N America News May 2017

14 NORTH AMERICA NEWS / MAY 2017 , Kettering HealthNetwork is a not-for-profit network of eight hospitals, Kettering College, and over 120 outpatient facilities serving southwest Ohio in the USA. Patients have access to high qualitymaternity care, state-of-the-art cancer fighting technology, Ohio’s leading heart hospital, as well as revolutionary brain and spine surgery. We invited the firm’s Timothy Dutton to profile the impressive and wide-ranging work of this organization and something of its fascinating history and background. Treating Body, Mind and Spirit With nearly 12,000 employees and 2,100 physicians, Kettering Health Network is committed to transforming the healthcare experience with world class health services for every stage of life. As a faith-based, organization we are dedicated to treating all patients with love and respect regardless of religious preference. Multi-denominational Spiritual Services are offered at the network every day. Kettering Health Network partnered with the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association and Wright State University to prepare our Community Health Needs Assessment. Each partner has invested resources and significant time in gathering information to form this Community Health Needs Assessment. This engages community members and partners to collect and analyze health-related data from many sources. The findings lead to community decision-making, prioritization of health problems, and implementation strategies. In terms of background, 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the Charles F. Kettering Memorial Hospital. Like its namesake, the hospital has a tradition of bringing innovation and cutting- edge technology to the region to improve the lives of people in our community. Born in 1876, Charles Kettering spent most of his life tackling tough questions and vigorously pursuing innovation. He was director of research at General Motors for 27 years and founded Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, known as Delco. He held more than 300 patents for inventions, including the first practical automobile self-starter and the first reliable battery ignition system. Charles vision was to utilize innovative technology in caring for patients in a community hospital setting. His son, Eugene, and Eugene’s wife, Virginia, sought to fulfill that vision by building a hospital as a living memorial to him. During the polio epidemic in the 1950s, Eugene and Virginia had witnessed first-hand the compassionate, quality health care at Hinsdale Hospital near Chicago. The hospital was founded as part of the healthcare mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Hospital leaders and staff incorporated Christian values at every level of service. Over 50 Years of Exceptional Healthcare The Kettering’s wanted people in the Dayton area to experience the same extraordinary care. They rallied the support of local community and business leaders to raise the money to build the new hospital on the 90-acre Kettering estate. Though the Kettering’s were not Adventists, they asked the Seventh-day Adventists to build and operate the hospital because of their admiration for the Adventist healthcare philosophy. George Nelson was named Kettering Hospital’s founding administrator and first president. Known for his integrity, competence, sound judgment, and ability to lead, George worked closely with the Kettering’s to build the hospital and establish its unique culture. The ground-breaking took place on July 7, 1961. Two years later, the hospital was officially dedicated. On March 3, 1964, the hospital admitted its first patients. The campus, now known as Kettering Medical Center, grew and the variety of services offered. In 1967, Kettering College opened adjacent to the hospital, offering degrees in health science fields. The same values that guided the Kettering family and the founding hospital leaders continue today in the employees and volunteers who serve at Kettering Medical Center and throughout Kettering Health Network. Who is Charles F. Kettering? Our namesake, Charles F. Kettering, looked at the world around him and asked, “How can I make it better?” He answered his own question with amazing inventions such as the incubator for premature infants, the V-8 engine and high octane, the automobile self-starter, refrigeration and air conditioning, the pilotless biplane, synthetic aviation fuel, and retractable aircraft landing gear. His research in areas such as magnetism eventually led to the imaging devices we use every day in health care to diagnose illnesses. The list of his inventions goes on and on, second in number in Kettering’s lifetime only to Thomas Edison. Kettering Health Network strives to keep alive Charles F. Kettering’s spirit of innovation. This legacy is reflected in one of his most famous quotes: “Nothing ever rose to touch the skies unless someone dreamed that it should, someone believed that it could, and someone willed that it must.” Leadership In terms of the network’s leadership, it is worth mentioning that Fred Manchur CEO of Kettering Health Network moved into the position of 1705NA01