Becker's Hospital Review

80 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Northeast Hospital Corporation has lost 40% of its nursing staff since 2019 By Erica Carbajal N ortheast Hospital Corp., owned by Cambridge, Mass.-based Beth Israel Lahey Health, has lost 40 per- cent of its nursing staff since July 2019, in- cluding more than 100 nurses in the last five months, the Massachusetts Nurses Associa- tion said Feb. 3. Since July 2019, NHC has lost 322 nurses based on data as of Jan. 15, according to the nurses association. NHC comprises Bever- ly Hospital, Addison Gilbert Hospital and Lahey Outpatient Center, which are all in Massachusetts. Nurses say the staffing loss is a result of prolonged understaffing, heavy workloads and low wages. "Rather than taking aggressive steps to re- cruit nurses into the hospital, the adminis- tration for years resorted to the dangerous practice of using mandatory overtime, forc- ing a nurse to work extra hours for an entire shi, to compensate for their failure to have appropriate staff on hand to provide patient care," the nursing association said. At the time of publication, NHC nurses were negotiating a contract they hope will result in the addition of more nurses and wage increases. In a statement sent to Becker's on Feb. 3, Kim Perryman, RN, chief nursing officer at Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals, said the lead- ership teams are "extraordinarily grateful for the efforts of our clinical staff, administrative and support teams, and recognize that this pace is unsustainable." In the hospitals' most recent wage proposal, "We provided an offer in which, over the course of three years, nurs- es would receive wage increases of at least 18 percent and as high as 30 percent based on seniority; our proposal also offers an immedi- ate and significant reduction in nurses' health insurance contributions," she added. Ms. Perryman said leadership has "a number of initiatives in place to support retention and recruitment and are working aggressive- ly to add nurses to our team. We have taken steps to ensure that all units are appropriate- ly staffed so that we can continue to provide safe care to patients in our community." n Tower Health fires physician accused of prescribing ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 By Ayla Ellison A Pennsylvania physician accused of prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat and prevent COVID-19 was terminated from Tower Health, PennLive reported Feb. 4. Edith Behr, MD, is allegedly linked to Christine Mason, a woman who used a Facebook account to connect people to a physician for hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin prescriptions. A social media user claimed Dr. Behr was the source of the prescriptions and re- ported her to authorities and her employer, according to PennLive. West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health officials became aware of the allegations against Dr. Behr on Feb. 2 and took immediate action. "Tower Health became aware yesterday of the allegations involv- ing Dr. Edith Behr prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19," Tower Health said in a Feb. 3 state- ment to PennLive. "We investigated the matter and, as a result, Dr. Behr's employment with Tower Health Medical Group has been terminated effective immediately." Dr. Behr was a surgeon at Phoenixville (Pa.) Hospital, which is owned by Tower Health, according to the report. Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine have not been approved by the FDA for prevention or treatment of COVID-19. n Mass General Brigham names 1st CMO By Erica Carbajal B oston-based Mass General Brigham has se- lected Thomas Sequist, MD, to serve as the system's first chief medical officer. Dr. Sequist first joined Mass General Brigham in 1999 as a resident. Most recently, he served as chief patient experience and equity officer. In addition to his new role as CMO, Dr. Sequist will continue to serve as a primary care physician at the system's Brigham and Women's Hospital, according to a Feb. 15 news release. "I am thrilled Dr. Sequist will bring his vast and demonstrable experience in enhancing our health system's patient experience and quality outcomes to his expanded role as chief medical officer at Mass General Brigham," said Anne Kli- banski, MD, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham. "I have no doubt that under his leader- ship, we will accelerate our progress toward pro- viding incomparable care to patients locally and across the globe." Dr. Sequist earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Boston. n

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