Executives seeking to determine how strong and of what quality a region's health care system is made up of should look no further than the doctors practicing in the area. Especially those who have moved from major metro markets to practice and enjoy the quality of life found in the region.
Such is the case in Lufkin and Angelina County, Texas, where corporate executives will find this east Texas health care market offers the same level of medical services as what can be found by locating in a major metro market, such as Houston, which is a two-hour drive from Lufkin.
“When companies are looking at the health care in an area they are looking at the quality of the services, and if they will have to drive a long way to access some services,” says Yana Ogletree, director of marketing, Memorial Health System of East Texas, which consists of four hospitals. “Our goal is to keep patients close to home for all of their health care needs,” she says. “We are able to serve them with quality physicians and the most advanced technology anywhere.”
“By using the latest in information systems and technology, as well as employing a tremendous medical staff, we can provide first-class health care for everyone,” says Bryant Krenek, president and CEO, Memorial Health System of East Texas. “And let's face it. This is something we all want for our families.”
Ogletree notes that the hospital system actively recruits physicians to the area. “What is unique about Lufkin is that our medical staff practices at both hospitals in the city, with a few physicians who are exclusive to one hospital.”
Moving to the Midwest, the Bismarck, N.D., region offers a unique health care proposition for corporations to consider. The community features two large hospitals and two clinics, which are home to roughly 500 beds and more than 350 practicing physicians. “We are one of the largest health care clusters between the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and the West Coast, based on the amount of services we offer in this community, which has an MSA of 110,000 people,” says Russ Staiger, president and CEO, Bismarck-Mandan Development Association. “The health care community has always had a broad vision of the services they want to provide, and the entire area they need to provide services to. We tell businesses that with the cost of health care being what it is, they want to be assured the health care they are receiving and paying for is absolutely the best. We believe it is the best.”
Quality health care services can also be found in Sherman, Texas, which is located 65 miles north of Dallas. The construction of a new $200 million Texoma Medical Center in nearby Dennison will complement Wilson N. Jones Medical Center in Sherman. “We will have two, first-rate acute care hospitals in the Sherman-Dennison region,” says John Boswell, president, Sherman Economic Development Corp.
Patient Supporters
When available physicians are able to provide first-class services in an ideal location, they can also think outside the box. Physicians familiar with practicing in Yakima, Wash., were sold on the city as the site for the establishment of a new medical university, the first to be started in the Pacific Northwest in 60 years. The Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences is a 40-acre campus with a 48,000-square-foot facility under construction that will house the College of Osteopathic Medicine; there is a long-term goal of establishing 10 to 12 different buildings on campus.
“What these physicians discovered early on in feasibility studies is that there are a large number of students from the Pacific Northwest going into medical school who are leaving the area for training because there are not opportunities for them closer to home,” says Dave McFadden, president, Yakima County Development Association.
The new medical university will serve a five-state region, training and placing doctors in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Alaska. “One thing that stood out about Yakima for the establishment of the university is that we have small communities in this region so we understand what it is like to experience doctor shortages,” McFadden notes. “Our area provides a live setting under which the university can operate and deepen its partnerships with clinics in its backyard that are facing these issues.”
McFadden says the medical university will be a major new educational institution in a region that needs to offer more higher education opportunities. While the area is home to a community college and a branch of a state university, the new university will add a new dimension to the educational assets of the community. “It opens new doors and new ways of thinking about our community,” McFadden says. “We will become known for highly professionalized training and education done in the Northwest in our community. We will have the look and feel of a college town, which will be attractive to those of all ages.”
In regard to attractive, established health care clusters, Lufkin is home to two award-winning — and growing — hospitals: Memorial Health-Lufkin and Woodlawn Heights Medical Center. Memorial's cancer center has earned a three-year seal of approval from the commission on cancer, which is awarded by the American College of Surgeons. It is ranked by the college as being in the top 25 percent of cancer centers in the United States.
Woodlawn Heights is ranked as the No. 2 heart hospital in the state of Texas, which is designated by HealthGrades, the private, watch-dog group that surveys hospitals based on publicly reported data, says Lance Jones, CEO, Woodlawn Heights. The hospital also consistently ranks in the top 5 percent in the nation for cardio services and procedures. In other award-winning services, the hospital recently won the Texas Medical Foundation's Award for Excellence, based on quality indicators for treating heart failure, heart attacks and other illnesses. The hospital is also the first for-profit hospital in the state to win the Nurse Friendly Award, which is a three-year designation that was awarded last year. Only six hospitals received the designation, Jones notes.
In regard to growth, Woodlawn Heights just completed a $20 million renovation of its entire facility. “We renovated our ICU to meet patient needs, from a flow perspective,” Jones says. “It was also from a morale perspective for our employees to give them an updated décor to create a more pleasing environment.”
The renovation also included updates of the LND and delivery suites, complete with wireless fetal monitoring. The hospital also features an automated pharmaceutical delivery dispensing system in order to meet the new pharma codes that are in place for drug preparation.
And Memorial is also expanding its services to keep up with patient needs and service requirements. The Lufkin facility recently received the green light to build a new tower, which will initially be four stories, with a foundation in place to take the tower to seven stories. The first floor is slated for the expansion of the hospital's emergency room and urgent care clinic. The second floor will be dedicated to cardiology services, and the third floor will feature a 26 bed step-down intermediate care unit.
“When people are looking at a community, a major component they are looking for is good health care services,” Krenek says. “Education, job opportunities and recreational components are important, but medical services are very important. Both of our hospitals in Lufkin have done a great job in terms of bringing these elements to the people we serve.”
Corporate executives looking to expand their operations will find that quality health care services can be found outside of major metro locations. They will also find communities are taking steps to ensure that they can not only train physicians but also keep them in the area by creating training opportunities close to home.
For complete details on the organizations featured in this article, visit:
Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, www.bmda.org
Memorial Health System of East Texas, www.mymemorialhealth.org
Sherman (Texas) Economic Development Corp., www.sedco.org
Woodlawn Heights Medical Center (Lufkin, Texas), www.woodlandheights.net
Yakima County (Wash.) Development Association, www.ycda.com
Community Matters
In 2003, the hospital administration at Perry Memorial Hospital in Perry, Okla., worked with the Oklahoma State University extension to facilitate a community focus group with an emphasis on the area's health services. The group developed a community health services directory, which has been updated this year.
That same year, the hospital undertook a $3 million renovation, and affiliated with the Stillwater Medical Center to enhance its services. “Our efforts are well received by the community,” says Joe Duerr, administrator, Perry Memorial Hospital. “Two of the primary goals in our strategic plan focus on smoking cessation and weight loss programming.”
Duerr says the educator at Stillwater Medical Center provided smoking cessation classes at the hospital last fall, which were free of charge. The hospital paid for nicotine patches and gum for the participants of the classes.
In regard to weight loss efforts in the community, the Perry Memorial Hospital educator worked with the Weight Watchers' office in Wichita, Kan., to learn what it would take to establish a franchise in Perry. “We provided a space in the hospital for the Wichita official to educate three leaders for this program,” Duerr says. “This April, on the first night of the program, we had 88 participants attend from the community.”
In June, Perry Memorial Hospital's officials were set to unveil the results of a community survey that stemmed from a recent community focus group.
To learn more about how Perry Memorial Hospital works with the community to meet its health care needs, visit www.pmh-ok.org.
Health Services
Based on number of establishments, first quarter 2005 to first quarter 2006.
Startups
1. California
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. New York
5. Michigan
6. North Carolina
7. Illinois
8. Georgia
9. Pennsylvania
10. New Jersey
New Branches
1. California
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Pennsylvania
5. New York
6. Ohio
7. North Carolina
8. Louisiana
9. Illinois
10. Maryland
Data includes the following SICs:
129-000 Health services
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