Full Circle is a blog by Jim VanderSteeg, President and CEO of Covenant Health. Read our CEO's thoughts about health care, leadership and other topics, as well as his updates about Covenant Health and our member organizations. Blog messages will be posted regularly, or you may subscribe to Full Circle by email - simply use the online subscription form on this web page. Thank you for visiting Full Circle!
Medicare Wage Index
Covenant Health has long advocated for changes to the Medicare Wage Index – the current flawed formula has negatively impacted hospitals in East Tennessee.
May Events and Observances
As we look at calendars for the month of May, you may agree that May is typically a very busy month. In addition to observances like Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, there are graduations and end-of-school celebrations for many students and families. In healthcare there are a number of observance weeks for specialized professionals throughout […]
New Imaging Services
If you’re like most shoppers, when you get ready to make a major purchase, you look for information – and these days, most people look online.
Price Transparency
You may have heard or seen in recent news articles that beginning January 1, 2019, all U.S. hospitals were required to post a listing of their “standard charges” on their websites. This is a new requirement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which regulates many aspects of healthcare operations in the U.S. […]
The Call to Serve Others
During the past several weeks, our country has mourned the loss of George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States. Many prominent leaders have expressed their respect for former President Bush as they reflected on his more than 70 years of public service as a Naval aviator, ambassador to the United Nations, head of […]
A Season of Gratitude
As I think about last week’s Thanksgiving feast and celebration, I hope you and your loved ones enjoyed a fun and meaningful holiday with family and friends. I would like to share with you a few of the things that are at the top of my “gratitude list” this year: I am thankful for family […]
Count on Covenant Health
You may have seen recent announcements about the closing of Physicians Regional Medical Center in Knoxville and Lakeway Regional Hospital in Morristown, effective December 28, 2018. This is a significant transition that affects not only the patients of these facilities, but also their physicians and the hospitals’ employees. Healthcare is indeed in transition in our […]
Making Mental Health a Priority in Our Region
In this edition of Full Circle, I’d like to focus on a service that is a very important part of Covenant Health and our communities: Peninsula, the behavioral health division of Parkwest Medical Center. Peninsula has long been an important provider of behavioral services in our area. Our inpatient and outpatient mental health resources have […]
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