83.9 F
San Fernando
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Health Care Leadership Award Winners

Best Hospital Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Hospital Administrator Kerry Carmody BY JONATHAN D. COLBURN Staff Reporter Fresh from its largest, successful fundraising campaign in Providence Holy Cross Medical Center’s history, raising over $7 million to expand its emergency department, the hospital is already looking to set a new record as it plans to build a new patient care tower that could cost over $120 million. Providence Holy Cross has remained profitable, 2005 is expected to be the best year in its history, at a time of crisis for hospitals across the state. The closure of nearby hospitals such as Northridge Hospital’s Sherman Way campus have sent more and more patients to Holy Cross’ door. The increased volume has been beneficial in some cases, keeping the hospital’s cardiology, surgery, trauma center and other high-revenue programs running while making costly expansion projects necessary at the same time. Kerry Carmody, administrator at Holy Cross, said volume in the hospital’s emergency room, trauma center and surgery units has grown by more than 50 percent in the last five years. Holy Cross has garnered a number of high awards; it was named a top employer in the nation by the Oncology Nursing Society, and was listed in the to three percent of hospitals nationwide in 2003 by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations among other designations. Two years ago, some of the hospital’s non-professional staff members voted on whether or not to be represented by the Service Employees International Union. “It was the largest defeat for the SEIU within the previous five years,” said Carmody. “I think that showed that we have a very good leadership team here, it’s very strong. We’ve been able to hire directors and leaders that come from facilities much larger than Holy Cross. Holy Cross is a 254-bed hospital that’s run like a 400-bed hospital because of its capacity. It’s a highly intense facility, and you need the right kinds of leaders.” “It has a fine reputation as a community hospital and trauma center,” said James Barber, president of the Hospital Association of Southern California. “The area is growing and (the hospital) is increasing its outreach for patients that are commercially insured, Medi-Cal and others and it has well-developed charity care policies.” Holy Cross’ concerns are not restricted to the needs of the San Fernando Valley, as the population of North Los Angeles County is getting larger every year. To address those needs, the hospital opened the Providence Holy Cross Health Center in the new Santa Clarita Valley Medical Plaza in Valencia. Holy Cross is providing an outpatient cancer center, surgery center and diagnostic imaging services to residents in the booming northern communities. The hospital is also applying for Nurse Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a designation that means the hospital is committed to promoting nurses to leadership positions and giving them a significant voice in patient care policies. The status, which is held by only Cedars Sinai Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles County, would help bring Holy Cross’ already successful nurse recruitment program even more success, Carmody said. Physician Advocate Dr. Mark Bell Encino Tarzana Regional Medical Center BY JONATHAN D. COLBURN Staff Reporter Physician Mark Bell is the Director of Emergency Services at Encino Tarzana Regional Medical Center. His position at the hospital has given him an up-close view of the relationship between the cost of medical care and the money that physicians receive for their services from health insurance companies. The hospital does not have a contract with Blue Cross of California because, Bell said, the company has a reputation of poor reimbursement policies. Bell said that because of that, reimbursement of physicians can range from anywhere between 12 and 18 cents on every dollar spent on medical care. “You can get different rates on two different occasions,” said Bell. “The cost of business is two or three times what they’re paying, which is what gets me upset.” “I don’t think insurance companies should be making millions of dollars when hospitals are closing,” Bell added. Bell, born and raised in Pasadena, graduated from Chicago Medical School in 1993 and completed his residency in emergency medicine at UC Irvine Medical Center. Since 1996 he has worked in private practice as a director of emergency medical services at several hospitals, splitting his time between administrative duties and seeing patients. Since bringing his case to the Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this year, Bell v. Blue Cross has touched off a debate about whether non-contracting physicians can sue health plans for emergency services. During the case, Blue Cross argued that physicians cannot go through the court system, and that only the Department of Managed Health Care can regulate plans. Although the court ruled against Bell, the case was heard in the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles following the ruling. In April, California Medical Association legal counsel Astrid Meghrigian wrote a brief in support of Bell’s lawsuit. “The law leaves no room for debate that plans must pay reasonably for emergency services provided to their enrollees by non-contracting physicians,” Meghrigian said. “HMOs are not free of judicial scrutiny and cannot absolve themselves of this responsibility.” The DMHC also sided with Bell, urging the appeals court to overrule the lower court. “The fundamental flaw in the trial court’s ruling is that it allows a health plan to unilaterally determine the level of reimbursement for non-contracted emergency providers without further recourse,” the department’s attorneys wrote. “If providers are precluded from bringing private causes of action to challenge health plans’ reimbursement determinations, health plans may receive an unjust windfall and patients may suffer an economic hardship” when providers bill patients to cover the difference between costs and reimbursement from health plans. In August, the appeals court overturned the trial court decision, sending the case back to the trial court. Blue Cross officials did not respond to a request from the Business Journal for comment about the suit. Bell, who is waiting for another hearing with the trial court, said he’s confident that he will win the case with the support of the DMHC and the appeals court ruling. “The appeals court felt that on every account we were correct and that Blue Cross was incorrect,” said Bell. “I suppose that at the superior court level the judge could basically decide that fair and reasonable payment is 20 or 25 cents on the dollar. If that’s the case, I would be disheartened by that.” Best Medical Center Northridge Center for Reproductive Medicine By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter Dr. Jirair B. Konialian was practicing reconstructive surgery when the first test tube baby was born. The groundbreaking event changed Konialian’s life as well. “Before that, infertility was depressing,” said Konialian, who acquired the Northridge Center for Reproductive Medicine in 1994. “I thought now we have something we can offer to these patients, so it was worth switching fields.” Konialian established one of the first in vitro fertilization programs in 1983, and since then has pioneered several new therapies and techniques. In 1986 his work led to the first surrogacy live birth, only the second in the world at the time. An assistant clinical professor at UCLA, Konialian acquired the medical center after Northridge Hospital decided to divest it. Since then, the privately-owned center has attracted patients from all over the world who come with hope of conceiving children using cutting edge procedures ranging from in-vitro fertilization to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and microscopic tubal reconstruction. Konialian works with another physician, Philip E. Werthman, who specializes in male reproductive medicine, Gary N. Piquette, who directs the laboratory work, and three nurses. Holding the potential for such life-altering procedures in hand does not come without responsibility, and those close to Konialian say that his sensitivity to patients’ vulnerabilities is part of what sets the center apart. “There is some information out there that leads people to believe it’s not such a miracle anymore. Some people are mislead,” said Piquette, the center’s program director. “Dr. Konialian doesn’t want to mislead patients. He wants to be frank and open and tell them what their chances are, and that’s important.” The center’s success rate runs about 35 percent to 40 percent for women below 35 years of age and about 50 percent for egg donation cases. The success rate for natural conception in the general population runs between 15 percent and 20 percent. “When I first started it was less than 5 percent,” Konialian said of the science of reproductive medicine. “We used to practically do it for free because we were all learning.” In one case the happy recipients of the center’s work sent Konialian a fertility statue from Africa, which is now displayed in his office. But for the most part, Konialian said, the work is its own reward. “One minute you’re looking at an embryo under the microscope, and a couple years later, you’re looking at this little kid walking around the office,” Konialian said. “It’s a miracle, and we’re happy we’re contributing to that miracle.” Health Care Business Volunteer Gerald E. Curry Board Member West Hills Hospital & Medical Center By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter A lifelong resident of the greater San Fernando Valley, Gerald E. Curry has volunteered his time and energy to a number of the area’s business associations. So when the opportunity to join the board of West Hills Hospital & Medical Center arose, Curry saw it as a perfect fit a chance to use the expertise he has accumulated over the years and serve the broader community that has been his home. “I was attracted because it was a first class institution and I liked the fact that West Hills has always been involved in the community,” said Curry. “There are a lot of big businesses in Woodland Hills, and surprisingly they don’t support the community. West Hills was a well-run organization and it was very involved in the community.” His attraction to the work done at the hospital has resulted in a stint over a decade on the hospital’s board, including positions as president of the executive committee and chairman of the board of trustees. In that time, the hospital has seen many changes and much growth. Curry, an attorney by trade, was involved in the creation of the hospital’s general plan as well as the revision of its bylaws. “Gerry is very passionate about health care, and he has a tremendous commitment to community,” said Bruce Ackerman, the current chairman of the hospital’s board. “He’s just a giving person.” Curry grew up in Sun Valley, where he recalls that his parents encouraged charitable and community work. “Since I grew up in the Valley and I’ve worked in the Valley, I looked for organizations where my involvement would help the community and help me professionally,” Curry said. Curry’s Warner Center law practice focuses on probate, conservatorships, estate planning and elder law. He will retire from the board of West Hills after this year, but he is not likely to forget his experience there, he said. “I think I learned that there really is compassion,” Curry said. “The people that work at the hospital truly care about the patients, not just the doctors, but the nurses and the staff. It’s not something they have to do, it’s something they want to do.” Health Care Public Policy Advocate Barbara Siegel Managing Attorney Health Consumer Center BY JONATHAN D. COLBURN Staff Reporter Barbara Siegel’s career has given her insight into several aspects of medical care, but it’s in her current position as Managing Attorney for the Health Consumer Center of Los Angeles County that she’s been able to bring quality care to a portion of the population that would normally go without it. For 20 years, Siegel worked as a physical therapist, until she enrolled in law school to find a new challenge. Upon her graduation, she joined a private practice and spent five years defending physicians in court, but the work was not as rewarding as she would have liked. “I was really unhappy with the legal system,” said Siegel. “I never got the same fulfillment from the legal system as I did with physical therapy.” In 1998, Siegel heard from a colleague that the California Endowment was funding various groups that provide legal services to the low income population that is going without any health coverage. “I applied for this job, and I came on just as the funding from the California Endowment came through,” said Siegel. The multi-million dollar grant from the California Endowment allows the center, which is a project of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, to essentially make it easier for lower income communities to get medical care. The center employs seven full-time attorneys and 11 counselors who have helped more than 10,000 people obtain health care. The staff helps people work through grievances with Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and HMOs, while lobbying for policy changes in every branch of government to bring more medical care to low-income populations. The center also holds health education workshops throughout Los Angeles County. Working at the center has given Siegel the chance to confront health care issues head-on. “I absolutely feel on a daily basis that I’m making a difference in the quality of care that people are receiving,” she said. People with questions regarding access to health care can take advantage of the hotline that the Health Consumer Center maintains. Callers can get information about complaints or negotiations with health insurers, hospitals and clinics or request representation at hearings. The center also offers training for individuals, families and groups that want to learn more about health care organizations and how to make sure that health care rights are defended and workshops for other social service or community organizations. Joni Novosel, Program Manager at the Valley Care Community Consortium, said that Siegel’s efforts have been particularly noticeable because they help a population that normally would live without any medical care. “Barbara’s efforts with working with the uninsured, under-insured and underserved populations in Service Planning Area 2 of Los Angeles are to be applauded and appreciated,” Novosel said. “She works tirelessly on multiple collaboratives, creating and implementing sustainable projects and programs that provide services to those that without her dedication would go without.” Health Care Innovator Dr. Sheldon Lipshutz Author BY JONATHAN D. COLBURN Staff Reporter By his account, Dr. Sheldon Lipshutz had a rewarding career practicing medicine since the 1950s. He has been a Navy doctor, drafted during the Korean War, and had a private practice in the San Fernando Valley, working out of an office he opened in the 1960s. He has been chief of staff at Granada Hills Community Hospital and worked for the final years of his career at Kaiser Permanente. After 40 years, however, something about the practice of medicine still bothered him. Too often, it seemed as though patients and doctors did not know how to communicate with each other. “The thing that bothered me is that patients really came totally unprepared with the right questions to ask and they were unprepared for the answers,” said Lipshutz. “In writing this book, I tried to speak in clear English so that anybody reading after the fifth or sixth grade level could understand it.” Before he wrote “10 Things You Need to Know Before You See the Doctor: A Physician’s Advice from More than 40 Years of Practicing Medicine,” Lipshutz went to his local bookstore and read every similar book he could find, discovering that most were written with too much medical jargon to be of any use to patients. Lipshutz’s book covers a number of topics for readers; his advice ranges from the simple making sure to bring paper and a pen to appointments with prepared questions and space for instructions to more complex topics like a chapter on pain that includes advice on how to describe it correctly for physicians. He also explains the basic differences in the health coverage provided by HMOs and PPOs. His path to the bookshelves is enough to make fledgling writers frustrated. He sent his complete manuscript, which took him about three years to write, to a single publisher. Having not heard from anyone within about five weeks, he called an editor, and was told she’d read his book in the coming week. Three days later, he got a call and an offer. James A. Cox, editor in chief of the Midwest Book Review in Oregon, wrote that Lipshutz’s book will be a valuable addition to any medical reading list. “Dr. Sheldon Lipshutz’s advice comes from his 40-plus years practicing medicine and covers all the basics for making good decisions when seeing the doctor; from understanding health insurance and options for second or third opinions to understanding pain management, how to spot an unscrupulous doctor, and how to assure the right attention from hospital staff,” Cox wrote. Lipshutz says he can’t be sure how the general public is receiving his book, but he has gotten some response from his colleagues. Lipshutz, who still keeps a limited private practice, brought the book into his offices and nine out of 10 doctors working in the building bought copies of his book. “They read it chapter by chapter and said that it was the best book they’d ever seen written for patients,” said Lipshutz. “Some said they wished it was available in a cheaper, condensed version so they could give it out to every patient that comes in their office.” THE HONOREE Health Care Organization Harold Pump Memorial Foundation BY JONATHAN D. COLBURN Staff Reporter Over the last six years, David and Dana Pump have brought some of the biggest names in sports to their annual golf tournaments through which they have raised over $1.2 million for cancer treatment at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. Since early 2000, when their father died of cancer at the hospital, the two brothers and their mother Carole decided that they would do whatever they could to bring the best cancer treatment to other Northridge patients. The foundation’s annual golf tournament have become more successful every year. The honorees for last August’s tournament were two of basketball’s most recognizable names, legendary Duke University Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Rudy Tomjanovich, who won back to back NBA championships with the Houston Rockets and was the former coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. From attendees, the foundation raised over $500,000 which it presented to the board of the Northridge Hospital earlier this month. In total, the foundation has raised over $1.2 million, a figure that increases every year. The money the foundation has raised has had a drastic impact on cancer treatment in the Valley. The Leavey Cancer Center at Northridge Hospital has been able to purchase a high dose rate unit, mammogram unit and an ultrasound unit in the last three years. The foundation’s assistance has also allowed the hospital to build the Carole Pump Women’s Center. “When my father was struggling with cancer the whole family was sitting with us and I remember feeling so helpless,” said Dana Pump, who started the foundation with his brother David, his mother Carole and other siblings. “We started talking about starting a charity in order to raise money for cancer treatment.” The brothers used their business, Double Pump Inc., in order to bring some of the biggest names in sports, like Pete Rose and Marcus Allen and others, to headline their events. The company started as a small basketball day camp operation and grew into a company sponsoring several high profile West Coast basketball events for high school and junior college men. The events attract some of the most talented young players in the nation as well as hundreds of college recruiters. At the dinner accompanying the foundation’s annual tournament there were 1,300 people in attendance, which leads Dana Pump to believe the foundation’s contributions to the hospital will reach its contribution goals of $2.5 million in the next two years. Once it reaches that goal, the Pumps will decide among their family what to do next, although Dana Pump says it’s hard to think of contributing to another organization because of the time his family spent with his father at Northridge. Although it’s a lofty goal Dana Pump says he never doubted his family’s ability to reach it. “We’re crazy,” Pump said. “When we take the time to tell people our story, we develop relationships that lead you to more people. If somebody comes to our dinner, they’re going to be moved to get on our bus, and we need more people on our bus.” Leadership Advancement Beverly Gilmore CEO West Hills Hospital & Medical Center By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter When a CEO takes over leadership of a hospital beset with problems, even the most minor improvements can seem dramatic by comparison. Beverly Gilmore had what was arguably a bigger challenge when she took the reins of West Hills Hospital and Medical Center a little more than a year ago. “Beverly followed a very popular CEO. She had big shoes to fill,” said Bruce Ackerman, chairman of the board of trustees for West Hills Hospital. “She worked with everybody that was there, and the changes she has made over the last year have been absolutely brilliant changes for the hospital.” Gilmore oversees a facility with about 900 staff members. With 256 beds, West Hills is not the largest hospital in the area, but it has undertaken a unique mission marrying up-to-date medical advances with a strong program of community outreach and events. It is just the approach that attracted Gilmore to West Hills. “I really like community hospitals that feel like they’re connected to the community,” said Gilmore. “You really feel like you have a purpose.” Raised on a potato farm in Idaho, Gilmore began volunteering at hospitals while she was still in high school. She worked in laboratories and even did a stint working for a coroner. Although she excelled in science, what moved her was working with people, and when her kids were older, she turned to ways to use her undergrad background in chemistry and medical technology and the graduate courses she took in business. Gilmore spent four years as CEO of South Valley Medical Center in Gilroy and six years as CEO of Solano Medical Center in Vallejo before joining West Hills last September. Hospitals, she says, give her the chance, not just to mentor and to work with people, but to share in the experience of medicine just by walking down the hall. “A hospital is a pretty high intensity place,” Gilmore said. “A lot of the highs and lows of life happen here every day, so I am connected to that. I might be stuck in my office and have reports to do, but all I have to do is go down the hall to remember why I’m here.” Gilmore is currently overseeing a major expansion that will add 80,000 square feet to the West Hills campus, including an emergency room more than four times larger than its current size, and space for outpatient surgery, chemotherapy and other procedures as well as some additional beds. “As we get more advanced in medicine, a lot of the things we do are shifting to outpatient care,” Gilmore said explaining the reallocation of space. “There are much sicker people in hospitals these days.” In today’s hospital environment, with its increased regulatory and financial pressures, isn’t Gilmore worried about adding emergency room capacity? A big complaint of most hospitals is that many of their emergency room patients are uninsured and it is impossible to recoup the costs of many of those cases. But for Gilmore, the issue is not the challenges, but the needs of the community. She notes that the shrinking emergency room capacity in the San Fernando Valley means that local residents have to go to other facilities, something she would like to eliminate. Besides, she says, it isn’t the problems of administering these services that she chooses to focus on; it’s what the hospital can achieve. “You do have to really look for, celebrate, take pride in the few times you make a difference,” said Gilmore, “and you must never, never, never give up.” Rising Star Dr. Afshin Safa Clinical Director of Research/Co-Medical Director Leavey Cancer Center Northridge Hospital Medical Center BY SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter When he was just a kid, Dr. Afshin Safa watched his grandmother undergo treatments for cancer over many years. Back then, the field had not progressed much, and the impression it left on the young Afshin stayed with him. Today, as clinical director of research and co-medical director, Safa has been instrumental in bringing some of the most advanced technology to the Leavey Cancer Center at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. The Cancer Center is the only San Fernando Valley facility to offer Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatments, the most advanced form of radiation therapy, and the only Valley facility to offer Gama Knife radiation surgery, an advanced form of treating brain tumors without an incision. “(Safa) and (Dr.) Dave Huang have basically pioneered that program and developed it from ground up,” said Dr. Michael L. Steinberg, medical director of the Cancer Center and himself a leader in the field of radiation oncology. Bringing such technology to a medical facility requires not only acquiring funding for the equipment, but also involving a collaborative team of physicians across a number of disciplines, a difficult task that fell largely to Safa. “He’s a soft spoken but authoritative, charming person who uses those skills to gain trust, which allows him to develop superior, technically complicated programs that require the cooperation of multiple physicians and ancillary staff,” said Steinberg. Safa received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at UCLA, but he soon realized that the field did not provide much opportunity to work with patients. “I wanted the most technical aspect of medicine, and that was radiation,” said Safa. “So many technologies have evolved over the past 10 years, and that made me excited.” Safa attended the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and became chief resident in the department of radiation oncology at UCLA. An Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA, where he teaches surgical radiation oncology, Safa is also chairman of the Los Angeles Radiological Society continuing education committee and he serves on the health economics committee for the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology. His peers selected him to be included in “Best Doctors in America.” But it is his patients that Safa considers among his greatest accomplishments. “Bringing new technologies which will help and has helped my patients that’s my most challenging accomplishment,” he said. Nursing Advocate Janet Brooks Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer West Hills Hospital & Medical Center With just three months under her belt, Janet Brooks is still learning her way around West Hills Hospital & Medical Center. But that hasn’t stopped the newly-ensconced vice president and chief nursing officer from envisioning big things for the facility. Ask Brooks, and she will rattle off a long list of things she plans to do: adding educational programs to help train and recruit nurses, developing a participatory system to improve and add practices and procedures and developing a strategic plan to make it all work. “I do miss the patients who would look at you and say thank you, but my ability to get my satisfaction now is to have the nursing staff see the love of the nursing profession and rekindle in them what it is that’s so great about this,” said Brooks. “It isn’t just the paperwork. At the end of the day, it’s how we’ve affected these people and their lives.” A veteran of more than 25 years in nursing and administration, Brooks early on wanted to be an Episcopal minister, following in her father’s footsteps. The family moved around a lot, but each year at Christmas, they would receive remembrances from the friends they had made. “I thought, what kind of a world is that that these people had such a wonderful relationship with him that it doesn’t matter the distance,” Brooks recalled. “And the values he instilled in me and the caring made an impression on me, so I looked for a career where I could try to do that in the context of what females were allowed to do in the 1970s.” Brooks initially received her master’s of nursing degree from UCLA in maternal child health. But the more she was exposed to nursing, the more she came to realize that she could have a more dramatic impact by becoming a member of hospital management. “When I sat with the CFO, I began to realize, he didn’t know what I was saying,” Brooks recalled. “I said, okay, they’re not going to learn nursing, so I better go back and get an MBA.” With an MBA from Cal State Northridge, Brooks says she is now able to bring the needs of the nursing staff to hospital management in terms financial and operating executives can understand. She was most recently at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center as chief nursing officer, and she has also worked as chief nursing officer at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center and at now-closed North Hollywood Hospital, where the combination of nursing and business skills has allowed her to participate in strategic planning, budgeting and other integral aspects of the hospital’s operations. “In February we’re planning on having another graduate nursing program,” said Brooks. “I can model this with a formula so I can show a financial benefit of the classes even though we may have a slight upward trend on the payroll. If you can forecast it, they’re pretty darn comfortable that you know what you’re talking about.” In addition to the educational programs, Brooks is working on creating a network of nursing councils that will be responsible for ushering ideas for new programs and procedures from staffers up the chain of command. Together with a strategic plan that will help to prioritize efforts, Brooks believes she can not only better the hospital but also help to retain staffers, particularly as competition for qualified nurses grows. “I’m big on setting up structures so things don’t get dropped,” said Brooks. “I want staff sitting on these committees. When you have that kind of buy-in people don’t feel they have to go elsewhere because they are part of their practice area.”

Featured Articles

Related Articles