On behalf of Catholic Medical Center’s Board of Trustees, Chair Tim Riley announced Thursday the firm that will conduct an independent, external review at CMC. Horty, Springer & Mattern of Pittsburgh, PA is nationally known in the healthcare industry for providing legal services and advice to hospitals and health systems for more than 50 years. Their highly experienced team works regularly with hospital boards, administrations and medical staffs.
“Engaging HortySpringer is an opportunity for CMC and consistent with the organization’s mission and values,” said Riley. “This review will help us understand what could have been done better in the past but, most importantly, it helps us chart a future based on industry-leading best practices.”
“CMC is committed to continuous improvement and we honor the trust our employees, patients, and community put in us every day,” said CMC President & CEO Alex Walker. “I’m grateful to the Board for initiating this review to reassure our employees and patients and I welcome HortySpringer’s work.”
The Board has asked HortySpringer to evaluate a number of areas around the quality and safety of CMC’s cardiac surgery program, as well as past and present policies, processes and procedures related to the Medical Staff, Hospital Administration, and Board. They will spend the next several months looking at, among other things, credentialing, peer review, and how leadership handled physician concerns.
“I am confident that this review will be objective and supports the goal that all providers at CMC share—to provide the highest quality care to our patients in the safest setting,” said CMC vascular surgeon and Medical Staff President Patricia Furey, MD, FACS, MBA.
To facilitate the external review, Trustees established a special committee of the Board. Led by Vice Chair Pamela Diamantis, it includes recently appointed trustees Matt Albuquerque and Grace Tung. Tom Donovan, retired Director of Charitable Trusts for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, has agreed to serve on the committee as an independent member. In order to support the autonomy of HortySpringer and the impartiality of their work, there are no members of the administration or the medical staff on the special committee.
HortySpringer will produce a report on their findings and recommendations for improvement. The review is expected to take several months and will have the full support of the Board. HortySpringer will be granted access to the resources they need to do a thorough and objective evaluation.
For more about HortySpringer, including a statement about their engagement with CMC, click here.
To learn more about CMC's commitment to quality and our forward facing approach, click here.