Becker's Hospital Review

22 POPULATION HEALTH 22 CEO / STRATEGY IU Health CEO demands external review after Black physician alleges racist treatment By Ayla Ellison I ndiana University Health President and CEO Dennis Murphy called for an exter- nal review aer the death of a Black physi- cian who claimed racism affected the care she received at one of the system's hospitals. Susan Moore, MD, was diagnosed with COVID-19 Nov. 29 and admitted to IU Health North Hospital in Carmel, Ind. She filmed herself from her hospital bed and re- counted her experience in a Dec. 4 Facebook video. Dr. Moore said the white physician who was treating her downplayed her pain complaints and said he felt uncomfortable giving her more drugs. "I was crushed. He made me feel like I was a drug addict," she said in the Facebook video. "I maintain if I was white, I wouldn't have to go through that." Dr. Moore died of complications from the virus Dec. 20 at age 52. In a Dec. 24 statement, Mr. Murphy said he was saddened by the experience Dr. Moore described in the video. "It hurt me personally to see a patient reach out via social media because they felt their care was inadequate and their personal needs were not being heard," Mr. Murphy wrote. Mr. Murphy said he also saw the perspective of the nursing team "trying to manage a set of critically ill patients in need of care who may have been intimidated by a knowledge- able patient who was using social media to voice her concerns and critique the care they were delivering." Aer a preliminary medical quality review, Mr. Murphy said he doesn't believe IU Health failed "the technical aspects of delivery of Dr. Moore's care." He said there is still much to learn through an internal review, and he is asking for an exter- nal review of the case. "We will have a diverse panel of healthcare and diversity experts conduct a thorough medical review of Dr. Moore's concerns to ad- dress any potential treatment bias. e con- struct of this review is to understand how we improve on not only the technical aspects of care, but also the more humanistic elements of the patient experience. e external review also can illuminate ways that we as a system can ensure we live up to our commitment to the equitable treatment of all patients," Mr. Murphy wrote. n Oklahoma hospital exec runs 46 miles to honor nurses By Kelly Gooch A n executive at Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla., ran 46 miles Jan. 13 to honor nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tulsa World reported. Wyatt Hockmeyer, director of performance improvement at As- cension St. John, ran from Ascension Jane Phillips Medical Cen- ter in Bartlesville, Okla., to the Tulsa hospital. The run took him 10 hours. "It was symbolic," Mr. Hockmeyer, an extreme long-distance run- ner, told Tulsa World. "I was thinking about the nurses and the marathon they run every day. What better way to honor the hard work they do on their feet all day?" The newspaper reported that healthcare workers in Bartlesville and Tulsa also received medals Jan. 13 from the national Med- als4Mettle group in recognition of their work. Jeff Nowlin, CEO of Ascension St. John, praised Mr. Hockmey- er's efforts. "As Wyatt remarked, our Ascension nurses and caregivers have been running a seeming ultra-marathon for the past year as we've cared for COVID patients and our communities, and it was a wonderful gesture to highlight their selfless dedica- tion to those we serve," Mr. Nowlin said in a statement shared with Becker's. n Bosses may become less authoritative, more emotionally aware: WSJ By Iain Carlos T he incoming wave of bosses may be more emotionally capable and foster greater col- laboration than the more dictatorial and rigid bosses of the past, reported The Wall Street Journal. As tasks like auditing and expense report approv- als get automated away and direct reports increase, bosses' roles will focus more on helping employ- ees navigate through their company and providing them emotional support than issuing direct orders, the Journal reported. "The line, 'Because I said so' is pretty much extinct," Joseph Fuller, professor of management practice at Boston-based Harvard Business School, told the Journal. Bosses will also become more responsible for con- vincing workers of their company's good moral standing, like explaining their company's record on fossil fuel consumption, the Journal reported. These new expectations will mean companies will look to promote employees with good social skills to managerial positions, Mr. Fuller told the Journal. n

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