HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR SERVES AS LIASON

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 24, 1993                   TAG: 9301260222
SECTION: ECONOMY                    PAGE: EC-13   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: CHARLYNE H. McWILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR SERVES AS LIASON
Michael Ballantyne was made vice president of surgical services at Roanoke Memorial Hospitals in December.
Although the job may not provide the same thrills he got as an air evacuation pilot during the Vietnam War, "This is much more of a challenge," the 41-year-old said. "It's not dull and boring."
His position was created in an effort to improve communication between the hospital's administration and staff in the surgical services unit and to make sure patients get the best care available.
The promotion was another step toward Ballantyne's career goal of becoming a hospital administrator. "I didn't hesitate when they offered it to me," he said.
Ballantyne developed an interest in hospitals when he was in the Army, flying the injured from accident sites to the nearest hospitals.
After he finished his tour with the military, Ballantyne started working for the U.S. Social Security Administration. He wanted to become more involved with Medicare, which was a part of that administration. But as he moved up in the administration, he found himself getting further away from Medicare. Although he had seven years of administrative skills to his credit, Ballantyne went back to school to learn how to use those skills in a hospital.
Ballantyne came to Roanoke Memorial two years ago as an administrative resident during his final year at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He then became an assistant vice president of special projects.
One such project was helping coordinate the consolidation of adult orthopedic services between Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley and Roanoke Memorial, both operated by Carilion Health System, the region's largest employer. He also was responsible for preparing many of the hospital's surgical units to move into Roanoke Memorial's new South Tower, which is to be completed in 1994.
While Ballantyne was with those deparments an issue emerged that would give him the chance for promotion.
Last May, some inside the hospital began questioning the level of patient care Roanoke Memorial nurses were providing. Nurses and administrators moved quickly to rebut accusations of poor care that quickly became public issues. They also established stronger communications among themselves.
"We had meetings with staffers about issues," including some hospital policies, said Pat Ekdahl, who was the vice president of patient care at the time.
Many of the 195 members of surgical services were more positive soon after the meetings, Ekdahl said, although several changes would be years in coming. Ekdahl said this was because the staff saw the effort the administration was making to make things better at the hospital.
Ballantyne was one of those representatives. He became familiar with the problems and wanted to lend some of his skills helping the situations.
One thing has helped Ballantyne during his transition:
"The opportunity to work with good people here who really care."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB