New DCH CEO Making Good On Promise Of Leadership Culture Shift

TUSCALOOSA, AL — New DCH Health System Chief Executive Officer Katrina Keefer in August pledged to Tuscaloosa-area elected officials that she would deliver sweeping culture changes for the west Alabama health care provider aimed at improving patient outcomes, quality of care, employee recruitment and retention.

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And she appears to be making good on her promises.

As Patch previously reported, DCH Health System in April announced Keefer as the successor to longtime CEO Bryan Kindred, who retired in July after nearly four decades with DCH. She came to Tuscaloosa from Augusta University Health, where she was serving as the Georgia-based health care provider's CEO.

In just her first few days on the job, Keefer made no secret about her desire to implement a new leadership culture for DCH that would then transform every aspect of the organization.

"It's a multifaceted front for culture change," Keefer told Patch in an interview in August. "But it's imperative that we do that. And I think that many people who work here really have been craving that."

Indeed, Patch also reported on Monday that Augusta University Health's Mallary Myers had been hired as DCH Health System's senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO), joining her former boss in Alabama.

While Myers will fill the COO position vacated by former COO and Administrator Paul Betz in July, Luke Standeffer has been announced as senior vice president and administrator for DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa and Northport Medical Center.

At present, Standeffer serves as senior vice president and administrator of Northport Medical Center.

ALSO READ: Northport Establishes Health Care Subcommittee To Focus On DCH Board

In this new role, Standeffer will oversee inpatient care efficiencies, physician relationships and the environment of care to include construction, engineering, security and environmental services.

Keefer said Standeffer will continue to lead the DCH Health System Rehabilitation Pavilion and the North Harbor facility, in addition to working with local officials to develop new avenues to address the behavioral health needs in the area.

Several other "positive changes" were announced by Keefer on Monday in a memo emailed to DCH employees. This comes after she has spent her first weeks and months on the job meeting with hospital leadership and DCH partners in the surrounding community.

For example, Keefer mentioned that Dawn Alexander has served as the health system's interim Chief Nursing Officer for the last several months and will now occupy the position in a permanent capacity.

Keefer said Alexander will be tasked with focusing on not only bedside nursing, but nursing operations and emergency department operations. She will also continue to lead women’s, surgical and patient care services, in addition to DCH respiratory care and patient experience teams.

"Dawn has demonstrated new ways of thinking about staffing, stability and culture, and I’m appreciative that she has agreed to remain on our team," Keefer said.

In the memo to DCH employees, Keefer said Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Nina Dusang will continue to serve in the same position, with responsibilities overseeing finance, supply chain, and revenue cycle. However, she will also assume leadership of the clinical documentation improvement and utilization review areas.

"[Dusang] will continue to have responsibility for employed physician practices and physician recruiting and be charged with developing new models of partnerships and physician employment," Keefer said. "She will also be focused on growing the rural health clinic model to support traditional hospital and clinic operations in the communities we serve."

In another example of Keefer placing an emphasis on continuity for the quality leadership she inherited, Dr. Robin Wilson will continue to serve as Chief Medical Officer. He will be charged with overseeing medical staff services; regulatory and accreditation services; care coordination; and infection prevention

Wilson will also be expected to lead quality initiatives focused on lowering patient harm and improving publicly reported metrics.

Dianne Pickren, previously with the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, has also been hired as Executive Administrative Assistant and will serve as Keefer's primary administrative assistant and liaison to the DCH Board of Directors.

Keefer said each of the aforementioned hospital system leaders will report directly to her, with the changes going into effect on Oct. 31.

"I am energized by taking these next steps in organizing ourselves for the work we have ahead of us," she told employees on Monday. "I believe this structure will best position us to serve the health and wellness needs for the citizens of West Alabama."

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