Mark Newton addresses hospital volumes, quality, staff questions

In his quarterly open forum meeting with employees, at the STAR awards program and at the monthly Manager’s Meeting, all of which took place this week, CEO Mark Newton addressed several important topics affecting hospital employees and physicians.

He reiterated that in this economy, we have two choices: 1.) we can shrink down and hide, or 2.) we can grow. And in order to continue to be successful as an organization, the latter is our goal.

“We all have an individual responsibility to grow business and volumes. This is truly the only way we will continue to be successful,” Newton said. “Each employee needs to use hospital services and encourage their family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to do the same.”

To help draw patients and facilitate growth, SCH has recently invested in several important service lines and technologies, including:

- The Siemens Definition Flash 256-slice CT and Fuji’s AcSelerate digital X-ray technology in Radiology
- The da Vinci Si HD robotic surgery technology in the expanding Robotic Surgery Program
- The Chicago Back Institute, SCH’s new neurological surgery program opening in July
- The Medical Residency program and our status as a teaching hospital, as we now train more than 70 medical residents a year
- Planning for the Ambulatory Surgery Center and new building in 2012

Each of these investments are being made with the intention of offering our patients the services they need, and the success of these efforts will help our organization achieve its vision to excel as the leading independent hospital in Chicago.

Newton also touched on the following key topics before addressing employee questions:

Quality scores — The HCAHPS program through the Center for Medicare Services is designed to help nurses, unit managers, directors and executives survey patients and collect  data to gauge patient experiences and provide our hospital with improvement and planning tools.
 
Newton explained that SCH’s HCAHPS scores will be increasingly important in the coming months, as potential government changes to how these scores are interpreted and how hospitals are reimbursed come into play.

More information on quality will be provided in a future messaging, but in the meantime, he encouraged all employees to talk to their unit managers about HCAHPS and find out how your department is doing and where you can improve.

Healthcare reform — The new system for health care in the U.S. is very complex. In the coming months, consumers may be confused about insurance coverage, and the transition will also affect hospitals – particularly due to potential decreases in reimbursement rates and increases in benefit costs.

SCH is talking to legislators about the new health care legislation and has encouraged all hospital employees and the community to be engaged in the process.

More than 200 employees attended this week’s open forum meetings, which are designed to give employees the opportunity to have face-to-face interaction with hospital executives and to improve communication between executives and employees. Sharing this dialogue helps keep our entire staff informed about important things happening at the hospital, as well as in the health care industry in general.

Below are the questions and answers that were discussed at the forum:

Q: With all the growth in the hospital, what is our job security like? Also, do employees get a discount for services if they use another insurance plan (not through SCH)?
M: We strive for job security and continue to make staffing adjustments based upon volume. We keep growing and adding staff strategically.

Michelle Aronson (HR): Employees get a discount when using their spouse’s insurance after the bill is processed by the insurance company and any deductibles are paid. The remainder is discounted by 50 percent for full/part-time employees.

Q: What impact does Magnet status have on our success? How is it being communicated?
Mary Shehan: Magnet designation is a great recognition of Nursing Excellence and a great mark of distinction for our organization. We have already seen the impact Magnet status can have: Skilled nurses and other employees have decided to join Swedish Covenant Hospital’s staff because we are a designated Magnet hospital and they know that we’re committed to improving and always being better. We need to continue to build on the success we’ve achieved because our goal of recertification for Magnet is already underway.

We are working with Marketing on promoting this story through a number of projects. We have a great story to tell, which is another reason to get care here and encourage family / neighbors to come to Swedish as well.

Q: Are we advertising Magnet Designation in the Nursing journals?
Magnet recognition is currently advertised in the employment ads for all RN journals.

Q: Where are we in regard to Electronic Medical Records?
M: HIMSS has seven levels of achievement for paperless hospitals. We are currently at Level 6, which sets us in the top 3 percent of hospitals nationally. We’re committed to being completely paperless and should be proud to be one of the leading hospitals in this area nationwide.

Q: There seems to be fewer SCH Home Health referrals today? Why is that?
M: We’ve reached out to physicians to promote our great home health care services and have been able to gain new referrals from some physicians. It’s important to tell our patients that they have a choice in home health care agencies. We cannot refer but we can inform them about telling their doctors they want to get treatment at SCH.

Q: Children’s Memorial is leaving their Fullerton office. Are we doing anything to boost pediatrics to those displaced patients?
M: SCH has an established relationship with CMH, so we are well aware of this move and our pediatric program is poised to take on these patients. Also, we are currently the only hospital in Chicago to offer the new Flash CT which can accommodate children. Older CTs could not, so that is a nice pediatric draw for those patients. Additionally, once the new California Medical Pavilion is complete, we will have space for many pediatric sub-specialists.

Q: All the new technology we are using is great, but are we doing research?
M: Yes. Our Internal Review Board is facilitating research in several areas of the hospital. A good example of medical research is taking place in Oncology, where 6 percent of patients are involved in trials. We are also conducting research in Cardiology and the Family Birthing Center, among other departments. Finally, this summer we will begin neurological studies in the new Chicago Back Institute.

Mary Shehan: We are also conducting nursing research, specifically in the ICU, IMCU, Cardiology, Oncology and Med-Surg. We have six nurse fellows on staff dedicated to conducting these studies.

Q: Where will Pro Plaza patients park during the construction of the new California Medical Pavilion?
M: Details are still being finalized, but there will be valet service available at no additional cost to patients. A shuttle from the garage is also being discussed.

Q: Will the Employee Service Cruise happen this year?
M: Yes. Employees who were honored last year and who are being honored this year will be invited to the evening dinner cruise on August 10. Invitations will be sent out several weeks prior to the event. It is important to celebrate this great achievement for our employees.

Q: Can we get a mirror at the exit of the garage to help with safely exiting?
M: I will pass this request to Engineering.

Q: My manager said we’re open on July 5? Are business offices open or closed? When is the holiday differential paid?
Michelle Aronson (HR): The business offices will recognize the holiday on July 5 and will be closed. All patient areas will determine the staffing levels appropriate for patient care. Talk to your manager to discuss your own department needs. The holiday differential is paid on the holiday (July 4th).