ons February 17,2014 Mayor javier Gonzales, 200 Lincoln Avenue Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 Dear Mayor Gonzales: ‘We've received your request for CHRISTUS St.Vincent to identity individuals to serve on the Community Hospital nd Health Care Study Group. So much has happened in the year since Resolution 2014-19 was approved by the City’s Governing Body. Given where we are today, we'd like to instead propose a partnership with the City that focuses on growing and retaining a high skilled ‘workforce for our community, Shared attention to this area would address an Important need forthe hospital but could lead toa larger community discussion and ‘ coordinated effort for increasing the number of skilled workers ready for high paying obs in Santa Fe, During the summer immediately following passage of the Resolution, and partially in response to the Resolution, we visited with nearly 1,200 Santa Feans through 41 ‘community coffees about CHRISTUS St.Vincent and the challenges and ‘opportunities presented by the Affordable Care Act. Many of the suggestions for improving service and clinical quality are already underway atthe hospital. For examples ‘+ weare inthe process of building a new wing and converting ll existing double rooms to private rooms; ‘+ we have hited a Patient Billing Advocate to explain and trouble shoot billing Issues; ‘+ we have hired 2 additional Patient Support Representatives, bringing the ‘team to four that advocates for patients and thelr families; ‘+ we have partnered with The Studer Group to continue to assess and drive {Improvements that will ead to greater patient satisfaction; ‘+ we have expanded our partnership with Santa Fe Community College to farther utilize the simulation lab for trainingand to implement Performance Based Development (PBDS) assessments for current and future nurses. In adaiton, since passage of the Kesolution, we also concluded a collective bargaining process with NM1199 which resulted in CHRISTUS St. Vincent belng the {firstand only hosptal in New Mexico to include minimum staffing levels in its nurse ‘and technician contracts. Given the current healthcare landscape, we prefer to focus our limited resources and time on growing and retaining local talent. Ths is priority for our hospital, not the nearly year-old resolution. As the City's largest private employer, we'd also oT 1 5 @ prefer to focus on building upon our strong partnership with the City that already yearsincludes such efforts asthe CPI and the Mayor's Children's Cabinet. Together, and with other business leaders, we can address tis ingle most significant issue facing Santa Fe- growing jobs and expanding the local talent pool. ook forward to visiting with you about this approach. Best Regards, bias Bruce Tassin President/CEO 15@ years