Hi Team –

 

March is National Women’s History Month – a time to honor and celebrate the significant contributions of women in American history. And here at TriHealth, Women’s History Month holds special significance, as our two sponsoring organizations were founded by pioneering women – Good Sam by the Sisters of Charity and Bethesda by the German Methodist Deaconesses. These selfless, mission-driven women paved the way for thousands of inspiring and accomplished women since – physicians, nurses, team members, leaders, and volunteers – who have made, and continue to make, meaningful contributions in support of TriHealth’s 170-year mission to improve the health of the community and those we serve. So, be sure to stay tuned throughout this month on Bridge and our social media channels, as we’ll be showcasing many of these extraordinary TriHealth women who carry on the nearly 170-year legacy of our founders. 

 

As the latest proof point of our impressive progress in Getting Healthcare Right, I am thrilled to share that for the second consecutive year both of our flagship hospitals – Bethesda North and Good Samaritan – were recognized as among the World’s Best Hospitals for 2023 by Newsweek Magazine. This marks the fourth time in five years that Bethesda North (ranked 292 this year) was honored with this recognition. And for the second year in a row, Good Sam was recognized (ranked 305 this year) on this elite list of over 2,300 hospitals from 28 countries! Hospitals are selected based on publicly reported quality, safety, and patient experience data, as well as the survey results from tens of thousands of physicians from around the world. Considering there are more than 5,000 hospitals in the U.S. alone – and nearly one million hospitals worldwide – this is a remarkable achievement!! It’s also a shining testament to the talents and commitment of our amazing team members and physicians who bring our mission to life through exceptional care one patient at a time, the TriHealth Way, ALWAYS!! A BIG THANK YOU for helping us to earn this global recognition, once again!!

 

And speaking of being recognized as among the best in healthcare, I’m thrilled to share that Dr. Helen Koselka, TriHealth System Chief Medical Officer (CMO), was named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the “110 Hospital & Health System Chief Medical Officers to Know” for 2023!! System CMO for nearly two years, Dr. Koselka was recognized for her strong leadership in collaborating with our physician community, physician and senior leaders, and frontline team caregivers to advance patient safety and our clinical performance improvement agenda within The TriHealth Way. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Koselka on this well-deserved honor!!

 

Last week, I shared an update on our Health Equity work and our latest efforts to address and eliminate health disparities – efforts that are foundational to Getting Healthcare Right. And one of the ways we do this is by better understanding and proactively addressing social determinants of health (SDOH). SDOH are the conditions in the community where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. SDOH are generally grouped into the following five domains: education access and quality, healthcare access and quality, economic stability, social and community context, and neighborhood and built environment. And specific examples of these SDOH that we see every day include food insecurity,housing, transportation, unemployment and job insecurity, and many others.

 

As part of TriHealth’s efforts to address SDOH, I’m pleased to share our latest “win” in the fight against food insecurity, which is a major cause of health disparities in America and is often driven by economic instability. It has been said that food is the “new medicine,” so ensuring patients have access to the staples of good nutrition is as important as ensuring they have access to great healthcare – both are essential for maintaining good health. Addressing SDOH is foundational to our work to Get Healthcare Right in order to improve the health of the population’s health – the entire population!!

 

So, I’m thrilled to share that TriHealth recently opened its second self-selection free food pantry in partnership with Freestore Foodbank – this time at the Bethesda North OB-GYN Center. The food pantry provides the Center’s patients with the opportunity to “literally” shop from shelved, refrigerated, and frozen food staples for themselves and their families at no charge. Our first food pantry was opened in September of 2022 at the Good Samaritan Faculty Medical Center and since then has provided tens of thousands of pounds of food to TriHealth patients in need! Now THAT’s Getting Healthcare Right!!

 

By now you are probably aware that Bethesda North Hospital President, Jamie Easterling, is no longer with TriHealth. We thank him for his years of service and wish him well. John Ward, our Senior Vice President of Operations for the Bethesda Region – and a TriHealth leader for nearly 20 years – will serve as the interim Bethesda North Hospital President until a new President is selected. We expect to fill this role with an internal TriHealth candidate, as has been the case in recent years where more than 90% of all new senior leaders have been promoted from within. A BIG thank you to our amazing Bethesda North team members, physicians and leaders for making this a smooth and seamless transition while continuing to build on the hospital’s strong momentum and improving performance – as ONE Team, TriHealth STRONG!

 

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of joining a sold-out crowd of nearly 500 sponsors and supporters of the Bethesda Foundation for the 22nd annual Bethesda Lyceum. Hosted at the Hard Rock Casino, the event raised nearly a quarter million dollars to support the continued development and advancement of the Harold & Eugenia Thomas Heart & Vascular Center on the campus of Bethesda North Hospital – the destination for our system’s most advanced heart care. A special thank you to Bethesda Foundation President, Andy Swallow, the Lyceum Planning Committee, and the Foundation team for hosting a fun, entertaining, and successful evening. Events like the Lyceum are essential to help us generate community support and fund the advancement of our mission-critical work – which, ultimately, enables TriHealth to deliver the most complex and exceptional life-saving care to the patients who turn to TriHealth in their time of greatest need.

 

Fundraising events like the Bethesda Lyceum have made possible life-saving clinical programs such as our Mechanical Circulatory Support and LVAD Program, spearheaded by Dr. Kathryn O’Keefe, Medical Director and Cardiac Surgeon. These programs are saving lives and improving the health of our community while leaving a lasting impression of the power of The TriHealth Way – one patient, one family at a time. Click here to watch a powerful short video of one patient’s journey – Beth Papin – as she battles and overcomes the ravages of COVID in large part because of the availability of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program now available at TriHealth. Beth joined us as we celebrated her courageous journey at this year’s Lyceum. In the photo to the left, Beth is seated below me and next to her husband, Jonathan Papin, along with Angela Schaufert, RN, CVICU Nurse (top left) and Kris Stephens, Bethesda North Guest Relations (bottom left).

 

COVID transmission rates both here at TriHealth and across Hamilton County remain low and stable (see sidebar graphics to right). This is strong evidence supporting the federal government’s plans to officially end the COVID public health state of emergency on May 11, which I talked about last week. In the coming weeks, we will use CDC guidance to update and relax policies around masking, patient visits, and more based on this encouraging development, and will share updates as we have them.

 

And speaking of encouraging developments, I’m pleased to share some additional good news with respect to seasonal flu status. After monitoring the continued decline and stabilization of influenza transmission according to the CDC and TriHealth data, and following the guidance of our own Infectious Disease and Employee Health physicians, TriHealth will end flu season policies and requirements effective today, March 7. This means we will now return to standard, high-reliability operations, which include:

At the heart of our continued success in Getting Healthcare Right, is YOU, the very best healthcare team anywhere! Thank you for ALWAYS giving your best in support of our shared efforts to BE the best for each other and all those we serve!!