A few weeks ago, I invited blog readers to take part in a two-question poll about the Supreme Court decision concerning the health care reform law. I’m sharing the results here, along with a caveat: Our sample is not large enough for statistically significant conclusions. A total of 159 people participated. Thank you! Of [...]
St. Luke’s is young as far as health systems go. We just celebrated our sixth birthday. And we are considered medium-sized according to criteria set by Thomson Reuters, the firm that ranks health systems. From among the 321 health care systems across the United States, St. Luke’s was selected as one of the top 50, [...]
Many hospitals and health systems talk about being patient-centered, but how many really are? It’s hard to say you are patient-centered if you’re not talking to patients, getting their input, and making sure you are addressing their needs. I had a very meaningful conversation recently with Cynthia Burr, one of our long-term patients who has witnessed our transformation. Cy [...]
I’ve asked St. Luke’s Health System Chief Operating Officer Gary Fletcher to share his experience and thoughts about how we’ve evolved and what challenges we face going forward. His perspective is presented here. I’ve introduced Gary in a previous post, and you’ll be hearing more from him and other members of our executive team as our journey of transformation [...]
St. Luke’s patients are calling for transparency, convenience, and more information about costs. Here’s what I’m hearing from them.
Last week, Mike Morgan commented on my blog piece titled, “Looking at the Patient’s Part in Health.” Here’s part of his comment, where he asks some excellent questions: “You stated that under pay for value, if the patient gets worse, it will significantly and negatively impact reimbursement and pay. I am wondering what will happen [...]
Thanks to all the folks who took part in my two-question poll on the Affordable Care Act ruling. More than 160 people took the time to register their thoughts, and I plan to report in near the end of July on what poll participants said in their responses. I really appreciate the conversation we have [...]
In May, I explored the idea of whether health care was a right or a privilege. Turns out lots of people have interest in the subject, and I heard from Vance Kirklin, a great St. Luke’s senior project manager, who wrote in with the following: “One additional topic (I’m sure there are a multitude of [...]
Our Idaho newspapers and television news crews did a great job last week in educating the state’s residents about the Supreme Court’s decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We provided perspective with a Statesman Reader’s View contribution on Sunday, and contributed to reporting at KMTV in Twin Falls, KTVB in Boise, Statesman breaking news [...]
I was thrilled to take part this past weekend in the celebration to mark the opening of our new Nampa Emergency Department. Hundreds of community leaders, Nampa residents, and St. Luke’s employees and their families had the chance Saturday to tour the new exam rooms, meet staff members, and gather safety and prevention information from [...]
