Valued Voice, Wisconsin Hospital Association

Ascension has named Jeremy Normington-Slay president for its hospitals in its north central region of Wisconsin. He will provide senior leadership and oversight of Ministry Saint Clare’s Hospital, Weston; Ministry Saint Michael’s Hospital, Stevens Point; Ministry Good Samaritan Health Center, Merrill and Ministry Our Lady of Victory Hospital, Stanley.

Normington-Slay began his career with Ascension Wisconsin as a doctor of physical therapy at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – St. Joseph Campus in Milwaukee in 2001. He also has managed critical access hospitals in Cherokee, Iowa and Friendship, Wisconsin, from 2003 to 2014. Normington-Slay comes to central Wisconsin after most recently serving as the chief administrative officer for Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, part of Ascension.

Normington-Slay earned a doctorate degree in physical therapy from Concordia University, Mequon and an MBA from Plymouth State University, Plymouth, New Hampshire and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and is currently an ACHE board member of the Wisconsin Chapter. He serves on the WHA Advocacy Committee and has served on the Board of Directors of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative and numerous community boards.

The addition of Normington-Slay rounds out the senior leadership team for Ascension Wisconsin’s North Region. He joins Sandra Anderson who serves as president of Howard Young Medical Center, Woodruff; Ministry Eagle River Memorial Hospital, Eagle River, Ministry Saint Mary’s Hospital, Rhinelander and Ministry Sacred Heart Hospital, Tomahawk. Executive leaders for Ascension Wisconsin’s North Region include Debra Standridge, regional president; Stewart Watson, MD, regional chief medical officer; Sharon Baughman, regional chief nursing officer and Sister Lois Bush, regional vice president of integration.

Each Wisconsin member has been challenged to recruit two new chapter members in 2017.  Each member that recruits two new members will receive a free ACHE-Wisconsin Chapter golf shirt.  Remind your recruits to list your name as the referral when they join ACHE.

Paul Stefanski, Senior Design Architect, LEED AP, EDAC, Eppstein Uhen Architects

You know the classic Johnny Cash song. It’s one of my favorites from the Man in Black. The other day I realized that Johnny’s struggles are analogous to the challenges we face as designers and healthcare administrators when undertaking “patient-centered” healthcare projects. On the one hand, we have the patient’s needs “on our mind both day and night.” However, we must also “keep our eyes wide open all the time” so we don’t forget the needs of physicians, staff, and administrators. Below are a few tug and pull scenarios that we commonly encounter in our practice. Maybe one or more of them sounds familiar to you:

• Surgeons request more operating rooms due to increased caseload. Digging into the data, it turns out that room utilization is below 50% due to cases being scheduled only in the mornings or on certain days of the week. A patient-centered approach is to expand scheduling hours rather than add more rooms. This gives patients more opportunity to have their procedure completed in a timely manner, and has the added benefit of reducing capital costs.
• Physicians request private offices in their new clinic. Once again, a few probing questions reveal that the doctors will spend very little time in these offices, but do need a place for an occasional private phone call or quick break. Providing a shared collaboration space where the doctors can work directly with their team, in close proximity to exam rooms, can reduce patient visit times. This in turn improves their experience and their perception of the facility. Additional shared off-stage spaces, such as a break room, phone room, or virtual visit room, can complete the transition away from the private office model.
• If you ask most physicians, they would prefer to have a consistent work location and schedule, but more and more we are hearing about how patients want access and convenience; these two factors are playing a large role in patient loyalty. Having locations dispersed in the community may cause increased Physician travel, but for the patient it provides easier access in the communities they live in, with close parking options and moderate sized buildings that are easy to navigate. In a market that is increasingly being driven by consumer preference, this is a win for healthcare organizations.

Walking the Line between “Physician-centered” to “Patient-centered” care can be a difficult task. Let’s face it, change is hard, and making the pivotal conversion means coming up with new ways of doing things. These changes may result in staff turnover, but ultimately it is towards the goal of a truly positive patient experience, an outcome that we know will make a difference in the bottom line. It’s difficult to put a return on investment on a positive patient experience, but I do know it translates to improved loyalty, and improved loyalty translates to a longer relationship with your current patients and reduced patient acquisition costs. Now I would like to hear from you, what is the last “Patient-centered” decision you have made?

Learn more.

Get the full story on the twists and turns of federal health reform and what it means for Wisconsin at this year’s Wisconsin Health News conference.

We are flying in a full slate of national speakers to provide in-depth perspective on the latest updates and developments.  That includes:

• Avik Roy, a leading conservative thinker on health reform who served as a policy advisor to three Republican presidential candidates, including Mitt Romney in 2012.
• Julie Rovner, a Washington D.C.-based senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News and former reporter for NPR.

They will be joining vice presidents from the American Medical Association and America’s Health Insurance Plans, as well as influential experts from Wisconsin, including:

• State Medicaid Director Mike Heifetz
• Deputy Insurance Commissioner P. Wieske
• Wisconsin Hospital Association CEO Eric Borgerding
• Gundersen Health System CEO Scott Rathgaber
• Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Plan President Scott Johnson
• UW Population Health Institute Program Manager Donna Friedsam
• Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality CEO Chris Queram
• Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Research Director Jon Peacock

We’ve also expanded network opportunities throughout the day and expect CEOs, executives and senior leaders from across the state to attend. This will be an event you don’t want to miss.

REGISTER NOW

Paul Stefanski, Senior Design Architect, LEED AP, EDAC, Eppstein Uhen Architects

Being a healthcare provider of choice is dependent upon many factors: a patient’s insurance coverage, facility location, and brand reputation, among others. Brand reputation, in turn, is the result of the training of your professional staff, the pricing structure of your services, and the way you conduct yourself as an organization. Your facilities can be a strong influencer of brand perception, since they are often a customer’s first touch point with the organization. Today’s consumers want a hospitality-type experience; to be pampered with warm, non-sterile surroundings in convenient locations while feeling emotionally understood and supported during their visit. Two core hospital departments that touch every family during their lifetime are the Emergency Department and Birthing Center. Let’s take a closer look at how these departments can shape consumer perception of the healthcare organization’s brand and ultimately create lifetime consumer loyalty.

Understanding the Consumer
Before jumping into design, listening to your past and potential future patients can (and should) play a central role in shaping the development of your facility. I recently had the pleasure to work with a forward-thinking client on enhancements to their Birthing Center and Emergency Department. Through focus group feedback we listened to the consumer, finding out what is most important during their visit and ultimately shaping operations and the supporting design.

Birthing Patients want a Personal Approach
Birthing center design can make an impact on the patient perception of the healthcare organization, during an important part of the family growth cycle. The uncertainty inherent with the birthing process (aka when babies decide to join the world outside of the 9 – 5 day) already adds challenges to the experience. Entering through the ED is not the desired experience, and often the primary doctor is not readily available. Focus group feedback uncovered that patients want their provider to ‘know’ their back story and preferences – regardless if he/she is the primary physician.

Being greeted with a friendly face that understands the patient’s personality, challenges and expectations for the birthing experience, with easy, pre-communicated instructions on how to access the department can change the outcome. The programming of the space – protecting the perimeter from inside out helps the family feel safe during this vulnerable time. Focusing on the patient’s emotional experience by separating functions (for example patients struggling with fertility and pregnant mothers) or waiting areas can lessen the psychological impact of the visit. Providing adequate and appropriate space for accompanying family members (both within and outside the room) that utilizes warm palettes and hidden equipment, can transport patients and family outside of the hospital setting.

ED Patients want a Navigator and the Ability to Be Shielded from Others’ Experiences
Inevitably surrounding an upsetting event, the visit to the ED can go many ways when it comes to the patient experience. Focus group feedback cited that patients want access to staff who can handle questions and issues during the stay, easing anxieties. A central core design with glass doors allows staff to observe patients, while giving patients quick access to staff. Whether it’s the security procedures to defend the perimeter and provide a feeling of safety during chaos, balancing the amount of trauma rooms to fit capacity fluctuations and reduce time spent in the waiting room, or controlling the patient’s exposure to others through thoughtful separation of low acuity from high acuity care areas – all these design decisions make a difference on the consumer’s perception.

Consumers want it all – extended hours, short waiting times and personalized services – in one convenient location. We are seeing many healthcare organizations we work with make design decisions intended to sway the savvy consumer. Particularly in Emergency Services and Obstetrics, two touch points that are often a patient’s first exposure to the organization, careful planning can improve experiences and activate brand loyalty. Think of the savvy consumer’s preferences – are your facilities positioned to optimize their experience?

Learn more.

Get the full story on the twists and turns of federal health reform and what it means for Wisconsin at this year’s Wisconsin Health News conference.

We are flying in a full slate of national speakers to provide in-depth perspective on the latest updates and developments.  That includes:

• Avik Roy, a leading conservative thinker on health reform who served as a policy advisor to three Republican presidential candidates, including Mitt Romney in 2012.
• Julie Rovner, a Washington D.C.-based senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News and former reporter for NPR.

They will be joining vice presidents from the American Medical Association and America’s Health Insurance Plans, as well as influential experts from Wisconsin, including:

• State Medicaid Director Mike Heifetz
• Deputy Insurance Commissioner P. Wieske
• Wisconsin Hospital Association CEO Eric Borgerding
• Gundersen Health System CEO Scott Rathgaber
• Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Plan President Scott Johnson
• UW Population Health Institute Program Manager Donna Friedsam
• Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality CEO Chris Queram
• Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Research Director Jon Peacock

We’ve also expanded network opportunities throughout the day and expect CEOs, executives and senior leaders from across the state to attend. This will be an event you don’t want to miss.

REGISTER NOW

Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, will provide an update on the state budget, preview what’s next for the HOPE agenda and discuss the outlook for other pressing healthcare legislation at a Wisconsin Health News Newsmaker Event, Monday, June 5 in Madison at the Madison Club.

The event is Monday, June 5 at the Madison Club (5 E Wilson Street, Madison).  Lunch begins at 11:45; conversation starts at 12:15pm and adjourns by 1pm.

Register now

ACHE Regent, Andy Hillig, FACHE, nominated University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s undergraduate program for the 2018 Higher Education Network Award in the undergraduate category. ACHE has implemented the awards program to recognize undergraduate and graduate programs participating in the ACHE Higher Education Network that have demonstrated the highest level of ACHE engagement.

Congratulations to the UWM Future Healthcare Executives!  As the UWM faculty advisor,  Kathleen Olewinski, FACHE will be submitting the application. FHE was a stellar student organization this past year and demonstrated how ACHE is an important part of the development of students as future healthcare executives.  There is a strong commitment at UWM to the highest level of student engagement in ACHE educational programs.

 

 

On April 28, at ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital, the ACHE-WI chapter offered an event focused on Reinventing Customer Service in Healthcare: Lessons Learn from the Best.  Consumer-driven services in business and the need for efficiency are accelerating changes in the way organizations operate and compete. Many consumers today are taking greater control of their purchasing power and healthcare decisions and are demanding excellence in service. The challenge is how to give them the best service in a meaningful and economic way.

This discussion was led by the moderator, Stacy Conrad, Managing Consultant, The Benefits Group, Inc.  Our expert panelists included Teresa Lindfors, FACHE, RN, CNO/VP Patient Services, Stoughton Hospital, Aaron Kinney, MS, FACHE, Executive Director, Herma Heart Center, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and Marlaina Jackson, MHA, Director of Patient Relations and Support Services, Froedtert Hospital.

“The Way of the Shepard. Seven Ancient Secrets to Managing Productive People” by Dr. Kevin Leman and Bill Pentak is a recommended follow-up read.  It will teach you how to lead the people close to you so they will view their work as a calling rather than merely a job, a place to belong rather than a place to work. It shows leaders how to infuse work with meaning and how to engage, energize, and ignite their workforce and gives employees a better understanding of what makes for a quality work experience.

This program was developed by ACHE-WI. The ACHE has awarded 1.5 ACHE Face-to-Face Education Credits to this program.

A special thank you to our planning committee members who put this event together.

• Tujama S. Kameeta, FACHE, Project Engineer, Department Partner, Performance Excellence, ProHealth Care
• Susan J Knight, MBA, CNMT, FACHE, Senior Director, Medical Sciences Institute, BloodCenter of Wisconsin
• James, McLain, FACHE, COO, Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Eight safety-net clinics in the Milwaukee area are upgrading clinical data-sharing capabilities thanks to a grant from the Greater Milwaukee Business Foundation on Health (GMBFH) to the Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network (WISHIN).

The grant, facilitated by the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership (MHCP), a public/private consortium, will provide two-year subscriptions to all services offered by WISHIN, and fund one-time implementation fees for those clinics that are new WISHIN participants. The GMBFH grant will enable the clinics to fully participate in the statewide health information exchange, improve care coordination and better serve their patients.

“Enhancing the coordination of care, within and across the complex health care delivery system, is a priority strategy for the MHCP,” said Joy Tapper, MHCP Executive Director. “We work to ensure access, improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable emergency-department utilization and associated costs for low-income populations. The GMBHF shares those same goals.”

MHCP health system members use WISHIN as an essential tool to help improve clinical decision-making and enhance care coordination for uninsured and under-insured patients in Milwaukee. Patients served at safety-net clinics often have complex health and social needs and frequently access care across multiple health care organizations. The WISHIN community health record helps clinics better manage and support their patients in a primary-care setting.

The Milwaukee clinics benefiting from the grant are: the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Bread of Healing Clinic, Gerald Ignace Indian Health Center, Milwaukee Health Services Inc., Muslim Community Health Center, Outreach Community Health Centers, Progressive Community Health Centers, and Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.

WISHIN for Care Coordination

The WISHIN Pulse Community Health Record is an aggregated, longitudinal, patient-centric view of a patient’s clinical history (including Medicaid-paid prescriptions) that is supplemented by integrated access to state data sources like the Wisconsin Immunization Registry and the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

Participating health care organizations feed information from their EHR systems to WISHIN in real time, and WISHIN makes it available for query by other members of the network. By using WISHIN, health care organizations don’t have to make special arrangements to receive or send clinical information, or build point-to-point connections with all of their trading partners. One connection to WISHIN can connect them with every other organization in the network.

“Users of the WISHIN Pulse system don’t need to know where a patient may have received care elsewhere,” said Joe Kachelski, CEO of WISHIN. “They just need the patient’s name.”

Another feature of WISHIN Pulse that will be implemented for the safety-net clinics is the Patient Activity Report for clinics (PAR-C). The PAR-C is a daily notification triggered when clinic patients have an emergency department (ED) or inpatient admission or discharge anywhere in the WISHIN network. The report includes the most recent demographic and contact information about the patient and high-level clinical information about the hospital encounter. It is delivered in an electronic format that can be ingested into care-management systems or other patient databases, so that care managers can quickly provide outreach and follow-up care for their patients.

“WISHIN has a substantial presence in Milwaukee,” said Kachelski. “All of the Milwaukee-based health systems, the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, and several independent clinics are participating in WISHIN. We are grateful to the Foundation for their contribution allowing us to extend our network to include Milwaukee’s federally qualified health centers and other essential safety-net providers. As participation in WISHIN grows, all of our clients benefit.”

MHCP’s Emergency Department Care Coordination Initiative

Nearly half of ED visits in Milwaukee County are for non-emergencies, with a large percentage of those visits made by uninsured or underinsured individuals lacking a primary-care provider.

Since 2007, MHCP’s Emergency Department Care Coordination (EDCC) initiative has worked to decrease avoidable ED visits and related hospitalizations, reduce duplicative tests and procedures and use ED encounters to connect high-risk individuals with primary-care health homes and other health resources. With a target population that includes low-income patients with chronic conditions (asthma, COPD, diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS), frequent ED users and pregnant women, the initiative facilitates the referral of about 500 ED visitors a month to primary care, dental and behavioral health clinics.

Along with practicing standardized transition care management processes, the initiative uses health technology services, including WISHIN Pulse, to connect hospital EDs and community clinics in Milwaukee County.

“We’ve seen the power of WISHIN as used in emergency departments to reduce avoidable utilization and connect or reconnect patients to medical homes and other health resources,” said Tapper. “This WISHIN expansion will ensure that the largest safety-net providers in Milwaukee are able to improve care for Medicaid and uninsured patients and assist them in securing the right care, at the right place, at the right time.”

For more information:

Milwaukee Health Care Partnership –  www.mkehcp.org

Greater Milwaukee Business Foundation on Health –  www.gmbfh.org