CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE
At its core, Remaking American Medicine is a glimpse into the type of health care we can all have. It is about the pioneering work of providers, patients and their families, private purchasers, government agencies and others committed to making health care in America safe, evidence-based, efficient and effective. We call these people and organizations Champions of Change. Because there are many more stories about these groups and individuals than can be told in a four hour television series we’ll be featuring them here and in other areas of the Web site.
Learning from others is an important aspect in the drive to remake American medicine. At the conclusion of each Champion of Change story is contact information provided for follow up. New stories will be constantly added. You are invited to check back regularly. If you have a Champion of Change story, please send an email to webmaster@ramcamapign.org. Provide a brief description of your story and contact telephone.
John Moran had previous experience turning health care facilities around and when he took over Sac-Osage as CEO two years ago, good things began to happen.
As CEO and Managing Director of Summerlin Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas, NV, Tim Hingtgen is a “hands-on” leader who enthusiastically shares his philosophy of open communication and cooperation with hospital staff and physicians.
Ann Benson, MBA, is the Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas, NV. Her position carries many responsibilities including oversight of the daily staffing, nursing program development and assisting the CEO in daily operations. But Ann's most important job is ensuring the quality, safety and competence of all nurses.
Michael K. Magill, MD, is the Executive Medical Director of the University
of Utah Community Clinics in Salt Lake City. Board Certified in Family
Medicine, he is also Chairman of the Department of Family and Preventive
Medicine at the University.
Alan Knight doesn’t wear a white coat and stethoscope, but he does push a cart in a hospital corridor in the wee hours. He is intensely interested in employee and patient well being and year-round, he’s a beacon for the sleep-starved employees working the night shift...
For the past 10 years, Dr. Tom Landholt of Springfield, Missouri has been leading a technological revolution in his clinic that focuses on patient-centered care. Rather than spending time on paperwork and charts, Dr. Landholt and his staff wanted to spend quality time helping patients...
“Patients come to the hospital and they want to give themselves over to us. They trust that we have a safe place. They trust that the medicine will be the best available to them. Whenever we fail, then we breach that trust.” Those observations were made by Marie Segars, vice president, Patient Services and C hief Nurse, McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, South Carolina. Segars and her McLeod colleagues know first hand the consequences of medication error and
they’ve vowed it will never happen again in their hospital.
Dr. David Link, Chief of Pediatrics at Cambridge Health Alliance doesn't believe
that asthmatic children should ever be in the emergency department. To him their
presence represents a glaring failure of the health care system. Cambridge Health
Alliance in Boston, MA agrees with Dr. Link and has adopted a new approach to
help patients with asthma and other chronic illnesses manage their disease more
effectively.
Jim Lang and Honor Page have heart-wrenching burdens. Both are parents raising
children with cystic fibrosis. The outlook is grim, which makes their commitment
to securing quality health care for their kids that much more critical. The staff
at Cincinnati Children's Hospital has invited parents like Jim and Honor to take
an active role in helping create the best care possible.
Rebecca Bryson is a patient with extensive experience with the health care system.
She has 10 different medical conditions and depends on the services of over 13
health care providers. Managing a variety of conditions with so many providers
is challenging at best. A unique, community-wide initiative in Whatcom County,
WA is making that challenge easier for Rebecca and others with multiple illnesses.
