Fee Stepping Aside as CEO at Providence St. Patrick
Jeff Fee, CEO of both Providence St. Patrick Hospital and Providence Health and Services Western Montana, has announced he will be stepping down at the end of 2016. The health system cited budget pressures as the reason for the change, and noted that his position will not be filled, Missoulian reports. Providence’s COO in western Montana, Joyce Dombrouski, will be expanding her role to take over day-to-day operations at St. Patrick and St. Joseph, part of Providence Health and Services Western Montana.
Trinity Health Names Ed Hodge to be Chief Human Resources Officer
Ed Hodge has been named chief human resources officer for Trinity Health, beginning the new role Jan. 11, 2017. He is currently chief people officer for Florida Hospital and has also served as chief administrative officer ad Adventist HealthCare in Maryland. As a member of the senior executive leadership team, Hodge will lead the national strategy to engage and serve Trinity Health colleagues, including benefits, compensation, diversity and inclusion, recruiting, talent development and culture, and employee and labor relations, the $16 billion health system reports.
Religion May be a Miracle Drug
A Harvard study building on more than 20 years of research says health and religion are positively connected, indicating that attending religious services brings about better physical and mental health. The study shows adults who do so at least once a week have a lower risk of dying over the next 15 years, USA Today reports, as well as lower rates of depression, protecting against suicide. Though it does not specify the benefits of one religion over another, the study indicates being a part of the religious community combined with the teachings and spiritual practices can alter behavior, create meaning, alleviate loneliness, among many other positive benefits.
Dignity and Catholic Health Initiatives are in Merger Talks
Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) have signed a non-binding agreement to assess “an alignment” between the two systems, Modern Healthcare reports. The terms have not been disclosed, but a merger would establish the country’s largest not-for-profit hospital company, edging out Ascension Health, leaving it behind only Kaiser Permanente, the largest not-for-profit health system, which posted $60.7 billion in revenue last year. CHI has been experiencing financial problems, having been hit by a “major bond downgrade” this year, reporting a net loss of $568.1 billion in the first nine months of its fiscal 2016.
ACLU Sues Catholic Hospital for Allegedly Denying Michigan Woman Sterilization Procedure Based on Religious Belief
The ACLU is suing Ascension Health for allegedly refusing to perform a tubal ligation during the C-section of a pregnant patient with a brain tumor. According to Fox News, Jessica Mann’s doctor recommended the procedure because pregnancy puts an unnecessary strain on the tumor, which could be life threatening. Mann’s doctor was unable to perform the tubal ligation because she only had admitting privileges of Genesys hospital, which denied the request for an exception to the hospital’s ban on the contraception procedure. The ACLU says the hospital violated the Affordable Care Act, which regulates sex discrimination, by denying reproductive care to women.
New President Named at Mercy Hospital
Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine has hired a new president, Charlie Therrien. He succeeds Eileen Skinner, who resigned in March 2016, and will begin the new role in mid-November. Therrien is currently the president of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital (a member of Mercy’s parent company Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems) and has more than 35 years of experience in healthcare. He’s also served as CEO of Sharon Hospital in Connecticut and held a management role at Danbury Hospital. He will oversee the consolidation of the Mercy Hospital’s two campuses into one location over the next few years and will maintain his additional role as a senior vice president at EMHS, according to the Portland Press Herald.
