Robert Callahan, director and CEO of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Lebanon VA Medical Center (Lebanon VAMC) is retiring at the end of March.
Callahan, who was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as director of Lebanon VAMC in 2007, has more than 34 years of federal service spanning two federal agencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of the Army.
Robert Callahan
The son of a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, Callahan began his VA career in 1993 as an Occupational Safety & Health manager at Lebanon VAMC. In 1997, he became the facility manager at the Butler, PA, VAMC and served at the three division VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) as the associate medical center director for Site Management from 2000 to 2007, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of 3,000 employees serving over 57,000 veterans, before returning to Lebanon in his current role in November 2007.
Prior to transferring to the VA, Callahan worked for the Department of the Army Preventive Medicine at Aberdeen Proving Grounds Maryland, and E.I Dupont as a laboratory researcher.
Callahan is a recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Presidential Rank award.
During his tenure at Lebanon VAMC, he oversaw modernizing the 75-year-old facility and its five VA Community Clinics through significant capital acquisitions and construction, doubled the staffing size to meet the needs of veterans, expanded care for more than 46,000 Veterans who choose VA for their health care, and lead the health system to consistently perform in the top 10% of VHA facilities for employee satisfaction and veteran experience over the past 10 years.
“Serving Veterans alongside the dedicated professionals at the Lebanon VA and our community clinics has been among the greatest honors of my life,” Callahan said. “I delayed planned retirement last year and I look forward to more time with family and pursuing other interests. The medical center and our community clinics are well-positioned to continue our long legacy of caring for Veterans.”
A national search has been initiated to select the next director and CEO. Margaret Wilson, associate director for Patient Care Services/Nurse Executive will be the acting director, the Lebanon VAMC said.
Wellness in the workplace has always been about encouraging healthy diets, exercise and overall care of the body.
But the COVID pandemic has shown that is it much more.
David Swift
David Swift, senior vice president and chief human resource officer, Penn State Health, told a gathering of health care and insurance professionals Tuesday at the Central Penn Business Journal Health Care Summit in Harrisburg that companies need to think about wellness differently, “through a different lens.”
The state of virtual health care and the mental and behavioral health care crisis were also addressed during the morning-long summit attended by about 80 professionals.
Swift outlined eight dimensions of wellness for business leaders to consider. Physical wellness, which he said has long been a consideration, encourages employees to take care of their physical well-being.
But that’s just the start, he said. Social wellness, meaning connection, took a spotlight when everyone was working remotely. “COVID’s impact more than anything showed the importance of socializing,” he said.
Other dimensions include occupational wellness where employees are recognized for achievements; environmental wellness creating a stimulating environment for workers; financial wellness offering security and education around finances; intellectual wellness allowing people to continue to learn and grow; emotional wellness that allows people to have hope even when their brain tells them there isn’t; and spiritual wellness, whether religious or holistic.
“It doesn’t cost companies a lot to address these,” he said, adding it is important to find out what employees need by asking, not assuming.
“You need to continue to evolve in this area to help everyone be successful,” he said. He used a tree as an example. When it comes to wellness, “there isn’t just one branch.
“The eight dimensions of wellness address the different seasons of life,” he said. “If you take care of your employees, you find the key to success.”
Virtual health care, which came to the forefront during the pandemic, has been around for at least 20 years, according to the panelists speaking on the subject.
But while it has been in use, reimbursement wasn’t always available.
Dr. Mark Jacobson, medical director, Pharmacy/Clinical Market Services, Highmark; Dr. Jason Marx, president, Medical Group, UPMC in Central Pa.; and Faraaz Yousuf, executive vice president and COO, WellSpan – Photo by Rebekah McClelland
Dr. Mark Jacobson, medical director, Pharmacy/Clinical Market Services for Highmark, said Highmark has changed its reimbursement policy to equal in-person visits.
During COVID, from February 2020 to April 2020, there was a 5,000% increase in tele visits. Specifically, he said, there were 75,000 visits between March and December 2019. Visits increased to 3 million between March and December 2020. “It was an explosion,” he said.
In addition, he said some telling data showed that of the visits in 2019, 23% were for behavioral health. That jumped to 54% in 2020.
The bottom line to virtual visits is the reimbursement. Dr. Jason Marx, president, Medical Group, UPMC in Central Pennsylvania, said there was no compensation to grow programs before COVID. “The hospitals had to pay” to provide the service.
Now, he said, insurance companies have changed so now the services are covered.
“We’ve just scratched the surface,” said Faraaz Yousuf, executive vice president and COO, WellSpan. “There is unlimited potential to improve care and lower costs,” he said.
The key is finding “the sweet spot” between virtual visits and in person consultations, he added.
This is especially true in behavioral health. “The stigma is gone with telehealth because you no longer have to walk into a building where people know where you are going,” said Marx. “It increases access.”
Karie Batzler, director of Behavioral Health, Capital Blue Cross; Tracey Lavellias, executive director, Behavioral Health Service Line, Penn Medicine, Lancaster General Hospital; and Jennifer Jordan, vice president, Regulatory Advocacy, HAP – Photo by Rebekah McClelland
Tracey Lavallias, executive director, Behavioral Health Services Line, Penn Medicine, Lancaster General Hospital, said telehealth can help too because there is a lack of providers for people not needing in-patient care.
“It’s an access issue. Of the patients seen in the emergency department, 60% may not need impatient care but they need to find outpatient coverage and medication management,” he said. “But the waiting list is significant.”
Jennifer Jordan, vice president, Regulatory Advocacy, HAP, said demand for behavioral health services is displacing other services in hospitals making increased access a top priority.
“We are working on coordinating care,” said Karie Batzler, director of Behavioral Health, Capital Blue Cross. “During the pandemic it became obvious what’s been needed for years,” she said.
When looking at behavioral health, which includes substance abuse, the panelists said the medical community needs to look at what preventative care looks like. “We need to think ahead and take advantage of what is front and center,” Batzler said. “We need to get information to providers on how to look for this.”
They all agreed that the focus should start in the schools teaching how to identify when feelings are an issue and reduce the stigma of talking about it.
“If we teach and normalize this, when someone experiences it, they can identify it and deal with it. Then as adults they can continue, Lavallias said.
Jordan noted that Pennsylvania passed a one-time $100 million allocation to mental health in the budget. A meeting later this week will determine how it is used, she said.
“People aren’t comfortable talking about this,” said Batzler. “We need to take a risk” and ask for help when needed. “Employers can make a big difference here” by encouraging employees to do just that, she added.
Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center. PHOTO/CRIS Collingwood
With construction of the Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center complete, teams are spending the summer preparing for patients and hiring personnel.
The East Hempfield facility, which broke ground in May 2020, is a 341,000-square-foot, six-story hospital with 132 private inpatient beds, an emergency department and an attached medical office building on State Road just off Route 283. A fall opening is planned.
“We are committed to providing the Lancaster community with world-class primary, specialty and acute care, closer to home where it’s most convenient for them,” said Joe Frank, Penn State Health East Region hospital president.
Penn State Health partnered with Oak Tree Development Group, Barton Malow Alexander and HKS Architects on the project and sourced many key services and materials from Lancaster County businesses. Teams of local contractors worked throughout the pandemic to keep construction of the hospital on schedule.
The hospital will employ nearly 1,000 people. Jobs are listed on the Lancaster Medical Center careers website.
Lancaster Medical Center will give residents expanded access to Penn State Health’s primary, specialty and acute care, including advanced care and clinical trials at the health system’s academic hub, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Frank said.
The completion marks another step in the Penn State Health and Highmark long-term goal of ensuring that everyone in the communities the health system serves has immediate access to virtual care and is within 10 minutes of a Penn State Health primary care provider, 20 minutes of its specialty care services and 30 minutes of a Penn State Health acute care hospital.
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