Valley Health investing $50M to upgrade electronic medical record system (August 1, 2022)

Valley Health investing $50M to upgrade electronic medical record system
By MATT WELCH The Winchester Star
Aug 1, 2022 

WINCHESTER — “This is one small step for technology and one giant leap for health and wellness in our community,” Valley Health President and CEO Mark Nantz said on Monday about Project Elevate — a 16-month process that Valley Health is undergoing to implement its own more robust version of the electronic medical record system, Epic, which it has used since 2014.

“This is a pretty major endeavor for us,” Nantz said during the announcement in the Winchester Medical Center Conference Center. “It’s a big lift. Most of you who were here back in 2012 and 2014, it was a lot of work then and it’ll be a lot of work now. But it’ll be our own.”

Project Elevate is slated for completion by November 2023.

Over the past eight years, Valley Health hospitals, outpatient clinics and affiliated providers have used Epic to document medical care, order tests and procedures, and communicate with patients and medical professionals. The service has been made available through a partnership with Inova Health System.

The partnership helped Valley Health streamline the initial implementation process while curbing expenses, Valley Health officials said. Project Elevate, however, will allow Valley Health to transition to its own upgraded electronic medical record system, which will be managed exclusively by Valley Health. Valley Health will continue to partner with Inova during the transition as well as the Huntzinger Management Group.

In April, Valley Health’s Board of Trustees approved $50 million to fund Project Elevate. About $17 million will be spent on outside labor and expertise.

Project Elevate aims to give Valley Health more flexibility and independence, improve responsiveness and add three new modules currently not on Epic such as laboratory, cardiology and home health.

“This is a future where we’re shooting for technology being better used to take care of our patients, to communicate with one another, to communicate with our clinicians,” Nantz said.

Valley Health has 8,640 active Epic users and 99,562 MyChart users, which is Epic’s patient portal. Additionally, 1,006 physicians and advanced practice clinicians with Valley Health use Epic.

Nancy Ripari, Huntzinger Management Group’s interim chief information officer, explained that five new applications will be implemented as part of Project Elevate: Cupid will be for invasive and non-invasive cardiology; Beaker will replace ALab; Dorothy will replace McKesson Home Health; OnBase will replace OneContent for patient documents, and Optimization will be for targeted improvements to key functions.

Beaker and Cupid are expected to launch in July 2023, followed by Optimization in September and Dorothy in October. Everything associated with Project Elevate is slated to go live on Nov. 4, 2023.

Winchester Medical Center's solar energy system nears completion (January 17, 2022)

Winchester Medical Center's solar energy system nears completion
By Josette Keelor The Winchester Star
Jan 17, 2022



A nearly two-year-long solar panel project on Winchester Medical Center’s campus is expected to be finished next month.

Once finished, it will be one of the largest solar power systems at any Virginia hospital, said Mark Baker, vice president of facilities management and safety for WMC’s parent company, Valley Health.

The solar project should save an estimated $3.25 million in electric utility bills over the next 30 years, The Winchester Star reported in January 2020.


“There are three pieces to the project, two of which are already complete,” Baker said recently.

The first two sections — a roof-mounted system on Valley Health’s diagnostic center and another system on the roof of the cancer center — were both completed last year, he said.

The first one has a capacity of 289.4 kilowatts and the second one 125.8 kilowatts, a Valley Health news release from early 2020 says. Combined with the final section (1.3 megawatts), the total grid of 4,635 solar panels will provide 1.7 megawatts of clean energy.

The final section, a ground-mounted system on the northwest side of the campus, should be completed in February, Baker said, depending on any issues outside of Valley Health’s control.

“We’re up against some weather challenges and parts availability because of COVID,” Baker said.

Though the solar panel grid can stand up to the weather, he said that enough snow will prevent the panels from generating solar power until it's cleared away.

Valley Health won’t be storing any solar energy, so they’ll use whatever power they have as they generate it, he said.


Most of the energy will be generated from March to October, Baker said, and the rest of the year, Valley Health will supplement with the energy it buys from Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, which he said has been fantastic to work with.

“They are our primary source,” he said.

He expects the solar panels to provide about 20 to 25% of electrical power to the campus, Baker said.

“It certainly provides an element of resilience which might not currently exist, meaning we can generate our own power,” he said.

“It gives us some independence if you will.”

The solar panel grid is also expected to result in about $80,000 a year in energy cost savings, The Star reported in early 2020.

Staunton-based company Secure Futures Solar agreed not to charge Valley Health for the installation of the grid, Valley Health Public Relations Manager Carol Weare said in January 2020. Instead, Secure Futures Solar planned to cover all costs to get the system up and running and will start billing Valley Health for services once the system begins operation and starts producing power.

Aside from sustainability and reliability, using solar energy helps Valley Health keep its costs down so it can provide more cost-effective health care, Baker said.

“Ultimately it benefits the environment and the patient.”

Local practices merge with Valley Health (July 24, 2021)

Local practices merge with Valley Health
Star staff report
July 24, 2021



WINCHESTER — Multiple medical practices have merged with Valley Health in recent weeks.

According to a Valley Health news release, Winchester Surgical Clinic on South Stewart Street and the ACCESS (Acute Care Emergency Surgery Service) Clinic at Winchester Medical Center merged in June and now operate under a the name Valley Health Surgical Partners in Medical Office Building II in Suite 310 at 190 Campus Boulevard on the WMC campus.

Additionally, Valley Health Pulmonary Specialists and Valley Health Winchester Pulmonary and Internal Medicine have merged to create Valley Health Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists, a second release said. The practice is located on the second floor of Medical Office Building II.

Winchester Surgical Clinic has served the region since 1956, providing expertise in gastrointestinal surgery, including hepatobiliary, colorectal, gallbladder and other advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgeries, hernia repair, breast disease and cancer, endoscopy, thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal conditions, dialysis access, wound care and trauma. The practice joined Valley Health in 2010.

According to the news release, trauma and acute care surgery is a 24/7 hospital-based emergency service whose providers treat and manage the follow-up care of patients coming into the WMC Emergency Department. Winchester Medical Center is a state-designated Level II Trauma Center, offering subspecialists and services to meet the complex needs of injured patients from the larger region. In 2020, WMC cared for 1,672 trauma patients.

Valley Health Surgical Partners includes 11 physicians and five advanced practice clinicians:


- General Surgery: Charles Hyre, MD; Victoria Lyness, MD; Fadi Makari, MD; Valerie Plant, MD; Jorge Posadas, MD.

- Endocrine Surgery: Victoria Lyness, MD.

- Trauma and Acute Surgery: Loretta Boyd, MD; Jeffrey Carter, MD; Terral Goode, MD; Alexander Johnston, MD; Matthew Mayuiers, MD; Paul Ulich, MD.

- Advanced Practice Clinicians: Cara Bland, NP; Jennifer Rohrbaugh, NP; Jessica Sites, PA; Laura Stade, PA; Heather Wallace, NP.

The pulmonary practice will serve as a central hub for pulmonary care and sleep medicine for patients in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Providers will continue to see patients at Valley Health satellite clinics in Front Royal, Luray, Romney, W.Va., and Spring Mills, W.Va, according to the news release.

The board certified physicians, advanced practice clinicians and other staff at Valley Health Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists offer comprehensive services — including advanced interventional diagnostic and therapeutic procedures — for individuals with a wide range of lung conditions and sleep disorders, as well as other chronic health issues and wellness services. the release added.

Valley Health Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists has nine physicians and three advanced practice clinicians:

- Pulmonary Medicine: T. Glen Bouder MD, FCCP; Daniel Hynes, MD; Christian A. LaFalce MD, FCCP; David LeCronier, DO; Jeffrey Lessar, MD; Thomas M. Murphy, MD; John Price, DO; G. Keith Wolfe, MD; Allyson Rinker, NP.

- Internal Medicine: S. Preston Childress, MD; Sarah Chrisman, FNP-C; Anne Weiss, MSN, RN, FNP-C.

Valley Health laying off 20 employees (Dec. 12, 2018)

Valley Health laying off 20 employees
By JOSH JANNEY The Winchester Star
Dec 12, 2018


WINCHESTER — Faced with financial challenges, Valley Health plans to lay off 20 employees.

Valley Health President and CEO Mark Merrill sent an internal memo last week to the regional health system’s approximately 6,000 employees informing them of the situation. The memo, which was sent to The Star anonymously, says Valley Health is “experiencing financial headwinds” in the current fiscal year that have resulted in an operating loss of $4.2 million through November. In October, Valley Health identified the need to improve financial performance by $18 million on an annual basis.

“These headwinds, though prevalent throughout the health care industry, are affecting Valley Health more significantly than many peers,” Merrill wrote in the Dec. 3 memo, which had the subject line “Valley Health Financial Improvement Plan.”

Valley Health, a nonprofit organization, is parent company of Winchester Medical Center and five other regional hospitals.

In a statement to The Star on Tuesday, Valley Health said it remains “financially strong” but is being adversely impacted by rising costs and several “unfavorable revenue trends,” including flat and/or declining volumes, an increase in charity care and bad debt expense, rising costs for labor and supplies and external factors such as delayed Medicaid expansion in Virginia.

Merrill noted that Valley Health reported favorable financial results for fiscal years 2014-17. But in 2017 expense growth outpaced revenue growth for the first time in five years. “This trend has continued into 2018 with revenue growth of 1.8 percent while expenses have increased 6.3 percent,” he said in the memo.

Valley Health said in its statement that these trends are prevalent across the industry, as payment constraints and expense growth are challenging hospitals and health systems nationally.

According to IRS Form 990 filings, Valley Health had revenues of $986,757,666 and expenditures of $927,685,312 in 2016. In 2017, revenues were $1,035,467,293 and expenditures $989,125,698.

As part of a financial improvement plan, Valley Health leaders did a systematic review of operating costs, staffing patterns, revenue opportunities and efficiency improvements, which resulted in “difficult decisions to adjust the number of positions or hours worked for a combination of 20 full-time, part-time, and per diem positions in a variety of roles throughout the organization,” Tuesday’s statement said. “Valley Health is working with the individuals affected by these decisions during a transition period between now and February, when the changes will be completed. Valley Health anticipates that a majority of individuals affected will find opportunities in other roles within the organization.”

The affected workers have been notified.

Valley Health did not say what jobs are being eliminated or their salaries, but three are at Winchester Medical Center in administrative and support roles, according to a hospital spokesperson.

“Each of our team members are important to Valley Health’s success, but regrettably, we have to make tough decisions to remain sustainable,” Merrill said in his memo. “These decisions are not easy, but they are crucial. Our community expects us to keep costs down while still providing great care and service.”

Valley Health will continue to look at ways to use less expensive products that still provide quality patient care, Merrill’s memo said, as well as seek ways to work more efficiently with fewer employees and routinely seek ways to reduce costs.

While the base compensation for Valley Health’s 16 highest-paid employees increased from 2016 to 2017, there has been a decrease in other reportable compensation and benefits.

According to IRS Form 990 filings, the top 16 employees received a combined $8,944,911 in 2016. In 2017, that number dipped to $8,122,124. Merrill was compensated with $2.3 million in 2016 and $1.7 million in 2017.

The Valley Health Board of Trustees has a plan in place that places a portion of each executive’s compensation “at risk” based upon attaining certain quality, safety, service and operating performance targets, according to a hospital spokesperson. The differences in compensation from 2016 to 2017 “represent different performance levels of the leaders in attaining goals set for the plan year.”

In 2013, Valley Health laid off 17 employees, reduced the hours of eight workers and eliminated about 100 vacant positions. In 2014, it laid off 33 employees.

Merrill noted in his memo that Valley Health experienced similar challenges five years ago but was able to reverse them and achieve financial improvement.

“To mitigate the financial impact of these factors — and others — it will be critical that ALL members of the Valley Health team adopt a new fiscally conscious mindset,” Merrill told Valley Health employees in his memo.

2011 and 2014 Winchester 10U Cal Ripken World Series Final reports

The City of Winchester lost approx $32,000 in 2011 and $31,000 in 2014 when the City hosted the 10U Cal Ripken World Series.

To learn more, click on the following links:

2011 Final Report

2014 Final Report


Click here to view a side by side comparison between the 2011 and 2014 World Series events for expenses and revenue.

2014 vs. 2011 World Series Side by Side comparison