Becker's Hospital Review

55 CHRO Southcoast Health creates 12-officer force to combat workplace violence By Kelly Gooch N ew Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health has created an in-house police department within its division of police and public safety, the system confirmed in a statement shared with Becker's. Marc Duphily has been appointed the division's first police chief, the system said. Southcoast Health has used Massachusetts State Special Police officers for more than five years, with 12 officers across the system, and said the move to formalize its own department was driven by rising workplace violence. In Massachusetts, workplace violence incidents in healthcare facilities have increased in frequency in recent years, with one occurring every 57 minutes in 2020, every 49 minutes in 2021 and every 38 minutes in 2022, according to a 2023 report from the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. "ese officers work hand in hand with our public safety and emergency management teams," the system said. "e expansion of the Southcoast Health Division of Police and Public Safety is a proactive approach that reflects our continued commitment to maintaining a safe environment for our patients, staff and visitors." Southcoast Health includes more than 55 locations, including three Massachusetts hospitals — Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham — as well as urgent care centers, physician practices and outpatient facilities. e program will begin at St. Luke's Hospital, according to WJAR. n this dri, she said. At Rush, that means redefining roles around core responsibilities — or "nonnegotiables" — while also allowing flexibility for unit-level needs. e latter gives employees the autonomy and ability to flex their role depending on patient populations, department culture and current skill sets. at flexibility is increasingly important as many bedside nurses now have fewer than five years of experience, requiring room for skill development within roles, she said. Any change to care models can disrupt role expectations and a team's flow, Dr. Pronovost and Dr. Sievert said. Launching virtual nursing models, reintroducing licensed practical nurses to acute care units, and rolling out new technologies to make healthcare delivery safer or more cost-effective can all create role ambiguity. Emerging technologies such as AI are expected to further reshape responsibilities by redistributing cognitive tasks and decision support, requiring leaders to continually reassess who does what. For leaders, the solution is not less collaboration but more intentional design. n MercyOne names CHRO By Kristin Kuchno Brooke Thrasher has been appointed chief human resources officer of Des Moines, Iowa-based MercyOne. Ms. Thrasher brings more than two decades of healthcare experience to the system, according to an April 2 MercyOne LinkedIn post. She has served as vice president and CHRO of Boise, Idaho-based Saint Alphonsus Health System since 2023, MercyOne's sister ministry, the post said. Before that, she was CHRO of Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, the system's largest hospital and level 2 trauma center. Both MercyOne and Saint Alphonsus are members of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health. MercyOne employs more than 22,000 people across more than 270 care locations. n

• Cover