The title "director of emergency medicine and president of the medical staff" usually evokes the image of a physician. However, in Ellenville Regional Hospital in New York, it is a nurse practitioner who holds that title.
Bob Donaldson is a nurse practitioner who has attending status in Ellenville Regional's emergency room. He is part of an innovative structure that replaced all ER doctors with nurse practitioners and physician assistants -- and has increased admissions since making the change.
When the hospital had difficulty attracting volunteers to run for the medical staff leadership position, Donaldson volunteered and was elected president.
As the number of nurse practitioners and physicians assistants in the hospital setting continues to rise, it will be interesting to see if more and more non-physicians begin to assume medical staff leadership roles.
To read the full article, click here:
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/page-3/NRS-262335/Nurse-Practitioner-Elected-Medical-Staff-President
Source: HealthLeaders Media
1 comment:
Is this hospital JC Certified or a CMS Participating Provider? I'm just asking because I feel like this is less an issue of polarization between physicians, NPs, and PAs and more of an issue of regulation...
"Medical staff president:
The Joint Commission released a new standard (LD.01.05.01, EP 7) in January 2009 to be in compliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Condition of Participation (CoP) 482.22(b)(3). It states “For hospitals that use Joint Commission accreditation for deemed status purposes: A doctor of medicine or osteopathy, or, if permitted by state law, a doctor of dental surgery or dental medicine, is responsible for the organization of the medical staff.”
The responsibility noted is that of the medical staff president (or chief of staff) and limits this position to physicians, dentists, and oromaxillofacial surgeons. It also limits the position of president-elect or chief of staff-elect to physicians, dentists, and oromaxillo facial surgeons if the medical staff has a system in place in which leaders are automatically succeeded."
*Bylaws and governance monthly: Medical staff leadership--is it limited to physicians? - Mary Hoppa, MD, MBA, CMSL, is a senior consultant with The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc. in Marblehead, MA.
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