Steward Chief Medical Officer Leaves Legacy of Improvements

From Norwood Hospital:

Chief medical officer of the Steward Health Care System (Steward) Dr. Justine Carr has announced her retirement, leaving behind a legacy of improvements in patient care across area community hospitals, including at Norwood Hospital.

During Dr. Carr’s eight-year tenure, Norwood Hospital has seen improved patient outcomes in quality, safety, prevention and timely care, standardization of policies and procedures, improvement in behavioral health care access and quality and reduction in Emergency Department wait times. Dr. Carr was instrumental in the introduction of information technology and developed innovative enhancements to better serve patients. She oversaw the development of tele-ICU ensuring continuous back up coverage of all ICU patients. Under her direction, Steward hospitals received Leapfrog A Safety scores 94 percent of the time, and Steward hospitals were consistently found in annual Leapfrog top hospitals. Dr. Carr was also served on the Steward Health Care Network Board, overseeing the development of accountable care, including top performance in the Pioneer Accountable Care Program, which saved more than $30 million in its first three years while also improving quality and patient outcomes.

“Dr. Carr has helped Norwood Hospital achieve the highest caliber of health care, benefiting countless Norwood area families,” said Matthew Lowry, vice president of medical affairs at Norwood Hospital. “By increasing the quality of patient care and access for the community, Dr. Carr’s imprint on our hospital will be a constant reminder of her contributions.”

Carr has also held national health leadership positions.

In 2003, Dr. Carr was appointed by then-U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson under President George W. Bush to serve on the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, an 18-member public advisory board to the secretary on health data strategy and implementation of HIPAA privacy and administrative simplification. She was appointed chair of the committee in 2012, and in 2014 served as the first chair of the Working Group on HHS Data Access and Use. She has also been invited to participate in initiatives such as the Agency for Health Research and Quality and the Institute of Medicine Digital Learning Collaborative.

During Carr’s tenure, Steward has invested in a quality infrastructure focused on best-in-class outcomes and experiences for patients while becoming a leading innovator and provider network in New England.

Steward will be announcing its new chief medical officer in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of Norwood Hospital