HJAR Sep/Oct 2019

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2019 59 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com Jefferson Regional will support the course with time, space for lecture, video presentations, and hands on work within the hospital’s SPD department. New Jersey and New York are currently the only states that require certification before an employee can be hired into an SPD department, but this qualification is expanding through other state legislatures. It is a field with a large body of knowledge, including surgical technology, infec- tion control, materials management, finance, cap- ital acquisition, workflow design, and industrial applications. National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification ProgramRecognizes Forrest City Medical Center Forrest City Medical Center was recently recog- nized by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certi- fication Program as a Bronze Safe Sleep Hospital for their commitment to best practices and edu- cation on infant safe sleep. They are one of many hospitals in Arkansas to receive this title, and one of only two in eastern Arkansas. The National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program was created by Cribs for Kids®, a Pitts- burgh-based organization dedicated to prevent- ing infant, sleep-related deaths due to accidental suffocation. In addition to being Cribs for Kids® partners, Forrest City Medical Center was recog- nized for following the safe sleep guidelines rec- ommended by the American Academy of Pedi- atrics (AAP), and providing training programs for parents, staff, and the community. “Sleep-Related Death (SRD) results in the loss of more than 3,500 infants every year in the U.S.,” said Michael H. Goodstein, MD, neonatologist and medical director of research at Cribs for Kids®. “We know that consistent education can have a profound effect on infant mortality, and this program is designed to encourage safe sleep education and to recognize those hospitals that are taking an active role in reducing these pre- ventable deaths.” This program is aligned with the Maternal Child Health Bureau’s vision of reducing infant mortality through the promotion of infant sleep safety as outlined in Infant Mortality CoIIN Initiative. Forty states have designated SIDS/SUID/ SRD as their emphasis to reduce infant mortality. Arkansas has the second highest infant mortality rate in the nation, with 8.2 deaths for every 1,000 live births. That translated to 307 infant deaths in 2017.* “We want to do everything we can to elimi- nate as many sleep-related infant deaths as possi- ble,” said Leslie Harris, chief nursing officer at For- rest City Medical Center. “Cindy Childers and the rest of our Labor & Delivery staff have put in a lot of work developing a Safe Sleep Policy as part of our commitment to reduce sleep-related deaths.” In addition to being educated on infant safe sleep, Harris stated that the staff has also been trained to provide infant safe sleep education to the par- ents of infants born at Forrest City Medical Cen- ter, before the infants are discharged. Koresdoski Joins Arkansas Children’s as VP of Total Rewards Arkansas Children’s, Inc. has hired HR execu- tive Amy Koresdoski, PhD, SPHR, CCP, sHRBP for the newly created position of vice president of total rewards for the state’s only pediatric health system. Koresdoski joins Arkansas Children’s after serv- ing as senior director of compensation, bene- fits, and human resource information systems for McLane Company, a supply chain services leader. At Arkansas Children’s, Koresdoski will be responsible for creating and implementing a total rewards model that attracts, engages, and retains key talent for the statewide health system. “We are thrilled to have a dynamic, multifaceted leader shepherding this strategy so it will align with our mission of making children better today and healthier tomorrow,” said Arkansas Children’s Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer Jimmy Duncan, SHRM-SCP, SPHR. Koresdoski has also held leadership positions in human resources with Nissan North America, Harrah’s Entertainment, and Federal Express. She earned a PhD in computing technology for edu- cation at Nova Southeastern University and has a master of business administration from the Univer- sity of Tennessee. She is certified as a senior pro- fessional in human resources (SPHR), is a certified compensation professional (CCP), and holds the Strategic HR Business Partner certification. Kindred Healthcare, Mercy Forth Smith Announce Plans for Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital Kindred Healthcare, LLC and Mercy announced that they have signed a definitive agreement and created a joint venture to construct and operate a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Groundbreaking is expected in the fall, subject to regulatory and other approvals, with construc- tion expected to take 12 to 13 months. A location is being determined for the facility, projected to be 49,000 square feet and cost $23 million. Kindred will manage day-to-day operations of Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith. The new hospital will care for adults recovering from condi- tions such as stroke, neurological disease, injury to the brain or spinal cord, and other debilitating illnesses or injuries. Kindred and Mercy are also partners for rehab hospitals in Oklahoma City, St. Louis, and Spring- field, Missouri. “We look forward to expanding our existing partnership with Mercy to build and operate this facility, our first freestanding inpatient rehabilita- tion hospital in Arkansas, to address the grow- ing need for inpatient rehabilitation services in the state,” said Jason Zachariah, president of Kin- dred Rehabilitation Services, a division of Kindred Healthcare. “We are proud to create another qual- ity-focused partnership with Mercy Fort Smith and expect this collaborative effort, like other Kindred partnerships across the country, to deliver the kind of excellent patient care that helps our inpatient rehabilitation business outperform peers in key clinical measures.” Currently, Mercy operates an inpatient rehab facility within Mercy Hospital Fort Smith. Mercy also offers a full complement of outpatient rehab services. Amy Koresdoski, PhD, SPHR, CCP, sHRBP