Month: April 2017

Remembering William J. Fileti

NEWS

April 23, 2017
Contact:
Amy Middleton, Director of Marketing
734.327.0877 or Amy_Middleton@IHAcares.com

IHA ANNOUNCES THE PASSING OF CEO WILLIAM J. FILETI

FiletiANN ARBOR, MI – (April 23, 2017) – It is with deep sadness that we share with you the news of the passing of our CEO, William J. Fileti. Bill died Saturday, April 22, from cancer, diagnosed in October of 2016.

Bill was the founding President and CEO of IHA since 1994 when the leaders of Associates in Gynecology and Obstetrics, Associates in Internal Medicine, and Child Health Associates chose to form a group, founded on the principles of high quality, personalized, patient-centered care.

“IHA has lost an enormous piece of its heart and soul with the passing of our beloved CEO, Bill Fileti,” said Daniel McMurtrie, MD, IHA’s first PC President and Chairman of the Board. “Since its inception, our organization has benefited greatly from Bill’s leadership and vision. His untiring pursuit of excellence in everything he did, played an instrumental role in the success of our medical group. He has helped us achieve exponential growth while maintaining a focus on caring for our patients, a dedication to the well-being of the providers, and a commitment to the success of our employees. His name has become synonymous with IHA and he will be greatly missed by the entire IHA family.”

Since the beginning, IHA has focused on a patients’ first philosophy of care. Bill believed in a virtuous cycle of leading with doing what was right for patients, providers, and staff. Quality and performance would follow. As a result of his philosophy, vision, and drive, Bill achieved the following:

  • Built a team making it possible for IHA to achieve outstanding quality scores that have been the best in Southeast Michigan since 2012 and recognized by Consumer Reports magazine as a top performer.
  • Achieved top decile performance in all areas of patient, provider and staff satisfaction and engagement levels.
  • Developed exceptional and favorable relationships in the broader health care community that included affiliated hospitals, payers, and several charitable organizations such as the United Way, serving on their board for several years.
  • Through mergers, acquisitions, and outstanding recruitments, built IHA from a concept into the leading private medical group in southeast Michigan that serves nearly 470,000 primary and specialty care patients with over a million visits per year.
  • Completed IHA’s strategic merger with Trinity Health to serve as The Physician Enterprise for SJMHS. 
  • Recruited a top caliber management team to run operations, and supported provider and non-provider leaders in growing their leadership skills and reaching their professional goals.
  • Negotiated a master affiliation agreement with Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan.)
  • Initiated diversification initiatives designed to reduce IHA’s exposure to the environment through the development of related business lines with real estate, clinical research, and imaging.
  • Supported pioneering projects to re-engineer the delivery of health care with care management, behavioral health, and embedded pharmacists.

Bill achieved this success with a quiet, focused, engaged presence that never wavered. By meeting with each orientation group of new providers and staff, he connected with every person in IHA and spread the vision of personalized care through his example.

Cindy Elliott, IHA’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) since 1999 and its President and COO for the last year characterized Bill “as a mentor, trusted advisor, and dear friend. Bill will be remembered as a sweet soul, who cared about people first and who lived out the IHA CARES Values daily.”

Bill spent his final months in California with his wonderful wife Cecilia, his two sons, Eric and Owen, daughter-in-law, Kristina, granddaughter Lana, and other members of his immediate and extended family.

A Candlelight Vigil celebrating Bill’s life and many accomplishments will take place Thursday, May 4. Please view the invitation and map. All are welcome to attend.

For those wishing to send condolences to the family, please see our remembrance board directly below.

 

 

IHA Recognized by DecisionWise as 2017 Employee Engagement Best Practice Award Winner

News Release
April 5, 2017
For Immediate Release
For more information, contact:
IHA
Amy Middleton
734-327-0877
Amy_Middleton@IHAcares.com

IHA Recognized by DecisionWise as 2017 Employee Engagement Best Practice Award Winner

ANN ARBOR, MI – (April 5, 2017) – IHA is pleased to announce that DecisionWise, a US-based employee engagement consulting firm, recognizes IHA as a top performing organization with the 2017 Employee Engagement Best Practice Award. IHA is one of 115 companies who participated in the DecisionWise international employee survey.

Over seven million survey responses were cast for the 35 companies with more than 1,000 employees, including IHA. Surveys results were analyzed to measure the level of engagement within each organization. Final winners were confirmed by evaluating the overall culture of the organization as well as best practices and company initiatives that contribute to the scores.

“We’re proud and honored by this recognition from DecisionWise,” notes Linda MacEllven, Vice President of Human Resources & Customer Service for IHA. “At IHA we value employee feedback and strive to promote a culture where employees take personal satisfaction in the quality of their work and the difference they can make in every customer experience, whether external or internal.”

“We’re privileged that IHA has made DecisionWise a strategic partner for employee engagement surveys, and we’re proud that they have taken clear, measurable actions to leverage employee feedback and create a positive, engaging and energizing workplace for their employees,” said DecisionWise Chief Executive Office Dr. Tracy Maylett.

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About DecisionWise
DecisionWise, Inc. is a management consulting firm specializing in leadership and organization development using assessments, feedback, coaching, and training. DecisionWise services include employee engagement surveys, 360-degree feedback, leadership coaching and organization development. DecisionWise was founded in 1996 and is privately held. With offices in the United States and affiliate offices throughout the world, DecisionWise operates in over 70 countries and conducts surveys in over 30 languages.

About IHA
IHA is one of the best and largest multi-specialty groups in Michigan. IHA employs more than 2,200 staff, which includes nearly 600 providers consisting of: physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and midwives in approximately 60 practice locations across Southeast Michigan. IHA provides high-quality medical care and excellent service to nearly 410,000 active patients. Recognized as Metro Detroit’s Top Physician Group by Consumer Reports magazine, IHA also ranks in the top quartile for patient satisfaction nationally. Offering extended office hours and urgent care services, along with online patient diagnosis, treatment, and appointment access tools. IHA demonstrates that it cares by bringing safe, high-quality, comprehensive and affordable care to its patients. For more information about IHA, visit www.ihacares.com.

Question about Base Tans

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Question: I’m getting married this summer and want to be tan in my wedding photos and on my honeymoon. Will visiting the tanning salon a few times decrease my chances of getting a sunburn if I get a base tan? Also, aren’t tanning salons safer than laying out in the sun?

Answer: You’d be surprised how often these questions are asked! The short answer is NO and NO! Any type of tan is a sign of skin damage. A tan is the skin’s response to UV damage to the skin’s DNA. The skin darkens to prevent more damage, but your risk of skin cancer is already increased. There is no such thing as a “safe” or “healthy” tan.

Tanning beds deliver concentrated levels of UVA and UVB radiation, both of which cause cell damage that can lead to skin cancer. UVA radiation also penetrates deeper into the skin and causes irreversible skin aging like loss of elasticity, wrinkles and brown spots.

If you want to look tan in your wedding photos, try a sunless tanning cream or lotion. You can still get the glow you want without any of the skin damage.

As far as your honeymoon, take plenty of sunscreen with you. Look for a sunscreen that is SPF 30 or higher, broad spectrum (blocking both UVA and UVB), and water-resistant. Be sure to apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before going outdoors, and to reapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours or immediately after getting wet (for example, after getting out of a pool). Forgetting to reapply sunscreen throughout the day is the one step that most people forget during vacation and that leads to sunburns. Sunscreen only maintains its listed SPF for approximately 90 minutes, after which point the SPF starts to decrease and the sunscreen starts to lose its ability to block ultraviolet light. Shade and clothing can also help protect you from UV rays. Wear protective UV-blocking sunglasses, broad-brimmed hats and tightly-woven clothes and seek shade when possible. Getting into the habit of protecting yourself from UV rays is as simple as the steps above and will allow you to enjoy the outdoors without damaging your skin.

This article was originally published on May 18, 2015, and was updated on April 12, 2017.

Update on Meridian’s Voluntary Worldwide Recall of EpiPen® Auto-Injector

If you think you may be impacted by this recall, please follow these steps:

STEP 1: Check the lot number on your carton or device to see if your EpiPen® Auto-Injector is affected by the recall.

STEP 2: If your EpiPen® Auto-Injector has been recalled, contact Stericycle at 877-650-3494 to obtain a voucher code for your free replacement product. Stericycle also will provide you with a pre-paid return package to ship the product back to Stericycle.

STEP 3: Visit your pharmacy with your voucher information to redeem your free replacement.

STEP 4: Send your recalled product to Stericycle. Do not return any devices affected by the recall until you have your replacement in hand.

Stericycle’s hours of operation are Monday-Friday 8:00 am – 10:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Replacement and Return Instructions

Recalled Lots in U.S.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The NDC on the box ends with “2” because it contains two EpiPen Auto-injectors. The NDC on the individual EpiPen within the box has an NDC ending in “1.”

Confirmation of recalled product

You can confirm if you are in possession of a recalled EpiPen product by checking if the lot number matches any of the lot numbers listed in the above table.

On the auto-injector, the lot number is located at the top of the label in black and preceded by the word ‘LOT.’

On the carton, the lot number is located on the left flap, which is black in color. You will find the lot number written in white and preceded by the word ‘LOT.’If your EpiPen® Auto-Injector has been recalled, contact Stericycle at 877-650-3494 to obtain a voucher code for your free replacement product. If not, there is no further action necessary.

Product Replacement Voucher Program

Stericycle will provide you with a voucher code to redeem a free replacement product. If you called before Monday, April 3, Stericycle will follow-up with your voucher code via phone or email beginning Tuesday, April 4.

Each voucher is valid for one EpiPen 2-Pak or EpiPen Jr 2-Pak, or one of Mylan’s authorized generic for EpiPen 2-Pak or EpiPen Jr 2-Pak. Stericycle will issue one voucher for every two-pack that needs to be replaced. Each two-pack carton contains two auto-injectors.

After you have received your voucher, follow these steps:
STEP 1: Call your pharmacy to inform them that you have a voucher for your free replacement of the product.
STEP 2: Confirm with your pharmacy that you have a fillable prescription for EpiPen or Mylan’s authorized generic for EpiPen on file.
STEP 3: Confirm that the pharmacy has the medication in stock.

Patients may receive either EpiPen Auto-Injector or Mylan’s authorized generic for EpiPen Auto-Injector at the pharmacy as a replacement based on availability. The authorized generic has the exact same drug formulation, has the exact same operating instructions and is therapeutically equivalent to EpiPen Auto-Injector, and may be substituted for EpiPen Auto-Injector.

Mylan is committed to replacing recalled devices at no cost and Mylan would like to reassure patients that there will be no additional replacement-related financial burden to them as a result of this recall.

Product Return Process

If you are in possession of a recalled product, call Stericycle at 877-650-3494 to provide you with a pre-paid return package to ship the product back to Stericycle.

IMPORTANT: Do not return any devices affected by the recall until you have redeemed your free replacement from your pharmacy and have your replacement in hand.

Seasonal Allergies

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It’s that time of the year when runny noses, itchy eyes, and scratchy throats start. It is allergy season. For many people, when spring starts and trees and grass grow they start getting allergy symptoms. Allergies can happen all year, though.

Common environmental allergies can be due to dust mites, animals, pollen, grass and trees, just to name a few. Each of these allergies can happen more often in different times of the year. Grass and trees are often bothersome to people in spring, whereas pollens are in the late summer. Dust mite allergies can be found all year round.

When symptoms are bad, many people turn to medications for help. There are some things you can try prior to using medications. For example, for dust mite allergies you can try using dust mite covers on your pillow and bed. Staying in air conditioning may help symptoms when the pollen count is high. You can also flush out the allergens by using a netti pot or saline eye drops.

Medications that can be helpful include decongestants and antihistamines. Decongestants help relieve nasal congestion symptoms once they have started. Antihistamines block the histamine reaction and help prevent symptoms from happening. They often have to be taken several days to weeks prior to exposure to the allergens. Nasal steroids can also help decrease nasal congestion symptoms and work right at the source of the congestion. There are allergy eye drops that help with itchy, watery eyes too.

If you are having allergy symptoms that are not improving with over the counter medication, it is time to see your primary care doctor to discuss your symptoms. There may be another reason for your symptoms or other medication or treatments to consider. Allergy testing may also be needed to figure out what specifically you are allergic to so that you can avoid the allergen.

This article was originally published on March 20, 2015, and was updated on April 10, 2017.