Planning to Integrate and Grow our Services

February 20, 2012
Vol. 1, No. 4

In this issue:

• Planning to Integrate and Grow our Services
• USPS Heart Stamp Unveiled at KentuckyOne
• Expanded Scope to Improve How We Manage Patient Revenue
• Leaders Find Inspiration During Inaugural
• Answers to the Questions You’ve Been Asking 
• Meet KentuckyOne Health: Saint Joseph Hospital

Planning to Integrate and Grow our Services

The leaders of key services and centers of excellence across KentuckyOne Health are making plans now for integrating and growing them.

Business plans will be complete in the next few weeks for our oncology, cardiac, neurology, orthopedic, primary care and women’s health service lines. Plans will be developed later for additional service lines and centers of excellence such as hospital general medicine, digestive health, nephrology, behavioral medicine and rehab services.

Each service line plan is being developed collaboratively with an executive sponsor, administrative leader and medical leader. Plans call for growing the number of physicians and physician offices to accomplish the overall KentuckyOne operational growth plan. Plans also will address:

Long-term mission– the clinical services scope regionally and across KentuckyOne Health.

Goals – quality, safety, satisfaction, care management and cost effectiveness.

Metrics and milestones – service line leaders and teams identified, growth milestones accomplished, pre-admission and post-admission systems implemented, certifications completed and others. 

USPS Heart Stamp Unveiled at KentuckyOne

The United States Postal Service (USPS) and KentuckyOne Health joined forces Feb. 13 to dedicate the first Heart Health Forever® stamp. Jewish Hospital was selected as the site for the community’s unveiling of the stamp due to its century-long history as a pioneer in medical innovation, especially in the field of heart care.

Ruth Brinkley, president and CEO of KentuckyOne Health, participated in the dedication program along with Laman Gray, MD, medical director, Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, professor of surgery at the University of Louisville and distinguished chair in cardiothoracic surgery at Jewish Hospital; Mark Slaughter, MD, chief of the division of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Louisville and director of the heart transplant and medical device program at Jewish Hospital; and John Froning, DMD, a heart patient who received treatment at Jewish Hospital in 2010.

“We know that programs like this one will help raise awareness here at home and across the United States, and we are honored that Jewish Hospital was selected to host the dedication ceremony,” said Brinkley. “Through medical breakthroughs, education and awareness, the goal of KentuckyOne Health is to improve the health of every Kentuckian. Heart care is one of our top priorities and it should be, given our history and our expertise.”

Brinkley shared with the audience the many firsts in heart care at both Jewish Hospital and Saint Joseph Hospital. Jewish Hospital is home to more than 35 firsts in heart care dating back to 1965, when Kentucky’s first adult open-heart surgery was performed there. Saint Joseph Hospital has also played an important role in pioneering heart procedures, including the first open heart catheterization in the state.

Heart health awareness and education is particularly important for Kentuckians. The state ranks ninth in the nation for deaths from heart disease and stroke. Nationally, heart disease remains the number one killer of all Americans.

USPS has 50 million heart health stamps available for purchase nationwide. 

Above Photo: Unveiling the new heart health stamp, from left: Doug Caswell, USPS; Wendy English, USPS; Laman Gray, MD; Ruth Brinkley; Alisa Zanetti, USPS; John Froning, DMD; Mark Slaughter, MD. 

Expanded Scope to Improve How We Manage Patient Revenue

Just as good patient care is coordinated care provided by caregivers who have all the necessary information about their patients, good management of patient revenue is coordinated by professionals who have all the financial-related information necessary. Integrating Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System includes organizing how we manage the “revenue cycle” function.

Revenue cycle is broader than the traditional definition of patient admission, procedure coding and payment collection. “Our definition of revenue cycle includes all demographic and financial information on each patient,” said Dorothy Zimmerman, Catholic Health Initiatives regional director of revenue cycle management. “So, it includes not only pre-admitting and registration, coding and collections, but charging and all documentation and all authorizations. Because we are paid by a variety of methods – charges, DRG, APC, per diems, etc. – we consider case management and utilization review functions adjacent to revenue cycle, too. Contract management is also a critical revenue cycle function.”

These functions make a big difference to satisfying patients and to covering the cost of providing care.

“All of a patient’s charges must be placed on the patient’s account accurately and in a timely manner,” said Zimmerman.  “Without accurate charging, we won’t have a clear, concise picture of what a service really cost or what service we actually provided. This would affect our ability to recover the true cost of the care we provide.”

Planning is underway for how best to integrate all revenue cycle roles, functions and processes across KentuckyOne Health and connect them with related functions within Catholic Health Initiatives.

Information technology is another critical piece of the revenue cycle. “The more automated we can make our processes, the less error there will be and the more we can accomplish,” said Zimmerman. “At KentuckyOne Health, we have an opportunity to create the next generation of revenue cycle management. We want to create an IT infrastructure that will support the changes that will come with health care reform quickly and efficiently, so we can do our part in making it possible to deliver care at rates that government payers will pay.”

Details of how revenue cycle will change within KentuckyOne are expected next month.

Leaders Find Inspiration During Inaugural

• Beginning the process of aligning leaders to the future direction of KentuckyOne Health
• Providing critical information for leaders to share with their teams
• Honoring the heritage of the legacy organizations
• Giving leaders the opportunity to network with each other
• Inspiring leaders to continue to provide their best service to the new organization

Ruth Brinkley, president and CEO of KentuckyOne Health, spoke about the aggressive agenda for the next few months. The agenda represents important steps toward building a system that will improve the health of every Kentuckian – especially those who currently do not have access to the medical care they need. “You and your teams are the heartbeat of KentuckyOne Health,” she told the assembled leaders. “I pledge to hold us together as one, while you create the chimes that will be heard throughout the Commonwealth – the sounds of innovation, courage and compassion.”

Kathy Sanford, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Catholic Health Initiatives, shared a greeting from Kevin Lofton, CHI president and CEO: “You stand at the helm of an organization with the power to redefine how health care is delivered. It is both an extraordinary opportunity and a humbling responsibility. We believe in you and your leadership ability. We pledge CHI’s continued support to enable you to accomplish the goals of KentuckyOne Health.”

The leaders broke into discussion groups to begin the process of identifying core values and leadership priorities for KentuckyOne Health. Many more employees will participate in this process in the weeks to come.

Ruth Brinkley also introduced a set of “Integration Imperatives,” guiding principles that “will unite us in our approach, attitudes and behaviors.”

• Focus on the benefits of integration. While there will be changes that may be perceived as losses, they are far outweighed by the overall benefits of integration.
• Display open mindsets. Work toward embracing our diversity and differences as strengths for our new organization.
• Be stewards of our collective resources. Take personal ownership of using resources in the most efficient manner.
• Help us together, as a new organization, lead the next generation of health delivery. Seek the best practices for the future, whether in the clinical, operational or administrative arena.

Bob Hewett, chair of the board of KentuckyOne Health – assisted by Rabbi Laura Metzger, staff rabbi at Jewish Hospital, and Sister Liz Wendeln, SCN, a member of the boards of KentuckyOne Health and Catholic Health Initiatives – closed the meeting with a call to action. “In times of great transition, it can be very difficult to embrace change,” he said. “We will rely on you to model the KentuckyOne Health spirit of collaboration, to embrace differences, and to solve problems productively.”

Above Photo: Ruth Brinkley spoke to the leaders of their vital role saying, “You create the chimes that will be heard throughout the Commonwealth.”

Answers to the Questions You’ve Been Asking

Do you have a question for Integration Update? Submit your question here.

Q. Can we order shirts with our current logo, or will the logo change?
A. Logos used before the merger have been discontinued. KentuckyOne logos, including logos for individual facilities, are available to be downloaded from the KentuckyOne Brand Center. You will also find our new graphic identity standards on Brand Center. More resources will be added there in the coming weeks.

Q. Who are the members of the KentuckyOne Health Board of Directors?
A. The members of the board are:

Michael Ades
Attorney, retired

Lou Ann Atlas
Fifth Third Bank

Jane Burks
Volunteers of America

Jane J. Chiles
Meridian Chiles Advertising

Paul Edgett
Catholic Health Initiatives

Robert Hewett, Chair
Business executive, retired

Miller Hoffman
Hoffman Robertson Insurance

Thomas Mechas, MD
London Women’s Care

Michael Rowan
Catholic Health Initiatives

Richard Schultz
Ad Executive, retired

Gerald Temes, MD
Thoracic surgeon, retired

Liz Wendeln, SCN
Board of Stewardship Trustees,
Catholic Health Initiatives

Russell Williams, MD
Surgeon
 
Q. Will we always have badge holders, or will we get new badges with the KentuckyOne logo?
A. We will continue to use the badge holders until we introduce our new KentuckyOne badges, probably this summer.

Q. We’ve heard that employees will lose their PTO. Is that correct?
A. No, you will not lose any paid time off that you have accrued.

Q. Who are the people in the KentuckyOne ads?
A. Our current ad campaign features your KentuckyOne Health colleagues. This ad features Mark Slaughter, MD, chief of the division of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Louisville and director of the heart transplant program at Jewish Hospital. We’ll identify others in future issues of Integration Update for Employees.

Meet KentuckyOne Health: Saint Joseph Hospital

Saint Joseph Hospital (SJH) is Lexington’s first hospital. In 1877, a small group of Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky, led by Sister Euphrasia Stafford, began their health ministry.

Their mission was to provide compassionate care to the poor and underserved ‒ a tradition still carried out today.

SJH was established on Linden Walk/Maxwell Street in a small house that still stands. Within the first year of its operation, it moved to a much larger facility on West Second Street, where SJH remained open until moving again in 1959 to its current location off Harrodsburg Road. The current location has experienced rapid growth over the years.

SJH has grown into a 433-bed medical center serving central and eastern Kentucky, with a full range of services, including the nationally award-winning Heart Institute and leading-edge da Vinci robotic surgery. Also known as Lexington’s “heart hospital,” SJH has pioneered many firsts in the health care community.

SJH has also been nationally recognized for treatment in the areas of cardiology, orthopedics and stroke, by Thomson Reuters and U.S. News and World Report. In 2011, SJH received the Distinction for Service Excellence award by J.D. Power and Associates for the fifth time.

SJH’s employees, physicians and volunteers are empowered to carry out the health care ministry started by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Hospital friends and benefactors continue to be remembered daily in prayer and service by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.