Reflections on the Past Year and the View Ahead

by Charles “Chuck” Barbera, MD, MBA, MPH President and CEO, Reading Hospital

I’ve had the privilege of working at Reading Hospital as an Emergency Medicine physician for more than 25 years. And now, as the first physician President and CEO in the Hospital’s storied history, I appreciate more than ever the role Reading Hospital has in the community as an important anchor institution. I would be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to thank you, my physician colleagues, for supporting me in my first year as president and CEO. It is truly a privilege to lead the team that I have been part of for most of my medical career. Reading Hospital has been a beacon for hope and healing for more than 150 years in the community my family and I call home. I am honored to advance this legacy.

This is a remarkable time in healthcare, and I have never been prouder of all the people who make Reading Hospital a pillar in the community. Together we have weathered three years of disruption caused by the pandemic. Our medical staff and other team members gave everything they had to keep our patients and our community safe, even during times of great uncertainty. No matter how difficult the task, you never quit and never forgot why you dedicated your career to healthcare: to care for those in your community. In addition to our outstanding clinical care, Reading Hospital was, and continues to be, a trusted resource in the community. Educators, government officials, and others relied on our team because of the expertise of our medical staff. I know it wasn’t easy, but I hope you can see the impact you had, and continue to have, on your patients and the community.

Now we are emerging from this difficult period with strength and determination to carry our legacy forward. The signs of recovery are everywhere. I am pleased to share that Reading Hospital is adding physicians, nurses, and support staff − talented people who, in some cases, left during the pandemic and have returned because Reading Hospital is where they want to be. In fact, the number of clinical team members at Reading Hospital increased and we have more physicians, APPs, and nursing staff now than we did before the pandemic. Restoring staff levels means that we are better able to fulfill our mission, serving more patients, and improving access to our world-class primary and specialty care that continues to be recognized for excellence regionally and nationally.

I am particularly proud of the number of accolades the Hospital has received. For the second time, Reading Hospital was named one of Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals, which places us among the top 1 percent of nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide. This prestigious award recognizes Reading Hospital for its consistent, year-over-year superior clinical performance. We are also ranked among the Top Ten Hospitals in Pennsylvania by US News & World Report, recognized by Healthgrades with five 5-star ratings in areas such as total hip replacement surgery, cardiac valve surgery, treatment of stroke, treatment of pneumonia, and treatment of heart failure, received a full three-year accreditation as a Level I Trauma Center from the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF), and earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Total Hip and Knee Replacement Accreditation for the third consecutive time.

This is just a partial list of the Hospital’s awards and accreditations, but they serve as important reminders to our communities that when they come see you, their physician, they know they are receiving high quality care. These recognitions are based, in part, on the clinical excellence of our medical staff, and I hope you are proud of their significance.

In the past year I’ve been working with our team to renew our commitment to