Hi Team –

 

Following nearly two weeks of freezing and often single-digit temps, it’s a welcome change to see the warmer, more moderate weather forecasted for Cincinnati in the week ahead! And while the weather may be full of surprises this year, our work to Get Healthcare Right moves forward with constancy of purpose and steady, meaningful progress, as evidenced by this week’s highlights...

 

Getting Healthcare Right means providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality care to every member of our community, regardless of age, race, or other socioeconomic factors. And, with a growing number of aging, Medicare and Medicaid-eligible patients with multiple, complex conditions in our community and across the nation, delivering on this promise is becoming increasingly more challenging. 

 

So, in response to this pressing need, the state of Ohio has taken the bold step to significantly expand access to PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) by authorizing new programs in nine counties throughout the state, including here in Hamilton County. And I’m thrilled to share that following a highly competitive application and selection process, TriHealth was chosen as the exclusive provider of PACE services for Southwest Ohio!! And, we plan to launch our PACE program in partnership with two like-minded and complementary organizations, which also support our vision of Getting Healthcare Right!

 

PACE is an innovative program geared towards older adults with multiple, complex medical and social conditions who wish to remain as independent as possible at home, rather than move into a long-term care facility. The PACE model uses an interdisciplinary care team made up of doctors, nurses, home health aides and social workers who work within a comprehensive and highly coordinated network. PACE programs are required to provide all covered Medicare and Medicaid services and are financed through a global, or capitated, payment from Medicare and Medicaid.

 

TriHealth was selected to develop this new PACE program, in large part, because of our comprehensive and highly integrated network of hospitals, ambulatory centers, service lines, and primary care and specialty physicians, along with our industry-leading work and progress to Get Healthcare Right. Our nearly 10-year journey to transform healthcare for the better is all about delivering the right care in the right place to produce the right clinical and health outcomes at the right cost. And because of advancing technology and clinical innovation, the “right place” is increasingly in the outpatient and home setting for a growing number of patients, particularly the elderly.

 

What’s Next: We are working in partnership with EdenBridge, a national leader in PACE program development, and Cincinnati-based Council on Aging (COA) on program implementation planning, including selection and build-out of the PACE center site. We plan to open the PACE center in late calendar year 2025 and expect initially to serve up to 400 “participants” with the same “surprisingly human care” and exceptional outcomes that TriHealth is known for across our region!

 

In advancing our work to achieve the Triple Aim of better care, better health, and better value, we are making real and meaningful differences in the lives of those we serve! And as a result, TriHealth is increasingly being recognized as THE leader in our region and a national model for Getting Healthcare Right. As yet another proof point, I’m excited to share that Bethesda North Hospital was recognized by Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals – for the 12th consecutive year!! This means Bethesda North has consistently performed among the top 1% of all hospitals in the country for clinical outcomes across more than 30 health conditions and procedures! Congratulations and thank you to our entire Bethesda North Hospital Team for your hard work and commitment to patient care excellence always that resulted in this well-deserved national recognition!

 

I shared with mixed emotion last week at our Team Member Town Hall that Jenny Skinner, Chief Nursing Executive (CNE), plans to retire later this year. However, she will continue to lead TriHealth Nursing for months to come, while we complete a search for her successor. And she is fully committed to “doing whatever it takes” to help ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. 

 

For more than 33 years, Jenny has served TriHealth and our patients with distinction as a visionary, an inspiring nursing and organizational leader, and a change agent, always committed to excellence! A true home-grown leader, Jenny earned her nursing diploma from the Bethesda Hospital School of Nursing. She joined TriHealth in 1990 as a Nurse Manager at Bethesda North and then went on to serve as Coordinator for Nursing Quality Improvement, Director of Corporate Education/Nursing Support Systems, and Director/Senior Director of Organizational Effectiveness before stepping into her current role as CNE in 2018.

 

In preparation for Jenny’s retirement later this year, we have engaged a search firm to help us find the very best senior nursing leader to continue Jenny’s exceptional work. We plan to consider both internal and external candidates. Until her successor is selected and onboarded, Jenny will continue to actively lead the Nursing organization and remain an essential member of our system executive leadership team. We’ll share updates on the search and Jenny’s official retirement date in the coming months as the search progresses.

 

In November 2023, David Atkinson joined TriHealth as interim Acting HR Operations Leader working closely with Will Groneman. David has brought to TriHealth a wealth of human resources experience and expertise – and a bias for action – in supporting our HR team to become an even more responsive partner and resource for our team members and physicians. And this support has never been more important, given the unprecedented workforce challenges facing our industry. 

 

During his short time in this role, David has completed an assessment of the current situation, actively listened to the needs of HR customers (physicians, leaders, and team members), invested time to build relationships, and quickly created an aligned, high impact set of people and culture priorities and initiatives focused on the needs of our system and people. So, I was excited to share at last week’s Town Hall that David will take on an extended role as interim SVP, Chief People & Culture Officer, remaining with TriHealth through at least December 2025.

 

The vital role human resources plays in supporting our people and culture in achieving system-wide objectives and delivering on our promise of “surprisingly human care driving exceptional health outcomes” is more critical than ever, given the workforce challenges TriHealth and our industry face. So, over the next two years, David will be sharply focused on leading the work of fully operationalizing our HR imperatives and critical priorities, a few of which include: 

 And all of these are aimed at improving retention, winning the “war” for talent, fostering higher levels of team member and physician engagement, and building an even stronger culture – which are essential for advancing our work to Get Healthcare Right. 

 

Last week, Dr. Robert Collins, Bethesda Inc. and bi3 Board Chair – and former TriHealth Chief Medical Officer – was honored with the Medical Mutual Pillar Award for Community Service.

 

For more than 25 years, this award has been presented to businesses and leaders from all industries throughout Greater Cincinnati who are making outstanding contributions to their communities, encouraging a charitable environment, and recognizing the dedicated efforts that make a difference in the lives of people.

 

Dr. Collins received the Nonprofit Board Executive of the Year Award in recognition of his visionary board leadership of Bethesda Inc. and bi3. A strong supporter and advocate for the underserved in our communities, Dr. Collins has been a driving force in guiding bi3’s $100M investments in bold and important programs to help advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, and reduce health disparities throughout our community. Congratulations, Dr. Collins, on this well-deserved honor! 

 

Last Friday, our two-week 2024 Engagement Pulse & Safety Survey wrapped up – one of the many formal and informal ways we actively listen to and learn from you about what’s going well and how we can make TriHealth an even better place to work and to receive care. A BIG THANK YOU to the 9,200+ team members and physicians – nearly 75% of our entire population – who participated in the survey!! 

 

Your participation and very helpful feedback will provide the insights necessary for us to continue to improve in ways most meaningful to you! We are now in the process of tabulating results, and in the coming weeks, your leaders will meet with you to share local findings and begin action planning based on your feedback, so stay tuned!

 

As always, thank you for all you do to help us Get Healthcare Right! Together, we are improving the health and wellbeing of our community and all those we serve, while continuing to make TriHealth the best place for our team members and physicians to work and practice – and the best health system for our patients to receive care!