Ten Kentucky Health Care Systems Form State-wide Health Care Collaborative

Regional and community health systems across the Commonwealth partner to reverse KY’s poor health statistics, share best practices and prepare for a population health model of care delivery.

William L. Shepley hired as executive director

Today, 10 health care systems across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, collectively known as the Kentucky Health Collaborative, announced its primary objectives of raising the standards of care across the state, addressing the Commonwealth’s poor health statistics and reducing the cost of care through greater operational efficiencies.

The founding health systems’ chief executive officers or appointed executives are serving on a steering committee guiding the formation and development of the collaborative.

The initial health systems which have signed on as charter members of the collaborative are:

Appalachian Regional Healthcare (Lexington, KY)*
Baptist Health (Louisville, KY)
Ephraim McDowell Health (Danville, KY)
LifePoint Health (Brentwood, TN)
Norton Healthcare (Louisville, KY)
Owensboro Health (Owensboro, KY)
St. Claire Regional Medical Center (Morehead, KY)
St. Elizabeth Healthcare (Edgewood, KY)
The Medical Center (Bowling Green, KY)
UK HealthCare (Lexington, KY)

*Parentheses designate location of organization’s headquarters

Kentucky Health Collaborative is still in its early stages of development, and there are many details yet to be finalized, such as which issues and opportunities for improvement the group will tackle first. As the collaborative develops the systems and infrastructure needed to accomplish its goals, the opportunity to join will extend to a wider pool of potential members across the Commonwealth.

In addition, the collaborative’s steering committee has hired William “Bill” L. Shepley as the organization’s inaugural executive director. Shepley, who has more than 25 years of experience as a health care executive at organizations such as the Southern Atlantic Healthcare Alliance and the Coastal Carolinas Healthcare Alliance, has devoted his career to developing and managing multi-facility alliances and networks to guide organizations through changes in the health care delivery system.

“Being offered this opportunity to serve the Commonwealth of Kentucky was one of the proudest moments of my career,” said Shepley. “The Kentucky Health Collaborative has created a governance structure that supports the inclusion and participation of health care providers regardless of location within the Commonwealth, size or profit structure. The solutions we expect to develop through the collaborative have worked well for similar networks across the country, and I am honored to be a part of this important process.”

The Medical Center Launches Life-Saving PulsePoint App

The Medical Center has introduced the PulsePoint app to Warren County. PulsePoint is a free mobile app that is saving lives in more than 1,100 communities in the United States.

Launched today to the Bowling Green community at the meeting of the Warren County Fire Chiefs Association, local first responders got a first look at the PulsePoint app. Medical Center Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Paramedic, Jim Williams, explained how it works. “The system will alert CPR-trained users through the free app when someone in a nearby public place is experiencing a heart attack and needs CPR. The app also shows the alerted CPR-trained person answering the call where to find the closest defibrillator.”

“The goal is for everyone with CPR training to sign up for the free PulsePoint app. They can then be alerted when someone in a public place within a quarter mile of them is in need of CPR. The person alerted by the app will perform necessary life-saving CPR until emergency personnel arrive. When someone is experiencing a heart attack, every minute counts,” said Jim Berry, Interim Director for Medical Center EMS.

In addition to the life-saving CPR notifications, the app provides a current list of accident locations to which EMS is responding. Knowing the accident locations will save individuals drive time by being able to plan an alternate route and avoid being slowed in traffic tie-ups.

To download the free PulsePoint app, go to either the Apple App Store or Google Play and search for “PulsePoint.”