On Thursday, April 18, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation provided a platform for hospitals to recognize their workforce through nominations to The Employee of the Year Luncheon. Opportunities for recognition beyond length of service are important in creating joy and meaning.

In a recent report from the National Patient Safety Foundation and the Lucian Leape Institute, “Through the Eyes of the Workforce: Creating Joy, Meaning, and Safer Health Care,” recognizing and celebrating workforce accomplishments with high visibility is one strategy recommended to improve patient safety and outcomes. This roundtable refers to Paul O’Neill, former chairman/CEO of Alcoa, who made staff safety paramount. In a prior roundtable he also challenged organizations to ask three questions of their workforce to determine excellence:

1. Am I treated with dignity and respect by everyone, every day, in each encounter, without regard to race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation, title, pay grade or number of degrees?

2. Do I have what I need, including education, training, tools, financial support and encouragement, so I can make a contribution to this organization that gives
meaning to my life?

3. Am I recognized and thanked for what I do?

Thank you for sharing your inspirational stories which demonstrate joy and meaning by our regional hospital workforce. You are appreciated!

Joy and meaning will be created when the workforce feels valued, safe from harm and part of the solutions for change.

We wanted to take a moment to thank our sponsors, participating hospitals and “musically-talented” nominees for their support of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation’s April 18 Employee of the Year Luncheon. Your spirited celebration was a great example of the theme “The HeartBeat of Healthcare.” You made the day special for everyone, and we appreciate your daily enthusiasm and love of patients. It was an inspiring day.



Many of you have asked for pictures from the event. Who would not want to see our Master of Ceremonies, Rick Merrill, playing an African drum? Downloads of pictures from the event can be found here.

We would like to thank Jerry McClure for his great photography of the event. Please feel free to contact me at kjenkins@dfwhcfoundation.org should you have any difficulty accessing these photos.

Finally, our congratulations to our esteemed winners for 2013:

Rex McRae Scholarship
• Vanita Currin, Nurse Extern, Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, Student, El Centro College

Physician Award
• Dr. Hoyt Frenzel, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital

Volunteer Award
• Al Wexler, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth

Community Service Award
• Adam Whitman, Registered Nurse, HCA’s Medical Center of Lewisville

System Award
• Gaylene Stengel, Program Manager, Texas Health Resources

Special Recognition Awards
• Laura Sullivan, Registered Nurse, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen
• Sharon Smith, Registered Nurse, Methodist Mansfield Medical Center
• Mary Jo Walters, Nursing Clinical Coordinator, Methodist Charlton Medical Center
• Erica Lax, Exercise Physiologist, HCA’s Medical City Dallas Hospital

Employee of the Year Awards
• Jill Hannebaum, Speech Therapist, Our Children’s House at Baylor
• Valorie Graves, Food Service Cashier, Hunt Regional Medical Center
• Christine Roberts, Registered Nurse, Educator, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine
• Heather Storie, Speech Pathologist, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

We hope to see all of you back next year as we honor this region’s outstanding healthcare providers, supporters and friends. Have a great day!

In my previous blog, I discussed five reasons why you should do physician data analytics including: 1) Improve communication, 2) Lower the overall costs, 3) Improve volume of patients seen, 4) Improve patient satisfaction and 5) Improve quality of patient care.

We recently obtained a tool for launching the pilot physician data analytics service. This project will involve developing a physician claims database (from the 5010 Professional EDI file) and applying analytical tools to the data. We can then compare financial and clinical parameters from the blinded data across different physician groups.

The new tool includes:
• The ability to aggregate data across demographic, financial and clinical areas;
• The identification and stratification of various populations based on configurable algorithms;
• The availability of standard reports including ACO, PQRS, HEDIS and cost versus quality metrics;
• Advance ad-hoc reports including comparative analysis across physician groups, i.e. group practice and system performance;
• Analytics and reporting
o Pilot project will focus on physician analytics and reporting from data contained in physician claims;
o With the addition of clinical information, the analytics can be more patient, clinical and case-management focused.

Once the analytics system is fully populated with administrative, financial and clinical data, functionality could be expanded to include:
• Predictive analysis based on over 20 risk factors;
• Population surveillance using population level guidelines at the patient level;
• Chronic illness tracking and management using evidence-based guidelines;
• Prevention, screening and wellness management;
• Integrated continuity of care record of the patient;
• Comprehensive case management functionality;
• Rx adherence and reconciliation management.

As you see from the functionality above, physician data analytics will be essential to effectively operate a physician practice group and provide the most efficient and effective patient care. The value equation or, Return on Investment (ROI), is very high!

As more and more employers consider the increased cost of employee health insurance, the looming decision is whether or not to continue offering insurance coverage. “Between 2000 and 2011, the average annual employee-only premium more than doubled to $5,081 from $2,490. And during that period, the amount employees contributed toward premiums also skyrocketed, to $1,056 from $435,” according to the April 11 Modern Healthcare story “More employers dropping insurance.”

The study reveals that over the same 2000-2011 period, employer-sponsored insurance dropped 10 percent. So the question that lingers is, “Do you stand to lose your employer-sponsored coverage?” At least one demographic, adults between the ages of 19-25, continues to see a rise in employer-sponsored coverage. No surprise there, as this represents the government provision allowing those under 26 to remain on their parents’ insurance policy. For the rest of us, these are sobering times.

The future of who, how and what may be included in employer-sponsored coverage is anybody’s guess. And so, the uncertainties about our future health coverage continue. Rising costs result in fewer employers offering insurance coverage. As premiums increase, more employees are opting not to participate even when it’s offered. Just to throw a caveat into this saga, when employees do not accept to participate in employer coverage, they are not required to submit personal health information or participate in employer-required wellness programs. Either way, it is not encouraging.

The entire issue gets more complicated by the hour. Overall, this is a “lose-lose” situation. Employees become sick with no program in place to offset the cost for care, hence, they stay away from work longer. Employers then lose productive hours due to sicker or absent employees. As more employers increase employer-sponsored health insurance premiums or stop offering health insurance altogether, you will be impacted.

Consider yourself and your loved ones and seek to adapt lifestyle changes that will enable you to stay as healthy as you can for as long as you can. A healthy life may be your only option. It’s a no-brainer! If you take the steps necessary to optimize your health, your dependence and reliance on a program that may cease to exist will be greatly diminished. Your quality of life and health and that of those you care for may depend on it.

IRVING, TX – A salute to the North Texas hospital workforce, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation’s (DFWHC Foundation) Annual Employee of the Year Luncheon celebrated its 17th year April 18 with the announcement of the 2013 recipients at Irving Convention Center. Thirteen winners were introduced from a pool of 50-plus area hospitals.

“This event paid tribute to our nurses, physicians, volunteers and so many other dedicated professionals. They are healthcare heroes of North Texas,” said Kristin Jenkins, president of the DFWHC Foundation. “This event is an opportunity to honor the positive spirit and efforts of these dedicated employees allowing our hospitals to function smoothly.”

The recipients were:
Rex McRae Scholarship
• Vanita Currin, Nurse Extern, Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, Student, El Centro College

Physician Award
• Dr. Hoyt Frenzel, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital

Volunteer Award
• Al Wexler, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth

Community Service Award
• Adam Whitman, Registered Nurse, HCA’s Medical Center of Lewisville

System Award
• Gaylene Stengel, Program Manager, Texas Health Resources

Special Recognition Awards
• Laura Sullivan, Registered Nurse, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen
• Sharon Smith, Registered Nurse, Methodist Mansfield Medical Center
• Mary Jo Walters, Nursing Clinical Coordinator, Methodist Charlton Medical Center
• Erica Lax, Exercise Physiologist, HCA’s Medical City Dallas Hospital

Employee of the Year Awards
• Jill Hannebaum, Speech Therapist, Our Children’s House at Baylor
• Valorie Graves, Food Service Cashier, Hunt Regional Medical Center
• Christine Roberts, Registered Nurse, Educator, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine
• Heather Storie, Speech Pathologist, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth

The Drum Cafe, a communal drumming team with a motivational message, served as guest speakers in support of the luncheon’s theme, “The HeartBeat of Healthcare.” Rick Merrill, president/CEO of Cook Children’s Health Care System, served as master of ceremonies. Board members of the Dallas-Fort Worth Healthcare Human Resources Association judged the nominations with the names of individuals and hospitals removed. Selections were based on the facts presented.