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The most recent addition to the NICU staff
is neonatologist Santhosh Somashekar, M.D.
He completed his residency in pediatrics at St.
John Hospital and Medical Center near Detroit,
Mich., and his fellowship in neonatal-perinatal
medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital–Jackson
Health System in Miami, Fla.
“We have a neonatal nurse practitioner in the
NICU 24 hours a day, every day,” said Harper. “We
also needed to add a third neonatologist in
order to ensure we had coverage available
by a physician at all times. It is good to have
Dr. Somashekar here as a part of the permanent
staff. He is a great addition to our medical
leadership team, and he works to educate
parents to get their babies home as quickly as
possible. His quiet demeanor is so appreciated by
parents, too.”
Dr. Somashekar and his wife have moved with
their two young children to the Tri-Cities.
Emergency Department in the state, and he had his first
exposure to a service line structure, which was spread
across three campuses. “Stevens and Swedish were both
interesting, but very different experiences. I learned a lot at
both places,” he said.
Prior to Kadlec, he served as interim chief operating
officer of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage.
“This was a lot of fun. We had a chronic problem of
a moose walking into our emergency department by
accessing the automatic doors. When it got ridiculously cold,
I knew it was time to come home,” he said.
Coming to Kadlec
When that interim position wrapped up, Savitch
was contacted by then Kadlec president and CEO
RandWortman about a newly created, interim position as
president of Kadlec Regional Medical Center. That was in 2006.
“I went through the interview process as a favor to Rand,”
he said. “It took me less than 30 days to realize this place is
amazing. It has flown under the radar for so long. I’d been
in hospital management for more than 30 years, and I had
never realized all the great things going on here.”
Among the things he discovered was an executive team
committed to the organization. “This was not a stepping-
stone hospital for this team. I felt so welcome, so at home.
I quickly overcame my brainwashing about eastern
Washington and realized I wanted to spend the rest of my
career here. Then I had to tell my wife,” he said with a grin.
In 2015, Kadlec underwent restructuring, and Savitch
took over the reins as president and chief executive of
Kadlec Regional Medical Center, which included both the
hospital and the clinic system.
“When Rand retired in May 2016, I stepped into his very
large shoes as regional chief executive of Kadlec Heath
System,” Savitch said.
His job is to continue to lead Kadlec as it charts a course
ahead including creating a regional strategy and to continue
the transition into Providence Health & Services.
“There is still so much we can do,” he said. “We need
stronger mental health services for the region and stronger
rural medicine. We are now working on creating a stronger
connection with the health care services in Spokane, which
is a huge opportunity. We are looking at ways to better
coordinate care within the region. We are looking at trauma
services and improving the patient transfer system.”
According to Savitch, “There are lots of health care needs,
and we are working to create a network to meet those
needs. It is all very exciting.
“We are also two years into our affiliation with
Providence, and it will take at least another three years to
become fully integrated. Meanwhile, we are already seeing
the strength of that affiliation and how it is improving care
for patients. Our challenge is to become fully integrated
without losing our Kadlec identity, which is something very
special and unique,” he said.
Longtime Kadlec executive team member Jeff Clark sees
Savitch as the perfect person to lead Kadlec into the future.
“Lane brings a wealth of experience in both small
hospitals and large systems. He also has intimate knowledge
of Kadlec, having run operations during the past decade of
enormous growth,” said Clark.
Now at the helm of Kadlec, Savitch is putting everything
he learned from that first day at Valley General Hospital
through to the present to good use.
“I’ve always surrounded myself with the best people I
could find, and then throw out new, crazy ideas and see how
they respond,” he said with a grin. “I think crazy ideas should
be required of any CEO job.
“I have a huge responsibility to carry on the legacy
created by Rand and his executive team. Our job now is to
build upon all
that has been
done and find
new ways to
make health care
more rational and
seamless from
the perspective
of the patient,
family and
community,”
he said.
Santhosh
Somashekar, M.D.
kadlec.org3