Newspaper Page Text
Page 8A
iReporter
February 14, 2018
Lauren Gigliotti
NOW AT STUDIQ55
Drill sergeant named hospital CEO
Call to Schedule
Your Appointment Today
55 W. Johnston St., Forsyth
Cell: 470-292-8448 • Salon: 478-992-9939
GLEAMCLEANINGPROS.COM
GUAM
'Hally cue^
“Local Award Winning Business serving Monroe County
and surrounding areas since 2009”
“Free House Cleaning to Anyone with Cancer”
© • FULLY INSURED & BONDED
y & Best Window y
V Cleaning V
• Professionally trained uniformed staff
• House Cleaning • Pressure Washing • Window Cleaning
(478) 994-0515
GleamCleaningPros.com
By Richard Dumas
forsyth@mymcr.net
Monroe County Hospital
selected administra
tor Lorraine Smith on
Tuesday, Jan. 31 for the
position of MCH Chief
Executive Officer (CEO).
Smith, who has worked
for Macon-based Navicent.
Health for 10 years, had
been MCH’s adminis
trator since July 2017.
Smith replaces outgoing
CEO Darren Pearce, who
stepped down last week
after serving as MCH CEO
since August 2016.
Smith, a Brooklyn, N.Y
native, has over 17 years
of healthcare experience,
including various clinical
laboratory and leadership
positions at New York
Presbyterian Hospital and
Navicent Health. Prior to
being appointed as MCH’s
administrator, Smith was
the Director of Operations
at the Medical Center of
Peach County.
In addition to her work
in healthcare, Smith serves
as a member of the U.S.
Army Reserve where
she has over 20 years of
service and is currently
the Headquarters, 98th
Division First Sergeant,
a unit responsible for
training basic entry sol
diers. In 2003, Smith was
deployed to Iraq to support
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Smith and her husband
Brandon formerly lived in
Forsyth for five years but
now reside in Bonaire with
their two children, Isabella,
6, and Cooper, 4. Brandon
Smith, who was born
and raised in Bainbridge
and is also a U.S. Army
veteran, works as a pro
gram manager at Robins
Air Force Base. Lorraine
Smith moved to Georgia
10 years ago after meeting
her future husband when
they were in drill sergeant
school together at Fort
Jackson, S.C.
Smith joined the Army
Reserves while an under
graduate at Stony Brook
University and still serves
one weekend per month
and two weeks per year.
She said her military
training has enhanced her
Adult Guardianships & Special Needs Trusts
Ensuring Benefits and a Beautiful Life for People with Special Needs
If your loved one...
• Receives/ will need Medicaid, SSI, or both
• Cannot advocate effectively for themselves
• Has complex care needs
• Has a mental illness or disability
• Lives in a group home or other supported environment
... Then Special Needs planning is for you.
To learn more, attend our Guardianship Seminar:
March 1,2018 at 5:45 pm
Monroe County Board of Education
25 Brooklyn Ave. Forsyth ,Ga. 31029
For more information, contact Beth Smith:
478-994-2031 ext. 1603
www.goldbergestateplanning.com
Facebook: GoldbergEPLaw
leadership skills in myriad
ways.
‘The military is a lot of
who I am today between
the concept of team and
the discipline,” Smith said.
“And I feel like I have a
double dose of leadership,
not just in my civilian job,
but also from the military
side. People only see the
yelling and screaming side
of a drill sergeant, but drill
sergeants are trainers.
That’s the bottom line. In
nine weeks you have to
take a civilian and trans
form them into a soldier.”
Of her year-long stint
in Iraq, Smith recalled:
“When people wonder
how I have good employee
engagement scores or care
about employee engage
ment, it’s because my first-
set of employees was in
Iraq. They were my sol
diers, and they had weap
ons in their hands. So you
have to learn very quickly
how to get people to do
what you need them to do.
That was being responsible
at 23 years old for people’s
health and welfare. At that
time when we were in Iraq
we were rationing water,
nevermind cold water in
120 degree weather, but
rationing water and we
were eating meals ready-
to-eat. And so I learned a
lot of leadership lessons in
Iraq. When I came back,
that’s when I was asked to
be a supervisor in the labo
ratory in New York.”
Among Smiths other
management qualifications
is her Master of Business
Administration with a con
centration in Healthcare
Management from
Northeastern University in
Boston, Mass. She is also
certified as a Six Sigma
Black Belt, which is a set
of tools and techniques
for process improvement
which she uses to achieve
operational effectiveness.
Smith said she utilizes
what she’s learned through
Six Sigma in her manage
ment of MCH, particularly
as it relates to the most-
efficient use of the building
and its processes.
Hospital Authority of
Monroe County chairman
Todd Tolbert-, who advocat
ed Smith’s selection, said
he’s seen Smith’s talents as
a problem solver on display
already.
“The first- thing that-
impressed me about
Lorraine wasn’t- her posi
tive at-t-it-ude really because
there are people with a
positive attitude that- can’t,
do anything,” Tolbert- said.
“But- the second meeting
she was there, she put- a
projector up on the wall
and showed where we were
as far as the quality of ser
vice that we are providing
at- this hospital. And right,
t-here a lightbulb went- on,
and I was like, That’s what,
we’re missing.’ This build
ing isn’t- a hospital. It’s just,
a building. It’s all of the
people and all of the train
ing and all of the expertise
Lorraine Smith, new
CEO of Monroe County
Hospital.
and all of
the leader
ship inside
the building
that- is what,
makes it- a
hospital. So
when I saw
Lorraine
put- that- up
there, we’ve
got- somebody
now that- is
tracking it
and improv
ing the qual
ity of service
and patient-
care.”
Tolbert said once it- was
evident- that- the hospital
had been saved through
last- year’s referendum,
it was incumbent- on the
Authority to identify a
person in charge to enable
the hospital to take its
next- steps toward quality
and financial excellence.
Tolbert- said, “Lorraine
came in with obvious
leadership skills and the
discipline to take, which I
think was probably both
her military training and
her Sigma Six training,
and look at- what- are the
issues we have to resolve
to be a functioning hospital
and to give good quality
service. So all the metrics
she is tracking are I think
standard in the industry,
but as far as I could tell no
one was tracking them at
our hospital. I said imme
diately I’ve got- to take that,
up to the commissioners.
They’ve got- to understand
we’re on track and we have
somebody in charge who
understands that part of it.
What- it- boiled down to is
the patient- was the most-
import-ant-. Everybody else
in the whole organiza
tion all the way up to the
Authority members have
to support that patient
coming through the door.
And Lorraine in my mind
was clearly focused on the
patient- experience all the
way up to the top because
she was wanting to resolve
problems and conflicts
as they came up to make
sure they didn’t- reach the
service levels at- the patient-
level in the rooms. And
everybody just- gets along
with her. The commis
sioners met- her once, and
they were like, ‘I love her
to death.’And so someone
who could fit that well into
this community with that,
spirit-, that- much can-do
at-t-it-ude, is someone we
need to make sure we keep
here.”
Tolbert- said MCH’s man
agement- services agree
ment- with Navicent- Health
actually allows Navicent.
to name MCH’s CEO, but
both Tolbert- and Navicent.
Executive Vice President
Rhonda Perry, to whom
Smith reports, believed
MCH should maintain
the stability that- Pearce,
Smith and interim Chief
Financial Officer (CFO)
Judy Ware had already
brought.
Smith said,
‘T think it- was
important to
Rhonda and
Todd that- the
trajectory the
hospital is
already on not,
get- changed.
We’re already
heading down
such a great-
path. Census
has increased
two-fold. We’re
finally having
positive mar
gins. Our qual
ity scores are
being measured. And this
final piece of construction,
which is in the works now,
that's just- going to be the
icing on the cake. We still
have a long way to go, but
we’re just- going to keep
fine-tuning and fine-tuning
every day.”
Smith said one of the big
gest- advantages of MCH’s
partnership with Navicent,
is that- by having Navicent.
managing the hospital, it
net-s MCH the full support,
of the Navicent- Health
System medical conglomer
ate.
“When you get- one of us,
you get the entire back
ing of the health system,”
Smith said. “So you get- in a
lot- of ways every single per
son in the health system
with their subject- matter
expertise, their ability to
lend a helping hand. The
idea is not- to nickel and
dime everything but- it’s to
make sure there is health
care locally. Our relation
ship can really be a win-
win situation when we talk
about- the swing beds and
leveraging and taking off
the Medical Center’s hands
the low acuity patients to
make room for the higher
acuity patients. It’s really a
win-win for all of us.”
Smith said she’s learned
under Pearce at- both
The Medical Center of
Peach County and MCH
the importance of both
changing the culture of
the facility and making
sure employees know how
important- they are to the
hospital’s success and feel
valued.
“It’s getting down to the
staff and letting them
know that- they can do it,”
Smith said. “Having that,
posit-ive at-t-it-ude toward
the addition of work. I
think sometimes people
think that- good leadership
is coddling or not- pushing
people to do more or be
tough. But you can still be
what-1 call ‘gentle’ but- with
a firm hand.”
As part- of Smith’s selec
tion, Tolbert- said Smith’s
salary, benefits and retire
ment will be paid by MCH,
rather than Navicent-, but,
t-he exact- figures are still
under negotiation. He said
MCH will continue to pay
Navicent- $450,000 this
year as well as $500,000
annually over the next-
three years for manage
ment services.
UP TO $1 PER GALLON OFF ON
GAS BY SHOPPING AT FRESHWAY!
Freshway Market
COST PICS 10% • EVERY AO • EVERY ITEM • EVERT DOT • FEBRUARY TTH - FERRUORY13TH
41-50 ct
PANAMEIEZ
PEEL SHRIMP
SINGLE STEM
S t S0.88
1/2 DOZEN REP I
assortedmorI
LONG STEM R
HOT OR MILD
OLE SOUTH
ROLL SAUSAGE
$10-88
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
EN RED
,17*
HP ZEN RED
LONG
STEM
ROSES
171 North Lee Street • Forsyth, G/-J31029 • 478-994-8481
Open Everyday: 7:00 a.m.T 9:00 p.m.
sold to dealers. Certain i
liable In all stores. We r
rd by law (Idaho). Beverage Iter^Bye -deposit wl
ponsible for typographical or photographic i