Becker's Hospital Review

25 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP 25 CEO / STRATEGY Connecticut hospital CEO on pediatric mental health crisis: 'This is our COVID surge' By Georgina Gonzalez C onnecticut Children's Medical Cen- ter is overwhelmed by patients seek- ing mental health aid, the Hartford Courant reported Oct.6. Children suffering the consequences and disruptions of the pandemic have experi- enced a variety of mental health issues and sought help with their worried parents, according to the Courant. "is is our COVID surge," James Shmerling, president and CEO of Connecticut Children's, told the Courant. Mr. Shmerling said that on Oct. 4, there were 43 patients in Zone C of the hospital, which deals with urgent behavioral matters like self-harm and suicidal ideation. e week before, there were 47 children in Zone C. Over the summer, there are typically 15 to 16 patients in the unit, he said. e patient surge is pushing the hospital to its limits, with waits for an inpatient psychi- atric bed lasting up to a week. e hospital has hired 100 staff members this year alone to work in Zone C, but space remains the key issue. To ease pressure, the Connecti- cut Department of Public Health is work- ing with the hospital to potentially transfer some of the older patients to other hospitals with capacity and the appropriate psychiat- ric services. "If we can just reduce the demand for the older patients, that might have better al- ternatives; that takes the pressure off us, so we can take care of the younger kids," Mr. Shmerling said. n 2 North Carolina hospital board members resign over HCA ownership By Ayla Ellison T wo members of Transylvania Regional Hospital's board resigned Sept. 20, saying they are "powerless, voiceless and definitely unessential" now that the hospital is owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare. HCA, a for-profit hospital operator, acquired Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health in 2019. Transylvania Regional Hospital, a 92-bed hospital in Brevard, N.C., is part of Mission Health. In a guest column published in The Transylvania Times, the board members, Mark Weinstein and Parker Platt, said they were enthusiastic about the sale of Mission to HCA, but they now feel embarrassed for supporting it. "It is clear now … that the TRH board has no real ability to play any kind of im- pactful role," Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Platt wrote. "In almost all instances, from the essential of staff and community relations, to marketing, to the mass exodus of our physicians, our inability to provide direction or influence decisions have been apparent." Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Platt, who served a combined 10 years on the board, said they hope their resignations will have a positive influence on the future direction of the hospital. "We continue to support our local hospital as an important and vital part of our community. But we fear for its future," the former board members wrote. n At understaffed Ohio system, executives clear schedules to pick up more duties By Georgina Gonzalez A s understaffing in hospitals continues to strain health systems across the country, some leaders at Adena Health System are lending a hand on the front lines, WBNS 10 reported. The surge of COVID-19 patients driven by the delta variant has hit health systems hard in Ohio and across the U.S. To combat staff shortages, leaders at Adena Health System in Chillicothe, Ohio, are dropping some of their executive tasks to support their front-line staff. Kathi Edrington, DNP, COO of Adena Health System, told WBNS 10, "We had some call-offs in our housekeeping, so I went ahead and cleaned the floors." "It just sets the stage of ... what's happening right now," Dr. Edrington said. "To have it be this expansive where you have folks, like even the executive assistant of the president, working out on a unit as a patient care assistant, that's unprec- edented." Certified nurse practioner Latanya Stewart said that on top of seeing three to four more patients per day, she's helping other staff complete their tasks. "I oftentimes will help the nurses out and the [medical assistants] out by doing my own intakes, my own vital signs and my own discharges just to keep the flow moving along," Ms. Stewart told WBNS 10. "It's not about who's doing what," Dr. Edrington said. "It's really about chipping in and doing what you can." n

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