Changes Taking Place Among Our Owners
March 22, 2010
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Leadership
Several of our Owner Hospitals are experiencing significant changes and I wanted to get the word out to you. First, Vanguard Health Systems of Tennessee has signed a letter of intent to acquire Detroit Medical Center. Vanguard will spend $1.5 billion to cover debt and improve the system; plans include expanding Children’s Hospital of Michigan. I have not had a chance yet to personally talk to Herman Gray, but will let you know his comments.
Gordon Alexander, Jr., M.D.
Gordon L. Alexander, Jr., MD will become President and CEO of Children’s Hospital Central California (Fresno) this summer. Gordon was President of the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital and University of Minnesota Medical Center for the last 11 years.
New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital has named Kevin Hammeran Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Kevin was formerly the EVP and COO at Miami Children’s Hospital.
Brett Lee will join Riley Hospital for Children’s senior leadership team as Chief Operating Officer on Monday, April 26. Brett comes from Dallas Children’s Hospital where he currently serves as Vice President of Operations and Clinical Services.
add a commentReform Passes. Now What?
March 22, 2010
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Healthcare Reform
There are many positive provisions for children’s health care included in the health reform bill passed last night, including the elimination of pre-existing condition clauses that prevented our kids from being insured. Now what? It seems to me we still have work to do to improve Medicaid reimbursements. I guess only time will tell if the changes are good or bad for our country, our children and our ability to provide high quality health care. What are your thoughts?
add a commentWashington, D.C., and Cincinnati Jointly Win 2010 RACE for Results Award for Patient Safety Programs
March 12, 2010
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Quality
I’d like to congratulate not only the three top awardees listed here, but the 10 finalists and all 35 hospitals who submitted entries in the Race for Results program this year. Your dedicated staff and their participation in Race for Results are great examples of how we drive each other to excellence every day. We will pick several of these proven projects to profile for you in future blog issues. One of these improvement programs might be a good fit at your hospital. — Don
A small percentage of hospital patients still experience adverse events that result in severe harm or even death. Congratulations to 2010 RACE for Results Award Winners Children’s National Medical Center (Washington D.C.) and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (Cincinnati) for reducing these serious safety events.
Both hospitals changed protocols over three years to achieve a 75-80 percent decrease in serious patient events. Click the title below to see how the programs improved patient safety. You can view other hospital best practices on the RACE for Results web site (CHCA login required).
Winner: A Program to Reduce Serious Safety Events at an Academic Hospital
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Winner: The Power of One: Virtually Eliminating Serious Safety Events through Safety Culture, High Reliability Techniques and Employee Engagement
Children’s National Medical Center
2nd Place: VAP (Ventilator Associated Pneumonia) Initiative
Children’s Hospital Pittsburgh
Owner Hospitals submitted 35 entries in important areas such bloodstream infections, electronic medical records and surgical safety checklists. The annual award is given by CHCA to hospitals that demonstrate significant clinical or business improvements. Winners are selected by a panel of hospital peers and international health care experts.
add a commentReport from D.C.
March 12, 2010
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Group Purchasing
I spent last week in Washington, D.C., as part of the Health Industry Group Purchasing Best Practice Forum. As you may recall, the efforts of this group originated from the many hearings about the industry and they have established a rigorous code of conduct under which the nine major GPOs operate. We held PAC meetings with Senators Bob Corker (R-TN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). In addition, several key Senate staffers attended.
Bottom line? A new round of hearings will be planned to focus on answering:
- Have GPOs become fully transparent?
- Small medical manufacturers have concerns about GPO practices. Should there be an independent group to help adjudicate those concerns?
- Does the code of conduct provide enough disclosure, and should it be re-evaluated based on current concerns?
The Senate Special Committee on Aging and Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights will conduct hearings involving a variety of testimony from small manufacturers, regulators and academics. Clearly, we would prefer not to have the hearings. However, the GPOs’ consensus is that we have made substantial progress and if fairly presented, this progress will be positively viewed.
I will keep you posted on the latest developments. Read the statements HGPII and HIGPA released to the health care policy press on Thursday.
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