02/02/12

As in past years, AMDA received many outstanding nominations for the 2012 Medical Director of the Year award. An interdisciplinary panel assessed nominees on their long- term care accomplishments in the areas of clinical expertise, staff education, leadership, and community involvement. The winner will be announced during the Opening General Session of Long Term Care Medicine – 2012 on Friday, March 9. Following are brief profiles of the nominated medical directors and some of their key accomplishments:

 

David Barthold, MD, CMD
► LivingCenter – Meadowood
Bessemer, Ala.
Dr. Barthold has made it a priority to obtain admission paperwork to ensure quality care for all residents. He has been instrumental in obtaining the services of a certified wound-care physician and building an excellent wound-care program. This has consistently produced positive outcomes, and as a result, the facility is receiving residents from various wound-care clinics.

Joseph Boero, MD, CMD
► Manor Nursing Home
Park Falls, Wis.
Since 2000, Dr. Boero has facilitated the development and implementation of sophisticated antibiotic-stewardship efforts, which have decreased fluoroquinolone therapy and overall antibiotic use. He serves on the Wisconsin Association of Medical Directors board of directors and is the organization’s legislative representative to the Wisconsin Medical Society.

Noel DeBacker, MD, CMD
► Lieberman Center for Health and Rehabilitation
► The Methodist Home of Chicagoland
► CJE Senior Life
Chicago, Ill.
Dr. DeBacker led his team in establishing an effective electronic medical record system. He created and implemented quality-of-life rounds, an interdisciplinary intervention focusing on residents with difficult clinical situations or behavioral issues. He established a quarterly, interdisciplinary medical-advisory meeting attended by more than 75% of medical staff. Dr. DeBacker’s team interventions have resulted in an over-20% decrease in falls and fall-related injuries and 8% fewer readmissions from the subacute unit. He is a frequent speaker at AMDA annual meetings.

Joseph Higgins, MD, CMD
► HCR Manor Care Health Services,
Cherry Hill/Voorhees/Sewell
Mickelton, N.J.
Dr. Higgins recently received an award for team leadership in his state. He has made innovations in falls prevention, calcium-vitamin D interventions, and other clinical areas. He established protocols for treating congestive heart failure and providing vitamin D supplementation. An enthusiastic educator, he regularly teaches medical students and residents, as well as seniors, about long-term care. Dr. Higgins leads his interdisciplinary team in efforts to prevent rehospitalizations, and he works with team leaders and staff to increase their critical thinking skills.

Bruce E. Hodges, MD, CMD
► Garden Terrance at Overland Park
► Life Care Centers of America
Overland Park, Kan.
Dr. Hodges is active in an initiative to reduce the number of hospital readmissions, a commitment that is producing positive results. He has strong team relationships and often can be found eating lunch with staff. He gets involved in addressing the psychosocial needs of residents, families, and staff.

Theodore Homa, MD, CMD
► Lutheran Life Communities
► Arlington Heights
Oakbrook, Ill.
Dr. Homa has developed policies to increase the expectations and standards for physicians in long-term care that go above and beyond meeting regulatory requirements. He formed a team of physicians dedicated exclusively to serving the elderly population of 15 nursing homes in the area. Dr. Homa is coordinating the implementation of practice standards that embrace evidence-based medical practice, clinical outcomes, and clinical integration between all physicians serving the nursing homes in his communities.

Tae Joon Lee, MD, CMD
► Golden LivingCenter – Greenville
Greenville, N.C.
Dr. Lee has led the way in efforts to reduce restraint use and falls and to improve medication management. A master educator, he serves as director of a Teaching Nursing Home Program, participates in training masters-level public health students and coordinatesnates educational efforts for Campbell University pharmacy students who rotate through Golden Living Center. He has presented regionally and nationally on topics ranging from end-of-life planning to norovirus outbreaks in nursing home.

David LeVine, MD, CMD
► Menorah Manor
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Dr. LeVine is active in recruitment, oversight, education, and retention of staff and medical specialists. He developed four levels of special care for dementia, and he routinely contributes to governance activities. He developed and supervises a clinical credentialing process.

Dheeraj Mahajan, MD, CMD
► Vanguard Regional Geriatric Program for Chicago
► Thorek Memorial Hospital Geriatric Program
► Seasons Hospice
Melrose Park, Ill.
Dr. Mahajan has made quality improvement a top priority and implemented practice guidelines on pressure ulcers, falls prevention, and wound care. Active in the Advancing Excellence campaign, Dr. Mahajan works to forward its goal with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, nursing home administrators, and directors of nursing. Dr. Mahajan holds monthly meetings to ensure safe, successful transitions between nursing homes and hospitals.

Charles J. Mirabile, MD, CMD
► GlenWood Park Retirement Villages
Princeton, W.Va.
Dr. Mirabile is a proven team leader who guides staff through quality-assessment sessions ranging from admission screening to medication balancing and use and the monitoring and management of environmental issues, such as disposing of medical waste and properly handling food. Active in the community, he makes house calls, volunteers at a free clinic, and grows fruits and vegetables to share with others.

Meenakshi Patel, MD, CMD
► Valley Medical Primary Care
Centerville, Ohio
Active in AMDA for several years, Dr. Patel has worked with the AMDA Foundation Research Network on several studies. She served as team leader on a diabetes study. She works closely with facility admissions committees to ensure that the needs of all residents are met safely and effectively. She created process-improvement teams to address issues such as the risk of Clostridium difficile infection and resident-resident altercations.

James Rider, DO, CMD
► Valley Falls Medical Clinic
Valley Falls, Kan.
Dr. Rider is an innovator who established a citywide wound-care coalition and quarterly nursing meetings. He was instrumental in forming the Kansas Medical Directors Association and currently serves as that group’s president. He established regular statewide meetings for physicians to discuss nursing home and survey issues. By implementing an innovative diabetes treatment program, he has reduced the costs of and time spent on insulin administration. Currently, 82% of residents have an HbA1c concentration below 8.0%.

Ap S. Sidhu, MD, CMD
► Pacific Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
► Covenant Care
Fresno, Calif.
Dr. Sidhu champions individualized approaches to addressing behavioral problems. He led the way by suggesting initiatives that reduced the incidence of urinary tract infections to far below state and national averages, reduced falls to numbers consistently below benchmarks, and cut the recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection.

Robert P. Smith, MD, CMD
► Golden LivingCenter – Riverdale
Riverdale, Wis.
Dr. Smith is a proven team leader. His accomplishments include serving as founder and director of the Richland Area Geriatric Assessment Clinic and president of the Wisconsin Association of Medical Directors. He has educated interdisciplinary team members on dementia-related topics, including brain-fitness research and coping with challenging patients.

David Thomas, MD, CMD

► St. Louis University St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Thomas has made quality improvement a priority. He has led a team to reduce restraints and serves as chair of the St. Louis University Hospital clinical quality-management committee. He has presented numerous papers at national and international meetings and is a popular lecturer at universities and organizations across the country. He is a prolific author whose articles have appeared in numerous indexed, peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Thomas has served on the faculties of AMDA educational programs, and he mentors others in developing teaching skills.

Rocco M. Vivenzio, MD, CMD
► Strong Health Geriatrics Group
Rochester, N.Y.
Dr. Vivenzio developed a model of care used to recruit and train primary care physicians and midlevel providers to work in long-term care. He also worked with a group of geriatricians to develop their expertise as medical directors through AMDA training programs. He developed standardized transition packets and communication tools, resulting in a more effective system of care across settings.

Jerome Wasserstein, MD, CMD
► Geriatric Associates of America (LaPorte Healthcare)
Channelview, Tex.
Dr. Wasserstein is involved in internal systems, including infection control, wound care, and quality assurance. A true patient advocate, he commonly eats lunch with residents while listening to their thoughts and concerns. He follows up by working with other clinical team members to ensure that each patient gets appropriate interventions. Dr. Wasserstein has a special interest in maximizing the quality and effectiveness of pharmaceutical interventions, and he has spoken nationally on this and other topics.

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