First Independent Mid-South HIE to Focus on Pediatrics
Earlier this year the first Independent Mid-South Health Information Exchange (MSHIE) was formed as a partnership between Pediatric Independent Practice Association (PIPA), and HIE Systems, LLC. HIE Systems, is a joint venture between two local Memphis Companies, PCS Medical Solutions, LLC and Cornerstone Technologies, LLC.
The Mid-South Health Information Exchange represents the first project of its kind in the Mid-South; a Health Information Exchange that will connect provider of one specialty (Pediatrics) at the individual practice level.
Dr. William Terrell, President of the Board of Governors of PIPA said other exchanges have focused on multispecialty, and have involved connection at the hospital level, but PIPA made the decision a couple of years ago to move
from a ‘messenger model IPA’ to a ‘clinical model IPA’. By connecting to the practice EHR systems ( approximately 80 percent of the doctors in PIPA have EHRs ), the Mid-South Health Exchange will contain much more of the patients medical record…the information that only exists in the patient’s chart at their doctor’s office. This represents a significant amount of clinical data available to providers and others.
Another unique aspect of this exchange is that PIPA will own a controlling interest in the local HIE. The exchange is physician driven. This will help keep the focus of the system on providing better care to their patients. HIE Systems is responsible for the development, implementation, training and maintenance of the exchange.
Select Specialty Hospital - Memphis Named Quality Respiratory Care Provider
Select Specialty Hospital - Memphis has been named a quality respiratory care provider under a new program aimed at making sure residents in long-term care facilities have access to respiratory care services provided by qualified respiratory therapists.
The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) started the Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) program in 2003 to help consumers make informed choices about their health care. The program initially enrolled hospitals that agreed to ensure patient safety by adhering to a strict set of criteria governing their respiratory care services. Home care organizations were added to the program a year later, and this year the Association is adding long-term care facilities, including skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care hospitals, and other long-term care facilities.
The AARC’s QRCR program grew out of growing concerns among health care leaders and the general public regarding the safety and quality of health care services provided to patients. Organizations that meet the QRCR requirements provide a level of respiratory care consistent with national standards and guidelines, and should be commended for their commitment to quality care.
Rick Donlon Steps Down As Ceo
Christ Community Health Services CEO Dr. Rick Donlon has stepped down as the organizations’ CEO. Dr. Donlon, one of four founders of Christ Community, has served in the position of CEO since Burt Waller’s retirement May 2012. Dr. Donlon has been and will remain the visionary leader, primary physician recruiter and an intricate part of telling the story of Christ Community.
Dr. Donlon’s vision is the catalyst that led to the construction of the new health center in the Frayser area, the opening of the Women’s Health Center and the establishment of an accredited four-year family medicine residency program. Ross Dyer CCHS board president said that Donlon has an overwhelming desire to serve Christ Community’s patients spiritually and physically and that serving as CEO significantly limited Dr. Donlon’s use of his spiritual gifts.
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Receives State Approval for Cancer and Pediatric Outpatient Center
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare received approval from the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency (THSDA) for two important projects designed to enhance patient care and expand access. The THSDA is required to approve projects of this scope before any construction or renovation work can begin.
The first project will consolidate cancer services from multiple sites into an existing building at 7945 Wolf River Boulevard to be called The West Cancer Center. The second project will establish a Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital pediatric outpatient center in the location currently occupied by The West Clinic at 100 N. Humphreys in Memphis. Both projects are designed to consolidate services currently offered at multiple sites and increase access for patients and families.
The cancer center plan calls for relocating a PET scan, MRI and CT services and will include two ambulatory surgery suites. In addition, one linear accelerator will be relocated and a second will be added. Renovating an existing building keeps costs down and reduces the time needed to complete the project while providing an outstanding location.
UT Medical Group Launches Center Specializing in IVF and Infertility Treatment
UT Medical Group Inc. has opened the Center for Reproductive Medicine at 7945 Wolf River Boulevard in Germantown. The center offers a full range of infertility testing and treatment, including in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies.
Dr. Laura Detti, the Memphis area’s only female board-certified reproductive endocrinologist, heads the center’s medical team. An associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, she has repeatedly been named to Best Doctors® for her expertise in infertility. Her team includes certified embryology lab director Lucy Williams, who brings a 20-year track record of achieving pregnancy rates above the national average at infertility laboratories in Tennessee, Illinois, Texas, and Utah.
Regional One Health Introduced to Community
Regional One Health announced the unification of all entities in the health system under an umbrella name, Regional One Health. Regional One Health is home to the acute care hospital Regional Medical Center, as well as an extended care hospital, rehabilitation hospital, outpatient surgery center, primary care network, and outpatient center. Regional One Health is the new name for the Shelby County Health Care Corporation, which has been doing business as Regional Medical Center for the past 30 years.
When the Shelby County Health Care Corporation adopted the name Regional Medical Center in 1983, the organization was a stand-alone acute care hospital. Over the years the organization has grown with additional inpatient and outpatient services, but continued to be identified under the hospital name explained Reginald W. Coopwood, MD, President and CEO of Regional One Health. Creating the name Regional One Health allows for unity of all services under one brand and communicate the work to grow the system to better serve the community.
Over the last four years, Regional One Health has initiated a series of steps to expand and transform the organization into a true health system providing services ranging from preventative care with a focus on wellness in the outpatient setting to specialized emergency and inpatient hospital care. With the addition of several new business units coming on board in the past year, including a long term acute care hospital and an outpatient surgery center and with the transformation that is taking place in the healthcare industry, the time is appropriate to brand these services under a singular system identity which speaks to our transformation and our mission.
Along with the brand launch, the system will adopt a new logo. The Regional One Health logo mark features a symbol signifying both a “1” and an “r” inside a blue circle. The image represents a unified system of caring professionals committed to advancing the quality of life in our community and showcases the system’s commitment to care for the whole person and serve with integrity. The mark also represents a regional health system committed to improving the health and well-being of the citizens served by ensuring that each individual has access to quality healthcare at the right time and in the right setting.
Baptist Memorial Names First Chief Quality Officer
Baptist Memorial Health Care recently hired Dr. Mark Swanson to serve as chief quality officer.
Swanson’s duties in this new role include working with leadership in hospital administration, Baptist Medical Group, Select Health Alliance, medical staff, nursing and risk management to implement and monitor quality initiatives, design quality measurement systems, enhance employee safety efforts and oversee regulatory compliance.
Swanson comes to Baptist from Orlando Health, an eight-hospital, not-for-profit health care system where he has spent the past 28 years. His most recent position was chief quality officer of the organization’s physician group and physician clinical integration initiative. He has served in several leadership roles at Orlando Health, including chief medical officer of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, medical director of the Nemours Children’s Clinic, medical director of pediatric services for the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women and pediatrician-in-chief of the Nemours Children’s Clinic.
Before going to Orlando Health, he served in the U.S. Navy, spending five years working in naval hospitals. He has been actively engaged in academic medicine, serving 11 years as a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Florida State University College of Medicine while on staff at Orlando Health.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk Va., Swanson earned a medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va. He received his pediatric residency training at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va., where he also served as chief resident. Upon completion of his residency training he accepted a fellowship in pediatric critical care and anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital at the Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has received additional training in management and physician leadership from the College of Physician Executives, the Harvard Law School, the American Board of Quality Assurance and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
In 2006 he was awarded a Master of Science degree in health care management from the Harvard School of Public Health. He has won numerous awards including the Gold Service Award from the American Heart Association, The Alfred I. DuPont Physician award and the Navy Medal of Commendation. Swanson has been recognized by Who’s Who in Health and Medical Services and has been on the list of The Best Doctors in America, Southeast Region each year since 1996.
