Elmhurst Memorial Health Care Welcomes New President

By now, most Elmhurst residents have heard about the new hospital construction on the South end of town.  This new facility will replace the current Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in June 2011.  

But residents may not know that along with the new hospital comes a new president, Peter Daniels, who has replaced Leo Fronza, hospital president for the past 31 years.  Daniels comes to Elmhurst from Meridian Health, a network of five hospitals in New Jersey.  He served as president of Ocean Medical Center for eight years and has more than 25 years of hospital and administrative experience.  

He discussed his plans for the new hospital, health care reform and his biggest challenges as president. 

Elmhurst Patch: When did you decide to enter the medical field?  Was it a childhood dream you've always had? 

Daniels:   Yes, I've always been interested in science and medicine.  My interest really took off in college.  I got my bachelor's in science at Notre Dame and then started work at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.  I've also been very intrigued by the administrative side of hospitals, and a few years later I got an MBA from Long Island University.  I think I get the best of both world's in my job with the mixture of science and business. 

Elmhurst Patch: I'm sure you've had plenty of long talks with your predecessor, Leo Fronza. What's one piece of advice he's given you?

Daniels:  Leo has been unbelievably helpful to me as I'm transitioning.  The biggest thing he's taught me is that the people of Elmhurst Memorial are great to work with, and he encouraged me to get a sense of the culture and style of the hospital staff.  He's given me a lot of the history and background of the hospital. This was crucial for a newcomer like me who's not familiar with the area. 

Elmhurst Patch: What's your biggest challenge to tackle in the short-term? 

Daniels:  My biggest challenge right now is getting to know the community I'll be working in.  I haven't gotten a chance to reach out to many hospital staff, medical suppliers, construction engineers, etc.  I also need to connect with Elmhurst residents and government.  It's important for me to adapt to the environment that exists.  I don't want to change approaches or systems that are already working fine for the hospital.

Elmhurst Patch: How closely will you be working with the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation?

Daniels:  I actually just spoke to the foundation yesterday. I'll be working closely with them throughout the transition process.  They'll be holding fund-raisers over the next several months, which of course I will be attending.  The foundation board has some very dedicated, knowledgeable citizens working for it, and they've also taught me much about the hospital's history. 

Elmhurst Patch: The new hospital is being built around the Planetree approach to healthcare.  Could you explain a bit about what the Planetree approach actually entails? 

Daniels:  Planetree is a patient-focused approach to health care.  It works specifically on healing patients on a physical level, an emotional level, and a spiritual level.  The standards of Planetree are very high.  One of the biggest principles of Planetree is that the hospital staff must work closely with the patient's family during their care. Families and the hospital form a "partnership" to heal the patient as quickly as they can. 

Elmhurst Patch:  Have you ever worked under this approach to health care and do you think it will be a challenge for Elmhurst Memorial to meet the Planetree standards? 

Daniels:  I've never worked under Planetree, but I worked under a similar approach. At Meridian Health we worked with a nurse magnet program.  This meant focusing a lot of energy on our nurses and ensuring they had the resources to treat our patients efficiently.  Some hospitals do struggle to meet the Planetree standards but I think Elmhurst has a tremendous advantage because the entire facility was built according to Planetree standards.  Being able to start from scratch puts us in a great position to meet Planetree's principles. 

Elmhurst Patch: The new hospital has a lot of exciting new features, like the healing gardens, waterfalls, etc.  What's one of your favorite new features of the hospital? 

Daniels:  I look at it from two perspectives.  From the patient perspective,  the private rooms in the new hospital are fantastic.  The rooms were designed to be very soothing and each room gives nurses quick access to move materials in and out. The entire hospital is designed with prairie style architecture.  It's very aesthetically pleasing for everyone. 

The other perspective is the "back-stage" viewpoint.  As a science major in college,  I'm really intrigued by the new laboratories we'll have at our disposal.  These labs are all fully automated and filled with the most cutting-edge technology available.  This will lead to quick turnaround on test results and make patient care more efficient. 

Elmhurst Patch: What's been Elmhurst Memorial's interaction with the federal government's new health care reform?  Have you been with working with federal officials yet? 

Daniels: We've been digesting the health bill slowly as more news arrives about it.  The big issue is that a lot of the actual regulation of the bill has yet to be written, so we're still waiting to see the final language on lots of things.  We have been in touch with the government and things are getting clearer on what will be expected. 

One of our biggest tasks will be to work with doctors as we're setting prices for health procedures, because the goal of the bill is to have health costs bundled.  It's going to require us to communicate much better with physicians on costs. 

The good news is that Elmhurst is already very well positioned to abide by the bill.  The hospital has invested in many of the preventative health programs that the reform encourages. 

Elmhurst Patch:  There's been heated debate for the past few years about insurance companies and hospitals making a profit in their business.  What would you say to political activists that argue hospitals should not be allowed to turn a profit?

Daniels: Elmhurst Memorial Hospital works as a voluntary not-for-profit hospital which means that we do provide unpaid care to the poor.  We do our very best to work with patients on offering payment plans they can afford while providing them care.  Having said that,  I do think that the market driven model of healthcare works best.  I  think the competition amongst hospitals for patients leads to better quality care across the board.