After almost four years as chief executive officer of the Gov. Juan Luis Medical Center on St. Croix, Doug Koch presented his final report to the Territorial Hospitals Board on Wednesday and congratulated Interim CEO Hazel Philbert for stepping in to fill the position on an interim basis.
Philbert, with experience as a registered nurse, advanced over 12 years to serve as JFL’s chief operating officer for the last three and a half years. She has a master’s degree in health sciences and business administration and is a certified professional in Healthcare Quality.
“The board is certain Ms. Philbert will be a positive and steady leader for JFL over the next several months as we search for a new CEO. Through her presentations at board meetings, we have been impressed with her encyclopedic knowledge of hospital operations and her passion for quality improvement,” Christopher Finch, board chairman, said in a press release.
Beginning his report, Koch said people are an organization’s most important asset. He thanked his staff for their support. He and the leadership team have outlined a plan for the leadership transition to avoid a possible slowdown, he said.
Among other subjects, Koch reported:
– Due to changes in the national program, JFL must prepare to eliminate 16,000 people from Medicaid, which will “have a dramatically negative financial impact on our hospitals.”
– Local government funding is not sustainable or adequate.
– The Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services final report is expected any day after a two-month survey at the beginning of the year. A Joint Commission inspection is due in July, and several department inspections are also due.
– Released patient ratings have improved by several percentage points in the last three years.
– To increase revenue, both hospitals should increase outpatient surgeries and procedures and maximize inpatient capacity.
“We need to attract that business back from those patients or organizations who are taking that business to outside clinics or service centers,” he said.
An independent medical group has been set up, Koch said, to bill professional fees to Medicaid. It works under the hospital but directly with Medicaid.
JFL should reduce labor costs to operate more efficiently by cross-training staff, reducing overtime and traveling agencies’ staff and establish productivity benchmarks, he said.
During the board’s financial report, Dr. Jerry Smith explained the need for almost $29,000, funded through the contingency budget, to cover steel and rust change orders for J. Benton Construction’s reconstruction of Charlotte Kimmelman Cancer Institute on St. Thomas. The changes were approved by the board.
Physician credentials were approved by the board. For JFL, five physicians were reappointed for two more years, and three physicians were given initial medical staff privileges for one year. Four St. Thomas-St. John physicians were approved for an additional three years and six were reappointed for an additional three years.
The board then entered executive session to discuss personnel matters. According to Finch, they approved a contract increase for Sutherland International Architects, not to exceed $635,685 in 15 months, on reconstructing the cancer center. Legal and personnel issues were also discussed, he added.
Finch, Smith, Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion, Greta Hart-Hyndman, Kevin McCurdy, Dr. Albert Titus, and both hospital CEOs attended the meeting.
