March 13, 2013 | news post

Dayton Children’s and Miami Valley Hospital announce joint venture to provide care to the region’s smallest patients

new initiative elevates neonatal care

The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton and Miami Valley Hospital announce today the two organizations have formed a joint venture to formalize their relationship to provide the region’s highest level of care for high-risk moms and critically-ill premature babies. The new company called Southwest Ohio Neonatal Collaborative will begin operating July 1, 2013, as determined by the new venture’s board of managers.

The focus of the joint venture is to elevate the quality of care and strengthen the health care delivery system for mothers and babies by drawing on the expertise of the two regional high-risk centers.

“Our plans call for establishing strong care alliances that advance care to our region’s children and will help Dayton Children’s remain strong and independent so we can effectively meet our mission.  The idea for this formal collaborative came as both organizations sought to strengthen the coordination of care we deliver to the most fragile infants,” says Dayton Children’s President and CEO Deborah A. Feldman.

Officials at both Miami Valley and Dayton Children’s note that this is not a merger, but a care alliance that aligns services and expertise to improve outcomes through clinical best practices and ultimately make the Dayton region the best and safest place to be born. Both hospitals will continue to operate their respective neonatal intensive care units (NICU).

Miami Valley Hospital and Dayton Children’s have held an informal relationship with each other for many years. Having a formal relationship gives more definitive structure to enhance the quality of care for premature and critically-ill newborns.

Jim Pancoast, president and CEO of Premier Health, which operates Miami Valley Hospital says, “Last year 830 critically-ill babies were cared for in the NICU at Miami Valley.  We see this collaboration as an important step to enhance regional care for tiny and seriously-ill babies. By working together we will be able to offer a more coordinated and seamless continuum of care for expectant mothers and critically-ill newborns.”

Miami Valley Hospital is widely recognized as the region’s high-risk maternity center with a Level IIIB NICU. Dayton Children’s is also designated as having a Level IIIB NICUand is the region’s expert in providing neonatal subspecialty care and complex pediatric care.

More than 80 percent of critically-ill newborns in this region are cared for by these two organizations and 85 percent of the complex neonatal care in the region is delivered at Dayton Children’s. 

Hospital officials from both organizations agree that by joining forces and drawing on the experts from both hospitals who provide complex neonatal subspecialty care, the collaborative elevates the quality of care for neonates and those neonates requiring ongoing complex pediatric sub-specialty care and improves the health care delivery system for both mothers and babies.

about Dayton Children’s

One of only 45 independent freestanding children’s hospitals in the country, Dayton Children’s is the region’s only medical facility dedicated to children. Accredited by The Joint Commission and serving 20 Ohio counties and eastern Indiana, the experts at Dayton Children’s care for more than 290,000 children each year. Consistently recognized as one of the country’s best and most cost-effective pediatric hospitals, Dayton Children’s is home to the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and together with the United States Air Force shares the nation’s only civilian-military integrated pe­diatric training program.

Dayton Children’s Regional Level IIIB NICU had 522 admissions last year including the region’s most fragile and critically-ill newborns. Its state-of-the art, developmentally centered unit offers a full range of newborn care through a prenatal team that includes board-certified neonatologists, and neonatal nurse practitioners with quick access to more than 35 pediatric specialties if needed. 

about Miami Valley Hospital

Miami Valley Hospital is the largest health care provider in the Dayton area with 800 staffed beds.  It has the Dayton area’s only:

  • Level 1 trauma center
  • High-risk obstetrics and perinatal center in the same facility
  • Adult burn center
  • Air ambulance service
  • Bone and marrow transplant unit

The hospital is served by 5,800 employees and 1,100 physicians in 50 primary and specialty medical practice areas. It holds Magnet Status in nursing and is a 2012 recipient of the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, placing it among the top five percent of the hospitals in the U.S.

Miami Valley Hospital is a member of Premier Health Partners, which also encompasses Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville, Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, Atrium Medical Center in Warren County and Upper Valley Medical Center in Miami County.

contact us

If you are interested in pursuing a story about Dayton Children’s please contact public relations manager, Katie Solovey, at 937-673-4941 or by filling out a media inquiry through our contact us form.

October 8, 2012 | news post

Dayton Children’s is first children’s hospital in Ohio to join the health information exchange

An aerial photo of the modern Dayton Children's Hospital building at sunset, featuring a multi-story facade with blue panels and internal lighting in vibrant red, yellow, and blue bands.

Dayton Children’s Medical Center joins CliniSync

Dayton Children’s is the first stand-alone children’s hospital in Ohio to join CliniSync – Ohio’s statewide health information exchange.

This significant step into the future of health care means that pediatricians, physicians and others involved in the care of the region’s children will be able to electronically exchange medical information about their patients with one another.

Dan Paoletti, chief executive officer of the Ohio Health Information Partnership that oversees CliniSync says, “Dayton Children’s is leading the way in the pediatric market to help us achieve the goal of interoperability and connectivity on behalf of the children in the state.”

Dr. Gregg Alexander, a pediatrician and board member of the Ohio Health Information Partnership, adds, “By being the first children’s hospital in Ohio to connect across the entire state via CliniSync, Dayton Children’s should be commended for showing true vision and a strong commitment to advancing child healthcare quality.”

Dayton Children’s Chief Information Office Beth Fredette says the hospital is proud to be the first pediatric medical center to embrace this innovative health information technology.

“Connectivity and access to information are key strategic priorities for us,” Fredette says. “For the safety and care of all our children, we need to make sure every provider has complete and accurate information available to them at any point in the care process.  CliniSync will be key to making all of that happen.”

Dayton Children’s serves children in a 20-county region that includes Ohio and eastern Indiana. This nonprofit, 155-bed regional pediatric referral center is the only facility in the area devoted to the health, safety and information needs of children and their families.  It employs 350 physicians, including primary care pediatricians as well as subspecialists in more than 35 areas of pediatric medicine. In total, 1300 employees and volunteers work toward quality care for children and their families.

The medical center joins 56 other hospitals in Ohio that have committed to be part of the CliniSync community, including Premier Health Partners and Kettering Health Network in Dayton.

The electronic exchange of a patient’s lab results or tests reduces faxing, phone calls and other lags in care that occur because it takes so much time to communicate that information.  In addition, patients will not have to go through duplicate tests and procedures already conducted by another physician, saving time and money. 

And finally, patients with several doctors will now receive coordinated care because the health information network ultimately will allow physicians, hospitals, urgent care centers, clinics, labs and other healthcare entities to share information about a patient. This will eventually include patients who are in long-term care facilities.

The partnership also has signed up 6,504 Ohio physicians and healthcare professionals for the switch from paper records to electronic health records or to upgrade their existing systems. A free software package offered through CliniSync also allows physicians and clinicians to electronically send encrypted email messages, coordinate referrals with one another and get hospital and lab results directly to their practices.

To learn more about CliniSync, go to www.CliniSync.org

About the Ohio Health Information Partnership

The Ohio Health Information Partnership is a nonprofit, state-designated entity responsible for establishing regional extension centers to assist physicians and hospitals with information technology and for creating the infrastructure for a health information exchange in the state.

Ohiohas received $44,804,517 in federal funding through two federal grants that rigidly prescribe who can receive funding and how it is to be used. The HIE grant of $14,872,199 is for The Partnership to create a technological infrastructure (CliniSync) that will allow hospitals, physicians, clinicians, laboratories and others involved in a patient’s care to communicate electronically and share patient data.

The second grant includes $29,374,318 for regional extension centers (RECs) and $558,000 for 31 critical access and rural hospitals (CAHs). These seven regional extension centers assist primary care physicians and CAHs in the adoption of electronic health records and the achievement of “meaningful use” federal requirements that, in turn, allow physicians to receive Medicare or Medicaid incentive funds for using electronic health records.

The state of Ohio contributed $8 million when The Partnership first formed to help meet the match requirements of the federal grants. The Partnership includes the Ohio State Medical Association, Ohio Osteopathic Association, Ohio Hospital Association, BioOhio and the State of Ohio. The Partnership is funded through the Office of the National Coordinator, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, grant numbers 90RC0012 and 90HT0024. More information can be found at  the Ohio Health Information Partnership website at www.clinisync.org.

For more information, contact:

  • Dottie Howe
  • Director of Communications
  • Ohio Health Information Partnership
  • 614-664-2605
  • dhowe@ohiponline.org

contact us

If you are interested in pursuing a story about Dayton Children’s please contact public relations manager, Katie Solovey, at 937-673-4941 or by filling out a media inquiry through our contact us form.