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Wright Lassiter, III, Alameda County Medical Center
Wright Lassiter is CEO
of Alameda County Medical Center, leading it through its transition from
interim management. To date, Wright has developed a
$23 million financial turnaround plan, instituted redesign efforts for
the ACMC ambulatory network, and settled numerous labor agreements. ACMC
is a comprehensive public health authority, comprised of Highland Hospital, a 236-bed trauma and teaching
facility; John George Psychiatric Pavilion, an 80-bed acute facility;
and Fairmont Hospital, a 159-bed skilled nursing and acute
rehabilitation hospital; as well as freestanding
primary care and specialty clinics. ACMC also
serves as the medical provider for the County’s juvenile correction
facility. Previously, Wright was Senior VP, Operations for JPS Health Network in
Fort Worth, Texas, as well as VP, Operations for
Methodist Health System in Dallas, where he worked for over 10 years. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the
United Way, the Salvation Army, the YMCA, and the Fort Worth
Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce. Currently, he is a Board Member
for the YMCA of East Bay, the Alameda Alliance for Health, and the
California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. He is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives and
the National Association of Health Service Executives. Referred by
Barbara Anderman of Russell Reynolds, Wright has joined the Northern
California Round Table.
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Walgreens Completes Acquisition of Option Care
Walgreen Co., where Eileen Goodis, Pharm.D., is VP of Walgreens Home
Care, has completed its acquisition of Option Care, Inc., making
Walgreens the largest home infusion therapy provider in the U.S. and the
nation’s fourth-largest specialty pharmacy provider. OptionCare’s services also include respiratory therapy and home
medical equipment at some locations.
MZI's EZ-CAP Celebrates 20 Years
EZ-CAP, the flagship product of MZI HealthCare, LLC, where Darryl Low is
President, will begin celebrating its 20th anniversary at its annual
User Conference, October 3-5 in Valencia, California, where clients will
preview the dot-net technology, Version 6.0.
Keenan Looks at Workers' Comp Legislation
Keenan &
Associates, where Steve Richter is Senior VP, has published a
briefing,
"Workers' Compensation Legislation: Will the Governor be a
Friend or Foe?"
Kaiser "Greens" its Facilities & Meals
Kaiser Permanente,
where Christine Paige is
Senior VP of Marketing & Internet Services, has successfully
certified its greenhouse gas emissions inventory with the California
Climate Action Registry, becoming the first healthcare organization to
earn the distinction of Climate
Action Leader.
Meanwhile, Kaiser has partnered with the Community
Alliance with Family Farmers to use fresh produce grown by local family
farmers in 6,000 meals daily at 19 Northern California hospitals. In
addition, farmer's markets operate at 38 Kaiser hospitals. (Wall St.
Journal, 9/19/07)
IntelliDOT Chosen by Georgia Acute Care Hospital
IntelliDOT Corporation, where Tom Klopack is CEO, announced the
successful facility-wide implementation of its CAREt Bedside Medication
Administration System at 114-bed East Georgia Regional Medical Center,
owned and operated by Health Management Association.
Hythiam's PROMETA Used in Texas & Las Vegas
Hythiam,
Inc., where Rick Anderson is Senior Executive VP, announced the
adoption of its PROMETA Program for the treatment of methamphetamine and
cocaine dependent individuals within the probation, parole and re-entry
programs in Collin County, Texas.
Also, the city of Las Vegas will begin an assessment of
the PROMETA Program for offenders referred by its municipal HOPE Court,
which focuses on habitual offenders.
GSK Awarded DOD Contract
GlaxoSmithKline, where Arlene Kirsch is Area VP,
has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to identify and develop a new
class of antibacterials targeting both Gram negative biothreats and
conventional Gram negative hospital pathogens. The agreement awards GSK
up to $41 million over a five-year period, while GSK will contribute
substantially to this collaborative effort by providing supplemental
staff and by covering other program costs.
El Camino to Demonstrate Latest Procedures
El
Camino Hospital, where Ken Graham is CEO, is one of
three hospitals nationwide selected to demonstrate the latest vascular
interventional techniques at the 2007 Vascular Interventional Advances
conference later this month. Broadcasting live from
the hospital's Cardiac Catheterization Lab, a leading
physician in this field will demonstrate the newest procedures, which
will be viewed by hundreds of physicians attending the conference.
Dynamic Explores Opportunities of Medicare Advantage
Dynamic Healthcare Systems, where Ken Stockman is
CEO, is partnering with The Coding Source to host a Pre-Conference
Workshop and Reception at the upcoming AHIP Medicare Conference in
Washington, D.C., titled "Gaining a Competitive Advantage
for Your Medicare Advantage Business in 2008."
DWT Details Latest Revisions to Stark
Davis Wright Tremaine, where Gerry Hinkley is a Partner, has
published an Advisory Bulletin,
"STARK II PHASE III: More
Changes; More Complexity," which summarizes some of its more
significant aspects.
CalorieKing Debuts Mobile Web Site
CalorieKing,
where Keith McGuinness is CEO,
has launched
http://mobile.calorieking.com, a web site specially optimized for
mobile phones with small displays. It allows anyone with an
Internet-enabled mobile phone to search, for free, CalorieKing's 50,000
item food database for calories, carbs, fat, protein and more, and
provides members of CalorieKing Club additional features.
Aperio Gains New Patent, New Customer
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Aperio Technologies,
where Dirk Soenksen is CEO, a
patent covering systems and methods for image pattern recognition using
vector quantization, a technique used for the compression of data
streams. Also, Aperio's ScanScope system has
been selected by Amirsys, Inc. to integrate digital whole slide images
into Amirsys’ diagnostic decision support system for pathology.
Abraxis Gets a Tentative FDA OK
Abraxis Pharmaceutical Products, the hospital-based business of Abraxis BioScience,
where Patrick Soon-Shiong,
MD, is CEO,
has received tentative FDA approval of its Abbreviated New Drug
Application for Granisetron Hydrochloride Injection, 1 mg/mL,
1 mL vials, USP, the generic equivalent of Hoffmann-La Roche's
Kytril Injection.
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What Can
Healthcare Execs Learn From Those in Other Industries?
We frequently hear that healthcare is
different from
other industries. But is it? When consulting powerhouse
McKinsey & Co. surveyed the management practices of 400
business units in 230 global companies, they accumulated
100,000 questionnaires and three key elements: vision,
accountability, and culture. Time and again these are the
same attributes we hear about in our healthcare
and technology
Round Tables, that make all the difference in sorting out top
performing companies from the "also rans."
The CEOs who best articulate a Vision for the company's
direction, and how it will navigate through changing economic,
regulatory and legislative environments, are the ones who will
be followed. And when those followers (AKA employees) work
within a culture that encourages openness, trust, and
challenge, with clear roles and responsibilities to which
they're held accountable, the Vision has an excellent chance
of becoming a reality. McKinsey also found that there's a
direct correlation between organizational and financial
performance. Not surprisingly, we can also see the
correlation of financial disasters when these three elements
are missing. And, for an example, we need look no further
than Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.
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California May Train Nursing Students in Mexico
The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency is
developing a program that would send bilingual nursing
students to programs in Mexico as part of an effort to
increase the supply of nurses in California -- believed to be
the first time that a state has moved to outsource nurse
education to another country. Students would complete classes
at nursing schools in Guadalajara, undergo additional clinical
training in California, would take classes as a group, and be
accompanied by U.S. faculty. Education and housing costs for
the students in Mexico would be approximately $20,000, about
half the cost of providing similar services in California.
(San
Diego Union-Tribune,
9/16/07)
Healthcare Reform Debate
Moves to Special Session
Last week,
Gov.
Schwarzenegger ordered a special legislative session to seek a
compromise with lawmakers on efforts to overhaul California's
healthcare system -- one day after he said he would veto a
reform measure (AB 8) proposed by Democrats that would require
employers to spend at least 7.5% of payroll on healthcare
coverage for workers or pay into a state fund that would
provide coverage. Schwarzenegger maintains that he wants
lawmakers during the session to approve a reform plan without
funding. A ballot measure next year will ask California voters
to approve a funding mechanism. (San Francisco Chronicle,
Sacramento Bee, L.A. Times, 9/12/07)
Meanwhile,
Schwarzenegger said he would support a general tax increase to
help finance healthcare reform if voters approve the move.
With Republican lawmakers opposed to new taxes, a tax to help
fund an overhaul of the state healthcare system would depend
on voter approval. (Sacramento Bee & L.A. Daily News,
9/18/07)
Senate Passes Mental Health Parity Measure
The U.S.
Senate by unanimous consent passed legislation that would
require health insurers to provide the same level of coverage
for treatment of mental illnesses as they do for physical
illnesses. Meanwhile, supporters of the
House version of the bill are urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to
schedule a vote. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, co-sponsor of the House
bill, said he expects it to pass by the end of the year.
(AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/18/07)
San Francisco Healthcare Access Plan Expands Citywide
This week,
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that 20 additional
clinics citywide are now available for uninsured residents, as
part of the city's unfolding universal healthcare access
program. The city aims to cover all 82,000 uninsured
residents. This latest expansion applies only to those with
incomes that do not exceed 100% of the federal poverty level.
The next expansion phase, beginning in November, will not have
income requirements. (San Francisco Chronicle, 9/18/07)
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