Brett Johnson |
CEO, Eleanor Slater Hospital
1. What is your biggest accomplishment in running Eleanor Slater Hospital so far? Our most significant accomplishment is an ongoing revitalization, with Eleanor Slater re-embracing its role as a long-term acute care hospital with a dedicated inpatient psychiatric unit. … We have improved staff training, worked with the governor’s office to increase employee compensation, introduced an anonymous reporting system for employees to voice concerns, and we are pursuing national professional-development initiatives.
2. What has been your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it? The greatest has been changing the perception of Eleanor Slater as a “hospital of last resort” and helping people understand our commitment to recovery and specialized care. We work with patients to find step-down care options when they no longer require hospital-level care, and we are strengthening ties with other hospitals, reinforcing our role as a partner in helping them free up beds and accommodate new patients.
3. Reports show costs for the planned overhaul of the Zambarano campus in Burrillville have increased from about $109 million to $187 million. Are you concerned about these rising costs? When is the building design and construction expected to be completed? A 2023 needs assessment by Faulkner Consulting Group indicated an unmet need for long-term acute care hospital services in Rhode Island. This led state stakeholders to reconsider plans for the new facility, which increased the project cost and complexity. A more accurate cost estimate will be available as the project design moves forward. … We hope to have final design documents by early 2026 to work toward completing construction ... in 2028.
4. Where do the renovations of the Cranston location stand and how much are they expected to cost? The renovation – expected to cost $72 million – will create a state-of-the-art, ligature-resistant inpatient psychiatric unit. It is on schedule and approximately 40% complete.
5. There are concerns with staffing shortages and workplace culture at Zambarano. How many physicians work there and how have you worked to improve the culture? As with workplace culture, staffing is a primary focus. The hospital employs four full-time physicians. We also have critical care pulmonologists and specialists in cardiology, psychiatry, psychology, neurology, podiatry, dentistry and advanced-practice nursing, as well as physician assistants, behavioral specialists and a network of part-time physicians.
We publicize job openings through local media and social platforms, host job fairs and have partnerships with a dozen colleges and universities.
