Intermountain Health

I am constantly grateful and amazed by the innovative thinking and action of our caregivers at Intermountain.?By identifying and removing obstacles—and embracing simplicity—Intermountain aims to increase efficiency, reduce wait times, and enhance the overall healthcare experience. You might find this article of interest in how Kaizen, or good change, can be driven at the front line by innovative caregivers.

The lightbulb moment for Jeanne Falk, MD, came when she was working for an insurance company. There was a weight threshold for bariatric surgery – meaning she would have to deny patients who didn’t weigh enough.?“I thought, wait a minute. So you have to be in worse shape before we can help you?” she said. ? That insight led her to a new career quite literally dedicated to helping people live the healthiest lives possible. Trained as an obstetrician-gynecologist, which she practiced for 18 years, Dr. Falk left the field for a time to work as a medical director for an insurance company – which led her back to practice, but not as an OB-Gyn. She now serves at the Lifestyle Medicine and Wellness Center in Park City, Utah as Intermountain Health’s sole full-time integrative medicine provider. We caught up to talk about complimentary medicine, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the two easy things she thinks everyone should make part of their daily routine. Article written by: Jef Otte #TogetherForTheHealthiestLives

With hammers, shovels, and a bit of plucky determination, caregivers across Intermountain have spent the last several weekends partnering with the iAct program and Habitat for Humanity to build or improve homes for six families.?? iAct is Intermountain’s caregiver volunteer impact match program, designed to support our communities by encouraging caregivers to get involved and give back. The first build took place on October 12, near Billings, Montana, where caregivers worked to create a backyard for a young mom and her toddler.?? “I live about 10 blocks from the build site, so my family and I were literally helping our neighbor,” said April Keippel, the community health director for Montana. On the same day a few hundred miles away, caregivers in the Canyons Region had the unique opportunity to build a home for a fellow healthcare worker, a single mother of three who is studying to become a nurse.?? Additional builds have taken place in Hurricane, Utah on November 2, Weber County, Utah on October 19, and most recently Las Vegas on Saturday, November 9.?? The final build is scheduled in Grand Junction, Colorado on December 7.??

Every week, Laundry Services washed 15 carts of items that were mis-sorted, leading to 22,500 pounds of extra laundry. That is, until one caregiver’s innovative solution solved the problem, saving time and the cost of unnecessary laundry.? Article written by: Shauntel Gonzalez #TogetherForTheHealthiestLives #Innovation

Volunteering doesn’t only help the community…it helps those serving. That’s why Intermountain Health began the iAct program in 2022. Caregivers care deeply about the communities we serve. This is a way to empower caregivers to get involved outside of our facilities. For each hour a caregiver volunteers with an iAct eligible organization, they’ll earn 16 community cash points. Each community cash point is the equivalent of $1, which will then be donated to an organization of the caregiver’s choice at the end of the year. The goal of the program is to support our local communities, connect caregivers to organizations and causes that are important to them, and fulfill Intermountain’s mission and health priorities. Our goal as an organization is to donate $1 million per year through the iAct program to eligible organizations. Scroll through to see some of the ways our caregivers are volunteering…and doubling their impact with iAct!

Did you see the digital poster presentation that doctor Muhlestein did this afternoon? He presented his research findings on long-term effect of screening for coronary artery disease using CT angiography on mortality and cardiac events in high-risk patients with diabetes: the FACTOR-64 follow-up study, you can see the research here: https://bit.ly/48Qz8KZ #aha24 #cardiology #HeartHealth

Doctor May presented her research findings this afternoon at the American Heart Association on the impact of emergent atrial fibrillation in patients with newly diagnosed heart failure and differences in risk among preserved vs. reduced ejection fraction. You can see her research findings here: https://bit.ly/48Qz8KZ #aha24 #cardiology #afib

When it comes to helping people live the healthiest lives possible, we know health goes beyond the walls of a clinic, hospital, or pharmacy. Health requires access to nutritious food, safe housing, education…even a birthday cake made with love, or a community space made more beautiful with plants and art. That’s why Intermountain Health encourages caregivers to use their talents to serve their communities. We know serving helps the giver as much as the recipient, creating a moment that lifts up all involved.

Did you catch Kismet Rasmusson, NP, presentation at the American Heart Association conference yesterday? She explained her findings on a moderated digital poster about hypertensive disorders during pregnancy: Patient perspectives on care, barriers, and a path forward. Research like this is helping Intermountain lead in cardiac health; if you want to see her findings, you can go to this link: https://bit.ly/48Qz8KZ #HeartHealth #aha24 #cardiology

Dr. Horne explained the great research he is doing at Intermountain on association of Intermountain risk score with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients assessed for renal transplantation at the American Heart Association this morning. If you missed it you can see it here: https://bit.ly/48Qz8KZ #aha24 #cardiology #HeartHealth