Watching Out for You

I’ve sat with friends and a few of our very ill employees in our ICU and it can be a tense time. Life feels so vulnerable in critical health situations. The level of trust and confidence in the physicians, nursing staff, and technology is accentuated.

I understand the need for the best staff and technology. So I’m proud to welcome the electronic intensive care unit as another way to give confidence and trust to our patients and their families. The eICU is a monitoring system to watch a critical patient’s vitals and health status.

The capabilities of this technology are quite impressive. The unit monitors our critical patient and sends the patient’s information to an intensivist (board certified critical care physician) in the Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines eICU center. There the intensivist can monitor heart rates, blood pressure, view x-rays, review lab results, and even watch the patient’s breathing or the IV drip. The ability to watch for subtle changes in a patient’s condition can make a different in his or her outcome. The marvel of this instant video links and data transfer allows patients to remain at the GRMC ICU or ER closer to family and freinds. If a patient’s condition meets the criteria, the unit is set up and watches over the patient. Unless you are in critical condition, you won’t ever use this technology but it is reassuring that the equipment is available if needed.


Though patient outcome was the first priority for implementing the technology, this addition also addresses operational challenges in healthcare, especially rural hospitals. The current national shortage in internal medicine physicians hits small hospitals worse than urban hospitals. GRMC has experienced difficulties in recruiting and retaining internists because the 24/7 demand is just not sustainable for a solo-practice physician. The eICU provides a watchful eye on our sickest, most critical patients when the hospitalist is off duty. By adding this technology, it helped us recruit an exceptional internist, Christine Lindgren, DO, PhD. The high cost of an ICU also limits small hospitals and this eICU addition expands capabilities for patients at a lower cost. The eICU also helps address the nursing shortage and aging workforce challenges.

The electronic intensive care unit is considered one of many best practices that improve patient outcomes. So when a loved one is in GRMC’s intensive care or emergency department with a critical condition, you can be confident a watchful eye is monitoring them carefully.


The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent GRMC’s positions, strategies, or opinions.

GRMC Board Votes to Affiliate with Mercy Health Network

GRMC’s board of directors has approved an affiliation agreement with Mercy Health Network.

I’m very pleased with this decision and look forward to a great relationship that will be mutually beneficial to both organizations.

I’ll be holding an open forum about the affiliation for members of the community at 6 p.m., Monday, July 6, in the Tomasek Conference Room at GRMC. Mercy Health Network representatives will also be there. You are invited to come and learn about the affiliation and ask any questions you may have. GRMC is your hospital and I know you are proud of that fact. This affiliation—NOT a merger or a buyout—promises to benefit GRMC patients for years to come. Come see how firsthand.

For those of you who can’t make it to the community open forum, please know that we’ll be taping the conversation and I’ll share some clips from the video next week on my blog. Check back here to view them.

Best,
Todd

The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent GRMC’s positions, strategies, or opinions.

Strength in Numbers

About a year ago, a task force comprised of GRMC board members, physicians, and administrators began looking at the merits of a health system affiliation. The task force reviewed proposals from four different organizations and recently recommended that GRMC consider the proposal it received from Mercy Health Network of Des Moines.

The task force is now seeking questions and feedback from the full board of directors as well as GRMC physicians, with plans to take the recommendation to a vote for the full board at their June meeting this week. A decision about proposed affiliation could come as early as the end of this month.

What is an affilation? Under this proposed agreement, GRMC would contract services and share best practices with Mercy network hospitals. The proposal does not call for a change of ownership or a merger. The GRMC board of directors would retain control over the medical center. No assets would be exchanged. This is not a sale of the hospital.

From a patient's point of view, there would be no visible changes to the overall daily operations at GRMC if affiliation happens. Physicians would not be required to refer patients only to Mercy affiliated hospitals and clinics for care that cannot be provided at GRMC.

An affiliation with Mercy has the potential for cost savings and sharing ideas for improvement on a continuous basis. For example, GRMC could lower costs through shared contracting, improve revenues through strength in payor negotiations, share continuing education costs and attorney fees, and improve quality and service through shared best practices and innovations.

Additionally, there is potential savings from increased access to specialized expertise. This could include, but is not limited to help with physician recruiting, information technology expertise, joint venture opportunities with large clinical equipment purchases, etc. The financial benefits of such an affiliation will be significant in terms of what GRMC will save as being a part of a larger purchasing group alone.

GRMC has been a bit of an island. By affiliating with Mercy, GRMC would be tapping into a system of 13,000 employees. We would be able to hone in on the complexities of healthcare today at a depth that a medium-sized independent hospital can't do in today's economic world and complex healthcare delivery system. This would allow GRMC the opportunity to connect physicians, gain assistance with physician recruitment, and take advantage of Mercy's purchasing group among other things, while still maintaining control and our independence. I welcome you to visit with me about questions or concerns you may have.

The Big Three: Cleanliness, Courtesy, Food

Last month, I co-led a course at an American College of Healthcare Executives conference with my consultant friend, Gail Scott. With the title, "Beyond the Silver Bullet: Ensuring Employee and Patient Satisfaction," I shared my thoughts at one point in the course about the three areas where most patients will judge hospitals. These are cleanliness, courtesy, and food.

Recently, Anthony Stanowski, one of the particpants in the course, wrote about this course in his blog, Observations on Operations. You can read it here. Anthony raises some excellent points about "why food matters" when it comes to patient satisfaction, even though it is not directly measured by HCAHPS.

Why cleanliness, courtesy, and food? Because most patients are able to best judge things they are familiar with, like being treated with courtesy and compassion, enjoying a clean and safe environment, and eating tasty food. Patients know if the room isn't clean. They know if the staff was courteous or not. Although typically not feeling well, they can still determine how the food tasted to them.

What most patients don't know is the technical stuff. Most of us aren't able to judge whether or not their physician made the right decisions about diagnosis or treatment. Few of us really know if the nursing staff technically handled their situation correctly. But we know if our food is cold or doesn't taste good. We know when we are treated with special care and attention. We can easily see if things are dirty or unkempt. This is what the majority of patients know about and that's where we have to work a little harder to be impressive. If we make sure that the hospital, the entire hospital, looks clean and orderly, that patients are greeted by friendly, compassionate people, and that the food they eat is tasty and served at an appropriate temperature, then folks have a sense of satisfaction.

Clearly patients expect and deserve competence in their care. I believe it is the service that really differentiates one hospital from another. Individualized and personal care; along with fresh and tasty food make for an excellent patient experience. I am proud of the people dedicated to doing just that day in and day out at GRMC. Striving for the best possible outcomes with an obsession for service, with an eye to efficiency and cost containment is our goal.

A Crystal Ball for Healthcare Reform

The internet, the talk shows, and the newspapers are full of stories about healthcare reform. The pundits and the experts are batting around proposals and various solutions related to healthcare. There is some allure to throwing our current healthcare system out and starting over. Realistically, that just isn’t possible.

I’ve said it before: reforming healthcare is like peeling an onion. There are layers under layers, under layers that must be addressed before anything that looks like reform can be useful. Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, personal responsibility, preventive and public health emphasis, physician payment, medical liability, pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturers, single-payor system, tax credits, electronic health records, fee for service, pay for performance…these are just a few of the issues being addressed. Each is complicated at best on their own, but extraordinarily so when trying to fit them all together into one cohesive package.

Last week I attended a meeting in Cedar Rapids with Senator Grassley on the topic of healthcare reform. It is the committee he serves as ranking minority member (and former chair), the Senate Finance Committee, that is currently shaping the debate. He hopes for a bipartisan approach to this monumental task; I share that hope. He is pushing for all involved parties to have some skin in the game; that also makes sense to me. Finally, he noted we must not have government making decisions about individual healthcare issues; another ideal I share.

Several years ago when I was on the American Hospital Association board of trustees, we started discussing healthcare reform. More recently, the AHA set out a framework for change which includes the following five tenants: healthcare coverage for all; paid for by all; focus on wellness; most efficient affordable care; highest quality care; and best information. These principals and ideals seem like a great place to start.

We’re hearing that there should be some healthcare reform legislation crafted this summer to be ready for the President before Congress takes a recess in August. It’s entirely possible that we will have a different sort of healthcare system by the end of the year. My crystal ball is certainly no clearer than anyone else’s, but it is clear to me we will have some big changes by year end. The question is, will it be meaningful reform or just window dressing…

It could be a very hot summer in Washington.

The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent GRMC’s positions, strategies, or opinions.

We’re Number Three!!

Budget Travel magazine runs an annual contest with their readers to find America’s Coolest Small Towns. It’s totally a popularity contest and Grinnell finished as the third coolest small town in America behind Owego, New York, and Rockland, Maine.

What makes a small town cool? According to Budget Travel, the town must be less than 10,000 in population, on the upswing, a place that’s beginning to draw attention and new residents because of the quality of life, arts, and restaurants, and proximity to nature. A couple of other comments from the magazine,

• “You have to be able to get a good cup of coffee!”
• “When people leave for the big city, they realize they’ve made a mistake and come back home.”

Now that’s pretty cool.

Of course to the folks who live and work around here this proclamation comes as no surprise. We have some amazing attributes and clearly deserve this declaration. From great companies like Jeld Wen and Grinnell Mutual (and many more) to wonderful schools; from Grinnell College to Ahrens Park; from our historic downtown to the beauty of the houses on Main and Broad Street; from the fledgling Transportation Museum to all the City of Grinnell projects like the Drake Library and Public Safety Building. The list could go on and on, however I think you get the idea!

Of course, I would like to also think that the medical center also helps to contribute to making Grinnell such a great place to live. Cool towns don’t just happen. It takes talented and dedicated people working together to create such an outstanding town. Generations of Grinnellians have put their shoulder to effort and as my friend Claude Ahrens used to say, “leave it better than you found it.”

Congratulations to Bill Menner and all the people who continue to put Grinnell on the map. It is always fun to be recognized by others for the hard work and effort all our citizens have made in creating truly one of the coolest small towns in America!

The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent GRMC’s positions, strategies, or opinions.

A Time to Celebrate and to Say Thank You

It’s National Hospital Week. At most hospitals, it is a time for us to take a moment out of the everyday schedule to have a little fun and celebrate the good things we do. Our Celebration Council does a great job of planning a week of activities for our staff. There are games, contests, chair massages, a raffle for donated items and prizes, and the popular Parish Picnic. When Dr. Parish retired, he donated funds to the hospital to be used for a staff appreciation event. It’s become a GRMC tradition. Sometimes it’s lunch and in other years, we’ve had a Parish breakfast with fresh Belgian waffles and all the trimmings.


The past two years, we’ve served barbecue from When Pigs Fly BBQ in Des Moines and it’s been great!

I am thankful and very proud of the men and women who give of themselves, their expertise and compassion to care for all who rely on Grinnell Regional Medical Center to be here when they need us. This hospital enjoys incredible community support and it is all because of the people who work here. The community has great trust in this organization, and so do I.

The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent GRMC’s positions, strategies, or opinions.