A new chief executive officer has been hired at St. Vincent Health, according to a press release issued by the hospital. The St. Vincent General Hospital District (SVGHD) board of directors last week announced the selection of Justin “Bubba” Bartlett as the next CEO.
The CEO position is employed by Cypress Health, the hospital’s management company. At the direction of the SVGHD board, Cypress Health president Tony Pfaff extended the offer of employment to Bartlett.
After a search and candidate vetting, Cypress Health presented Bartlett as the top choice, and the board confirmed his selection at its Aug. 25 meeting. Bartlett visited Leadville to meet with SVGHD board members and hospital leadership in early August.
Jay Coon, SVGHD board chair, said:
“The SVGHD board of directors looks forward to working with Bubba Bartlett. We have full confidence in our partnership with Cypress Health and are glad they’ve brought us a strong leader to continue our mission of caring for Lake County.”
Most recently serving as President and CEO of a Critical Access Hospital in Montana, Bartlett is a healthcare leader with 14 years of experience in business development innovation, finance, operational excellence and strategic partnerships in rural communities and national health systems, according to the press release.
Bartlett, his wife, and their two young children are planning to relocate to Leadville, the press release stated.
“I am impressed by this hospital’s success and commitment to rural healthcare. I look forward to building on that success and finding new opportunities to serve the people of Lake County,” said Bartlett.
He will succeed current CEO Andy Dreesen, who announced his resignation in July and will step down Sept. 19. Bartlett will join SVH as CEO in early October 2025. Until then, Cypress Health and the hospital’s senior leadership team will ensure continuity of operations, according to the press release. St. Vincent Health will host a community meet and greet with Bartlett in the near future.
Other board action
Also at its Aug. 25 meeting, the board also received an update from staff on a forthcoming change in the hospital’s electronic health records platform from Athenahealth to Epic Systems.
Improving transparency in billing, a patient portal that is more user-friendly and compatible with other EHR platforms when referring patients and improved reporting functionality were reasons given by St. Vincent interim chief financial officer Kelly Johnston for the change in platform
Johnston said that Athena’s billing process “unfortunately takes control away from us as an organization and also reduces transparency in how those claims are being handled.
“For example, they have these hold buckets, or buckets of data queues, that if a client goes through and does not pass Athena’s specifications for the client – not necessarily the payer’s, but Athena’s – They’ll create what’s called an ‘Athena denial’ or work queue that will automatically write off those claims if we’re not careful. That kind of behavior is just going to continue to hinder our organization as we continue to maximize growth.”
Johnston also said that improved data reporting would allow the hospital to make clearer decisions on which procedures are performing best, which are being reimbursed at higher or lower rates and why.
“By moving to these newer providers, it will give us the increased functionality to continue to maximize the cost-report as a strategy as well as better managing our departments as it relates to reimbursement,” she said. “Right now those things are very limited with Athena’s capability.’
Dreesen said that most nurses are familiar with the platform.
The new platform would be implemented over a period of “10-15 months” after contracts were signed, he said. This would not impact hospital operations, however. Once implementation is complete, it would be “like turning a switch on” from the perspective of hospital staff.