Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST
Trenton Makes the World Will Take Again
By Tammy Duffy
Ruth Perry, Executive Director of Trenton Health Network
For the past several months the spread of deadly viruses like Ebola and enterovirus-68, have created fear and unrest throughout the world.
Last evening, Trenton, NJ, Director of Health and Human Services, James Brownlee presented to the Trenton City Council the city’s Public Health Readiness. He focused on Ebola and EV-D68. There were also executives from the local hospitals and community health centers in attendance as well.
Trenton is being proactive. This is a city that will not wait until there is a death in the town to react or educate anyone in the community. They are doing this now and have been doing this for several months. They have daily calls with the county health departments, weekly conference calls with CDC, etc. If an Ebola case or EV D68 is reported the Trenton Director of Health would be notified immediately and notifications would be sent out immediately to first responders and others. They would not follow the same strategy seen in Hamilton where hours went by before key personnel were notified and the public waited for days before they were informed on what was going on.
Brownlee has done an outstanding job developing a health care partnership in the city of Trenton. A network so unique that it will make the sign on our bridge “Trenton Makes the World Takes” glow again. Brownlee stated at the presentation,” We are not doing this alone, it’s a massive team effort.” Information is shared between the Trenton Community web site and the school district.
Last evenings presentation was done at the request of Councilman Duncan Harrison who raised the issue after local news stories about the viruses. There is a great concern in the community about how the city and schools would handle EV-68 after a 4 year old in Hamilton died from the virus. Since the press conferences in Hamilton, the only public service announcement has been a posting by the mayor has focused on the Fall festival. There is no education to the community occurring in Hamilton. The Trenton leadership is taking a very proactive approach and making sure their community is ready.
Dr Ruth Perry stated, “I think that we are in an excellent position to deal with anything that may come to the city in terms of enterovirus and Ebola.” Dr. Perry, is the executive director of the Trenton Heath Team, which is a coalition of local hospitals and the city’s health department. Perry also said, “The health team allows those in the city’s health sector to work together in times where there is not an emergency, so they are well equipped to work together when there is a public health problem.” There were also key executives from Capital Health and St Francis Medical Center at the council meeting. They have been going through daily drills for Ebola preparedness and even created ebola crash carts. The Health commissioner has mandated these drills for all hospitals in the area.
“We’ve put together Ebola carts in preparation if we get a case,” said Dr. Robert Remstein, the vice president for accountable care at Capital Health Regional Medical Center.
Brownlee said the city is constantly updating the information about both viruses posted on the front page of the city’s website. Residents should go to the site to look for the latest information.
Brownlee’s mission does not end there. He is physically going out into the community, meeting with the Liberian community in Trenton to get to residents who do not have access to the internet, newspapers or telephones. Brownlee is a health director that others can learn from.
For the past two years Brownlee has been building a network for Trenton community. Trenton residents who go between hospitals and clinics have generally been treated without the advantage of a detailed medical history. Their medical records have not been readily accessible between organizations. As a result, providers have Trenton residents who go between hospitals and clinics have generally been treated without the advantage of a detailed medical history. Their medical records have not been readily accessible between organizations. As a result, providers have lacked information on a patient’s long-term health issues and on tests and treatments previously administered. Establishing a health information exchange that pulls together data from various healthcare agencies and makes it accessible to all is a critical goal if Trenton residents are to receive appropriate, cost-effective care, Dr. Perry said.
THT has partnered with CareEvolution, a Michigan-based information technology company, to create the Trenton Health Information Exchange (THIE). The THIE allows hospitals, doctors and other health care providers to electronically share patients’ personal health information (PHI) with each other in a secure and timely manner.
The THIE will result in improved patient care while controlling costs by avoiding costly duplication of services. The electronic database enables doctors to see lab results, radiology reports, emergency room records, prescribed medications, and discharge information for the patients of each of the city’s healthcare providers.
“By having a health information exchange, doctors can see, for example, that just weeks ago, a patient had, say, a cardiac catheterization, and they can see tests and results. That way, they won’t be duplicating any of that. The system will give doctors important information to enable them to provide the appropriate level of care,” Dr. Perry said.
Increasing access to crucial medical information, Brownlee added, is important to improving health outcomes and ensuring patients receive personalized, patient-centered care. “Our emergency departments can share information in real time, leading to better healthcare for patients,” he said. They lacked information on a patient’s long-term health issues and on tests and treatments previously administered. Establishing a health information exchange that pulls together data from various healthcare agencies and makes it accessible to all is a critical goal if Trenton residents are to receive appropriate, cost-effective care, Dr. Perry said.
