Hi Team – 

 

Central to the TriHealth Way of Leading, Serving and Delivering Care is our unwavering commitment to grow and develop the best and brightest talent, and advance the careers of our own people, all while fostering a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture. This commitment has helped TriHealth build a strong “pipeline” of highly qualified physicians, leaders and team members that has enabled us to fill nearly 90% of all senior leadership positions over the past several years from our own internal talent pool. The recently announced appointment of Dr. Helen Koselka – formerly Regional Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the Good Samaritan region – to System Chief Medical Officer is the latest example of the TriHealth Way in action! So, to fill Dr. Koselka’s previous clinical leadership role within the Good Samaritan region and to prepare for the end-of-year retirement of Dr. David Kirkpatrick, our Regional CMO for the Bethesda North region, we once again turned to our own internal physician leadership talent pool.  

 

Following a highly collaborative internal search and selection process involving nearly 50 physicians, leaders and team members, Dr. Thomas Shockley, Jr., and Dr. John “Clint” Hutson have been appointed as TriHealth’s new Associate Chief Medical Officers – a newly titled position reflecting the expanded scope and responsibilities of these CMO roles. Dr. Shockley will serve as Associate CMO for the Bethesda North region and Dr. Hutson will serve as Associate CMO for the Good Samaritan region. While still centered on furthering the clinical work of each hospital region, these newly expanded Associate CMO roles have grown to include responsibility for system-level clinical and strategic priorities. As such, Drs. Shockley and Hutson will collaborate with Dr. Koselka to help lead our critical quality and safety initiatives system-wide and within the regions by partnering with physicians, leaders and team members at all of our hospitals and ambulatory sites of care. They will also play an important leadership role in our journey to value and population health as well as in promoting provider wellbeing and engagement.  

 

Dr. Shockley has cared for patients in the Greater Cincinnati region as an orthopedic surgeon for more than three decades. Since joining TriHealth from private practice in 2014, he has not only provided safe, high-quality care to thousands of patients but has also taken on leadership responsibilities for our system, including serving as section chairperson of orthopedics for TriHealth Evendale Hospital Medical Executive Committee and most recently as TriHealth Physician Partners (TPP) Medical Director for orthopedics and musculoskeletal services. 

 

Dr. Hutson joined TriHealth in 2006 as a hospitalist at Bethesda North Hospital. In his 15-year TriHealth career, he has served as a physician leader on a number of committees including the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Executive Committee and TPP Care Retention Committee. Dr. Hutson currently serves as Chair of the Department of Inpatient Medicine, Good Samaritan Regional Hospital Medicine Director, and TPP Medical Director for Inpatient Medicine. 

 

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Shockley and Dr. Hutson and wishing them both the best as they take on these crucial physician leadership roles, all to support our collective efforts to Get Healthcare Right for all those we serve!

 

Just a few short weeks ago, we were cautiously optimistic that this fourth wave of COVID infections would soon be coming to an end because we were seeing a sustained downward trend in new COVID cases and hospitalizations and a decline in the community positivity rate. But now, as another example of this virus’s unpredictability, we are experiencing another surge in COVID infections with new cases and hospitalizations again on the rise here in the United States and abroad along with the emergence of another worrisome variant, Omicron. Regionally, COVID positivity has increased 30% in the past two weeks and COVID-related hospitalizations are up 39% in that same timeframe. Here at TriHealth, our COVID inpatient census has increased nearly 50% since mid-November and is now regularly above 100 hospitalized patients at any given time. And as we wait to learn more about the new Omicron variant’s severity and transmissibility, we are continuing to make important progress on the vaccine front. Nationally and locally, vaccination rates are on the rise, driven in part by an increased demand for booster shots to further protect against this new variant. In fact, last week our TriHealth COVID Vaccination Scheduling Center received more than 1,100 calls in a single day – the highest volume we’ve experienced since April. Every vaccine dose administered – whether a first dose, second dose or booster – moves us another step forward in protecting our community and in achieving herd immunity to eventually bring an end to the pandemic phase of COVID!

 

Mark your calendars to join us next Tuesday, December 14, at 12pm for our monthly Town Hall, livestreamed on Bridge. We will spend time sharing important updates on COVID, including the latest information on the Omicron variant, our ongoing vaccination program, and important system reports on our journey from Good to Great to Get Healthcare Right. And, once again, those who participate in the conversation will have the chance to win a really cool TriHealth prize! 

 

While we may not yet be able to gather in person for our favorite holiday traditions, I hope you will enjoy TriHealth’s recently announced holiday gifts to all of our team members and physicians – a holiday meal from Honey Baked Ham and a high-quality custom-embroidered TriHealth jacket! These two gifts are tangible expressions of our leadership team’s gratitude for all you do, each and every day, for all those we serve, especially throughout this once-in-a-century global pandemic. 

 

Already more than 2,000 team members have redeemed their Honey Baked Ham voucher, which is good for a quarter ham, one turkey breast, or two large sides and a pie at any time during the holidays or after. What a great way to enjoy the holidays or ANY celebration with your loved ones! If you have not already done so, be sure to check the email you received from The Honey Baked Ham Company on November 17, which includes a custom code with details on how to redeem your gift. Visit Bridge for full details.

 

And don’t miss your chance to place an order for your TriHealth jacket (pictured right) by this Friday, December 10. Simply click this link to order. This gift has been a BIG HIT with our team members and physicians as we have already received more than 11,000 jacket orders!!  Jacket options include either a full-zip or quarter-zip jacket in black or gray and come in the full range of men’s and women’s sizes. I look forward to soon seeing the hallways of our hospitals and the streets of Cincinnati filled with our team members proudly wearing these jackets and letting our community know we are One Team, TriHealth Strong. I know I’ll be wearing mine!!!

 

Thank you, as always, for your dedication and selfless service to our patients, our community and one another through the many challenges – COVID and non-COVID – we’ve faced and overcome over the past year. Here’s to a joyous, blessed and SAFE holiday season shared with your friends and loved ones!