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WellSpan Health will take pharmacy delivery to the skies in the near future, partnering with Zipline, the world’s largest autonomous delivery service. WellSpan will use Zipline’s electric, autonomous drones to transport prescriptions directly to patients’ homes and move lab samples and medical products between its facilities. Zipline’s aircraft will make deliveries up to 7 times faster than current automotive delivery. WellSpan is the first health system to introduce this type of technology and delivery system at scale in Pennsylvania. This innovative effort will help WellSpan Health reach more patients faster and provide a better experience. “WellSpan continues to reimagine what healthcare can look like for our patients. With Zipline, we’re creating a future for our patients where getting a prescription filled is as simple as pressing a button. We’re making our system lower cost, faster, and more sustainable by bringing this exceptional technology to South Central Pennsylvania,” said Roxanna Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N., president and CEO, WellSpan Health. “We know the easier it is to access care, the healthier people can be. With Zipline, we’re connecting healthcare straight to your front door.”
This year, the catheterization lab at WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital celebrates its 20th year of saving lives and hearts in Franklin County. Today, the cath lab has expanded to three procedural rooms. The team has grown to 20 team members, 16 procedural team members, and four dedicated to pre-and post-operative care. The cath lab offers services including transesophageal echocardiograms (TEE), cardioversions, and electrophysiology procedures. “Over the years, we have been happy to offer more advanced options to our patients. We continue to try to get the latest technologies to the lab. I think that the community has been very supportive of us, and they truly appreciate what we do for our patients and their loved ones,” said Dr. Aylmer Tang, who in 2004 became the first physician for the Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) program in a single-room lab within the hospital.
Our WellSpan hospitals are harnessing artificial intelligence to improve patient safety and address nursing burnout, through a new system that allows nurses and nursing assistants to virtually monitor patients and to virtually perform certain routine tasks. Called Artisight, the system now is being rolled out across our system with two programs that use a two-way audio/video system to virtually check on and engage with patients. Full implementation is expected by summer of 2024. The programs include: - Virtual sitter, which allows a nursing assistant to use a computer module to remotely monitor patients who are at risk for falls, are forgetful, or may be impulsive about pulling out lines or tubes needed for their care. - Virtual nurse, which allows a nurse to use a computer to remotely conduct discharges, admissions, and patient education, much like a video visit with a provider works. A pilot program at WellSpan Surgery & Rehabilitation Hospital, launched in August, showed positive results, including a 39% decrease in patient falls and a 25% improvement in well-being among nurses.
WellSpan Health’s commitment to advancing an inclusive workplace has been recognized for the second year in a row by Newsweek. Named as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity for 2024, WellSpan is focused on fostering diversity, equity and inclusion and creating an environment where all feel welcomed, respected and valued. “Our team of 20,000 strong embraces the value of providing quality care that’s culturally affirming. We honor the diversity of our team members, patients and neighbors and embrace all the qualities that make us similar and unique,” said Aaron Gillingham, senior vice president and chief people officer, WellSpan Health. WellSpan’s comprehensive strategy includes recruitment, community engagement and ongoing employee education and training.
Affirmed by Moody’s Investor Services (Moody’s) and Fitch Ratings, WellSpan Health announced Oct. 2 stable bond ratings, maintaining a leading position in South Central Pennsylvania and allowing the health system to continue providing the highest quality care at the lowest cost to patients. Moody’s Investor Services and Fitch Ratings, credit rating businesses that provide financial research on bonds and other debt securities to help illustrate an organization’s financial wellbeing, have issued a stable outlook for WellSpan Health’s bond rating, pointing to ‘WellSpan’s strong financial profile and its leading market position in a favorable service area’ as reasoning to affirm the health system’s rating, despite the ongoing challenges facing the healthcare industry and economy at large. Moody’s affirmed the “Aa3” and “Aa3/VMIG 1 revenue bonds” rating for the third year in a row while Fitch affirmed their AA- rating. “The continued efforts to maintain our health system’s financial performance is affirmed through these bond ratings and attests to WellSpan’s leading position in South Central Pennsylvania,” said Laura Buczkowski, executive vice president and chief financial officer, WellSpan Health. “Despite these turbulent economic times, Moody’s and Fitch’s assessments reinforce WellSpan as being exceptionally well-positioned among our peers to optimize our care performance while providing the best quality, experience, and lowest cost for our patients.”
WellSpan Health has been recognized as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Parents & Families - 2023 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group. The ranking is based on a large-scale employer study encompassing more than 224,000 company reviews. “At WellSpan we strive to create a flexible working environment that attracts top talent, and this recognition supports the fact that we are an employer of choice locally, and a destination for those regionally and beyond to come join our team,” said Aaron Gillingham, senior vice president and chief people officer, WellSpan Health. “Our team members are proud of where they work, because we give them the tools to succeed and advance their careers, working in an organization that respects the power of ‘Working As One’ to provide the very best for our patients and communities.” WellSpan has been honored by these same organizations earlier in 2023 in the categories of greatest workplaces (in general), greatest workplaces for diversity, as well as greatest workplaces for women. “A workplace that supports parents and families is beneficial to everyone. Employees at companies with flexible working hours, parental leave, childcare support and eldercare assistance are less likely to feel overwhelmed with family responsibilities,” said Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief, Newsweek. For more information on WellSpan’s employment opportunities and expansive benefits, visit www.JoinWellSpan.org.
WellSpan Health has received 11 American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines and Mission: Lifeline achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke or heart attack, and heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in the U.S. respectively. Studies show patients can recover better when providers consistently follow treatment guidelines.
WellSpan Health has implemented its new organizational minimum wage of $17 per hour and will now begin paying a weekend differential of 10 percent to team members in hourly roles who choose to work weekends in support of patient care and operational needs. The new internal minimum wage paid by WellSpan, a top healthcare employer regionally and nationally, became effective on July 2, 2023. The new weekend differential goes into effect on July 30, 2023. “We continue to make investments in our most important resource – our 20,000 team members who provide and support high-quality, compassionate care provided to our patients each and every day,” said Bob Batory, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, WellSpan Health. “Our newly implemented organizational minimum wage and our weekend differential are part of our ongoing commitment to being the healthcare employer of choice in South Central Pennsylvania.” The minimum wage increase is the latest update to a multi-year strategy to lead regional healthcare organizations by raising the rate, which will now be nearly $10 above the federally mandated minimum wage.
WellSpan Health has been recognized as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces 2023 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group. The ranking recognizes the greatest workplaces overall by state and is based on performance in the following areas: empowerment of women, promotion of veterans, development of entry-level employees and support for LGBTQ team members. “Our approach of collaboration and recognition in the workplace creates a culture for our team members that is unmatched with programs designed to support the career aspirations of each of our 20,000+ healthcare heroes,” said Bob Batory, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, WellSpan Health. “Continued focus on advancing our diverse and inclusive working environment aligns with our mission to Work as One as we provide the highest level of care and greatest patient experience.” Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group recognized the America’s Greatest Workplaces in the United States by conducting a large-scale employer study based on over 389,000 company reviews. Participants were asked to determine the weights assigned to individual statements about their employment experience.
