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An Update From Our CEO - a year in review
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Recognizing MLK Day - and a national day of service
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Annual Compliance Training - contest winners and 1/31 compliance training deadline
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An Update From the Office of Clinical Quality - a look at 2022 priorities
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Great News Worth Sharing - celebrating colleagues living out NorthStar's cultural values
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Raffle Opportunity!!! - brag on your colleagues, win some swag
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CMS Vaccine Mandate - what you need to know
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Dear NorthStar Teammates:
Happy New Year! I hope each of you had a restful holiday season.
2021 was a challenging year to be in healthcare, let alone to be an anesthesia provider. Not only did we have to serve as the frontline providers during multiple Covid-19 waves, we faced unprecedented staffing challenges given the reduction of CRNAs and anesthesiologists in the workforce across the nation. Yet despite these challenges, I am in awe of how much we accomplished.
We completed more than one million cases for more than 800,000 patients in our 216 facilities. And we accomplished this while continuing to uphold our high standards and quality of care. In fact, based on early MIPS data, we will exceed 96% of our facilities that received an exceptional rating from CMS. Taking care of patients is at the center of everything we do, and despite all the adversity, we did an exceptional job. I want to personally thank all of you for your hard work, dedication, and most of all resilience given all the challenges this past year.
The impact on mental health that the last two years have had on healthcare professionals has not gone unnoticed. Recently, NorthStar’s Chief Quality Officer, Dr. Josh Lumbley, published an article in the December ASA Monitor painting a picture of clinician burnout associated with working in extreme circumstances like the pandemic and emphasizing NorthStar’s mission of improving patient care through supporting our teams across our clinical and corporate footprint. I continue to be humbled by how our teams have come together in the face of such trying times and look forward to expanding our commitment to providing wellness resources in 2022.
One of the bright spots of the past year is the incredible engagement we’ve seen from you, our clinicians. The impact of this team’s ongoing commitment is apparent in results from our 2021 annual engagement survey, where employee engagement is 77% organization-wide, up from 75% in 2019. We don’t take these results lightly and always appreciate your candid feedback, which informs our strategic priorities towards becoming a destination employer. And while we’re proud of the results from the engagement survey, this is an area we want to continue to focus and improve upon. We will be conducting listening tours in the coming months to continue the conversation surrounding employee engagement and how we can better support you, not just at a national level but also a local level.
While navigating an ongoing pandemic, in addition to high-quality patient care, there is much more that I’m proud that we were able to accomplish, this includes:
- Welcomed 128 physician anesthesiologists and 401 CRNAs at 48 new NorthStar sites
- Published 25+ peer-reviewed articles
- Rounded out our executive leadership team with the additions of Randy Moore as our new Chief Anesthetist Officer and the promotion of Kate Stets to Chief Financial Officer
- Completed our first regional leadership cohort, providing an advanced leadership training and development series for our senior and upcoming clinical leaders
- Built out our cultural training sessions, incorporating feedback from local, regional, and national leaders, with plans to roll out the culture training across the country (Stay tuned for much more to come on that!)
- Beaumont Troy was named by IBM Watson Health as one of the top 50 teaching hospitals for cardiovascular care – a huge congratulations to our cardiac anesthesiologists!
- Increased the number of NorthStar sites with exceptional MIPS performance from 92% to 96% while criteria for exceptional was elevated
- The Office of Clinical Quality hosted 5 national CME/CE events including Grand Rounds, M & M conferences, and regional anesthesia block workshops, with more to come this year
Despite a challenging year for all of us personally and professionally, I am proud of the accomplishments above and the care we provided for our 800,000 patients. We start this year clear-eyed in the face of new variants and familiar unknowns, and I am confident that we will continue to strengthen our community, meet the goals laid out before us, and deliver the excellent patient care NorthStar clinicians are known for.
Sincerely,
Adam Spiegel, CEO
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
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Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
This coming Monday, January 17th, the nation pauses to acknowledge and celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. In observance of this holiday, our corporate offices with be closed.
MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and contribute to improving their communities. With that in mind, we encourage those of you who are interested and able to participate in this national day of service. We also recognize the service that you, the NorthStar clinicians, are providing to your local communities day in and day out.
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Annual Compliance Training |
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Annual Compliance Training Reminder and Contest Winners!
Congratulations to the following winners for completing the course, "2021-2022 Annual Compliance Training: Living Out the Culture of Compliance," before December 31. Each winner received a $500 Amazon gift card!
- Dr. Corey Haggard, Covenant Medical Center
- Matthew Radwan, CRNA, Mercy Defiance Hospital
- Trae McConniel, Network Technician, NorthStar Corporate Team
As a reminder, the deadline for NorthStar Colleagues assigned the course, "2021-2022 Annual Compliance Training: Living Out the Culture of Compliance," is January 31, 2022. The training is available in Workday under the Learning app and loaded in the “Required for You” section.
If you have any questions about the course, please reach out to us at [email protected]; i f you need technical support, contact the NorthStar Help Desk at [email protected].
Thank you for all you do!
The NorthStar Compliance Team & “NORM”
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Have a compliance concern? Call the Compliance Action Line at 1-855-375-4737 or scan the QR code to make a report. Every Voice Counts!
Also, keep an eye out on SharePoint (NorthStar's Clinician Portal) for a new Compliance section coming soon!
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Office of Clinical Quality 2022 Goals |
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Building on the success of 2021, we're excited to share our priorities for 2022. As always, we appreciate your feedback and, as mentioned in the graphic below, please reach out to either of us with updates on the great things you and your team are doing to advance the delivery of high-quality and safe patient care.
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Listen in as Dr. John Pappas, Director of Pain Management at Beaumont is interviewed on WJR-AM, Detroit, on "Booster shots and Boomers." #patientatthecenter
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Dr. Jose Navas from the Department of Anesthesiology at Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak, Michigan, recently gave Grand Rounds to the Department of Surgery on pulmonary artery catheter usage. Click here to view Dr. Navas' presentation! #oneteam
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Recognizing Danielle Holmes, CRNA from Mon General for her clinical expertise in picking up the early signs of post-op hemorrhage in a PACU patient. She astutely alerted the surgical team and remained with the patient throughout the surgical re-exploration and expertly managed and corrected the patient's hypovolemia.
As JB Caputo, Chief CRNA at Mon General expressed, "To say we are lucky to have Danielle Holmes would be an understatement." #patientatthecenter
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Raffle Opportunity!
Do you have great news to share? We're looking to feature your big wins and celebrate the great things happening across the NorthStar footprint.
Simply reply to this email or send a note to [email protected] sharing the great things you're seeing from a colleague or team between now and Friday, January 21st to have your name entered for a chance to win.
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CMS Vaccine Mandate: What You Need to Know |
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On Thursday, January 13, the Supreme Court upheld the enforceability of the CMS Vaccine Mandate. As such, NorthStar clinicians are required to complete the following:
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Provide proof of receiving the first dose of a 2-dose COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Pfizer or Moderna) or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson no later than January 27, 2022
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Provide proof of receiving the second dose of a 2-dose vaccine (e.g., Pfizer or Moderna) no later than February 28, 2022
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Submit a medical or religious belief exemption form and documentation for review no later than January 27, 2022
Requests for medical or religious belief exemptions, along with supporting documentation, should be submitted to NorthStar’s employee relations department ([email protected]) no later than January 27, 2022.
To provide documentation of your vaccine status, email a photo of your COVID-19 vaccination card to [email protected]. You can also use this link or scan the QR code below to submit documentation. Note: Some of NorthStar’s facility partners required the vaccine prior to the CMS rule; if a provider already has proof of vaccination or an approved exemption on file with the credentialing department, no further action is required at this time.
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You can also visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Documentation tile on Sharepoint, NorthStar's Clinician Portal.
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The NorthStar Help Desk is your point of contact for assistance from anyone in the Corporate office, regardless of the issue. Once you contact the help desk, the right teammate will quickly respond to your request and follow up as necessary.
NorthStar Help Desk
Phone: 214.687.0990
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