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John Kastanis is an accomplished Health System Executive with significant experience leading teaching, high acute/tertiary/quaternary-care and specialty hospitals.  His core expertise is in strategic planning, governance, fund development, academic medicine, while also managing large Medicaid and Medicare patient populations.John has a proven record of success with financial turnarounds, mergers, corporate restructurings, integrated delivery network development, labor-management negotiations, and performance improvement. His demonstrated ability to deliver results, motivate staff and drive new growth has benefited several health organizations. Learn more at https://www.johnnkastanis.net/

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Overview of the HCAHPS Survey

John N. Kastanis is a successful healthcare administrator and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. While serving as president and CEO of University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, John N. Kastanis increased domain scores for all areas of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, including large improvements in how patients rated the hospital. A patient satisfaction survey, the HCAHPS has been administered by the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) since its inception in 2002. The survey, which is required from all hospitals in the United States, serves three core purposes. In addition to providing insights into patients' opinions on care, the HCAHPS provides transparency and incentivizes hospitals through public investment. To achieve these goals, the HCAHPS asks 29 questions to randomly selected patients that have been discharged from a hospital. A large part of the survey focuses on the hospital experience, covering topics ranging from communication and responsiveness to cleanliness and noise. Other elements of the HCAHPS include directions for patients taking the survey and five items designed to adjust for the mix of patients across different hospitals.

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Introduction to the Five Levels of Trauma Centers

An experienced healthcare executive, John N. Kastanis serves as a consultant from his own firm, JNK Consulting. Immediately prior, he led University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, as president and CEO. In this capacity, John N. Kastanis spent two years overseeing this acute-care teaching facility, northern New Jersey’s only Level 1 trauma center. In the United States, trauma centers are divided into five categories depending on their capabilities for providing emergency care to patients. Below is a brief description of each of these categories: Level I Open 24/7, Level I trauma centers handle all injuries. They operate as both a research and teaching hospital, and offer care in such specialties as orthopedic surgery, internal medicine, and pediatric care. Such facilities typically admit at least 1,200 patients a year. Level II In many ways, level II trauma centers operate just like level I centers; however, they do not have teaching or research capabilities. Such facilities are still open 24 hours and keep an anesthesiologist and general/trauma surgeon on staff. Level III Surgeons are on-call at Level III trauma centers, but they are not available 24 hours a day as at Level I and II centers. The same is true of OR staff and anesthesiologists. While they don’t have to be at the facility, these staff members must be within 30 minutes of the center to provide care as necessary. Community and rural hospitals often rely on Level III trauma centers as back-up. Level IV Advanced trauma life support (ATLS) is available at Level IV trauma centers, but such facilities often transfer patients to a higher-level trauma center once said patient is stabilized. Critical-care and surgical services are available, if necessary, to stabilize patients, as is a 24-hour laboratory. Level V Basic emergency care is made available at Level V trauma centers, with the purpose of evaluating incoming patients, stabilizing them, and ultimately, transferring them to higher levels of care. Trauma physicians and nurses are usually available to patients once they arrive, but these facilities are not always open 24 hours.