LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Home Hospital Emergency Department will be closing and moving to St. Elizabeth East, located at 1701 S. Creasy Lane, Lafayette. The Home Hospital Emergency Department will permanently close its doors at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. The new Emergency Care Center at St. Elizabeth East will begin seeing patients at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010.

During the 32-hour period between the closing of the Home Hospital Emergency Department and the opening of the Emergency Care Center at St. Elizabeth East, patients seeking emergency care from St. Elizabeth Regional Health should utilize the St. Elizabeth Central Emergency Care Center at 1501 Hartford Street, Lafayette.

The new St. Elizabeth East hospital will also open 7 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25. St. Elizabeth East features: 150 private inpatient rooms, a state-of the-art Heart Center, 14 Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit suites, the regions only dedicated Pediatric Center and a Women’s Center with single room maternity care suites. For more information, visit their Web site at http://www.ste.org

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — On Jan. 1, 2010, Home Hospital Home Health Care was renamed St. Elizabeth Home Health Care.

The name change better reflects the relationship of the home health care agency to St. Elizabeth Regional Health.

“Our current services will remain the same,” said Bea Lamb, R.N., MBA, regional director of home health and hospice at St. Elizabeth Regional Health. “Patients, physicians, families, vendors and the community will continue to see the same visiting staff and work with the same office staff.”

St. Elizabeth Home Health Care is partnered with St. Clare Home Health Care, which is based in Crawfordsville. St. Elizabeth Home Health Care and St. Clare’s service areas include Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Parke, Putnam, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties.

Services provided by St. Elizabeth Home Health Care include skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work, social services and certified home health aides.

The home health agencies have continually been honored by HomeCare Elite, for their continued improvement and high achievement in clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and other categories.

The phone number for St. Elizabeth Home Health Care will continue to be (765) 449-5046 and the fax number will continue to be (765) 449-5192.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A panel consisting of Greater Lafayette health care providers and advocacy groups will present “Appropriate Use of Mammography As A Screening Tool” at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3 at the Kathryn Weil Center for Education in Lafayette, Ind.

Thomas L. Summer, M.D., Lafayette Surgical Clinic and the St. Elizabeth Breast Center, will address the new guidelines that were issued on Nov. 16 by the United State Preventive Services Task Force. Madelyn G. Lefranc, M.D., of the St. Elizabeth Breast Center, will discuss the American College of Radiology’s guidelines. Stacy Rogers, associate director of the Wabash Valley Chapter of the American Cancer Society, will also talk about the importance of mammograms. A question and answer session will follow the presentations.

The program will be held at the Kathryn Weil Center for Education, located inside the Medical Arts Building at 415 N. 26th St., Suite 400 in Lafayette on the campus of Home Hospital.

This program is free, but registration is required. To register or for more information, call the Kathryn Weil Center for Education at (765) 449-5133.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Home Hospital Home Health and St. Clare Home Health Care – both divisions of St. Elizabeth Regional Health – have been named to 2009 HomeCare Elite’s Top 500 Agency listing, a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the United States. This annual review identifies the top 500 agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.

“Our staff members have worked incredibly hard over the past few years to accurately collect patient data and to use that data to improve our care models so that we can in turn improve clinical outcomes for our patients,” said Bea Lamb, R.N., MBA, regional director of Home Hospital Home Health Care and St. Clare Home Health Care. “I am proud to see our efforts produce measurable positive results and I thank each and every staff member for their hard work on behalf of our patients.”

The HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry. The HomeCare Elite is provided by OCS, Inc., the leading provider of health care informatics and DecisionHealth, publisher of home care’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line.

Home Hospital Home Health Care and St. Clare Home Health Care serve Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Putnam, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties and can be reached by calling (765) 449-5046 or (765) 362-5114.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Sigma Medical Group will be administering seasonal flu shots for patients of all ages in Lafayette and West Lafayette. The cost is $24 per person. No appointment is necessary and walk-ins are welcome. Vaccines will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the following locations:

• Sigma Family Medicine and Internal Medicine at 2323 Ferry St., Suite 206 in Lafayette
• Sigma Pediatrics/Adolescent Medicine/Family Medicine at 915 Sagamore Parkway West in West Lafayette.

In addition, Sigma Med Express Care, 915 Sagamore Parkway West in West Lafayette will offer flu shots from noon to 6 p.m. for patients 16 and older. No appointments are necessary.

Sigma Medical Group is a St. Elizabeth Regional Health partner. The multi-specialty physician group is made up of 29 physicians. For more information, contact Sigma Medical Group at (765) 449-5080 or visit their Web site at www.sigmamedicalgroup.org.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana inked a new multi-year contract on August 31st, one day ahead of the September 1st expiration date on the previous contract. This new agreement will maintain in-network health care benefits for policyholders and employer groups throughout Indiana.

Health insurance plans covered are Anthem Blue Access PPO, Anthem Blue Preferred HMO, Anthem Traditional, Anthem Medicare Advantage PPO, Lumenos, Hoosier Healthwise (Indiana Medicaid) and Anthem Healthy Indiana Plan.

The agreement covers the following SSFHS medical facilities and physicians:

• St. Elizabeth Regional Health in Lafayette;
• Home Hospital in Lafayette;
• St. Clare Medical Center in Crawfordsville;
• St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers in Indianapolis;
• St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers in Beech Grove;
• St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers in Mooresville;
• St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point;
• St. Anthony Memorial Health Center in Michigan City;
• St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Center in Hammond;
• St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Center in Dyer;
• Franciscan Physicians Hospital in Munster;
• Indiana Bone and Marrow Transplantation Unit in Beech Grove; and
• More than 300 physicians throughout the SSFHS service areas.

Health insurance plans covered are Anthem Blue Access PPO, Anthem Blue Preferred HMO, Anthem Traditional, Anthem Medicare Advantage PPO, Lumenos, Hoosier Healthwise (Indiana Medicaid) and Anthem Healthy Indiana Plan.

“We recognize how difficult this has been for our patients and appreciate their support and patience during the negotiations,” said Jay Brehm, SSFHS regional chief financial officer and chief negotiator for the hospital system. “The agreement we have forged, in the end, ensures our mission to provide patients with the timely and compassionate care they expect and deserve.”

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Sisters of St. Francis Health Services because it ensures that our customers will have uninterrupted, in-network access to medical care at SSFHS facilities across Indiana,” said David Lee, M.D., vice president of health services for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “This contract achieves our number one goal of keeping health care affordable for our members.”