In a sequel to last month’s discussion, which proposed the construction of a new medical arts building on hospital grounds, the Allen County Regional Hospital board of trustees has configured a steering committee toward that end, naming board member Patty Boyd its chair. During Tuesday night’s meeting, Boyd identified three questions of concern around which the trustees should frame their preliminary discussions: 1) What is the building going to look like? 2) Who’s going to be in this building and what are they going to be doing? 3) How are we going to pay for this?
The first step in pursuit of their goal of a new building, explained Boyd, is determining the general scope of the project. With that in mind, Boyd and her colleagues on the steering committee have asked Thompson to seek the advice of area architects and to plumb these firms’ potential interest in a project of that description.
An uplifting coda to the discussion of new construction arrived by way of county counselor Alan Weber: “As far as financing goes, I might just note that [on Monday, Enbridge Inc.] came in and paid their $3.1 million first-half tax payment on their pipeline, so that’s going to be the source of a budget surplus for awhile.”
THE ALLEN County Regional Hospital board of trustees voted Tuesday night to provide the resources necessary for making ACRH a Level IV trauma center.
The designation would allow the hospital to provide advanced trauma life support to patients in a specialized, timely manner.
According to Dr. Brian Wolfe, a physician at the Community Health Center, the preferment “would put us in a network of relationships with EMS providers, emergency departments and tertiary referral centers designed to direct the trauma patient to the resources appropriate to their level of care.”
An obvious requirement for a Level IV designation is that the associated medical staff obtain the training specific to a trauma center. The relevant hospital staff would also be responsible for quality reviews of all trauma patients and the subsequent submission of that data to the trauma registry.
According to director of nursing Patty McGuffin, the necessary ACRH staff have already obtained their Trauma Nursing Core Course and Advanced Trauma Life Suppport certifications in expectation of the updated status.
“It does take some resources to do this,” reflected Dr. Wolfe, “but we feel like it will really provide the level of care that we need to provide.”
Hospital CEO Tony Thompson agreed. “And I should add — there are some additional revenues that [the hospital] gains when the trauma is called in and activated. The purpose of that, of course, is to do a better job with the patients, so I want to minimize the revenue side of it. But, if we’re all coordinated in this effort, the patient is going to have a better outcome.”
IN AN additional bit of good news, Thompson unveiled the results of a survey gauging aspects of employee morale at ACRH. The returns on the 2015 questionnaire — which asked employees to rank statements as various as “There is good communication from managers to employees” and “My supervisor provides an environment that motivates me to perform at my best” to “The amount of work expected of me is reasonable” — showed significant improvements in morale in every category when compared to last year’s results.
According to Thompson, the results of this study will be relevant to the “leaders” within each area of the hospital, who can develop from this data tactics intended to improve “employee engagement” still further.
“As long as we’re plotting that line and it’s on an ascending path,” said Thompson, “then we’re where we want to be.” The new CEO will repeat this process every six months in an effort to ensure climbing rates of satisfaction among his employees.
IN keeping with discussions taking place at every level of emergency medical care across the country, in settings both urban and rural, Dr. Wolfe strongly urged the board to consider steps toward correcting the recurrent, disproportionate, and extremely costly use of emergency rooms by patients whose ailments would be better attended to in more specialized settings. Dr. Wolfe suggested a model along the lines of that being used by Southeast Kansas Mental Health, which assigns a case manager — capable of coordinating the many moving parts of an individual’s health plan — to patients not endowed with the ability to arrange that care for themselves.
“We have a responsiblity to take care of these people. But how can we lessen the bottom line here? … We have got to be proactive as an institution to help meet the needs of these people. Instead of showing up at the ER, how can we direct them toward a more managed setting? It’s a lot cheaper to see someone at the [doctor’s] office than it is to see them in the ER.”
