Norton Healthcare wants to make it easy to apply for financial assistance. You can apply before you get sick, or before a family member does, and it applies to your covered family starting on the date you sign your application and submit it. What does that mean? It means if you are approved, the program will pay for medical bills dating back two years from the signed application date and extending for 12 months after that date. You can reapply after that 12-month period ends. Yes, that means, potentially, two-year-old medical bills could be paid in full.

The Norton Healthcare Financial Assistance Program covers hospital-based emergency or other medically necessary care to patients who cannot afford to pay and who qualify for financial assistance based on income, resources and family situation.

How do you qualify?

You may qualify for the program if you meet the following criteria:

• You don’t have health insurance or you have an unpaid balance after your insurance plan has either paid or rejected a claim.
• You do not qualify for subsidized coverage or government assistance, such as the Disproportionate Share Hospital Program, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid, a Medicaid managed-care organization or Hoosier Healthwise.
• You have a combined household income equal to or less than 350% of the federal poverty guidelines. For example, a family of four with a combined household income of up to $112,525 per year can qualify.

Getting started

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• The last three bank statements from your checking and savings accounts (If you don’t have either, you’ll need to call the Norton Healthcare customer service team at (502) 479-6300.)
• Proof of all income documents such as alimony, child support, employment pay stubs, retirement or pension payments, Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, disability, unemployment or other income
• A copy of your last year’s tax return or other documents, if requested

How to apply

You can fill out an online application at NortonHealthcare.com/Assistance or through your Norton MyChart account. You also can apply inside any Norton Healthcare emergency department or hospital with the help of a financial counselor or start your application over the phone by calling Norton Healthcare customer service at (502) 479-6300. You’ll need to provide documentation by uploading your documents, or photos of your documents, to the financial assistance application page or to Norton MyChart, or bring them in person to the financial counselor to include with your application. You also can mail an application to:

Norton Healthcare
SBO Financial Assistance, Dept. 14-7
P.O. Box 35070
Louisville, KY 40232-9972

You’ll be notified by mail if your application is approved. You also can call customer service with any questions about the status or decision made on your application. Call (502) 479-6300. Once you’ve been approved for financial assistance from Norton Healthcare, the program can give you peace of mind should you or your family need care. Apply today!

The post Norton Healthcare’s Financial Assistance Program appeared first on Norton Healthcare.

Norton Healthcare is seeking the community’s help by asking residents to take 5 to 10 minutes to complete this 100% confidential survey. Residents also are encouraged to share the survey link with their local network. The survey will be open through the end of March.

The survey is available in both English and Spanish at http://nortonhealthcare.com/communitysurvey Other languages are available upon request. To request a survey in a different language or for more information about the survey, email Jessica Ballard, manager, community benefit and planning, at jessica.ballard@nortonhealthcare.org.

The post Norton Healthcare requests participation in its Community Health Needs Survey to help identify health issues of greatest concern to residents appeared first on Norton Healthcare.

The investment will transform a 20-acre brownfield site located at 28^th Street and Broadway into an Opportunity Campus that will house Goodwill’s headquarters operation, career services, a collection of local social service agencies and Norton Healthcare’s new $70 million hospital. Norton Healthcare’s investment includes $7 million that will be used to purchase the land for the hospital, as well as to support the transformational services that will be provided on the campus.

“When we determined we wanted to have a presence in West Louisville, we wanted to do it in a way that would have a lasting impact on the community,” said Amy Luttrell, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Kentucky. “We believe our Opportunity Campus will be the beginning of significant change for the people in West Louisville who are looking for pathways out of poverty.”

West Louisville is a nine-neighborhood community where the median household income is $21,000. The area has endured years of disinvestment that has left many of its 65,000 mostly African American residents underserved in a community that has limited employment opportunities.

To address those needs, Goodwill is building a 120,000 square-foot facility on its Opportunity Campus that will be used as a one-stop shop for people who need help removing the barriers that prevent them from establishing self-sufficient lifestyles. Visitors to the campus will be able to access job training programs, legal support, youth mentoring, restorative justice services, drop-in childcare, personal grooming options, behavior and mental health treatment and second-chance banking.

Big Brothers Big Sisters, KentuckianaWorks, Volunteers of America, the YMCA, Legal Aid Society, Park Community Credit Union, Shawnee Christian Healthcare Center and the Kentucky College of Barbering will all co-locate with Goodwill Industries of Kentucky in the $30 million facility at the Opportunity Campus to offer West Louisville residents an unprecedented collection of life-enhancing services all under one roof.

Collectively, the agencies are expected to bring more than 200 jobs to West Louisville at an average annual wage of $59,000 and will serve approximately 50,000 people every year with their programs, services and campus offerings. The career services programs at the Opportunity Campus are expected to have a cumulative annual impact of $18.7 million by helping to place more than 600 job seekers into full-time employment with businesses throughout the region that pay a minimum of $13 per hour. Another 200 construction jobs are expected to be created to help build the facility.

In a separate 40,000 – 60,000-square-foot building on the Opportunity Campus, Norton Healthcare will open the first hospital in West Louisville in more than 100 years. Comprehensive services will include adult and pediatric primary care physician offices, emergency room services, inpatient services and outpatient functions. Imaging services, including X-rays and CT scans, will be available, along with specialty services such as women’s health, cardiology, neurology and endocrinology. This hospital will be unlike any other medical facility in West Louisville. The new Norton Healthcare hospital will create approximately 100 new jobs in West Louisville with an average salary of $60,000.

“Norton Healthcare has been intentional about providing access to quality medical treatment by eliminating obstacles so all residents can live a healthy and prosperous life,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO, Norton Healthcare. “This state-of-the-art facility will help us continue to bring health equity to the forefront. A person’s ZIP code should never define their health status and their ability to receive care.”

The Opportunity Campus is expected to be complete in 2023 when Goodwill Industries of Kentucky will celebrate its 100-year anniversary. Norton Healthcare’s facility is expected to take 18-24 months to complete.

“Access to quality health care, jobs and life-enhancing services is how we can better the lives of our people, break cycles of poverty and create a better future for every Kentuckian,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “This investment by Goodwill Industries of Kentucky and Norton Healthcare will truly move West Louisville forward and create a lasting impact for this area and our people for generations to come. I am thankful for these two organizations and their commitment to investing in West Louisville and our people.”

Details about the Opportunity Campus – along with the results from a West Louisville community feedback report by Goodwill Industries of Kentucky – can be accessed on the website: www.GoodwillWestLouisville.com.[vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″]

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Good news! There are things you can do, things that are actually pretty easy to do that you’ll enjoy and will help.

Look for heroes

What can we learn from others who faced difficulties? What can we learn from Rosie the Riveter? The Great Depression? Spanish flu? COVID-19 is just the next in a long list of trials and tribulations imposed on human beings.

Here’s one thing for certain, through all the ups and downs, the heartaches and the awfulness, we humans have an amazing capacity to survive. We adapt, we hold on, we get through, we persevere. We have grit. In the lives of others we can see our own capacity for grit and determination Best case, we thrive, not just endure. I recently heard a speaker say that “the goal is not to bounce back, but to bounce forward.”

Look for ways these imposed crises have strengthened and can strengthen you. Force yourself to look at the half-full glass. This is not easy, and it should not be a denial of whatever is truly awful. In the best sense, perspective is a spiritual discipline, a form of mindfulness that settles that anxious soul.

Lean into others

While driving down Interstate 65 after an ice storm I took particular notice of all the trees the ice had pulled down. Notably, interestingly, not all the trees had fallen. It was mainly those at the edge of the forest. The forest stood while the poor trees at the edge were pulled down. When the icy weight pushed on a forest tree it leaned into its neighbor and that tree leaned into its neighbor, and so on. … When the cold winds pushed the ice-heavy trees at the edge of the forest away from the support of the forest, many fell. The forest could endure what an individual tree could not.

We survive when we lean in and allow ourselves to be leaned onto. Needing others and being needed by them is a gift of our humanness, not a weakness.

A case for awe and gratitude

Perry Wilson, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Yale University, describes awe as “a positive emotion that people feel when they are in the presence of something bigger than themselves that they cannot immediately understand.” In his article, “‘Awe Walks’ Increase Prosocial Emotions, Make Smiles Bigger, and Selfies Smaller,” he cites the research of Virginia Strum, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of California San Francisco, who figured out a way to measure the impact of awe. Those who took regular “awe walks” seemed to enjoy an unexpected positive lift from the discipline. My advice, unplug from all your screens and spend time being awed by nature or art — anything that places your emotional focus outside yourself.

The second discipline: gratitude.

Brother David Steindl-Rast suggested, “It is not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratitude that makes us joyful.”

Joy is not possible without gratitude. Here’s an invitation, start a gratitude journal and every day write down 10 or so things you are grateful for. Once a week, read through your journal. I’m quite sure that after a few weeks you’ll find yourself being changed in ways that you like.

Think about the ‘back to normal’ question

One last suggestion: We need to be asking a different question. During this past year a prominent recurring question has been, “When will we get back to normal?” While it’s a completely understandable question, I believe it’s not the best question for us to be asking.

We can’t focus backward and forward at the same time. I heard someone say, “When you’re looking back, you’ll likely trip over the future.” Truth is, when we’re really honest with ourselves, there’s a lot of the old normal that, well, wasn’t so great.

So here’s the key (that’s a pun that will make sense momentarily), a crisis can unlock things that likely would have been unavailable to us without the crisis. A crisis can force us to use new possibilities, new awareness, new ways. … The goal is to redeem this moment, not merely to restore ourselves to the old one. Certainly, while some of that old normal will become our future, if we don’t make use of what this past year plus has forced us into, we’ve wasted the crisis. And that my friends is making something bad even worse.

The Rev. Ronald C. Oliver, Ph.D., BCC, is Norton Healthcare’s system vice president for mission and outreach.

The post Let’s redeem the past year and make a new future appeared first on Norton Healthcare.

Hasta el lunes, Norton Healthcare tenía 550 pacientes, incluidos 34 que dieron positivo para COVID-19, en sus cinco hospitales. En general, el sistema tiene 1,174 camas, incluidas 163 camas de unidades de cuidados intensivos. Ochenta de los 222 ventiladores del sistema estaban en uso a partir del lunes, y el sistema tiene la capacidad de convertir 134 máquinas de anestesia para uso de ventilador.

“A partir de ahora, desde la perspectiva de la capacidad, nos sentimos muy, muy cómodos con el lugar donde estamos”, dijo el CEO de Norton Healthcare, y añadió que si es necesario ampliar la capacidad para manejar una oleada de pacientes, podrían poner en servicio hasta 1,469 camas. “Esperamos hacer lo suficiente para detener la oleada, que no nos veamos forzados a usar esa capacidad de aumento, pero estamos listos para hacerlo si es necesario”.

Junto con el CEO, Steven T. Hester, Médico, Master en Administración de Empresas, presidente de división, operaciones de proveedores y director médico del sistema, respondieron preguntas adicionales sobre la capacidad de Norton Healthcare para responder a la crisis.

¿Norton Healthcare tiene suficiente personal médico para tratar a todos?

Russ: “Hemos cumplido con el cese de las cirugías electivas; hemos terminado con todo tipo de procedimientos electivos. Hemos instruido a la gente que no es el lugar para venir a la sala de emergencias a menos que tenga síntomas específicos. Así que tenemos volúmenes que realmente han bajado. Estamos preparados. Estamos bien dotados de personal”.

¿Se está pagando al personal que ha sido enviado a casa para aislarse?

Russ: “Les estamos diciendo a todos los empleados que durante los próximos 30 días, no deben preocuparse por cómo las cosas van a afectar su pago. Si le piden que vaya a casa, le pagarán. No va a tener que usar su [tiempo libre pagado]”.

¿Por qué Norton Healthcare tiene más empleados con COVID-19 que aparentemente otros sistemas?

Russ: “Cuando miras una organización que tiene tantos hospitales, tantos consultorios médicos, y cuando miras el hecho de que el 57% de la comunidad se encarga de su cuidado, va a tener sentido que ese número sea el correspondiente”.

¿Por qué tarda tanto en obtener los resultados de las pruebas?

Russ: “Hemos hecho pruebas a 1,715 personas. Todavía estamos esperando los resultados de 754 de esas pruebas.

“Estas no son pruebas que se realizan dentro de un hospital. No son una prueba de respuesta inmediata. Tienen que ser enviadas a los laboratorios. Y esos laboratorios, como es de esperar, han sido sobrecargados durante las últimas dos semanas… Nuestros números cambian todos los días según el número de pruebas que recibimos”.

¿Cuántos empleados de Norton Healthcare han dado positivo y son cuidadores?

Russ: “A partir del domingo por la noche, teníamos 45 empleados que dieron positivo. Hemos hecho pruebas a 250 empleados”.

Dr. Hester: “Son empleados de todo el sistema, clínicos y no clínicos… Tenemos más de 16,000 empleados. Por lo tanto, cuando se mira eso, vamos a tener positivos sólo de la propagación de la comunidad, ya sea que se trate de proveedores de atención médica o no.

¿Existe suficiente equipo de protección personal (EPP) para todo el personal clínico?

Dr. Hester: “Todo el personal tiene acceso al EPP. Todo el personal está usando el EPP. Y una de las cosas de las que quiero hablar un poco, es… iniciamos nuestra política donde estamos haciendo mascarillas universales para todo nuestro personal clínico. Avanzamos en esto porque… como esta propagación ha seguido aumentando en la comunidad, estamos viendo cada vez más pacientes asintomáticos que vienen al hospital por otras condiciones, pero la preocupación es que pueden muy bien estar compartiendo el virus.

“Entonces, en ese sentido, pasamos a la mascarilla universal [política] para nuestros proveedores y personal de atención médica. Así que eso nos permitirá, creemos, proteger nuevamente a la comunidad y continuar protegiendo a nuestros cuidadores”.

¿Cómo puede ayudar la comunidad?

Russ: “En pocas palabras, es seguir los consejos del gobernador [Andy] Beshear y del alcalde [Greg] Fischer y mantenerse saludable en casa. Es absolutamente el mejor regalo que puede darle a nuestros cuidadores. Es la mejor manera en que puede mostrar su apoyo a nuestros cuidadores – seguir esas cosas de las que hablamos todo el tiempo.

“Sé que es la semana de vacaciones de primavera. Sé que a todos les gustaría estar en otro lugar. Sé que existe la tentación de hacer un viaje corto o salir de la comunidad y regresar. Le pedimos que no haga eso… Al irse y regresar, realmente pone a nuestros cuidadores en riesgo.

“No puedo enfatizar lo suficiente la importancia de la higiene de las manos. Lo que sabemos con certeza sobre este virus es que es muy sensible al contacto. Es muy sensible a la superficie. Permanece en las superficies de seis a siete días. Entonces ese régimen de lavado de manos se vuelve muy importante para nosotros.

“Obviamente el distanciamiento social, no puedo decir lo suficiente sobre esto. Al menos seis pies, pero sabemos con certeza que cuanto más practiquemos eso, mejor será para todos nuestros cuidadores.

“Cuanto más practique esos hábitos, más evitará que se propague, mejor podremos conservar ese equipo de protección personal que es tan importante para nosotros”.

The post El CEO de Norton Healthcare está “muy cómodo” por ahora con capacidad para manejar la oleada de COVID-19 appeared first on Norton Healthcare.

You may think of watermelon only as a juicy fruit to enjoy during the dog days of summer. But this hot-weather staple has beneficial nutrients to enjoy year-round.

Watermelon is almost fat-free and rich in vitamins A and C. It’s a great, guilt-free way to enjoy something sweet on a hot day. Thanks to watermelon’s vitamins and electrolytes, your body will stay hydrated whether you eat the fruit or drink its juice.

Staying hydrated keeps your body’s fluids (blood, saliva and sweat) at an optimal level. And getting enough water helps maintain your blood pressure, enabling your body’s tissues to get the oxygen, nutrients and hormones they need to function properly.

A lack of water, or dehydration, can cause dizziness, fatigue, an increased heart rate and impaired cognitive function.

Many college football teams begin their fall practices today, and watermelon is a sideline staple before and after workouts.

For those of us less active, a variety of healthful and delicious watermelon recipes are available online. One of Norton Healthcare’s most popular is the Watermelon Feta Pasta Salad.

However you eat or drink it, make watermelon a regular part of your diet!

The post Make every day ‘Watermelon Day’! appeared first on Norton Healthcare.

“Our nurses make Norton Healthcare the best place to receive care, and the best place to provide care,” said Kim Tharp-Barrie, DNP, R.N., SANE, FNAP, system vice president, Norton Healthcare Institute for Nursing and Workforce Outreach. “Our highly educated nurses are open, compassionate and friendly. They strive to improve our patient care, and they embrace opportunities to learn and grow.”

Meaghen Hart-Williams, APRN, and Mary Anderson, R.N., are two of the award winners.

“To be selected as the winner of this award from among a wonderful group of fellow nurses is a great privilege,” said Meaghen, a nurse practitioner with Norton Neurology Services and the Nurse of the Year winner for Norton Medical Group. “For me, being a nurse and nurse practitioner is about providing the best possible care to patients and their families. This job can be challenging, and it’s nice to be recognized for the work we do each day.”

Mary is a patient navigator and Nurse of the Year winner for Norton Cancer Institute.

“Every day, I witness the outstanding, compassionate and quality care all members of the Norton Healthcare team provide to our community,” Mary said. “I feel fortunate to be part of an organization that values the entire patient care team by providing us with resources to further our potential for personal and professional growth. I am truly honored to represent all of my nurse colleagues who give of themselves on a daily basis to provide exceptional patient care.”

There were 53 finalists for the awards and 11 winners from throughout Norton Healthcare.

“I am so proud of our 2019 nominees and winners for Nurse of the Year,” Kim said. “Every day our nurses step up to provide remarkable care — they make us remarkable.”

2019 NORTON HEALTHCARE NURSES OF THE YEAR

• Caroline McGreevey, Norton Audubon Hospital
• Cheryl Walsburger, Norton Brownsboro Hospital
• Alexander McMahan, Norton Children’s Hospital
• Angel Johnson, Norton Hospital
• Katrina Morris, Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital
• Jayna Sauer, Norton Children’s Medical Center
• Mary Anderson, Norton Cancer Institute
• Meaghen Hart-Williams, Norton Medical Group
• Natalie Coffman, Norton Clinical Agency
• Pat Coppage, Norton Faith & Health Ministries
• Carly Kessinger, Norton Healthcare System/Institute for Nursing

The post Congratulations to Norton Healthcare’s 2019 Nurses of the Year appeared first on Norton Healthcare.

It also can determine the kind of service we receive when we shop for clothes or groceries, hire a plumber or electrician, visit a department store or make an appointment with a health care provider. Are employees friendly and eager to help, or do they seem annoyed or disgruntled with their job and with you? Your interactions with a company’s employees may provide a good indication of what company culture is like.

In health care, a successful company culture helps shape a positive patient experience — at Norton Healthcare, we call that the Norton Experience. Here’s how.

Positive interactions with health care staff can make or break your experience

When we seek care for our health, it’s usually not a high point in our day. We may have just the sniffles, or we could be facing a major health crisis.

Friendly, compassionate interactions with health care staff make us feel good, even when we’re under the weather.

At Norton Healthcare, creating great human interactions is a key part of the company’s culture known as the Norton Way. Employees receive training on specific, actionable steps such as making eye contact and smiling at everyone they pass in the hallway; or asking patients, guests and co-workers, “What else can I do for you?” The Norton Way even provides specific actions for ensuring patients and their families understand their diagnosis and treatment plan.

A company culture whose foundation is great human interactions creates a health care experience where you feel valued and respected.

Patient safety is an important part of company culture

A quality health care experience cannot be achieved without patient safety. Norton Healthcare employees know this important element must be deliberately woven into company culture to achieve safety goals and standards. Patient safety doesn’t just happen by accident!

Norton Healthcare works hard to build a culture in which processes and systems are followed and continuously examined to reduce the potential for mistakes. A culture of patient safety is integral to a positive patient experience.

Your health care provider’s mission, vision and values drive the approach to care

It’s one thing to have a mission and other guiding statements. What matters is having those statements actually guide your business and culture.

You’ll know a mission statement means something when the company and its employees live it.

At Norton Healthcare, our mission, vision and values are more than just words. These important statements are posted throughout the organization’s facilities and offices and are read before meetings. You can look to the company’s patient resource centers, community outreach services, mobile prevention unit, employee volunteer hours and provider passion to see our mission in action.

Employee recognition supports company culture and boosts performance

Another important element of a successful company culture is employee recognition. Research shows that employees who feel appreciated and recognized are more motivated to do their best.

Gratitude is an important part of our culture, and that shows in the great human interactions that happen daily at our facilities. It is also part of Norton Healthcare’s recognition culture lived all year long through peer-to-peer and leader recognition. In addition to annual lunch and dinner banquets to recognize and thank staff for their years of service, Norton Healthcare provides special recognition for its employees during Employee Appreciation Week. Additional recognition is given to staff during specific times of the year such as Nurses Week, Doctors’ Day, Respiratory Care Week and more!

Our recognition culture also shows in the ways Norton Healthcare takes care of its employees like comprehensive benefits, workforce development and education support, an employee wellness program, employee resource groups, leadership training and more.

The post 4 ways company culture shapes your experience appeared first on Norton Healthcare.

According to the National Institutes of Health, some of the most common health issues facing veterans include:

• Mental health disorders
• Substance abuse
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Acquired brain injuries
• Depression
• Suicide
• Chronic pain
• Amputations
• Rehabilitation
• Exposure to hazardous materials

Related Content: Arthritis more than twice as likely in veterans over 40

Through a dedicated patient navigator for veterans, we offer a seamless coordination of care, no matter what services you may need.

Norton Healthcare’s services include:

• Primary care
• Urgent care
• Brain, spine and orthopedic specialists
• Sports health medicine
• Diagnostic testing
• Complex surgery
• Rehabilitation services
• Advanced treatment for most conditions
• Leading cancer care
• And more

With more than 250 locations across Louisville, Southern Indiana and surrounding counties, we have a location close to you.

The post A dedicated patient navigator helps veterans access the health care they need appeared first on Norton Healthcare.