by Merideth Holland, Vice President, Support Services

Healthcare, the largest employer in Houston County, continues to face unprecedented headwinds of change and adapting is a strategic imperative. A recent national study analyzed data from more than 6,000 U.S. hospitals and found that 450 hospitals were at risk of closure. The proactive governance and leadership by the Houston County Health Care Authority has helped ensure that SAMC is not at risk of closing during these challenging times. In fact, SAMC (soon to become Southeast Health) is flourishing.

As a consumer you probably have personally experienced healthcare changes such as higher individual insurance premiums and increased healthcare cost for employers. There are also changes in patient expectations around transparency, quality and the patient experience. At SAMC, we recognize the importance of meeting your expectations – the status quo is not good enough. We know it and so do you.

We have been and will continue to be focused on making strategic investments. Some key initiatives include:

• Working to address the local impact of the national nursing shortage by retaining and creating great nurses and recruiting the top nursing talent in the market.
• Expanding services in key areas where there is significant community need. This includes expanding medical education programs to address the primary care shortage in Dothan and throughout the region.
• Engaging our physicians and staff to ensure quality, safety and patient satisfaction is top of mind and continues moving in the right direction.

Patient and family feedback indicates these initiatives have improved quality along with the overall patient and family experience. We are aware there is more to be done.

In addition to improving patient care, our quality focus includes other aspects of hospital operations, including food service quality and options, convenience and amenities in waiting areas, and improved parking for patients and visitors.

While hospitals nationwide have outsourced food services to better meet patient expectations, SAMC has opted to keep our food service in-house. We’ve recently hired an executive chef to improve food quality with local produce and expand the menu. This impacts patient satisfaction as well as staff who frequently dine on campus during their working hours.

Many hospitals have joined other large corporations in eliminating the “one cafeteria” model. SAMC is in-step with this trend, and one of our most popular additions is Chick-fil-A. We’ve also partnered with Chicken Salad Chick, which will open in September, and Starbucks will open on campus in 2019.

We are systematically implementing a plan to improve the patient and family experience with facility upgrades. Renovating a 42 bed inpatient unit is a key strategic initiative. Enhancements will improve aesthetics, but more importantly, quality and patient flow. The renovation includes a 12 bed intermediate care step-down unit for patients who no longer require critical care services, but who are not ready for the general in-patient floor. The addition of this unit will help open beds in the Critical Care Unit. This will result in significant operational improvements, which include reducing patient wait time in the Emergency Department for CCU beds and decreasing ED diversion hours related to a lack of critical care bed capacity.

Parking is always an issue at busy hospitals, and our research indicated we had work to do in this area. We found that the East Parking Deck had to be addressed to preserve its structural integrity. While this isn’t a flashy project, we invested in resurfacing the deck and adding additional lighting making it safer for patients.

I’ve highlighted a few key projects that impact experiences at SAMC, but there are many more to come. I am proud to have an opportunity to impact healthcare in the community I love. There are times when the changing healthcare landscape requires that tough decisions be made, and those are never easy. But, I am excited about our focus on patients and families, which is the foundation of quality. I also believe our neighbors, families and friends deserve excellent care without having to drive to Birmingham, Atlanta or Tallahassee.

While healthcare reform has brought dramatic changes to medical care in the United States, we remain focused on treating the whole person and providing the best opportunity for patients to get well and stay well.

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This is part of an ongoing series covering the impact of changes in healthcare in our region.