Area healthcare leaders prepare for growth
Area healthcare leaders prepare for growth
Written by Kathy Lesko Monday, 07 November 2005
Q What programs or centers of excellence will be housed at Seton Williamson Medical Center?
A Seton Williamson will be a full-service acute-care hospital, providing medical, surgical, diagnostic and therapeutic services. We will strive to create a culture of excellence, and focus on the needs of the community. Our centers of excellence will ultimately be defined by the community needs and our medical staff.
Q How are you approaching the staffing challenges that
face health care facilities today?
A There is no doubt there is a national shortage of nurses, physicians and specialists. I believe Seton Williamson needs to develop and maintain an innovative work-life community that will attract and retain high-quality employees. Central Texas is attractive for medical practices right now. The beauty of the land and quality of the people are huge draws. The Seton system also offers additional draws including Magnet nursing status, alpha site initiatives, affiliations with local academic nursing programs and even nursing congresses that allow our nurses to contribute to the quality and safety of their work environment.
Q If you had one magical wish for Seton Williamson, what would it be?
A We have great opportunities to be a model of innovation through this new hospital. We want to be the patient’s choice for excellence and known for our stewardship and strong customer relations by not only addressing the patient’s physical needs, but also the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and and their ideas, their histories and backgrounds. They’re volunteers who care and put their hearts into it. Sometimes you have to wonder why they do it. It’s really quite selfless.
- Born 1949 in Liberal, Kansas
- Education Bachelor’s from Texas State University; J.D. from the University of Houston
- Greatest Accomplishment “I’d like to think my greatest accomplishments are actually my blessings: my faith, my wife, family and friends.”
Q What programs or centers of excellence will be housed at the Pflugerville campus of Austin Regional Clinic (ARC)?
A With three pediatricians available, we realize what a growing community Pflugerville is, and how underserved the population is at this point. By next year, we hope to be adding a family practice component, and most likely expanding the new space.
Q How are you approaching the staffing challenges that face health care facilities today?
A We ensure quality care by always starting with recruiting the best possible staff to provide that care. You’re not even ‘in the game’ without well-trained people. We even have a nurse who covers virtually everything we do, from labs to X-rays to diagnoses, and monitors any potential risk situations or concerns. We implement an ongoing quality improvement program. Not many offices do that, and I’m quite proud that we do.
Q If you had one magical wish for ARC, what would it be?
A A full-fledged electronic patient medical record; not just the electronic storage of patient data and information, but an interactive tool that not only carries all of the patient’s information, but raises a flag to alert physicians of upcoming tests that are needed or test results that are abnormal compared to past data.
- Born 1945 in Brooklyn, New York
- Education B.S. from Brown University; MD from State University of New York
- Greatest Accomplishment “My greatest personal achievement is my three daughters. Founding ARC is my greatest professional accomplishment. I am very proud of this group.”
Q What programs or centers of excellence are housed at the Round Rock Health Clinic?
A We treat pediatric and adult patients in general medicine. Our mix is about 70 percent pediatric (under the age of 18), 25 percent women’s health and the remaining five percent are other adults. Through the services we are providing to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we discovered via the local school system an alarming number of “homeless” students (not necessarily without shelter, but homeless by federal standards) who may not be receiving proper medical care. We are currently exploring with local school districts ways to identify these students in Williamson County and network with the school nurses to make them aware of our services.
Q How are you approaching the staffing challenges that face health care facilities today?
A We have upgraded our level of pay for our nurse practitioners to be more competitive with the current market, and also recently hired a full-time pediatrician. Round Rock Health Clinic is a clinical site for the University of Texas nurse practitioner program as well as medical assistant programs from other area schools, so we have a large pool of talent to draw from.
Q If you had one magical wish for Round Rock Health Clinic, what would it be?
A With about 90 percent of our patients Medicaid recipients, I would wish for reimbursement rates that would cover our costs. If that was the case, many of the monies we currently receive from grants and foundations could be used for new projects, staffing and equipment instead of being used to help offset the cost of supplies, medications, etc.
- Born 1948 in Chicago, Illinois
- Education B.S. from University of Chicago
- Greatest Accomplishment “In Chicago, we piloted a program for the state of Illinois that allowed respirator-dependent patients to live in their homes instead of institutions.”
Q What programs or centers of excellence will be housed at Scott & White?
A Phase I of the project will include emergency medicine, endoscopy, general medicine, OB/newborn services, and in-patient and out-patient surgery in areas including orthopedics, ophthalmology, ENT, neurology, plastic surgery and podiatry. I’d like to think of the entire hospital as a center of excellence; we will be striving for excellence in the products and services we offer our patients.
Q How are you approaching the staffing challenges that face health care facilities today?
A There is a certain level of attraction with a new facility; new technology, location, etc. I’m confident we will be able to attract and retain quality staff. I plan on placing a priority and focus on employee satisfaction. By providing a safe work environment, giving employees the tools to do their job, and promoting an environment of teamwork between disciplines, I think our staffing challenges will be minimized.
Q If you had one magical wish for Scott & White, what would it be?
A It’s already been granted! Scott & White have given me the opportunity to build this hospital and be a member of this organization.
- Born 1968 in Galveston, Texas
- Education Bachelor’s from Texas A&M; Masters’ from University of Houston
- Greatest Accomplishment “My greatest personal accomplishment is my family. My greatest professional accomplishment is a $60 million expansion at a former facility.”
0 Comments 