Houston Methodist Names New Branch CEO
Keith Barber, CFO of Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital, has been promoted to CEO of the facility, effective immediately. Barber joined the hospital in 2012 and previously served as COO of Tomball Regional Hospital. Willowbrook’s parent hospital, Houston Methodist, is in the midst of a growth spurt, planning on hiring 300 staff members over the next six months, which will increase their numbers by 20 percent. New staff will join teams in several different areas of the hospital, including emergency services, operating rooms, women’s services and more.
Adventist Health System’s Intensive Drive to Address Patient Harms
Florida’s Adventist Health System has been implementing a major patient safety initiative since 2009 with the goal of significantly decreasing the amount of hospital-based incidents of patient harm, such as hypoglycemia induced by insulin therapy, over-sedation with opioids and sedatives, falls with injury, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Loran Hauck, MD, Senior Vice President for Clinical Effectiveness and Chief Medical Officer at Adventist, is leading the charge on this endeavor. Using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Global Trigger Tool, Adventist discovered the most common types of patient harms by assessing 24 participating hospitals, then ran system-wide improvement collaboratives to better prevent these incidents based on the findings. Hauck argues if an electronic medical record is used appropriately, it can be a “very significant tool for improving patient safety,” according to Healthcare Informatics.
Catholic Health Initiatives Finishes Fiscal 2015 in Stronger Financial Position
Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) is on the rise financially after a tough couple of years, primarily due to increased patient volume and cost-cutting efforts, Modern Healthcare reports. The group finished the 2015 fiscal year in a stronger financial position after recently struggling with a negative operating margin and credit rating downgrades. CHI has increased revenue with several strategic acquisitions, which also increased expenses, but the group stayed ahead of the changes and maintained growth. CHI entered the Texas market last year, a move which yielded it $2 billion in annual revenue, and it has also rejoined the network for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Nebraska, the state’s largest health insurance provider. CHI also says it has experienced growth in its Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Pacific Northwest markets, being in the middle of restructuring.
After Catholic Hospital Denies Woman’s Birth Control Procedure, Atheists Want ‘Right to Know’ Act
Genesys Health System, a Catholic hospital in Grand Blanc, Mich., is being criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union and American Atheists in response to a recent incident in which the ACLU claims it denied a pregnant woman with a brain tumor a birth control procedure called tubal ligation. The woman had apparently requested to have the procedure done at the same time as a cesarean section delivery she had scheduled for the next month, Christian Examiner reports. A hospital spokesperson says Genesys denied the procedure because it follows the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Facilities,” which prohibits sterilization procedures. American Atheists is now proposing legislation that would require the religious provider to give patients a written list of services not offered at the facility and have them sign to acknowledge they have been informed.
Ascension CEO: What Healthcare Can Learn from the Pope’s Commitment to the Poor
The CEO of Ascension, the largest nonprofit health system in the U.S., weighed in on the Pope’s visit to the States and his commitment to serving the poor, saying it reflects the mission of the Catholic church as well as Ascension. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, Anthony Tersigni, EdD, went on to say in his blog post for The Hill that the system today is “fragmented and inefficient,” and the Pope’s visit should inspire those in the healthcare profession toward a renewed commitment of taking care of those in need, regardless of their ability to pay.
