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Joe Stuczynski Rejoins Memorial Hospital Pembroke

as Chief Executive Officer

BY DANIEL CASCIATO the necessary tools to do their jobs, so we Hospital Pembroke today is the changing
can be the safest healthcare system in the landscape of healthcare. Profitable outpa-
For Joe Stuczynski moving into the role United States.” tient surgeries and other procedures mov-
of CEO for Memorial Hospital System One of the most important lessons that ing out of the hospital puts a stain on the
Pembroke was the next logical step in his Stuczynski has learned in his career to date finances. This is a trend that is going to
career. is to hire the best people, let them do their continue, which is why his goal is to grow
“I have always been a motivated person jobs and make sure they don’t fit your and diversify the types of surgeries they
striving for the next level of advance- mold. perform, offering patients high-quality,
ment,” he says. “I do not want a group of leaders at table hospital grade services.
“Throughout my personal and profes- with the same ideas I have,” he explains. “I As he reflects on his career to date,
sional life, I continue to seek the next chal- want new and alternative ideas. A good becoming a CEO ranks high on
lenge. For nearly two decades I served as leader should be able to listen and act on Stuczynski’s list of accomplishments, but
CFO of multiple hospitals throughout ideas that are not their own. One also must he would have to say becoming a CFO
the Memorial Healthcare System, previ- be prepared to be told they might not be before the age of 30 was a great accom-
ously spending 10 years at Pembroke. correct about an idea or plan. Having lead- plishment.
Needless to say, it is an honor to return to Joe Stuczynski ers who have diverse ideas and a voice at “I have been fortunate to work with
Pembroke to drive its strategic vision and that uniquely position Pembroke among the table help formulate the best plans to great CEOs who are still my mentors
collaborate with a team of skilled health all South Florida hospitals.” solve issues, build profitable programs and today,” he says. “By being part of the
professionals who are leading the way The culture is what sets Memorial complete tasks efficiently and effectively. administrative team for so long, I’ve been
through innovation and high-quality Hospital Pembroke and the entire People will not contribute if they are often able to see what works and what does not.
service.” Memorial Healthcare System apart from silenced, shut down or belittled. Hence, I’ve worked with many CEOs who all had
As he settles into the role of CEO, his other hospital systems, according to you must accept mistakes from yourself different approaches and styles of leader-
number one short term goal is to keep Stuczynski. and your employees. If there is a mistake, ship, so I’ve adopted a few good tech-
the staff and patients safe, and lead the “We truly put patients first,” he stress- find a collaborative way to fix it. Do not niques along the way. I used my time as
hospital and community out of the es. “Memorial believes in Patient Family make it my way or the highway. You can CFO as a learning experience prepping me
COVID-19 pandemic. Centered Care where the family is part of only be as successful as the people you for the CEO position.”
“As far as quality and safety, I want to the care team. We never refer to a patient work with.” Memorial Hospital Pembroke might be
maintain the Leapfrog A rating and attain by their illness and room number. The Having been in the healthcare field for a the world’s best kept secret in healthcare,
5 stars in the CMS rating,” Stuczynski patient is not the stroke in room 204, it is long time, what Stuczynski enjoys most Stuczynski concludes.
says. “Pembroke will also continue to be Mr. Smith, a husband and father of three. about working in the field is the people. "We are that community hospital that
the transfer receiving facility for the We treat the body, mind and spirit of the Healthcare workers have the mentality to delivers world-class care,” he says.
Memorial Healthcare System in order to patient and we value the family’s input as put themselves out there to help other peo- “Memorial Hospital Pembroke has been a
decompress the other hospitals when they know more about the patient than we ple. Every caregiver has a desire to make Leap Frog Straight-A Hospital for the last
needed.” do. This is a practice that has been tested other people better, and that takes a special four years and has a four-star CMS rating.
Longer term plans include growing the in this time of COVID-19, but we have person, he notes. Pembroke is the home to the Memorial
Wound Healing Center and Hyperbaric adapted and continue to speak with fami- “They have different personalities and Wound Healing Center which has over a
Program and expanding the Bariatric lies via phone and video calls as often as come from different backgrounds, yet they 92% heal rate, which is one of the top in
Surgical Program. we can.” share the compassion and strength to help the county and is part of the Memorial
“We have hired, and will continue to Another distinguishing factor is that others,” he says. “The teamwork and ded- Bariatric Program, performing more
bring in surgeons and specialists to they believe the employees are its number ication happening today to get us through bariatric cases than any other hospital in
increase these services,” he explains. one asset. this pandemic is nothing short of heroic. Broward. Being a smaller hospital, we have
“The layout of the Outpatient area makes “All employees, from housekeeping Our caregivers have been putting their a real family atmosphere where everyone
it convenient for patients to receive their and dietary to our facilities team and own health at risk for over five months to knows each other and greets you with a
treatment here, because these services are nurses on the floor - without them, we help others. They are exhausted, and still hello and a smile.”
offered on the first floor and not far from cannot deliver the care to our patients,” somehow put on their scrubs, suit up with
the entrance, which is unusual. Finally, he notes. “If we take good care of our PPEs and continue to deliver world-class
our team of administrative leaders will employees, they will take good care of care every day.” For more information, visit
continue to search for new, niche services our patients. We make sure we give them The greatest challenge facing Memorial www.mhs.net/locations/memorial-pembroke.

Cover Story: Ged Lawyers: Helping Local Business Owners

with Complex Insurance Claims in Difficult Times

Continued from page 1
are pushing to require insurers to include ognized that there's potential exposure to damage, then there's no physical inter-
ting down your business, such as the gov- the COVID-19 as a qualified interrupting them based on a pandemic or a virus. So ruption of business and/or loss. An
ernor of Florida and the different mayors event. Despite these actions, insurers are it's extremely important to understand example would be a flood that washes
and county commissioners for Broward routinely denying claims. what the policy language contains and away your building or even a fire that
and Palm Beach, who have shut down or Ged stresses that if you have purchased what exclusions may apply.” burns down inventory, forcing your busi-
made it impossible for certain people to business interruption coverage and have Albert Johnson, a nationally known ness to shut down.
operate their businesses during the cur- been losing income due to the coronavirus trial lawyer, who now works with Ged “However, there are Supreme Court
rent pandemic.” crisis or other covered perils, you should Lawyers, notes that business interrup- cases, which have ruled years ago, that
With business interruption insurance, file a claim as soon as possible. In fact, you tion insurance has particular significance physical damage should be interpreted as
you can often extend the coverage for a should file a claim even though you may now in the medical provider industry. meaning damaged from odors or escap-
year, while civil authority can typically be unclear how much income you have “Many of the medical providers, ing noxious fumes from one building to
extend for 90 days. lost or will lose. That’s because if you fail including imaging facilities, medical sup- another,” says Johnson. “That kind of
Your policies, whether it’s business to act now, you will have no basis to ply companies, and those who serve the thing would particularly exclude any
interruption insurance or civil authority, appeal a denial or file a lawsuit against needs of elective surgeries, have been defense based upon lack of physical dam-
should spell out when you can qualify your insurer if needed. shut down and have no income,” he says. age.”
for business interruption coverage. The “We do these cases on a contingency, "They depend upon these business inter- No matter the reason for denial of cov-
loss of income must occur due to the meaning the clients don't have to put up ruption policies to a great extent, just to erage, Johnson’s advice is to call Ged
physical loss of property that makes it any money whatsoever upfront,” says stay alive. Insurance companies are not Lawyers.
necessary to suspend your operations, Ged. “Only if we are successful or we in business to pay losses. They are in “Call good lawyers right away, number
according to Ged. win, are they responsible to pay us a fee.” business to save money for their stock- one,” he says. “And number two, send us
However, many insurance companies Ged’s advice is to read your policy holders—not their policy holders, their your insurance policy so we can review
have been rejecting business interruption carefully. stockholders. So they will do whatever the denial. We’ll let you know your legal
claims as a result of COVID-19. This “There is what's called a virus exclusion, they can to avoid paying losses.” rights.”
contradicts previous cases where which is amazing that some of these cov- There are several reasons why insur-
claimants prevailed with claims based on erages have included this,” he says. “They ance companies will not pay. One major
bacterial contamination. In addition, added this exclusion after the H1N1 virus reason is the lack of physical damage. For more information,
Congress and numerous state legislatures back in 2003. The insurance industry rec- They claim that if there's no physical visit www.gedlawyers.com.

10 September 2020 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News