QSource Awarded State ePrescribing Contract

QSource, a healthcare quality consulting firm and the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Tennessee, has been awarded a contract by the State of Tennessee to oversee ePrescribing implementation in physician practices.

Gov. Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee General Assembly have authorized several initiatives to assist healthcare providers in Tennessee implement new technologies that enhance the quality of care available to residents. QSource will administer the Physician Connectivity Grant, which will cover the start-up costs of implementing ePrescribing technology.

The State will reimburse actual costs not to exceed $3,500 per Tennessee licensed physician and actual costs not to exceed $6,000 per treatment site to develop the infrastructure to connect to the Tennessee eHealth Exchange Zone and to use ePrescribing technology. Funds are intended to cover expenses related to the first year of broadband service. All grantees are expected to participate in ePrescribing for two years.

To be eligible for the grant, physicians must be a licensed in Tennessee, actively practicing and in good standing with the licensure board. Medical treatment sites in rural counties and primary care will be given grant priority. The following types of practices have also been designated for priority disbursement: Family Practice, General Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Public Health and General Preventative Medicine, Eligible physicians should visit www.qsource.org and select “ePrescribing Grant Application” to begin the process.

Vanderbilt-Ingram Researchers Find Clue to Cancer Drug Allergies

Cancer patients from the Southeastern United States who are treated with the drug cetuximab, known commercially as Erbitux, are far more likely to suffer severe allergic reactions than patients in other regions of the country. Now researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have discovered an underlying clue to this mystery. It appears many of those patients already have a pre-existing antibody that reacts with the cancer drug, causing severe allergic reaction. Dr. Christine Chung, assistant professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology, is the lead author of the study published in the March 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody approved for use in colon cancer and squamous-cell head and neck cancer. Chung became curious about the drug when several Vanderbilt-Ingram patients had severe allergic reactions shortly after being infused with the substance. “When I saw my patients having these allergic reactions they looked very much like the anaphylactic reaction in its acuity and symptom presentation as you see with something like severe peanut allergy,” said Chung.

Joining forces with other researchers, the group pooled serum samples from cancer patients, as well as control subjects. Then they tested the samples for the IgE antibody. The geographic differences were striking. The antibodies were found in 20.8 percent of samples from control subjects in Tennessee, 6.1 percent of samples from Northern California and 0.6 percent from Boston. The researchers also had to determine what the antibodies were binding to in the drug. After ruling out several options, they found the smoking gun — sugar molecules that are added to the protein during the process of making the drug in a cell line.

However, another mystery still remains. What is the triggering antigen that Southerners are exposed to that causes this allergic reaction? “I have a hunch that it might be an infectious organism, perhaps something that is more common in warm, humid weather,” Chung mused. The scientists already have a list of possible culprits, including histoplasmosis, amoebas or other parasitic infections.  

Baptist Hospital Begins New Inpatient Care Management Programs

Baptist Hospital has restructured its current hospitalist program and added obstetrics hospitalist and intensivist programs to its care spectrum.

“Inpatient care delivery is escalating in its complexity,” said Dr. William C. Thompson, chief medical officer at Baptist Hospital. “To help meet the increasingly complicated needs of the patients who are admitted to the hospital, evidence is mounting nationwide that inpatient care programs can help optimize quality, allow resources to be better utilized and improve patient outcomes.”

Currently, 10 hospitalists provide 24-hour, on-site coverage –– arranging patients’ care from admission to discharge. Previously, several pulmonologists had served as hospitalists at Baptist. Now, internal medicine physicians employed by the hospital staff the program. Baptist Hospital has also launched an Obstetrics Hospitalist Program to provide in-house coverage for obstetric emergencies around the clock and daytime coverage for laboring patients when requested by a patient’s obstetrician. The OB Hospitalists will also be responsible for unassigned patients who do not have a physician and present to Baptist Hospital with obstetric complaints. The Baptist Intensivist Program is a new program staffed by pulmonologists who have contracted with the hospital to provide services for critical care patients. The intensivists are on site 12 hours per day, seven days a week and on call at night.

Passport and DSI Partner on Technologies

Through an agreement with Database Solutions, Inc. (DSI), Franklin-based Passport Health Communications, Inc. will give its more than 4,000 hospital, physician practice and other healthcare provider clients access to DSI’s AccuReg® registration quality improvement technology. The partnership also allows DSI to expand its breadth of offerings to providers to include Passport’s patient insurance eligibility verification, medical necessity compliance, financial products and other services.

Shared Health Partners With State of Tennessee to Provide Electronic Health Information

Shared Health, Inc., provider of secure health information technology solutions, has partnered with the state of Tennessee to provide its electronic health record solutions and ePrescribe to the new statewide health information network called the Tennessee Information Network or TNII (http://www.TNII.net/ehealth). Shared Health’s partnership with the state began with its offering of the electronic health record for all TennCare beneficiaries. That partnership has now expanded to include collaboration with the TNII initiative.

 As the first content providers for TNII, Shared Health and the Tennessee Department of Health will enable doctors to access patient medical histories, immunizations, and even prescribe medications electronically through the secure broadband connectivity. Analysis by the state concluded that many physicians did not have broadband connectivity to facilitate the movement of large images and telemedicine applications. TNII’s intent is to offer all providers with appropriate and secure broadband connectivity.

Saint Thomas Heart Introduces New Screening Technology

For 150,000 Americans each year, the first and only sign of heart disease is a fatal heart attack. This means they had no symptoms, their cholesterol levels were normal, they weren’t smokers, and nothing abnormal had ever been uncovered in their physical exams.

A new breakthrough in determining a person’s risk of heart disease, the cardiac calcium-scoring exam, allows physicians to determine the amount of calcium plaque that’s accumulated in the coronary arteries, something that until recently has been difficult to detect. A cardiac calcium score is determined using a new, high-speed CAT scan that takes pictures about 10 times faster than a traditional CAT scan.

Dr. Leslie Oberst, medical director for cardiac calcium screenings at Saint Thomas Heart says, “In the past, taking these pictures has been difficult because the heart is moving and images come out blurry. This new type of CAT scan is so fast it can render images of a human heart, even as it beats. By stacking these images, computer software can construct a 3-D model of your heart. This new CAT scan procedure is able to detect areas of the heart that are hardening (where plaque or calcification is building up). The x-ray beam moves all around the body, scanning from hundreds of different angles. Unlike many current tests for heart disease, this procedure is completely non-invasive and painless.”

Gallup, Healthways Announce Global Well-Being IndexSM

Americans soon will have a new daily pulse of their individual and collective health and well-being … the Global Well-Being IndexSM. Last month, Gallup chairman and CEO Jim Clifton and Healthways (NASDAQ: HWAY) president and CEO Ben R. Leedle, Jr. announced an exclusive 25-year strategic relationship between the two organizations. Under the agreement, Gallup will evaluate and report on the well-being of countries, states, and communities; Healthways will perform similar services for companies, families and individuals.

Data collection for the Index will be based on 1,000 daily surveys, which Gallup polling experts began conducting in January and which will continue throughout the 25-year term of the agreement. Armed with this unprecedented depth of information, leaders across government and business will be able to collaboratively address the health, wellness and prevention needs of their population. Similarly, business leaders will be better guided in implementing programs to unlock the productivity dollars currently being lost to health-related causes.

Alive Hospice Announces Staff Additions, 2008 Board Officers

Alive Hospice recently made several additions to the agency’s staff: Bethany Betts, medical records assistant, will be responsible for auditing Alive Hospice’s medical records. Gwendolyn Brown, a CNT with Alive Hospice’s Facility Team, assists patients with personal care and grooming. Judy Fulmer has joined the team as an admissions nurse. Betty Kemph, RN, serves patients at the 16-bed unit at Alive Hospice at Skyline Madison Campus.

Alive Hospice also announced its 2008 Board of Directors including the following officers: Dr. Roy O. Elam, chair (medical director, Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health, and associate professor of medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine); Harriet Karro, chair elect (Perenity Nashville); Lucy Carter, treasurer (partner, Carter, Lankford CPAs, PC); Sharon Adkins, secretary (executive director, Tennessee Nurses Association).

LifePoint Hospitals Announces New Director

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) recently announced Gregory T. Bier has been named to the Board of Directors. In conjunction with the appointment, the board’s size has increased from eight to nine members. 

Bier retired in 2002 from Deloitte & Touche LLP. Prior to his retirement, Bier was the managing partner of the firm’s Cincinnati office. He has been a certified public accountant since 1970.


 

Billups Named Sarah Cannon Cancer Center Administrator

The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, part of TriStar Health System, recently announced the selection of a new administrator –– Rocky L. Billups, RN MS, who has served as TriStar’s director of oncology program development since July 2005. In his new role, Billups will also serve as administrator for the cancer program at Centennial Medical Center, which includes the development of the recently approved comprehensive cancer facility that is part of the expansion of Centennial Medical Center.


 

Dr. Rao Joins Tennessee Oncology at Centennial

Dr. Guatam Rao, a gynecologic oncologist, has joined Tennessee Oncology at Centennial Medical Center. Rao received his BS and MD degrees from the University of Miami. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University in Detroit and fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Rao comes to Centennial from Vanderbilt University where he served for three years.
 

Wade Named President of EnableComp, Inc.

Franklin-based EnableComp, Inc. recently announced the appointment of Steve Wade as president. Founded in 2001, EnableComp specializes in delivering workers’ compensation revenue cycle management services and software solutions to hospitals, large orthopaedic and neurological surgery groups, and other sizeable workers’ compensation providers. Prior to joining EnableComp, Wade served as Executive Director for Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance, middle Tennessee’s largest orthopaedic surgery group.

 

Dr. Ralph Atkinson Elected President of Medical Staff at Centennial

Nephrologist Dr. Ralph Atkinson, has been elected president of the Medical Staff at Centennial Medical Center. He began his term on January 1, 2008 and will serve through December 31, 2010. Atkinson succeeds Dr. Jeffrey Webber who was Centennial’s President in 2006-2007.

Dr. Atkinson is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine and Nephrology. He has been a nephrologist with Centennial since 1991 and is affiliated with Nephrology Associates. Atkinson served as Chief of Internal Medicine for the past two years and has held numerous other hospital and community appointments.

CHS Announces Sale of Nine Facilities to Capella Healthcare

Franklin-based Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) recently announced the sale of nine hospitals to Capella Healthcare, Inc., a privately held, for-profit hospital company also headquartered in Franklin. The sale includes hospitals in Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oregon and Tennessee with trailing revenue of approximately $425 million. The aggregate purchase price was $315 million and the transaction became effective on March 1, 2008.  

Saint Thomas Hospital Welcomes Sudanese Priest

In March, Saint Thomas Hospital announced the appointment of Father Bashir Abdelsamad to the Pastoral Care Department of the hospital. In addition to his duties of visiting patients and conducting the daily mass at Saint Thomas Hospital, Father Bashir serves as the Chaplain for the more than 8,000 Sudanese residents of Middle Tennessee

“Father Bashir brings a world of experiences to our ministry at Saint Thomas. In the 1990s, he was a priest in northern Sudan and a vocal opponent of the government and its policies that encouraged militias to attack innocent people. As a result, he was arrested three times, and nearly killed. Those experiences make up the character of this man, who is honest and gentle. We are blessed to have Father Bashir join our ministry,” said Jerry Kearney, vice president of mission at Saint Thomas Hospital.

Williamson Medical Center Names Westgate Emergency Department Director

Registered nurse Richard Westgate has joined Williamson Medical Center’s staff as Emergency Department director. Westgate most recently was manager of Emergency Services for a similar-sized emergency department in Georgia. As director, he is responsible for quality of care issues, financial management, staff management, and development of new services and processes for the department. Westgate holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is completing his master’s degree in nursing.

Lisa Rodriguez Named Outreach Coordinator of Bridges to Care

Bridges to Care, a program of the Safety Net Consortium of Middle Tennessee, has named Lisa Rodriguez as the organization’s outreach coordinator. Rodriguez, who has almost 10 years of experience with public health programs, was previously a consultant with the National Health Foundation, assigned to assist the LA Care Health Plan and the Care 1st Health Plan with training and community relations projects in Los Angeles. As Outreach Coordinator for Bridges to Care, Rodriguez is responsible for increasing awareness by working with Nashville community agencies, local businesses, churches, schools, healthcare providers and the media to provide information about the public program that links uninsured residents of Davidson County to affordable primary healthcare services.

Swartz Named Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Summit Medical Center

Jacqueline Swartz has been named director of marketing and public relations for TriStar Health System’s Summit Medical Center. Before joining Summit Medical Center, Swartz served as the executive director of the Shalom Foundation, an international healthcare and relief organization located in Franklin. She also worked with LifeWay Christian Resources as the marketing supervisor. Swartz earned a BA in management and human relations from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Gresham, Smith & Partners Hires Director of Healthcare Research

Sheila Bosch, PhD, LEED® AP, has joined Gresham, Smith and Partners as a director of research. In this newly created role, Bosch will serve as a firm-wide resource to support the architecture, engineering and design firm’s ability to more extensively understand and apply research evidence regarding how the physical healthcare facility environment can improve patient and staff outcomes, such as reducing falls and improving patient satisfaction. Bosch brings more than 17 years of professional experience to the firm, including green building research and consulting, and recent project work at the Georgia Institute of Technology developing tools and resources to promote evidence-based design among healthcare administrators and decision makers.

AmMed Direct Announces Executive Appointments

AmMed Direct, a Nashville-based provider of specialty products and services to people with diabetes, recently announced the hiring of two key team members: Gail Banks as director of customer satisfaction and John Mills as director of marketing. 

Banks joined AmMed Direct after serving eight years as director and assistant vice president for Permanent General Companies in Nashville. In her new position, she will be responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring the processes and procedures necessary to providing superior customer satisfaction. She will also oversee the staffing and scheduling of the department in order to meet customer satisfaction goals

Mills, who has more than 30 years of direct marketing experience, most recently served as president of Lancaster Workshop in Harrisburg, Penn. As director of marketing for AmMed Direct, Mills will oversee all company marketing initiatives, including assisting with marketing efforts for the Better Care Program® and customer communications and retention.

Cogent Healthcare Strengthens Commitment to Hospitalist Education

To further build on its training foundation, Cogent Healthcare has tapped Diana Bigham, MSM, SPHR to serve as the company’s first chief learning officer. Bigham will lead Cogent Academy, the company’s in-house program dedicated to training and education.

With more than 400 employees, Cogent provides comprehensive hospitalist programs to hospitals in 16 states. Cogent Academy’s consistent, focused training and education is a critical component to ensure the company has the most qualified and well-prepared teams to serve its hospital partners and patients.

Bigham joins Cogent most recently from Amgen, an international biotech company, where she was the commercialization senior training manager. Previously, she was the senior training associate at Eli Lilly and Company and training manager at American Modern Insurance Company. She earned a master’s degree in management from Indiana Wesleyan University.

QSource Awarded State ePrescribing Contract

QSource, a healthcare quality consulting firm and the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Tennessee, has been awarded a contract by the State of Tennessee to oversee ePrescribing implementation in physician practices.

Gov. Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee General Assembly have authorized several initiatives to assist healthcare providers in Tennessee implement new technologies that enhance the quality of care available to residents. QSource will administer the Physician Connectivity Grant, which will cover the start-up costs of implementing ePrescribing technology.

The State will reimburse actual costs not to exceed $3,500 per Tennessee licensed physician and actual costs not to exceed $6,000 per treatment site to develop the infrastructure to connect to the Tennessee eHealth Exchange Zone and to use ePrescribing technology. Funds are intended to cover expenses related to the first year of broadband service. All grantees are expected to participate in ePrescribing for two years.

To be eligible for the grant, physicians must be a licensed in Tennessee, actively practicing and in good standing with the licensure board. Medical treatment sites in rural counties and primary care will be given grant priority. The following types of practices have also been designated for priority disbursement: Family Practice, General Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Public Health and General Preventative Medicine, Eligible physicians should visit www.qsource.org and select “ePrescribing Grant Application” to begin the process.

Vanderbilt-Ingram Researchers Find Clue to Cancer Drug Allergies

Cancer patients from the Southeastern United States who are treated with the drug cetuximab, known commercially as Erbitux, are far more likely to suffer severe allergic reactions than patients in other regions of the country. Now researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have discovered an underlying clue to this mystery. It appears many of those patients already have a pre-existing antibody that reacts with the cancer drug, causing severe allergic reaction. Dr. Christine Chung, assistant professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology, is the lead author of the study published in the March 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody approved for use in colon cancer and squamous-cell head and neck cancer. Chung became curious about the drug when several Vanderbilt-Ingram patients had severe allergic reactions shortly after being infused with the substance. “When I saw my patients having these allergic reactions they looked very much like the anaphylactic reaction in its acuity and symptom presentation as you see with something like severe peanut allergy,” said Chung.

Joining forces with other researchers, the group pooled serum samples from cancer patients, as well as control subjects. Then they tested the samples for the IgE antibody. The geographic differences were striking. The antibodies were found in 20.8 percent of samples from control subjects in Tennessee, 6.1 percent of samples from Northern California and 0.6 percent from Boston. The researchers also had to determine what the antibodies were binding to in the drug. After ruling out several options, they found the smoking gun — sugar molecules that are added to the protein during the process of making the drug in a cell line.

However, another mystery still remains. What is the triggering antigen that Southerners are exposed to that causes this allergic reaction? “I have a hunch that it might be an infectious organism, perhaps something that is more common in warm, humid weather,” Chung mused. The scientists already have a list of possible culprits, including histoplasmosis, amoebas or other parasitic infections.  

Baptist Hospital Begins New Inpatient Care Management Programs

Baptist Hospital has restructured its current hospitalist program and added obstetrics hospitalist and intensivist programs to its care spectrum.

“Inpatient care delivery is escalating in its complexity,” said Dr. William C. Thompson, chief medical officer at Baptist Hospital. “To help meet the increasingly complicated needs of the patients who are admitted to the hospital, evidence is mounting nationwide that inpatient care programs can help optimize quality, allow resources to be better utilized and improve patient outcomes.”

Currently, 10 hospitalists provide 24-hour, on-site coverage –– arranging patients’ care from admission to discharge. Previously, several pulmonologists had served as hospitalists at Baptist. Now, internal medicine physicians employed by the hospital staff the program. Baptist Hospital has also launched an Obstetrics Hospitalist Program to provide in-house coverage for obstetric emergencies around the clock and daytime coverage for laboring patients when requested by a patient’s obstetrician. The OB Hospitalists will also be responsible for unassigned patients who do not have a physician and present to Baptist Hospital with obstetric complaints. The Baptist Intensivist Program is a new program staffed by pulmonologists who have contracted with the hospital to provide services for critical care patients. The intensivists are on site 12 hours per day, seven days a week and on call at night.

Passport and DSI Partner on Technologies

Through an agreement with Database Solutions, Inc. (DSI), Franklin-based Passport Health Communications, Inc. will give its more than 4,000 hospital, physician practice and other healthcare provider clients access to DSI’s AccuReg® registration quality improvement technology. The partnership also allows DSI to expand its breadth of offerings to providers to include Passport’s patient insurance eligibility verification, medical necessity compliance, financial products and other services.

Shared Health Partners With State of Tennessee to Provide Electronic Health Information

Shared Health, Inc., provider of secure health information technology solutions, has partnered with the state of Tennessee to provide its electronic health record solutions and ePrescribe to the new statewide health information network called the Tennessee Information Network or TNII (http://www.TNII.net/ehealth). Shared Health’s partnership with the state began with its offering of the electronic health record for all TennCare beneficiaries. That partnership has now expanded to include collaboration with the TNII initiative.

 As the first content providers for TNII, Shared Health and the Tennessee Department of Health will enable doctors to access patient medical histories, immunizations, and even prescribe medications electronically through the secure broadband connectivity. Analysis by the state concluded that many physicians did not have broadband connectivity to facilitate the movement of large images and telemedicine applications. TNII’s intent is to offer all providers with appropriate and secure broadband connectivity.

Saint Thomas Heart Introduces New Screening Technology

For 150,000 Americans each year, the first and only sign of heart disease is a fatal heart attack. This means they had no symptoms, their cholesterol levels were normal, they weren’t smokers, and nothing abnormal had ever been uncovered in their physical exams.

A new breakthrough in determining a person’s risk of heart disease, the cardiac calcium-scoring exam, allows physicians to determine the amount of calcium plaque that’s accumulated in the coronary arteries, something that until recently has been difficult to detect. A cardiac calcium score is determined using a new, high-speed CAT scan that takes pictures about 10 times faster than a traditional CAT scan.

Dr. Leslie Oberst, medical director for cardiac calcium screenings at Saint Thomas Heart says, “In the past, taking these pictures has been difficult because the heart is moving and images come out blurry. This new type of CAT scan is so fast it can render images of a human heart, even as it beats. By stacking these images, computer software can construct a 3-D model of your heart. This new CAT scan procedure is able to detect areas of the heart that are hardening (where plaque or calcification is building up). The x-ray beam moves all around the body, scanning from hundreds of different angles. Unlike many current tests for heart disease, this procedure is completely non-invasive and painless.”

Gallup, Healthways Announce Global Well-Being IndexSM

Americans soon will have a new daily pulse of their individual and collective health and well-being … the Global Well-Being IndexSM. Last month, Gallup chairman and CEO Jim Clifton and Healthways (NASDAQ: HWAY) president and CEO Ben R. Leedle, Jr. announced an exclusive 25-year strategic relationship between the two organizations. Under the agreement, Gallup will evaluate and report on the well-being of countries, states, and communities; Healthways will perform similar services for companies, families and individuals.

Data collection for the Index will be based on 1,000 daily surveys, which Gallup polling experts began conducting in January and which will continue throughout the 25-year term of the agreement. Armed with this unprecedented depth of information, leaders across government and business will be able to collaboratively address the health, wellness and prevention needs of their population. Similarly, business leaders will be better guided in implementing programs to unlock the productivity dollars currently being lost to health-related causes.

Alive Hospice Announces Staff Additions, 2008 Board Officers

Alive Hospice recently made several additions to the agency’s staff: Bethany Betts, medical records assistant, will be responsible for auditing Alive Hospice’s medical records. Gwendolyn Brown, a CNT with Alive Hospice’s Facility Team, assists patients with personal care and grooming. Judy Fulmer has joined the team as an admissions nurse. Betty Kemph, RN, serves patients at the 16-bed unit at Alive Hospice at Skyline Madison Campus.

Alive Hospice also announced its 2008 Board of Directors including the following officers: Dr. Roy O. Elam, chair (medical director, Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health, and associate professor of medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine); Harriet Karro, chair elect (Perenity Nashville); Lucy Carter, treasurer (partner, Carter, Lankford CPAs, PC); Sharon Adkins, secretary (executive director, Tennessee Nurses Association).

LifePoint Hospitals Announces New Director

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) recently announced Gregory T. Bier has been named to the Board of Directors. In conjunction with the appointment, the board’s size has increased from eight to nine members. 

Bier retired in 2002 from Deloitte & Touche LLP. Prior to his retirement, Bier was the managing partner of the firm’s Cincinnati office. He has been a certified public accountant since 1970.

Billups Named Sarah Cannon Cancer Center Administrator

The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, part of TriStar Health System, recently announced the selection of a new administrator –– Rocky L. Billups, RN MS, who has served as TriStar’s director of oncology program development since July 2005. In his new role, Billups will also serve as administrator for the cancer program at Centennial Medical Center, which includes the development of the recently approved comprehensive cancer facility that is part of the expansion of Centennial Medical Center.

Dr. Rao Joins Tennessee Oncology at Centennial

Dr. Guatam Rao, a gynecologic oncologist, has joined Tennessee Oncology at Centennial Medical Center. Rao received his BS and MD degrees from the University of Miami. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University in Detroit and fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Rao comes to Centennial from Vanderbilt University where he served for three years.

Wade Named President of EnableComp, Inc.

Franklin-based EnableComp, Inc. recently announced the appointment of Steve Wade as president. Founded in 2001, EnableComp specializes in delivering workers’ compensation revenue cycle management services and software solutions to hospitals, large orthopaedic and neurological surgery groups, and other sizeable workers’ compensation providers. Prior to joining EnableComp, Wade served as Executive Director for Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance, middle Tennessee’s largest orthopaedic surgery group.

Dr. Ralph Atkinson Elected President of Medical Staff at Centennial

Nephrologist Dr. Ralph Atkinson, has been elected president of the Medical Staff at Centennial Medical Center. He began his term on January 1, 2008 and will serve through December 31, 2010. Atkinson succeeds Dr. Jeffrey Webber who was Centennial’s President in 2006-2007.

Dr. Atkinson is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine and Nephrology. He has been a nephrologist with Centennial since 1991 and is affiliated with Nephrology Associates. Atkinson served as Chief of Internal Medicine for the past two years and has held numerous other hospital and community appointments.

CHS Announces Sale of Nine Facilities to Capella Healthcare

Franklin-based Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) recently announced the sale of nine hospitals to Capella Healthcare, Inc., a privately held, for-profit hospital company also headquartered in Franklin. The sale includes hospitals in Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oregon and Tennessee with trailing revenue of approximately $425 million. The aggregate purchase price was $315 million and the transaction became effective on March 1, 2008.  

Saint Thomas Hospital Welcomes Sudanese Priest

In March, Saint Thomas Hospital announced the appointment of Father Bashir Abdelsamad to the Pastoral Care Department of the hospital. In addition to his duties of visiting patients and conducting the daily mass at Saint Thomas Hospital, Father Bashir serves as the Chaplain for the more than 8,000 Sudanese residents of Middle Tennessee

“Father Bashir brings a world of experiences to our ministry at Saint Thomas. In the 1990s, he was a priest in northern Sudan and a vocal opponent of the government and its policies that encouraged militias to attack innocent people. As a result, he was arrested three times, and nearly killed. Those experiences make up the character of this man, who is honest and gentle. We are blessed to have Father Bashir join our ministry,” said Jerry Kearney, vice president of mission at Saint Thomas Hospital.

Williamson Medical Center Names Westgate Emergency Department Director

Registered nurse Richard Westgate has joined Williamson Medical Center’s staff as Emergency Department director. Westgate most recently was manager of Emergency Services for a similar-sized emergency department in Georgia. As director, he is responsible for quality of care issues, financial management, staff management, and development of new services and processes for the department. Westgate holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is completing his master’s degree in nursing.

Lisa Rodriguez Named Outreach Coordinator of Bridges to Care

Bridges to Care, a program of the Safety Net Consortium of Middle Tennessee, has named Lisa Rodriguez as the organization’s outreach coordinator. Rodriguez, who has almost 10 years of experience with public health programs, was previously a consultant with the National Health Foundation, assigned to assist the LA Care Health Plan and the Care 1st Health Plan with training and community relations projects in Los Angeles. As Outreach Coordinator for Bridges to Care, Rodriguez is responsible for increasing awareness by working with Nashville community agencies, local businesses, churches, schools, healthcare providers and the media to provide information about the public program that links uninsured residents of Davidson County to affordable primary healthcare services.

Swartz Named Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Summit Medical Center

Jacqueline Swartz has been named director of marketing and public relations for TriStar Health System’s Summit Medical Center. Before joining Summit Medical Center, Swartz served as the executive director of the Shalom Foundation, an international healthcare and relief organization located in Franklin. She also worked with LifeWay Christian Resources as the marketing supervisor. Swartz earned a BA in management and human relations from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Gresham, Smith & Partners Hires Director of Healthcare Research

Sheila Bosch, PhD, LEED® AP, has joined Gresham, Smith and Partners as a director of research. In this newly created role, Bosch will serve as a firm-wide resource to support the architecture, engineering and design firm’s ability to more extensively understand and apply research evidence regarding how the physical healthcare facility environment can improve patient and staff outcomes, such as reducing falls and improving patient satisfaction. Bosch brings more than 17 years of professional experience to the firm, including green building research and consulting, and recent project work at the Georgia Institute of Technology developing tools and resources to promote evidence-based design among healthcare administrators and decision makers.

AmMed Direct Announces Executive Appointments

AmMed Direct, a Nashville-based provider of specialty products and services to people with diabetes, recently announced the hiring of two key team members: Gail Banks as director of customer satisfaction and John Mills as director of marketing. 

Banks joined AmMed Direct after serving eight years as director and assistant vice president for Permanent General Companies in Nashville. In her new position, she will be responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring the processes and procedures necessary to providing superior customer satisfaction. She will also oversee the staffing and scheduling of the department in order to meet customer satisfaction goals

Mills, who has more than 30 years of direct marketing experience, most recently served as president of Lancaster Workshop in Harrisburg, Penn. As director of marketing for AmMed Direct, Mills will oversee all company marketing initiatives, including assisting with marketing efforts for the Better Care Program® and customer communications and retention.

Cogent Healthcare Strengthens Commitment to Hospitalist Education

To further build on its training foundation, Cogent Healthcare has tapped Diana Bigham, MSM, SPHR to serve as the company’s first chief learning officer. Bigham will lead Cogent Academy, the company’s in-house program dedicated to training and education.

With more than 400 employees, Cogent provides comprehensive hospitalist programs to hospitals in 16 states. Cogent Academy’s consistent, focused training and education is a critical component to ensure the company has the most qualified and well-prepared teams to serve its hospital partners and patients.

Bigham joins Cogent most recently from Amgen, an international biotech company, where she was the commercialization senior training manager. Previously, she was the senior training associate at Eli Lilly and Company and training manager at American Modern Insurance Company. She earned a master’s degree in management from Indiana Wesleyan University.



April 2008