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Home > For Physicians > Medical Staff News

Medical Staff News

Dr. Swensson Announces Retirement

To read more, click here >>

Clinical Connections Newsletter

To see the newest issues of Clinical Connections, a quarterly newsletter from Capella’s CMO, Dr. Erik Swensson, click here>>

Capella Invited to Inaugural Joint Commission Physician Leader Forum

Physicians from the nation’s largest healthcare organizations were invited to participate in the inaugural Physician Leader Forum sponsored by The Joint Commission (TJC). Capella Healthcare was one of 42 organizations invited, represented by Dr. Erik Swensson, Chief Medical Officer. To read more, click here>

Members of 2013 National Physician Leadership Group Announced

Capella Healthcare has announced the members of the 2013 National Physician Leadership Group, according to Dan Slipkovich, Chief Executive Officer of Capella Healthcare.

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, hospital committees, and Boards of Trustees, physicians also have opportunities to serve on the local Physician Leadership Group (PLG).  To read more, click here>>

Capella Healthcare and athenahealth Announce Partnership to Assist Physicians

Thanks to a partnership between Capella Healthcare and athenahealth, affiliated physicians are eligible to receive special pricing on athenahealth’s cloud-based services.  Capella Healthcare and athenahealth share the goal of providing high quality and cost effective care to practices while helping practices get more money and more control for better financial health.  Read more>>

Clinical Transformation Journey Now Fully in Progress

Physician Advisory Group Provides Guidance

Capella Healthcare has embarked on a clinical transformation that will convert all hospitals’ core clinical systems to MEDITECH 6.0.  The ACES – or Advanced Clinical Electronic System – project officially launched in June 2011 with the first meeting of the Physician Advisory Group (PAG).

David Siepmann, M.D., is chairing the Physician Advisory Group (PAG) which provides overall guidance for the implementation of new clinical IT initiatives.  A Dartmouth-trained radiologist who practices at Capella’s Willamette Valley Medical Center in Oregon, Dr. Siepmann say he spends his life interacting with a number of computer systems and is excited the role of the PAG.

“It’s exciting.  We have physicians representing a broad group of specialties throughout Capella who are really helping guide the implementation of this dramatic change in how we all do business,” he said.  “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. They can help us prevent errors, give us information there’s no way we could remember at the time, and help coordinate care between providers.  But it takes a lot of work to get things set up the correct way.  The role of the Physician Advisory Group is to exploit the range of experiences from physicians who are equally passionate about providing quality patient care and how computers can help.”

Al Smith, Capella’s Chief Information Officer, is directing the project.  “Over the next few years, all of our facilities will make this journey in order to provide a long-term Information Systems foundation to support our clinicians and clinical departments, meet continuing government mandates and engage our physicians in reducing variability to provide the highest quality and safest experience in our hospitals,” he said.  “Eight hospitals are currently engaged in developing our best practice enterprise system design with plans for our first facility to go live during the summer of 2012.”

The initial scope of the project includes Registration, Medical Records, Nursing, ER department, Pharmacy, Lab, Radiology, Ancillaries, Quality, Risk Management, Utilization Review, Reporting, Order Entry, Physician Order Entry (CPOE) and Physician Documentation.

For updates on the ACES (Advanced Clinical Electronic System) Project, read the monthly newsletter ACES Talk.  To see all recent issues, click here>>

Physician Advisory Group (PAG) Members

Members of the Physician Advisory Group (PAG) provide input into clinical IT-related decisions, help guide the design of the MEDITECH 6.0 build-out, serve as facility champions, and communicate with the medical staffs at each hospital.  The PAG currently meets monthly and includes the following members:

PAG Members

Dr. David Siepmann, Radiology, Willamette Valley Medical Center
Dr. Vishal Bhatia, Hospitalist, Willamette Valley Medical Center
Dr. Kyle Shaver, Emergency Medicine, Willamette Valley Medical Center
Dr. Bob Collins, Orthopedic Surgery, Grandview Medical Center
Dr. Ngozi Achebe, Hospitalist, Capital Medical Center
Dr. Dave Tollefson, General Surgery, Capital Medical Center
Dr. Ryan Halpin, Neurosurgery, Capital Medical Center
Dr. Paul Sunderland, Emergency Medicine, Capital Medical Center
Dr. Jeffrey Chen, Hospitalist, Capital Medical Center
Dr. Brad McIntosh, Family Medicine, EASTAR Health System
Dr. Berry Winn, Emergency Medicine, EASTAR Health System
Dr. McClean Simpson, Emergency Medicine, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center
Dr. Rene Aguirre, Hospitalist, River Park Hospital
Dr. Karl Lawrence, Hospitalist, River Park Hospital
Dr. Heidi Malling, Family Medicine, Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. CJ Odunukwe, General Surgery, Southwestern Medical Center

Monthly webinars are being held to solicit continued input from physicians. To provide input or attend the monthly updates, physicians should contact their hospital’s CEO or PAG representative.

Physician Recognition & Awards

To learn more about physician recognition and awards, click here>>

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  • About
    Us
    • CEO Message
    • Together Blog
    • Chairman’s Welcome
    • Our Name
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our History
    • The Strength To Lead
    • Our Leadership
    • Equipping Our Leaders
    • Our Commitment
    • Serving Our Communities
  • Our
    Communities
    • Hot Springs, AR
    • Russellville, AR
    • Hartsville, SC
    • Muskogee, OK
    • Lawton, OK
    • McMinnville, OR
    • Olympia, WA
  • For Patients
    & Public
    • Find A Hospital
    • News
    • Hospital Recognition And Awards
    • Bright Stars – Staff Honors
    • Contact Us
  • For
    Employees
    • Benefits
    • Capella Connections Newsletter
    • Employee Assistance Program
    • Ethics & Compliance Resources
    • Photography Contest
    • Health Heroes
    • Job Openings
  • For
    Physicians
    • Why Capella?
    • Physician Leadership and Resources
    • Physician Recognition & Awards
    • Medical Staff News
    • Practice Opportunities
    • Partnership with athenahealth
    • Community Profiles
    • Clinical Connections Newsletter
    • Advanced Clinical Electronic System (ACES) Update
    • Contact Us
  • Partnership
    Opportunities
    • Why Capella?
    • Success Stories
    • Capella-MUSC Health Network
    • Hospital Recognition And Awards
    • Testimonials of Patient Care
    • Contact Us
  • News
    Room
    • In The News
    • News Releases
    • Recognition & Awards
    • Capella Connections Newsletter
  • Investor
    Relations
  • Career
    Center
    • Why Capella?
    • Career Opportunities
    • Community Profiles
    • Contact Us