HealthTrust honors members for excellence and community service
HealthTrust recognized five member organizations with its most esteemed honor, the Member Recognition Award, during the annual HealthTrust University Conference. HealthTrust established the Member Awards in 2009 to acknowledge outstanding contributions of organizations and individuals who demonstrate excellence in supporting providers, patients and their communities. HealthTrust president and CEO, Ed Jones, presented awards to the following HealthTrust members.
Outstanding Member – Atlantic Health System, Morristown, N.J., for exceptional fiscal improvements by leveraging HealthTrust initiatives, maintaining contract compliance and adopting new contract categories.
- Kevin Lenahan, SVP, chief financial and administrative officer
- Stephen Albanese, director, strategic sourcing
- Adisa Mesalic, manager, strategic sourcing
- Dawn Petronio, MAS, BSN, RN, clinical consultant, strategic sourcing
- Drew Douglas, strategic sourcing analyst
Operational Excellence – OU Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Okla., for integrating physicians, nurse leaders, executives and supply chain in value analysis disciplines and other best practices to streamline operations and maximize savings.
- April Imel, BSN, RN, director of value analysis
- Dee Cross, MSN, RN, administrative director of value analysis
- Casey Woods, MHA, COO
- Michael S. Cookson, MD, MMHC, physician chairman, value analysis committee
Clinical Excellence – HCA Healthcare Continental Division, Denver, Colo., for executing a laboratory stewardship process leading to improvements in operational efficiencies, financial performance, care outcomes and physician engagement, and expanding the program to other hospital divisions.
- Heather Signorelli, DO, chief laboratory officer, Clinical Services Group, HCA Healthcare
- Gary Winfield, MD, division CMO
- Social Stewardship – Scripps Health, San Diego, Calif., for deploying volunteer medical response teams and providing non-clinical support to thousands of residents displaced by the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif.
- Debra McQuillen, RN, BSN, MAS, VP and chief operations executive, Scripps Mercy Hospital
- Steve Miller, RN, MS, FACHE, senior director, clinical services, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas
- Mike Godfrey, ABC, senior director, corporate communications
- Jay Larrosa, MSN, RN-BC, ACM-RN, PHN, FACDONA, project manager, system care management
Pharmacy Excellence – Community Health Systems, Franklin, Tenn., for innovative quality and control measures in mitigating pharmacy drug spend resulting in operational efficiencies and sustained cost savings.
- Jerry Reed, MS, RPh, FASCP, FASHP, VP of pharmacy
- Heather Weese, PharmD, MSHI, BCPS, BCPPS, senior director, pharmacy services
Franciscan Alliance to build new hospital as part of 500-acre development
Franciscan Alliance (Mishawaka, IN) announced that it is undertaking a massive 500-acre campus expansion that will include a new hospital, among other facilities and services. Franciscan Health Crown Point hospital will be at the center of the development that will bring multiple partners together to transform the city’s southeast side into a destination for advanced healthcare services, medical education, a commercial, retail and residential development, and a possible new home for Andrean High School, Franciscan Alliance said. The property currently includes Franciscan Health Franciscan Point and a University of St. Francis facility. The development of 120 acres will add a new regional medical center better suited for the growing south Lake County and nearby areas. The project will also double the size of the USF campus and expand Franciscan Point’s ortho ambulatory surgery center as a center of excellence in Northwest Indiana. Approximately 250 acres is reserved for residential development and Tonn and Blank Construction will be developing an additional 80 acres for commercial use. The current Franciscan Health Crown Point hospital at 1201 South Main Street will continue to provide healthcare for the community as the new site is developed. Franciscan Alliance is exploring future uses for the present facility once the new hospital opens, slated for 2022.
Census Bureau: Uninsured rate up in 2018 as 27.5 million go without insurance
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that the rate and number of people without health insurance increased from 7.9%, or 25.6 million, in 2017 to 8.5%, or 27.5 million, in 2018. In 2017, the rate of Americans lacking health insurance was 7.9%, or 25.6 million people. The Census Bureau found from 2017-18, the percentage of people with public health insurance like Medicare and Medicaid fell 0.4 percentage points. The percentage of Americans with private health insurance didn’t statistically change year over year, the bureau said.
Intalere’s Steve Kiewiet chosen as AHRMM Board Chair-Elect for 2020
Intalere (St. Louis, MO) announced Chief Commercial Officer Steve Kiewiet was chosen as chair-elect of the 2020 Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) Board. AHRMM is the leading membership group for healthcare supply chain professionals. Kiewiet is a nationally-recognized leader and innovator in healthcare supply chain management, leadership development and operational efficiency, and was featured in The Journal of Healthcare Contracting as one of the “Top 10 People to Watch in Healthcare Contracting.” Kiewiet was elected to the AHRMM Board in 2017 as a provider representative. He will serve as AHRMM Board chair in 2021.
Researchers develop AI to measure physiological health from ECG
Researchers from Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) have created an AI algorithm that was able to determine a patient’s sex and an estimated age from electrocardiogram data, and thus could potentially be used to measure overall health. In the study, published Aug. 27 in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, researchers trained a convolutional neural network to use deep learning to read ECG data to determine a patient’s age and sex. When applied to patient data, the AI determined sex with 90% accuracy, but often offered an age that was off by an average of seven years. By studying other health factors of patients with the biggest age discrepancies, the researchers hypothesized that the AI-predicted age may in fact represent more of a “physiological age,” and thus a measure of overall health.
Medtronic announces planned leadership succession
Medtronic plc (Dublin, Ireland) announced that Omar Ishrak, Medtronic’s chairman and CEO has announced his intention to retire as CEO on April 26, 2020, following the end of the company’s current fiscal year. The board of directors appointed Geoff Martha, currently EVP of the company’s Restorative Therapies Group (RTG), to the newly created role of Medtronic President and member of the Medtronic board of directors, effective November 1, 2019. Martha will succeed Ishrak as Medtronic CEO, effective April 27, 2020. As president, Martha will lead Medtronic’s operating groups and regions. Brett Wall, president of Medtronic’s Brain Therapies division, was appointed EVP and Group President of RTG, succeeding Martha, effective November 1, 2019. On April 27, 2020, Ishrak will assume a new position of executive chairman, which will provide counsel and guidance to Medtronic’s leadership, oversee CEO succession, and drive the ongoing successful execution of Medtronic’s long-term strategic plan.