Medina Memorial Health Care System: Preferred Choice - Health Executive - RedCoat Publishing - Inside Healthcare

The same community commitment that led to the founding of Medina Memorial Hospital in 1908 continues today with Medina Memorial Health Care System. As the major provider of healthcare services for New York’s Orleans County, as well as Eastern Niagara and Northern Genesee counties, Medina Memorial can attest to the importance of community support as it follows the expansionist vision of its current president and CEO, Jim Sinner.

Jim Sinner, President and CEO

Since his appointment in November 1998, Sinner has had one goal in mind: to make Medina Memorial the healthcare provider of choice through the addition, expansion, and revitalization of its portfolio of healthcare services. Already a 10-year veteran of Medina, Sinner is the first to discuss the benefits—rather than the detriments—of being in such a rural area.

Typically, when walking into a new “home” for the first time, a CEO will slowly become acquainted with his or her surroundings. For Sinner, the first day meant attending a board meeting where he heard all of the pre-existing problems and issues facing the organization; he quickly realized a game plan was needed.

Although he didn’t change any of the administrative team members, Sinner did increase the frequency of team meetings to two times per week and then developed community focus groups to hear what those outside the walls of the hospital had to say. “We wanted to know what the community thought about us, our services, and what we could do to help them live healthier lives and increase their access to healthcare,” he said. “We then formulated a strategic plan and began to fix and reinforce existing services and introduce new ones.”

The first plan of attack was to look at Medina Memorial’s two standalone renal dialysis units, one located in Batavia and the other in Medina. The two centers, originally financial drains to the hospital, were close to being sold. But after closer examination, Sinner realized it would be in everyone’s best interest to invest in the expansion of the Batavia facility.

The new Batavia unit measures 8,000 square feet; the previous one only measured 2,500 square feet. The number of stations also increased, from six to 16. “It was a question of volume, not need,” Sinner said. “We had a long waiting list. We just didn’t have the number of operating stations required to achieve economies of scale.” As a result of the expansion, the units began turning a profit, and the hospital positioned itself to serve the growing need for dialysis in its neighboring communities.

The hospital kicked off two major renovations in 2003, the first of which was the development of the TWIG (Together With Individual Goals—the hospital’s women’s auxiliary) Birthing Center. The unit transitioned from having two standard delivery rooms to three LDRP (labor, delivery, recovery, post-partum) suites that feature a gourmet menu, maternity-dedicated spa, isolation nursery, and state-of-the-art security system. Each of the suites is thermostatically controlled and has a private shower, wood-grained floor, and oak accessories.

The second renovation focused on the hospital’s medical/surgical unit. “In that renovation, I implemented elements of the Planetree philosophy, including improvements to the physical environment as well as the patient care partner program,” Sinner said.

The cost of the entire second-floor project was roughly $2 million, which is fairly inexpensive for renovations of such magnitude. But for a rural hospital with net revenue of $40 million, it’s quite an investment. According to Sinner, between 60% and 70% of the costs were funded by the community as a result of a capital campaign called “Building for the Next Generation.” The campaign raised $1.25 million and was supplemented by donations from the Medina Memorial Health Care Foundation, a 501(c) 3, and the TWIGs.

“Those donations were a reflection of the community’s impression of the hospital; for a small community, that’s quite a sum to ante up,” Sinner said. “The reputation of the hospital was good before, but they now refer to the second floor as the Medina Marriott, which is exactly what I was looking for.”

Then, in 2007, the hospital recruited a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, making it the first time in the hospital’s 100-year history that it had its own orthopedic service line. According to Sinner, the new service did more than just expand the hospital’s capabilities; during its first year, the program added $1.2 million to the hospital’s revenue stream.

For 2008 and beyond, Sinner and his team are renovating the first floor of the hospital, which includes the diagnostic and emergency departments, lobby, gift shop, and cafeteria. Community support for this project is already evident, as one private philanthropist funded $230,000. New York’s Went Foundation also presented Sinner with a $125,000 grant, and in December, the TWIGs donated $50,000 and pledged another $120,000.

Arguably one of the most significant recent decisions the hospital has made was in the purchase of six acres of land in nearby Albion. Although Medina Memorial already has facilities in the area, the residents of Albion need better access to a wider variety of healthcare services.

Orleans is one of the only counties in the state without an MRI. In response to the area’s need for the diagnostic capabilities of this equipment, the administration decided to make a standalone MRI and a comprehensive imaging center—the first phase of Albion’s new medical complex. The new, freestanding facility will be tied to Medina Memorial’s PACS, and Sinner hopes it will give the community a closer connection to the hospital.

“After completing the first phase of this new development, we’ll add a medical office building and urgent care center. The last piece, we’re hoping, will be an ambulatory surgery center,” he said. “The cumulative effect of the services we’ve developed during the past nine years has been a tremendous benefit to community members, and it shows we’re an organization capable of helping them in their quest for better health.”

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