Thursday, May 31, 2012
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Delaware Valley CEO Polge to retire June 1
David Polge will retire on June 1 after 22 years as president and chief executive officer of UHS Delaware Valley Hospital in Walton.
Dru Cavanagh, R.N., vice president for Patient Care Services at UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, will serve as interim CEO of the facility in Delaware County.
"It’s a good time for me to bow out and turn the leadership of the hospital over to somebody with fresh legs who can continue the marathon," Mr. Polge said. "I believe I’m leaving the facility in a very good place from what it was when I started in 1990."
With his leadership over more than two decades, the Walton hospital created a thoroughly modern emergency department, added specialty services, began work on a new primary care office in Downsville and strengthened its connection to the UHS healthcare system.
The hospital today is financially sound and technologically up-to-date, scoring high in patient and employee satisfaction, Mr. Polge said.
"In the past couple of decades, we essentially recreated a healthcare facility for this area that has been modernized, has the latest diagnostic technology and electronic medical records, is financially sound and has been recognized for its quality and regulatory compliance," he noted.
Mr. Polge led a successful effort for the facility to became a federally designated critical access hospital, one of 1,300 such institutions nationwide that provide care in rural areas and receive cost-based Medicare reimbursement.
This year the 60-year-old facility was named one of the top 100 critical access hospitals in the United States by the National Rural Health Association.
Several years ago the hospital was complimented by the New York State "rightsizing commission" for finding a balanced mix of health care services and cost savings for its community.
Just days ago it was also named New York State's "Cleanest Hospital," as well as the 27th cleanest in the U.S., by Becker's Hospital Review, a top nationwide source of business and legal information for the leaders of hospitals and surgical centers.
A Syracuse native, Mr. Polge received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame and a master of management degree in healthcare administration from Northwestern University.
Before moving to Walton, he held an administrative position with a hospital in Connecticut and a similar post with the Carle Foundation Hospital in Illinois.
He credits the success of UHS Delaware Valley’s turnaround to the support the facility received from the UHS system, and to the commitment of the doctors and employees of the Walton site.
"One of the things that has made us so successful is the way we have been blessed with a staff that is really committed to the patient, the hospital and the community," he said. "They helped me fight the good fight. Together we made a difference."
UHS is a locally owned, not-for-profit, 916-bed hospital and health care system serving the Greater Binghamton region. Its mission is to improve the health of its patients and communities through a dedication to excellence in care and service. Founded in 1981, it provides a full range of medical, surgical, rehabilitative and long-term care services from more than 40 locations throughout New York's Southern Tier. It consists of UHS Wilson Medical Center, UHS Binghamton General Hospital, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, UHS Delaware Valley Hospital, UHS Senior Living at Ideal and UHS Home Care, and is affiliated with the UHS Medical Group and the UHS Foundation.
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