Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/644565
15 Iowa Doug Cropper, President and CEO, Genesis Health System (Davenport) "ousands of patients served by Genesis Health System are among the 60 million Amer- icans suffering from mental illness. Genesis has collaborated with other community health- care organizations, along with city and county governments in the region, to identify gaps in services and coverage. One of the major issues shared by our organization and many others is recruiting and retain- ing psychiatrists and other key staff to serve the needs of this patient population. Iowa is ranked No. 47 in the country in psychiatrists per capita and has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the nation while maintaining a high ranking for quality of care. By listening to the communities we serve, we identified gaps in both inpatient and outpatient services. In response, we finalized an ex- pansion plan for behavioral health services in 2015. In December, Genesis opened a five-bed inpatient behavioral health unit for chil- dren and adolescents. Going forward, we are slated to open an adult intensive outpatient program offering intensive group therapy for adults who need daily treatment but do not require inpatient hospi- talization in 2016, and a geriatric inpatient unit and geriatric inten- sive outpatient program in 2017. Recruiting and retaining behavioral health professionals continues to be a challenge, but we are aggres- sively working to meet it." Kansas Bob Page, President and CEO, University of Kan- sas Hospital (Kansas City) "In 15 years, we grew from 407 staffed beds to 746 staffed beds, an 83 percent increase. How- ever, our inpatient discharge volume in the same period grew 154 percent. In some ways, it's a good problem to have, but it can create difficul- ty for people who want to access the academ- ic medical center difference. As a regional and national referral center, our challenge is to build beds fast enough to keep up with patient demand. Our hospital is routinely full, establish- ing record highs for daily census on an almost monthly basis. is growth creates issues for patients who need access to our specialized services for heart disease, neurosciences and cancer. Almost as critical is our need for operating rooms, as our physicians' specialized surgical skills are sought locally and from hospitals throughout the Midwest. We are expanding capacity through a variety of means. On the main campus, we are building a new patient tower and we just expanded our construction scope to add four more patient floors. At the same time, we expanded off-campus facilities for ambulatory care and outpatient and inpatient surgical procedures. While these facilities have given us additional rooms, they have also led to more patient growth as we ex- pand our locations into new sections of metropolitan Kansas City. We will not sacrifice the laser-focus on quality care that led to our explosive and sustained growth over the past 15 years. But, we know our responsibility is to give patients convenient access to academic medicine with a highly satisfying experience and the best possible outcomes. We will continue to use traditional expansion, improved processes and a focus on quality to meet this challenge." Kentucky Ruth W. Brinkley, President and CEO, Kentuc- kyOne Health (Louisville) "Kentucky leads the nation in death from lung cancer, with mortality exceeding deaths from breast, colorectal, prostate and pancreatic can- cer combined. e combination of high mor- tality from preventable and treatable disease; a high rate of rural and medically underserved communities, and rapidly changing pathways to reimbursement and access to affordable care place a major strain on the health, wellness and ongoing prosperity of individuals and families across Kentucky. As the largest health system in the state, KentuckyOne Health is committed to a multifaceted approach to addressing the health issues in our communities. In cancer care, we have invested in early detection and intervention, drawing on our national- ly recognized experience from the James Graham Brown Can- cer Center in Louisville. We have increased mobile screening throughout Kentucky for a range of cancers, delivering tools in a convenient and cost-effective way. Combined with diagnosis technology like low-dose CT scans for lung cancer, we want to re- duce the rates of cancer in Kentucky through early intervention. Health education and a greater connection to wellness are vital to improved overall health. We offer a range of programs to help in- dividuals build a primary care relationship, understand access and reimbursement pathways, and deliver population health initiatives." Louisiana Warner omas, President and CEO, Ochsner Health System (Jefferson) "e most pressing concern is the management of chronic disease, which drives 80 percent of total healthcare costs. e healthcare system hasn't been conditioned to manage this. All health systems need to reconfigure their deliv- ery and continuum of care. Over the past couple of years, we have been reconfiguring our approach to primary care. With health coaches, data analytics and predictive modeling, we've been stratifying patients who need complex case management. We are building a complex nurse case management model. We have also spent a lot of time and effort on data analytics. We are getting claims data from payers and analyzing that to do a better job of stratifying our patients. We are working to be proactive." Maine Kris Doody, CEO, Cary Medical Center (Cari- bou) "Chronic disease; Maine has a large elderly population. Cary Medical Center's county is tucked away in northern Maine. Chronic dis- ease management, and the accompanying need for medication, can be difficult to address. We have a unique relationship with the local