April 20, 2021
Hi Team –
What a fun – and winning – series over the weekend as the Cincinnati Reds took on the Cleveland Indians at Great American Ball Park!! The Reds are off to one of their most exciting season starts yet, and now lead the National League Central Division! This is another uplifting sign we are gradually returning to normal following a year of unimaginable challenges and tragic loss of life due to COVID. No doubt, having enthusiastic fans in the stands again cheering on our Reds is giving them an extra boost of momentum – but as I have said before, we can’t take this privilege for granted. Getting more fans in the stands – and safely returning to other favorite pastimes and a more normal way of life – requires all of us to continue to do our part and stay vigilant in protecting our hard-fought gains every step of the way until we achieve herd immunity and bring this pandemic to an end.
COVID Update
While we continue to be thankful that cases at TriHealth remain relatively flat (see latest statistics in sidebar graphic), unfortunately, we are now seeing spikes in cases in other Ohio regions and across the nation, which we are closely monitoring. As Local 12 and other media reported last week, Governor DeWine will be keeping the mask mandate and other COVID restrictions in place for the foreseeable future due to the worrisome increase in cases in some regions across the state. Click here to view full story.
Last week, the FDA also issued a pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine out of an abundance of caution following six reported cases of life-threatening blood clots causing stroke-like symptoms in individuals with low blood platelets. The FDA emphasized that this severe side effect is extremely rare (six cases identified to-date out of nearly 7 million J&J vaccines administered), and has not been observed in the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines (the other two FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines) – and the vaccines we primarily administered to our own healthcare workers and patients. We are currently monitoring the small number TriHealth patients who received the J&J vaccine for this rare side effect, and will not resume its use until we receive further guidance from the FDA and CDC. TriHealth has adequate supplies of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which remain safe and highly effective, and we are continuing all of our scheduled vaccine appointments as planned.
TriHealth Way and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Investments Continue to Strengthen Our Team & Our Culture!
From the very start of the TriHealth Way – now more than five years ago – our unwavering commitment has been to grow and develop talent, and advance the careers of our own people, while strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across the entire organization – all to support our journey from good to great in getting healthcare right!! Over the past five years, this commitment has resulted in a strong and more diverse “pipeline” of uniquely qualified internal talent whose abilities are known and whose belief in our values and culture is unquestioned. This is allowing us to now regularly draw from this pipeline to fill key leadership and other critical positions. Last month’s appointment of Jamie Easterling as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bethesda North Hospital is a shining example of this commitment in action. And today, I am thrilled to share four additional internal leadership promotions and appointments within the Good Samaritan region that further demonstrate how our investments in the TriHealth Way are paying off for our system, for our people, and most importantly, for those we serve:
Kelvin Hanger Appointed President of Good Samaritan Hospital: Formerly President and COO of Good Samaritan Hospital at Evendale (previously known as TriHealth Evendale Hospital), Kelvin was selected to assume the role of President and COO of Good Samaritan Hospital, which opened up following Jamie Easterling’s move to Bethesda North Hospital. Under Kelvin’s leadership, Evendale Hospital has been a model within our system for patient experience and team member and physician engagement. Since joining TriHealth as Executive Director of TriHealth Evendale in 2013, Kelvin has also taken on responsibility for our Orthopedic Institute, Andersen Surgery Center, and Endoscopy Center North. Kelvin was the unanimous choice of doctors, leaders, and team members who participated in this selection process.
Jeremiah Kirkland Appointed President of Good Samaritan Hospital at Evendale: With Kelvin’s appointment to Good Samaritan Hospital, a selection process was undertaken to fill his former role. Jeremiah was also the unanimous choice of all involved to lead Good Samaritan at Evendale as President & COO due to his strong track record of success and accomplishments since joining TriHealth in 2018. Jeremiah will continue to serve as Executive Director for Women’s Services, as well as Interim Chief Diversity Officer for TriHealth. An internal search process is currently underway to fill the role of Chief Diversity Officer/Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and we expect to finalize and announce the outcome shortly.
Patrick Wright Appointed Vice President of Hospital Operations for Good Samaritan Hospital: With this expanded role, Patrick will assume additional responsibilities for administrative leadership and oversight of key clinical departments at Good Samaritan, including day-to-day management of implementation of our five-year, $140 million Master Facility Plan renovation and modernization project. Patrick will also continue to serve as System Director of Laboratory Operations, while taking on additional system responsibilities for system support and clinical services. We plan to expand the now vacant role of Director of Operations at Bethesda North (previously occupied by Jeremiah) into a similar position, and a search will begin in the coming weeks to identify and consider candidates for this role.
Tonya Hurst Appointed Director of Perinatal Programs: To allow Jeremiah Kirkland to devote the necessary time and energy to successfully lead Evendale Hospital as its next president, Tonya Hurst, formerly Manager of Communications and Public Relations, has been appointed to the expanded role of Director of Perinatal Programs, reporting directly to Jeremiah. In addition to serving as Director of System Communications, Tonya will take on additional responsibilities for obstetric care/case management, social work, lactation consulting, and community collaboration for our OB/Gyn patients, all as part of our Women’s Services Institute. She will also partner with OB/Gyn Center leaders at Good Sam and Bethesda North to help advance our population health work.
Each of these leaders – Kelvin, Jeremiah, Patrick, and Tonya – have a strong track record of success and accomplishment at TriHealth, coupled with a deep commitment to our culture, our values, and our people. With each of these well-deserved promotions, we have been intentional in seeking out the most qualified and diverse individuals from within our system’s growing leadership talent. These leaders have each excelled in every role they have played for TriHealth, and they have done this through living and role modeling our values as Servant Leaders for our team members, and most importantly, the patients we serve, at every step along the way! Please join me in congratulating Kelvin, Jeremiah, Patrick and Tonya as they each take on these new and critical roles in leading TriHealth and the Good Samaritan region. Click here to read more details about each promotion in Marla Silliman’s full announcement on Bridge.
Don’t Miss Today’s Town Hall at 12pm!
Be sure to attend today’s Town Hall, live streamed at noon on Facebook and Bridge! Back by popular demand are fun prizes for participating in the conversation. Just submit your name and, if you like, a question during the Town Hall for the chance to win one of the cool TriHealth branded prizes shown here! We’ll announce winners at the end of each session, so be sure to stick around! After the Town Hall, our Communications team will follow up with winners to assist them in claiming their prizes.
Before I close, I am saddened to, once again, have to acknowledge yet more tragic events – the shootings of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Minneapolis and 13-year old Adam Toledo in Chicago. More painful reminders that our fight for social justice and racial equality and against systemic racism are far from over. While these cases are still under investigation, we grieve alongside the Wright and Toledo families over the tragic loss of their loved ones, and we continue to pray that, as a nation, we can come together to find the strength, wisdom, and resolve to end this senseless violence and become a more just and equal society.
These latest events reinforce that we must redouble our efforts to do more – whenever and wherever we can – to eradicate this disease of racism from our society. At TriHealth, this means we must continue to speak out and to acknowledge and address the real implicit bias that exists within all of us. This work is actively underway at TriHealth in the form of cultural competency training, which is now rolling out across the system, starting with our Emergency Department and Leadership Team. Today, more than 300 team members, physicians, and leaders have already been trained. It also means strengthening our partnerships, as we are with organizations like the Urban League and the Chamber’s Minority Business Accelerator to help bring about meaningful change outside of TriHealth in our community. It means holding ourselves accountable for becoming a more diverse Board, leadership team, workforce, and provider community, as we are through new partnerships with Meharry Medical School and system goals to “move the dial” on diversity in leadership. It means closing healthcare disparities, as we are through partnerships with organizations like bi3 and Cradle Cincinnati to end infant mortality, and the United Way and our Free Health Center to actively target underrepresented minority communities for vaccinations. It means all of these and much more!
Thank you for your active support of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion commitment, and for working together as One Team – TriHealth Strong – to close healthcare disparities and create a welcoming and inclusive culture – where all people including those of color feel valued, respected, safe, and well cared for... as patients, team members, physicians, and colleagues.
Courier Conversion: Rounding Third and Headed for Home!
Accurate Courier Services will become TriHealth’s new courier partner on May 1, 2021. Review important last-minute details here on Bridge to ensure you are ready to hit a home run when the conversion begins on Sunday, April 25 at midnight.
Pillar Performance Update
Each month the analytics team assembles a report for each pillar goal's performance over the past month in a format that is easy to read and understand. Visit Bridge to download a PDF report of TriHealth’s pillar performance.