Vizient offers education series “Worker Safety: Caring for Caregivers after an Unexpected Event”
Vizient Inc (Irving, TX) is offering a three-part education series focused on healthcare worker safety. The Community Knowledge Network Education Series, “Worker Safety: Caring for the Caregiver after an Unexpected Event” is part of Vizient’s Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (HIIN) program offering. The educational sessions are open to all hospitals with no cost for participants. The Community Knowledge Network Education Series focuses on special topics that are safety challenges facing the industry. Participants will gain understanding of the “second victim phenomenon” and various interventional strategies to support clinicians experiencing suffering as a second victim. Presenters will share important considerations related to healthcare team members involved in an unanticipated patient event, a medical error and/or a patient related injury and who experience trauma by the event.
RWJBarnabas Health, CHOP propose strategic affiliation
RWJBarnabas Health (Orange, NJ) and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) (Philadelphia, PA) signed a letter of intent to form a strategic affiliation. The proposal would create an improved network of pediatric care serving central and northern New Jersey. No funds or ownership would be exchanged. The organizations believe the deal would improve access, delivery, quality, and efficiency of pediatric health services and create the most comprehensive pediatric health network in the region. A formal partnership agreement is expected to be finalized in the near future. A specific date was not disclosed.
Schuchat takes position as acting head of CDC
Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director for the CDC, will take over as acting head on January 20, 2016. She will succeed outgoing director Dr. Tom Frieden, who will resign once President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, as is customary. Schuchat has served in her current role since 2015. From 2006 to 2015, she headed the CDC’s National Center of Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and led the agency’s response during 2009’s H1N1 influenza pandemic. Schuchat will remain as director until a replacement is named by the incoming HHS secretary.
UPMC joins international coalition to improve cancer care in cities worldwide
A new global initiative that includes founding partner UPMC (Pittsburgh, PA) launched at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, signaling a dramatic shift in the way international organizations help country and city leaders address the growing burden of cancer. The effort, called “C/Can 2025: City Cancer Challenge,” aims to increase the number of people with access to quality cancer treatment and care in cities around the world with a population greater than 1 million. In the first phase of the challenge, C/Can 2025 will target select cities from low- and middle-income countries where the need is greatest. These “key learning cities” will provide insight on how the international and local community and the public sector can best work together to implement the shared ambitions of C/Can 2025. UPMC will serve on the steering committee for C/Can 2025 and will be part of the teams that assess the gaps in cancer care in participating cities and in designing solutions to fill those needs
Detroit Medical Center names new CEO
Detroit Medical Center (DMC) announced that Anthony J. Tedeschi, M.D., was named CEO of DMC, effective immediately. Tedeschi most recently served as CEO of Tenet’s four-hospital Chicago Market and as the top executive at Weiss Memorial Hospital. He succeeds Joe Mullany, who has left the organization to pursue other opportunities.
Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) announces new board chair
The Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) (Scituate, MA) named Susan Schuette as new chair of the SMI board of directors effective January 1, 2017. Susan Schuette has been a long-time member and board member of SMI and currently serves as VP, corporate accounts for Halyard Health (Alpharetta, GA). She succeeds Jim Francis, division chair of supply chain management at Mayo Clinic, who served as Chair from 2015-2016. Also, joining the SMI board in 2017, Laurel Junk, chief supply chain & procurement officer at Kaiser Permanente, and Joe Walsh, EVP of operations at Pensiamo.
Greenhealth Exchange sees significant growth in 2016
Greenhealth Exchange (Washington, DC) has seen its health system ownership nearly double in the seven months since it began in May 2016. The seven current owners of Greenhealth Exchange include Dartmouth Hitchcock Healthcare (Lebanon, NH), Dignity Health (Phoenix, AZ), Gundersen Health System (Lacrosse, WI), Marshfield Clinic Health System (Marshfield, WI), Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), Partners Health (Boston, MA), University of Vermont Medical Center (Burlington, VT), as well as Practice Greenhealth. Greenhealth Exchange continues to seek additional health systems owners interested in specifying and purchasing more sustainable products and services. Greenhealth Exchange is a Public Benefits Corporation structured as a purchasing cooperative. In 2017, in addition to adding health system owners, the company will finalize its electronic all-green catalog system build out as well as implement the attribute library that will integrate with the catalog, allowing owners and members to visually assess what attributes are being evaluated and making them a “green” product in the eyes of the Greenhealth Exchange members and its subject matter experts.
Capstone Health Alliance announces new member
Capstone Health Alliance (Asheville, NC) announced the addition of Bayhealth (Dover, DE) as of January 1, 2017. Bayhealth is a nonprofit healthcare system with more than 3,700 employees and a medical staff of more than 400 physicians.
Tenet to sell multiple hospitals, home health business
Tenet Healthcare (Dallas, TX) is seeking to further refine its hospital operations portfolio by selling hospitals in non-core markets. The move is in line with Tenet’s long-term strategy of increasing the percentage of markets where the company has the leading or second-place market share. Tenet has signed letters of intent regarding the sale of multiple hospitals and has also signed a letter of intent to sell its home health and hospice business. As previously disclosed, Tenet expects to fully exit the health plan business this year. The company has signed definitive agreements to sell two of its health plans.