Bethesda, MD-based Suburban Hospital has unveiled a $230 million plan to expand its 65-year-old facility, but as it prepares to submit the project for review, the hospital remains at odds with neighbors. The new Suburban plan would improve access to the emergency room, add private patient rooms, create physicians' offices, expand parking and modernize and enlarge the hospital's 15 operating rooms. While the new plan includes changes the hospital says are a response to community concerns, some neighborhood activists say that the hospital has done little to accommodate their main objections.
Des Moines, IA-based Mercy Medical Center has begun caring for patients using Mercy eICU Connect--the first Iowa-based electronic intensive care unit. The system allows doctors and nurses keep track of critical care patients remotely, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The eICU enables those at the monitoring center to treat patients before complications take place, and the hope is that patients will spend fewer days in the hospital and that costs will decrease, officials say.
Since St. Charles County, MO, opened its newest hospital in 2007, all but one of the county's other hospitals have announced major construction projects. Hospital finance experts often question whether competition spurs expansion of unneeded medical services. Healthcare executives in St. Charles County, however, say the projects they're focusing on modernize necessary services and expand capacity at already busy hospitals.
How can I provide high-quality, comprehensive and affordable healthcare to my community with an aging facility, minimal staff and limited funds? This is a question that community hospital leaders grapple with every day--and it is why these executives are forced to make some difficult decisions. Should we remodel the lobby or invest in an electronic medical record? Should we get rid of a skilled nursing unit that is a money loser but ranks high on patient satisfaction surveys? The struggle to balance cost and quality is why leaders are continually searching for innovative ways to meet the needs of the communities they serve--visiting specialists, mobile MRI units, health fairs, telemedicine and educational programs come to mind, as well as cancer, dialysis and cardiac centers.
Likewise, we at HealthLeaders Media want to provide the most helpful, informative and timely content in a way that best suits the needs of our readers. To that end, our Community and Rural Hospital Weekly newsletter received a face-lift. First, we improved navigability. We also added audio interviews, links to additional content, live article commenting and RSS feeds. And now with the addition of my weekly column the transformation is complete. Don't worry, I will still be offering best practices and stories from healthcare leaders that have successfully implemented IT, recruited healthcare workers, financed new construction, or improved quality scores. But I will also try to capture the views and concerns of community and rural hospital leaders in this space.
Many top-of-mind issues appear unchanged since I left for maternity leave last year. Adequate reimbursement is still a major concern, of course--and will likely remain so given President Bush's budget proposal, which aims to rein in Medicare costs by cutting hospital reimbursement. Finding access to capital for IT projects, new construction or facility upgrades continues to be a headache, as does the recruitment and retention of physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Many community hospitals are still struggling to measure and improve their quality, which is becoming increasingly important in light of transparency and public reporting initiatives. And determining which services to offer or discontinue as new partnership opportunities arise--or direct competition moves in next door--will continue to challenge healthcare executives who are trying to ensure their communities will have access to the care they need for years to come.
These are some of the topics that I will be exploring in the months ahead. But to ensure that I'm covering what matters most to you, I would like to hear from you, the reader, on the issues that top your list for 2008. What service lines are you growing? How are you financing new construction? What types of technology are you investing in? Please drop me a line at cvaughan@healthleadersmedia.com. In addition, I hope that our readers will continue to submit opinions, analysis and solutions in our Leaders Forum section, and use our discussion board, Community Call, as a resource to connect with peers, post questions or offer solutions to the unique challenges that community hospital leaders face.
Carrie Vaughan is editor of HealthLeaders Media Community and Rural Hospital Weekly. She can be reached at cvaughan@healthleadersmedia.com.
James Peake, the incoming secretary of Veteran Affairs, has pledged to address "systemic" issues that hobble the quality and accessibility of rural healthcare. During a meeting with about 100 Montana veterans, the group told Peake they face months-long waits for appointments, arbitrary rejections of claims and 500-mile trips to receive care. Peake said he wanted to "reach out to rural America" and help those veterans not getting adequate care.
Though most consumers are bombarded with advertising messages every day, there's one advertising image that is getting them to listen. A service line campaign from WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, NC, has taken a different approach to speaking with consumers. Instead of using doctors or other medical professionals, the campaign is using an object that each and every patient is close to--their heart.
WakeMed is located in a very competitive healthcare market and needed a way to differentiate itself from the heavy marketing messages of the competitors. With their agency Craig Jackson & Partners in Chapel Hill, NC, and some feedback from their employees, the 'Listen to your heart' campaign with 'Heart Guy', was born.
The campaign primarily focused its efforts in TV and radio, though there were some tries at print and outdoor as well. The TV images show an animated heart with a sort of New Yorker voice and charm, according to Deb Laughery, vice president of public relations for WakeMed.
The spots start out with Heart Guy calling out to the consumers by asking if he can have a heart-to-heart with them. It goes on to tell them the risks of not listening to your heart and follows with a call to action for WakeMed. What makes the campaign so effective is that the campaign message is clear, and the mannerisms and speech from the heart are attention-grabbing and direct--in a very non-threatening sort of way.
"We wanted him to come across in a way that would be a little bit different and that would get attention. He's a more human, lighthearted way of presenting a very serious subject," Laughery says.
The campaign was effective in growing market share but most importantly it opened up doors for future endeavors. "Because the concept is so different it has a lot of legs and we will definitely expand on it," says Laughery. "We actually have already started a new concept. Heart Guy now has a friend, the brain, who is going to talk to consumers about reducing the risk of stroke."
Kandace McLaughlin is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. Send her Campaign Spotlight ideas at kmclaughlin@healthleadersmedia.com If you are a marketer submitting a campaign on behalf of your facility or client, please ensure you have permission before doing so.