James Feeney, chairman of the SRHS board of directors in 2011, recently presented a summary of the growth and accomplishments of Sharon Regional in fiscal year 2011 to members of the SRHS board of directors.
Changes in executive leadership were a major initiative at Sharon Regional in 2011. The search culminated in the hiring of a new chief executive officer, Linde Finsrud Wilson and the promotion of John R. “Jack” Janoso, Jr. to president and chief operating officer.
GROWTH AND EXPANSION:
Sharon Regional experienced a 6.2% increase in outpatient revenues over the prior year as well as a 4% increase in net patient revenue. The Health System began the preliminary steps to one of the largest projects in its history, involving the research and implementation of a $13 million electronic health record system throughout all inpatient/outpatient services and employed physician offices.
As part of the Health System’s comprehensive information technology strategic plan, construction began on the new 5,000 square foot Technology Center on lot 19B at the LindenPointe Innovative Business Campus in Hermitage. The new Technology Center will house all of the Health System’s information technology components from the main Sharon campus as well as its satellite locations.
The Health System’s expansion into eastern Ohio through the Hubbard Diagnostic & Specialty Center and the Liberty Family Medicine Center is providing much needed services to residents of those communities as utilization numbers for both physician/specialist office visits and diagnostic testing grew significantly during the year.
Sharon Regional’s Cancer Care Center completed its $4.6 million expansion/renovation project that involved the renovations to accommodate a second linear accelerator for radiation therapy and construction of an additional 4,000 square feet of new space for patient changing areas, physician and staff offices, a rehab center, and other support services. The Center is Mercer County’s largest facility for specialized cancer care.
QUALITY AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:
Sharon Regional was recognized during the year by Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield for achieving the maximum score in its QualityBLUE program for six quality indicators and was also recognized by Highmark at its QualityBLUE Best Practices Forum for low infection rates related to Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Unison Health Plan also awarded Sharon Regional two Gold Star Quality Achievement Awards as part of its Gold Star Pay for Performance program and Ascent presented Sharon Regional with the Healthy Hospital Award for demonstrating outstanding efforts to reduce the Health System’s environmental footprint on healthcare delivery.
NEW SERVICES:
Sharon Regional welcomed Emergency Medical Physicians (EMP) as its new exclusive provider of emergency medicine services who developed a new model for the delivery of emergency medical care resulting in increased census and improved patient satisfaction scores. To further enhance emergency treatment capabilities, Sharon Regional partnered with the Cleveland Clinic’s Telestroke Network to offer an advanced level of expert stroke care by providing immediate, 24/7 access to patient consultation services from the Clinic’s team of neurological specialists through a mobile, two-way videoconferencing system based in the emergency department.
OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Introduced a new natural orifice procedure known as TIF (Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication) for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) under the direction of Ravi Alapati, M.D.
- Began offering an innovative new procedure for treating uterine fibroids known as uterine fibroid embolization.
- Partnered with Life Line Screenings to offer a series of screenings for the early identification of risk for stroke and cardiovascular disease at locations throughout the region.
- Partnered with the Hermitage School District to implement Hornet SCORE, a building-wide, school-based behavioral support model.