Caring for People

Dennis W. Pullin

Two years ago, when Dennis W. Pullin ’81 became chief operating officer of one of the nation’s largest hospitals – one located in the shadow of Capitol Hill – he knew that his position would give him a unique voice to help impact people’s lives.

With 926 beds and $1 billion in annual revenue, Washington Hospital Center (WHC) falls into the mega-hospital category, and because of the hospital’s location, it admits everyone “from the homeless to the Supreme Court justice,” Pullin said.

“Being in the District provides a greater cache, we are in the thick of where policies are made – a platform to be engaged with policymakers, to have a voice,” he said. “From a business standpoint, it’s great; from a community standpoint, it’s great and fulfilling. But to have the ability to be impactful to those making policy is special.”

As the top administrator at WHC, Pullin explained his responsibility to be true to the hospital’s mission to serve all people while staying on sound financial footing.

“We have a responsibility to serve the community that might not otherwise be served – last year we provided roughly $95 million of uncompensated care – but, as a business, we have to manage our resources properly,” he said. “We can’t do good if we don’t do well.”

There are 40 million Americans without insurance – more who are underinsured – and because of the current economic climate, more and more people are choosing to drop their insurance or not have certain medical procedures.

“So in that regard, the government needs to step in and help. Without question there is a need for our government to think differently from what we’ve done in the past,” he said. “And I’m a little nervous right now with the bailout of the financial industry and how that will eventually impact health care.”

But they aren’t waiting for the government to step in. Pullin has been innovative in finding more cost effective ways to increase diagnostic services and extend medical care into the community through primary care clinics and creating a different delivery model than just coming in to the emergency room.

Pullin said, “Many patients come to the ER as a last resort, so we put primary care clinics in the community – to provide the same level of care in a less expensive environment.”

He said that WHC strives to expand the hospital’s patient-first philosophy by promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent health problems, by partnering with its top-notch medical staff, and through joint ventures, all to provide the finest care for their patients.

Dan Salinas, M.D.

Dr. Dan Salinas ’81, senior vice president and chief medical officer of one of the largest children’s hospitals in the nation, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), also sees the challenges of treating patients in a today’s challenging health care environment.

Because CHOA is, by admissions, the largest children’s health system with the largest number of emergency department visits in the country, Salinas explained that the hospital is charting a course that focuses on clinical excellence supported by excellence in research, teaching and wellness.

He explained that the risk factor for children in the Southeast is high, and Georgia ranks in the lower quartile for measures around wellness, which includes absence of disease, safety, and teenage pregnancy.

“What we’re trying to do at Children’s is turn that around. We are partnering with the state and other agencies in the state of Georgia to focus on this whole area of wellness – which involves lifestyle, immunizations, and access to care – that as many children as possible are insured.”

“One thing I learned from Texas Lutheran is that it really is all about people,” Pullin said. “And that as an administrator of a large business, and that’s what the hospital really is, I have to understand that everything we do, every single day, every decision we make, boils down to people. We are influencing someone’s life. It is all about their quality of care.” ♦