New hospital president
Tom Garthwaite (Courtesy of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North)Tom Garthwaite has been named the president of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz.
Garthwaite succeeds Paula McGuiness who retired after more than 35 years of service to St. Joseph’s Hospitals.
Prior to his new position, Garthwaite served St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa as operations director, since December 2014. And, before his service to St. Joseph’s Hospitals, Garthwaite was at Halifax Health System in Daytona, as administrator for oncology, pharmacy, research and transplant/dialysis.
A native of Florida, Garthwaite earned a Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Technology from the University of Central Florida and a Master of Science in Health Service Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. He began his medical career in diagnostic radiology.
Garthwaite became the new president of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North during the nation’s greatest health crisis in more than 100 years. He started the position at the Lutz hospital during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He cited the St. Joseph Hospital-North staff and medical team for its work in combating the coronavirus, as he transitioned into his position as president.
Despite becoming a hospital president in a tumultuous time for health care, Garthwaite is optimistic about the future.
St. Joseph’s among the best
The group of five St. Joseph’s Hospitals, including St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz, was named among the nation’s Top 100 hospitals by IBM Watson Health, according to a news release.
IBM Watson Health annually identifies the top hospitals from a rigorous evaluation of 3,134 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the U.S.
The list recognizes excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience and financial health. IBM Watson Health established the list to help identify best practices that may help other health care organizations achieve consistent, balanced and sustainable high performance.
This is the third consecutive year that St. Joseph’s Hospitals has earned the honor and the fourth time overall. The four other hospitals included in the recognition with St. Joseph’s Hospital-North are St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, all in Tampa; and, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South in Riverview.
According to IBM Watson Health, the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on key clinical and operational performance indicators. These include survival rates, patient complications, health care associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency rooms, inpatient expenses, profitability, and ratings from patients.
“It is an honor to work in a hospital and health system that has been recognized in the IBM Watson Health Top 100,” said St. Joseph’s Hospital-North president Tom Garthwaite. “It demonstrates the commitment of our team and medical staff as they care for our patients every day.
“During this challenging time with the COVID pandemic, it is important for our community to know that they have safe, high-quality health close to home,” Garthwaite said.
Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry. Visit 100TopHospitals.com, for more information.
New health degrees offered
Saint Leo University has announced the start of a new four-year degree — a bachelor’s in health education and health promotion — that will prepare graduates for a growing number of health education positions at community organizations, health care agencies, and workplaces.
Health education specialists play an important role in organizations by developing new education programs for various groups and improving programs that may already exist.
The instruction of Saint Leo graduates will be to promote a “culture of health” wherever they work, through effective teaching, through the examples they set as individuals who prioritize their own well-being, and through the cooperative working relationships they maintain with clinicians and other health professionals.
Saint Leo will launch the Bachelor of Science program in the fall semester at its residential campus. Faculty anticipate that students most attracted to the program will be those with a desire to learn about health and to engage with others, and those who enjoy working with groups of people.
The program will prepare students with a contemporary curriculum that draws from courses in anatomy, professional speaking, statistics, psychology, ethics, and nutrition, and layers in courses in education and health promotion.
Education courses, such as teaching diverse populations, brain-based learning and assessing health learning, will ensure that students not only understand health material, but are able to make it understandable to future clients.
At the end of this program of study, students can choose to take a national competency exam for the Certified Health Education Specialist credential. Some employers require the credential. In general, it is considered an asset for those in the field.
Visit SaintLeo.edu for information.
