Client News: Mon General Hospital Recognized for Outstanding Quality

SpecialtyCare recently announced that Mon General has received their 2010 Outstanding Quality Award for Perfusion and Autotransfusion services. SpecialtyCare is the largest provider of perfusion services, supporting one out of every ten open-heart surgery cases performed in the nation.

Ranked by SpecialtyCare as one of the Top 10% Best Performing, Mon General achieved this award based on the results of perfusion quality indicators when compared to over 160 open-heart surgery programs nationwide.

Mon General’s operating room staff and cardiac surgeons work closely with the SpecialtyCare perfusionists to monitor and provide quality services to the cardiac surgery patient. SpecialtyCare Perfusionists at Mon General provide Perfusion, ECMO, Anticoagulation Monitoring, Intraoperative Blood Gas Monitoring, and Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump services.

"We are thrilled that SpecialtyCare, as our clinical partner in the delivery of perfusion services, has recognized our commitment and dedication to safety and quality services for our patients,” said Linda Ollis, COO, Mon General. Mon General’s open-heart surgery volume continues to grow, in the last twelve months they have performed more than 325 open-heart procedures.

In a recent statement, Chris Wells, Chief Medical Officer and head of the Clinical Quality Improvement program for SpecialtyCare said, “Quality improvement is the way that value is demonstrated in healthcare today. It is exciting to work with a program that has taken this message to heart. Achieving the Top 10% at SpecialtyCare demonstrates that Mon General has improved processes and procedures that are measured during surgery. These process improvements enhance and improve patient outcomes. The Mon General Hospital team is to be congratulated for their hard work.”

SpecialtyCare is the largest provider of outsourced clinical services in the nation and is dedicated to assisting hospitals in their efforts to improve operational efficiencies, improve outcomes, and decrease blood utilization. SpecialtyCare provides highly specialized clinical services to the operating room and related areas of the hospital. Services include cardiovascular perfusion, autotransfusion, surgical assist, minimally invasive surgical support, sterile processing department management, intraoperative neurological monitoring, and anesthesia support. SpecialtyCare provides services to more than 575 hospitals in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Germany. SpecialtyCare’s website is available at http://www.specialtycare.net/.

Client News: Mon Health System and Mon General Announce Board Changes

The Boards of Directors of Monongalia Health System and Monongalia General Hospital recently elected new board chairmen and added several new members.

Glenn Adrian is the new Chairman of the Monongalia Health System Board of Directors and Sarah Minear is the new Chairman of the Mon General Hospital Board of Directors. Monongalia Health System is the parent company of Mon General Hospital, Mon HealthCare Equipment and Supplies, Monongalia EMS and The Village at Heritage Point.

New members include Bobbie Hawkins on the Monongalia Health System Board of Directors and Helen Blevins, Terry L. Shaffer and Natalie Stone on the Mon General Board of Directors. The new members’ first board meeting was held on Aug. 2.

“It’s a privilege to serve as Chairman of the Mon Health System Board of Directors,” Adrian said. “I’m looking forward to leading the Board as we embark upon the continual evolution of healthcare delivery in our community.

“For a strong community hospital like Mon General to remain viable, it needs to be led by a strong volunteer leadership board,” Adrian said. “Mon Health System and Mon General have been fortunate throughout the years to have had a commitment from community members to serve on its boards and that tradition continues with our newest members.”

Adrian has been a member of the Mon Health System Board of Directors since 2006. He also served on The Foundation of Mon General Hospital Board of Directors from 1990-2011.

“Mon General Hospital has a great Board of Directors and I'm honored to be the new chairman,” Minear said.

“The hospital has long enjoyed a strong reputation for providing quality healthcare to the region,” Minear said. “We have very progressive goals to keep Mon General on the cutting edge of quality healthcare and my role as chairman will be to keep our focus on those goals to bring them to fruition.”

Minear joined the Mon General Board of Directors in 2007. She previously served three terms in the West Virginia State Senate, having been elected in 1994, 1998 and 2002, representing the 14th Senatorial District. In addition, she has been active on numerous area boards.

The Monongalia Health System Board of Directors welcomed one new member:

Bobbie Hawkins has been the Business Development Manager at Alpha Associates, Inc. since 2004, a position created to further develop the marketing strategy of the firm. Alpha Associates is a local architectural and engineering firm.

Prior to becoming the Business Development Manager, Hawkins was the Marketing Coordinator at Alpha Associates. She was also a loan officer and assistant branch manager at Bartlett Farmers Bank.

Hawkins serves as the Vice Chair of Membership for the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Co-Chair of the Citizens Review Board for the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties and the Vice President of the Monongalia County 4-H Leaders Association. She is also involved with Leadership Monongalia, Leadership West Virginia, the Cheat Lake Sailors 4-H Club and is on the Board of Directors of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Morgantown.

She received her Bachelors in Business Administration from Harding University and her Associates in Business from Ohio Valley College.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the Mon Health System Board,” Hawkins said. “Morgantown and the surrounding areas are extremely blessed to have a comprehensive healthcare system to serve our healthcare needs. At a time in history when the healthcare industry is on unsteady ground, I will do my best to strengthen the Mon Health System through effective stewardship and service.”

The Mon General Board of Directors welcomed three new members:

Helen Blevins is the Manger of Clinical Occupational and Non-Occupational Healthcare at CONSOL Energy. She has extensive experience managing CONSOL’s substance abuse program and is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable authorities on the problem of substance abuse in the mining industry. Blevins has worked in the mining industry for over 31 years in various healthcare positions. She has a BS Degree in Nursing from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and has also worked in clinical nursing at Mercy Hospital and Jefferson Hospital in Pittsburgh, as well as ALCOA.

Blevins has had frequent contact with Mon General, including physicians and the Emergency Department, through CONSOL workers utilizing the hospital for workers comp and short-term disability. In addition, she works with Mon General Community Wellness to offer annual health fairs for CONSOL employees and retirees.

“Mon General is an exceptional hospital,” Blevins said. “I have seen the care the hospital provides, not only to our (CONSOL) employees, but to our employees’ family members. Mon General is constantly working to meet the needs of the community. To me, that is so important.

“I’m very honored and happy to be part of the team of the Mon General Board of Directors,” she said. Blevins resides in Bridgeville, PA.

Terry L. Shaffer is a Morgantown native and a graduate of Morgantown High School. He received his BS degree in Business Administration from West Virginia University. He has been Market President at United Bank since 1996, and has worked as a commercial lender at Community Bank and Trust, was President of Mountaineer National Bank, was President of CB&T of Monongalia County and a commercial lender at Huntington National Bank. His community involvement includes Rotary and serving on the Mylan Park Board of Directors, the Mon General Hospital Finance Committee and the Morgantown Area Partnership Board of Directors.

“Being a native of and professional in Morgantown, I appreciate and want to help maintain the high quality of healthcare being provided by Mon General,” Shaffer said. “It is essential in finding and employing professionals in our market, as well as attracting new businesses to our community. I am joining the Mon General Board of Directors to aid in the continuation of quality service to this community, their patients and their employees.”

Natalie Stone is the Executive Director of the North Central Building and Construction Trades Council, an AFL-CIO affiliated organization representing more than 3,000 construction workers in the North Central and Eastern Panhandle regions of West Virginia. She is also a member of IBEW Local 596, a representative on the West Virginia State Building Trades Executive Board and has served on the auditing committee for the WV AFL-CIO at various conventions. She presently serves on the WV Attorney General’s Consumer Advocate Board and was recently selected to serve on the Mon General Auxiliary’s 2011 Ball of the Year Committee. Raised in Preston County, she now resides in Morgantown.

“My connection through the Building Trades and the 3,000 working families that I represent may enable me to better serve the community and the hospital with my service as a member of the Mon General Board,” Stone said. “My own family has experienced medical situations over the years and I have been impressed with the compassion shown to us by the hospital staff and administration.

“It’s an honor for me to now consider myself a member of the Mon General team and know that that same compassion will be shown to the families in North Central West Virginia,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to work closely with the leadership at Mon General and I feel confident in their ability to lead us in the healthcare challenges we face now, and in the future, and therefore I am extremely honored to be part of that team.”

The Monongalia Health System Board of Directors consists of Adrian, Chairman; Zack George, Ph.D., Vice Chairman; Mike DeProspero, Secretary/Treasurer; Susan Capelle, MD; Mon Health System President and CEO Darryl Duncan; Don Gallion; Hawkins; Alan Hess, MD; Patrick Martin, Immediate Past Chair; Robert Maust; Carol Rushford; George Snider, MD; Wade Stoughton, MD; and Ron Stovash. Billy Atkins and David Myerberg, MD, left the Board when their terms expired on June 30. There is one vacancy on the Board which will be filled at a later date.

The Mon General Board of Directors consists of Minear, Chairman; Roger King, MD, Vice Chairman; Sister Nancy White, Secretary/Treasurer and Immediate Past Chair; Adrian; Blevins; Duncan; Robin Garrett, DO, Mon General Chief of Medical Staff; Martin; Carol Rushford; Shaffer; Dr. Stoughton; and Stone. The new members replace Atkins, Joseph Kun and Mary Petropoulos whose terms expired on June 30.

Client News: Mon Health System Appoints New Chief Operating Officer

Linda Ollis, F.A.C.H.E., recently joined Mon Health System as Mon General Hospital’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Ollis started her career in healthcare as a physical therapist at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, PA. She later earned a Master’s Degree in hospital administration from the University of Pittsburgh, and is board certified in healthcare administration.

She brings to Mon General more than 32 years’ experience in senior hospital administrative roles. She has been a Vice President at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Sharp Healthcare in San Diego, Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and Christus Health System in Shreveport, LA. Most recently, she was the Chief Executive Officer of Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, NE.

Ollis is filling the COO position which was vacated by Darryl Duncan when he became Mon Health System President and Chief Executive Officer in February. She began her new role on June 21.

“In recruiting Linda, we sought someone who would help us get better, embrace our culture and keep an open mind about how to address the challenges we will be facing going forward,” said Mon Health System President and CEO Darryl Duncan. “I look forward to working with Linda to keep Mon General the hospital of choice for north central West Virginia. “

As COO, Ollis is responsible for the day-to-day management of the hospital. All hospital based services, including Patient Care, Medical Affairs and Quality and Information Systems report to her.

“While I was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area, I spent the majority of my adult life in other parts of the country, but have many ties with friends and family that kept me coming back for visits,” Ollis said. “Now I have the opportunity to blend the old and the new as I discover the beauty and attractions of Morgantown and West Virginia, as well as renew links with my nearby hometown.”

Ollis has been impressed with much of what she has experienced so far at Mon Health System.

“One of the most attractive attributes is the positive, innovative culture of Mon Health System,” she said. “Every employee that I’ve encountered in my short time here has spoken with pride of their commitment to providing the best care to our patients and families and their support for their co-workers. It’s clear that staff members feel like family and treat our patients as they would like to have their own family members treated.

“Staff place a priority on dignity and privacy for each individual that enters our facility,” she said. “Care and compassion are not just words to them, they live it every day. And our patients recognize that commitment as we can see from our patient satisfaction scores, among the highest in the state.

“There is also a strong sense of community here,” Ollis said. “The medical staff and leadership team are focused on the future, not only on expansion and growth, that includes the new Orthopedic Surgery Center and the Cancer Center, but also on constant improvement in patient care and quality outcomes. It’s why Mon Health System has received so many awards, such as the Blue Distinction Program (for orthopedics) and HealthGrades (patient safety) recognition. In the end, you succeed because of your people, and we have the best!”

Even though Mon Health System is well positioned for the future, there are a lot of changes coming in healthcare.

“The most challenging aspect of healthcare is that it’s in a constant state of change – technology, regulations and reimbursement,” she said. The changes aren’t going to stop, so it’s good that we have such superb teamwork and commitment in place. The real danger is complacency – especially when you’re doing well operationally and financially. We have to anticipate and embrace change and one of my roles will be to clarify and interpret, to make resources available.

Ollis noted that Mon General has been through quite a bit of construction in the past several years, and that construction is now underway for a new access road.

“It will be a joy to move into all the newly renovated space and welcome new care providers and patients,” she said. “We’ll have improved access with the new entrance to the hospital campus, which will increase our visibility, and wonderful new centers for orthopedics, cancer/infusion and endoscopy, as well as the cath lab renovations.”

Ollis and her husband of 28 years, John, are exited to be surrounded by the natural beauty of Morgantown and are looking forward to exploring the area and getting to know their neighbors.

Client News: Mon General Earns National Recognition for Distinction in Knee and Hip Replacement

7Source: Mon General Press Release

Mon General has been named a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement ® by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia. This distinction recognizes Mon General for demonstrating a commitment to providing quality care and better overall outcomes for knee and hip replacement procedures.

Blue Distinction® is a national designation awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality healthcare in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacement, spine surgery or transplants.

To earn this designation, Mon General was evaluated based on an objective, evidence-based selection criteria established with input from expert physicians and medical organizations. The goal of Blue Distinction is to identify medical facilities that deliver better overall quality and medical outcomes for a specific area of specialty care, helping patients and doctors to make more informed hospital choices.

Mon General features one of the largest groups of orthopedic surgeons of any hospital in the State of West Virginia and currently performs approximately 3,600 orthopedic procedures annually, including knee and hip replacements. The number of orthopedic procedures performed at the hospital has increased 20 percent during the past five years.

With continued growth expected in orthopedic procedures as the area’s population ages, Mon General recently began constructing a new Orthopedic Surgery Center. The new center will feature four operating suites, an eight bed recovery area and a 12-bed holding area for pre- and post-operation care. The new center will include space to add two additional operating rooms in the future as volume expands. The new Orthopedic Center is expected to be complete by late November or early December.

“This Blue Distinction designation is a tribute to the dedicated team of physicians, nurses, technicians and therapists who helped develop Mon General’s comprehensive programs in Knee and Hip Replacement,” said Mon Health System President and CEO Darryl Duncan. “Their clinical expertise in this area of specialty care has resulted in better overall results for our patients.

“This national distinction also reinforces our decision to build a new Orthopedic Surgery Center to meet the area’s growing need for more modern operating rooms to treat complex orthopedic cases,” Duncan said. “We have one of the best orthopedic surgery teams in the state and soon will have one of the most modern Orthopedic Surgery Center’s in the region.”

“Our Blue Distinction program recognizes hospitals that demonstrate higher levels of performance in providing better specialty care for patients," said Fred Earley, President of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia. “Improving quality of care is integral to transforming the healthcare system. Facilities like Mon General are helping the North-Central West Virginia area achieve this by offering patients safe specialty care delivered by medical teams with expertise.”

Blue Distinction selection criteria cover a broad range of quality measures. By earning the designation, Mon General has demonstrated:

· An established program, performing required annual volumes for certain procedures

· Appropriate experience of its care team

· Full facility accreditation by a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-deemed national accreditation organization

· Adherence to evidence-based clinical care measures and guidelines

· A comprehensive quality management program

“Blue Distinction puts a high value on the consistent delivery of evidence-based care,” said Dr. Allan Korn, chief medical officer of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA). “Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate our commitment to working with doctors and hospitals in communities across the country to identify leading institutions that meet objective quality criteria and deliver better overall outcomes in specialty patient care.”

Blue Distinction Centers for Knee and Hip Replacement provide comprehensive inpatient knee and hip replacement services, including total knee replacement and total hip replacement surgeries.

To learn more about the Blue Distinction designation, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction

Client News: Mon General Hosptial Cardiac Surgery Program in Top 10 in Nation for Meeting Blood Product Use Benchmarks

Source: Mon Health System Press Release

Mon General Hospital’s cardiac surgery program is in the top 10 in the nation when it comes to meeting benchmarks for the use of blood products intra-operatively during surgery.

“Anytime you give a blood transfusion, there are risks involved,” said Jim Pitcher, Certified Clinical Cardiovascular Perfusionist at Mon General. “Therefore, you can decrease patient risk by not giving blood products. Mon General is well above the national average in minimizing the amount of blood needed per surgery for each of these patients.”

The clinical indicators were compiled by SpecialtyCare, the company which provides perfusionist services at Mon General. A cardiovascular perfusionist is a specialized health professional who operates the heart-lung machine during cardiac surgery and other surgeries that require cardiopulmonary bypass. The perfusionist uses a heart-lung machine to circulate blood and maintain the patient’s respiration so the cardiac surgeon can operate on a still, unbeating heart.

In compiling the data, SpecialtyCare looked at 16 benchmarks from approximately 130 heart hospitals in the United States, along with nine hospitals in Germany and a couple in Puerto Rico. Regionally, Mon General was compared to hospitals in Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Altoona in Pennsylvania, and Cumberland, MD.

The benchmarks include the amount of fluid each patient received in the Operating Room, from normal anesthesia fluids to bypass fluids, including blood products, and glucose levels. The amount of each specific type of blood product used on patients in open heart surgery, along with the direct cost, was examined.

“From a patient’s perspective, the more important benchmarks pertain to the amount of blood products they would receive when they come into the Operating Room,” Pitcher said. “We’re in the top 10 as far as the percentage of patients who do not need red blood cells and other blood products.

No other hospitals in the region made the top 10 list.

“We try to keep everything very uniform here,” Pitcher said, explaining how Mon General reached the top 10. “Everybody gets the same training and follows the same protocols. It’s really a collaborative team effort between anesthesia and perfusion to make these indicators work for us. The surgeons provide us the support we need to get the job done. You have to have all the pieces together to make it work.”

Globally, hospitals are making efforts to reduce the use of blood products.

“Data is constantly being reviewed by different organizations,” Pitcher said. “Across the country, there is a big push to reduce the amount of blood products used in surgery because there is a great patient benefit from not giving blood products. The outcomes tend to be better then when you do not give blood products.”
This is why SpecialtyCare began benchmarking the blood product use trends a year ago, so institutions can see exactly where they are, he said.

“Our goal at Mon General initially was to make the top 10, but now our goal is to stay in the top 10.” Pitcher said. We’re not satisfied with being in the top 10, we want to make sure we stay in the top 10 and keep striving for better results with the help of our docs and everybody on the support staff here. It takes a team effort to make it work.

“To me, one of the most important things for a patient having surgery to ask is ‘am going to have to have blood during my surgery or after my surgery?’” Pitcher said. “That is one of the main concerns I’ve seen from patients across the years.

“You’d like to be able to tell everybody ‘no, you will not get that, but you can’t guarantee that to anyone,” he said. “But, we can certainly do everything we can not to give them blood products. Mon General’s numbers indicate that we are doing a good job with that.

“Decreasing the amount of blood products these patients are exposed to, that’s one of our main goals here as far as creating good patient care,” he said.

Client News: Mon Health System Board Names COO Duncan as President/CEO

Source: Mon General Press Release

The Board of Directors of Monongalia Health System has named Mon General Hospital Chief Operating Officer (COO) Darryl Duncan as the new President/Chief Executive Officer of Monongalia Health System.

Duncan will succeed David Robertson as President/CEO effective Feb. 1, 2011. Robertson is stepping down on Jan. 31, 2011 to become Senior Vice President and Executive Officer for the Oklahoma and Arkansas region of the Voluntary Hospitals of America (VHA).

Duncan, 47, is a native of Charleston, WV, and has served as Mon General’s COO since June 2006. During his tenure, Duncan has spearheaded physician recruitment at Mon General, adding more than 30 physicians to its staff.

“Although we are saddened by David Robertson's departure, and certainly wish him the best as he ventures into his new position, we, the System Board, tried to be prepared for such an event,” said Patrick Martin, Chair of the Monongalia Health System Board of Directors. “When Darryl was hired in 2006 as COO, the Board's main focus was to have a viable candidate to succeed the CEO.

“Since then, Darryl has been an excellent COO often demonstrating the skills and attributes to move up and be a successful CEO,” Martin said. “He is bright, analytical, and energetic which, when coupled with his experience via his background and clinical knowledge, should serve him and our System very well as we move forward in our mission to deliver the best healthcare.”

"While we are grateful for the leadership of Dave Robertson as CEO over the past eight years and sad to see him leave, I am very pleased and happy to welcome Darryl Duncan as the new CEO of the Health System,” said Sister Nancy White, Chair of the Mon General Hospital Board of Directors.

“Darryl had a wide breadth of Administrative experience when he came to the hospital in 2006 as COO and has proven over his years here that he is very knowledgeable of the Mon Health System, especially the inner workings of the hospital,” White said. “Darryl is very dedicated to our mission ‘to deliver the best healthcare’ and I believe he will continue to work hard to move us into the future with integrity and creativity.”

“As we implement health reform in this nation, Darryl’s knowledge of Mon General Hospital, his strong clinical knowledge, and his experience in hospital operations will greatly benefit our organization,” said outgoing Mon Health System President/CEO David Robertson. “I wish him well as he leads the Health System into the future.”

“I am excited about this opportunity and consider it an honor to work with the employees, physicians, and volunteers associated with the Health System,” Duncan said. “Healthcare is about to embark on some significant change, but I feel confident we are strongly positioned to continue to provide the best healthcare to this region of West Virginia.”

Duncan has a Masters Degree in Hospital and Health Administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Masters and Bachelor degrees in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University (WVU). In 2001 he was inducted into the Industrial & Management System Engineering Distinguished Alumni Academy.

As President/CEO, Duncan will oversee the operation of Monongalia Health System, which includes Mon General Hospital, Mon HealthCare, Mon EMS, and The Village at Heritage Point. He will serve on both the Mon Health System and Mon General Hospital Boards of Directors.

In his current role as COO, Duncan is responsible for the day-to-day management of the hospital. All hospital based services, including Patient Care, Medical Affairs, and Quality and Information Systems report directly to Duncan.

Prior to his arrival at Mon General, Duncan had served as COO of Provena Saint Joseph Hospital, a 251-bed acute care hospital in Elgin, IL. While at Provena Saint Joseph Hospital, Duncan planned a $97 million hospital construction and renovation project, which included constructing a four story wing, adding 99 private patient rooms.

In addition to serving as COO at Provena Saint Joseph Hospital, Duncan has also served as COO of RML Specialty Hospital in Hinsdale, Illinois and as Senior Vice President for Oncology at Physician Health Corporation, an Atlanta based physician practice management company. He also has served as Chief Executive Officer for several smaller hospitals, including Transitional Hospital of Chicago in Chicago, IL, and Alexander Community Hospital in Taylorsville, NC.

Duncan resides in the Cheat Lake area with wife Shelly. Their daughter, Courtney is a sophomore at WVU studying biology.

Client News: Robertson resigns as President/CEO of Mon General and Mon Health System

Source: Mon Genral Press Release

Mon Health System President and Chief Executive Officer David Robertson has announced his resignation effective January 31, 2011, hospital officials confirmed today. Robertson has accepted a position as Senior Vice President of Irving, Texas-based VHA, Inc and Executive Officer of the VHA Oklahoma/Arkansas region.

“I have always been immensely honored to be a part of the Mon Health System,” Robertson said. “I will always be proud of our significant accomplishments such as developing the Hazel Ruby McQuain Tower as part of a five-year, $92 million expansion and modernization project, improving and expanding our cardiac care program, developing Mon General Hospital into an all private patient room facility, focusing on meeting the needs and expectations of our patients, and ensuring our patient safety as first priority. The last eight years have been tremendous.”

Robertson joined the Mon Health System in January 2003 after serving 18 years as CEO of Duncan Regional Hospital in Duncan, Oklahoma, and five years as CEO of Shelby County Myrtue Memorial Hospital in Harlan, Iowa.

Under Robertson’s leadership, Mon General Hospital achieved the HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award for an unprecedented five consecutive years, the only West Virginia hospital to receive such a designation and one of less than 40 hospitals nationally to achieve this accomplishment. This distinction puts Mon General in the top five percent of all hospitals in the nation in terms of patient safety.

“We have expanded and remodeled 90% of our facilities at Mon General, and now all 189 of our rooms are private for added comfort and safety,” said Robertson. “We have updated surgical support areas, enhanced public spaces, developed a new Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit and improved access to Outpatient departments. These are significant improvements to the facility and they continue to have significant and positive impacts to our growing patient base.”

Since 2008, Robertson has guided Mon General to add dialysis services and most recently, Mon General received its three year accreditation from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Surveyors on site for this described the hospital as “Outstanding.”

Throughout his tenure, patient satisfaction scores skyrocketed. Press Ganey, the nation’s leading healthcare performance management company, currently show Mon General’s inpatient satisfaction to be at the 98th percentile nationally and outpatient satisfaction at the 92nd percentile. Further, Medicare surveys place global satisfaction at Mon General higher than any other hospital in the state of West Virginia.

“This decision has been an extremely difficult one to make, but the opportunity to be closer to both my wife’s and my family was a compelling factor,” Robertson said.

Robertson will assume his new duties with VHA on February 1, 2011. The VHA Oklahoma/Arkansas region, with offices in Little Rock and Oklahoma City, coordinates and directs VHA efforts to serve a 19 member system, including 43 hospitals and hundreds of non-acute care organizations in the two states. The organization deploys staff to implement strategies and improve clinical performance to improve health care operations overall. The region also supports several member-owned businesses including AROK, a regional supply network; LifeCare Health Services, which provides numerous health care-related services including employee benefit management services, a nurse advice line, managed care services, and clinical and operational risk management support services; and Heartland RRG, a professional liability insurance company.

VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national network which serves 1,400 not-for-profit hospitals and more than 24,000 non-acute care health care organizations nationwide. Its 16 regional offices, including VHA Oklahoma/Arkansas, serve member health care organizations in 46 states and the District of Columbia.