President's message: March 2022
Dear Colleagues:
Happy New Year! I hope you are all doing well.
Thanks to all of you who attended the NEMG Clinician Forum on Tuesday, March 1. We had a great turn-out of more than 360 viewers, and I would like to thank each of our presenters for their informative contributions. Keeping each other updated throughout this pandemic has been paramount and these online discussions have allowed us to share information and answer your questions.
We are now two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and I am continuously impressed by both the perseverance and dedication to great care provided by our clinicians and staff. We have tirelessly taken care of our patients and their families, often with the recognition of increased risk to ourselves. Amidst our staffing challenges, we still managed to see lots of patients that needed to be seen and we are making progress in terms of hiring additional people. And as we slowly see a light at the end of the tunnel, we continue to carry on the business of health care throughout each wave. We have kept people safe and we have endured. Thank you all!
The strides we are making, as a society, to reemerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and the major milestones that we, as a system, have achieved, are astonishing. Despite all of the waves, we have continued to grow. In Q4 of last year, we opened Northeast Medical Group Urology in Warwick, RI. Staffed by providers from NEMG who are affiliated with Westerly Hospital, the office is currently welcoming new patients. This past February, we welcomed Pulmonary and Internal Medicine Associates to Northeast Medical Group. The team adds five clinicians and 12 staff members to our organization.
On a system-level, YNHHS recently announced the intent to acquire two Connecticut health systems from Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. Under the agreement, YNHHS is to purchase the assets and operations associated with the following hospitals that make up the health systems:
- Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury, CT
- Manchester Memorial Hospital in Manchester, CT
- Rockville General Hospital in Vernon, CT
Learn more about the YNHHS agreement with Prospect (intranet).
NEMG is committed to ensuring a culture of mutual respect and safety for its staff and patients. The NEMG Professionalism Committee reviews concerns of unprofessional conduct in order to support those needs and to guide NEMG ambulatory and community practice medical staff toward compliance with the Code of Conduct and the Standards of Professional Behavior. Previously, the conduct that was addressed by the Professionalism Committee was limited to NEMG community physicians. Kathleen Bonaventura, DNP, APRN, APC clinical lead, and Rita Amendola, MSN, APRN-BC, recently announced the expansion of the professionalism program to include our APP ambulatory colleagues.
Your physical and emotional well-being are top priority. I encourage all of you to take part in our voluntary, confidential well-being check-ins available to all clinicians and staff. Anyone interested is asked to schedule an appointment.
We are all in this together. To help navigate this challenging time, I urge you to take advantage of the following resources:
For more information about COVID-19, please visit:
Visit NEMG on the intranet for the most up-to-date information.
System-wide, several events were held throughout February to honor Black History Month and National Women Physicians Day. My thanks to all for recognizing these important dates.
March 30 is National Doctor’s Day. Thank you to all of our doctors for all you do to provide high-quality, patient-centered care and advance science and medical education.
My gratitude to you all for your diligent work and dedication to excellence in patient care.
Sincerely,
Richard Goldstein, MD, PhD, MHCM
Interim President and Chief Medical Officer
Northeast Medical Group
