Ruth Brinkley
It is hard to believe that Chanukah is already here once again. I hope you all are finding the time to spend with those in your life who mean the most to you. This time of year brings about the opportunity to reflect on the past year and look ahead with hope for the future.
As an organization, we have much to be proud of in 2016 and much to look forward to in 2017. On Hanukkah, we celebrate miracles, and this year, we have many miracles and historic medical firsts to celebrate.
On behalf of all at Jewish Hospital and KentuckyOne Health, I would like to thank the Jewish Community of Louisville for their support of our organization in the past year. You have helped make 2016 a successful year for our organization and contributed to our promise to bring wellness, healing and hope to all in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
Together, we have made tremendous progress in 2016. We expanded emergency services at Jewish Hospital and introduced our pioneering Fast ER program to significantly reduce wait times for our patients. Jewish Hospital received recognition as a high performer in hip replacement, heart failure and COPD care by U.S. News and World Report.
We also worked hard every day to enhance the lives of those we serve in Louisville and across all our facilities by leading complimentary “hands-only” CPR trainings, cancer screenings and health fairs that support our vision of educating and empowering our communities.
Our strong 2016 places us in a position for continued success in 2017 and beyond. We are committed to our promise to provide quality patient care, extensive community support and opportunity for growth and development for our employees, nurses and physicians. Partners in care are critical to our success. We are pleased, therefore, to recently announce the evolution of our partnership with University of Louisville (UofL).
This mutual decision to redesign our partnership will strengthen our Academic Affiliation Agreement with UofL. By doing so, we will ensure ongoing access to innovative care and breakthrough procedures at Jewish Hospital and other facilities across Louisville for which we have been recognized and celebrated. With the revised academic affiliation all services and programs will continue and we will continue our focus on improving care and community outreach.
While change is taking place, KentuckyOne Health is, and will always be, committed to quality patient care, compassionate action in our communities and support and growth for our employees. This commitment can be seen through the community programs that have been a cornerstone of our organization from the beginning.
Service to the poor and vulnerable is of the utmost importance as we seek to holistically improve the health and wellness in Louisville and across Kentucky. While this is top of mind to all of us, especially during the holiday season, we know that this commitment goes far beyond once-a-year, as it is built into the very foundation of KentuckyOne Health as part of our mission, and deeply rooted in the heritage of Jewish Hospital, through its commitment to tikkun olam (the healing of the world).
The Jewish Community of Louisville continues to be a vital partner for KentuckyOne Health, and its generous support for the Jewish Hospital & St Mary’s Foundation ensures that we are able to continue to make miracles possible for generations to come.
We take this time to reaffirm our commitment to preserving and strengthening the Jewish identity of Jewish Hospital, within our larger interfaith family. Together, thanks to your ongoing support, we lift the lives of those in our community and help grow the legacy of excellence at Jewish Hospital.
May each of you and your loved ones enjoy a very joyous Chanukah and a happy and healthy 2017!