ACHE of North Texas

SPRING 2015

Increasing Diversity in Governance and Management

Reinventing Customer Service in Healthcare

F E AT U R E S 4 President’s Message Winjie Tang Miao, FACHE 5 Regent’s Message John Allen, FACHE 15 Chapter Needs 16 Member Spotlight 19 National News 22 Path to Becoming FACHE 24 Event Encore 28 New Fellows & Members

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Reinventing Customer Service in Healthcare

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Increasing Diversity in Governance and Management

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ACHE’s Congress 2015

Editor-In-Chief

Dr. Valerie A. Shoup, PE, FACHE

Contributing Editor

Lisa Cox

Contributing Writers

Fraser Hay, FACHE Amanda Bloom Amanda O’Neal Brumitt, FACHE Stan Kovarik LaToya Rivers Mike Belkin, FACHE

Creative Direction

Caleb Wills

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info@northtexas.ache.org

Questions and Comments:

ACHE of North Texas Editorial Office, c/o Executive Connection 250 Decker Drive | Irving, TX 75062 p: 972.413.8144 e: info@northtexas.ache.org w: achentx.org

2015 Chapter Officers President

Winjie Tang Miao Texas Health Resources

Past President

Josh Floren, FACHE Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano

President-Elect

Dresdene Flynn White, FACHE Strategic Leadership Solutions

Secretary

Janet Holland, FACHE BroadJump

Treasurer

Pam Stoyanoff, FACHE Methodist Health System

Regent

John Allen, MHA, MPH, FACHE UNT Health Science Center

2015 Board of Directors Teresa Baker, FACHE John Peter Smith Health Network Jennifer Conrad CORGAN Jessica Fuhrman, FACHE BroadJump Forney Fleming University of Texas at Dallas Michael Hicks, MD, FACHE UNT Health Science Center Ben Isgur PricewaterhouseCoopers Kristin Jenkins, JD, FACHE DFW Hospital Council Foundation Kevin Stevenson, FACHE ERDMAN Demetria Wilhite University of Texas at Arlington Chip Zahn, FACHE Surgical Care AďŹƒliates

The ACHE of North Texas e-magazine, The Executive Connection, is published quarterly (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) and includes information on the latest regulatory and legislative developments, as well as the quality improvement and leadership trends that are shaping and influencing the healthcare industry. Readers get indepth reporting on the issues and challenges facing hospital and health system leaders today. We make it our job to tell you about the great things the organization and Chapter are doing every day to ensure the health of our community. If you have any news and updates that you want to share with other members, please e-mail your items to info@northtexas.ache.org. Microsoft Word or compatible format is preferable. If you have a graphic or picture that you'd like to include, please send it as a separate file. The following are the types of information that our members shared in past ACHE of North Texas magazines, Advocacy Issues, Legislative Issues, Educational Opportunities, Awards / Achievements, Promotions (Members On the Move), Committee Updates, journal submissions, conference submissions, and workshop participations, sharing mentoring experiences, etc.

President’s Message

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t’s hard to believe that the first quarter of 2015 is over. I’m glad that the ice storms and snow days are behind us and that spring (and allergies!) are in the air. As you know, spring is a special time for ACHE because we hold our annual ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership. This year, the ACHE North Texas chapter awarded 5 ACHE Congress scholarships to deserving individuals.

Congratulations to George Alaniz, UT Southwestern; Josh Frisbie, UNT Health Science Center; Sheeba Kuriakose, Parkland; and Maitri Vaidya, Cerner.

At Congress this year, the ACHE North Texas Chapter received the Chapter of Merit Award. This is the 4th year that the chapter has been recognized with the Merit Award.

As part of our annual survey of members last fall, members shared with us that they enjoyed the clustered educational sessions provided in 2014 and asked for more educational opportunities.

Well, you asked and we listened! This year the education committee is providing quarterly education events that allow members to receive 3 Face-to-Face credits per session. The quarterly event was held April 23rd and will held at Cook Children’s Health System.

The chapter is actively partnering with other professional healthcare organizations to provide a broad array of educational and networking opportunities. For example, ACHE North Texas is a collaborating organization with HIMSS for the Leadership Essentials Institute session on May 15th. This one-day educational program will provide attendees with the guidance, concepts, and principles needed to help attendees achieve

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the pinnacle of one’s career – a topic clearly applicable to all of us, not just those in healthcare IT. Information for this event can be found at here.

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Lisa Cox for her years of service to ACHE. As you may know, Lisa has relocated to Austin and will be joining CASA – a great organization that is extremely lucky to get her talent and positive can-do attitude. Her involvement in our chapter has been essential to our growth and success. As one member described her – “she is the glue that holds us all together.” I couldn’t agree more. We will certainly miss her.

The position of Executive Director for our chapter has been posted and can be found here. Please forward to those in your network who might be interested. I’m also excited to share with you that an interim Executive Director should be named shortly so that our chapter can continue to have uninterrupted support and leadership.

As always, I encourage you to find a way to participate, get involved and make the most of your membership. For more information on how to become involved or to send us feedback on our programs visit us at our website or send us an email.

All the best, Winjie Miao

A Publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas Chapter | SPRING 2015

Regent’s Message Dear Colleagues: This spring message is my first as Texas—Northern Regent and I can tell you I am excited about what the future holds!

Let me begin my message by sending out a big “Thank you!” to Mike Murphy for his leadership as Regent for the

“I plan to follow his blueprint and build on his success.” last three years. He has left me in good hands and has a great blue print for what it means to be a successful Regent. I plan to follow his blueprint and build on his success. Less than one month in as Regent, I have started touching base with Chapter Presidents and scheduling ACHE presentations for universities in the Higher Education Network (HEN) of the Texas—Northern Region. And this is only the start. As I learn more though self-study and listening to what the needs and wants are of ACHE members in North Texas, I hope to partner with Chapter Presidents and their teams to increase the value proposition of ACHE. I hope to be able to positively affect ACHE’s impact for young careerists, mid-careerists, established careerists, and anyone who can grow from their relationship with ACHE.

This year’s Congress strongly focused on the need for leadership in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape. The Regent’s meetings focused on several initiatives including: increasing the number of members who achieve board certification in healthcare management and earn the FACHE credential; increasing the number of ACHE specific educational events for chapters; gaining greater visibility among local hospital associations and hospital CEOs; interfacing with the regional HEN; creating or updating chapter five year chapter strategic plans. The classes and seminars offered during the Congress were both varied and enriching. From sharpening leadership skills to leveraging analytics to improve organizational performance to developing processes that improve patient safety, the Congress truly showed that today’s healthcare leader needs to have the right combination of technical, leadership, and administrative skills to be successful. I hope to be able to translate some of this information into locally actionable activities for the Texas—Northern Region.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Regent!

John G. Allen, CMPE, FACHE Regent for Texas - Northern

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FROM PINK LADIES TO iPADS: NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE Reinventing Customer Service in Healthcare Customer service and patient satisfaction are at the core of healthcare’s movement toward patient centered medicine. When JPS Health Network introduced its first Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) last November, the publicly supported healthcare system had to figure out how to reinvent customer service to meet patient expectations now, while simultaneously working toward improved patient satisfaction under the PCMH model as a long-term strategic goal. The answer – reinvent Volunteer Services.

Authors: Heather Wargo, JPS Health Network Volunteer & Principal, B-Lign Consulting, LLC LouAnne Smith, Volunteer Services Manager, JPS Health Network Patrice Durden, Practice Manager, Medical Home – Southeast Tarrant, JPS Health Network J.R. Labbe, Vice President, Communications & Community Affairs, JPS Health Network

In November 2014, JPS Health Network opened JPS Medical Home–Southeast Tarrant, a regional patient and family centered medical facility that consolidates health care services previously provided at five separate locations in Southeast Tarrant County. The medical home is the result of a Medicaid 1115 Waiver Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) project. The project was designed to establish a Patient Centered Medical Home model to decrease avoidable emergency department admissions by enhancing access to comprehensive care. Providing care that includes a strong emphasis on wellness, preventive health and self-management convenient for patients results in fewer patients seeking care in emergency departments (Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 2013).

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Co-locating service is an essential attribute of the model; however, PCMHs are not a ‘bricks and mortar’ solution to improving medical care and the patient experience. PCMH is a care delivery concept emphasizing the relationship between patients and their providers while providing accessible, coordinated, comprehensive quality health care.

Meeting the rigorous standards necessary for recognition as a PCMH by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is not a quick, easy process and requires fulltime attention and dedication. Meanwhile, 16,000 patients served by the medical home moved overnight from what they referred to as ‘my clinic’ to a 50,000-square-foot facility still in the process of establishing an operating model. Attention to customer service was needed now to encourage patients

to seek care at the large and unfamiliar medical home and to avoid undermining the initiative’s intent and goals.

VOLUNTEER SERVICES Southeast Tarrant Practice Manager Patrice Durden reached out to JPS Health Network Volunteer Services Manager LouAnne Smith for support addressing the challenges associated with opening the new medical home. Smith’s department places volunteers across JPS Health Network.

As a 40- year veteran of the Volunteer Services industry, Smith transformed the JPS Volunteer Services program through robust placement practices and an innovative spirit.

Significant accomplishments included more than tripling volunteer enrollment over the past 18 months, introducing a therapy dog program and a comfort dog for palliative care, and recruiting a Clinical Musician for trauma and intensive care patients. “I contacted LouAnne because the first step in establishing the PCMH model is getting patients to use it, to embrace the concept of comprehensive health and wellness instead of waiting until they have a problem and going straight to the emergency room,” Durden said. “Volunteers could play a key role in making the patient want to use the Medical Home.”

INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION & METHODOLOGY Durden’s initial request was for volunteers to staff four information stations. However, volunteers typically contribute four hours per week, and there were the equivalent of 18 four-hour shifts requiring coverage at four stations - that’s 72 volunteers! If Volunteer Services was to support the need to reinvent customer service under the new model of care, the department would need to reinvent its business paradigm.

Although Smith had significantly matured the volunteer placement process, the department was still placing volunteers on an ad hoc basis to address one-off requirements upon request. A diffreent approach was needed. Working collaboratively, Durden, Smith, volunteer and consultant Heather Wargo, and executive sponsor and

“The first step in establishing the PCMH model is getting the patient to use it….to embrace the concept of comprehensive health and wellness instead of waiting until they have a problem and going straight to the emergency room.

Volunteers could play a key role in making the patient want to use the Medical Home.”

- Patrice Durden, Practice Manager VP for Communications and Community Affairs J.R. Labbe organized into a project team taking on the task of designing and piloting a Volunteer Placement Program (VPP) that would reinvent customer service at the medical home.

The team engaged key stakeholders to gather and analyze requirements. A formal Project Charter defining scope and stakeholder expectations kept the project on track and helped avoid ‘requirements creep’ in the midst of an evolving operational model. The goal was to get solid customer service practices in place and make an immediate impact. The team created a Project Management Plan to guide the process of program implementation, stakeholder communication, and risk management. The primary deliverable was a situation analysis to answer the question, “How should volunteer assignments at the Medical Home be defined to maximize operational effectiveness and e ffi ciency and enhance the value of Medical Home to patients served by JPS Health Network?”

As project execution progressed, potential volunteer activities were empirically tested onsite to determine feasibility, impact and eff e ctive use of a volunteer’s time, consistent with the lean continuous improvement ‘plan, do, study, act’ principle. The team created volunteer training materials and compiled relevant project information in a Volunteer Placement Program document that included strategies for recruiting, selecting and tracking volunteers, and lessons learned.

A Publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas Chapter | SPRING 2015

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Medicaid 1115 Waiver DSRIP Project Section 1115 of the Social Security Act gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to waive certain federal Medicaid requirements and allow states to use federal Medicaid funds to conduct demonstration projects that will improve individual and population health while reducing costs through improvements to the healthcare system (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). In Texas, a waiver was granted as the “Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) Commission Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver - Texas Health Care Transformation and Quality Improvement Program,” and allocates funding for improvements to 19 Regional Healthcare Partnerships (RHP) across the state. JPS Health Network is the anchoring entity for the Region 10 RHP. The plan for how Region 10 will spend the funds is documented in the Region 10 Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) plan which includes 4 categories of projects all working toward a common three-pronged goal – (1) improve the experience of care for patients and their families, (2) improve the health of the region, and (3) reduce the cost of care without compromising quality. The JPS Health Network Medical Home – Southeast Tarrant is a result of a Category 2: Program Innovation and Redesign project to establish a Patient Centered Medical Home Model.

(Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 2013). The Volunteer Placement Program (VPP) designed for Medical Home - Southeast Tarrant directly supports DSRIP goals.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver Region 10 RHP (of 19) DSRIP (40% of Region 10 waiver) Project Category 2 (of 4) Program Innovation and Redesign Patient Centered Medical Home Model Southeast Tarrant VPP

RESULTS

Patient Guide

Two high-priority volunteer assignments were designed to improve customer service by increasing operational effectiveness, which translates to an improved patient experience, and providing personalized one-on-one communications with the patient.

The second equips one or two volunteers with a tablet installed with JPS health IT systems and allows them to move about the facility interacting with patients throughout their visits. Duties include registering and training patients in MyChart, the patient portal for access to electronic medical records and communication with providers; way-fi nding; and facilitating communication between patients and ‘behindthe-scenes’ clinical staff.

Clinic Concierge The first assignment places a volunteer at the front of the facility to assist patients upon arrival and allow the registration staff to handle patients more effi ciently with less stress, and a friendlier manner. Duties include greeting patients; managing patient flow; way-finding; and identifying why patients are there, where they need to be and helping them get there.

The high level of mobility intrinsic to both assignments is critical to the volunteer’s ability to optimize the patient experience. During low patient volume times, Durden explores modifi ed volunteer roles. Dedication to continuous improvement supports a sustainable VPP and brings the best possible experience to the patient.

“The face of volunteerism has changed….

If we do not provide meaningful Volunteer placements for people, we will lose them.”

- LouAnne Smith, Volunteer Services Manager

IMPACT Volunteer Services By prioritizing assignments to operational hours with the highest volume of patients, volunteer ‘shifts’ were reduced from 18 to eight, reducing the number of volunteers needed from 72 to 24 (if fully staff ed). The reduced number, welldefi ned assignments and a facility specifi c training program made Volunteer Services’ ability to support medical home requirements more manageable.

consistent solution to improving patient satisfaction in the near term, and in direct support of DSRIP project goals.

Patients Most significantly, the Volunteer Placement Program seems to be well received by patients. “At JPS, the patient is our most important stakeholder. This program – engaging volunteer resources – allows us to give them the best service in a meaningful and economical way,” says Labbe.

Volunteers The resulting medical home assignments meet the ‘meaningful volunteer opportunity’ criteria that Smith requires for all JPS volunteer jobs. “The face of volunteerism has changed from what was common decades ago. JPS attracts a large number of volunteers a ffiliated with University of North Texas Health Science Center and Tarrant County College, including college-age students 18-23 years old, mid-careerists, and foreign medical professionals.

Volunteers want to give back to the community through skills-based volunteering. If we do not provide meaningful volunteer placements for people, we will lose them,” says Smith.

Medical Home By reinventing customer service through the VPP, JPS buys time to apply customer service strategies defined by the PCMH NCQA standards and gains insights into the best way to deliver customer service to the Southeast Tarrant patient population. In the interim, medical home has a reliable and

Tools of the Volunteer Placement Program project: Project Charter, Project Management Plan, Situation Analysis, Volunteer Placement Program document, Training Program, Quick Reference Tool.

A Publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas Chapter | SPRING 2015

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“At JPS, the patient is our most important stakeholder. This program – engaging volunteer resources – allows us to give them the best service in a meaningful and economical way.”

-J.R. Labbe, VP, Communications & Community Affairs

FUTURE APPLICATIONS JPS Health Network is considering further consolidation of community clinics into PCMHs across Tarrant County. Each community and PCMH will be unique, but with the tools and lessons learned in place, the VPP may be adapted to address customer service in real time as these new facilities come online. “This will help us focus the conversation going forward about what patients want and need,” says Smith.

JPS Health Network is also the anchoring entity for the Region 10 Regional Healthcare Partnership (RHP), a ninecounty region established under the Medicaid 1115 Waiver (Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 2013).

The principles used to design the VPP may have future applications as the RHP pursues additional initiatives aimed at improving the patient experience.

“I am very pleased with the outcome of this collaboration,” says JPS Health Network CEO Robert Earley when asked for his thoughts on the effort. “I’ve always empowered the entire JPS team to take initiative – if you see a need, own it…solve it.

This is a great example of doing just that.”

“I’ve always empowered the entire JPS team to take initiative – if you see a need, own it…solve it.

This is a great example of doing just that.”

-Robert Earley, CEO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Patricia Garcia, Community Outreach Coordinator, JPS Health Network for providing subject matter expertise and historical knowledge regarding the Volunteer assignment process at JPS Health Network.

Maria Hillebrand, Electronic Medical Record Analyst, JPS Health Network for designing and implementing JPS health IT access to meet the particular needs of Medical Home – Southeast Tarrant Volunteers.

REFERENCES Kaiser Family Foundation. (2011, December). Kaiser Commission on Key Facts: Medicaid and the Uninsured. Retrieved February 12, 2015, from Kaiser Family Foundation Texas Health and Human Services Commission. (2013). Regional Healthcare Partnership (RHP) Plan: Region 10 RHP. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

Want to get involved?

JPS Health Network is accepting applications for new volunteers.

Call 817-702-1590 for more information.

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A Publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas Chapter | SPRING 2015

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Increasing Diversity in Governance and Management Thomas C. Dolan, PhD, FACHE, CAE, president and CEO American College of Healthcare Executives, Chicago, Illinois

Disparities in care continue to be a major problem in the healthcare system.

This issue will no doubt continue to grow in importance, considering the fact that racial and ethnic minorities currently represent one third of the U.S. population and are projected to become a majority of the population in 2042.

This is why five major healthcare organizations—the American Hospital Association (AHA), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE ), Association of American Medical Colleges, Catholic Health Association of the United States, and National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems—have come together to form the Equity of Care initiative to address disparities in care.

These associations decided to focus their efforts to eliminate healthcare disparities on three core elements: • Increasing the collection of race, ethnicity, and language data • Increasing cultural competency training • Increasing diversity in leadership In a series of five columns in this journal, of which this is the first, representatives from the Equity of Care associations will address all of these topics. ACHE’s focus, and the focus of this column, is increasing diversity in healthcare leadership.

INCREASING DIVERSITY ON THE BOARD Although minorities represent approximately 29 percent of patients nationally, according to the AHA and the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, they comprise only 14 percent of hospital board members and an average of 14 percent of leadership positions. The AHA, along with the Institute and the Center for Healthcare Governance, is tackling the issue of increasing diversity in healthcare governance through its Hospital Trustee Professionalism Program and Minority Trustee Candidate Registry.

The Hospital Trustee Professionalism Program is a series of AHA-sponsored educational programs designed to prepare participants for service on a hospital or health system board.

The program, which is available for free to interested candidates who register online to attend, gives potential board members an idea of what it is like to serve on a board, including roles and responsibilities and unique challenges faced by healthcare governing boards. The Institute and the Center work with state hospital associations to identify minority professionals whom those associations can encourage to apply.

Sessions are held quarterly on a rotating schedule with stops in several major U.S. cities. Since the program started in 2009, it has been conducted in 15 cities; 500 individuals have been trained, and 35 of those participants have been placed on boards.

“The program is a success in that we have begun a conversation with boards and CEOs about this issue, and we now have a tool to help them identify professionals from minority groups to serve on their boards,” says Frederick D. Hobby, CDM, president and CEO of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, based in Chicago, Illinois.

Through the Hospital Trustee Professionalism Program, the AHA hopes to see an increase in the number of board placements in 2013, when it adds an early identification component that will help gain CEOs’ and other senior leaders’ buy-in of potential board members on the front end of the board member selection process. “We’ll be asking CEOs and board members to identify minorities within their markets whom they are already considering for board positions and encouraging them to take our one-day symposium,” says Hobby.

The program also maintains the Minority Trustee Candidate Registry, an online database containing profiles and resumes of each individual who has participated in the training. Hospitals and medical centers can log in to the registry and search for available candidates in their community to fill a board vacancy.

ACHE’S DIVERSITY EFFORTS ACHE firmly believes it has a responsibility to further diversity and inclusion within the organization and in the healthcare management field. Diversity is one of our four core values (along with integrity, lifelong learning, and leadership), and inclusion is one of the 10 ACHE Standards of Excellence for Staff. To further diversity and inclusion in healthcare leadership, ACHE has undertaken a number of activities to help ensure that the association and its members’ healthcare organizations reflect the communities they serve.

Within ACHE , recruitment efforts focus on attracting diverse job candidates. Frequent diversity training is provided to all staff—including at new-employee orientation — to strengthen ACHE ’s ability to attract, retain, and develop a diverse, qualified workforce.

A Publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas Chapter | SPRING 2015

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ACHE also has launched a number of diversity initiatives targeted to the healthcare field as a whole. One major effort is its support of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, which ACHE cofounded. We also collaborate with several other organizations to advance diversity initiatives.

To monitor the field’s progress in the areas of diversity and inclusion, every six years ACHE conducts a study to examine the career attainments of Asian American, black, Latino, and white healthcare executives. The findings of the first Racial/Ethnic Comparison of Career Attainments in Healthcare Management study, conducted in 1992, prompted the founding of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management. Results of the latest study, conducted in 2008, along with recommendations for steps healthcare leaders can take to eliminate inequities of care, are available in the Research area of ache.org.

In addition to our research, ACHE has developed policy statements that promote diversity and inclusion. Our policy statement “Increasing and Sustaining Racial/ Ethnic Diversity in Healthcare Management” formally acknowledges healthcare executives’ role in furthering a diverse workforce and calls on healthcare leaders to promote diversity within their organizations.

ACHE also offers an internship program that introduces one diverse student each summer to a wide range of healthcare association management issues. In addition, we award

scholarships to diverse students in healthcare administration graduate programs. These initiatives help promote diversity in the field by attracting minorities to healthcare leadership positions early on in their careers.

ACHE ’s Statement on Diversity summarizes the efforts I mention here and other initiatives to promote diversity within our organization and throughout the healthcare management field. The statement, which is available under the Diversity Resources tab on ache.org, reflects ACHE ’s deep commitment to furthering diversity.

As another way to encourage growth of minority leadership in the field, in 2013 ACHE is initiating the Diversity in Executive Leadership Program. The program will support a cohort of midlevel and senior careerists who aspire to higher leadership roles. Participants will benefit from • scholarship support to attend ACHE ’s Senior Executive Program or Executive Program; • specialized curriculum opportunities to address barriers in career attainment and developing executive presence; and • enhanced career support, including mentoring opportunities.

As you can see, ACHE is firmly committed to increasing diversity and inclusion in healthcare leadership, and we will continue our efforts to do so. A multicultural society needs multicultural leaders.

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The 2015 Chapter Member Needs Survey The 2015 Chapter Member Needs Survey will be sent electronically May 4–22 to all ACHE members who have been chapter members for more than one year.

The survey was developed and will be administered

by ACHE’s Division of Member Services, Research.

In 2014, 41 percent of Members who received the survey responded to it. Individual chapter response rates ranged from 30 to 56 percent.

The 2015 survey will focus on the importance of and members’ general satisfaction with chapter programs, services such as career assistance, education, networking events and newsletters, and the volunteer experience. In addition, the survey will ask respondents to rate their overall satisfaction with their chapter.

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Member Spotlight Karen Fiducia President USMD What are you doing now?

I currently serve as the President of USMD Hospitals, a division of USMD Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:USMD) USMD is a publicly held, physician-led, integrated health system. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, USMD proudly serves the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area with more than 250 physicians and associate practitioners at 70 physician clinics, provides healthcare services to patients in just under 20 different specialties at its two hospitals, delivers cancer treatment at 10 centers globally and partners with physicians in 22 locations nationally for Lithotripsy services. USMD was founded in 1994 with the creation of US Lithotripsy. In 2012, Urology Associates of North Texas, L.L.P., Medical Clinic of North Texas, P.A. and IMPEL Management Services, L.L.C merged with USMD to form USMD Health System.

In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Healthcare today?

At the end of the day, the most important issue facing healthcare is its cost, which is too high and not sustainable. I think most everyone agrees with this issue. The disagreement lies with who is responsible for fixing the system and how in order to reduce these costs. At USMD, we believe only physicians can truly bend the cost curve. USMD and its physicians have established systems where, simply, the patients come first. We have focused on delivering the right care at the right time in a cost effective manner for both us and the patient.

Additionally, we emphasize preventative medicine that keeps the patients well during and after care delivery, and we reward our physicians for quality, not quantity. We believe these are the fundamental changes that will be instrumental and necessary for healthcare cost reductions which includes the added benefit of dramatically improving quality.

How long have you been a member of ACHE? I have been a member since my residency in 1984.

Why is being a member important to you?

If there is one constant in healthcare it is change. ACHE does an outstanding job of keeping members apprised of the latest trends and issues being discussed by thought leaders in the industry. I value the educational offerings, as the presenters are well- versed in their fields and provide for an exchange of ideas from participants across the country. Most importantly, ACHE sets the standard for healthcare executives, requiring continuing education, participation in community activities, and participation in other volunteer activities to maintain FACHE credentials.

What advice would you give early careerists or those considering membership?

I would strongly encourage young careerists to not only join but become actively involved in ACHE. The contacts and friendships developed will be invaluable throughout their journey. The professional development opportunities, if taken seriously, could catapult the member ahead of their peers, especially in a competitive environment. More importantly, the early careerist will have an opportunity to learn a methodology to manage that contains all the elements of good stewardship, ethical behavior, the value of transparency and, in short, doing the right thing.

Tell us one thing that people don’t know about you.

When I was interviewing for my first CEO position, the corporate Vice President who would be my boss asked me if I had any reservations about taking the job. Risking the possibility of being eliminated from consideration, I replied honestly, yes.

I told her I had never reported to a woman before and I had heard they were unreasonable, and difficult. She did hire me and together we worked to dispel this myth. As a result, I have become involved in mentoring women healthcare professionals and leading by example to change that perception.

Member Spotlight Kendall Quisenberry President of Reimbursement Counselors, Inc. Kendall Quisenberry, President of Reimbursement Counselors, Inc., recently joined North Texas Chapter of the ACHE. When asked about his motivation he stated, “I have been involved with several other financial groups through the years, but never attending an ACHE event. After attending the DMA event as a member of HFMA and meeting all the well-educated and accomplished individuals in the group, I felt that I would really be missing an opportunity if I did not get involved.”

His first healthcare financial management position was as a Financial Analyst with St. Paul Medical Center in Dallas in 1991, and over the past 24 years he has progressively moved upward in the ranks. Currently he is responsible for the strategic direction and overall success of Reimbursement Counselors, Inc. but still directly involved in both the marketing and delivery of reimbursement consulting services on a daily basis. Also, an interesting fact about Kendall is that he started practicing yoga on a regular basis about 6 months ago and “loves it”!

In response to the discussion regarding the most critical issues facing Healthcare today he expounded, “From a financial standpoint, the most important issue nationwide is the various State governments’ decision regarding Medicaid expansion or no Medicaid expansion. There are still negotiations ongoing with the States that have not expanded. These are huge multibillion dollar funding decisions that directly impact almost all hospitals within a particular State. The chance of Texas participating any time soon remains pretty low. For many rural hospitals, the most important issue is the availability of adequate local tax support to cover operating losses. This will ultimately determine many rural facilities’ long term financial viability.

Also, several ACHE and HFMA members conversed about the impact of the ACA on healthcare organizations and Kendall added, “Since Texas has elected not to do the Medicaid expansion so far, the reduction and potential loss of Disproportionate Share funding for hospitals that have a large population of poor patients may be the biggest payment issue in our State. DSH has been huge piece of urban hospital reimbursement for many years. While it is being replaced by a payment for “Uncompensated Care”, the changing of the formulas used to spread billions of dollars in reimbursement nationwide is always a concern for hospitals. There will undoubtedly be winners and losers with the new payment methods.

Very interested in his perspective we asked for his advice to organizations who wanted to improve their bottom line and he conveyed, “80% of your profits come from 20% of your efforts. Develop and focus on your big winners. Eliminate or reduce the size of your losers to the extent possible. Squeeze every dollar of Net Income out of services you have already delivered. Always look for a better way to do things. Part of your job is to listen to the new ideas out there, evaluate them and implement the best.” Considering that healthcare organizations are looking for every opportunity to meet their bottom line his words sway towards maximizing on current services and being open to adjust processes.

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National News ACHE Senior Executive Program The Senior Executive Program prepares senior healthcare leaders for complex environments and new challenges. Past participants have been senior directors, vice presidents, COOs, CNOs and CFOs— many of whom aspire to be a CEO. The program consists of three sessions, each two-and-a-half days in length. Locations and dates are as follows: Chicago (June 8–10), San Diego (Aug. 24–26) and Orlando, Fla. (Oct. 19–21).

Participants grow professionally in a supportive learning environment over three sessions. The program includes relevant topics, such as reducing medical error, improving board relationships, increasing personal influence, understanding financial management in the era of payment reform, confronting disruptive behavior and influencing organizational change.

Enrollment is limited to 30 healthcare executives. A limited number of partial scholarships, underwritten in part by Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc., are available for those who qualify. Read more.

ACHE Executive Program The ACHE Executive Program is designed to help healthcare middle managers refine their knowledge, competencies and leadership skills. Participants will have the opportunity to learn, share and grow professionally together over three multiday sessions. The program will cover relevant topics, such as improving patient safety and clinical quality, understanding physician integration strategies, appraising personal leadership, managing disruptive behavior, improving talent development, understanding hospital governance and conflict management and measuring financial success.

The Executive Program will be held at the following locations and dates: Chicago (June 8-9), San Diego (Aug. 24-26) and Orlando, Fla. (Oct. 19-21). Participants will attend all three sessions.

Enrollment is limited to 30 healthcare executives. A limited number of full scholarships underwritten in part

by Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. are available for those who qualify. Read more.

ACHE Call for Nominations for the 2016 Slate ACHE’s 2015–2016 Nominating Committee is calling for applications for service beginning in 2016. All members are encouraged to participate in the nominating process. ACHE Fellows are eligible for any Governor and Chairman-Elect vacancies and are eligible for the Nominating Committee vacancies within their district.

Open positions on the slate include: • Nominating Committee Member, District 4 (two-year term ending in 2018) (District 4: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas) • Four Governors (three-year terms ending in 2019) • Chairman-Elect Click here to review the Candidate Guidelines.

Board of Governors Exam Fee Waiver Promotion 2015 ACHE is pleased to once again offer the Board of Governors Exam fee waiver promotion to members who apply for the FACHE credential between March 1 and June 30, 2015. Eligible Members must submit their completed Fellow application and $250 application fee during the promotion period. Pending application approval, ACHE will waive the $200 Board of Governors Exam fee. All follow-up materials (i.e., references) must be submitted by Aug. 31, 2015, to receive the waiver.

Click here to read more on the promotion.

Committee News The Education Committee continues to host successful double panel events on a quarterly basis. The February educational event at CHRISTUS Health achieved record attendance numbers for any ACHENTX educational event ever held with 105 attendees. In April we held another double panel in Fort Worth and had a great turn out of 85 attendees.

Mark your calendar for our next event!

6/25/15: Will take place in Denton • The Impact of the ACA: How Readmission Penalties Will Affect the Healthcare Executive’s Mission

Why Get Involved?

Conor McGuire, FACHE Networking & Membership Committee Member The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and lawns are greening. It’s time to dust off your social calendar and get out to the next ACHE Membership and Networking event. But what is in it for you? Thanks to Google, oh so many things. You have read all about the benefits of business networking before, but what about how ACHE networking specifically can benefit you and the membership as a whole?

Connections are made every day within your organization.

Connections to get business done and to tackle today’s challenges. What about connections with fellow ACHE members at similar organizations, or even those at different organizations? The connections formed at ACHE networking and membership events can help provide the different perspectives needed for tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities. These connections are essential in gaining the most benefit out of attending networking events.

Shared Knowledge is a cornerstone for the continued growth of the healthcare profession. Through the exchange of ideas and results of new programs and projects, we continue the path of ever becoming better, leaner, and smarter at delivering safe

and effective care. Through the Chapter’s events we strive to provide opportunities to create those personal connections to foster the sharing of ideas.

By consistently attending events and networking, you are pushing yourself to converse with people you do not know.

These experiences will help elevate one’s confidence. This is an important trait as a leader because your success as a leader is dependent upon talking to and motivating people.

In establishing professional connections, you are practicing communication skills and learning from others at the same time.

The sharing of knowledge and building one’s confidence in these social settings helps develop oneself into an effective leader.

Chapter events are fun and entertaining. We have hosted events at Top Golf, Dallas Museum of Art, Texas Rangers games and other fun and interesting locales. Come out and enjoy meeting fellow members of the North Texas Chapter and please offer up suggestions of other types of events you think members would enjoy. You can see our current schedule of events below and updated regularly at ACHENTX.org.

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ACHE CONGRESS 2015 As many attendees can attest, Congress provides an excellent opportunity to connect and share ideas with other professionals. The knowledge and resources available offer innovative, educational experiences in leadership development, strategic planning, and problem solving methods that address current trends within the healthcare industry.

This experience was particularly meaningful for me, as I recently transitioned from being a student to an early-careerist. No longer were the messages conveyed in these sessions simply theories found in textbooks; rather, they were facts, ideas, and reality-tested approaches to use in meeting the challenges we face as the current healthcare model is transformed. For instance, what I learned in sessions on topics such as patient throughput, supply chain, and leading cultural change will assist me in directing and operationalizing process improvement initiatives that will ensure improved health outcomes at my hospital.

George Alaniz

Administrative Fellow UT Southwestern Medical Center

Also, as I begin to chart my path within the industry, the ability to network at Congress provided me the chance to interact with senior executives who offered valuable advice and counsel; it also allowed me to share my own experiences and knowledge with students and recent graduates who attended.

I would like to thank the North Texas ACHE chapter, board, scholarship committee, and corporate sponsors for the opportunity to attend Congress this year. Your assistance made a profound impact on my life, both personally and professionally.

ACHE Congress 2015 Experience Attending Congress was more beneficial to me than I anticipated and I will definitely be attending again next year. As a result of attending, I had the opportunity Josh Frisbie to engage and exchange contact Student information with more than UNT Health fifteen presidents and or CEOs Science Center of healthcare facilities across the country and abroad. Every day of the conference I attended interactive seminars ranging from CEO/CNO relationships to big data analysis implementation within health systems.

Not only did I meet officers and employees of other organizations, but I met many healthcare administration

students from Universities across the country. I believe it was important that I met these other students since these people are the future of healthcare.

During Congress I made an effort to discuss summer internships with a few healthcare officers of various organizations. As a result, I recently received a call in regards to an interview for a large dental organization in Washington State. The person who called me is the Director of Operations for this dental organization whom received my business card from his COO that I spoke to at Congress.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to attend Congress at low cost thanks to the North Texas ACHE Chapter. I encourage all healthcare professionals to attend next year so that you can gain insight and opportunity in healthcare along with being able to contribute to your community with the knowledge gained from Congress.

Congress Scholarship Summary I had the privilege of attending the 2015 Congress on Healthcare Leadership in Chicago, Illinois. With this being my first opportunity, it was truly a wonderful experience. I had the chance to listen to speakers who make a real difference in their areas of expertise, such as Dr. David B. Nash on Population Health, Sandra B. Bruce on Women

The Time is Now Maitri Vaidya, DBA, MHA, CPHQ Sr. Clinical Consultant, Strategic Services, Healthcare Reform Cerner Corporation As we embrace changes across healthcare, ACHE Congress provides time to analyze the country’s status quo – allowing a moment to connect the dots between what we know, where we stand and what we need to do to execute our mission.

It is now time for execution. Time to show that data collected can be stratified to help concentrate on communities population needs, understanding neighbors cultural, socio - economical, linguistic, racial and health strengths and weaknesses to create access to a healthy lifestyle.

The goal is finding the barriers to health system reform and moving them out of the way. Think tanks are discussing VBP and alternative payment methods to provide strategic perspective. Though at times it feels like we’re on the defense across healthcare, policy has paved the road for us to fight via programs like RAC relief, 2-midnight enforcement, and HAC penalties. This fight isn’t around PI, quality or core measures. We all agree the status quo will not suffice. The fight is about how to pay for the coverage via state and federal exchanges; how to subsidize our efforts to create and sustain change as our population grows. Answering these tough questions require collaboration across the continuum to fill the execution gap between where we are and where we need to be. The time is now.

in Healthcare Leadership, and Dr. Christopher Olivia on Empowering Physicians for Population Health. I was able to attain a better understanding of how Information Technology plays a pivotal role in our growing healthcare field. The members of American College of Healthcare Executives created an environment that was welcoming and inspiring. The camaraderie amongst the attendees was immeasurable and made me realize that I was a part of something much greater than I had imagined. I highly recommend other early careerists who are seeking advancement, motivation, and knowledge of our ever-changing industry to attend Congress in the future.

ACHE Congress Summary Fallon Wallace Student University of Texas Dallas I thank the North Texas Chapter of ACHE for the opportunity to attend the Healthcare Congress as it was an enlightening experience. Although I have gained knowledge of the healthcare industry in my academic courses, networking with longtime industry professionals and hearing of their experiences provided additional perspectives regarding the challenges, strategies, and accomplishments of Healthcare Leaders. One of the highlights of my networking was having a discussion with a previous executive of Intermountain Healthcare who shared his role and experiences during the planning and integration of the organization’s system. Congress not only provided networking opportunities with industry professionals but also with my peers. As I prepare for graduation, the student seminars focusing on leadership development; administrative fellowships; mentoring relationships; and the tools needed for early careerist provided key focus areas for my career transition. The opening session, hot topics session and Malcolm T. MacEachern Memorial Lecture and Luncheon covered current issues in the industry such as politics, strategic planning and a discussion of India’s healthcare system and how it differs from the United States. I recommend Congress for anyone interested in the healthcare profession and look forward to attending in 2016.

The Path to Becoming a FACHE

Passing the Board of Governors Exam

By Amanda O’Neal-Brummitt, FACHE

Here’s what I suggest you DON’T do: Assume that you don’t need to study.

Pay $450 for application/testing and fly to Chicago to take the Board of Governors Exam during Congress. Walk in completely unprepared and take the test. Would you believe that it has questions that are very specific such as, “What does CPT stand for?” Not, why do we have CPT codes? Or, how do CPT codes affect medical billing or healthcare or patients or finance or economics or Ebola? But, what does it stand for. Do you know? I didn’t! But I could have written a dissertation on how CPT codes impact our hospitals every day and why they are important. My point here? Study for the test!

First, about the test. Then, I’ll cover some of the great resources available.

The Board of Governors Exam focuses on the following knowledge areas: • Governance • Human Resources • Finance • Healthcare Technology and Information Management • Quality and Performance Improvement • Laws and Regulations • Professionalism and Ethics • Healthcare • Management and Business Essentially, the test is gauging proficiency in the healthcare management field. While they say it is not based on the specific memorization of facts, there were quite a few on mine back in 2009, particularly acronyms and insurance terms. So, dust off those cobwebs. I strongly recommend taking the exam as early out of graduate school as possible for this exact

reason. The test is 230 questions and you’ll have six hours to take it. Answer all the questions, as there is no penalty for guessing (blank answer is a wrong answer). The exam is difficult, but not horrendous. If you meet the qualifications to take the exam and stay up-todate on current developments in healthcare, it’s quite a manageable test.

So, how do you study for this exam? There isn’t a set study guide, but there are a lot of resources available. Definitely start by downloading ACHE’s Reference Manual from the Credentialing section of their website. It’s full of information about the test, test-taking tips, and practice questions.

ACHE has a nice list of reference materials on the Credentialing section of their website that candidates can use to brush up. You likely own several already. As I perused the list, many were newer versions of books I read while in graduate school, although ACA wasn’t even thought of

DESIGNING

when I was in school, so use your own judgement there in deciding if you need to update your library.

ACHE offers a 2 ½ day in-person Exam Review Course for a fee. It also has the added value of 19 Face-to-Face education credits that you can apply toward Fellow requirements. The course is typically in Chicago.

ACHE also has an Online Tutorial for a fee using a selfstudy format over 12 weeks. You receive CDs with all of the materials and then participate in an online community.

Completion of this course earns you 6 ACHE qualified education credits that you can apply toward Fellow requirements.

ARCHITECTURE · INTERIOR DESIGN · CORGAN.COM

Now, the best study aid has been saved for last. Our very own ACHE North Texas Chapter offers a FREE* 10 week live interactive webinar Review Course. It’s held March – June one day a week during the lunch hour. Our own subject matter experts present materials to prepare Chapter Members to pass the exam. You can ask questions, interact, and get all of that knowledge at no cost. What’s the fine print? *Attend 80% (8) of the sessions and sit for the exam before the end of the calendar year and ACHENTX will refund your registration fee ($100).

And, if all else fails, you can always wing it. But, I don’t advise it. Remember that whole CPT story? Well, I passed.

But, I can assure you that I walked out of that room at the Palmer House Hilton feeling like a pompous idiot that just wasted a lot of time and money because I didn’t bother to spend a few hours studying. And, then I spent the next few hours googling all of the questions that I wasn’t sure if I had answered correctly. Be smarter than me. Do your googling before the test. Google: ACHE BOG Exam Reference Manual.

This is the third in a series of articles about earning the FACHE credential. Watch the newsletters for additional resources on passing the Board of Governors Exam.

Re-imagining Healthcare Advancing health and wellness globally and in local communities is at the heart of our endeavors. This is where great begins.

hdrinc.com

EVENT ENCORE

Winter Education Event Thursday February 26th, 2015 By: Mike Belkin, FACHE and LaToya Rivers

The cost of healthcare has escalated over the past several years, with expenditures in 2011 surpassing $2.7 trillion. Rising costs create an unsustainable strain on state and federal reimbursement programs and on individual and employer sponsored health plans. According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), hospital and physician services account for over 51% of the cost.

The cost drivers include a) lack of coordination of services among health providers resulting in inefficiencies and duplication; b) unnecessary medical treatment, clinical variation, and medical errors; and c) a growing population of individuals with one or more chronic diseases. In an effort to address some of these issues, through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), regulators have reduced Medicare payments to hospitals with high 30-day readmission rates. The ACA includes a penalty for 30 day readmissions of patients with health issues such as: congenital heart failure; heart attack; COPD; pneumonia; and total hip/ knee replacement. To assist administrators with strategies for the changing healthcare environment, expert panelists shared how health care leaders address the continuum of care.

Panel 1: Integrating acute into postacute care settings The panel was led by Mark Boles, vice chairman Patient Advocacy Council, Inc. and included Dr. Loc Trieu, regional medical director of Questcare Matrix, Chet Bhasin, service line director, rehabilitation, Texas Health Dallas, Jam Hamilton-Crawford, vice president of

operations for Christus Continuing Care and Stephanie Madrid, market CEO Kindred Dallas.

In his presentation, Basin asserted that patient choice is the overarching theme in the new healthcare environment.

In today’s environment, healthcare systems must move from reactive care to preventative care. Hospital and post-acute care administrators must work together to provide patient care plans that improve population health.

Hamilton-Crawford followed sharing how faith ministries support rural, uninsured, and indigent populations to help improve population health. Madrid asserted that the new health care models must integrate care for populations in not only the hospital but also in the postacute care facilities. Hamilton-Crawford stressed that post-acute strategies must ascertain caregivers treat patients with dignity and that care expands into the community including transferring acute care into inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long term care, home health, retirement communities, and hospice care. Decisions around partnering with or owning post-acute care facilities is a vital part of administering to the healthcare continuum. Hospital administrators may want consider expanding home health services, integrating care management with continued care, and developing transition management.

Madrid indicated that variations exist in post-acute care spending and as the demand for post-acute care increases so does the need for integrated care.

Hospital administrators must adapt to the new payment systems. Health

information exchange between the facilities is necessary to ensure accurate patient records. Care programs should include disease specific care regimes.

Managing change may necessitate added cost to produce value.

In order to control costs, hospitals may consider integrating targeted community education into the care processes.

Education through both technology and discharge phone calls are ways providers can connect with patients. In-home monitoring may become a part of the innovative services a hospital deems important. CHRISTUS health offers IPADS to patients as a communication tool between the physicians and patients.

Physicians must move from caring and prescribing medicine to treat the symptoms to providing care to prevent the symptoms. Teams must provide patient care; no longer should there be only a PCP but instead a panel of care providers. Reducing readmissions by reorganizing care delivery and forming a bridge between clinical professionals exemplifies population health transformation. Hospital administrators must stay ahead of the changes to ensure the healthcare system provides proper care while following federally mandated requirements.

Dr. Trieu indicated that healthcare executives must understand the different areas of expertise of physicians in each unit of the hospital and healthcare system. Physicians are expected to move patients as quickly as possible through the system to reduce LOS while ensuring quality patient outcomes. Matching the acute care patient with a post-acute

February 26, 2015: Winter Education Event

care setting takes a team of healthcare professionals working together to create the best patient outcome. The hospital team must ensure the discharge to facilities have quality metrics to track and improve care so that the patients do not become 30 day re-admissions.

Impact of the ACA: How Readmission Penalties will affect Healthcare Executives Eric Jacobsen, assistant director, VA North Texas Health Care System led the second panel with presentations from Reggie Allen, system director, quality and clinical operations Christus Health, Bobby Barajas, vice president of sales and marketing, Loopback Analytics, and Brenda Blaine, CNO/COO Baylor Medical Center at Irving participated on the second panel.

Allen indicated that quality care is the key to minimizing potential for readmission penalties and suggested administrators be careful with whom they partner to ensure the expanded care offers the same quality as the acute care setting.

Additional recommendations included ensuring the patient sees the physician within a week of discharge to reduce readmission rates, track readmissions, implement interventions and then circle back to tracking readmissions can help improve numbers.

Consider measuring how many days since the readmission, what day was the patient discharged, what is the age of the patient, what is the diagnosis? This information can be correlated to determine factors related to readmission. The hospital team should determine from where the patients arrive. If they are coming back from skilled nursing homes the team needs to work with them to improve the quality.

Barajas, like Allen, pointed out the importance of developing close knit relationships with the right partners.

Barajas indicated the importance of ensuring that the many caregivers that touch the patients coordinate efforts in regard to the right patient, the right program, the right setting. Furthermore, Barajas spoke to the importance of identifying at risk populations and matching persons from the at risk group with the right solution. Hospital teams should develop algorithms to identify patient risk and match the risk to an intervention. Hospital teams need to work with the nursing home caregivers on infection control and other confounding issues. Hospital caregivers may consider assisting the nursing homes to ensure patients make and keep post discharge appointments. Hospital Administrators must balance efforts towards quality control, patient outcomes, resources, and safety/risks. They must determine what treatments are necessary to achieve results without increasing patients’ length of stay or adversely affecting patient outcomes.

Blaine also highlighted the importance of tracking readmissions and indicated the importance of having a readmission team.

Another essential point made by Allen and Blaine is that patients need to be monitored after discharge regardless of the patients’ discharge destination. Discharged patients require follow-up to ensure that they fill prescriptions and takes the medication a prescribed. Given that a majority of preventable readmissions are due to medication compliance challenges, a written system of follow-up procedures regarding medication protocol is critical. Additionally, patients discharged need to see a primary care physician within seven days. Both Allen and Blaine commented on their respective facilities having a dedicated case manager who schedules the appointments for discharged patients.

Panelists highlighted the necessity to work collaboratively with post-acute care settings, which accept discharged patients.

However, Allen emphasized that one of the keys is being selective when choosing the best partners for use for postacute care. Allen also stated that the majority of readmissions for CHRISTUS came from skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”).

Blaine highlighted that consistent and continual training of personnel at SNFs is vital due to high turnover (“every three to six months”). SNFs staff do not typically receive training on how to handle certain triggers that lead to a readmission and in Blaine’s experience, she finds that the staff are extremely receptive to receiving training on such topics. Also highlighted was the necessity of an advanced practice nurse to follow discharged patients into the SNF.

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EVENT ENCORE

Cocktails with the Chiefs – Christus Health, Irving, TX. By: Stan Kovarik On Wednesday, April 1st, CHRISTUS Health hosted the North Texas ACHE Cocktails with the Chiefs panel event.

91 attendees registered for this event.

Some of the most powerful hospital executives in the DFW area attended the event, including moderator Mr. Robert Earley, CEO of JPS Health Network and panelists Mr. Barclay Berdan, FACHE, CEO of Texas Health Resources, Mrs. Lillee Gelinas, MSN, RN, FAAN, System VP & CNO, Christus Health, Dr. Alan M. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Chief of Oncology for Baylor Health Care System and Mr. John G. Moore, CPA, EVP & CFO of Parkland Health & Hospital System.

Panelists shared perspectives on leadership, personal career evolution and current steps leaders take to hone their skills. Mrs. Gelinas shared her experiences, emphasizing the importance of competency as it relates to nursing.

She stated: “Nursing competency drives physician engagement, lack of nursing competency drives the physicians away.”

Gelinas highlighted the importance of her leadership training while in the US NAVY. The training included mentoring and support from her peers. Gelinas stated that perhaps one of the most important attributes of a leader is a quote “heavy dose of strategic humility, we don’t know all the answers, but if we can learn to say how we can serve you, not how you can serve us, then we’re along a steady path to leading…”

Mr. Moore asserted it’s very important as a leader not to become complacent, because if a leader demonstrates

complacency, the people that follow may become complacent as well.

Moore challenges himself to learn new ways of doing things, and to create an atmosphere conducive to learning and adaptation to change. When asked what would be the one piece of career advice you could give to someone who’s early in their career, Moore answered: “Don’t be afraid to take a chance, don’t be afraid to do things others don’t want to do. If you don’t take chances, you won’t get the most out of what you can achieve. “ Dr. Miller highlighted the importance of planning, having multiple back up plans and pulling all the stops, if necessary, to get the job done. Mrs. Gelinas added “don’t be afraid to say I don’t know. Reaching out, saying I don’t know, and asking for help are steps she believes all leaders should take.

The event wrapped up with questions from the audience.

The North Texas Chapter thanks Lillee Gelinas and Christus Health for hosting this wonderful event. For more information on future events, please visit us at www.achentx.org or send us an email at info@northtexas.ache.org.

April 1, Cockta the Chi Christu Irving,

2015: ails with iefs us Health, TX.

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ACHENTX’S

NEWEST

FELLOWS

Aaron R. Baily, PharmD Keith Zimmerman Nick Kagal

WELCOME ACHENTX’S NEWEST MEMBERS MARCH Ruth Allen

Ann M. Mirabito

Shane S. Brumitt

Bruce F. Boelter

Priya Rahela

Danielle Chinn

Linda C. Bullwinkle

Aimara Ramirez

Catrina Dawson

D’Andre Carpenter, RN

Michael Ruley

Beckie Dennis

Taryn Church

David Shaffer

Eli Gonzalez

Jerry Grogan

Antwoin M. Smith

Charles J. Halmon

Rhonda J. Hernandez, RN

Easwar M. Sundaram, MD

Donna Harkreader, RN

Landry Mahan

Jim Watshimanga

Derrell Hayden

Gisele Marcus

Arturo Herrera III

Asha S. Marwah

APRIL

Deanna M. Melton-Riddle

Abdulkarim Abushaaban

Paul McMullen

Amanda N. Miller

Darrell Baltimore

Andrew Schendle

Joe Minissale

Olulana Bamiro

Michael Taylor

Chadrick High

ts: n e v E g n i m Upco

For the latest updates on Chapter events, programs and promotions please check our website or watch your inbox for the event guide.

Membership Drive Tuesday, June 16th - 6.00 – 8.00pm Dallas Arboretum Breakfast with the CEO Wednesday, June 3 Host: Dr. Michael Williams, President and Dr. Michael Hicks, EVP Clinical Affairs UNT Health Science Center 7.30-9.00am

ACHE of North Texas thanks the following Corporate Sponsors for assisting the organization’s mission.

By sponsoring various events throughout the year, these sponsors are provided local and national exposure with an opportunity to showcase their organization, brand, career opportunities, products and services to the ACHE membership and its affiliates.

Networking at the Ballpark Tuesday, July 28th Rangers vs. Yankees Doors at 6.30 | First Pitch at 7.05pm Education Event Thursday, June 25th The Impact of the ACA: How Readmissions will Effect the Healthcare Executives Mission Denton