WGU Washington Chancellor Jean Floten on Seattle Times' Education Lab Blog

WGU Washington Chancellor Jean Floten traveled to Austin, TX earlier this month to participate in a panel discussion on the merits of low-cost degrees at the annual SXSWedu conference.

While some critics argue Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott's call for the creation of a $10,000 bachelor's degree represents the "Walmartization" of higher education, Floten offered an alternative perspective in an interview with Seattle Times Higher Education Reporter Katherine Long.  "To me, it's not so much the $10,000 degree as it is that higher education needs to find better ways to deliver its content," Floten said, according to a post on the Seattle Times' Education Lab Blog this morning.  "What can we do to be cheaper, faster, better?"

Check out the full Education Lab Blog post here.

Overlake Medical Center Names New CEO

After conducting a national search, Overlake Medical Center's Board of Trustees announced today the appointment of J. Michael Marsh as the medical center's new President and CEO.

"We are pleased to have a progressive, visionary health care leader to guide Overlake into the future delivery of health and wellness services to the Eastside community," said John Hayhurst, Chairman of the Overlake Board of Trustees.

Marsh comes to Overlake from Providence Health & Services, an integrated health care system that includes 32 hospitals in five states.  He has served in a number of senior executive positions during his 28-year career, including Chief Strategy Officer/Chief Operating Officer for the Washington/Montana region that included accountability for 10 hospitals, home health, hospice, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient centers and physician clinics.  Most recently he served as Chief Administrative Officer for the Western Washington region that included eight hospitals, more than 1,000 employed physicians and 18,000 employees.

"I'm excited to join Overlake and work alongside their group of amazing leaders, physicians and staff," Marsh said.  "Overlake's emphasis on quality, customer service, and its position as an Eastside community asset were compelling reasons for me to join this team.  They treat their patients with care, dignity and understanding.  They live that commitment every day."

Marsh was chosen after Craig Hendrickson announced his retirement last summer.  Hendrickson has served as the Eastside non-profit health system's CEO since 2001.

"Our hospital has been fortunate to have incredible leadership from the very start," said Cecily Hall, immediate past chair of the Overlake Medical Center Board of Trustees and leader of the board's executive search committee.  "We want to thank Craig Hendrickson for his leadership, service and commitment for the past 13 years and welcome Mike to our Overlake family."

Marsh starts on April 7, 2014.

Best-Selling Author Jane Green's Book Signings to Benefit Supportive Cancer Care Awareness

The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation is hosting two events with New York Times best-selling author Jane Green early next month.

Green is visiting Seattle to promote her new book, "Tempting Fate," and will be raising funds for the Sheri & Les Biller Patient and Family Resource Center in the process.  The author has two events scheduled during her first trip to the Emerald City - a brunch on Sunday, April 6 at the Chihuly Boathouse and a luncheon Monday, April 7 at the Fairmont Olympic hotel.  Both women-only events will feature discussion of the book's themes including fidelity, relationships and more. 100 percent of the proceeds from tickets sales will benefit the Sheri & Les Biller Patients and Family Resource Center at City of Hope, a facility which is considered the gold standard of comprehensive, patient-focused care.

Established by local philanthropists Les and Sheri Biller through their family foundation, the Resource Center embodies City of Hope's mantra "There is no profit in curing the body if in the process we destroy the soul."  Providing access to pain and palliative care physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, spiritual care chaplains and more, the Biller Resource Center strives to equip patients, their families and caregivers with the necessary resources and support to manage the challenges related to serious illness.

Biller and Green first met in 2010 when Biller was serving as the Chairman of City of Hope's board.  Green had just released a book in which one of the main characters was dying of cancer; the story centered on how family members dealt with the diagnosis.  The story resonated with Biller, who created the Resource Center at City of Hope based on her personal experiences with two friends who died from breast cancer.

"We are thrilled to welcome Jane to Seattle and partner with her to raise funds and awareness for the Biller Resource Center," said Sheri Biller in a statement issued today.  "The Center's focus on supportive care - serving not only the families, but also the friends and caregivers of patients who are critically ill - is something about which both Jane and I are deeply passionate."

Physicians Replace Heart Valve with New Minimally-Invasive Procedure

Yesterday, physicians at Overlake Medical Center replaced a valve in the heart of an 87-year-old man using a game-changing, minimally invasive procedure. 

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a procedure that uses a catheter to replace a patient’s aortic valve with an artificial valve that greatly improves the ability of the patient’s heart to regulate the flow of blood.  The procedure is a less-invasive alternative for patients with severe stenosis of the aortic valve who, as such, are not suitable candidates for traditional surgery.   Aortic stenosis is the narrowing of the aortic valve – usually caused by calcium build up or scarring – that restricts blood flow through the heart, sometimes resulting in heart failure.

Doctors from Group Health and Overlake Medical Center’s Heart Team demonstrated the procedure for members of the media yesterday – check out the Bellevue Reporter's story and coverage on Q13  below!

Overlake is the only hospital on the Eastside, and one of only four hospitals in the state, to provide the TAVR procedure.  Because there aren't any other treatment options for patients with severe or critical aortic valve stenosis, this procedure offers new hope to patients and their family members.

“Before TAVR, patients diagnosed with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who were not surgical candidates carried a mortality rate as high as 50 percent at two years,” said Scott J. Haugen, MD, Interventional Cardiologist at Group Health Bellevue Medical Center and co-medical director of the TAVR program at Overlake Medical Center.  “In a clinical trial, TAVR reduced mortality in the same patient population by greater than 20 percent.  For the first time, we have the opportunity for Overlake and Group Health to not only help improve those patients’ length of life, but also their quality of life.”

Patients interested in learning more about the TAVR procedure should contact the Overlake Valve Clinic at 1.855.895.VALV (8258) or visit www.overlakehospital.org/TAVR.  More information about Group Health cardiology is available at http://www.ghinnovates.org/?p=5242 and https://www1.ghc.org/html/public/specialties/cardiology/.

Overlake Hosts 54th Annual Bandage Ball

Mark your calendars!  Overlake Medical Center Foundation & Auxiliaries will host its annual Bandage Ball gala and auction on Saturday, March 29 at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue.  Proceeds from this year's event will go toward the establishment of a new cancer center.

The Bandage Ball marks the official kick off of the Overlake Foundation & Auxiliaries' $10 million campaign to raise critical funding for the $15 million facility.  In a statement issued last week, Overlake's Vice President of Fund Development and Executive Director of the Foundation and Auxiliaries Molly Stearns said, "The Bandage Ball represents an opportunity to expand and heighten the level of care Overlake provides its patients.  We're committed to providing the Eastside with the highest caliber of care available, and the funds raised at this year's event will allow us to continue to do just that."

One of the Eastside's premier social events, the Bandage Ball is expected to gather more than 800 community leaders in support of Overlake and its new cancer center.  First held in 1960 to celebrate the opening of Overlake Hospital, the Bandage Ball has raised more than $10 million in the last 16 years.  Last year's even alone raise $1.1 million for the David and Shelley Hovind Heart and Vascular Center.

Patty Edwards (at podium) and David and Shelley Hovind at last year's Bandage Ball.  Edwards announced she planned to donate an additional $250,000 to the David and Shelley Hovind Heart and Vascular Center.

This year's event will feature auctioneer Mark Schenfeld from Stokes Auction Group, and be emceed by local media personality and Puget Sound Business Journal columnist Patti Payne.  The event includes dinner, dancing and an auction featuring items such as trips to Tuscany, Maui, and a private chef's dinner at the Columbia Tower Club.  Tickets are $300 per person, $3,000 for a table of 10.

Interested in attending or volunteering for the event? Contact Jennifer Fischer at 425.688.5526 or events@overlakehospital.org.

WGU Washington Adds New Master's Program

Adding to its already expansive list of degree offerings, WGU Washington announced yesterday it has launched a new master’s degree program in its College of Business.  The online university is now offering students the opportunity to earn a Master’s in Management and Leadership.

“We’re pleased to be adding this new program,” WGU Washington Chancellor Jean Floten said in a statement yesterday.  “WGU Washington is committed to equipping its students to excel in the workplace, and the addition of the Master’s in Management and Leadership represents yet another way we can help not only our students, but their future employers as well.”

The M.S. in Management and Leadership is designed for business professionals who wish to expand their career opportunities or improve their job performance by honing their ability to be effective leaders and managers, whether they aspire to enter management or are already in a management role.  Courses will cover team leadership, data-driven decision making and change management and innovation.

WGU Washington is also offering scholarships to students applying to the new program.  Valued up to $2,000 each, the scholarships are $500 awards that are renewable for up to four terms.  

Interested in learning more about WGU Washington’s new Master’s in Management and Leadership?  Visit http://washington.wgu.edu/business/master_leadership_management_degree. 

WGU Graduates Earn High Ratings from Employers

100 percent of WGU graduates are prepared for their jobs, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive.

The survey, which asked employers of WGU grads about alumni’s job preparedness and performance, revealed high levels of satisfaction with WGU alumni:

• ·         96 percent of employers surveyed said WGU graduates exceeded their expectations
• ·         97 percent rated WGU graduates’ job performance as good as or better than the job performance of graduates from their colleges and universities
• ·         100 percent said the WGU graduates they hired were prepared for their jobs; 88 percent said they were very well or extremely prepared

“WGU Washington allows working adults to  earn the skills and knowledge to keep our state’s businesses competitive in the global marketplace,” said Don Brunell, former president of the Association of Washington Business and member of the Washington State Advisory Board for WGU Washington.  “The university’s model ensures its graduates are well prepared to be valuable, contributing employees.”

The unique nature of the model referenced by Brunell has allowed WGU Washington to provide an affordable alternative to traditional models of higher education.  After the passage of legislation in Olympia last spring that made WGU Washington students eligible to apply for State Need Grant funds, Washington’s only state-endorsed online university has taken off.  Hitting a record 5,000 students enrolled last fall, Washington is home to more WGU students than any other state in the country.

Want to learn more about WGU Washington’s innovative approach to higher education? Visit washington.wgu.edu.