Washington Court House, OH (November 13, 2019) – It’s been
just over a year since Fayette County Memorial (FCMH) Hospital signed
a formal affiliation agreement with Adena Health System and the benefits
are proving so valuable that the FCMH Board of Trustees has reaffirmed
their desire to continue the affiliation and explore opportunities to
work more closely for the betterment of Fayette County.
Goals for the original partnership included increasing access to local
specialty care, reducing the number of patients leaving the area for care,
sharing strengths to improve overall patient satisfaction, combining caregiver
education for improved patient care, developing best practices to reduce
the occurrence of sepsis and combining strategies to address the community’s
health and wellness needs.
“Adena Health System is continuing to prove themselves to be a valuable
partner. They have been an active member of the Fayette County community
for over ten years,” according to FCMH CEO Mike Diener, “and
they have demonstrated their commitment to the success of FCMH by providing
specialists on our campus who support FCMH patient care departments. Having
them onsite, in our community, makes travel the least concern for a patient
dealing with a medical issue.”
The FCMH/Adena partnership has been a factor in positive financial results
for FCMH who has seen a seven percent decline in total long-term debt
and a fifty-four percent increase in facility repairs and capital investments.
“The increase in our bottom line has allowed us to make facility
improvements that will ultimately enhance patient care and overall patient
satisfaction,” noted Diener.
Adena now has eight specialty departments that are housed on the FCMH campus
in the Adena Bone & Joint Clinic and the Adena Specialty Fayette office.
These include: Cardiology, Dermatology, Nephrology, Neurology, Ob/Gyn,
Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology. Just last week, a ninth specialty,
Oncology, was introduced as the two partners cut the ribbon opening the
new FCMH Cancer Care Clinic which will provide Fayette County residents
who have been diagnosed with cancer or a hematologic disorder local care.
As a result, the number of patients traveling outside the community for
care has declined two percent in the overall number of patients, and ten
percent in orthopedic patients. In the two years that the Adena Bone &
Joint Clinic has been on location, the average monthly visits have increased
twelve percent.
To Diener and Jeff Graham, Adena President & CEO, the affiliation is
a natural fit. According to the most recent data published by the Ohio
Hospital Association, Adena Health System is consistently second behind
Fayette County Memorial Hospital in inpatient, outpatient and ER market
share measures. “A combination of one or more Columbus Hospitals
(OSU, Mount Carmel, OhioHealth) typically take the third spot, with Clinton
Memorial and Miami Valley filling out the remainder of the list,”
explained Diener. This data confirms the observation that Fayette County
residents are typically oriented more toward the Chillicothe and Columbus markets.
“Adena’s partnership vision includes working with our region’s
health care partners to enable patients to be cared for locally, while
aligning and reducing the cost for care,” said Graham. “Our
successful partnership was born from conversations that identified specific
needs and clear strategies to assist Fayette County Memorial Hospital
in addressing those needs. After just one year of an official affiliation,
it is clear that the FCMH/Adena partnership is working for our patients,
the hospital and the community. As we continue down this path, I can guarantee
that we are committed to Fayette County and those we jointly serve.”
Graham added, “We continually hear from patients that they are grateful
our providers come to them. They have commented that they are happy not
to have to drive to Dayton or Cincinnati to see a doctor who can help
them manage and treat their condition locally.”
As a county-owned critical access hospital Fayette County Memorial Hospital
has had the flexibility to partner with larger systems. The organization
works closely with The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center for TeleStroke
and TeleMedicine services and is a member of The Ohio State Health Network,
which provides bulk purchasing and additional educational opportunities.
Specialists from Columbus and Cincinnati also utilize available clinic
space to offer services to patients. “Yes we are a smaller facility,
compared to others, but we have done a great job in partnering with larger,
neighboring providers to bring the care our patients require to the community,”
said Diener.
Through the Adena partnership even though a patient is being seen by an
Adena provider, they are having their testing and many of their procedures
done at FCMH. That incoming revenue is something that is lost when a patient
travels to see a specialist. If a patient goes to Dayton or Cincinnati
to see a specialist, they are going to be having their blood drawn there,
having their imaging done there, and having their surgery there. Not only
is that patient and their family inconvenienced with having to travel
back and forth to those facilities, FCMH loses out on the revenue that
could be captured right here in Washington Court House.
Future plans for the partnership include growing primary and specialty
care through joint recruitment efforts and advancing access to new technology
like surgical robotics. “We are keeping a constant eye on the healthcare
industry and are committed to adapting to meet community needs,”
Diener stated.