FRANKLIN, TN.  November 13, 2013.  Capella Healthcare has announced the recipients of its 2013 Pillar Awards.  The recognition program was established last year to recognize outstanding contributions in each of Capella’s five Pillars by individuals at the corporate office.  Nominated by their colleagues and supervisors, these individuals show a consistent passion for excellence in Quality, Service, People, Growth or Finance.

CEO Dan Slipkovich presented the awards to the following honorees:

  • QUALITY PILLAR AWARD:  Beverly Craig, VP, Regulatory Compliance and Clinical Risk Management
  • SERVICE PILLAR AWARD:  John Bradford, VP, Associate General Counsel
  • PEOPLE PILLAR AWARD:  Robert Wampler, VP, Hospital Operations COO / CFO
  • GROWTH PILLAR AWARD:  Rick Charbonneau, VP, Business Development
  • FINANCE PILLAR AWARD:  Michelle Carpenter, Director, Business Office Operations
  • SHINING STAR AWARD:  Al Smith, VP, Chief Information Officer

 

Pictured from the left are: Capella Healthcare CEO Dan Slipkovich with Pillar Award recipients John Bradford, Robert Wampler, Michelle Carpenter, Rick Charbonneau and Beverly Craig as well as Shining Star Award recipient Al Smith.

 

Beverly Craig, VP-Regularly Compliance and Clinical Risk Management, was honored for her passionate commitment to ensuring that the highest quality of care is provided at all times, in all settings, for every patient.  “Beverly makes time to listen to individuals who may be experiencing road blocks as well as to serve as a sounding board for ideas, suggestions and feedback.  She’s seen by many as a mentor and is a constant and consistent leader in promoting our primary quality initiatives,” said Slipkovich.

John Bradford, VP-Associate General Counsel, was recognized for his outstanding service to Capella’s hospitals and the corporate office.  “For more than four years, John has consistently set the bar for the rest of the corporate office in terms of providing outstanding service.  He has consistently ranked at the top in our corporate service satisfaction survey and his ‘can do’ attitude is matched only by the high quality of the technical work and responsiveness he delivers,” said Slipkovich.  This was the second consecutive year that Bradford was honored with the Service Pillar Award.

Robert Wampler, VP-Hospital Operations COO / CFO, received the People Pillar Award in recognition of his dedicated work ethic and “ultimate team player” attitude.  “During this past year, Robert assumed additional responsibilities during a restructuring, never once complaining and always looking out for the best interests of the company and those he works with.  He made several personal and professional sacrifices to support the company as well as EASTAR Health System in Muskogee by serving as Interim CEO during a transition period,” said Slipkovich.

Rick Charbonneau, VP-Business Development, was honored for his contributions leading to growth.  “Rick has played a vital role in Capella’s growth during recent years, including through his direct involvement with several in-market acquisitions as well as in his managed care responsibilities.  His most recent work included facilitating an innovative partnership with Regence in Oregon, in support of Willamette Valley Medical Center,” said Slipkovich.

Michelle Carpenter, Director-Business Office Operations, was recognized for her work contributing to the overall financial health of each hospital.  “In addition to her work with each of our hospitals’ business offices and the Patient Accounting Services vendor, Michelle played a vital role this past year in helping our hospitals convert to Meditech 6.0.  Even with a departmental restructuring and new federal and state regulatory changes significantly impacting processes and reimbursement, she has met each and every challenge willingly and graciously, and always with a smile and a professional attitude,” said Slipkovich.

A special award was presented this year – the Capella Shining Star Award – in recognition of an individual who was nominated for excellence across all five pillars.  That award went to Al Smith, VP-Chief Information Officer.  “These past two years have been critical years for the company to achieve IT objectives that will enhance our quality initiatives through information technology.  Additionally, achieving these objectives led to the receipt of additional payments that will significantly benefit each hospitals’ financial health. Al did an exceptional job in recruiting key individuals and leading them through this difficult and stressful timeframe.  Through the second half of 2012 and first half of 2013, the company successfully converted eight hospitals to an enterprise-wide ‘design and build’ model of Meditech 6.0 which, based on our best knowledge, is the only conversion done this way in the country.  Because of this collaborative and creative approach, Al and his team enabled the company to deploy a high quality IT system at a fraction of what stand-alone organizations would have had to pay. As a result, all of Capella’s hospitals were able to successfully attest for Meaningful Use Stage 1 on time and below budget,” said Slipkovich.

About Capella Healthcare

Capella Healthcare partners with communities to build strong local healthcare systems that are known for quality patient care. Based in Franklin, Tenn., Capella owns and/or operates 14 acute care and specialty hospital facilities in six states.  With the philosophy that all healthcare is local, Capella collaborates with each hospital’s medical staff, board and community leadership to take care to the next level.  The company has access to significant leadership and financial resources, investing in its family of hospitals to strengthen and expand services and facilities. For more information, visit the website, www.CapellaHealthcare.com.