John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital: Team Player
Hospitals
Written by Amanda Gaines   
Saturday, 01 December 2007
John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital: Team Player - Health Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Perry Mustian outlines his efforts to maintain a teamwork attitude across his service area.
It’s refreshing to hear the president and CEO of a major healthcare facility discuss his reliance on others in his service area. It’s also refreshing to know it’s not a one-sided view. For Perry Mustian, the position of responsibility his hospital, John D. Archbold Memorial, holds in the Southwestern corner of Georgia is one he speaks of with pride.

John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital: Team Player - Health Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Perry Mustian, President and CEO
Part of Mustian’s collaborative outlook stems from his hospital’s affiliation with Archbold Medical Center’s five-hospital system. “We often see patients come to our hospital for secondary and tertiary care that can’t be provided in our affiliate hospitals,” Mustian said. “But once the acute episode has been treated, the patient is often transferred back to our affiliate to recover in a sub-acute care program.”

In addition to the 264-bed regional facility, Archbold Medical Center comprises Grady General Hospital in Cairo, Ga; Brooks County Hospital in Quitman; Mitchell County Hospital in Camilla; and Early Memorial Hospital in Blakely. But Archbold Memorial’s collaborations don’t stop there.

Reaching out
As the sole community hospital in Thomasville, Georgia, Mustian believes Archbold Memorial has a responsibility to continue improving and expanding its services, which is why in 2006, his hospital became one of 10 in Georgia to participate in the Atlantic Cardiovascular Patient Outcomes Research Team (C-PORT) trial.

The trial looks at the safety of community-based interventional cardiology programs with hospitals that don’t have an open-heart surgery program. Because Georgia is a Certificate of Need (CON) state, Archbold Memorial would not be able to provide interventional services unless it had an approved full-service program.

“One in every four cardiac patients is randomized to our host hospital, which is Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in Florida,” Mustian explained. “Although Tallahassee Memorial is not one of our affiliate hospitals, through the trial, we are able to work with other regional systems that are fairly close to us and have sometimes been our competition.”
The trial also led Archbold Memorial to a collaboration involving hospitals across seven counties, leading to the installation of 12-lead EKG machines in all regional ambulance and emergency service provider networks. When EMTs suspect a patient has had a heart attack, they can transmit that information electronically back to Archbold where physicians interpret the information and, if necessary, can pull together a cath team.

“We’ve received cardiac patient transfers from several hospitals that are not a part of our system, enabling us to develop a program that’s greatly impacted patient care in our region,” Mustian said. “The collaborations have also reduced Archbold Memorial’s door-to-balloon time to less than 80 minutes, as well as developing cardiological best practices across the Archbold system.”

Across the system
Although Archbold Memorial is the flagship hospital of Archbold Medical Center, Mustian said teamwork is a major source of his hospital’s strength. In April 2008, the system will begin implementing Soarian, Siemens’ clinical and financial solutions package. The installation, said Mustian, will enable all five Archbold hospitals to move to a true EMR.

In preparation, Archbold Memorial has been imaging 100% of its patient charts for the past year, and in October, Archbold rolled out its electronic chart completion, enabling any chart deficiencies to be pushed out electronically to physicians for completion.

“When we implemented our barcode medication administration management system with a robotic distribution process, it improved patient safety in our hospitals,” Mustian said. “One unique aspect of the Archbold system is that when we implement an IT process, we don’t just do it at one hospital; we do it in all five.”

Once installed, the Siemens product will enable seamless transfers of patient financial and clinical data across the system, giving Archbold Medical a competitive advantage over other healthcare systems in the region. “We’re held up as a standard in Georgia when it comes to putting together a rural network,” Mustian continued. “The Siemens system will enhance our ability to improve our quality and safety.”

Positive reinforcement
The physical plant of John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital comprises a patchwork of renovations, expansions, and construction projects spanning an 82-year history, which is why in 2006, Mustian enlisted the help of consulting firm Perkins & Will.

“We did an assessment of how prepared our facility was to handle the increased emphasis on outpatient procedures, as well as more acutely ill inpatients,” Mustian said. “We concluded several areas of the hospital needed to be replaced because they were beyond renovation.”

The $100 million project, set to break ground next year, will replace the hospital’s surgery department, ED, and ICU, as well as upgrading the hospital’s beds to all private rooms. In addition to what Mustian calls the North Tower additions, Archbold Memorial opened a hyperbaric oxygen therapy program in its wound care facility and is looking into adding a replacement oncology wing, dialysis center, and a new physician office building to house a variety of specialists.

One of Mustian’s challenges moving forward, however, is finding adequate staff to accommodate the expanded facilities. “We’re up against everyone else out there for relatively scarce talent,” he said. “Consequently, Archbold is doing all it can to ensure it has a good facility, a collaborative environment, and a operational model that makes people want to join our team.”
 
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