Umass Memorial Health-milford Regional Medical Center Inc

Outpatient services -another area of expansion at milford regional in 2014 was the introduction of new, leading edge technologies, including 3d mammography and the smallest, insertable cardiac monitor available. milford regional was the first hospital in massachusetts to implant this cardiac monitor which can wirelessly monitor a patient's heart for up to three years. additionally, the medical center's focus on patient safety was elevated with the purchase of two xenex disinfection robots that use ultraviolet light (uv-c) to kills deadly pathogens and multi-drug resistant organisms in patient rooms. our physician base also grew as milford regional welcomed 25 new physicians to our active medical staff. pediatrics expanded through our partnership with boston children's physicians that not only provides around-the-clock inpatient care and ed coverage, but also offers specialty clinics including general surgery, gastroenterology, urology, endocrinology and allergy/asthma. parents now have easy access to boston children's physicians in milford. our new physicians broadened the scope of care provided at milford regional with such adult specialties as reproductive endocrinology and infertility, breast and thoracic surgeries. all of these advancements at milford regional in 2014 and the high standard of patient care the hospital sets for itself resulted in local, regional and national recognitions. milford regional was chosen for the sixth straight year as the regional choice for healthcare and the number one choice locally by the annual community newspapers' survey. the hospital was also recognized by u.s. news & world report as a best regional hospital for the fourth consecutive year. in addition, milford regional was honored as a top hospital by the leapfrog group. this award is widely cited as the nation's most competitive hospital quality award. milford regional was one of 94 hospitals out of 1,400 nationwide to earn this honor. milford regional emergency department - the milford regional emergency department sees over 55,500 patients per year and the number of those with behavioral health and substance use issues has increased dramatically. a collaboration with riverside community care continues after 18 years at the hospital to provide behavioral medicine inside milford regional's internal medicine department. this partnership with the milford regional's department of care management provides the framework for a proactive approach to patient care. the collaborative team tackled the epidemic of opioid abuse and heroin overdoses this year by establishing the substance abuse task force to better manage withdrawal syndrome, increase the awareness of hospital providers, and connect with community resources. the medical center was again awarded with two state grants totaling $240,000 to target activity in the emergency department. one was to support a referral system with edward m. kennedy health center for the one in five patients who do not have primary care, and the other was to fund a behavioral health initiative in the ed and develop an integrated multidisciplinary team to better meet the needs of patients seen in the ed with behavioral health issues. the patient and family advisory council's (pfac) behavioral health task force continued to address the high volume and length of stay in the ed of behavioral health patients compared to those with medical and surgical complaints. through the state grant support, behavioral health nurses, patient safety assistants and clinical social workers provided care tailored to the needs of behavioral health patients seen in the ed. improvements included a decrease in restraint use for behavioral health patients, individualized management care plans developed to help patients reduce chronic ed visits by identifying and addressing underlying emotional issues, improved ed staff satisfaction, and decreased ed patient and family grievances. strong community linkages with mental health providers,