St. Mary’s Healthcare Names New Director of Patient Access

September 19, 2024

St. Mary’s Healthcare Names New Director of Patient Access

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., Sept. 19, 2024—St. Mary’s Healthcare has named Jessica Wutzer director of patient access, responsible for scheduling, registration, insurance authorization and other operations that affect virtually everyone who turns to the hospital for care.

In many cases, patients’ first experiences with a hospital begin with non-medical interactions about appointments, referrals, medical records, insurance coverage and other required information.

“We want those interactions, and every aspect of our patient access process, to reflect St. Mary’s commitment to patient satisfaction and the best possible care,” said Jeff Methven, St. Mary’s president and CEO. “Jessica is a welcome addition to a team that’s determined to streamline access, enhance the overall patient experience, and help St. Mary’s become our community’s first choice for healthcare.”

Wutzer has served in patient access and related roles at Adirondack Health Institute in Glens Falls, Saratoga Hospital in Saratoga Springs and, most recently, at the Albany Med Health System in Albany. She is skilled in implementing effective patient access processes and training others in adopting best practices.

A graduate of the State University of New York at Cortland, Wutzer has a bachelor’s degree in community health education.

St. Mary’s Names Director Behavioral Health

September 4, 2024

St. Mary’s Healthcare Names New Director of Behavioral Health

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., Sept. 4, 2024—Angela Rhodes has been promoted to director of behavioral health at St. Mary’s Healthcare, a leading provider of behavioral health services in the Fulton-Montgomery region.

A licensed clinical social worker, Rhodes has more than two decades of behavioral health experience, much of in positions of increasing responsibility at St. Mary’s. Most recently, she served as manager of the outpatient mental health clinic at the local, independent healthcare organization.

“Angela has the clinical and leadership skills to take on this critical role,” said Matt Guzielek, senior director of operations, St. Mary’s Healthcare Medical Group. “She is a staunch advocate for mental health awareness, understanding and acceptance. Equally important, she embodies St. Mary’s commitment to serving all—especially the most vulnerable—with excellence and compassion.”

Rhodes joined St. Mary’s in 2004 as a behavioral health case manager. She also has served as a behavioral health therapist and coordinator of Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS), a state Office of Mental Health program that St. Mary’s oversees in Fulton and Montgomery counties.

Rhodes earned both a Bachelor of Social Welfare and a Master of Social Work degree from the University at Albany, State University of New York. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

Johnstown Resident Named Executive Director, Foundation of St. Mary’s Healthcare

August 19, 2024

St. Mary’s Healthcare Taps Johnstown Resident As Executive Director of Foundation Development

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., Aug. 19, 2024—Gilli Hachey, of Johnstown, has been named executive director of foundation development for the Foundation of St. Mary’s Healthcare. As head of the philanthropic arm of St. Mary’s, she oversees fundraising operations and activities that support the local, independent healthcare organization.

Hachey comes to St. Mary’s from Liberty ARC in Amsterdam, where she served as stewardship and development manager. An accomplished fundraiser, she has a record of success in overseeing annual giving campaigns and special events, securing grants, and building and nurturing donor relationships. Hachey also has strong ties to the region.

“Gilli is passionate about fundraising and acutely aware of its role in strengthening organizations and the community,” St. Mary’s President and CEO Jeff Methven said. “Her expertise, belief in the power of philanthropy, and ability to engage and inspire others make her the ideal choice to take our Foundation and fundraising to the next level.”

The announcement of Hachey’s appointment—and her introduction to St. Mary’s supporters—came Aug. 15 during the hospital’s 48^th Annual Gala, which was held at the historic Sanford Stud Farm. The gala is one of two signature fundraising events that Hachey will oversee in her new role. The second, the St. Mary’s Memorial Golf Classic, is scheduled for Oct. 3 at Amsterdam Municipal Golf Course.

Hachey earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from The College of Saint Rose. She grew up in Johnstown, the same community where she and her husband are raising their two sons.

St. Mary’s Names Executive Director of Quality & Performance Excellence

August 5, 2024

St. Mary’s Healthcare Names Executive Director Of Quality and Performance Excellence

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., August 5, 2024—St. Mary’s Healthcare has named Meredith Borak executive director of quality and performance excellence. She also serves as patient safety officer for the local, independent healthcare organization.

Borak brings more than 20 years of experience overseeing and strengthening quality, safety, compliance and risk management programs in hospitals and other healthcare settings. She has led quality efforts at University of Chicago Medicine facilities and, most recently, at Saratoga Hospital, where she served as associate vice president for quality support services.

“As we add new programs and expand services, St. Mary’s is committed to delivering on the quality, safety and more personalized experience that our patients deserve. Meredith will play a key role in collaborating with other leaders and our associates to help St. Mary’s differentiate itself around these fundamental principles,” said Jeff Methven, St. Mary’s Healthcare president and CEO.

“Meredith has a record of exceptional success in improving quality at every turn—including in operations, clinical outcomes and personal interactions,” he added. “We are beyond thrilled to have her on our St. Mary’s team.”

Borak also has considerable front-line experience. Earlier in her career, she worked as a medical-surgical and critical care nurse. Borak also served as a medical specialist in the U.S. Army in military health clinics, ambulance support battalions and field hospitals in South Korea, Egypt, Louisiana and Alaska.

She has a Doctor of Nursing Practice, with a focus on outcomes performance management, from Loyola University Chicago; a master’s in nursing administration from Governors State University in Illinois; and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Illinois State University.

Borak is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, a Certified Professional in Patient Safety, and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Healthcare Professional. She is a member of the National Association of Healthcare Quality, American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, American Society of Professionals in Patient Safety, American Society of Healthcare Executives and American College of Healthcare Executives.

Johnstown Resident Named Sr. Director, Medical Group Operations at St. Mary’s Healthcare

July 25, 2024

St. Mary’s Healthcare Promotes Matt Guzielek to Senior Director Of Medical Group Operations

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., July 25, 2024—Matt Guzielek, of Johnstown, has been promoted to senior director of operations for St. Mary’s Healthcare Medical Group. In this new role, he will develop and implement strategies to enhance clinical outcomes, increase provider engagement, and grow St. Mary’s market share.

Expanding St. Mary’s Healthcare Medical Group and improving access to specialty care in the region are top priorities for the local, independent healthcare organization.

“A larger, multidisciplinary medical group will enable us to provide the care our community deserves, right here, close to home,” said St. Mary’s President and CEO Jeff Methven. “With his skills, experience, and connection and commitment to our community, Matt is an ideal choice to collaborate with our provider partners and help lead this effort.”

Guzielek joined St. Mary’s in 2018 as manager of crisis services and has taken on positions of increasing responsibility ever since. Most recently, he was senior director of behavioral health, working closely with St. Mary’s mental health and addiction medicine teams. He also serves on Montgomery County’s crisis intervention and threat assessment management teams.

A graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego, Guzielek earned an MBA with a specialization in healthcare administration from Utica University. He lives in his hometown of Johnstown with his wife, Robyn, and their two daughters.

St. Mary’s Healthcare Adds Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine Services

July 1, 2024

New practice brings much-needed lung health and critical care services to the Fulton-Montgomery region

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., July 1, 2024—Starting today, area patients who have chronic respiratory and sleep-related conditions will have access to the care they need, close to home, from St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.

The new practice brings much-needed lung health and critical care expertise to Montgomery, Fulton and surrounding counties to treat patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sleep apnea and other respiratory-related conditions. Because St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine is hospital-based, this higher-level expertise also will be readily available to hospitalized patients and the St. Mary’s medical team.

“Residents of our region deserve easy access to this essential care from their community hospital,” Jeff Methven, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Healthcare, said.

The hospital added pulmonology and sleep medicine in response to the region’s higher-than-average rates of many chronic respiratory conditions—and shortage of local pulmonary medicine providers. Because of this combination, patients often face considerable delays before receiving treatment.

Methven, along with other St. Mary’s team members and community leaders, celebrated the opening of the $2.6 million pulmonology and sleep medicine facility with a ribbon-cutting at the hospital on June 27. The service is one of several that St. Mary’s expects to bring to the region to enable residents to receive quality medical care without the inconvenience of traveling outside the area.

Since Methven’s appointment 18 months ago, the independent healthcare organization has been focused on becoming the community’s first choice for healthcare. St. Mary’s has added new staff, welcomed back former employees, and attracted experienced specialists such as Dr. Santosh Vaghela, the pulmonologist who serves as medical director of St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Vaghela fell in love with the region as an undergraduate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in nearby Troy. He returned to the area after completing his medical education and, for the past three years, has been in practice in Queensbury, Saratoga Springs and Malta. He is fellowship-trained in pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine and is board certified in all three specialties.

“Pulmonology and sleep medicine can have a profound impact on people’s lives,” Dr. Vaghela said. “We are excited to provide this service to the hospital and community. It will make a real difference for our patients.”

St. Mary’s Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine is accepting new patients. For more information, go to St. Mary’s Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine. To make an appointment, call 518-841-7432.

Pictured (left to right): Mike Reynolds, director of Business Operations, St. Mary’s Healthcare; Thomas Cichy, vice chairperson, St. Mary’s Healthcare Board of Trustees; Emily Etzkorn, MD, St. Mary’s board member; Michael Pepe, chairperson, St. Mary’s board; Santosh Vaghela, MD, medical director, St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine; Jeff Methven, president and CEO, St. Mary’s Healthcare; the Rev. Robert DeMartina, St. Mary’s board member; Trish Sanders, vice president and chief operating officer, St. Mary’s Healthcare; and Nichole Mello, director, Specialty Services and Ambulatory Nursing, St. Mary’s Healthcare.

Albany Business Review June 2024: St. Mary’s Healthcare CEO wants hospital to stay independent

June 20, 2024

This article was originally published by the Albany Business Review, written by Todd Kehoe on June 19, 2024.

Within the first two years of his career in health care, Jeff Methven went from just hired to head of the HR department.

That upward trajectory has continued, moving to Saratoga Hospital as a vice president in 2006 before being named CEO at St. Mary’s Healthcare in Amsterdam early last year.

Since taking over, Methven has tried to tackle the hospital’s most pressing problems — budget deficits — while also resetting the culture and thinking about new ways to make the organization part of the community.

“We’ve made progress. We’ve still got a lot of progress to go,” Methven said.

You’ve been with St. Mary’s for about a year and a half now. How did you set the culture when you started here as CEO? I think, initially, it’s shaking hands, meeting and greeting. You have to be visible, out on the units, in the departments. We’ve done some things to really try and improve communication. … I spend, usually once or twice a week, a few hours with an associate or group of associates in areas, actually putting on scrubs and doing that work with them.

What are some things you’ve learned? Late last week, I was with our case managers and what was eye-opening for me was just how integral they are to the discharge process. Every day they’re essentially trying to put a puzzle together. … We have a team, our ACT program that deals with mental health population, and they’re really on the front lines,

going into homes and keeping individuals who otherwise might not be successful in society be able to stay self-dependent. That was eye-opening, going into homes and seeing some of the situations those patients are trying to navigate.

St. Mary’s is running at a deficit, but you’ve noted those have come down. How do you tackle that? In my mind, you’re not going to shrink your way to profitability. You have to grow your way there, and that’s one of the tenets I consistently reinforce with our leadership team. So we’ve turned some new programs on. … We have a new pulmonary program coming online for us July 1, that’s going to be a huge opportunity for us. And we’re making sure we’re improving access and patient experience. A lot of hospitals struggle with that, but we’re making sure we’re doing everything we can to answer phone calls and give patients appointments in a reasonable timeframe.

Is it hard to recruit providers to a smaller, somewhat more rural hospital? It’s more difficult. I think there’s limited housing here and there’s less going on here than in, say, Albany or Saratoga. If I’m a new physician in a specialty field, I can work for a larger group where I’m on call one night in 20 instead of every other night. So how do you create the right environment, or find other organizations to collaborate with to alleviate or ease some of that burden?

St. Mary’s split with Ascension in 2020, but the trend in health care is toward consolidation. How long do you think you can stay independent? Our plan is to remain independent. It creates unique challenges, especially in a smaller, more rural community. We can’t be all things to everyone. But one of the reasons we left Ascension as I understand it — it happened before my time here — is that the hospital was seeing money leave the area and was losing its autonomy and ability to set the direction for its health care.

If you were handed a magic wand, what’s the first thing you do to fix health care? I would say probably to set reimbursement rates at a level that aligns with cost of care. I think the challenge for most hospitals is cost of care is rising and reimbursements are not.

What would you like to invest in next at the hospital? Like a lot of hospitals, infrastructure is a big opportunity. We see about 25,000 ER visits a year, and our footprint is about 8,000 square feet. Based on today’s standards, we probably need an ER that’s three times that size. I think that would enhance the experience for our patients, and that’s what we’re trying to do, improve the experience and not have folks feel like they have to leave the area for high-quality care.

What are your goals for, say, 10 years from now for St. Mary’s? I’d love to see St. Mary’s profitable. I’d love to see newer, state-of-the-art facilities, I’d love to see additional collaborative relationships with other hospital and organizations. I’d love to see the city of Amsterdam continue to flourish, I’d love to see some of that growth we’ve seen across other parts of the Capital Region continue to move west.

I think there has to be a symbiotic relationship between city and hospital. We’re the largest employer, and as we go, so goes the city. If the city can be successful and thrive, if it can create new housing opportunities and create more culture, create more activities, that helps us grow.

Gabriele Sasso Named Director of Pharmacy at St. Mary’s Healthcare

June 12, 2024

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., June 12, 2024—Gabriele Sasso, of Hagaman, has been promoted to director of pharmacy at St. Mary’s Healthcare, responsible for pharmacy operations throughout the St. Mary’s organization. Previously, he served as clinical pharmacy manager.

“This promotion recognizes Gabe’s emphasis on clinical excellence as well as his commitment to St. Mary’s, our mission and the community we serve,” said Jeff Methven, St. Mary’s president and CEO. “In the eight years since he joined the St. Mary’s team, Gabe has consistently taken on additional responsibilities and played a lead role in patient care an

d quality initiatives.”

Sasso serves on numerous St. Mary’s committees, including the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee, ICU-Based Council, Board Quality and Patient Safety Committee, and more.

He earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and is board certified in pharmacotherapy and infectious diseases. Sasso is a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and of Phi Lambda Sigma, the National Pharmacy Leadership Society.

Dr. Jesse J. Hollis Joins Surgical Team at St. Mary’s Healthcare

August 29, 2023

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., Aug. __, 2023—Dr. Jesse J. Hollis has joined the surgical team of St. Mary’s Healthcare and its multispecialty physician practice. He brings 13 years of experience in general, minimally invasive and robotic surgery.

Most recently, Dr. Hollis held the position of attending surgeon at Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, New York. He also held an academic appointment as assistant clinical professor of surgery at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.

“At a time when rural community hospitals are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit surgeons, St. Mary’s is extremely fortunate to be able to attract a physician with Dr. Hollis’ skill, experience, and commitment to providing excellent care to our community,” said Jeff Methven, St. Mary’s president and CEO. “St. Mary’s is a great choice for patients and providers, and we will continue to deliver that message as we expand our team and increase access to quality healthcare close to home.”

Dr. Hollis was born and raised in upstate New York. A graduate of the University at Albany, State University of New York, he earned his medical degree from New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, New York. He went on to complete a residency in general surgery at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, followed by a fellowship in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at Baptist Health South Florida, in Miami.

Dr. Hollis is board certified in general surgery and a member of both the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons. He sees patients at St. Mary’s Surgical Health Center at Holland Circle Medical Plaza in Amsterdam. For appointments, call 518-843-6914.

Auxiliary Donates $50,000 to St. Mary’s Healthcare

August 28, 2023

Auxiliary Donates $50,000 to St. Mary’s Healthcare

Latest installment on $500,000 multiyear pledge

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., August 28, 2023— St. Mary’s Healthcare recently received $50,000 from its auxiliary—the latest installment on a $500,000 pledge for the hospital’s “Preserving Our Promise” capital campaign.

One of the largest gifts to the campaign, the St. Mary’s Healthcare Auxiliary donation helped fund the expansion of the Rao Outpatient Pavilion and the expansion and renovation of the inpatient chemical dependency unit located on the St. Mary’s Healthcare Memorial Campus.

The Rao Outpatient Pavilion provides easy access to primary, pediatric and urgent care—all under one roof. The pavilion also is home to cancer care, infusion therapy, laboratory and imaging services, plus a community pharmacy.

“Every day, countless patients benefit from the extraordinary generosity and commitment of our auxiliary members,” said Jeff Methven, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Healthcare. “They are invaluable partners who play a vital role in helping St. Mary’s provide high-quality care where our community needs it most—close to home.”

St. Mary’s Healthcare Auxiliary was founded in 1921 and has been serving the hospital and community ever since through fundraising, advocacy, and community outreach and awareness efforts. Over the years, the auxiliary has raised funds for high-tech Emergency Department, surgical and imaging equipment; to enhance pediatric, maternity and cancer services; and to support numerous other hospital projects and programs.

Auxiliary volunteers staff the “You-nique Boutique” gift shop and conduct the popular “Christmas in November” fundraising tour. With the Foundation of St. Mary’s Healthcare, the auxiliary also co-hosts the annual Gala Ball.