Centura Health has always stood for top quality – delivering the highest quality and safest care possible through our award-winning entities, services and teams. We are pleased to announce that 12 of our hospitals are 5-star rated in various procedures and outcomes according to research released by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions using Medicare data, and additional analyzes outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payor data provided by 16 states.

This analysis shows that patients treated at hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have a lower risk of dying and a lower risk of experiencing one or more complications during a hospital stay than if they were treated at hospitals receiving a 1-star rating in that procedure or condition.

We are proud of our Centura Health facilities that were recognized with 5-star ratings from Healthgrades within specific service lines:

• Avista Adventist Hospital is a 5-Star Recipient for Treatment of Pneumonia.
• Castle Rock Adventist Hospital is 5-star rated in areas of cardiac, pulmonary and critical care.
• Littleton Adventist Hospital is 5-star rated in areas of neurosciences, pulmonary, critical care and labor and delivery^*.
• Longmont United Hospital is 5-star rated in areas of neurosciences, gastrointestinal and critical care.
• Mercy Regional Medical Center is 5-star rated in areas of cardiac, orthopedics, pulmonary, gastrointestinal and critical care.
• Parker Adventist Hospital is 5-star rated in areas of cardiac, orthopedics, neurosciences, gastrointestinal, critical care and bariatric.
• Penrose-St. Francis Health Services (PSF) is the proud recipient of Healthgrades® ‘America’s 250 Best Hospitals Award for two years in a row! PSF was also named one of Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for cardiac care, coronary intervention, orthopedic surgery, spine surgery and prostate surgeries.
• Porter Adventist Hospital was named One of Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Joint Replacement^TM for 6 years in a row. PAH is also 5-star rated in orthopedics, gastrointestinal and critical care.
• St. Anthony Hospital (SAH) was named among the top 10% of the nation for cardiology services for six years in a row. SAH is also 5-star rated in areas of cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal and critical care.
• St. Anthony North Hospital is 5-star rated in gastrointestinal and critical care.
• St. Catherine Hospital is a 5-Star Recipient for Total Knee Replacement.
• St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center is 5-star rated in pulmonary for treatment of pneumonia.

Chris is on a mission to carefully listen and understand diverse perspectives in pursuit of wellness.

Chris Thomson, MD, MS, MBA, FACEP, has been named Group Vice President and Physician Executive for Greater Colorado and Kansas Group, effective Feb. 8, 2021. He will work from Centura’s regional offices in northern Colorado Springs, Colo.

In this role, Chris will work alongside the market CEOs and Chief Medical Officers to develop strategic plans, policies and address operational issues to build effective physician-facing relationships among the operating group, the hospitals and their medical staffs. Chris, who is on a mission to carefully listen and understand diverse perspectives in pursuit of wellness, will also be responsible for strategic medical affairs issues including developing physician networks, joint ventures, physician relationships, physician recruitment and physician development for the system.

Prior to joining Centura, Chris served as the Senior Vice President and System Chief Medical Officer for Centra Health, Inc. based in Lynchburg, VA, where he led clinical care across the system for 12 departments and service lines and oversaw 1,200 medical staff members.

Chris earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology from The College of William & Mary and both a Master of Science in physiology and biophysics and a Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Virginia. He completed a residency in emergency medicine at Carolinas Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine. Chris also earned his Master of Business Administration in General Management with a healthcare focus from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Chris and his wife, Britney, have been married for 26 years and have three daughters: Kelsey, Sidney and Katey. When he’s not working, Chris enjoys reading, hiking, road and mountain cycling, cyclocross, skiing and swimming.

In order to ensure the security of Centura Health computer environments, Information Technology (IT) will release and install Microsoft (MS) Security updates the same month they are released.

In February, two security updates will be required. The January updates will be released on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 11 p.m. (2300 MT), and the February updates will be released on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 11 p.m. (23:00 MT).

Applications or services impacted
Microsoft security updates will only be installed on Windows Operating System (OS) devices. iOS and MacOS devices will not be impacted.

When this will occur?

• Phase 1: Sunday, Feb. 14, at  11 p.m. (23:00 MT)
• Phase 2: Sunday, Feb. 21, at 11 p.m. (23:00 MT)

Don’t get caught off guard! Prepare for our new SharePoint and Microsoft Teams expiration policy that will be implemented in April 2021.

Why is this being done?
Currently Centura does not have an expiration policy for Microsoft Online SharePoint Sites or Microsoft Teams Sites.* As a result, many document repositories exist that are no longer being used, taking up storage and adding risk of sensitive information being unnecessarily discoverable.  

Information Technology (IT) has partnered with Corporate Responsibility to identify an expiration policy for Microsoft SharePoint Online and Teams sites that will go into effect on April 30, 2021.  

*If you are not familiar with Microsoft Teams, it is a communication and collaboration tool with document storage and sharing capabilities, provided by SharePoint. It will also replace Skype for Business instant messaging. It was piloted in IT and will be rolled out to the rest of the organization throughout March and April. Please stay tuned for additional communication and training. If you would like to get a head start, review the MS Teams End User Guide.

What is in the new expiration policy?
After April 30, 2021, all SharePoint Sites and Microsoft Teams sites will need to be “renewed” on an annual basis. The “clock” for annual renewal will “start” on April 30, so the first potential expiration date would be April 29, 2022.
There are two mechanisms for annual renewal:

1. Manual renewal
   • At 30 days, 14 days and 7 days before expiration, ALL site owners will receive an email notification alerting them of the pending expiration. The email contains a link to manually extend the group lifetime by 1 year.
   • On the expiration date, site owners will receive a final email alerting them that the group has expired but is still recoverable for 30 days. The email contains a link to manually extend the site lifetime by 1 year.
2. Automatic renewal based on activity
   • During the 35 days prior to expiration, any activity on the site’s contents (mailbox, documents, or the site itself) will trigger an automatic renewal of the site. This will push out the expiration date of the group to 1 year from this activity date.

• If you are a site owner, regularly checking your Centura email for expiration notifications for your site and responding to the site renewal requests in a timely manner.
• If you own or regularly use a site, ensure that there are at least two owners listed.