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Westerly Hospital Holds 24th Annual Meeting
on December 12, 2007
More
than 100 corporators of Community Health of
Westerly (CHOW) gathered at 4:00 PM Wednesday afternoon at The Westerly
Hospital for the 24th Annual Meeting of the organization, the
affiliates members of which include:
The Westerly Hospital, Westerly Adult Day Services, and The
Westerly Hospital Auxiliary. The
meeting was officiated over by William A. Nardone,
chairman of the board of Community Health of Westerly and of The Westerly
Hospital board of trustees.
For
The Westerly Hospital Auxiliary, Mr. Nardone
reported that the Auxiliary’s fundraising efforts resulted in
nearly $100,000 contributed to the Hospital to assist with the purchase
of new patient beds, blanket warmers, enhancements to the laser sinus
surgery equipment, and specialized tables for the Physical Therapy
Department, among other items of benefit to patients.
For Westerly
Adult Day Services, Mr. Nardone shared that
sixty-four participants of Westerly Adult Day Services received 5603 days
of service in the past year. The
facility finished the year in sound financial position, but has recently
lost a $47,000 legislative grant which will require additional
fundraising to make up the difference, and prompts the organization to
reach out more to Connecticut
residents who may benefit from the services provided.
Mr. Nardone further reported that the energy purchasing
company formed under CHOW has saved the Hospital $165,000 in electricity
costs in the Hospital’s FY07, which ended September 30.
For The
Westerly Hospital, Mr. Nardone reported, that
“the challenge has been how to continue to provide very high
quality services in the current hospital payment system.” This was reported in more detail later
in the meeting. He reported that
the Hospital was assisted in its efforts, and bolstered through
continuing financial challenges by those who contributed more than $1.1 million
through The Westerly Hospital Foundation, which enabled the Hospital to
continue to invest in new clinical equipment and information systems
technology. “The support
this Hospital receives from the community it serves is an essential part
of our success. The statewide issues you will hear more about this
afternoon are hitting home and affected not only Westerly but also every community
hospital in the state this past year.
Our community’s support and resolve are as much a part of
our future as has been the case since the institution was founded,”
Mr. Nardone said.
With
this meeting Mr. Nardone completes his term as
chairman of CHOW and the Hospital, and turns those responsibilities over
to newly elected chairman Fred A. Allardyce. Other newly elected officers of CHOW
and the Hospital include: three vice chairmen William G. McKendree, Martha McQ Hosp
and William A. Nardone, assistant secretary
John C. Warren, treasurer Jeanne M. LaChance, and secretary Maureen L.
Carboni. Newly elected board members
are: Richard C. Holliday, Leonard
C. Edwards, and Christopher M. Lehrach, M.D.
Mr. Nardone expressed appreciation and confidence in
acknowledging the work of the board members, the Hospital administration,
and the Medical Staff over the past two challenging years of his
chairmanship. “The Hospital
is of the highest importance to the healthcare and economic vitality of
our community,” Mr. Nardone said. “As such, it is a privilege to
have served in this capacity, and I can only thank those who have served
on the board with me these past several years, and who know as I do that
the Hospital is committed beyond all measure to meet the needs of this
community -- Westerly, Chariho,
Stonington, North
Stonington, and surrounding towns.”
The
report of The Westerly Hospital was presented by Hospital President/CEO
Charles S. Kinney, and President of The Westerly Hospital Medical Staff
Steven R. Yolen, M.D.
Dr. Yolen highlighted the several measures by which the
Hospital demonstrates the high level of clinical quality and patient
satisfaction. The Hospital
measured in the top 10% of hospitals in the country in patient
satisfaction. In the emergency
department, Westerly
was in the top 3% in the country.
The Hospital received unqualified three-year re-accreditation from
the Joint Commission in 2007, and was recognized for its performance in a
statewide “ICU Collaborative” that resulted in improvements
in eliminating the most common complications of ICU patients. Dr. Yolen
also reported on the formation of a Physician Advisory Group at the
Hospital, which provides physicians with an opportunity to collaborate
with Hospital management in planning for the future of the Hospital.
In
2007 the Hospital recruited three new physicians and established a highly
successful Pain
Management Center. Also, Dr. Yolen
reported, Westerly is the only hospital in the region offering the new
“Bravo Capsule” to measure pH in the stomach – a vastly
more comfortable method than the method it replaces.
“The
Hospital continues to meet or exceed all state and national core measures
for clinical quality, something the whole organization can be proud of,
including the medical staff,” Dr. Yolen
said.
Mr.
Kinney, who characterized the Hospital’s fiscal 2007 as one of
“accomplishment and some frustration,” outlined the
Despite
these and other significant accomplishments, the Hospital finished the
year with an operating deficit, which, after including investment income
and contributions directed toward capital equipment and other improvements,
amounted to $1.7 million. The
value of the Hospitals endowment remained stable, valued at $34.8 million
in 2007, as compared to $34.1 million in 2006. He described plans for 2008, already in
progress, as including the aggressive recruitment of physicians needed in
the community, and an organized effort of advocacy at the state and federal
level to address inequities in the present payment system for physicians.
“Why
should a physician in Pawcatuck, a stone’s throw from here, be paid
up to 30% more in some cases than a physician in Westerly, for the same service or
procedure?” Mr. Kinney asked.
The same issues apply to Hospital payments. “Why do our neighboring Connecticut
hospitals get paid up to 20% to 30% more than Westerly?” “Why is there up to 30%
difference between the lowest and the highest paid community hospital by
one insurer in Rhode Island
and 60% on inpatient?”
Mr.
Kinney thanked the afternoon’s guest speaker James E. Purcell,
President and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode
Island for his support and the willingness of RI Blue Cross
to work with Westerly
to address some of these issues.
In
his remarks, Mr. Purcell described the issues facing community hospitals
from his perspective, his own thoughts on the present and future, and
other news in the healthcare.
In
closing, Mr. Kinney called upon corporators to
carry the message forward, and distributed a sheet of the questions he
had posed and asked attendees to address these with their state and
national elected officials, to prompt them to take the necessary action
essential to the future of Westerly Hospital and the state’s seven
other community hospitals.
There
are nearly six hundred Community Health of Westerly corporators
who serve as representatives of the community in advocating on behalf of
the affiliated health care organizations.
Mr. Nardone closed the meeting by thanking Mr. Purcell,
and in wishing those assembled a happy new year.
The
2007 Annual Report of The
Westerly Hospital is available by calling 401-348-2300, or by visiting
the Hospital’s website at www.westerlyhospital.org.
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