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| Gibson General Hospital: Making Connections |
| Hospitals | |||
| Tuesday, 01 April 2008 | |||
 Emmett Schuster describes how this aging hospital found new life by reconnecting to the community.
Records and billing needed to be brought into the 21st century, physician-hospital relations required mending, the aging physical plant needed updating, and Gibson General had to reconnect with the community it serves in the small town of Princeton, Indiana.  Emmett Schuster, President and CEO “Overall, we have a lot of great healthcare providers here,” Schuster said. “That makes my job a lot easier.” Able to focus more on the business side of the organization, Schuster and his team took a multi-pronged approach to rapidly implement positive changes and inject new life into the old acute-care hospital. Reaching out In 1907, Gibson General Hospital got its start as the Princeton Sanatorium. A century later, there are few similarities between the original 20-bed facility and the hospital it would become, but the core focus remains: to meet the needs of the Princeton community. It’s a focus Schuster was sure to reinvigorate when he began looking for ways to improve the organization. He got the process rolling with a series of community surveys, and the hospital also created a business advisory panel to give area companies an open communication channel. By reaching out and listening, the hospital learned how residents and businesses perceived it and how it could improve to best meet the community’s needs. Surveys revealed the facility’s aging appearance led residents to believe the hospital was outdated, despite its award-winning level of care. But before the organization could move forward with renovations and expansions, particularly a planned $4 million ER project, it had to generate the capital. Schuster and his team saw significant opportunity in records and billing and quickly moved forward with a new information system from Alabama-based CPSI (Computer Programs and Systems, Inc.). “We were able to go through our entire billing process and improve it,” Schuster said. “We improved our medical records and made them easier to access, and that allowed for faster and more accurate billing. The end result is payments and accounts receivable are performing better, and our cash flow is much improved.” The system also gave the hospital a clear understanding of its costs. With that information in hand, Gibson was able to renegotiate contracts with insurers. In the end, overall charges in a number of areas were cut by as much as 40%. “When we make changes like that,” Schuster said, “everyone wins.” Schuster also saw the CPSI system as a way to tie together the common threads and put the hospital on the fast track to improvement. Common threads Improving physician/hospital relations was another key issue to tackle, and the CPSI system presented a strong opportunity to reach out. When installing the system in participating physician offices, Gibson General sent a technician as well as a marketing professional. The idea was to take full advantage of the meeting and fill physicians in on the changes taking place at Gibson and the hospital’s many strengths. In particular, the hospital wanted to reach out to the nearby physician-owned Princeton Surgery Center. The relationship between the center and Gibson General had grown icy in prior years, and Schuster and his team wanted to start fresh. The CPSI system became the olive branch, and the two sides quickly began talks about a partnership. For years, the hospital had been trying in vain to recruit an orthopedic surgeon. By forming a joint partnership with the surgery center, the two sides were able to create a shared contract and attract a top-notch orthopedic surgeon. In one fell swoop, Gibson General dramatically improved physician-hospital relations and resolved a long-standing recruiting dilemma. “That partnership is critical,” Schuster said. “It allowed us to bring an orthopedic surgeon to our hospital, something this community has needed for a long time.” Enthusiastic response As Gibson General continued to make rapid improvements, it began ramping up its marketing efforts to ensure the community was well aware of the improvements taking place. The response was nearly immediate, as the hospital’s ER volume began to surge. It was a welcome surge, but it also put the spotlight back on the hospital’s need for an expanded and renovated emergency room. Thanks to their marketing and communication efforts, Schuster and his team found generating the capital for the $4 million ER project became a whole lot easier. The hospital’s foundation began pulling in donations through its capital campaign, including a $40,000 contribution from local business Hansen Manufacturing, and a whopping $1 million contribution/matching funds support from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana. “We believe the community likes what it sees,” Schuster said, “because the response has been fantastic. We’re still trying to move forward with fundraising, but we expect to break ground in June and take occupation a year later. We listened to the community’s wants and needs, and responded. Now we’ve got to work hard to be prepared when they come.” |
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