Physician Leadership
Capella Healthcare's Chief Medical Officer Erik Swensson, MD, FACS, leads the work of the National Physician Leadership Group. Learn more about Dr. Swensson, click photo .>>
At Capella’s family of hospitals, physicians are integrally involved in providing leadership where they practice. In addition to leadership roles on the Medical Staff and with hospital committees, physicians are also a vital part of each hospital’s Board of Trustees. Together with members of the community and hospital leadership, physicians collaboratively provide guidance and strategic leadership for the hospital’s operations.
In addition to traditional Board and medical staff leadership opportunities, each hospital also has a Physician Leadership Group (PLG). With 6-10 members representing a cross-section of its medical staff, the PLG provides input to hospital leadership on all aspects of operations, including strategic development, key initiatives, quality improvement, patient and employee satisfaction, and more.
The leader of the local PLG also serves on Capella’s National Physician Leadership Group (NPLG). The NPLG brings the medical staffs’ perspective to the table in helping make decisions that impact all of our hospitals. For example, one of the most important decisions the NPLG made during 2010 was the selection of The Advisory Board’s Crimson Clinical Advantage as the tool through which they would address physician performance improvement. A revolutionary platform to help hospitals better manage patient quality and costs across hospital inpatient, outpatient and physician clinic care settings, Crimson Clinical Advantage combines best-in-class business intelligence technology with dedicated implementation support, ongoing research on physician enfranchisement, and membership in a rapidly growing national peer collaborative. The Crimson Initiative is helping Capella’s hospitals and physicians work collaboratively to advance quality goals while delivering the efficient, compassionate care.
Members of Capella Healthcare’s 2012 National Physician Leadership Group recently attended a conference to hear company updates and provide input on strategy. Attendees included the following (starting from the back left and moving clockwise):
Members of Capella’s National Physician Leadership Group recently attended the annual Leadership Conference to hear company updates and provide input on strategy. Pictured from left are Alan Drake, MD, Highlands Medical Center (TN); Jay Gregory, MD, Muskogee Regional Medical Center (OK); Stephen Snell, MD, Southwestern Medical Center (OK); Matthew Bliven, MD, Willamette Valley Medical Center (OR); William Sippo, MD, Mineral Area Regional Medical Center (MO); Kevin Hale, MD, National Park Medical Center (AR); Brad McIntosh, MD, Muskogee Community Hospital; Todd Stewart, MD, River Park Hospital (TN); Robert Collins, MD, Grandview Medical Center (TN); Erik Swensson, MD, Capella Healthcare Chief Medical Officer; Robert Hipp, MD, Capital Medical Center (WA); and Braden Richmond, MD, Jacksonville Medical Center (AL).
Capella Healthcare has embarked on a clinical transformation that will convert all hospitals’ core clinical systems to Meditech 6. The ACES – or Advanced Clinical Electronic System – project launched during 2011 with the first meeting of the Physician Advisory Group (PAG). Dr. David Siepmann, a radiologist at Capella’s Willamette Valley Medical Center, is chairing the PAG. He talks here about how the task force was formed to provide overall guidance for implementation of the new clinical initiatives.
“It’s exciting. We have physicians representing a broad group of specialties throughout Capella who are helping guide the implementation of this dramatic change in how we all do business. There are external reasons to do it, such as government mandates, but fundamentally the reason I’m so committed to it is that these computer systems have the potential to truly improve the way we take care of patients.”