The fate of Starke Hospital is in question following action last night by the county commissioners. They voted unanimously to cease all negotiations with Tennessee-based Community Health Systems on a new lease for the building and land on which it sits. Continue reading
Starke Hospital has a new interim chief executive officer. Hospital spokeswoman Stacey Kellogg released a statement to WKVI saying “We confirm that Craig Felty has left the organization, and wish him the best in his new endeavors. G. Thor Thordarson, CEO of La Porte Hospital, will serve as interim CEO at Starke Hospital until this position can be filled. We also have an interim Chief Nursing Officer in place to ensure there is no disruption in patient care or operations. Patients, safety and quality always come first, and this will not change.” Continue reading
The Starke County Commissioners last night approved another extension of the lease deadline with Starke Hospital. The county owns the land and building at the corner of Culver Road and South Heaton Street in Knox. Starke Hospital wants to build a new facility there. Once it’s finished they plan to tear down the current building and use that spot for parking and green space. Continue reading
Negotiations between the county and the new owners of Starke Hospital regarding the construction of a new facility on the existing site are ongoing. The county owns the current building at the corner of Heaton Street and Culver Road in Knox and the land on which is sits, but the hospital is operated by Community Health Systems. Starke Hospital CEO Craig Felty says they’re making progress in negotiations with the county for a new lease. Continue reading
Starke Hospital officials are recognizing some of the hospital’s accomplishments when it comes to specific areas of patient care. Hospital CEO Craig Felty says they continuously measure a variety of patient safety and quality of care indicators. This information is then reported to the federal government, but the hospital also uses it to make sure it’s offering the best care possible. Continue reading
The CEO of Starke Hospital says the new owners of the local facility would prefer to construct a new building on the existing site at the intersection of South Heaton Street and Culver Road. The county owns the land and the building, but Tennessee-based Community Health Systems now owns 80-percent of the hospital. IU Health has retained 20-percent ownership, and a subsidy of CHS is running the day-to-day operations. The name change to simply “Starke Hospital” reflects the shift, and a new branding symbol is in the works. Continue reading
IU Health Starke Hospital’s investment in the youth of the community has earned them recognition from the Starke County Youth Club. Executive Director Irene Szakonyi presented IU Health Starke Hospital President Craig Felty the Aim High Award in recognition of the hospital’s top pledge of $5,000 during the recent radiothon. The daylong fundraiser on WKVI raised $41,000 for the club. It provides after school and summer enrichment programs for students from Knox, North Judson-San Pierre and Oregon-Davis schools at sites throughout the county. Continue reading
IU Health Starke Hospital President Craig Felty has an additional title. He was recently named the chief nursing officer of IU Health LaPorte and Starke Hospitals, effective immediately. Felty has served as interim CNO since November of 2014. A chief nursing officer oversees the entire nursing department and ensures that patient-care, clinical and staffing standards are met. Continue reading
Starke County Coroner-Elect Adam Gray will talk to the Starke County Council about funds for body storage when they meet this evening. Gray is the first non-funeral director to be elected coroner in several years. In the past, the funeral directors have used their facilities to store bodies until they are claimed. Continue reading
IU Health Starke Hospital recently underwent a rigorous accreditation process. President Craig Felty says the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation’s findings are a nationally recognized symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to “They come in and they more or less go from top to bottom in your hospital,” Felty says. “They look at everything from the physical structure to our processes to our quality outcomes to how we credential and privilege our physicians. It’s a very thorough four-day survey that’s done every three years.”
The survey team comes in unannounced. Felty says the hospital staff has to be in a “state of constant readiness” for them. The Joint Commission team members spent four days at IU Health Starke Hospital, touring the building, tracking the progress of individual patients through the hospital and talking to cart and bedside care providers.
Felty says the Joint Commission’s report was overall very positive. “We had absolutely no findings in the actual patient care division, which was absolutely wonderful. We have an older facility, and so we do have challenges that come with that. A couple of our findings were related to the age of the facility and things that pop up here or there. The few findings that we had, we are very happy to say and very proud of the colleagues of Starke Hospital, or physician partners, who we could not do without. Physicians are a huge part of our organization. We are just very proud to say that we had a remarkable survey, one of the best surveys I’ve had in my 20-plus years of experience with the Joint Commission.”
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Felty said it’s a great cause to get behind and invites everyone in the community to participate.
Indiana is experiencing a high level of influenza-like activity early in this flu season with seven deaths reported since November.
Craig Felty, Executive Director of Patient Care at IU Health Starke Hospital said the hospital’s Emergency Room had 59 positive cases in December 2012. No cases of the flu were reported in December 2011. Pulaski Memorial Hospital has seen a big increase in positive influenza cases since Dec. 1.
Indiana University Health-Starke Hospital announces the employment of Craig Felty as the Director of the Emergency Department and House Supervisor.
Felty has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and is pursuing a Masters Degree.
He is married to his wife, Tricia, and is the father of five children. The family resides in Hebron.
