Latest news with #AdvocateHealth
Business Journals
5 days ago
- Health
- Business Journals
More than 600 student-athletes screened for health and safety at free Heart of a Champion event in Winston-Salem
expand Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist hosted its annual Heart of a Champion Day in Winston Salem on May 17, offering free, comprehensive health screenings to over 600 local student-athletes. This collaborative event, featuring Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's primary care, orthopedic and heart teams, helped identify both orthopedic and cardiac conditions that could impact a student's ability to safely participate in sports, including rare but serious heart issues. The screenings offered students a thorough assessment, including musculoskeletal exams, heart checks, vision screenings and general medical evaluations — all in one visit. expand 'Prevention is everything when it comes to keeping young athletes healthy,' said Dr. Heath Thornton, medical director for the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Athletic Trainer outreach program. 'Heart of a Champion Day brings together the care and expertise that students need for a comprehensive pre-sports screening — all in one place. Whether it's a heart condition or a joint issue, these screenings give us a chance to catch concerns early and guide families toward the right next steps.' Heart of a Champion Day has become a significant annual initiative that reflects Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's dedication to the community, ensuring that student-athletes are not only ready for competition but also equipped with the knowledge to take charge of their health. This wellness event was made possible with the support of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist volunteers, including doctors, nurses, athletic trainers and other health care professionals. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is a pre-eminent academic learning health system based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and part of Advocate Health. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's two main components are an integrated clinical system with locations throughout the region and
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Advocate Health and The Joint Commission Advancing Quality and Safety for Patients and Communities
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, and OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois, May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advocate Health and The Joint Commission have announced a collaboration to enhance patient safety and quality of care across the health system's 69 hospitals. This collaboration aims to drive impactful change by using performance data for continuous improvement to propel innovation and create efficiencies. Through systemwide hospital accreditation, Advocate Health, one of the largest nonprofit integrated health systems in the United States, is setting a new industry standard in providing consistent, high-quality care across all its facilities — building on its longstanding legacy of excellence. These efforts reflect the organization's continued dedication to delivering the safest, highest-quality care to its patients and communities. Among other advantages, taking a systemwide approach to accreditation enables hospital-to-hospital comparisons within the Advocate Health system, as well as comparisons to peer groups with the same demographic profile. The Joint Commission's benchmarking tool, available to all its accredited hospitals, offers a system-level and hospital-specific view, allowing health care professionals to easily validate areas of high performance and target areas of opportunity. 'When hospitals and clinics deliver higher quality care, people get to spend more time where it matters most — with their families, loved ones, and in the work they find meaningful,' said Advocate Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Betty Chu. 'By aligning our organization around a unified set of evidence-based standards, we're empowering our entire team to drive improvements for all.' 'Together, The Joint Commission and Advocate Health are committed to improving patient safety and quality of care,' says Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, president and chief executive officer, The Joint Commission. 'A systemwide approach to accreditation is best for health systems to deliver safe and quality care, which in turn benefits patients, the workforce and communities. We look forward to working with Advocate Health to build resilient health care, enable continuous improvement, and share data, insights and experiences to advance health outcomes.' For more information, please visit Advocate Health and ### About Advocate Health Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Advocate Health is nationally recognized for its expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs more than 160,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to redefining care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits. About The Joint Commission Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve healthcare for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating healthcare organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 23,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare. Learn more about The Joint Commission at Katie Bronk The Joint Commission 630-792-5175 [email protected] Advocate Health [email protected]
Business Journals
21-05-2025
- Health
- Business Journals
Monitoring the mind: How tech can prevent seizures
A seizure can strike at a moment's notice and can cause scary symptoms and potentially long-lasting brain damage. Now, leading-edge software and one of the nation's largest neurological monitoring teams at Aurora Health Care can intervene at a moment's notice to prevent prolonged seizures and the health issues that accompany them. Located at Aurora's Heil Center, adjacent to Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee, banks of monitors and telemetry allow technologists to simultaneously observe 64 patients undergoing continuous electroencephalogram (cEEG) testing across hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois. Aurora Health Care is part of Advocate Health, the nation's third-largest nonprofit health care system. expand A seizure is a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain. It can cause changes in behavior, movements, feelings and levels of consciousness. There are many types of seizures with a range of symptoms and vary in how much they affect daily life. Seizure types also vary by where they begin in the brain and how far they spread. Most seizures last from 30 seconds to two minutes. A seizure that lasts longer than five minutes is a medical emergency. Nearly 4 million American adults and children live with active epilepsy, which is a neurological disease characterized by recurrent seizures. But epilepsy doesn't cause all seizures. Seizures can result from a stroke, head trauma, tumor, or a family history of the condition. 'A seizure can occur as a symptom of a health condition, such as a metabolic problem like low magnesium or a side effect of a medication,' says Dr. Ikram Khan, a neurologist at Aurora Health Care. 'Unlike epilepsy, treating the health condition causing the seizures will cause the seizures to subside.' EEG tests are used to detect the electrical activity and any abnormalities in brain waves and help diagnose epilepsy and the potential causes of seizures. Electrodes placed on a patient's head can detect tiny electrical discharges that result from the activity of your brain cells and shows how well different areas of the brain are working. Aurora Health Care's continuous EEG monitoring allows patient brain activity to be monitored for longer durations than the standard EEG. The room is staffed 24/7 by neurodiagnostic monitoring teammates with oversight from lead neurodiagnostic technicians who identify epileptic activity and transmit information directly to the patient's care team. expand This system also utilizes intercom, enabling technicians in the monitoring room to speak directly with providers and seizure patients at each of Advocate Health's 28 hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois. This key feature provides crucial data to patient care teams and enables real-time analysis. Through this advanced software, Aurora's neurodiagnostic teams are able to offer the community faster, life-saving epilepsy treatment, shorter hospital stays and a quicker return home and a healthy way of life. 'Aurora's epilepsy monitoring technology expansion unites each of its neurodiagnostic departments with electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring services, seamlessly coordinating care, improving patient outcomes and enabling faster pharmacological intervention when needed,' said Steven Winkelmeyer, director of neurodiagnostic services.
Business Journals
12-05-2025
- Health
- Business Journals
Virtual health: How, when and where patients need care
Aurora Health Care is committed to meeting Wisconsin patients where, when and how they need health care through its expanded virtual health and virtual primary care programs. In early 2025, Aurora launched its Virtual Primary Care program, enabling patients to connect via video calls with a physician who will be there throughout their continuum of care. Enhanced capabilities allow for sick care, common health concerns, chronic conditions, medication management and more to be conducted virtually. When a virtual visit shows that in-person care is needed for lab work, physicals and screenings, Aurora's virtual primary care team coordinates follow-up care at a convenient nearby location. Aurora offers convenient same-day primary care appointments and e-visits for adults and children seven days a week. Many clinicians are leaning into virtual care, recognizing its potential to improve patient outcomes and increase efficiency. More than 8,400 clinicians across Advocate Health provide virtual care across 40 unique specialties. Aurora Health Care is part of Advocate Health, the nation's third-largest nonprofit health care system. 'What makes Aurora Health Care's virtual health capabilities stand out is not only do we offer the benefits of virtual care, but when in-person care is necessary, we have the brick-and-mortar hospitals and clinics and can seamlessly welcome patients into locations nearest to them for the care the care they need,' said Dr. Matthew C. Anderson, medical director of virtual health for Advocate Health. expand Another important feature of Aurora's virtual health services is that it delivers the same level and often an enhanced quality of care. For instance, managing chronic conditions like diabetes becomes more efficient with regular virtual check-ins. Instead of multiple in-person visits each year, patients can now do most follow-ups online and come into the clinic only when absolutely necessary. Behavioral health also sees profound benefits. Patients can attend therapy sessions from the privacy of their homes and receive medication adjustments without the need for an office visit. Rural health care has seen a major boost from virtual care. In areas outside of Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, patients often face long drives to access care. Virtual health bridges this gap. In 2024 alone, Aurora Health Care completed over 16,000 virtual visits in Wisconsin. Across the broader Advocate Health network, more than 2 million virtual visits were conducted, with 100,000 serving rural patients. This highlights how virtual care isn't just a convenience, but serves as a lifeline for communities with limited access to health care facilities. The shift toward telehealth has been driven by the evolving needs of patients and Advocate Health's strategic organizational vision to make health care more accessible, personalized, and flexible. Aurora Health Care was an early adopter of the power of virtual care. Since 2018, Aurora's Quick Care program has provided virtual on-demand care to patients from a dedicated care team available 24/7 for common, non-urgent symptoms. The COVID-19 pandemic also served as a catalyst for the rapid adoption of virtual health. While the trend was already on the rise, the urgency of the pandemic pushed clinicians, health systems, and patients to embrace virtual visits out of necessity. What started as a solution for a crisis has evolved into a permanent feature of the health care landscape with significant benefits for both patients and clinicians. Aurora is continuing its work to expand virtual care by developing the necessary infrastructure to support telehealth, but also through additional programs and services, including pediatrics and weight loss management. 'Ultimately, virtual health isn't about replacing in-person care, it's about expanding options. We want to ensure that whether a patient connects virtually or visits in person, they receive the same high standard of care. Our comprehensive approach is patient-focused, flexible, and allows us to provide quality care to patients everywhere,' said Anderson. To find your doctor, schedule a virtual appointment, and learn more about Aurora's virtual health offerings, go to
Business Journals
01-05-2025
- Health
- Business Journals
Wilkes Medical Center Foundation invests $522K in community health initiatives
The Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Wilkes Medical Center Foundation has announced the allocation of $522,205 in investments for the community. This is in addition to the $780,000 in grants awarded by the foundation in 2023, reinforcing its continued commitment to enhancing health care access and overall well-being in Wilkes County. Grant recipients were selected based on their alignment with key priorities identified in the most recent Community Health Needs Assessment. Focus areas include access to transportation, essential health care services and programs addressing community health challenges. 'These grants empower local organizations to expand their services, purchase critical equipment and develop innovative programs that directly benefit county residents,' said Holly Minton, Wilkes Medical Center Foundation Grant Committee chair. 'We are proud to support their vital work and to help ensure that quality health care remains accessible to everyone in Wilkes County.' Notable funded projects include: Wilkes Community College: Dental hygiene program Child Abuse Prevention Team of Wilkes County — CAPT Cares: Car seats for kids Catherine Barber Memorial Shelter: Food and transportation voucher program CareNet of Wilkes, Inc.: The CareNet Hope Fund for mental health and substance abuse services Samaritan Kitchen of Wilkes: Project Backpack for food-insecure children These projects represent a portion of those receiving funding this year. Through these investments, the foundation remains dedicated to strengthening health care services and addressing the community's unique challenges. For more information about the foundation, its grant programs or this year's recipients, please visit Wilkes Medical Center Foundation. You can also donate online. Learn more about Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Wilkes Medical Center. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is a pre-eminent academic learning health system based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and part of Advocate Health. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's two main components are an integrated clinical system with locations throughout the region and Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the academic core of Advocate Health and a recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research.
