[1] SUMC held the first of a projected annual Summit for Clinical Excellence on Oct. 27. The invitation-only event at the Arrillaga Alumni Center on campus, was attended by some 80 leaders from the SHC Board of Directors, the School of Medicine, Hospital administration, and the Medical Staff. The summit was hosted by Medical School Dean Philip A. Pizzo, SHC President and CEO Martha Marsh, and Medical Staff President Bryan D. Bohman. Guest speakers included Paul Gluck, chair, National Patient Safety Foundation and chair of the Patient Safety Committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and Jerry Hickson, associate dean for clinical affairs, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. For highlights and some thoughts about the Summit. [See President column].
[2] Medical Staff President and event co-host Bryan Bohman. (Photos by Mark Hundley)

Active medical staff members voted by a wide margin to approve a series of Medical Staff bylaw changes.

The measures, the first of two or possibly three ballots scheduled before the end of January, create an elected chief of staff position, as well as make more than a dozen changes primarily to give the Medical Staff more autonomy and ensure compliance with state law and Joint Commission regulations.

The first election, tallied after a Nov. 2 mail ballot deadline, targeted issues of staff governance. The second election, expected to be an e-ballot before the end of January 2008, would include a slate of candidates for new elected chief of staff and chief of staff-elect positions, said Sandi Edgar, director of medical staff services. Moreover, additional bylaws changes are likely to be considered by the Medical Staff in the coming months.

“Although the Medical Board considered it was important to get the governance changes handled quickly, there will be additional bylaw changes prepared for approval by the time of the chief of staff election or shortly thereafter,” said Bryan D. Bohman, current medical staff president.

The Medical Board, renamed the Medical Executive Committee (MEC) as a result of the election, was expected to establish a Nominating Committee. The commitment required and stipend that will be paid to the elected chief of staff will be determined before soliciting nominations, Edgar explained. The MEC is also scheduled to decide final content and a distribution schedule for the subsequent balloting.

The provisions of the new governance structure require ratification by the SHC Hospital Board.

In his August Medical Staff Update column, outgoing Medical Staff President Kent Garman summarized the work of an ad hoc committee on governance and outlined the changes. These include:

1. The new chief of staff, a full or half-time salaried employee of the medical staff, will be succeeded after two years by the chief of staff-elect. The outgoing chief of staff will remain an officer as past-COS for a two-year term. Both the vice and past chief of staff will chair key staff committees.

2. The current chief of staff position, appointed and funded by the hospital, will be eliminated, although the hospital is encouraged to appoint a chief medical officer to support the chief of staff and other medical staff officers.

3. The longstanding elected president’s position ends after an as-yet undetermined transition period.

4. Subject to approval by the Hospital Board, the medical staff would be granted a dedicated elected position on the SHC Board.

Additional provisions of the proposed bylaw changes were available in election packets, and a discussion of the need for the changes appeared in the AUG/SEPT07 Medical Staff Update column by outgoing Staff President Kent Garman: [click here.]