InDepthNH.org Editor’s note: The review comes after a Boston Globe spotlight team story Sept. 7 about a celebrated surgeon who had a record number of malpractice settlements.
CMC Board of Trustees Engages Horty Springer
Manchester— On behalf of Catholic Medical Center’s Board of Trustees, Chair Tim Riley announced Thursday the firm that will conduct an independent, external review at CMC.
Horty Springer & Mattern of Pittsburgh, PA is nationally known in the healthcare industry for providing legal services and advice to hospitals and health systems for more than 50 years. Their highly experienced team works regularly with hospital boards, administrations, and medical staffs.
“Engaging HortySpringer is an opportunity for CMC and consistent with the organization’s mission and values,” said Riley. “This review will help us understand what could have been done better in the past but, most importantly, it helps us chart a future based on industry-leading best practices.”
“CMC is committed to continuous improvement and we honor the trust our employees, patients, and community put in us every day,” said CMC President & CEO Alex Walker. “I’m grateful to the Board for initiating this review to reassure our employees and patients and I welcome HortySpringer’s work.”
The Board has asked HortySpringer to evaluate a number of areas around the quality and safety of CMC’s cardiac surgery program, as well as past and present policies, processes and procedures related to the Medical Staff, Hospital Administration, and Board. They will spend the next several months looking at, among other things, credentialing, peer review, and how leadership handled physician concerns.
“I am confident that this review will be objective and supports the goal that all providers at CMC share—to provide the highest quality care to our patients in the safest setting,” said CMC vascular surgeon and Medical Staff President Patricia Furey, MD, FACS, MBA.
To facilitate the external review, Trustees established a special committee of the Board. Led by Vice Chair Pamela Diamantis, it includes recently appointed trustees Matt Albuquerque and Grace Tung. Tom Donovan, retired Director of Charitable Trusts for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, has agreed to serve on the committee as an independent member. In order to support the autonomy of HortySpringer and the impartiality of their work, there are no members of the administration or the medical staff on the special committee.
HortySpringer will produce a report on their findings and recommendations for improvement. The review is expected to take several months and will have the full support of the Board. HortySpringer will be granted access to the resources they need to do a thorough and objective evaluation.
For more about HortySpringer, including a statement about their engagement with CMC, click here.
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About Catholic Medical Center:
Catholic Medical Center (“CMC”), a member of GraniteOne Health, is a nonprofit regional health system, with a commitment to delivering the highest quality and most advanced healthcare to patients across New Hampshire. CMC is the home of the nationally-renowned New England Heart and Vascular Institute, rated among the top cardiovascular programs in the country. Our doctors were the first in the state to perform a mechanical heart/left ventricular assist device implant and first in New England to implant the WATCHMAN™ for atrial fibrillation. CMC was also one of the first hospitals in New Hampshire to establish a joint venture with independent medical staff members when it became a partner in the freestanding Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center and imaging center. CMC’s birthing unit, The Mom’s Place, was the first hospital in the country to have a neonatal unit based on “couplet care.” Our nationally accredited Breast Care Center was the first in the state to use contrast enhanced mammography and SAVI SCOUT® localization for breast surgery. With primary care practices that care for the very young to the young at heart and our dedication to community outreach programs, CMC is helping to foster a healthier community, everyday. CatholicMedicalCenter.org