Temple CEO Kastanis Speaks about Health Care Challenge

John N. Kastanis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Temple University Hospital presented a cutting edge speech on Obama Care when he was honored at the Hermes International Gala. The event was held April 1^st evening at the Concordville Inn, in Concordville, Pennsylvania.

“I have devoted my professional life to healthcare administration,” explained the speaker. “And believe me, this is truly an ‘exciting’ time to be a healthcare professional! The healthcare industry is undergoing a lot of change. It has also become a primary focus of the Obama administration and legislators in Washington. We are faced with a national dilemma. America has grown accustomed to the luxury of high quality care…to healthcare that is readily available, is innovative and that continually offers new hope.”

CEO Kastanis said “the real challenge is to bring quality medical care and sick people together in the most positive and appropriate fashion-without destroying society’s fiscal integrity. This was recently evidenced by the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of Obama Care. All hospitals are under the microscope right now in the face of healthcare reform. They are expected to deliver higher-quality and better patient experience, at a lower cost. Medical technology, innovative thinking and planning are moving along a line of near geometric progression. At the same time, regulations have tightened. The entire nation is clamoring for a reduction in the rise of health care costs. This is a collision course. It will take innovative thinking, planning and hard choices to produce a positive outcome.”

He believes “it can be done – with a combination of ingenuity, flexibility and willingness to think along new lines. We continue to meet human needs in a system of fiscal limits and fierce competition. As President and CEO of Temple University, I have the privilege of carrying forward the legacy of our institution’s long history of Philadelphia’s crown jewels. I have learned the institution’s history in rendering outpatient and specialized inpatient services to the greater Philadelphia region and beyond.”

“Temple University Hospital is an academic medical institution with a vital mission,” Mr. Kastanis explained. “As the main teaching hospital of the Temple University School of Medicine, we provide high quality care, train future physicians and support clinical research. We treat a large number of patients, providing advanced care in specialties such as Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Orthopedics, GI, Neurosurgery, Cancer Care and others. We have recently recruited physicians who are regionally and nationally-renowned for being at the top of their game in their respective fields. We continue to grow strategically in key areas and services, adapting to the competitive healthcare landscape in this era of rapid change…..These are features that make Temple University Hospital a major destination point for specialty care in the Delaware Valley and Mid-Atlantic region.”

Harris Meyer and Melanie Evans in their article, “Outlook 2014: The year ahead in healthcare business,” Modern Health Care, January 4, 2014, believe  “while the coming year in healthcare will be strongly shaped by the sweeping provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2014 also will be notable for a continuation of trends that predated President Barack Obama’s landmark law…It’s uncertain whether hospitals will continue to see stagnation in the volume of patients in 2014, forcing them to find other ways to increase revenue and maintain operating margins. But they hope the expansion of coverage under Obamacare will encourage newly insured Americans to seek out needed elective care. They also hope the coverage expansion will reduce levels of uncompensated care, though the degree will vary depending on whether a hospital is in a state that chose to expand Medicaid to adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level.”

The April 2014 AARP Bulletin states Health Insurance costs depends on “Location, Location, Location….In rural areas, where the number of health care providers has shrunk, insurers make business decisions not to offer robust networks, which reduces competition  and increases costs. Rates listed in the online insurance marketplaces and research by nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation shows ….Upstate New York counties, Minneapolis-St. Paul and 10 surrounding counties, 14 western Pennsylvania counties… have the lowest in the country.” CEO Kastanis is saying the truth that “Temple is the place to go for hospital care.”

In conclusion, the CEO “takes humble pride in the fact that a Greek-American is manning the ship at temple University Hospital… and even more pride knowing that so many Greek-Americans have been supportive of Temple for so many years…As Greek-Americans, we exercise our cultural heritage every day: through our close connection to spiritual and religious life, sharp focus on family, strong sense of moral obligations and solid work ethic. We embrace that heritage when we bring our talents and abilities to work with us every day, whatever profession we are in.”  John N. Kastanis, the son of Greek immigrants, embodies a commitment to traditional Hellenic values of Honor, Friendship, Hospitality and a passion for Public Relationships.

Links:
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140104/MAGAZINE/301049990 – Harris Meyer and Melanie Evans, “Outlook 2014: The year ahead in healthcare business”.
http://tuh.templehealth.org/content/john_kastanis.htm- official biography