Building the Network

One of the best ways that CHS builds healthier communities is by channeling new resources into small towns or rural areas that have not traditionally had access to a broad range of medical services.

Because of its reputation for both managerial and medical excellence, CHS has steadily expanded its partnerships throughout the Carolinas in recent years. During 2006, in fact, three new relationships were formalized, resulting in significant impact on the quality of care in Lincoln and Wilkes Counties, North Carolina, and Union County, South Carolina.

In Lincoln County, CHS signed a long-term lease that brought the county’s hospital, now known as CMC-Lincoln, fully into the CHS family of hospitals. In conjunction with this change, CHS immediately began planning for an $85 million replacement facility in Lincolnton, as well as an ambulatory surgical center in East Lincoln and a primary care facility in the county’s western end. While the hospital’s bed count will remain the same at 101, new construction will guarantee a level of modernization lacking in CMC-Lincoln’s current 1960’s-era structure.

Not only will the new hospital have larger patient rooms, medical offices and clinical workspace, but some of the most sophisticated technology available. This includes a “64-slice CT scanner,” and the capacity for a fixed MRI unit.

Also, as a reflection of the long-term planning perspective for which it is so well known, CHS made immediate arrangements to supplement both primary care and specialty services in Lincoln County. This effort includes a systematic effort to expand medical practices under the auspices of the Carolinas Physicians Network (CPN), a two-state network which grew during 2006 to include some 75 medical practices in over 150 locations.

In Union, South Carolina, the governing board of the “Union Hospital District” also acted to shore up operations by inking a long-term management agreement with CHS. The District includes a 143-bed general acute care hospital (Wallace Thomson), a 113-bed nursing home (Ellen Sager) and the county’s EMS service.

While prior financial problems had caused the district to languish, a fresh infusion of management expertise brought new stability and put the district in a position to stem a hemorrhage of badly needed medical services.

For example, the loss of seven physicians during 2006 had created a situation where the hospital could not even accommodate routine birthing services. CHS immediately took steps to recruit primary care physicians, while also filling gaps in both radiology and orthopedic services that had been created by earlier attrition.

In addition, the Union Hospital District was able to purchase two primary care practices, helping stabilize the medical staff by retaining valuable physicians and creating a better recruiting environment.

CHS worked with the District to establish non-emergency transport services for the county, and also instituted length-of-stay efficiencies during 2006 which will result in an estimated $1.7 million of savings annually.

In North Wilkesboro, town commissioners engineered a milestone management agreement that draws upon the expertise of both CHS and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. CHS took on full operational responsibility for the community’s 130-bed hospital, which serves an eight-county area, while Wake Forest assumed responsibility for recruiting new specialists.

Having access to this expertise has been a boon to local administrators as they work to match hospital growth plans with the community’s most critical needs. In the words of Ted Chapin, Wilkes Regional CEO/President, “Our services were mushrooming anyway, as a result of increased demand. The new partnership will be helpful in predicting future growth trends accurately and bringing in the necessary resources to keep pace.”

Medical specialties like oncology and cardiovascular treatment, for example, are expected to grow steadily. The medical center is expanding its hospitalist program, and exploring the possibilities of bringing both medical students and residents to North Wilkesboro, a development which would inevitably boost recruiting efforts.

“We felt really good about our community stewardship before the new agreement,” says Tony Rispoli, Wilkes Regional CFO. “Now we are in a position to do even more. People in this area won’t be traveling quite so often for advanced treatments. Those treatments will be available right here at home.”

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