Catching up with Diane Pressley-Capers- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
Catching up with Diane Pressley-Capers- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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November 22, 2000
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In This Issue:
Catching up with Diane Pressley-Capers
“A Taste of Culture”
BWH Vital Signs 4th Quarter Stats
Town Meetin Q & A
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BWH’s Vice President of Clinical Services Diane Pressley-Capers has been busy as an integral member of the senior management team since she began at the hospital in September. A seasoned health care administrator, Pressley-Capers was formerly the vice president of Operations Services at Detroit Medical Center in Michigan, where she was also vice president of Professional and Clinical Services and a regional administrator. Prior to her time in Michigan, she held executive positions at University Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida after serving five years with the Department of Health and Hospitals in Boston. Also in Boston, she received her bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and her master’s degree from the Boston University School of Medicine. Pressley-Capers’ new role at BWH requires supporting the chairmen of the Departments of Medicine and Radiology and overseeing key clinical areas including endoscopy, dialysis, outpatient infusion, pulmonary technical services, radiology, cardiovascular, vascular laboratory, clinical diagnostic and interventional center (CDIC), non-invasive cardiology and radiation physics. Pressley-Capers also works closely with the department chairs to develop departmental objectives, forecasts, plans and budgets, and she provides leadership support and direction to section chiefs. Pressley-Capers took time out of her busy schedule to offer Bulletin some insight into the challenges and opportunities she has encountered so far at BWH.
Q: What is your perspective of quality care?
A: People have choices when it comes to health care. To meet the needs of our existing patients and to continue to attract new ones, BWH needs to continually combine its internationally recognized medical care with top-notch customer service. When a patient walks away from his or her hospital experience feeling appreciated, comfortable and well-treated, we have done our job, as health care providers.
Q: What do you hope to achieve as a member of the senior management team at BWH?
A: First, driving focus from individual initiatives and programs to multidisciplinary efforts is key. Very few things happen in a silo. Impacting the larger picture requires me to work with the other hospital leaders to communicate needs, share resources and design collaborative programs that make sense for the institution as a whole to benefit our patients and community. Second, having a good sense of the business aspects of providing care is important in light of the financial challenges hospitals continue to face. As caregivers on the front lines work to deliver quality care, those behind the scenes, like myself, are responsible for bringing a business focus to operational areas. A definite challenge, but one I most welcome, is to marry sound business sense with quality care.
Q: Name some of your goals as vice president of Clinical Services.
A: My transition into BWH over the last two months has been fast paced. As I continue to settle in, my short term goals are to fully understand the needs of patients and staff, figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the quality of worklife for the employees in the areas I oversee, work to admit the appropriate patients to Faulkner Hospital and get my arms around the full financial aspects of the services in the areas for which I’m responsible.
Q: Do you find the current health care challenges in New England and at BWH to be consistent with those you’ve witnessed in the other areas of the United States and hospitals in which you’ve worked?
A: Like in New England, financial constraints are significant in other areas. However, I think the reimbursement environment in Massachusetts is the culprit more so than in some other states. BWH attracts a high patient volume and has a high occupancy rate at a time when many hospitals are struggling to maintain volume levels. At BWH, high census and occupancy rates are very significant and challenging factors.