Littauer’s Sepsis Care Initiative Posted on January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 by Dakota PikeGLOVERSVILLE, NY – Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home is raising awareness for sepsis. Sepsis is a complication of an infection. It requires immediate and emergency medical attention. Although many may not have heard of sepsis, it has become one man’s quest to change that.“Sepsis is responsible for more patient deaths than any other hospital condition nationally,” says Wes McFee, Performance Improvement Specialist with Littauer. “In Littauer’s last quarters of 2019, we have out-performed 94 percent of New York State hospitals in regards to compliant sepsis care. We have increased our overall performance for sepsis protocols.”Nathan Littauer’s Performance Improvement Specialist, Wes McFee.Recently, McFee delivered a statewide presentation on “Littauer’s Sepsis Care Initiative” at the request of The New York State Department of Health. The presentation addressed sepsis protocols within the hospital setting, and also discussed corrective action strategies regarding the deadly illness. Using compiled sepsis data, McFee discussed the strategies he implemented for Nathan Littauer Hospital with the Department of Health. The strategies used at Littauer have improved the quality of care, and will serve as a model for other hospitals in New York State to consider adapting. Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home also led the charge in providing more awareness for sepsis with their “sepsis awareness campaign” September 2019. As a result, the campaign brought an immense amount of community awareness of the illness. Many members of the region were discussing the dangers of sepsis on social media. “Sepsis is no laughing matter,” McFee adds. “It has a high mortality rate, so we’re always looking to improve. This is a beginning of our long-term goals for sepsis care at Littauer. We’ll continue these strategies, and reach our goals.”###About Nathan Littauer Nathan Littauer Hospital and Nursing Home is a full-service, 74 bed acute care hospital with an 84 bed skilled nursing home. Since 1894, Nathan Littauer has provided safe, high-quality health and wellness services with a focus on securing appropriate new technologies for people residing in Upstate New York. Over the years, the hospital has expanded its services in order to offer health care that is comprehensive, accessible, and relevant to the needs of the communities they serve. More information can be found by visiting www.nlh.org.
Meet Performance Improvement Specialist, Wes McFee Posted on November 30, 2017 by Dakota PikeNathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home Performance Improvement Specialist, Wes McFeeGLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK (November 30, 2017) – Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home Performance Improvement Specialist, Wes McFee, has brought his skill set to Littauer.Performance improvement specialists are employed primarily in the healthcare field to improve patient care in a variety of ways. At Littauer, McFee serves as a consultant to staff and administration, evaluating, planning, and implementing improvements in healthcare. Other aspects of his job include team building and group facilitation, compiling and tracking data, and preparing training materials.In has set up a task force to address sepsis and to lead the nation in sepsis education. McFee is working as the project lead for sepsis education at Littauer. Sepsis is the result of a massive immune response to bacterial infection that gets into the blood. It often leads to organ failure or injuryIt is McFee’s goal to bring awareness and education to the forefront of all Littauer staff. He also works closely with individual departments supplying them with information and tools to improve patient outcomes.McFee works closely with Littauer’s Vice President, Medical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer Dr. Frederick Goldberg.“In the brief time that Wes has been working here, he has been quick to add value by using his strong problem-solving, analytical, communication and teamwork skills. We are delighted to have him on our team,” said Goldberg.“As a numbers guy, using data and statistics for practical insight is what I enjoy, and I’m right at home at Littauer’s Performance Improvement department,” adds McFee. “My background is largely in project management and I’m fortunate to share that with my colleagues, as well.”Interestingly, June 2017 was not McFee’s first interaction with Littauer. In 2000, while at Littauer, he was diagnosed with a severe mitral valve prolapse at age 33. Mitral valve prolapse is a condition in which the two valve flaps of the heart do not close smoothly or evenly, but instead bulge (prolapse) upward into the left atrium.Dr. Michael Holmes of Schenectady Cardiology Associates gave McFee a prognosis of two weeks during surgical consult. McFee claims he would not be alive today without the condition being correctly diagnosed at Littauer.McFee had open-heart surgery immediately thereafter, was found to have an extremely rare bleeding disorder known as Glanzmann’s Thrombasthenia, which caused post-op complications while at Albany Medical Center. He was later seen at Johns Hopkins University Hospital by Dr. Harry Dietz, the world’s leading expert in connective tissue disorders and after whom Loeys-Dietz Disorder is named. McFee was soon diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder not yet identified by medical science, and his DNA remains as a research specimen at Hopkins.Fast-forward to 2017, McFee together with his wife Tabatha, a Special Education Teacher at Mayfield Elementary School, Co-Advisor of Mayfield Elementary School Running Club, created a 12-person team of locals to run the Reebok Ragnar Adirondacks Relay Race where each runner completed three different legs of the 196.2 mile course through the Adirondack Mountains over two days and one night; each runner totaled 11-24 miles during the event depending on which legs they ran.Open-heart surgery survivor Wes McFee was the Team Captain of the team appropriately named “Heart & Sole,” who finished with flying colors and an amazing sense of accomplishment.“Littauer was thrilled for Wes when he was able to compete in Ragnar” said Littauer VP of Marketing/Communications Cheryl McGrattan. “We were stunned when he finished so strongly. Undoubtedly his professional and personal experience will benefit our patients.”Littauer welcomes the education and experience McFee brings to this community hospital.
