CIANJ Commerce Magazine September 2020 Live | Page 46

■ Annual Best Practices Guide
Continued From Page 42
HEALTHCARE
RWJBarnabas Health
Medical Group
By Andy Anderson, M.D.,
President and CEO
The safety and health of our
patients, providers and staff
remained our highest priority.
RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group providers
offered in-office visits when best suited to the
patient’s healthcare needs and held telemedicine
appointments as much as possible and
when medically appropriate. Transitioning to
telemedicine as a best practice for access provided
an innovative and effective way to treat
patients, allowing us to deliver efficient, convenient
and safe access to healthcare, while limiting
exposure to the virus. RWJBarnabas Health
Medical Group providers and staff worked tirelessly
throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Their incredible contributions made a tremendous
impact, saving lives and improving the
health of our patients and our communities.
We joined colleagues throughout RWJBarnabas
Health in acknowledging their acts of selflessness
through the “Heroes Work Here” campaign.
We also continue to share resources with
providers and staff to enhance their health and
overall well-being during this stressful time.
Saint Peter’s
Healthcare System
By Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE,
President and CEO
Saint Peter’s financial outlook
was very strong going into the
pandemic; however, unanticipated
costs and revenue loss due to the crisis
have been significant. This is now a major
issue for hospitals across the country. As a
regional leader in maternity care, expectant
mothers continued their care at Saint Peter’s
during the crisis with stringent safety measures
in place. Patient volume in other services
is growing steadily as normal operations have
resumed with heightened safety and patient
care precautions. Patients can be assured that
we are emerging from this phase of the pandemic—cautiously,
carefully and safely—and
providing the level of care to which they are
accustomed. Our culture remains guided by
our Catholic mission—caring for all who seek
care, especially the most vulnerable—and I
believe Saint Peter’s will again be on a sound
financial footing so that we may continue this
sacred mission.
St. Joseph’s Health
By Kevin J. Slavin, FACHE,
President and CEO
To continue to care effectively
for patients, healthcare leaders
must reimagine the idea
of a hospital. Our challenge
is to reconfigure our physical hospitals for
the highest-acuity patients while shifting
many other services beyond hospital walls.
This transformation has already begun in the
Emergency Department, which has served as
the front door to the hospital. We are evolving
to a “virtual front door” that uses technology
(telemedicine, video conferencing,
text messaging, online health trackers, etc.)
to appropriately triage patients in need of
care—whether the complaint is chronic, acute,
or an exacerbation due to deferred care. With
this in place, we can shift from episodic care
providers to proactive health navigators, helping
patients make informed decisions and
receive the right care in the right setting. As
more health systems continue to make the
transition, we will likely see accelerated adoption
of artificial intelligence and remote care
technology.
HEALTHCARE
Trinitas Regional
Medical Center
By Gary S. Horan, FACHE,
President and CEO
The COVID pandemic appears
to be easing, however the anxiety
people feel about coming
to a hospital has not. People are putting off
needed healthcare over fear of encountering
lingering COVID germs. We redirected our
marketing to address this concern head on,
and to reassure the public that hospitals are
among the safest of places due to the many
steps taken to sanitize their facilities. We
outlined 20 steps, such as having separate
treatment areas in the ER, OR and patient
floors for COVID patients (which thankfully
are very few in number), to our sanitizing
stations, patient testing, PPE usage, infection
control training, use of disinfectant on all
surfaces, and finally, treating all patient care
locations with Surfacide Ultraviolet light. The
key message is that at Trinitas, we are doing
everything in our power to keep healthcare as
safe as it can possibly be.
UnitedHealthcare of
New Jersey
By Paul O. Marden,
CEO
At UnitedHealthcare of New
Jersey, we have worked during
this challenging time to meet
the health and safety needs of our local communities.
Since the start of the pandemic,
we’ve expanded access to care through telehealth,
allowing people to safely connect
with healthcare providers from home. We’ve
seen a tenfold increase in telehealth visits this
year compared to last and believe that, as reopening
continues, telehealth will remain an
important avenue for care. We are working to
continue improving our telehealth resources
for those we serve. We also partnered with Microsoft
to launch the ProtectWell TM protocol
and app to help employers in New Jersey and
across the nation bring employees back to
the workplace. The app features a framework
backed by CDC guidelines and the latest clinical
research that helps screen employees for
symptoms and establishes guidelines to support
the health and safety of the workforce
and workplace.
Valley Health System
By Robert W. Brenner, M.D.,
MMM, President,
Clinical Integration &
Physician Enterprise
We are reflecting on lessons
learned, and planning for a potential
COVID‐19 resurgence. During the past
four months, our medical team and staff have
shown us how creative they can be in changing
processes and preparing our hospital to
care for our community. They demonstrated
incredible dedication and resilience in the face
of this pandemic. Specific steps we are taking
include daily updates on the status and the
number of coronavirus patients admitted to
Valley; aggressive sourcing of personal protective
equipment with a goal to have more than
a 90-day supply on hand; monitoring daily
the number of ventilators on hand and in use;
continuing to work closely with infection control
and public health professionals to share
information; and revising procedures and
protocols as needed.
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