Becker's Hospital Review

28 POPULATION HEALTH 28 CEO/STRATEGY Scripps CEO Chris Van Gorder's memo to staff in wake of synagogue shooting By Alia Paavola C hris Van Gorder, president and CEO of San Diego-based Scripps Health, sent a memo to his staff dis- cussing the April 27 attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego that killed a member of the Scripps community and le another member injured. e April 29 memo, obtained by Beck- er's Hospital Review, was addressed to Scripps' 15,000 employees and 3,000 phy- sicians. e subject was "Stopping Hate Begins With Us." Aer receiving an alert on his cellphone about the shooting, Mr. Van Gorder im- mediately checked with his trauma lead- ers and learned that the victims had been taken to North San Diego-based Palomar Hospital. Soon aer, he learned the shoot- ing involved two members of the Scripps community, including Howard Kaye, MD, from the Scripps Coastal Medical Group, and his wife Lori, who was killed. "At that minute, I admit that I felt rage — but my rage was against hatred," Mr. Van Gorder wrote. "My initial rage slow- ly turned to anger and then to a profound sadness; for the Kaye family and our broad- er Scripps family — and for our country, which is experiencing a rise in violence spawned by hatred." Mr. Van Gorder said that while the shoot- ing fills him with utmost sadness, he is proud of the diversity Scripps embod- ies, emphasizing that it's what makes the organization stronger. "is is Scripps. We are healthcare profes- sionals. We accept everyone and reject ha- tred and negativity," he wrote. "Please join me in rejecting hatred. Let's embrace each other and our differences, as it's our differ- ences and diversity that make us stronger. is must end, and it starts with us." n MD Anderson ousts 3 researchers over Chinese data theft concerns By Alia Paavola M D Anderson Cancer Center in Houston moved to fire three scientists accused of sharing important research findings and data with China, according to The Houston Chronicle. MD Anderson began an internal investigation last year after receiving emails from the National Institutes of Health, which alerted the cancer center that five NIH-funded faculty members had violated agency rules tied to the confidential- ity of peer review and disclosure of foreign ties. Of the five staff members investigated, MD Anderson will cut ties with three. All three were tenured faculty members, but their names were not released. Two of the three resigned before being fired, while the termination process against the other scientist has been initiated. Officials determined termination wasn't warranted for one of the professors, and they are still investigating the fifth as of April 22, according to the report. MD Anderson said in a statement to The Chronicle that an in-depth investiga- tion found "violations of NIH and MD Anderson rules and policies" which "led to the initiation of termination processes for three tenured faculty members." The departures are the first publicly disclosed since the NIH directed some in- stitutions to investigate specific professors who may have been violating agen- cy policies last August. About 55 universities have launched investigations in response to the NIH's concerns, according to the report. In particular, the NIH has expressed concern about foreign threats to the integrity of NIH-funded research, including the diversion of property, the sharing of con- fidential information by NIH peer reviewers with foreign countries and failure to disclose payments from other organizations, including foreign governments. n South Carolina hospital shootings spur other facilities to review safety plans By Mackenzie Bean H ealthcare facilities in South Carolina reviewed emergency plans af- ter two hospital shootings occurred in the state in April, according to NBC affiliate WCBD-TV. The shootings occurred at the Regional Medical Center-Orangeburg (S.C.) on April 10 and Clinton, S.C.-based Laurens County Memorial Hospital on April 11. In total, three people were injured. Michael Puckett, director of emergency management for Florence, S.C.-based McLeod Health, said system leaders met with security teams and emergency room staff to review emergency plans after the shootings. "We have heightened alertness and awareness to everybody," he told WCBD-TV. The shootings have also renewed calls for stricter legislation to protect health- care workers in the state. South Carolina is one of only three states that does not have an enhanced penalty for violence against healthcare workers, according to a 2016 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. n

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