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Health Care Resources

by Editorial Staff--South Jersey Biz

Health care providers and other medical resources speak out on some important questions.

How has The Spine Institute of Southern New Jersey advanced the field of medicine in spine care?
With a mission to provide the most progressive forms of spine care available, Dr. Joan O’Shea developed the first outpatient spine surgery center in South Jersey in 2005: South Jersey Surgical Center. The philosophy of care at The Spine Institute of Southern New Jersey is conservative treatment. For the patients who require surgery, most surgeries are performed minimally invasively. Not all surgeons, newly or previously trained, are performing minimally invasive lumbar fusions. Many are still performing large, open operations. Minimally invasive surgical techniques drastically reduce patient blood loss, infection rates and the amount of pain medication needed postoperatively.

In 2007, Dr. O’Shea was the first surgeon in South Jersey to implant the cervical artificial disc replacement when it became FDA approved. She is presently the first surgeon in this region to implant the newest arthroplastic devices in the cervical spine. When diagnosed with a herniated disc, patients of The Spine Institute of Southern New Jersey have options other than a fusion in their necks with an opportunity postoperatively for increased range of motion and earlier return to work and play.

Joan O’Shea, MD
The Spine Institute of Southern New Jersey
Marlton
(856) 797-9161
SJSpine.com

What makes you an “innovator” of the current health care system?
In our present healthcare system, individuals with special needs and neurological concerns and their families are often sent from one doctor to the next without knowing or understanding why, or have difficulty accessing the right type of care and treatment. This “fragmentation” of healthcare produces poor clinical outcomes and drives up healthcare costs. Thus, we created a unique model called the "Specialty Care Medical Home [SM]" that eliminates fragmentation of care, educates and empowers persons we serve, improves clinical outcomes, produces value and cost effectiveness, and supports individuals and their families in homes, schools and communities.

Mark Mintz, MD, CNNH President, CEO & Founder
The Center for Neurological and Neurodevelopmental Health (CNNH)
Gibbsboro
(856) 346-0005
TheCNNH.org

It’s said that Brain Balance Centers employ a unique “multi-modal” approach that is different from other approaches used to help children with behavioral, emotional and cognitive challenges. What is this “multi-modal” approach?
The Brain Balance Program combines sensory-motor training and specific cognitive activities with nutritional support to achieve optimum brain and body function. Our approach improves each function individually and becomes progressively challenging and integrative, as each child’s gains are realized. Since function precedes development, a solid foundation is necessary to further develop strong behavior, emotional and cognitive skills.


Dr. David Shapiro, center director
Brain Balance Center of Glassboro
Glassboro
(856) 582-2115
Glassboro@BrainBalanceCenters.com

Your training is unique. Tell us about yourself and what it is that you do differently? Why did you choose to practice here?
I‘m the only orthopedic surgeon in the Delaware Valley area to complete two fellowships in adult reconstructive and hip preservation surgery. I specialize in the treatment of sports hip injuries, as well as the residual effects of childhood hip disorders. I favor the use of minimally invasive operative techniques, including hip arthroscopy, when possible. Reconstructive Orthopedics is a progressive, growing practice consisting of fellowship-trained specialists, dedicated to musculoskeletal medicine. Our relationship with Virtua allows us to provide outstanding care in accessible, state-of-the-art facilities. I’m exciting to practice comprehensive hip preservation surgery in the Delaware Valley. South Jersey is a great place to work and raise a family.

Dr. Gregory Klingenstein
Reconstructive Orthopedics
Marlton
(609) 267-9400
ReconstructiveOrtho.com

What is one of the trends in marketing in the health care industry?
One trend I’m seeing more often than ever is that our clients want items Made in U.S.A. More and more products are being made stateside: clipboards, pill boxes, tote bags, calendars and adhesive paper cubes, to name a few. And all the screen imprinting and embroidery of wearables is also done in the U.S.A. Each day, we receive notice of more companies bringing production back to America. If this is a concern for our client, we research companies producing here; we then give our clients options of both Made in America and overseas so that they can choose.

Bonnie Brooker, Owner
BBE Promotions
Cherry Hill
(856) 701-8734
BBEPromotions.com

What recommendations does MD Success offer to physicians about marketing for medical practices?
There is a difference between marketing and advertising. Marketing is multi-level; it begins with developing your brand-identity and then managing your brand. Your brand is a promise to deliver a health care experience that is specific and unique to your practice.

Patients have the availability of the Internet at their fingertips. Your physician website introduces your practice and philosophy of care to consumers. Giving patients access to your philosophy of care and brand experience through a physician website is essential. It is important for a physician’s staff to understand your brand promise and consistently convey that promise to your patients. It costs 10 times more to acquire a new patient than it does to keep an existing one. If patients are waiting on the phone or are unable to get an appointment, it is easy for them to go to a competitor. Promoting your brand through internal marketing is crucial in today’s health care climate. Front desk training integrates marketing into office procedures. Knowing how to convey your unique brand through physician websites and at your front desk are important components in marketing your practice.

Michael Lahoud, President
MD Success Consulting
Marlton
(856) 596-3060
MDSuccess.net

Why should I consider a career in health care information technology (I.T.)?
Health care is one of the largest industries in the U.S. and it continues to grow. To service this growing sector, the federal government awarded $84 million in grants to create intensive health care I.T. curricula, citing the need for 50,000 new health care information technology jobs during the next five years. In addition, a survey of health care information management executives found that more than 70 percent say their organizations lack the information technology staff to implement applications. Health care I.T. professionals with proper training will have a plethora of career opportunities for decades to come. To learn what an EMR looks like, who creates them, and how EMR’s are used by clinics and their staff, attend our Introduction to Electronic Medical Records webinar, available on-demand at SCConsultant.com.

Shirley Corsey, President
SC Consultant, LLC
(609) 704-7256
SCConsultant.com

What are the top 10 health care IT staffing needs?
There is a critical need for experienced health care information technology professionals across the United States. Clinical application support topped the list, followed by network and architecture support, clinical informatics, system integration, IT security, clinical transformation, database administration, PC and server support, process and workflow and system design/implementation. For the first time in more than a decade, staffing shortages overtook concerns over a lack of financial support as the main health care IT barrier. Hiring through a staffing company is a cost-effective move for health care organizations.

Zach Fazio, VP of Technology Services
The Protocall Group
ProtocallGroup.com

How will consumers be impacted as the health insurance industry continues to evolve?
The health insurance industry is gradually moving toward being more retail oriented, which will ultimately change the way consumers purchase insurance and how insurers will sell it.

At AmeriHealth NJ, we have taken the following steps in an effort to transform the way we market to and engage with consumers: Piloted kiosks in N.J. malls, allowing individuals to purchase our products and services directly; created a mobile app to give consumers easy access to important information; redesigned our website to be more conversational; created health-related infographics to share useful information in an interactive, easy-to-understand way.

Michael Murphy, Sales Director
AmeriHealth NJ
(609) 662-2400
AmeriHealthNJ.com

How can my company better compete in the marketplace by offering unique employee benefits to capture the best employees in the marketplace?
The current benefits marketplace sees the need to offer unique programs in today’s environment. Informed employers are now choosing to offer critical illness, accident and other voluntary supplemental programs to their employees. Offering employees choices, while taking into account their individual needs, may help offset the cost of a catastrophic event. Disability insurance is a much sought after benefit for highly compensated employees, as it is strongly recommended in many respected business periodicals. Product range, rate stability and portability are very attractive features that both employers and employees value.

Lisa Carney
Aflac
Woodbury
(856) 848-2844
Lisa_Carney@us.Aflac.com

CCC: Moving Forward in 2013
Expansion is the theme for Camden County College’s (CCC) Blackwood Campus in 2013, with the opening of Kevin G. Halpern Hall for Science and Health Education and the start of the new Rutgers at Camden County–Blackwood Bachelor of Science nursing program.

The three-story, 107,000-square-foot Halpern Hall will allow CCC to educate more students, increase the number of courses offered, and expand curricula in certain academic areas. It will house labs, classrooms and lecture rooms. Additionally, new resources will include health care clinical education spaces for the nursing, medical laboratory technology, veterinary technology and surgical technology programs. The Rutgers/Camden County College partnership was formed to address the high demand for registered nurses in South Jersey and the need for nurses who have earned a bachelor of science degree with a nursing major. The program, the same pre-licensure baccalaureate program that the Rutgers University College of Nursing, New Brunswick and Newark, offers in North Jersey, is open to students who have earned an associate of science degree or an equivalent number of credits from CCC.

To learn more about CCC, visit CamdenCC.edu. For details on the new nursing baccalaureate program, visit Rutgers.edu/Academics/ Undergraduate-Programs/ Rutgers-Camden-County- Blackwood.

Published (and copyrighted) in South Jersey Biz, Volume 2, Issue 12 (December, 2012).
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