Jim Weidner

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_268210720.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/25/2008    Last Visited: 9/25/2008  

  Jim Weidner, president and CEO of Cullman Regional Medical Center, attempted to ease employee concerns about budget cutbacks at a series of employee meetings last week.
  
  "We have no calls for layoffs," Weidner said.
  
  Weidner met with employees to answer questions they had about the cost reduction plan the hospital is putting into place soon.
  
  "The economy is taking its toll on industry, and the hospital is no different," Weidner said.
  
  The hospital reported a $3.5 million loss for the fiscal year ending June 30.This is $500,000 more than the hospital originally reported.
  
  Weidner said the main reasons for the loss are write-offs from patients with no insurance who do not pay their bills, along with the loss of hospital investments in stocks and bonds which have been affected in the pension plan and malpractice fund.
  
  The total loss in investments has been $800,000.
  
  "The economy has actually hurt us more than we reported," Weidner said.
  
  Weidner discussed four areas that will be included in the cost reduction plan.
  
  "The first area is making sure we have the right number of staff to handle the volume of patients we see," Weidner said.
  
  This will include some departments being asked to reduce the number of hours of some workers, starting with part-time employees, Weidner said, some of the highest costs come from part-time employee.
  
  One of the departments already cutting back is the Human Resources Department.Weidner said Jim Miller, who was Vice President of Human Resources was let go two weeks ago.
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  "I made the decision to eliminate his position," Weidner said."It had nothing to do with Jim's competency."
  
  Weidner said this was to reduce cost and the hospital does not plan to fill this position.
  
  "We have no other position for him within our organization," Weidner said.
  
  Weidner would not comment on how much the hospital will save.
  
  Weidner also said Maria Stanford will now be Marketing and Community Development Director.
  ...
  Weidner said this was a lowered position, but would not comment on if she would be receiving a decrease in pay.
  
  Miller and Stanford declined to comment on the story.
  
  Weidner said people leaving either voluntarily or involuntarily will be replaced on a if-needed basis.
  
  "We have a committee to review if certain position need to be replaced," Weidner said.
  
  A second part of the plan will be to reduce employee benefits.
  
  Weidner described it as "a reduction in employee benefits to bring them in line with other hospitals in our area."
  
  "The third part of the plan will be to combine certain departments to provide the same level of care," Weidner said.
  
  "We have over 100 departments and we need to consolidate those in order to get economy of scale," Weidner said.
  
  The fourth aspect of the plan involves vendors.
  
  "The expenses we currently pay to outside vendors we will now bring in house," Weidner said.
  
  Another part of the plan will be to increase volume.
  
  "We will continue to look for ways to provide better services to those who seek doctors in Birmingham," Weidner said.
  
  The hospital wants to increase the doctors in the areas of cardiology and cancer care.
  
  The final aspect will be to provide the best care to the community, Weidner said.
  
  "We are a leader in Alabama and in the nation in quality outcomes and patient satisfaction," he said."Part of our mission is to provide efficient healthcare and to be a good stewards of community resources."
  
  Weidner said the hospital will continue to provide for the community.
  
  "We will continue to be successful and continue to provide healthcare to our community," Weidner said.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_117223351.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/27/2008    Last Visited: 4/27/2008  

  Local business people and politicians gathered Friday at All Steak for the Cullman Chamber of Commerce's monthly Fourth Friday Luncheon, with special guest speaker Jim Weidner, the CEO of Cullman Regional Medical Center.
  
  After being introduced by the Chamber of Commerce Chair Steve Murphy, Weidner spoke for around half an hour about the current state of the hospital, and specifically touched on five critical topics that CRMC is working to improve upon.
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  "Physician recruiting, ER patient experience, sustainable financial performance, out-migration and maintaining positive relations between the medical staff, board of trustees and administration are five critical issues that the hospital faces," Weidner said."So once the community demonstrates there is a need for something, we try and offer it."
  
  When it came to physician recruiting, Weidner touched on an issue CRMC is currently facing.
  
  "Three out of six of our OBGYNs have recently retired or stepped down," Weidner said."We are currently working to fill those positions with the right, qualified people."
  
  Weidner also said they are hard at work at improving the patient experience in the emergency room.
  
  "It's going to be a dramatic change," he said."We are hiring all new physicians. ...We want to be first in the state as far as residency trained in emergency room care."
  
  The hospital has also spent $10,000 recently by adding more privacy to the emergency room area, opting for more walls and less curtains to separate patients.
  
  Weidner said the hospital is doing well financially, saying they are working hard to maintain a sustainable return on the $70 million in bonds that keep the hospital self-sufficient.
  
  He also mentioned that they are still raising money for the $5 million Golden Window campaign.
  
  "The bulk of the money, around $4 million, will go toward expanding the ER," Weidner said."We want to put in a chest pain and stroke center, as well as a trauma room."
  
  "About $1 million will go toward upgrading our cath labs, and around $250,000 is going toward new ambulance equipment," he said.
  
  The fourth major topic Weidner touched on was out-migration, which means people from Cullman are looking outside of the county for medical treatment.
  
  "The problem there is we are either not providing what they need, or they don't like our service. ... We're working to remedy both of those issues," he said.
  
  "For example, we hope to greatly improve the way we handle cancer treatment," Weidner said."We wanted to find a way to keep people from being punted around between radiation, surgery, and psychiatric specialists."
  
  To remedy this, CRMC will now take a new approach to cancer patient care.
  
  "Our new method will give someone who has been diagnosed with cancer a nurse navigator, who will help them with every step of the process," Weidner said."The nurse navigator will gather the patient, and all of the specialists together at once to make the process of choosing a treatment faster and more efficient. ...We hope to reduce the time between diagnosis and treatment from 50-70 days, which it is now, to a span as short as a week."
  
  The final critical issue the hospital faces is maintaining positive relations between the medical staff, board of trustees, and administration, Weidner said.
  
  "These groups insure that we meet the community's needs, and we plan on continuing to work together closely in the future," he said.
  
  In closing, Weidner said he was proud to be a part of the Cullman community.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_182221127.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/1/2008    Last Visited: 7/1/2008  

  CRMC President & CEO Jim Weidner said he was ecstatic to receive the donation.
  
  "On behalf of the hospital it is my privilege to accept and thank you," he said.
  
  Weidner said through the Golden Window Campaign he plans to make the CRMC emergency room one of the best in the state.
  
  "We will establish and make our ER the best in Alabama," he said.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_157195618.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/6/2008    Last Visited: 6/6/2008  

  ‰ In Jim Weidner's President's Report he noted the upcoming hospital security upgrades to the staff.
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  "The board is going to have to be more involved with quality, patient care and safety," CRMC President & CEO Jim Weidner said.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_149223532.html?k - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/29/2008    Last Visited: 5/29/2008  

  "We have too many access points," CRMC President and CEO Jim Weidner said.
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  Weidner said though a lot of the security at CRMC is changing, it is all done with one central goal in mind.
  
  "These changes come with the desire to protect the patients and staff we serve," he said.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_114191026.html?k - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/23/2008    Last Visited: 4/23/2008  

  Cullman Regional Medical Center President and CEO Jim Weidner agreed.
  
  "Preparation for any disaster is vital," Weidner said.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_098221747.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/8/2008    Last Visited: 4/8/2008  

  Aside from acknowledging the humanitarian efforts of local citizens, the gala was also raising money for a good cause according to Jim Weidner, president and CEO of Cullman Regional Medical Center.
  
  "All proceeds from tonight are going toward getting a stereotactic breast biopsy system for CRMC," Weidner said.
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  "The piece of equipment we want to get is going to cost around $85,000; so that is the financial goal we are trying to reach," Weidner said."The community has come out in full force to support the hospital, and we really appreciate it."
  
  In case the gala failed to raise the $85,000 needed for the new equipment, the CRMC Foundation also has another fundraiser on the horizon that is going toward the cause.
  
  "In addition to the funds raised by the gala, we also have a golf tournament coming up on May 13.The money raised by the golf tournament will also go toward getting the stereotactic breast biopsy system for the hospital," Weidner said.

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  www.patientplacement.com/news-resources/cullman-regiona - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/27/2007    Last Visited: 7/6/2008  

  But more significantly, it has helped us to avoid discharge delays and reduced length of stay," said Jim Weidner, president and CEO, Cullman Regional Medical Center.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_058205635.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/28/2008    Last Visited: 2/28/2008  

  The Cullman Regional Medical Center could soon add a third professional office building to its complex along State Highway 157, according to CRMC President and CEO Jim Weidner.
  
  Weidner delivered his remarks to local business leaders at CRMC's annual state of the hospital luncheon, which also included the hospital's plans to add a neonatal intensive care unit and stereotactic breast biopsy procedure; an update on the facility's facelift to its emergency department; and an introduction to Pegasus Emergency Group, CRMC's new emergency room physician contractor.
  
  Weidner said plans are under way for CRMC to christen a third professional office building by summer 2009.
  
  "The physicians have met and what they're doing now is finalizing the amount of space that they need and who the occupants will be," said Weidner after the luncheon."Once that's firmed up - and that should be firmed up in the next 60 days - the group will get financing and will pick the contractor and start construction.
  
  Weidner added a 15-month gap would separate the start of any binding agreement and the end of construction.
  
  "The expectation is that all that happens in early summer," Weidner said."The hospital has not signed anything binding with the physician group.The target is to be finished by mid-summer 2009."
  
  Weidner's address also raised the possibility CRMC will add a neonatal intensive care unit in the coming months, an addition that would allow mothers whose babies have complications to stay in Cullman after delivering a child.
  
  "We deliver a thousand babies a year here, and about a hundred babies a year of those thousand we have to transfer out to a more intensive unit that provides better care for the baby," Weidner said.
  
  "Right now we are in the interview stages of interviewing neonatology groups.There's four - three from Birmingham, one from Huntsville - that we're interviewing, and ... if one of those four groups are interested in helping us set up a neonatal intensive care unit, then we would move forward with the construction."
  
  According to Weidner, CRMC officials should reach a decision later this year before plans are drawn up and operational details worked out.
  
  "We would hope that we could start construction later this year," he said.
  
  Biopsy technology
  
  Weidner also outlined plans for the hospital to overhaul its breast biopsy procedure, calling the current setup CRMC's "Achilles heel."According to Weidner, the hospital will try to raise enough money to replace the current procedure with stereotactic breast biopsy, a less invasive and more accurate procedure.
  
  "The existing process is probably 15, 20 years behind where it needs to be and where our women in our community can get care," said Weidner."The new process will be done in one step with a simple insertion of a needle that will take the biopsy.It's less scarring, it's more accurate, and it's less cost and stress to the patient."
  
  CRMC hopes to raise money for the equipment via a gala and golf tournament later this year.
  
  "The gala is April 5th, the golf outing sometime this summer," Weidner said."Our expectation is that we (will) have stereotactic breast biopsy by the summer.We need good participation by the community at the gala and the golf outing."
  
  Emergency room changes
  
  Weidner said renovation of CRMC's emergency room facilities is progressing according to plan, with its end date coinciding with the start of CRMC's new contract with Pegasus Emergency Group.
  
  "We're targeting to have our facelift construction done by April 1," Weidner said.
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  "More importantly, our medical staff is involved," Weidner said, noting the medical staff was involved with the search for a new contractor.
  
  Weidner said Pegasus will significantly raise the quality of care in CRMC's emergency room.
  
  "They are going to raise the standard of care seen in the emergency department to a standard that is not seen statewide," said Weidner.

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  www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_318000547.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/14/2007    Last Visited: 11/14/2007  

  "We are aiming at being tobacco free on the Great American Smokeout Day and encourage other businesses to do the same," said Jim Weidner, president and chief executive officer of CRMC."This is just the beginning for our Medical Center, and the end goal for our workplace is to be tobacco free on 08-08-08."
  
  The initiative was started by Dr. Steven Seidel, current chief of medical staff, and Weidner.
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  Weidner said many challenges are ahead, but CRMC needs to do the right thing for its patients, community and workforce.
  
  "We need to be the leader of wellness in our community, and that is exactly what we plan on doing," he said.

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