BY: MARIE ROHDE
From Pennsylvania to California and beyond, young leaders are living the vision of Catholic health care. They work in medical care and spiritual care; they mind the technology and finances that make the system tick. They are men and women, Catholics and other-than-Catholics, who share a common belief in the mission and values that make Catholic health care unique.
The future of the Catholic health ministry depends on its leaders' passionate commitment to the values at the core of their healing mission. In order to honor outstanding young leaders and encourage them to continue their careers in the ministry, the Catholic Health Association initiated the "Tomorrow's Leaders" program in 2011. The eight individuals selected for the class of 2014 were recognized at the Catholic Health Assembly June 22-24 in Chicago. They are:
Philip J. Anderson, director of spiritual care and chairman of the ethics committee for Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, Wis.
His ministry is threefold: He works with the more than 1,400 staff members to ensure continuation of the founding sisters' Franciscan mission; he provides a framework for the board members' work in integrating policies and procedures with the healing ministry of Jesus; and he consults with physicians on ethics education and application of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.
In 2012, Anderson created an Excellence in Ethics symposium for the hospital, an annual event that has grown each year.
At the request of La Crosse Bishop William Callahan, OFM Conv., Anderson worked to help Catholics become more familiar with advance directives as part of end-of-life planning and to communicate their wishes effectively.
"In his ministry, he looks at the totality of a community's health and emphasizes the need to provide charity care and improve access to care. He is diligent in overseeing the hospital's obligation to serve all who come through its doors, with special concern for the poor," his nominator wrote. "Philip has an innate ability to look at health care issues not only from theological, clinical and fiscal perspectives, but from the point of view of asking 'Where is the Gospel to be found in all of these issues and discussions?'"
Taryn Duckett, director of marketing and communications for Mercy Home Health and Mercy LIFE, Springfield, Pa.
Mercy Home Health is a home health care provider that enables patients to recuperate in their homes, and Mercy LIFE is a nationally recognized care program for the elderly. Duckett's successful strategic marketing programs, her nominator wrote, "are held in high regard, serving as models for other health care marketers at Mercy," positioning Mercy Home Health and Mercy LIFE "as leaders of high-quality, compassionate health care" in the Philadelphia area's highly competitive marketplace.
It is Duckett's devotion to compassionate, spiritual care and her work ethic that her colleagues see as her greatest attributes.
Using vacation time, Duckett achieved Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification. During the nine-month course, she completed an in-depth statistical analysis that improved the continuum of care by reducing patient out-migration from one Mercy hospital and by increasing physician referrals to Mercy Home Health. Her efforts were so successful that she was asked to present her ideas to the Mercy Health System senior executive team to be shared with strategic planning and operations leaders as well as marketing executives.
Duckett has been a speaker to the National PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) Association on engaging unique referral sources and building strategic marketing plans. She has worked with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity on finding health care resources for those who live in the area's poorest communities. She also has worked with leaders in the Hispanic community to spread the message of Mercy's commitment to providing care for all cultures.
Kelly Gasior, vice president for strategy and housing operations at Trinity Senior Living Communities in Livonia, Mich., part of CHE Trinity Health.
Hired initially to "build a brand for the entire senior portfolio," Gasior's nomination said, "what has unfolded since her arrival is her passion for shifting senior care forward within the context of the mission and values of Catholic health care."
Gasior's role has grown to full operational oversight of the housing portfolio, and she assumed a leading role in advocacy efforts for the ministry at the local, state and national level for senior care and insurance. Those efforts, her nominator said, led to Medicaid expansion in Michigan through coordinated tactics with other Trinity Health entities.
She has worked with the long-term care division for best practices to cut costs and maximize resources. One project involved a partnership with a dining vendor to improve the flavor and appearance of pureed food for residents with swallowing disorders. The goal of the award-
winning program was to reduce unintended weight loss that can result in hospital admissions.
"In senior housing, the dining room is where the socialization action is," Gasior said. "We have artists in the kitchen who make the pureed food look just as appealing as the regular meals. Those eating the pureed food are no longer segregated from the rest of the population."
Her latest project, "Creating a Healthier Sanctuary," focused on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development communities where residents do not have on-site dining services. Cooking tips and nutritional information that can help manage chronic conditions are presented at monthly cooking demonstrations. Participants also are encouraged to cook with their neighbors, a community-building effort.
Babak Goldman, MD, regional medical director of palliative medicine at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., part of Providence Health & Services, Southern California.
As the medical center's first full-time physician dedicated to palliative care, Goldman "worked to forge meaningful relationships with reluctant colleagues and exponentially increase programmatic quality and volume," according to his nomination.
Leading a team that includes nurses, social workers and chaplains, Goldman works with patients confronted with serious chronic illnesses as well as end-of-life issues so that they and their families can make educated treatment decisions.
"He has helped countless families, staff and other physicians work through the difficult decisions faced at the end of life, and done so in a compassionate and loving manner," said one nominator. "A man of deep faith, Dr. Goldman is respectful of all. He is able to work with families of all cultures and faiths, with those whose understanding is sophisticated and with those who come to us with little preparation to face the complexities of medicine today."
In the 18 months he has been at Providence Saint Joseph, Goldman was described as having emerged as a leader not only of his team, but also among the medical staff.
"Physicians and nurses at every level of acuity seek out Goldman's expert pain and symptom management and deep understanding of the medical treatment being provided and offered," a nominator said. His enthusiasm for life, sense of humor and collegial camaraderie "make him a favorite among doctors and hospital staff. People smile — have even been known to cheer — when he enters the unit."
Sarah Hetue Hill, system manager for palliative care initiatives for Ascension Health, based in St. Louis.
Hill joined Ascension Health as a full-time employee in 2008 to direct palliative care efforts across the system. Her work not only resulted in system-wide palliative care initiatives, it also garnered national attention. A frequent presenter at palliative care conferences, Hill has spoken at gatherings including the Catholic Health Assembly, the American Society on Aging, the Supportive Care Coalition's National Congress and the Midwest Regional Conference on Palliative and End of Life Care. She also was a panelist for the International Association of Catholic Bioethicists, which developed an international consensus statement on palliative sedation.
Her nominator said of Hill, "In each stage of her journey, colleagues have recognized and commented on Sarah's leadership and passion for palliative care, which are motivated by her love of the mission and values of Catholic health care."
Her passion for the poor and vulnerable is evident in her work within Ascension Health and at the national level with the Supportive Care Coalition. Her area of research and study for her doctoral dissertation is perinatal palliative care, which focuses on babies who will be born with life-threatening conditions and are not expected to survive. Perinatal palliative care helps families cope with the emotional difficulties of living through a tragic time. Hill's nomination noted that her systematic qualitative study will allow Ascension Health to learn from the experiences of the parents, an often overlooked and vulnerable population.
Aimee Khuu, director, Providence Health International, Providence Health & Services based in Renton, Wash.
Her nominator characterized Khuu as a servant leader brimming with compassion for those who are underserved and with commitment to a socially just and humane world. She has recruited volunteer teams to go to Guatemala for public health projects and to perform surgeries. As part of that program, 60 American clinicians went to Guatemala in 2013 and performed 203 surgeries — everything from hernia repairs to gallbladder removals.
Khuu was instrumental in establishing a partnership with a Jesuit university in Guatemala to support the development of health care professions. The partnership will include both Providence medical residents and Guatemalan medical students who will work together in both countries, learning from each other.
Also in Guatemala, Khuu has taken on projects aimed at getting to the root causes of health problems, including providing clean-burning cooking stoves that improve ventilation in homes. The practice of cooking indoors over open fires has been blamed for many acute respiratory infections that particularly affect Guatemalan women and children.
Michael C. Kramer, vice president of operations at Mercy Health — West Hospital in Cincinnati.
A registered nurse, Kramer also received master's degrees in business administration and in hospital and health administration. He joined Mercy Health in 2002 in a finance leadership role and has continued with progressively challenging assignments.
His list of accomplishments is long. Among them, Kramer worked with teams that introduced Mercy Health's open heart surgery program and the Mercy Health-Anderson Hospital Sleep Center.
As leader of the Mercy Health planning team, Kramer is credited with a key planning role in bringing the Gamma Knife radiation surgery process to The Jewish Hospital — Mercy Health, where it has been used to successfully treat more than 100 patients with otherwise inoperable brain tumors or other abnormalities in the brain.
"His passion for ensuring that Mercy Health's mission remains viable is exhaustive," wrote James May, former president and CEO of Mercy Health who now serves as chief operating officer for Catholic Health Partners, Mercy Health's parent. "His analysis and negotiating skills have helped extend the healing ministry in areas of great need, bringing vital services like an open heart surgery program, orthopedic care and maternity services to neighborhoods where they did not previously exist."
Edgardo Reyes, manager of IT medical imaging at Saint Anthony Hospital in Chicago.
Reyes runs the medical imaging department's radiology information system, and his diligence is credited with that branch of the hospital having the fewest technology problems, according to his nomination. He focuses on how the department's workflow can be improved and makes creative enhancements to applications. "His interaction with colleagues, patients and visitors here at the hospital embodies Saint Anthony's mission to offer health, healing and hope to families regardless of their income, nationality or religious affiliation," his nominator wrote. "The hospital never turns anyone away, and Eddie rarely walks into a room without greeting everyone individually."
Reyes lives in the hospital neighborhood where he grew up, and he is active in the nearby St. Agnes of Bohemia parish. He says he lives his faith at the hospital where he has worked for six years.
Conscientious as well as friendly, Reyes is seen as first to offer a helping hand, no matter what the project. "Our technology engineer compares Eddie to an athlete whose goal is to beat his own record and, when he sets a new best, to then beat it," the nominator said.
Reyes collaborated with vendors to build the hospital's radiology information system and its picture archiving and communication system. "He has recreated the radiologists' workstation virtually so that they can access images of X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs from laptops or desktops anywhere, as long as they are connected to the Internet," his nomination said. "[His] remote officing gets images to radiologists quicker so that attending physicians can start treatment sooner."
MARIE ROHDE is a freelance writer in Milwaukee.