UMMC

Press release:

On Monday, members of the Le Roy Moose Lodge donated a dozen plush stuffed moose toys to United Memorial Medical Center’s Emergency Department. The Tommy Moose program is a national initiative started by the nonprofit Moose International. The toys are distributed to children in crisis by police officers, firefighters, emergency responders and hospitals. The friendly looking toys comfort and distract children in traumatic situations.

The toys donated to United Memorial were purchased by Moose members Judy Mills, Catherine Campbell, Shirley Schutt, Malinda Dykstra and an anonymous donor to the lodge. More information on the Tommy Moose program can be found at www.MooseIntl.org.

Pictured in the photo from right to left are Catherine Campbell, UMMC registrar, Bonnie Bezon, Emergency Room nurse manager, and Judy Mills.

UMMC invited community members into the hospital today to see two new hyperbaric chambers installed as a key part of a new wound center.

There's an increase nationwide in patients developing non-healing wounds, particularly foot wounds, and hyperbaric chambers have proven effective in treating such them.

The wound center is an outpatient clinic. 

For more details, click on the headline above to read the full press release from UMMC.

Photos: Brooke Eck, RT, assists Christopher White, UMMC foundation board president, with a demonstration of the chamber.

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center is pleased to announce that we added a new service line to our growing hospital system: a specialized Wound Care Center®. This additional service allows United Memorial to offer a more comprehensive wound care program to manage chronic or non-healing wounds caused by diabetes, circulatory problems, and other conditions.

The advanced center will house two new hyperbaric chambers and four treatment rooms in the 3,800-square-foot facility. The center, located at the Hospital at 127 North St., Batavia opened with limited services on Sept. 27, 2011. This week, the center became fully operational.

The United Memorial Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center is designed to complement the services offered by patients' primary care physicians – in fact, we should think of it an extension of a physician’s practice. Patients will receive outstanding, professional and courteous attention in a timely fashion, and will always be returned to the referring physician once the healing is satisfactory. This addition is part of our goal to provide a complete system of medical and professional care to our patients.

The United Memorial Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center is an outpatient, hospital-based program that works in conjunction with the patient’s primary care physician. Open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the program operates by appointment. Patients may call directly for an assessment or seek referral from the primary care physician.

Addressing a Growing Need

The decision to start an outpatient center devoted exclusively to wound care reflects several key factors: an unmet need in the community, an overall increase in chronic non-healing wounds, and access to proven therapies that speed the healing process and deliver excellent clinical outcomes.

Non-healing wounds of the diabetic foot are considered one of the most significant complications of diabetes, representing a major worldwide medical, social, and economic burden that greatly affects patient quality of life. Almost 24 million Americans — one in every 12 — are diabetic and the disease is causing widespread disability and death at an epidemic pace, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those with diabetes, 6.5 million are estimated to suffer with chronic or non-healing wounds. Associated with inadequate circulation, poorly functioning veins, and immobility, non-healing wounds occur most frequently in the elderly and in people with diabetes — populations that are sharply rising as the nation ages and chronic diseases increase.

Although diabetes can ravage the body in many ways, non-healing ulcers on the feet and lower legs are common outward manifestations of the disease. Also, diabetics often suffer from nerve damage in their feet and legs, allowing small wounds or irritations to develop without awareness. Given the abnormalities of the microvasculature and other side effects of diabetes, these wounds take a long time to heal and require a specialized treatment approach for proper healing.

As many as 25 percent of diabetic patients will eventually develop foot ulcers, and recurrence within five years is 70 percent. If not aggressively treated, these wounds can lead to amputations. It is estimated that every 30 seconds a lower limb is amputated somewhere in the world because of a diabetic wound. Amputation often triggers a downward spiral of declining quality of life, frequently leading to disability and death. In fact, only about one third of diabetic amputees will live more than five years, a survival rate equivalent to that of many cancers.

Many of these lower extremity amputations can be prevented through an interdisciplinary approach to treatment involving a variety of therapies and techniques, including debridement, dressing selection, special shoes, and patient education. When wounds persist, a specialized and holistic approach is required for healing.

The Case for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

HBOT is a safe and evidence-based treatment proven to speed the healing process in certain types of wounds. During the treatments, the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen inside a pressurized chamber, quickly increasing the concentration of oxygen in the bloodstream, where it is delivered to a patient's wound site for faster healing. Essentially, HBOT therapy helps heal the wound from the inside out. This therapy can help reduce swelling, fight infection, and build new blood vessels, ultimately producing healthy tissue. It is also effective in fighting certain types of infections, improving circulation, in stimulating growth of new blood vessels, and in treating crush injuries, osteomyelitis, compromised skin grafts and flaps, late-stage radiation injury, and brown recluse spider bites.

HBOT is used as an adjunctive treatment for problematic, non-healing wounds that meet specific criteria, and it is expected that 20 percent of the wound care cases will meet those criteria. The addition of these chambers will improve the already successful clinical results of the center and will drive approximately 40 percent of the center's revenue.

Throughout HBO therapy, the patients are monitored to see if the concentration of oxygen has increased in the blood near the wound. If the oxygen level is higher, the therapy is most likely beneficial to the patient.  A typical course of treatment involves the patient spending about 90 minutes a day in the chamber five days per week over a four-to-six-week period.

Why Outsource the Management of the Center to Diversified Clinical Services?

Through a partnership with Diversified Clinical Services (DCS), we are able to offer a new and comprehensive center of excellence for specialized wound care and hyperbaric medicine. DCS is the world’s largest wound care management company with over 300 hospital partners delivering excellent evidence-based care to patients with chronic wounds. DCS has been the leader in wound care for more than 20 years, offering the most advanced modalities such as adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Of special importance to our hospital, DCS Centers traditionally achieve excellent clinical outcomes, including high limb salvage rates, an 88 percent healing rate within 31 median days-to-heal, and extremely high patient satisfaction. Additionally, DCS-managed Wound Care Centers effectively utilize HBOT therapy to heal more than 35,000 diabetic wounds each year, providing more HBOT therapy than any other wound care provider in the world.

Wound Care Center Benefits Patients, the Hospital, and the Community

For all involved, the center is a win-win endeavor. Chronic or non-healing wound patients benefit from an interdisciplinary model of care and advanced healing modalities. These often problematic patients heal more quickly, have an improved quality of life, and, in the vast majority of cases, avoid amputation of limbs.

The hospital benefits through the improved continuum of care and a specialized outpatient center exists for physicians to refer problem wound patients. New patients are admitted under hospital care and the revenue losses due to wound-related re-admittances and long lengths of stay are reduced, all while increasing returns through this new service line. In many cases, center quality is a factor when being considered for national quality awards and Center of Excellence designations. All of this allows the hospital to better serve the community.

Press release:

The 28th annual Health and Humanitarian Award of Genesee County will be presented to Dorothy M. Baker on Friday, Dec. 2 at an awards luncheon at Terry Hills Restaurant. The award presented by The Jerome Foundation and United Memorial Medical Center Foundation recognizes volunteer men and women of Genesee County who have helped promote emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of the area’s residents.

In naming Dorothy Baker for this year’s award, the foundations will recognize her volunteer efforts and leadership at The Jerome Center Gift Shop and Kiosk, Genesee County Tourism Information Booth, Office of the Aging, Veterans Administration, and St. Joseph’s Church. Dorian Ely, coordinator of the RSVP Program of Genesee County, keeps a record of volunteer service by retired seniors.

“Dorothy logged 1,750 hours of service in 2010, bringing an exemplary sense of responsibility to her volunteer service," Ely said.

Since 1987, Baker has helped improve Genesee County’s economic health by volunteering at the Tourism Information Booth, providing information, direction and recommendations to visitors.

“Many visitors have a better impression of Genesee County because of Dorothy’s friendliness and knowledge of the area," said Dawn Ireland-Monsees, Genesee County tourism information coordinator in her letter nominating Dorothy for the Health and Humanitarian Award. "She is a great ambassador for our county and its residents."

At the VA Western New York Healthcare System, Baker regularly serves as a wheelchair escort on outings for veterans. At the Genesee County Office of the Aging, a senior citizen meal site, she helps serve seniors meals and provides needed socialization.

“Most dear to her heart is her volunteer service at The Jerome Center Gift Shop and Kiosk where she begins volunteering most mornings at 7 a.m. and has done so for years”, said Mary Barbeau, a friend and fellow volunteer.

Profits from the gift shop and food kiosk benefit United Memorial Medical Center.

The Health and Humanitarian Award luncheon is open to the public.  Reservations can be made by contacting United Memorial Medical Center Foundation at 344-5300. Seating will be limited so early reservations are encouraged.

City fire is on scene at North Street and Chandler Avenue, the site of a natural gas leak.

The call originally came in from UMMC as a report of a natural gas smell in the hospital, but the strongest concentration of the odor turned out to be at Chandler and North, where construction is taking place.

A two-inch line was struck, but workers didn't want to shut off the gas because many of the older homes in the area have pilot light systems that would cause the houses to fill with gas.

The leaked gas was apparently being picked up by the hospital's HVAC system, so the hospital has switched to recirculated air until the problem is mitigated.

National Fuel is on scene.

The UMMC Foundation is holding its annual Fall Auction at the Clarion Hotel tonight.

Director Lorie Stupp said the foundation expects to raise $30,000 from the event.  More than 260 tickets were sold.

The evening opened with snacks, drinks and a chance auction, followed by dinner and a live auction hosted by Bontrager's. 

There was also a sumptuous dessert table.

Press release:

The Jerome Foundation and United Memorial Medical Center Foundation are seeking nominations for the 27th annual Health and Humanitarian Award of Genesee County.  

The award recognizes outstanding men and women whose volunteer efforts have improved the physical, emotional or spiritual well-being of the greater Genesee County area. 

“We are fortunate to have many caring and committed volunteers devoted to the sick or to those in need, and helping build a stronger, healthier community for all of us," said Justin Calarco-Smith, president of The Jerome Foundation.

He noted the accomplishments of Ronald Burroughs, the 2010 Health and Humanitarian recipient, whose volunteer efforts and leadership with Genesee County Habitat for Humanity have enabled local families to live in clean, decent and stable housing.

Nomination forms are available from UMMC Foundation Office at 127 North St., by calling 585-344-5300, or online at www.ummc.org. Organizations or individuals may nominate candidates.

Consideration will be given to actual accomplishments achieved through volunteer service and subsequent improvements to quality of life.  Nominations should be submitted on or before Sept. 30.

The 2011 award winner will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, Dec. 2 at Terry Hills Restaurant.

City Fire is being asked to set up a landing zone for Mercy Flight at UMMC.

No word on the nature of the medical emergency.

Mercy Flight has a five- to eight-minute ETA.

UPDATE 11:19 a.m.: The landing zone is being moved to the Little League field.

UPDATE 11:26 a.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 11:35 a.m.: Mercy Flight is in the air.

An investigation into a C. difficile outbreak at UMMC has concluded, a spokesman for the NYS Department of Health announced today.

In a short note to media, Jeffrey Hammond said "strictly as a precaution" the DoH monitored UMMC following the start of the outbreak in February.

"DoH is not finding more anymore cases associated with the outbreak," Hammond said.

According to Hammond, there were two cases of "C. Diff " at UMMC in August and none at the hospital by September.

The total number of C. Diff cases from February to August was 35, with 18 attributed to the facility.

A wrecking crew is tearing down the Batavia Elks Lodge building today.

The property was purchased by United Memorial Medical Center in December to make way for "future growth." It will become a vacant lot with grass and plants in the meantime.

Press release:

United Memorial Hospital will host a free Health Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20 at Cary Hall, 211 E. Main St., Batavia. The fair has been planned to coincide with the City of Batavia’s “Summer in the City” event.

Rochester radio’s WBEE 92.5 FM will host a live remote with personality Steve Hausmann from the Bee’s Morning Coffee Club from 2 to 4 p.m. They will host live on-air interviews, play games, and give away prizes.

The Health Fair will feature free screenings provided by United Memorial’s Healthy Living Department for total cholesterol, blood pressure, body fat analysis, and blood glucose. (Please fast for two hours prior to the blood glucose test for accurate results.) Dr. William Guthinger will provide free prostate health checks for men.

United Memorial’s Infection Prevention Department will provide information, appropriate hand-hygiene education, and demonstrate the detection of organic material using ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) on surfaces.

Complimentary hot dogs and beverages will be also be available.

Under the tent, several community partners will offer information, free giveaways and games. Participants include the YMCA, YWCA, Genesee County Department of Health, HCR Home Care, Cancer Services Partnership of Genesee and Orleans Counties, UMMC’s Summit Physical and Occupational Therapy, Community Action Center of Genesee and Orleans, UMMC’s Maternity Department and lactation consultant, Catholic Charities, Independent Living of Genesee Region, the Veterans War Memorial Committee, UMMC Foundation, Fidelis, Brighton Securities, Planned Parenthood, the NYS Department of Public Service, Genesee County ARC, Procair/UMMC Sleep Lab, and Dr. Jeffery A. Goldstein.

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center has been experiencing telecommunications issues today, Friday Aug. 12. Those issues include dropped calls, incomplete calls and incorrect transfers. The trouble appears to be widespread, affecting outer sites in Le Roy and Pembroke, as well as the hospital at North Street and Jerome Center at Bank Street. It is unclear at this time as to whether only United Memorial’s service is impacted or if this affecting the community at large.

If someone is experiencing a medical emergency, they should call 9-1-1.
Those making calls to the hospital, Pembroke Diagnostics, Le Roy Diagnostics, Batavia Family Care, Le Roy Family Care, Byron Family Care, Urgent Care in Le Roy, Summit Physical and Occupational Therapy Center, Surgical Associates or the Women’s Care Center are encouraged to hang up and dial again if they encounter difficulty in reaching one of the sites.

United Memorial apologizes for any inconvenience to our patients and is working with the telecommunications provider to diagnose and resolve the issues.

Batavia, with its legacy of demolishing its own history, is about to lose another landmark building.

The former Batavia Elks Lodge at 213 E. Main St. was purchased in December by United Memorial Medical Center for $143,500.

Workers have already removed windows and completed asbestos abatement.

Colleen Flynn, spokeswoman for UMMC, said the hospital regularly tries to acquire property adjacent to its own facilities when possible.

"We're sort of landlocked," Flynn said. "When certain buildings come up for sale we buy them for future growth."

Her own office on North Street is in a house the hospital acquired to create more space for staff, she noted.

The building housed the Elks in Batavia for nearly 100 years. The current Art Deco facade was added in the 1920s and designed by Frank Homelius, a Batavia resident and one of the premier architects of Western New York in the early 20th Century. His father, Henry Homelius designed many of Batavia's grander homes of the 19th Century. (*see update below)

Flynn noted that the building does not have any historical designation.

Laurie Oltramari, president of the Genesee County Landmark Society, said given the current state of the north side of East Main Street, she doesn't thinking losing the building is going to detract too much from the character of the city.

"You've got to pick your battles, I guess, and this isn't one I would pick," she said.

Though, Oltramari, added, she hates to see such a building destroyed without a plan.

UMMC will landscape the property once the building is removed and has no immediate plans to construct another building at the location.

Jeffery Donahue, director of the Holland Land Office Museum, was saddened to hear the news the building would be torn down.

"It's always a shame to lose one of the landmark buildings of Batavia," Donahue said. "We lose a little bit of history every time."

UMMC won an award from the Landmark Society earlier this year for its restoration of the former St. Jerome's Hospital, turning it into senior housing.

"The building (Elks Lodge) was not in good condition for renovation," Flynn said. "We do everything we can to protect and preserve Batavia's history."

Later in the day, Flynn issued a press release with the following quote:

The former Elk’s Club required extensive updates and renovations for reuse and was not handicap accessible. Coupled with the costs associated with making it handicap accessible and meeting NYS Department of Health regulations for healthcare use, it was decided that the building should be razed and the site would be improved with appropriate landscaping.

Over the years, Batavia has seen the north side of his downtown district demolished and replaced by a characterless mall and lost such grand structures as the Trumbull Cary Mansion and the Dean Richmond Mansion (the location is now a parking lot).

Local author Bill Kauffman, who has lamented previous losses to Batavia's cultural heritage, most notably in his book Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette, was upset this morning to hear about the Elks Lodge demolition.

"It's a shame," Kauffman said. "The Elks Lodge is a landmark of working-class Batavia, designed by Batavia's great architectual family."

UPDATE: County documents show an application was made in 1950 to add the current facade to the building. Frank Homelius died in 1941.  The information we use in the story above comes from a book on Frank and his father.

City firefighters have been dispatched to the parking lot of UMMC to set up a landing zone for Mercy Flight.

The nature of the medical call is not known.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

This is found in the Bible, John 15:13, and it was quoted this morning at the Memorial Day ceremony held outside UMMC's Jerome Center. The speaker was American Legion Commander Ronald Konieczny.

“We know what’s in people's hearts, we know how people feel about our veterans. It’s a much better feeling today than what it was during Vietnam,” Konieczny said.  "It is easy for one to believe that (Biblical) statement after witnessing the generosity and admiration shown by all those who attended today's service..."

The atmosphere was solemn but proud, as it was when plans were unveiled for a new monument to commemorate deceased soldiers from Genesee County. It will honor those killed in action during World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

This $250,000 monument is estimated to be finished in 2013; however, no building will be done before the old plaques, which were stored due to recent renovations, receive a proper military burial. The old plaques, which once stood in front of the hospital on North Street, are to be retired and then buried under the new monument.

Aside from individual grave sites, this commemorative monument will be the only permanent place in Batavia where friends and family of deceased soldiers can pay homage to their lost loved ones, and permanent it will be. The entire monument, plaza and tablets are going to be solid granite. To aid fundraising, the granite pavers used to make the plaza will be sold to families and inscribed with whatever special message is desired.

Though the announcement of the new memorial generated a lot of excitement, the service maintained its true purpose, which was honoring the heroism of deceased soldiers. Helen Laird and Adeline "Dolly" Gioia,  two Gold Star mothers whose sons were killed in combat, were honored today as well as 178 soldiers who died between 2010 and 2011. For each soldier, an American flag was placed in the ground in front of the hospital.

Memorial Day is only one day of remembrance, but for the veterans and families of fallen soldiers it is more than that. It's a chance to show their respect for the sacrifices that their comrade or family member made. With the help of United Memorial Medical Center and those who attended the commemoration, that is exactly what was accomplished today

Memorial Day Services are scheduled at United Memorial Medical Center beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 30 at the hospital’s Bank Street campus, the Jerome Center. But at 10 a.m., the Batavia Concert Band will assemble to perform for those attending the service.

The names of veterans who have passed away since Memorial Day 2010 will be read aloud and a wreath honoring those who died in service will be placed near the flag pole. Prayers will be read from each of the five distinct military branches.

The monument that stood in front of the hospital at North Street was removed during renovations and the plaques were placed in temporary storage. The veterans will unveil their plans for a new monument to be placed at the Bank Street site.

Light refreshments will be served at this event and the community is encouraged to attend.

Press release:

The NYS Department of Health has issued a Certificate of Excellence to United Memorial for the Maternity Departments efforts to prevent the perinatal transmission of the Hepatitis B virus (Hep B).

A recent medical record review revealed 100-percent compliance with requirements under public health law mandating testing, reporting and recording of Hepatitis B status for all pregnant women and a minimum 90-percent birth dose rate of HBV vaccine was given to all newborns.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Hepatitis B is a viral infection that can lead to chronic liver infections, liver failure and liver cancer. It may be transmitted through contact with body fluids from an infected person, sharing contaminated needles and from infected mother to newborn.

The Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for all infants, older children and adolescents not previously vaccinated and adults at risk for Hepatitis B infection. The rate of infection in the United States has declined by 82 percent since 1990 when the vaccination of children for Hepatitis B was implemented.

Approximately 500 babies are delivered each year at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.

UPDATED 4:31 P.M.

Funeral arrangements have been made for Margaret E. Wagner, 86, of Batavia, who died Monday.

Wagner's illness made news after the family of Joe and Lois Gerace publicly raised concerns about her care at United Memorial Medical Center, where Wagner, they believe, contracted Clostridium difficile, more commonly called "C. diff."

State Department of Health officials said in a release today that Wagner is among of three deaths of UMMC patients who are believed to have contracted C. diff at the hospital. The cases remain under of investigation to determine what role C. diff might have played.

The total number of C. diff cases under investigation at UMMC is 19, according to Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for the Department of Health.

Previously, only one C. diff-related death had been reported there, in March. There were 18 C. diff cases going back to February.

Currently, according to spokeswoman Colleen Flynn, one patient is being screened to see if he or she has contracted C. diff.

That's a substantial drop in probable C. diff cases a few weekends ago when six patients were being treated for the bacteria.

"The policies we've always had in place were effective and the steps we've taken since the higher than usual numbers were reported have worked very well," Flynn said.

After the outbreak of C. diff was detected, hospital officials step up sterilization measures and took aggressive actions were taken to battle against the bacteria.

Wagner was born April 5, 1925 in Buffalo and worked 26 years for MetLife Insurance in Batavia.

She was a member of the Batavia First United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir, taught Sunday school and also kept the records for the Sunday school classes. She also worked and volunteered at the Salvation Army and for the Beckwith Insurance Company in Pembroke.

Calling hours are from 5 to 8 p.m., Thursday, at the H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Home, 403 E. Main St., Batavia. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the Batavia First United Methodist Church, 8221 Lewiston Road, Batavia. Burial will be in Alexander Cemetery, Alexander.