Our Speaker on May 21, 2020 was Susan Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG, President and Chief Executive Officer at APD
Sue Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG has been the President and CEO of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital since April of 2013.
She completed her undergraduate degree at Princeton University, her Medical Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and her residency at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
She joined the Medical Staff at APD in 2000 as a fulltime Obstetrician/Gynecologist and continued in that role until 2005 when she took a leave of absence to pursue fellowship training as a Veterans Administration Quality Scholar. During that two year period of time, she received a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Quality Improvement from the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth (now The Dartmouth Institute). Upon her return to APD, she became the Medical Director of Quality and ultimately the Chief Medical Officer before transitioning to her current role.
Dr. Mooney is passionate about improving the quality of care that APD provides to patients
Susan Mooney, MD, provided an update on COVID-19 impact on APD and APD’s clinics and lifecare business as well. Highlights of her talk:
Middle of March when concern rose re: influx of COVID patients in the Upper Valley. Grafton County was the 2nd rural county in the nation that had a positive patient – a provider at DHMC who tested positive. That woke providers at DHMC and APD all up to the potential impact.
To prepare:
Create more capacity in hospitals [APD developed a plan to grow bed space from 25 to almost 50];
Assure there was a larger supply of Personal Protective equipment (PPE)
As of the middle of March, stop all emergent and non-emergency cases, anything that wasn’t immediately life-threatening.
Providers came up with a strategy to provide telehealth/outpatient care, doing some appointments with either telephone or video conferencing.
Systems were established to keep non-COVID patients and ourselves safe in the environment. Just because COVID was in the environment didn’t mean the patients with other health crisis won’t need care. There was a need to deal with patients having broken bones, COPD exacerbation, heart issues, other infections, etc., and protect these patients from getting COVID.
Community did a great job of flattening the curve – we didn’t see a big increase in patients. Now, trying to LIVE with the virus until there’s a vaccine or cure. Now in a phase of re-starting our deferred care, management of chronic problems, routine screenings, spine surgeries and other routine care.
We instituted new protocols for PPE – when you arrive today, you will be screened, have your temperature taken, be given a mask. Sue is screened every day as is everyone coming to work at APD no matter into which building you enter. Screening is done on every patient arriving at APD too.
Physical/social distancing – they have worked on non-clinical spaces to make sure there is 6 feet or distance between people in offices, break rooms, cafeteria, etc. Waiting rooms are spaced out to minimize risk of transmission of disease.
All staff have re-learned how to clean our environment more frequently, and carefully.
PPE challenge – DHMC had an army of people tracking it down – APD now has stockrooms full of gowns and masks, etc., necessary to keep staff and patients safe.
Multi-specialty clinic – They have systems in place to assure that anyone seeking care for any respiratory symptoms don’t come in contact with those individuals who don’t have these problems. They work hard to keep these individuals out of the general population. They are seen in a segregated environment and tested for COVID. APD has a separate respiratory clinic where anyone with any sort of respiratory symptoms is seen. We have a mobile testing unit on our campus to take specimens which are done at DHMC with about 24-hour turnaround.
Providers wear typical PPE but also eye protection.
Telehealth –This idea has been around for a while, but there were many regulatory issues that prevented it from moving forward. Those barriers have been eliminated. For example, a physician in NH can provide service to a patient in VT. Licensure is no longer an issue; APD is allowed us to bill telehealth visits at parity for in-person visit.
Providers are learning a lot about Telehealth. For example:
The visit works best if patient has pre-existing relationship with provider,
It is often dependent on broadband capacity – spots in rural NE where it doesn’t work well, so variability,
Technology – Patients have to download the app to their equipment then launch at the right time. This can be problem for those unfamiliar, or uncomfortable learning new technology..
APD never closed, kept providing services. Used the time when their volumes were lower to learn how to co-exist with COVID.
Some changes made will continue:
APD will maintain a higher level of infection prevention, thanks to their environmental staff who have stepped up to do a great job keeping the environment safe.
Susan believes that the switch to telehealth will be a permanent change.
Comments and Questions from Rotarians:
John Yacavone: During this crisis the hospital obviously lost money. What’s your timetable to re-coup that lost money.
Sue: We are navigating the pandemic crisis as the same time as a precarious financial crisis. APD has always had a margin of 1-2%; our projected losses are multiple millions of dollars, about a $7 M loss by June 30, all occurring March-June. A lot of what we are doing to improve infection protection has reduced our operations – 3 operations where we used to be 4 because of infection prevention. Not going to be short recovery. Hospitals are in significant trouble across the nation.
Steve Christy: I’ve served on the APD and DHMC boards. I learned that lost patient revenue is lost patient revenue. As a busness person, I don’t think the money is ever coming back unless there’s a Federal assistance program. We’ve seen 90+thousand deaths attributed to COVID with 20k associated with nursing facilities, 10k in the states of NY and NJ. What are you doing to prevent introduction of people who have had the COVID-19 from entering your population.
Cindy Jerome: No residents or staff at Lifecare have been diagnosed as positive. Using proper hand hygiene and PPE, it has been shown that you can prevent infection spread. Even folks who test negative, if they had been admitted to the hospital, when they return, they are they are quarantined for 14 days. Staff taking care of them are in complete PPE. We really don’t know for sure how to keep this virus out of long-term care facilities., The best we can do today is what we are doing – screening staff every day, masks/hand hygiene, etc. We will universally test staff – we’re confident there’s no COVID in the building so if it comes, it will come in from the outside.
Steve Christy – You’re saying that you would not accept a patient who tested positive into your facility?
Sue Mooney – It’s entirely possible that one of our residents becomes positive; we are not kicking them out of the facility. We will use infection control practice to keep other as safe and COVID free.
Bill Secord: What role do private Urgent Care facilities provide? How do they fit in?
Sue: They are private businesses. The state is partnering with Convenient MD and routes the state testing through that organization. Clear Choice is offering testing and we have no relationship with them. We believe and more efficient the DHMC lab is better than Clear Choice can provide.
Paul Tierney: I was on APD Finance Committee when we approved Harvest Hill. APD has huge community support. I expect the community will respond if you ask.
Sue Mooney: Thanks. Early on, one of our providers came up with the idea of the APD Family Fund. We maintained our workforce throughout, but some of our workers couldn’t come to work because of children at home. We have almost $100k in that fund now and we’re using it to support folks in our workforce.
Paul Tierney: Since I’m the Rotary club president next year, I’d invite a request for a donation to the Family Fund. Feel free to submit the request to us.
Ernst Oidtmann: Three questions:
How many tests can you do? Could you test the whole population of Lebanon and then repeat it in two weeks?
Sue Mooney: Our capacity is about 1,000/day. There are differences in how we test folks with symptoms and without symptoms. We are ramping up “surveillance”. But we could not test the entire population of Lebanon at this point in time.
Ernst: The really ill, the elderly will have trouble with telehealth. How can you deal with this?
Sue Mooney: There are challenges, not just with elderly – there are others without techno knowledge. Mooney implied that this is still something that will have to be worked out over time
The Kilton Library Children's book given in honor of Susan Mooney is
Becoming Emily: The Life of Emily Dickinson
by Krystyna Poray Goddu
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) wrote short, often-enigmatic poems that are widely anthologized, quoted, and read by students of every age. Yet, as widely known as her poetry is, Dickinson as a person is considered to have been an inscrutable recluse—a silent figure who wore only white, wrote in secret, never left her Amherst, Massachusetts, home, and had no interest in sharing her poetry with others.
In Becoming Emily , young readers will learn how—while Dickinson did keep to her home for the last 20 or so years of her life—as a child, adolescent, and well into adulthood, she was a lively social being with a warm family life. Highly educated for a girl of her era, she was fully engaged in both the academic and social aspects of the schools she attended until she was nearly 18.
Her family and friends were of the utmost importance to her, and she was a prolific, thoughtful, and witty correspondent who shared many poems with those closest to her. Including plentiful photos, full-length poems, letter excerpts, a time line, source notes, and a bibliography, this indispensable resource offers a full portrait of this singular American poet, making it perfect for any young person interested in poetry, literature, or biographies of remarkable people in American history.
Moorings
We had a few minutes for pre-meeting chatter/banter between members. Marilyn rang the bell at 5:31 PM. Melissa called the meeting to order. We all recited the 4-way test..as garbled as ever. Then John went on to introduce our guest speaker.
A Rotary Membership Video produced by Lawrence Furbish was played. Key Points from the video:
Membership Video – Are we really welcoming to new folks?
Is information about your meetings up to date on Facebook, etc.
Does someone greet the visitor in addition to the person who takes money for the meal.
Do we ignore the new arrival by speaking only with our friends?
Do Rotarians sit at the same seat every week? Perhaps they should be encouraged to have a guest join them.
Do you explain the unusual aspects of your meeting?
Do you use unexplained acronyms?
Is your humor understandable to visitors? How does fining look to an outsider?
How about asking visitors and guests what they thought of their experience?
Treat visitors as if they were coming to your home.
Other observations were made but being a kind newsletter editor, I won't include pictures that were sent to me after the meeting.
Faces we saw on the Zoom meeting included:
Dan Affeldt (again thanks for setting up our Zoom meetings)
Bill Babineau
Marilyn Bedell
Ron Bedell
Steve Christy
Hank Clarke
Dave Crandall
Jim Damren
Rudy Fedrizzi
Tim Guaraldi
Garlan Hoskins
Cindy Jerome
Willy Koppenheffer
JoAnn Lemieux
Don Mac Meekin
Jane Mason
Melissa Mooney
Shaun Mulholland
Ernst Oidtmann
Bruce Pacht
Bill Secord
Paul Tierndy
Rich Wallace
Steve Whitman
John Yacovone
SHARING HAPPY THOUGHTS OR CONCERNS:
Paul Tierney is delighted that Cameron Ford has agreed to manage our speaker program for 2020/2021
JoAnn LeMieux is proud of our state. I got tested for COVID-19 in Claremont. It was a very quick procedure dispensed by the National Guard. She is happy she tested negative for the virus.
Rudy Fedrizzi announce that for the next two Thursdays there will be COVID-19 testing at the Aquatic Center in White River Junction. You must be pre-registered. Registration can be done on line. Testing will be from 9 AM to 3 PM.
Club News and Other Announcements
Updates from the Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday:
Richard Gallow and Melissa Golightly are no longer members of the club. Both have left due to work issues.
Mike Weins is now at an assisted living location in Michigan: If you would like to call him, contact Marilyn for his phone number. Garlan added "It isn’t likely he will return to this community."
John Yacavone: District Grant for Listen and The Haven. We have given them each $500 and have applied for a Rotary Foundation Grant District Grant. We’ve been approved at one level (by our District) and should hear in June if we will officially receive a check from the Rotary Foundation to give each organization an additional $500 donation to help combat food insecurity in the Upper Valley.
Approved Charities Giving Guidelines have been posted on the top banner of the Club's ClubRunner home page. Take a moment and review them. You can direct those seeking donations from us to read them and then send a request for a donation.
Rotary Foundation Giving for 2019/2021.
Ron Bedell reported that at this moment in time we are averaging donations of$291.19 per member for the Rotary Foundation's Annual's Program Fund/Share (this is the money that help fund both District and Global grants). We are in 3rd place in the District for giving. We are in third place for total giving which is the sum of our giving to the Annual Programs Fund Share, Polio Plus, the Endowment Fund, the Disaster Relief Fund and the Area of Focus funds. In total we have averaged $357.40/ member. 76% of the membership have already made contributions. We hope the remaining 24% will consider making a donation by 25 June 2020,
Steve Christy asked, "What would it take to move us to 1st or 2nd place per capita."
Ron replied that it will depends on the donations the top club donate between now and 30 June. At the moment to move into second place we would need to make donations totaling an additional $2500 to $4,000. Those donations would need to be into the Foundation by 25 June.
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The4thofJuly - Hoping you can help!!
Steve Whitman asked if Shaun Mulholland was ready to talk about a project for Lebanon Rotary? Shaun shared that on the 4th of July, the city hopes to have a large fireworks display at the Lebanon Aiport. Using this venue will permit everyone to be able to do social distancing. He is asking the club to help park cars and help to keep parked cars spread out people appropriately. Donation will be requested and these need to be collected as folks drive onto the sight. Groups that will benefit include AVA, Upper Valley Music Center, Lebanon Opera House. Steve Whitman would love to have Lebanon Rotary working with Shaun to provide volunteer help. Ir would be a great way to partner with the city. Shaun indicated our help would be needed from approximately 5:00-8:30 PM on July 4, Saturday. A Doodle Poll will be prepared for members to sign up to help.
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NH Legislative Youth Advisory Committee
From Paul Tierney:
Laurel Stavis-Listen Board Chair and representative to NH legislator sent me an e-mail. She is looking for nominees from our area to serve on the NH Legislative Youth Advisory Committee. This could be a great opportunity for a young person you might know. You can contact her directly at lstavis100@gmail.com
From Laurel's e-mail, "The NH Legislative Youth Advisory Committee is looking for nominations for young people ages 15 to 22. LYAC is a statutory committee that serves as a liaison to the NH House of Representatives, helping us identify matters of importance to young people in NH. If you know of anyone who would be interested in applying for nomination to the Committee and having an inside role in state government, let me know and I will get them the necessary materials."
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International Service Project...It's easy!...For Epilogos Charities
Dear Epilogos Friends,
It’s time for our spring fundraiser.Since we are all hunkered down, it’s a great time to consider cleaning closets! We are once again collecting clothes, shoes, purses, blankets, sheets, pillows, backpacks, sleeping bags, towels in any condition. We bring it all to Savers, they weigh it and give us $.20 per pound.
Proceeds from this fundraiser will provide funding for the Big Friend/Little Friend Mentorship Program in San Jose Villanueva. Local high school students volunteer as mentors to children experiencing emotional trauma. This program’s goal is to teach positive values while developing trusting relationships and self-confidence.
At this difficult time, please help Epilogos support the children in San José Villanueva.
Donations can be dropped off at Bruce Bergeron's office at Jakes on Mechanics St. , or at Tim Guaraldi's Nationwide Office on Bank Street.
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Thank You Notes
From Whaleback (our donation for winter equipment for the youth skier's program):
From The Haven (Our donation for food):
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West Lebanon Village Charette
Report now available, click here to read the report.
This report may help us as we plan future projects in Lebanon.
Upcoming Events - Save the Dates
Bedell Classic....Hold the Date
Golf committee has secured September 17 Thusday as a new date for the Bedell Tournament. Probably a smaller event this year, but one where we can raise at least some money.
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Listen Dinners 2020
NEXT DINNER June 9, 2020/Cancelled, Volunteers still not permitted to help prepare meals.
Cook team to arrive at Listen at 3:30 PM
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Stay turned for more information about events planned from
20-26 June 2020
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2020 Holiday Party and Yankee Swap
It's never to early to plan...Mark you calendars now, our 2020 Holiday Party and Famous Yankee Swap! It will be on Thursday, December 17, 2020, at the Quechee Inn at Marshland Farms. Cost will be the same as 2019...$40/person
Rotary International News
Using science of resilience to strengthen Rotary clubs during COVID-19
Posted on
Jenny Stotts
By Jenny Stotts, District 6690 membership chair
Resilience is the process of adapting in the face of adversity. When we experience a traumatic or stressful event, our brains activate a number of pathways to protect us. These biological processes help keep us safe. It’s in the recovery from these events that we grow and change and become stronger.
Many of us are living this reality right now in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is, there are ways to grow our capacity for resiliency. And we can use this time to strengthen Rotary, by working together to grow and foster resilience in our fellow members and our clubs. Here are a few tips:
Connect: A critical building block for resilience is simply connecting with others. Check in with fellow members. Call them, send them a message, work to make sure they can access your virtual meetings. As a club, consider connecting with other clubs to weave yourself further into the global fabric of Rotary.
Perspective: When we experience ongoing adversity, it is far too easy to lose hope. Help members maintain a realistic and positive perspective. Rotary clubs are facing challenges right now including adjusting to new meeting platforms and worrying about membership or giving. Remember that the challenges you face today are not a reflection of your future. How you respond to today’s challenges will shape the future.
Wellness: We are living during a time where words like “quarantine,” “lockdown,” and “zoom fatigue” are common and relatable. Promote and prioritize wellness among your members. Use your virtual meeting to ask members to share ways that they are taking care of themselves and their families. Be gracious when a member needs to take a break, skip a meeting or have an extra few days to respond to an email. Now is not the time to keep points or compete with who is doing more or less. Speak and listen with kindness.
Purpose: When we give energy to others, it has a way of recharging our own batteries. It fosters a sense of self-worth and gives us feelings of purpose and validation. Plan service opportunities with your fellow members that you are able to accomplish and approach. Offering smaller projects concurrent to your larger, ongoing projects gives everyone in your club an access point to service.
Gratitude: We benefit from mindful and intentional reflections in gratitude. It can promote the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which help us feel joy or happiness. Take a moment to share thanks to your fellow members and create opportunities for your entire club to extend gratitude to your community and your partners.
When we collectively care for our members, we help create pathways to grow and foster resilience. When we scale these practices to the organization level, we unlock new potential to strengthen our clubs and enhance the member experience.
The world deserves Rotarians and Rotary clubs that are resilient, adaptable, and strong. Remember to take care of one another. But, take care of yourself, too. You deserve to be your best and most resilient self.
About the author: Jenny Stotts is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Athens Sunrise, Ohio, USA. She is the membership chair of District 6690. She is also a licensed, practicing social worker, child advocate and trauma specialist.
We are meeting via
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Thursdays at 5:30 PM
Please join us if you can!!
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