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January 3, 2013 -- Happy New Year!!

Jan 03, 2013 by Marc Strode, CEO

Folks,
I hope Santa was good to you at Christmas and that you rang in the new year with celebrations with friends and family! First, for those that worked during the holidays, particularly Christmas day and New Year's day while many of us rested, thanks. I know we were very busy this year throughout this period when many of us take time off or want to take time off. I appreciate that.

It is a new year, and there are several things worth mentioning already 3 days into 2013:

1. So, the world did not end on December 21 and we averted the dreaded fiscal cliff. Good news on both fronts. However, Uncle Sam will be taking a bigger bite of all of our paychecks starting now. The payroll tax goes up for every wage earner about 2%, and you will see that in your next paycheck presumably. That's not VVRMC pullin' that out but our friends in DC.
2. For those of you who have your health insurance through the hospital, remember there are significant plan changes this year. While premiums stayed the same, benefits changed as we have moved from a self-insured plan to now going with United. Please, please be informed of your policy. No one likes surprises, especially when it comes to medical bills. If you have any questions, please go visit HR so they can help you navigate the plan. If you access hospital services, whereas before there was no out-of-pocket to you (something we could offer through the mechanics of the other plan), you now have co-insurance and deductibles at play when you visit the ER, come to the hospital for lab or x-ray, etc. Those are probably the most common services utilized so just wanted to continue to remind you and educate you of the changes.
3. Hip, hip, hooray for our EMS crew which was featured in December's issue of Texas EMS, which is a monthly publication on said topic. Ours was the profiled service along with full-colored picture. Ram does a great job operating the high-profile service, and Susie does an outstanding job continuing to train and prepare our team for what they will face in the field. Great to see them get their props!!
4. Tomorrow, January 4, we will welcome a new hospitalist to the team. Dr. Robert Brown will be joining us to be a part of the permanent rotation. Please help us welcome him and acclimate him to VVRMC. I look forward to getting your feedback on how he's doing for you and our patients.
5. Dr. Muhamed Nawar, our temporary interventional cardiologist has been here now about 3 weeks. He seems to be doing well and talking like a guy who wants to stay around longer than the 90 days we both signed up for. Stay tuned on this, but right now just great to have strong cardiology back in the hospital and from a guy who seems to be getting along so well with everyone!!!
6. As you are aware, we will welcome Drs. Manning, Oviedo and Salama to the Amistad Medical Professionals team on March 1. We also have commitments from 2 of 3 mid-levels (Connace and Moira) and expect the 3rd soon. So we will likely be growing +6 on the provider side within our practice and retaining those excellent clinicians in our community. We are headed over to Shannon next Wednesday to introduce ourselves to their staff, many who will become VVRMC staff over the coming weeks. This is always a difficult process no matter how well you plan things out. There is a task force meeting weekly to address the many logistical issues involved in this type of deal in hopes of a smooth transition for everyone come March.
7. We had a wonderful month in December for patient satisfaction. ER had 4th straight improved month, and bedded units--all 3--were top quartile in the nation! Great job team and do it again in January! We are in and out of that top quartile spot....just need to lock it down and work on consistency! Learn more about these and other metrics week after next at our next round of Town Hall meetings.
8. Congratulations to Adrian Larson and Dr. Rigney for successfully securing the VA contract so that the 400 or so Veterans in Val Verde county don't have to go to Kerrville or SA for basic healthcare. This contract has bounced around the past two years, and so have the patients. We are real happy to get it and help these guys and gals who have done so much for us and our freedom. This service will start soon as we finalize some moving parts with the Vista Verde Clinic and who all is going to land where.
9. The hospital is just looking great! Both decorated and just plain ol' VVRMC. As for the decorating contest, thanks again to everyone who got in the spirit and participated. And to the Lab and Surgery (I love Polar Express!) ya'll are the winners and we're gonna treat both areas to dinner @ Rudy's fully catered on us. See you at the pit! As for all the cosmetic progress, thanks to Brett, Martin and Frank and your teams to construct it and get it clean and shiny! Women's here we come!

Keep the Spirit,
Marc

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