Bill Text: VA HJR814 | 2015 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 12-2)
Status: (Passed) 2015-02-26 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ814ER) [HJR814 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2015-HJR814-Enrolled.html
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WHEREAS, Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D., the senior vice president for health sciences of Virginia Commonwealth University and the chief executive officer of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, will transition to a new role at Ohio State University after 32 years of exemplary service to the Commonwealth; and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin received his undergraduate, medical, and master of public health degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was also a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar; and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin completed his postgraduate residency training at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Hospitals at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU); and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin is a practicing, board certified internist with multiple professorships in the departments of internal medicine, gerontology, and health administration; and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin has been recognized as a national expert in health policy regarding costs and quality of care, and a thought leader on the role of the safety net in health services delivery, through his 120 scholarly publications, testimony before Congress, and active engagement on the board of directors of America's Essential Hospitals; and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin has served on numerous statewide and national panels and committees, including as chair of the Access to Care workgroup of the Governor's Health Reform Commission, chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges' Advisory Panel on Health Care, and most recently, an appointed member of the federal Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission; and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin has provided leadership for the VCU schools of Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy with combined enrollments of over 4,200 undergraduate, professional, and graduate students, representing a growth of 12 percent since 2004, and including nationally ranked programs in Nurse Anesthesia (first), Health Services Administration (fifth), and Rehabilitation Counseling (seventh); and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin has overseen the unprecedented growth of the VCU Health System, including the MCV Hospitals, Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, VCU Community Memorial Hospital, MCV Physicians, and Virginia Premier Health Plan; and WHEREAS, during Dr. Retchin's tenure, the VCU Health System has consistently provided quality health care for the highest number of indigent patients by a single institution in the Commonwealth; and WHEREAS, under Dr. Retchin's leadership, the VCU Health System launched the "Safety First, Every Day" initiative in 2008 with the goal of becoming the safest hospital in America and was recognized by the American Hospital Association (AHA) in 2014 with the AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Award for its journey towards becoming a high reliability organization; and WHEREAS, the VCU Health System has received numerous awards and accolades during Dr. Retchin's tenure for its outstanding service and delivery of quality health care to citizens of the Commonwealth, including recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet hospital in 2006 and re-designation in 2011, recognition as a Best Hospital in Virginia for two consecutive years (2012 - 2013 and 2013 - 2014) by U.S. News & World Report, and designation for Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU as Virginia's first Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center; and WHEREAS, to ensure that all children in Central Virginia receive access to comprehensive services, Dr. Retchin led the collaboration with the Children's Hospital Foundation in June 2010 to establish the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, which currently has providers in over 40 specialty areas who practice in 15 locations; and WHEREAS, during Dr. Retchin's tenure, access to specialty care in Southside Virginia has been enhanced with the partnership between VCU Health System and Community Memorial Hospital; and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin supported the Commonwealth's efforts to enhance the management of quality and costs for Medicaid beneficiaries through the growth of Virginia Premier Health Plan as Virginia's second largest Medicaid Managed Care organization, with enrollment that has increased from 14,000 in 1998 to over 186,000 Medicaid/FAMIS members and recently added over 6,300 enrollees in the Commonwealth Coordinated Care demonstration program in 2014; and WHEREAS, during Dr. Retchin's tenure, the VCU Medical Center has increased the level of extramural funding for research by 20 percent, including the receipt of the $20 million National Institutes of Health funded Clinical and Translational Science Award to the VCU School of Medicine in 2010, one of only 62 awards granted nationally and the only one granted in the Commonwealth, and the $62 million Department of Defense and Veterans' Administration funded Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium in 2013, the largest award ever given to study traumatic brain injury; and WHEREAS, Dr. Retchin has overseen the development of major capital improvements on the MCV campus of VCU, including the Goodwin Research Laboratory at Massey Cancer Center in 2006, the School of Nursing building in 2007, the Critical Care Hospital in 2008, both the Molecular Medicine Research Building and the Baxter Perkinson Dental School addition in 2009, the School of Medicine McGlothlin Medical Education Center in 2013, the Children's Pavilion opening in 2016, and the replacement of the Virginia Treatment Center for Children slated to open in 2017; and WHEREAS, as an active leader and extraordinary visionary, Dr. Retchin has supported the evolution of undergraduate and graduate health professional education and positioned the VCU Medical Center as a preeminent academic health center ensuring care for the underserved and serving the community; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D., on his 12 years of outstanding leadership as the senior vice president for health sciences of Virginia Commonwealth University and the chief executive officer of Virginia Commonwealth University Health System; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D., as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his many achievements and best wishes in all his future endeavors. |
