diagnosis, follow up patient management, and antimicrobial stewardship efforts. The FDA recommends laboratories and health care providers consider conservation strategies to prioritize the use of blood culture media bottles, preserving the supply for patients at highest risk.

Recommendations

The FDA recommends laboratories that may experience potential delays in supply of BD BACTEC blood culture media bottles, and health care providers who order blood cultures, develop strategies to prioritize the use of blood culture media bottles, based on clinical need, to maintain quality and safety of patient care.

In developing strategies to preserve the supply for patients at highest risk, please consider the following:

• Performing blood culture collections when medically necessary, following clinical guidelines, such as those provided below.
• Prioritizing use for patients with clinical signs and symptoms of a bloodstream infection.
• Performing routine disinfection of skin protocols prior to collection to minimize the risk of contamination of the blood culture.
• Ensuring proper blood volume collection to avoid a need to recollect additional samples.
• Utilizing safe blood collection and transfer devices to minimize the risk of damage to blood culture media bottles.
• Referring to the following guidelines for best practices for blood collection and potential considerations for prioritization for use of blood culture media bottles:
• Guide to Utilization of the Microbiology Laboratory for Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases: 2024 Update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) (https://academic.oup.com/cid/advancearticle/doi/10.1093/cid/ciae104/7619499)  (http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/website-policies/website-disclaimer)
• World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on drawing blood: best practices in phlebotomy (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241599221)  (http://www.fda.gov/about-fda/website-policies/website-disclaimer)
• CDC resources:
• Preventing Adult Blood Culture Contamination: A Quality Tool for Clinical Laboratory Professionals (https://www.cdc.gov/labquality/blood-culturecontamination-prevention.html)
• Blood Culture Contamination: An Overview for Infection Control and Antibiotic Stewardship Programs Working with the Clinical Laboratory (https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/core-elements/pdfs/fs-bloodculture508.pdf)

The FDA will continue to keep health care providers and the public informed if new or additional information becomes available.

The full memo can be read HERE.

In response to that shortage, some conservation measures are needed and new build in Cerner was requested. Please see details below of new changes effective 7/26/2024.

Blood cultures will be limited to two total sets every 48 hours. The new box that will show if another culture order is attempted in that timeframe is shown in the Cerner Flash below. Please click HERE for a printable document.

Thank you for your support so that we can preserve resources for patients at higher risk of bacteremia.

Increasing Access to Primary Care in the Great Lakes Bay Region

This month marks the opening of our internal medicine residency. The residency will expand our established Graduate Medical Education program.

Join us in welcoming our inaugural class:

Anirudh Jain

Maryam Pishva

Khalid Elhassan

Samar Mehyar

Fatima Ebrahim

Omesh Prathiraja

Residents will work with hospitalist teams and see patients admitted into hospital units and in the ICU and emergency department. Additionally, they will provide outpatient continuity care at the McLaren Bay Region Center for Academic Internal Medicine. Their clinic is located in the medical office building on the hospital’s West Campus off Midland Road.

To schedule an appointment, call (989) 667-3400.

We are proud to announce that over the last evaluation period, McLaren Bay Region has made the improvements necessary to win the iMPROve Health, Michigan Health and Hospital Association Keystone Center's Governor's Award of Excellence.

The award is earned for improvements to the following measures:

• Increase the percentage of FFS Medicare beneficiaries 65 years of age and older who receive a pneumococcal vaccine
• Increase the percentage of Medicare FFS beneficiaries who received an influenza immunization

Thank you to the hard work of everyone at our hospital to make this achievement possible!

Topic: Opioid Mechanism and Acute

Date: August 14, 2024

Time: 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Location: Johnson East/West and Teams

Speaker: Sean Duchaine, PharmD

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 246 874 986 294

Passcode: 33QpT8

Download Teams | Join on the web

Or call in (audio only)

+1 810-275-1295, 183859049# 

United States, Flint

Phone Conference ID: 183 859 049#

Find a local number | Reset PIN

Grand Rounds provides a forum for healthcare providers to share clinical expertise and experiences, best practices and other topics of interest that help improve patient outcomes and enhance the patient experience. By presenting the research-based knowledge in conjunction with clinical scenarios, the participants will be able to apply the new knowledge into their clinical practices. Download the full flyer HERE

If you missed the June Grand Rounds lecture, "Heart Function in Heart Failure", presented by Sue Hafer, NP-C, click HERE to view a recording.

Specialized One on One Outpatient Services

Did you know McLaren’s outpatient PT and OT services are one on one! Our therapists are able to provide their undivided attention to you during your therapy appointment. This also allows us to focus on each individual patient’s needs to maximize your recovery and return to daily activities.

To schedule an appointment, see your doctor for a referral to one of our McLaren outpatient therapy locations. Or for questions please call us at (989) 667-6600. 

Locations:

Center for Rehabilitation: Occupational & Physical Therapy

3190 Midland Road

Bay City, MI 48706

West Side Medical Mall: Physical Therapy

4175 N. Euclid Ave

Bay City, MI 48706

Pinconning Rehabilitation Center: Physical Therapy

4293 N Huron Road, Suite 2

Pinconning, MI 48650

West Branch Outpatient Therapy: Occupational & Physical Therapy

2110 M-76 Suite 2

West Branch, MI 48661

McLaren Bay Region is now offering an outpatient clinical nutrition service led by Jayde-Ann May, Registered Dietitian, to manage your patients' chronic conditions and stay healthy.



Services offered:

• Weight loss/weight gain plan
• Education on label reading
• Nutrition related grocery store tours
• Group nutrition classes
• Menu planning based on health conditions such as:
• Celiac disease
• Food allergies
• GERD
• GI disorders
• Heart disease
• High cholesterol
• Hypertension
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease

A doctor’s referral is required to schedule an appointment. Please send an electronic referral in Cerner or fax a paper referral (click HERE for the form) to

(989) 772-6844. Once we receive the referral, a dietitian will call the patient to schedule an in-person or telehealth appointment.

We are a participating provider with most insurance plans to cover Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) or the patient may choose to self-pay.

Sessions are scheduled for up to one hour in length and will be held in the McLaren Bay Region Anticoagulation Clinic wing of the West Campus at the following address:

McLaren Bay Region West Campus

3250 E. Midland Road

Bay City, MI 48706

Please call (989) 772-6781 with any questions.

As a part of our network integrity plan here at McLaren we now have an internally preferred specialty pharmacy KSP, McLaren’s Specialty Pharmacy to streamline the process.

KSP Specialty Pharmacy is McLaren’s preferred internal specialty pharmacy that offers many benefits for providers, staff and most importantly our patients.

• Prior Authorizations – Utilizing One McLaren Cerner allows our pharmacists to access patient’s profile and process Prior Authorizations efficiently.
• Financial Assistance – Social Worker on staff to obtain Financial Assistance – Utilizing Internal and external funds to benefit covered entity.
• Funding – Over $265,000 monthly provided in Patient Assistance for McLaren patients.
• Patient Care – Our team educates patients on therapy and ensures patient adherence.
• Communication – Open communication by internal email or phone for questions or concerns, no waiting on hold.
• Delivery – Free next day delivery via FedEx to patient’s home or workplace (no signature required).

KSP Drug Access List: Over 300 specialty medications on our website:

For Providers (ksppharmacy.org)

Our pharmacists can be contacted directly:

Rxspecialty@karmanos.org or (833) KSP-4YOU (833-477-4968)

Please call Margaret Kastelic, Account Executive, at office number (833) 577-4968 or cell phone at (586) 202-6261 to setup a lunch or virtual meeting to explain how to get started using KSP Specialty Pharmacy. She can also be reached with questions at margaret.kastelic@mclaren.org.

KSP saves time, money, enhances patient care and produces better outcomes.

PerfectServe will initiate a change window on August 7th for the infrastructure supporting PerfectServe applications. 

Why: These are essential updates to our data center infrastructure that support performance, security, and scalability.  

Start Time: Wednesday, August 7th, 2024, 8:00 PM PDT / 11:00 PM EDT

Duration: 4 hours

Impact: During the first hour, we anticipate a potential impact on services and recommend moving to downtime communication procedures. We will notify your team via Everbridge when this critical work has been completed. Services impacted during this time may include: 

• Essential services that may be affected include user logins, messaging, calling, directory search, and notification delivery.

• For customers with Team Alerts initiated by voice, new alerts will be recorded however recipients may be unable to access the alert recording. 

• Users may be unable to add attachments (including MP3 voicemails, photos, and PDFs) in new messages and open attachments in existing messages.

• Customers using FTP interfaces may not receive updates to patient census or assignments during the change window. The updates will be processed once the interfaces are restored.

We are excited to inform you that PerfectServe is committed to uniting our platforms as well as internal processes to create a more streamlined and efficient customer experience. As part of our ongoing dedication to improving, we are implementing some significant changes. 

Effective August 28, 2024 



• All customer support phone numbers will be united into one streamlined number PerfectServe Unite Support: (877) 844-7727. 

• Incident communications will be sent via StatusPage, an incident communication platform. This will unify communications for all PerfectServe products as well as provide transparency and customizable notifications tailored to your needs, via email or SMS. 

Crucial Action Items: 

• August 12th: A training video and PDF resources will be made available to ensure you are well-prepared for the transition. 

• August 14th: You will receive a welcome email from noreply@statuspage.io to set a password and view your account. To receive incident communications, you must activate your account prior to August 28th. 

• August 28th: Official go-live with StatusPage and one Support phone number

(877) 844-7727 

We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible and are here to support you every step of the way. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Customer Success Advisor or our Support Center via the web by clicking HERE or by phone at (877) 844-7727. 

The McLaren Bay Medical Foundation Golf for Life Classic 

is a traditional 18-hole scramble that includes a light breakfast, lunch, dinner, player gifts, and a ton of fun! Plan to spend the day networking and practicing the heart-healthy habit of an active lifestyle!

For more information, click HERE. 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Brought to you by Laura Love

August 13: Heart Health & Stroke Screening; 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. at McLaren Bay Region East Medical Mall, 1454 W. Center Road, Essexville, 48732; registration required by calling toll-free 1-877-411-2762 anytime to make an appointment; Free; Learn more HERE.

August 14: Bay Area Stroke Education Series “Helpful Tips for Communicating with a Loved One After Stroke”; 3:00 p.m. at Center for Rehabilitation, 3190 E. Midland Road, Bay City, 48706; register online HERE; Free;

August 21: Virtual Childbirth Crash Course; 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.; for questions or to register contact (989) 894-3020 or online HERE; Free;

August 23: American Red Cross Blood Drive; 10:00 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. at McLaren Bay Region Lincoln Center; 820 S. Lincoln Street, Bay City, 48708; for information or appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org (sponsor code: McLaren BC) or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); Free;

For more information on upcoming community health events, click HERE.

MEDICAL STAFF RULES – REMINDER

Leaving on vacation?

Out of Town CME?

Notify Medial Staff Services, (989) 894-3806, either verbally or in writing, the beginning and ending dates of your vacation and who is covering your patients.

In addition, the Health Information Services Department uses this information when completing their list for suspensions. Any provider going on vacation will not be suspended for records that have been discharged 48 hours before their vacation; and they will then have 48 hours after returning to complete these records.

Please contact Medical Staff Services at (989) 894-3806 or medstaffservbay@mclaren.org with any questions regarding Medical Staff Bylaws.

Questions regarding suspension can be directed to HIM at (989) 894-9541 or teresa.ricupati@mclaren.org or heather.humphrey@mclaren.org.

We are asking all of our healthcare partners to inform us of any changes within your office, including provider status, address, phone number, fax number or other pertinent information. This is key to ensuring that offices are getting all necessary communications regarding patient care and hospital updates.

Please send any changes to Sheri Kelley, Patient Access Supervisor, at sheralee.kelley@mclaren.org or call (810) 600-7915.

For hospital credentialed provider offices, please ALSO send changes to Janet Matuszewski, Regional Manager of Medical Staff, at janet.matuszewski@mclaren.org.

Love working with McLaren?

Know someone who would be interested in joining our team?

McLaren is always on the lookout for dynamic people to add to the organization! There are openings across all positions — share them with your friends and family!



LEARN MORE

McLaren Bay Region | mclaren.org/bayregion