nowhere in the nation do the three components of healthcare

8/13/2019 Nowhere in the Nation Do the Three Components of Healthcare

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Nowhere in the nation do the three components of healthcaresTriple Aimbetter patient

experience, better health of populations, and lower per capita costsbecome more visible

than in rural communities. Local hospitals play an important role in improving health and

managing healthcare and patient costs by providing primary care, diagnostics, and outpatient

services directly to their constituents. n reciprocal fashion, these facilities, providers, and

users contribute substantially to a rural communitys economy. !ut sustaining local healthcare

is arduous" ts not easy to recruit top physicians to rural areas, and patients often migrate to

more urban healthcare centers for perceived better care. Additionally, small communities

rarely have access to the finances necessary to build and sustain facilities outfitted with

modern medical technologies, procedures, and e#uipment. n an era of increasingly limited

resources, how can healthcare design professionals create and deliver facilities that achieve

the Triple Aim$ %o#uille &alley 'ospital in %o#uille, (re., provides an example of what might

be accomplished.

A community vision

'igh up an (regon coastal hillside, among former log mill director home sites, stands theoriginal )*+* %o#uille &alley 'ospital %&'-. !uilt by a consortium of three regional logging

mills for the care of their employees and families, this rural critical access hospital has been

modified considerably over time to include outpatient diagnostic and surgical services. The

facility serves three aging communities" %o#uille, yrtle /oint, and /owers. 0ey sta1eholders

at %&' wanted to ensure their community had a hospital designed to meet and evolve with its

growing outpatient and inpatient care needs. They also needed an attractive recruitment tool

for new physicians, as several of the hospitals doctors were prepared to retire. The vision

was a hospital capable of providing the %o#uille &alley communities with sustainable, local,

#uality healthcare, featuring new medical procedures and technologies, and the most

respected physicians in the region.

To accomplish that vision, %&' enlisted three advisers to help with the initial

planning"2troudwater Associatesstrategic and business planning-,The Neenan %o.space

planning, site assessments, and design3build services-, and 4ougherty ortgagefinancing

services-. These advisers formed a team with 1ey %&' sta1eholders to collect and evaluate

mar1et data, and to subse#uently design alternative operational strategies and facility

solutions within a sustainable financing threshold. Leadership, including physicians and staff,

participated in a planning session to align uponmar1et data, mar1et capture, possible

strategies for growth, enhanced service lines, forecasted financial5operational models,

sustainable borrowing capacity, a targeted capital budget, and a conceptual design to deliveron the operational strategy.

The 2troudwater, Neenan, 4ougherty, and %&' team tested and retested each scenario

against the hospitals specific strategic, financial, and operational goals, which included"

ncreasing nursing efficiency with a common nurses station for med3surg,

obstetrics, and the emergency department

mproving patient experiences

4elivering private patient rooms

6nhancing patient access

7ecruiting internal medicine physicians ncreasing orthopedic procedures.
http://www.ihi.org/offerings/Initiatives/TripleAim/Pages/default.aspxhttp://www.cvhospital.org/http://www.cvhospital.org/http://www.stroudwater.biz/http://www.stroudwater.biz/http://www.stroudwater.biz/http://www.neenan.com/http://www.neenan.com/http://www.doughertymarkets.com/http://www.cvhospital.org/http://www.stroudwater.biz/http://www.neenan.com/http://www.doughertymarkets.com/http://www.ihi.org/offerings/Initiatives/TripleAim/Pages/default.aspx


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!ased on this collaborative design process, the pro8ect team developed 934 architectural

animations, staff and patient flow simulations, and ! models to supplement financial

operations forecasting, staffing, and capital costs models. deal for flexibility and #uic1

manipulation, these models evaluated multiple facility design solutions capable of meeting an

overall targeted annual staffing and debt service budget. This process saved a tremendous

amount of time, increased engagement, and reduced the costs of misunderstanding and re3

wor1.

t also resulted in a :;


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facility design, and access to sustainable financing. t also creates a facility capable of

attracting and retaining healthcare providers and providing competitive care. 6arly indications

on year3to3date statistics at %&' for ;B)9 substantiate continuing operational growth and

success, yielding an example for the potential future of investment in rural healthcare

facilities.

Michael Curtis is vice president of The Neenan Co. (Fort Collins, Colo.) and can be reached

[email protected] . Brian Haapala is manain principal at !troud"ater

#ssociates ($ortland, Maine) and can be reached at bhaapala@stroud"ater.com.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

nowhere in the nation do the three components of healthcare

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