Firm Named to Conduct Catholic Medical Center Review

Catholic Medical Center’s (CMC) Board of Trustees hired a Pennsylvania firm to conduct an independent, external review at CMC following allegations raised in a recent Boston Globe article that Dr. Yvon Baribeau, a former heart surgeon, accumulated the highest number of malpractice settlements involving surgical deaths in the U.S. in the last two decades and that hospital officials did not effectively respond to concerns raised by other medical professionals about the doctor.

CMC engaged Horty Springer & Mattern of Pittsburgh, PA, nationally known in the healthcare industry for providing legal services and advice to hospitals and health systems for more than 50 years.

“Engaging HortySpringer is an opportunity for CMC and consistent with the organization’s mission and values,” says CMC Board Chair Tim Riley.  “This review will help us understand what could have been done better in the past but, most importantly, it helps us chart a future based on industry-leading best practices.” 

 “CMC is committed to continuous improvement and we honor the trust our employees, patients, and community put in us every day,” says CMC President and CEO Alex Walker. “I’m grateful to the Board for initiating this review to reassure our employees and patients and I welcome HortySpringer’s work.”

The Board has asked HortySpringer to evaluate a number of areas around the quality and safety of CMC’s cardiac surgery program, as well as past and present policies, processes and procedures related to the medical staff, hospital administration, and board. They will spend the next several months looking at, among other things, credentialing, peer review, and how leadership handled physician concerns.

 “I am confident that this review will be objective and supports the goal that all providers at CMC share—to provide the highest quality care to our patients in the safest setting,” saiys CMC vascular surgeon and Medical Staff President Patricia Furey, MD, FACS, MBA.

To facilitate the external review, Trustees established a special committee of the Board. Led by Vice Chair Pamela Diamantis, it includes recently appointed trustees Matt Albuquerque and Grace Tung. Tom Donovan, retired director of charitable trusts for the NH Attorney General’s Office, has agreed to serve on the committee as an independent member.  In order to support the autonomy of HortySpringer and the impartiality of their work, there are no members of the administration or the medical staff on the special committee. 

HortySpringer will produce a report on their findings and recommendations for improvement. The review is expected to take several months.