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June 2, 2011 in City
Providence shuffles Spokane leadership
A management shake-up at Providence Health Care sends Dr. Andrew Agwunobi to a new corporate role as vice president of special projects and brings former Sacred Heart Medical Center chief executive Mike Wilson out of retirement to work as interim chief executive of Providence’s Eastern Washington operations. Those include Sacred Heart, Holy Family Hospital, and hospitals and care facilities in Colville and Chewelah.
The moves were announced this afternoon and took effect immediately.
Wilson takes over during trying times in the health care industry. State budget cuts threaten to lop tens of millions of dollars from hospitals, and some of the financial uncertainties of federal health reform leave medical providers big and small trying to piece together a profitable business model.
Wilson and Agwunobi were in meetings today and unavailable for comment, said spokeswoman Sharon Fairchild.
She said no other leadership changes are anticipated.
Agwunobi was hired in March 2008 from Florida, where he administered the state’s Medicaid program. He’d also been CEO of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.
Wilson worked for Providence for 27 years and was a management fixture at Sacred Heart with deep ties to local physicians, insurers, policymakers and employees. He retired in April 2009 as Providence prepared to pare its management staff.
Agwunobi intends to remain in Spokane with his family and work out of a home office while taking on his new role spanning Providence hospitals in five states, Fairchild said. A news release described his new job as helping senior Providence executives in Renton understand emerging health care trends, best practices and future challenges and opportunities.
His three-year tenure at the helm of Providence’s operations in Eastern Washington was marked by change and consolidation.
In October 2009, Rockwood Clinic, once Sacred Heart’s most important source of patient referrals, rattled the medical community by aligning with Deaconess Medical Center under the common ownership of national for-profit hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc.
Agwunobi reacted angrily and an ugly split ensued. Several Rockwood offices, including the busy outpatient surgery center and cardiology clinic, were pushed from the Sacred Heart campus; both have relocated to the Deaconess campus.
In the aftermath of Rockwood’s sale, private practice physician clinics increasingly sold to or sided with one hospital system or the other.
Agwunobi is credited with helping to create a system that quadrupled the number of doctors employed by Providence Medical Group to 160, which includes pediatric specialists, orthopedic surgeons, primary care physicians and many others. It’s part of the hospital system’s push toward an integrated method of patient care.
“Andy has successfully integrated diverse ministries across the region, restructured and developed the physician organization and has developed a new (Providence Health Care) leadership structure,” Mike Reilly, chairman of Providence’s board, said in the news release.
Agwunobi said in private interviews and public appearances that the economic recession, cutbacks to government health care programs and the uncertainties of national health care reform would not alter Providence’s role in treating those in need. The financial numbers bear out that commitment: Sacred Heart and Holy Family provided $112 million in uncompensated care last year treating the region’s poor.
He also helped preserve the role of Inland Northwest Health Services as it weathered a legal fight with Community Health Systems. Providence now controls the board of nonprofit INHS, which runs St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, Northwest MedStar air ambulance service, and offers an electronic medical records network across the region.
But an effort to establish a new Providence cardiology center by purchasing two heart clinics was dropped after federal regulators expressed antitrust concerns. Providence and one of the clinics are still attempting to salvage a deal.
Wilson is expected to lend steady leadership as Providence conducts a national search for Agwunobi’s replacement. He’ll also take over Sacred Heart’s push to add 75 patient beds in an expansion proposal, which is before a judge after being denied by the state. The proposal has been contested by Community Health Systems.
Said Reilly, the Providence chairman, “Mike Wilson has been part of the Providence family for nearly 30 years, and we’re looking forward to his leadership during this transition.”
Parishes giving $1.5 million toward settling sex cases 
jimmyball on June 02 at 4:28 p.m.
When “Dr. Andy” put his foot in his mouth regarding the purchase of Rockwood by CHS the writing was on the wall. Good riddance! Now maybe Mike Wilson can heal the rift between the two hospital systems in Spokane.
deacon46 on June 02 at 4:39 p.m.
Special projects is code for “out to pasture”…..
zelda on June 02 at 4:39 p.m.
VP of Special Projects. That kind of says it all.
zelda on June 02 at 4:55 p.m.
Deaconess didn’t waste any time promoting itself in the wake of the ER kerfluffle at Providence. Deaconess ran a 1/3-page ad in the S-R yesterday and bought a lot of TV time, too.
Quixote on June 02 at 4:58 p.m.
Agwunobi ran several hospitals he formerly managed into the ground.
http://theeprovocateur.blogspot.com/2008/02/dr-andy-and-media-corruption-meets.html
Dazzeetrader11 on June 02 at 5:04 p.m.
It’s best. He REALLY angered in the MD’s. Sounded like he had a judgement and temperment problem. I used to work in the kitchen at SHMC when I was a teen. I got to know Siter PC very well. One meeting i was sitting in the corner and she told me the key to success was to NEVER anger “her” Doctors even though her top priority was the protection of her medical center. Sounds like the CEO didn’t quit get that.
WIlson coming back might help….”might”…
Quixote on June 02 at 5:09 p.m.
Is there anyplace you haven’t worked, Dazzee?
johnclarke on June 02 at 5:50 p.m.
Not in her mind.
hawken on June 02 at 6:08 p.m.
Quixote - Comrade Clarke
I am fairly confident that Dazze has not worked at Planned Parenthood.
Common_Sense on June 02 at 6:17 p.m.
Knock off the “comrade” comments hawken. Those are personal attacks (though we know you’re exempt from the rules)
Dazzeetrader11 on June 02 at 6:21 p.m.
No Hawken…I wouldn’t work there.
But in response to Clarkie…at least I WORK and have jobs.
I don’t take government money..never had and never will.
I don’t depend on the government to take care of me.
I don’t need a SS check either.,,,,nope I buy my health insurance and it’s the best for my family.
I build. Clarkie complains and whines anymore.
I began working when I was a wee lass. Never stopped either.
I’m a true American. I wish Clarkie and his sidekick Quixote would at least fake it.
I also took the bus to and from Sacred Heart. BUT what does this have to do with the article? Sidetracked by excellence you two wannabees?:)
hawken on June 02 at 6:25 p.m.
Common Sense: au contraire, contraire,,,,
Comrade Clarke is a self-proclaimed Marxist. He has only recently taken down his “Comrade Lenin, Hammer and Sickle” photo. Two days ago as I recall. Just click on Johnclarke and see for yourself. It’s all on the public record.
hawken on June 02 at 6:30 p.m.
Common Sense (misnomer):
I stand corrected. Apparently, once you change your photo, the SR software automatically changes it for every post one has made in the past.
Nevertheless,,,, you already know that Comrade Clarke has been using the photo of “Comrade Lenin, his Hammer and Sickle.”
Common_Sense on June 02 at 6:50 p.m.
So hawken, what is your excuse for calling everyone else a “comrade” lately?
Dazzeetrader11 on June 02 at 7:04 p.m.
Comrade Common…how so very “common”…predictable…..unimaginative…etc etc.
The more he posts, the better the fit… Hawk.
Meanwhile…when did Old Clarkie become a communist?
hawken on June 02 at 7:14 p.m.
Common Sense (misnomer):
The only two self-proclaimed anti-capitalists and Marxists, that I know of, are Comrade Clarke and Comrade Eagle.
“Calling everyone Comrade” is a bit of an overstatement on your part.
Moreover, you are the last person on this blog to be instructing others on the topic of “name calling.”
Call me “Conservative” anytime you want. I take no offense, but wear it as a badge of honor.
Conservative, Liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Communist, etc,,,, all have well defined meaning.
Anyone who proclaims himself to be one of the above and then screeches name calling for others using their own, self-proclaimed, world view, is truly confused.
To their credit, Comrade Clarke and Comrade Eagle have NOT been doing any “screeching” to date, for their self-proclaimed world view. Only you.
hawken on June 02 at 7:22 p.m.
Dazee….
I have always believed Clarke to have Marxist views.
He confirmed my suspicions when he started posting his photo of “Comrade Lenin, his Hammer and Sickle.”
When I called him out on it, he removed the photo and replaced it with a photo of Bush, trying to slink away from his obvious world view.
Yesterday, Clarke said he would be re-posting his Lenin photo along with the Hammer and Sickle. So far, he has not. I shamed him into taking it down.
zelda on June 02 at 7:27 p.m.
“OK., kids. Let’s be civil and get back to the issue at hand,” said Zelda, surprising even herself.
So…this sort of reminds me of what Avista went through 10 years ago when they brought on and later shed the Dynergy guy, de-regulation turmoil was careening across the country and Enron was doing its thing. Avista pulled the ship off the shoals but we’re all aware that energy (and now healthcare) are never going to be the same.
As time passes, it’s clear that the U.S., as smart and innovative as it is, cannot afford the advances in technology and healthcare that the pharma and medical equipment industries have invented.
I attended a biotech meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2000 and heard from some top experts in bioengineering. This was around the time that the humane genone was being sequenced and there was all sorts of talk about drug treatments custom-made based on a person’s DNA. I said to one of the scientists, “This is very cool, but how is anyone going to pay for it?” No answer.
beakaye on June 02 at 7:47 p.m.
Please read this:
http://theeprovocateur.blogspot.com/2009/04/dr-andrew-agwunobi-s.html
Dazzeetrader11 on June 02 at 7:51 p.m.
OK Zelda…what about the article at hand?
As I see the cash flow, it’s pretty clear that Deaconess is making huge strides at SHMC’s expense. Must more innovative even with the technology as it is. Andrew O forgot who butters his bread. Deaconess became MD friendly while Andrew did the opposite.
Seems like he thought MD’s were chattel or property of the SHMC while Deac offered opportunities for growth. Obamacare stiffles and I’d guess it’ll make the same end as those who wish to control medicine.
Look for SHMC and Deac to battle like crazy for the new 80 docs that come to Spokane each year. A new medical school isn’t needed. I hope the business communities thirst for $70 million in fresh expenditures doesn’t get in the way as it has nothing to do with patient care in the forseeable future. SHMC has billions in investments. All the money in the world won’t save a power hungry admintrator. Usually the innovators win in a competetive system. Deac will be innovative.
Competition will be better for Spokane. Not sure what Andrew was thinking when he tried to shake things up.
zelda on June 02 at 8:04 p.m.
@Dazzee — How about giving spelling and punctuation a try? It’s hard to make sense of what you’re saying.
Sure enough, Obama was pulled into the “discussion,” but the point I was trying to make is that what’s going on is bigger than health-care reform. We are entering into a new phase and it’s an existential dialogue about the limits of life extension and how to pay for it.
And yes, back to the issue at hand, it appears that the Peter Principle has kicked in. The rules of engagement have changed and some are more adept than others at hand-to-hand combat in health-care competition and forging relationships. Doctors aren’t used to thinking of themselves as employees. It’s an attitude adjustment for the older ones and the younger ones are saddled with so much student debt that they have to be flexible by necessity.
hawken on June 02 at 8:09 p.m.
Zelda,,,, a bit condescending don’t you think. I had no problem understanding what Dazzee wrote….
zelda on June 02 at 8:27 p.m.
No, not condescending. If someone has to decipher a message because of poor spelling and punctuation, the writer has put up a barrier to understanding. I don’t think Dazee intentionally wants to confuse people. There’s a difference between messages with some thoughtful content and what appears at first glance to be elongated graffiti. If it’s not clear from the get-go, few will take the time to read it two or three times to figure it out.
On Topic: Forgot to mention the recent contamination of the water supply by Legionella. The problems at Providence are culmulative and it’s a positive sign that (for once) a CEO (anywhere) is held accountable. That seldom happens, so kudos to the BoD for acting responsibly.
Dazzeetrader11 on June 02 at 8:32 p.m.
Zelda…must have touch a little nerve with the intent of my comment. I think (given some very little imagination) the post is quite understandable.
Obamacare just have ticked off Zelda. Hey Zelda..”TOUGH”. I’m still in a late meeting and perhaps did get everything perfect. Again..”TOUGH”.
Obamacare cuts off any hope of investment and innovation.just liek Andrew tried. It’s the bane of medicine to be having the MD’s controlled by some administrator who thinks he or she knows better than the people who provide the care, use the machine and develop the drugs. Money to Andrew…good care to MD’s who deal with the the day to day, rough and tumble and the deaths or complications potentially avoided.
Doctors will be split in how they view themselves…reflecting sociaety I suppose. Some will love the independence and those are the breed that develop new things and achieve things. The other (Obamacare candidates) just want limited time on the job, follow the developers and go home early. Once 5 pm comes, the phones sut down and the “service” platoons sick folks to the on call people.
It’s the former I like..always have. They go the distance for the people in the bed. They would prefer admins don’t meddle too much. AND they usually don’t like the Andrews of the world threatening or insulting them. As for the others…let them do the “sheeple” model and have fun being drone types who get lots of time to themselves but never will have ar original thought. HMO types…
Sorry you’re offended Z.
zelda on June 02 at 8:46 p.m.
Thaznkz fo tha nonapolgee appolagie dazzeee sea wat hapenz wen u git 4 ours slep&tahk nite mtgs/
misjustice on June 02 at 9:44 p.m.
Sur nuf tm wutx gutx gits n tos tatz dons don gits nuf said git free spl chk online n use it 2 b hrd r nt
xxoo
; )
misjustice on June 02 at 9:47 p.m.
Dazzee s phake PhD dnt ned stinkin spl chk is smrt 2; 2 smrt 4 u
Ron_the_Cop on June 02 at 10:39 p.m.
Off topic. For once I will support a project in Downtown - the Medical School.
See this piece by Mr. X. on his blog about Spokane Economics and Demographics
http://inlandnw.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/spokane-med-school-update/#more-3943
Dazzeetrader11 on June 02 at 10:48 p.m.
OK Gus…business wants it. Medical folks don’t. Most think it’s a nice idea for montana…
zelda on June 02 at 10:56 p.m.
@misjustice — In the future, 90% of medical expenses will be for treating texting-thumb tendonitis. People will have to learn how to text with their noses, big toes or prehensile tails in an Obamacare-funded vocational program. It will be a soul-searing struggle to drive while texting with one’s nose or toes, but people are resilient. I foresee a heart-warming story about the triumph of the human spirit adapted as a movie on Lifetime and produced by NorthbyNorthwest Productions. What do you think about casting Wesley Snipes as the troubled yet inspirational toe-texting instructor who’s fought his own battles with tortured syntax not to mention tax evasion?
Dazzeetrader11 on June 02 at 11:25 p.m.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303745304576359841146126376.html
Zelda…have a look. You should be alarmed. You’re smart. J won’t be. She’s not smart.
zelda on June 03 at 10:03 a.m.
I avoid Dorothy Rabinowitz like the plague. She’s the scariest, craziest person on the WSJ editorial board.
Dazzeetrader11 on June 03 at 10:34 a.m.
Well true Zelda but she’s fun…and correct in her numbers.
misjustice on June 03 at 6:35 p.m.
@ Zelda, I think that Snipes would own that role. And given his recent tax problems, he could use the work! Dazzee could be cast as the mean, alcoholic nurse; in the mold of nurse Ratched.
McMurphy: “Nurse Ratched, Nurse Ratched! The Chief voted! Now will you please turn on the television set?
Nurse Ratched: [she opens the glass window] Mr. McMurphy, the meeting was adjourned and the vote was closed.
McMurphy: But the vote was 10 to 8. The Chief, he’s got his hand up! Look!
Nurse Ratched: No, Mr. McMurphy. When the meeting was adjourned, the vote was 9 to 9.”
; )