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patient outcomes and lower cost of care. Optum's COE network is par t of its Spine and Joint Solution program. Employers par ticipating in the program pay a fixed "bundled payment" rate for the entire spectrum of a patient's care, from initial diagnosis through recover y. Southwest General is the only facility in nor thern Ohio to have been selected as a COE by Optum. Summa Health is repor tedly the first hospital in the Akron/ Canton/ Youngstown area and one of only a handful in Ohio to offer the world's smallest pacemaker to patients with abnormal hear t rhy thms. The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS), which was FDA-approved earlier this year, is one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker. Comparable in size to a large vitamin, the Micra TPS is small enough to be delivered through a catheter and implanted directly into the hear t with small tines. No leads are required. This advanced technology is also designed to automatically adjust pacing therapy based on a patient's activity levels. Union Hospital Board of Trustees has begun a process that it hopes will lead to an affiliation of the hospital with a larger healthcare system by the star t of 2018. The Board has engaged Ponder & Co. to advise them in seeking par ties who are interested in an affiliation that will ensure that the Dover hospital continues to fulfill its mission to provide high-quality healthcare ser vices to the residents of the Tuscarawas Valley. Ponder & Co. is a nationally recognized exper t in advising hospitals seeking potential affiliations. Work has begun to identif y criteria of a suitable par tner and to hopefully complete the entire process by the end of next year. University Hospitals recently broke ground on a $32.4 million state-of-the-ar t outpatient health center and freestanding Emergency Depar tment in Nor th Ridgeville. The proposed 50,300-square-foot ambulator y health center and freestanding emergency depar tment will sit on more than 30 acres of land highly visible from I-480, I-80/Ohio Turnpike and easily accessed from Route 10. Ser vices in the building will include a 24/7 ED; outpatient laborator y; primar y and specialty care; UH Rainbow Babies & Children's pediatric care; digestive health; radiology; and retail pharmacy. University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's and Nationwide Children's Hospital combined their talent and resources in pediatric hear t care and cardiothoracic surger y in the summer of 2015. During the past year the Collaborative, which is built around the concept of "one program, two campuses," has expanded its personnel and dedicated Cardiac Step-Down Unit to provide the highest quality and most comprehensive lifelong care for congenital and acquired hear t conditions, from fetal to adulthood. The team is completely integrated clinically and operationally so the full bench of exper tise and experience is leveraged for all of their patients. Western Reser ve Hospital has earned a 2016 Nor thCoast 99 award, recognizing the hospital as one of Nor theast Ohio's best workplaces. Awarded annually by the Employer's Resource Council, Nor thCoast 99 recognizes great places to work for top per forming people that drive results, provide competitive advantages and allow businesses to innovate and grow. Nor thCoast 99 applicants are evaluated based on policies and practices related to the attraction and retention of top per formers, as well as data collected from employee sur veys. S p e c i a l t h a n k s t o t h e h o s p i t a l P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s administrators who submitted information for this column. To in clu d e your hos pital's n e ws , a d d u s to your p ress release list or e- mail news items to cac@mdnews.com . The editorial deadline for the January-February issue is December 2nd . ■ 2 9 M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C L E V E L A N D /A K R O N / C A N T O N ■ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 016