Becker's ASC Review

59 HEALTHCARE NEWS 59 Ascension Wisconsin restructures exec team By Mackenzie Bean A scension is restructuring the leadership team for its Wisconsin market and parting ways with several top leaders, the St. Louis- based system said March 21. Bernie Sherry, senior vice president of Ascension's Wisconsin market, will leave his role later this spring. e health system is currently conducting a search for his replacement. • Four other leaders are also exiting Ascension Wisconsin: • Monica Hilt, chief operating officer • Marcia Lysaght, DNP, RN, chief nursing officer • Beth O'Laire, market chief human resources executive • Caryn Kaufman, director of communications According to a memo to staff members obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the four leaders le their positions in March. Ascension has also split leadership responsibilities at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital's campuses in Milwaukee and Mequon, Wis. e hospitals will now have separate CEOs "to best enable greater operational and clinical focus at two critical sites of care," the system said. John Joyce will remain the president of Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Mequon, while Daniel Jackson was named interim president and CEO of the Milwaukee campus. Mr. Jackson most recently served as CEO of Detroit Medical Center's Sinai-Grace Hospital. Ascension also named Duke Walker as interim COO of the Milwaukee campus. Mr. Walker comes to the hospital from Lafayette, La.-based Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, where he served as vice president of operations. A search is still underway for the hospital's new chief nursing officer. Marlly Cadavid, PhD, RN, remains the CNO of Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Mequon. e restructuring comes aer investigative reports from the Journal Sentinel and Milwaukee Magazine alleged that staffing issues have significantly disrupted care at the Milwaukee campus, leading to delayed surgeries, long wait times and unattended patients. State health officials investigated Columbia St. Mary's in October 2022 and cited the hospital for not having enough staff members to properly care for four patients whose cases were reviewed. In August, the hospital was also at risk of losing its accreditation through e Joint Commission, though it has since been reaccredited. Ascension said the restructuring will "concentrate leadership resources at the facility-level, within key sites of care, to enable increased focus on clinical quality, appropriate staffing, and support of caregivers and associates. n How did 2,800 nurses with fake degrees pass the NCLEX? By Mackenzie Bean T he dust is settling on the national nursing degree scheme, but many questions still linger, with the most pressing being: Who are these nurses, and where are they practicing? As investigations continue and disciplinary actions are taken, another intriguing question has emerged: How were so many nurses able to pass the National Council Licensure Examination? Through the scheme, aspiring nurses allegedly paid between $10,000 and $15,000 for fake nursing degrees and transcripts, which allowed them to qualify for the NCLEX without completing the necessary coursework and training required to sit for the test. About 2,800 people — or 37 percent of those who bought fake documents — passed the test, according to Omar Pérez Aybar, special agent in charge for the Miami region of HHS' Office of Inspector General. A "significant number" went on to gain licensure and secure employment at U.S. healthcare facilities, he told The New York Times in January. "It is a bit of a surprise," Felicia Sadler, MJ, BSN, RN, vice president of quality at Relias, an approved provider of continuing education for U.S. licensing boards, told Becker's. "In the world of academia, we go through a very rigorous process from an academic standpoint, as well as our clinicals, when we work towards those diplomas and degrees." Many individuals who purchased fake nursing degrees had prior experience working in healthcare as certified nursing assistants or other positions, federal officials said, which may help explain the high pass rate. Test-takers may also have been internationally trained or educated nurses, according to David Benton, PhD, RN, CEO of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. "The NCLEX fundamentally assesses the level of a person's nursing knowledge, skills and abilities. It is a gold standard testing methodology that has been proven to be effective and reliable based on decades of data," Dr. Benton said in a statement to Becker's. "The NCLEX is designed to focus on public safety by measuring nursing ability currently required to practice competently at the entry level. It does not measure or assess whether an individual completed an education program or retained particular knowledge from their education program." In April, the NCSBN is slated to release its next-generation NCLEX designed to better measure test-takers' clinical judgment and decision-making. The organization is also looking into higher-end technologies to improve exam and nursing regulatory body practices, Dr. Benton said. n

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