Mills-Peninsula Earns State Waste Reduction Award

January 19, 2012

Mills-Peninsula Health Services (MPHS) recently earned a 2011 Waste Reduction Award from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), reports Craig Branting, Environmental Health and Safety manager and safety officer.

According to CalRecycle, businesses generate more than half the state’s waste, so they play a major role in helping local governments cut the amount of garbage going to landfills. The state’s Waste Reduction Award Program (WRAP) recognizes organizations that have developed progressive and creative programs to significantly reduce the amount of waste they send to landfills – and saved money in the process.

“As an organization, Mills-Peninsula prevented more than 400 tons of waste from being sent to landfills and saved $135,000 in the process,” Branting said.

To achieve this, Mills-Peninsula’s waste-reduction planning team, called the Green Team, analyzed each process that generates waste, looking for opportunities to further reduce waste quantities.

The team also calculated how much waste MPHS didn’t generate. For example, each time staff used a tote bag to transport materials, they were not using a cardboard box, and each time they entered medical information into an electronic record, they were not using paper forms, Branting said.

“This award was earned by everyone at Mills-Peninsula who participated in waste reduction efforts by reusing, recycling, composting or any of the many other methods of waste reduction,” Branting said. “Printing on both sides of paper, recycling empty containers and using washable food service items – each small contribution to the effort adds up.”

Moving forward, the Green Team plans to increase awareness of recycling by placing more recyclable waste containers in key areas on site and hosting an e-waste recycling event for Mills-Peninsula and neighbors.

Green technologies are a key component of the new hospital, including a state-of-the-art ventilation system, energy-saving efficiencies and smart building management systems, the use of many earth-conscious materials (such as water-based paints and cabinetry made of renewable resources such as bamboo), low-flow plumbing fixtures, and an architectural design that takes advantage of natural light in all patient care and public spaces.

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Safe Demolition of Old Hospital is Under Way; Majority of Debris to be Recycled

January 11, 2012

Following the opening of the new Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in May 2011, demolition of the old Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame has been under way since October 2011 — a methodical process that will require approximately five more months to complete.

Some staff likened it to saying “goodbye” to an old friend when they left the old hospital building in May to move next door into the brand new 241-bed medical center. The new $630 million, six-story, 450,000-square-foot hospital is located at 1501 Trousdale Avenue in Burlingame, California.

Plans to demolish the old hospital have been in the works for more than a year. The multi-staged effort is now under the direction of Jeannie Austin, project manager with Mills-Peninsula’s Facility Planning & Development Department.

Extensive measures were put in place for neighborhood safety, which is why neighbors will not see a wrecking ball or explosive knock down. The slower process will create significantly less flying debris or danger posed by falling building materials.

“There are currently 22 demolition workers on site, most of them working on the northern side of the building’s interior. They are using small Bobcat machines to clear out the building, in preparation for structural demolition,” explained Todd Vasko, project manager from Silverado Contractors, Inc., the demolition contractor hired by Mills-Peninsula for this big job.

Silverado hired several subcontractors to do the extensive disconnection of electrical, plumbing and sewer systems. This large team will also conduct refrigerant recovery, a thorough process to comply with all local, state and federal standards for the safe removal chemicals found in air conditioning units, drinking fountains and refrigerators. 

Any and all metals and concrete will be 100 percent recycled. Salvage operations for copper and precious metals began in early December and are on-going.

 Once an area of the interior is completely emptied, the demolition team will move in the large wrecking machines to start taking the building apart. This systematic process began at the northern end of the building and will proceed toward the southern end until the building is gone.

The demolition crew separates waste streams to ensure that as much material as possible is recycled or reused. Concrete, structural steel and timber all have a value above that of basic demolition debris. About 80 percent of the old building will be recycled. 

Continuous air sampling and air monitoring is being conducted by an industrial hygienist. This professional monitors the dust particles in the air and regularly reports findings to the demolition team. Water suppression is being used to control dust wherever demolition is taking place.

The demolition project will take approximately five more months to complete, including the time required to haul away recycling and debris.  

After the demolition of the old hospital buildings is complete, the land will be converted to parking for approximately 300 vehicles.

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Despite Industry-Leading Wages & Benefits for Nurses at Sutter Health, California Nurses Union Calls Holiday Strike

December 16, 2011

For more information, hospital media contacts, and the latest news on the strikes and negotiations with the California Nurses Union, please visit: http://sutterhealthblogs.org/cnanegotiations

The California Nurses Union has announced their intent to strike Mills-Peninsula and three other Bay Area hospitals affiliated with Sutter Health on Thursday, December 22. At Mills-Peninsula, striking nurses will return on Saturday, Dec. 24.

The union has also given formal strike notice at: Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Sutter Delta Medical Center, Sutter Solano Medical Center and Eden Medical Center and could issue strike notice at that hospital as well.

Mills-Peninsula’s contract with a staffing agency requires us to pay replacement nurses for a minimum of five days. In compliance with the contract, we have maintained a five-day replacement period in previous strikes because paying both regular and replacement staff doesn’t meet our affordability – or common sense – goals.

However, the union’s decision to strike during the holidays presents its own, different challenges. The staffing agency’s ability to fulfill our order depends in part on ensuring replacement nurses can get home in time for the holidays. Because of that stipulation and with respect for our non-union staff, physicians, patients and families in the holiday season, we are shortening the replacement period by one day. Replacement nurses will spend the first two days in training, provide patient care for two days and return home on Dec. 24.

Sutter Health Nurse Pay and Benefits Remain Industry Leaders
Sutter Health hospitals know that providing the very best care for our patients starts with taking good care of our nurses. A nurse who chooses to work full-time at a Sutter Health hospital that has a contract with the California Nurses Union earns:

• An average of $136,000 per year
• An employer-paid pension plan worth $84,000 per year on average in retirement
• 40 paid days off per year

A part-time nurse earns an average of $105,000 per year and receives virtually the same benefits.

What’s more, nurses across our network are respected, influential members of our health care team — many holding positions on decision-making councils related to delivering the highest levels of quality care.

Despite these generous wages and a rewarding work environment, the union is asking for new and enhanced benefits that will increase the cost of health care. The union demands:
     • Free health care for life after retirement
     • To double their current retirement benefit — even though the average Sutter Health full-time nurse earns an annual $84,000 pension for life.

The California Nurses Union is calling its second strike in less than three months. This union has called more than 100 strikes against California hospitals in the last 3 years.

It is always tough for patients and families to be in the hospital, but it’s especially difficult during the holidays. Unfortunately, the union has chosen to strike during this time.

Quality Patient Care Will Continue During the Strike
Our hospitals will take steps to preserve quality patient care in the wake of the union’s strike. Our hospitals are exploring all available options to ensure high-quality care for our patients is not interrupted.

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Mills-Peninsula Ranked as a Top Hospital in Nation by The Leap Frog Group

December 6, 2011

 Annual ‘Top Hospitals’ List Measures Hospitals for Commitment to Transparency, High Quality Care

The Leapfrog Group’s annual class of top hospitals – 65 from a field of nearly 1,200 – was announced December 6, 2011, in Washington, D.C., and included Mills-Peninsula Health Services in Burlingame, California, for the second time in two years. The announcement came at Leapfrog’s Annual Meeting where the group celebrated the five-year anniversary of its ground breaking Never Events Policy.

Accepting the award for Mills-Peninsula Health Services was Chief Operating Officer Dolores Gomez.



“The Leap Frog award requires a minimum value score of 69 or greater and Mills-Peninsula achieved a score of 83, so we are far above the threshold,” said Gomez. “It is an incredible experience to be recognized for quality, and efficiency and safety out of more than 1,200 hospitals in the nation. We are proud because receipt of this honor validates that our efforts to provide the very best care to out patients are working.”



The selection is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group’s national survey that measures hospitals’ performance in crucial areas of patient safety and quality.  The results of the survey are posted on a website open to the patients and families, the public and employers and other purchasers of health care. It is the most complete picture available of a hospital’s quality and safety.  The website is www.leapfroggroup.org.

The survey, which launched in 2001, focuses on four critical areas of patient safety: the use of computer physician order entry (CPOE) to prevent medication errors; standards for doing high-risk procedures such as heart surgery; protocols and policies to reduce medical errors and other safe practices recommended by the National Quality Forum; and adequate nurse and physician staffing. In addition, hospitals are measured on their progress in preventing infections and other hospital-acquired conditions and adopting policies on the handling of serious medical errors, among other things.

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability.  The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind.  More information is available at www.leapfroggroup.org.

Read the complete list of 2011 Leapfrog Top Hospitals.

 

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Alcohol, Drug Addiction Can Increase During Holidays, Says Mills-Peninsula Expert

November 21, 2011

For most people, the winter holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year, is a happy time filled with parties and gatherings with friends and family. For others, this time of year can be a time of loneliness, anxiety and depression, all of which can contribute to addiction.

“The holidays can be a time of heightened emotion about life events and memories of past events, like the loss of a spouse or another important person,” said William Glatt, M.D., Mills-Peninsula’s Medical Director of the Chemical Dependency department who brings over 30 years of experience to the program. “It can be a time of great loneliness which can kindle or increase drug and alcohol addiction.”



Based at the Mills Health Center in San Mateo, Mills-Peninsula’s Chemical Dependency Department is the only medically managed detoxification service on the San Francisco peninsula, and one of the few Chemical Dependency programs that accepts patients covered by Medicare insurance.

Mills-Peninsula Health Services’ Chemical Dependency programs include inpatient (hospital-based) and outpatient (clinical) treatment, acute detoxification, an innovative 28-day rehab program, an intensive 12-week outpatient program and a Relapse Prevention/Stabilization program to ensure participants’ success in ending drug and alcohol abuse.

How Winter Holidays Can Contribute to Addiction

Depression and substance abuse affect people of all ages. “Isolation is painful, made even more so when imagery of the Holiday season features happy gatherings of family and friends,” said Dr. Glatt. “This heightened sense of loneliness can drive a person to ‘self medicate’ with drugs and alcohol in an effort to ease their distress. Addictions spike this time of year.”

The medical consequences of drug addiction are many and often serious, including death. This makes it vital that treatment and rehabilitation be supervised by an addiction medicine physician because the impact of addiction can be life threatening. Drug abuse can provoke cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, lung disease, hepatitis and autoimmune diseases.

Symptoms of Addiction

The most common symptoms and behaviors that may indicate that someone is abusing include:

  • avoiding friends and family members
  • getting high or intoxicated on a regular basis
  • lying, particularly about if or how much they are using or drinking
  • giving up activities they used to enjoy
  • performance at work or school suffers
  • missing school or work
  • feeling depressed, hopeless or suicidal
  • getting in legal trouble

A psychiatrist or qualified mental health professional usually diagnoses substance abuse. Indicators vary depending on the substance abused, the frequency of use, and the length of time since last used.

For more information or to schedule an assessment at the Mills-Peninsula Health Services’ Chemical Dependency Program, call 650-696-4666 between 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, people can call between 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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