Beloit Memorial Hospital: Healthy State Line - Health Executive - RedCoat Publishing - Inside Healthcare

In the past 20 years, the population of Northern Illinois has exploded. When the administrative team at Beloit Memorial Hospital in Beloit, Wis. saw the healthcare services in the area no longer matched the demand, they took action.

In 1991, the not-for-profit, private, independent corporation established physician offices and occupational health services in the Roscoe, Ill. area and became the first major healthcare provider in the area. But by 2005, other healthcare providers had moved in, and Gregory Britton, president and CEO, wanted Beloit Memorial to maintain its standing as the provider of choice for the region.

Gregory Britton, president and CEO

"We were developing our strategic plan and deciding how we wanted to be identified in the market,” Britton said. “If we were to be the healthcare provider for Northern Illinois, we needed to catapult over what anyone else was doing or thinking of doing in the future. That took us down an exciting path.”

Land ho!
With some basic concepts in mind, the hospital’s administration went to the communities of Northern Illinois for another perspective on which direction to go. The communities’ responses overwhelmingly pointed to what the Beloit Memorial team believed: we’re growing, we need more healthcare services, and we want you to provide them.

Beloit Memorial’s previous investment in the Roscoe/Rockton area provided urgent care centers, but in the case of a real emergency, patients were traveling to Rockford and into Wisconsin for care. Even if the urgent care centers were enough, patients needed diagnostics, but aside from going to a hospital, the services were not easily accessible.

“The community desired additional access to primary and specialty care physicians,” Britton said. “They wanted a healthcare organization to solve all of those issues but also wanted that organization to provide services to prevent them from needing such care.”

The need for a creative alternative for senior housing was also in demand, and, at that point, Britton’s vision for a closed-campus environment with a healing and therapeutic theme came into view. When the development team spotted a 122-acre piece of land lined with trees and decorated with two streams in Roscoe Village, they knew they had found the right spot.

“That land is now home to our NorthPointe Health and Wellness Campus, but it’s also home to one of the largest prairie restorations in Northern Illinois,” Britton said. “Our mission and vision is to be stewards of healthcare and wellness, but we’ve also taken the opportunity to become stewards of the land.”

Comforting care
In May 2006, Beloit Memorial broke ground on a 24-apartment independent senior housing and assisted living facility. This portion of the campus opened on January 1, 2007, and by May all apartments were filled. The 130,000-square-foot NorthPointe Health main pavilion came next and opened in December 2007. Although not yet a 24-hour service, the facility’s immediate care center is set up like an ED. And, per the community’s request, the all-digital diagnostics, including MRI, CT, and a full laboratory, are in the same facility and easily accessible.

An important aspect of the success of NorthPointe, according to Britton, has been the partnerships Beloit Memorial has developed. The corporation aligned with a large multi-specialty clinic in the area to staff many of the specialties at NorthPointe Health. In addition, it uses Southern Wisconsin Emergency Associates (SWEA), the same emergency group used at Beloit Memorial, to staff its immediate care center.

“Beloit Memorial has the sixth busiest ED in Wisconsin,” said the CEO. “We felt confident that if SWEA could handle that type of care for emergencies, it would be the right partner to staff and handle any emergencies that come to NorthPointe Immediate Care.”

Next door to the medical facility, and connected by a two-story atrium, is NorthPointe Wellness, a multifaceted state-of-the-art health and fitness center that combines the importance of a healthy mind and body with healthy living. Both of the facilities were designed to embody an environment of healing and relaxation. Their stone and wood décor, with the added touch of the sunlit atrium, makes that vision a reality.

“I wanted the campus to be welcoming for patients, as well as members using the wellness site,” Britton said. “People are coming in early for an appointment or staying afterwards to work out. Their increased comfort level means they’re accessing healthcare when they need it.”

Originally, the corporation had projected the wellness center’s 2008 membership to reach 2,400. By the end of January, membership had already reached 2,450. And while the comforting environment and wide variety of amenities are part of the reason NorthPointe Campus has become a popular and reliable healthcare destination, the bricks and mortar mean nothing without competent and compassionate people to run it.

“What I’m most proud of, whether it’s on our main campus or at our new venture with NorthPointe, is our top-notch team. They understand our mission and vision and demonstrate superb team values. Each one delivers care with great competency, compassion and outstanding customer service,” Britton concluded.

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