At the direction of Catholic Medical Center (CMC) CEO, Alex Walker, the CMC Board of Trustees has retained Horty, Springer, and Mattern (HortySpringer), a law firm from Pittsburgh, PA, to conduct an independent external review of hospital policies, practices, and processes. As part of its review, the firm will be seeking comments from hospital doctors, nurses, staff, and CMC Administration and will be reviewing hospital policies, procedures, and documentation. At the end, HortySpringer’s team will make recommendations on what CMC should do to ensure best practices across the system.

HortySpringer expects the review to take several months to complete and has set no deadline for completion. The Board has directed the law firm to review the quality and safety of CMC’s cardiac surgery program, as well as practices and policies related to medical staff, administration, and the Board. In addition, the firm will also make necessary recommendations to ensure the delivery of the highest quality care for CMC patients. HortySpringer told CMC’s Board that its firm’s engagement is based on the principle of full independence to conduct its review.

HortySpringer will deliver a final report and recommendations to CMC’s Board of Trustees.  CMC looks forward to receiving the findings.  Following privacy laws governing hospitals, providers, and patients, CMC expects to have a dialogue on the findings with the state, CMC employees, and the community.

The CMC Board of Trustees, led by Chair Tim Riley, has appointed a committee of the Board, led by Vice Chair Pamela Diamantis, board members Matt Albuquerque and Grace Tung, and independent non-board member, Tom Donovan, former director of Charitable Trusts for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. This special committee will serve as a liaison to HortySpringer during the course of its review.

CMC leadership and medical staff will be available for any information or interviews requested by HortySpringer but will not have any formal role in the Board’s interactions with the law firm.

It is expected that HortySpringer, and any outside experts the firm deems necessary, will examine the current and past policies, procedures, medical credentialing, and peer review of CMC. That may include looking at how certain cases were handled, but not reexamining the medical decisions made in a particular case. The goal of this review is to ensure that CMC operates at the highest standards of medical care for its patients and strengthens the decades of trust that the hospital has with its patients and the community.