Letter from Shelly Voet, MD - Executive Community Physician Leader
June 28, 2023
Hello! I hope everyone is having a great summer! This has certainly been an exciting time in Cincinnati!
First, congratulations to our colleagues and friends at Cincinnati Children’s on the U.S. News and World Report #1 ranking on June 21st! The goal of the U.S. News Best Children’s Hospital process is to help families to choose the best care for children with the most complex conditions. The children’s hospital process has evolved from being expert opinion based prior to 2007, to now reporting on over 1500 metrics regarding structure, process, and outcomes in ten specialties. Thank you and congratulations to the leaders, clinical, and non-clinical teams at Cincinnati Children’s who are continuously working to improve care for the most medically complex kids! As a primary care provider, I have always been grateful to have your expertise so close!
Second, we congratulate Dr. Patty Manning on her retirement at the end of this month. We are sharing an interview from Cincinnati Children’s Inspire magazine with you here. I first met Patty when she was a fellow in DDBP, and I have been grateful for her contributions on so many levels – from the patients we shared, to her leadership in her division and on the ambulatory team, to finally her critical partnership as Chief of Staff during COVID-19. Patty, enjoy your well-deserved retirement and thanks for everything!
This issue will also introduce you to Dr. Rich Falcone, who will assume Patty’s duties as Chief of Staff effective July 1st. Many of you know Rich as a General Surgeon and through his role as Associate Chief of Perioperative Services. CPAC is looking forward to working with Rich beginning this summer.
There are several divisions who have shared updates with us regarding referrals over the last month in this issue. Across the organization, divisions are continually striving to improve access and processes, especially for those patients who need their care the most (prioritizing younger kids in DDBP for diagnostic processes, for example). Please review these statements from Urology, Dental, DDBP and Anesthesia. Additionally, referrals to the Cincinnati Children’s ED can now be placed electronically through Epic Link by providers or their staff. The goal is to improve efficiency and accuracy in the information exchange during referrals. A job aid has been developed to walk you and your staff through the process.
This issue has an especially important update regarding The Health Collaborative (THC, also known as Healthbridge). THC has provided Health Information Exchange (HIE) services to our region through Healthbridge for over 20 years. As of December 2023, Healthbridge services will be ceasing. Cincinnati Children’s, along with local adult hospitals, are transitioning to a HIE called CliniSync (or Ohio Health Information Partners), which has been providing these services for 180 systems in Ohio for many years. Cincinnati Children’s has a dedicated team who is working on this complex transition. If you are one of the systems who receive electronic information from Cincinnati Children’s via Healthbridge and want to avoid disruption, please reach out to Clinisync now. The transition at Cincinnati Children’s to CliniSync may occur before year end. Please see the article for more information and share with your team.
Thanks again for all you do,
Shelly
Shelly F. Voet MD
Pediatric Associates, PSC
Cincinnati Children’s Executive Community Physician Leader