Since 1977, the AASM has granted accreditation to select facilities that have exhibited a superior dedication to adhering to the AASM standards while providing patients with quality diagnostic services.

Accreditations by the AASM for both in-lab sleep testing and out of sleep center sleep testing means that IU Health Ball Memorial Sleep Disorders Center has demonstrated exemplary commitment to ensuring that sleep study patients receive unmatched care and provision during their sleep program. Obtaining AASM accreditation is also consistent with IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital’s mission; by improving the health of our patients and the community through innovation and excellent in care, education, research and service.

“I would like to personally recognize the entire sleep team for doing such an amazing job when it came to preparing for the site survey and for being fully committed to obtaining preeminence,” said Zach Farmer, manager, Respiratory Services, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

AASM Accreditation is the “gold standard” that patients depend on when choosing a facility to obtain sleep services. These standards represent that IU Health Ball Memorial Sleep Disorders Center has undergone precise review of expertise in standards, procedures and policies, patient safety and follow-up, and physician and staff training.

Employee volunteers will be installing equipment, pulling weeds, trimming trees and bushes, painting and re-mulching trail areas during a series of morning and afternoon shifts. A smaller number of employees will be building picnic tables on the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital campus for later placement along the Greenway. The activity is part of the statewide IU Health Day of Service.

“Promoting the beautification and usage of fitness trails and open space is a key component of IU Health’s statewide wellness initiative designed to encourage active lifestyles and limit the spread of obesity in our communities,” said Sandra Hoover, director, Volunteer Resources, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

Cardinal Greenway is a rail-to-trail development celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013. It is the longest rail-trail in Indiana and spans 62 miles from Marion to Muncie to Richmond in urban and rural areas of East Central Indiana.

TWITTER NOTE: Photos and updates throughout the day will be posted on twitter (@IU_HealthBall) with the hashtag #DayofService.

• Monday-Tuesday, June 10-11
• Tuesday-Wednesday, June 25-26
• Tuesday-Wednesday, July 9-10
• Tuesday-Wednesday, July 16-17
• Tuesday-Wednesday, July 30-31

The class will familiarize participants with responsibilities of caring for young children, including topics of accident prevention, first aid, rescue breathing, entertainment for different ages, dealing with common behavior problems, and common “do’s and don’ts.”  Parents are encouraged to attend a 30-minute graduation ceremony on the final day.

Cost is $50 for each participant. To enroll, contact IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Patient Access at 765.741.1073 or 800.237.9625.  Participants may also enroll online at iuhealth.org/ball-memorial and click on ‘events.’
 

• Junior volunteer candidates must be 14 years of age or older, but not yet have completed high school.
• All must submit an application, immunization history, two current TB skin tests completed within the last three months, and a written letter of reference from their school guidance counselor. Students must have proof of Tdap and two chicken pox vaccines or provide a chicken pox titer. Flu Shots are required if teens opt to volunteer during the academic school year. Home-schooled students may submit a letter of reference from an individual who is able to comment on their character and abilities. 
• All candidates must be pursuing a high school diploma. 
• All materials must be submitted to the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Volunteer Resources office by 4:30 pm Monday, May 13, 2013. Selection will be limited to 60 participants.

Applications and a copy of the eligibility requirements are available at all high school guidance offices in Delaware and surrounding counties, or by contacting the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Volunteer Resources Office at 765.747.3274.

“Serving as a junior volunteer is a great way for area teens to experience a healthcare environment firsthand as well as lend a helping hand to our patients and staff,” said Sandra K. Hoover, director,Volunteer Resources, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.  “I know students will find the rewards of this experience will last a lifetime, and I want to encourage all students to learn more about this opportunity through their guidance counselor.”

From 5:30 pm - 7 pm, participants can enjoy a health and education fair.  Beginning at 7 pm, Linda Daniel, PhD, director, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency, will present the hour long program, “Healthy Families for a Healthy Community”.

Women of all ages are encouraged to attend. The event will feature information and activities for ages 8 and up. Kid’s Zumba®, prizes, healthy refreshments, and cooking demos will be offered.

This project is supported by a grant from the American Heart Association.

“By partnering with RHI, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital we will ensure that we maximize our patients’ functional recovery and quality of life.” said Michael E. Haley, President and CEO of Ball Memorial Hospital.

The IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Acute Rehabilitation Center is the result of further strengthening the partnership IU Health has with Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana.

The relationship with IU Health and Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana began twenty-one years ago in 1992 when Methodist Hospital (IU Health) and St. Vincent Health collaborated to build the freestanding rehabilitation hospital located in Indianapolis.  RHI provides a full range of inpatient acute services, and outpatient and vocational rehabilitation services for adults with life changing illness or injury.

Since the community collaboration between the two major healthcare systems, RHI has successfully supported both providers with rehabilitation services.

“The partnership with IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital allows RHI to help additional patients needing acute inpatient rehabilitation in central Indiana” said Dan Woloszyn, CEO of Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana.

The IU Health Ball Hospital Memorial Acute Rehabilitation Center will care for a variety of patients including neurological diagnosis, oncology, trauma, multiple fractures, post-aneurysm, dialysis, and total joint replacement. In addition, patients will receive physical, occupational and speech therapy, onsite pharmacy, radiology and rehabilitative nursing care.

RHI will manage the Acute Rehabilitation Center and provide a program director and clinical liaison support.  IU Health associates from the current Acute Care Center will join RHI employees in staffing the Acute Rehabilitation Center.
 

This spring, the Medical Education Residency program at Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital filled 26 positions out of 2,808 applicants, completing a 100 percent “match” of its applicants for the fourth consecutive year and sixth time in the last eight years.  Most of the applicants are Internal Medicine residency candidates and the nearly 3,000 hopeful residents is the largest applicant pool in the history of the Medical Education residency, comprised of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Transitional year programs.

IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Medical Education Residents, 2013-14 Academic Year:
   First Year
Family Medicine 10 
Internal Medicine 8 
Transitional Year 8 

“Our residency programs look for an ideal applicant much in the same way a professional recruiter seeks the perfect candidate for a job opening,” said J. Matthew Neal, MD, executive medical director, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Academic Affairs. “We enjoy a reputation that speaks for itself in attracting a national pool of candidates, and our program directors have done a great job the past few years in devoting their time and efforts into selecting an ideal mix of new residents. It truly is a team effort, and our program coordinators and residents are truly the ‘unsung heroes’ due to the time and effort they spend contacting candidates, interviewing them, taking them and their spouses/partners to dinner, etc. The spouse/partner connection is an important one, and our attention to that is likely one reason why we are successful.”

New residents in all three disciplines will begin seeing patients in their various areas for the 2013-14 Academic Year beginning July 1, 2013.
 

Dr. Whitt is an alumnus of the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program and returned as associate director in 2009, following three years in private practice.  He is also a graduate of the University of Illinois at Rockford.  Jennifer Bunch, MD, will transition to senior associate director of the program after serving as its interim director following the departure of Stewart Brown, MD, at the end of 2012.

“Dr. Whitt brings a great deal of enthusiasm and expertise to the director’s position,” said J. Matthew Neal, MD, executive medical director, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Academic Affairs. “We are very excited to have him leading our program so capably spearheaded by Dr. Brown, Dr. Allen Neal, and others for so many years.  I also want to acknowledge the great job Dr. Bunch did in seeing the program through another excellent recruiting season. It was an especially difficult challenge in adding 10 residents per class, and she deserves much of the credit for achieving 100 percent Match results again this year.”

The Family Medicine Residency Program at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital was the first such program in Indiana when it was established in 1969. Combining a dynamic and experienced faculty with a modern-free standing family medicine clinic located next to a teaching hospital, the residency was re-accredited for a five-year cycle—the maximum allowed—by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2010.
 

The program is free of charge, and will take place 1:30 pm-2:30 pm, Thursday, April 18 at the Family Practice Residency Center on 221 N. Celia Avenue. Space is limited, so participants should register by calling 765.747.4410.