This week we are celebrating National Hospital Week!!!
National Hospital Week is May 6 – 12, 2012 and our employees are celebrating by reflecting on what they do and how it is important to the community. This year’s theme is “Making Miracles Happen.” Whether it is performing an emergency operation or consoling someone while they wait, our staff are on the front line of making miracles happen daily. Here are a few facts about Hospital Week:
- The first National Hospital Day was held on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, on May 12, 1921
- National Hospital Day was originally conceived by a Chicago magazine editor as a public healthcare event that encouraged trust in the city’s hospitals in the wake of the “Spanish Flu” outbreak of 1918, which killed more than 600,000 Americans.
- The event was expanded to an entire week in 1953.
- Today, every state celebrates National Hospital Week, which is sponsored by the American Hospital Association.
- Intended as a community-centered program, National Hospital Week engages every person in the hospital from directors to orderlies, nurses to volunteers, EMS techs to home health professionals and physicians to patients.
- This commemorative celebration serves as a reminder that hospitals are foundations of the communities that built them and nurture them, and that hospitals serve people in every community from all walks of life.
- Hospitals today are multi-dimensional environments that offer every medical specialty, with a focus on prevention and wellness
To Start off Hospital Week:
We would like to announce our new CEO Douglas Newman! (see photo above)
Many of you had the opportunity to meet Mr. Newman last week at the “meet and greets.” Those of you that were unable to here is a little but about him and our hospital CEO history. Mr. Newman joins a long line of great leaders that have governed our hospital during its 42 year history. Beginning with the opening of the hospital in 1970, we have been fortunate to have had progressive thinking professionals who have led the hospital in both good and bad times.
Late last fall, William E. “Billy” Page, submitted his resignation in order to pursue other career opportunities. At that time the Board appointed a Search Committee consisting of Board Members Steve Crooks and Janice Dosher, Billy Page, CEO, and Lana Francis, Administrative Assistant. Sixty two applications were submitted for the position. The Search Committee did a thorough review of all of the applications using objective criteria and state required qualifications to narrow the candidates down to five. Each of the five applicants were then interviewed on site by the full Board.
Dexter Ray was appointed Interim Administrator during this time. Dexter has done an outstanding job in providing the leadership needed to continue and complete many ongoing projects.
Before coming to us, Doug Newman served as Chief Executive Officer at Graham County Hospital and Graham County Rural Health Clinic, Home Health & Hospice in Hill City, Kansas. He was able to revitalize this failing hospital allowing them to reach their goal of profitability in one year.
Mr. Newman also served as Regional Director of Field Operations for Unicare/Wellpoint of Kansas for the southern 54 counties in Kansas, as well as border counties of Colorado, Missouri, and Oklahoma. As Regional Director, he was accountable for Physician Network formation and management of provider issues that occurred through the Kansas Health Policy Authority.
Mr. Newman has a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration and 20+ years experience in the field. His areas of responsibility in other hospital CEO positions have included finance and budget administration, strategic planning, management, direction, coordination and control of the overall operations of the hospitals.
LaSalle General Hospital has always and continues to strive to meet the healthcare needs of the community. The following demonstrates growth and progression that the hospital has recently realized.
- Digital Mammography implementation
- Bone Density implementation
- Nuclear Medicine expansion
- Echocardiography expansion
- Holter and cardiac event monitoring expansion
- Initiated MRI service
- Conversion to Digital Radiography at the hospital and both rural health clinics
- Diagnostic Imaging network (PACS system) implementation
- Electronic Health Record
- Expanded Surgery and Endoscopy services
- Designed and remodeled Therapy, Wellness & Home Health building
- Expanded Therapy Services (Speech, OT, PT)
- Implemented Hospitalist program
- Developed Cardiology service line
- Installed cardiac cath lab and developed cath lab team
- Developed hospital marketing and patient advocate program
