Dear Colleagues:
As the year comes to a close, I’d like to wish each and every one of you a happy and healthy Holiday Season. May you enjoy this special time with your friends and family and relax, rejuvenate, and celebrate the close of a meaningful year. We accomplished a lot this year through amazing teamwork and dedication, and we have continued to achieve high patient satisfaction and quality scores. Currently, NEMG ambulatory practices rank in the highest 10% nationally for patient experience. This year, our ACO received the highest amount of credit for quality ever. Additionally, as I continue to hear about the diligent work and dedication to excellence by all of you, I am constantly reminded of how rewarding it is to work with such an outstanding team.
In keeping with the theme of the holidays, let us reflect on what we’re grateful for this season. For me, I am thankful for the strides we are making, as a society, to reemerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and the major milestones that we, as a system, have achieved, to support that goal. Probably, for the first time in several years, families are able to gather together and celebrate life and family. This is a good thing and grounds us in our humanity.
I do want to take a few minutes and recognize Aimee Derry, MHA, Vice President, Business Development, for the fantastic work, innovative thinking, and perseverance she provided throughout her exceptional career with Northeast Medical Group. As you may know, Aimee recently resigned from her position, and she will be greatly missed by all. Aimee was instrumental in the development of numerous successful expansion initiatives for Northeast Medical Group. Most recently, she was involved with the enhancement of NEMG’s partnership with the University of New Haven, fostering a new partnership with Sacred Heart University to provide student health services, and bringing in almost 40 anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and pain management experts. I wish Aimee the very best of health, happiness, and prosperity in her next endeavor.
Beginning this fiscal year, a special column will be featured each quarter that honors those doctors who have decided to retire. As we wrap up the first quarter, I would like to acknowledge the retirement of six of our esteemed doctors: Nicholas Viner, MD, Alan Weiss, MD, Jay Graves, MD, Robert Keltner, MD, Richard Garvey, MD, and Marc Mann, MD. For more information, read NEMG bids a fond farewell to our retiring doctors in this issue.
Earlier this month, an organizational alignment was announced with Yale Medicine. Margaret McGovern, MD, PhD, has been named chief physician executive of the aligned physician services, reporting jointly to the CEO of Yale New Haven Health as executive vice president and to the dean of Yale School of Medicine effective immediately. Dr. McGovern will continue to serve as CEO of Yale Medicine and deputy dean for clinical affairs in the School of Medicine. I am very honored to have been named senior vice president of YNHHS, while maintaining my responsibility to NEMG. I am excited for this new role as we work towards building a more unified health system. Read the full article for more information and be on the lookout for future communications.
In closing, I would like to address our future with endemic COVID. Coming out of the past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, both the system and NEMG continue to deal with some real challenges related to retaining and hiring new people within our offices. I acknowledge this challenge and understand it has been both difficult and stressful. Please note that we are working very closely with System Human Resources to process and recruit to fill vacancies and resolve this issue. We have tirelessly taken care of our patients and their families, often with the recognition of increased risk to ourselves. Yet amidst our staffing challenges, we continue to keep people safe and well and carry on the business of health care. My sincere thanks to you all!
Keeping each other updated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond, has been paramount and our numerous platforms of communication have allowed us to share information and answer your questions. That said, I would like to announce the latest, and newly designed, bi-weekly email for our audience of practicing clinicians and staff – NEMG Nuggets, first launched on Nov. 4 by Robert McLean and Peter Logue. Our goal is to deliver concise, breaking news about daily office practices, updated policies, patient experience feedback, and even the world around us. If you have anything you wish to contribute to this new platform (e.g., community health events, authoring any publications etc.), please contact Robert McLean, MD, or Peter Logue, COO, NEMG. View all editions of NEMG Nuggets (intranet).
In addition to all the attention surrounding COVID-19, it is more important than ever to encourage patients to get their flu vaccination. Each year in the United States, the flu sickens over 30 million people and hospitalizes over 200,000. Less than half of the U.S. population receives a flu vaccination annually. The best prevention against getting the flu is immunization.
Your physical and emotional well-being are top priority. I encourage all of you to take part in our voluntary, confidential well-being check-ins available to all clinicians and staff. If interested, schedule an appointment (intranet, employee login).
We are all in this together. To help navigate this challenging time, I urge you to take advantage of the following resources:
For more information about COVID-19, please visit:
Visit the intranet for the most up-to-date information.
Thank you again for your diligent work and commitment to our patients and NEMG through FY2022 and into our new fiscal year.
Keep well and safe and enjoy a wonderful holiday season. My very best to all of you!
Sincerely,
