August 14, 2018

August 14, 2018

I am writing to inform you that Dennis Kolb, MD, TriHealth’s vice president of transformation, will be leaving TriHealth at the end of October. Dennis recently completed his MBA at the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and he indicated it is the right time to explore other professional opportunities that best utilize his mix of medical and business acumen.

Dennis has been a true physician pioneer since joining TriHealth in 2005. Among his many accomplishments, he launched TriHealth’s first hospitalist program at Bethesda North and led the integration of distinct programs at Good Samaritan and Bethesda North to create a systems-based approach to hospital medicine. He was the physician champion for the implementation of a system-wide electronic medical record. 

Dennis also developed and led teams responsible for implementation of a variety of programs to improve clinical quality and efficiency, including multiple efforts aimed at improvement in clinical documentation, resulting in a significant increase in Case Mix Index, and the placement of ICU beds at Bethesda Butler and Evendale hospitals to allow participation in Medicare Advantage programs.

We will not look to fill this role for the time being. Instead, Dennis’ responsibilities regarding utilization management, the Physician Advisor Program and clinical documentation will be moved to the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, and the Innovation Center, performance improvement and the project management office will report to John Ward, our Chief Information Officer.

Join me in thanking Dennis for his contributions to TriHealth and wishing him well in the next phase of his career. 

Gail Donovan