Celebration
Report!
More than five years ago the leadership of St.
Mary’s Hospital began a journey to ring world-class healthcare to Northwest
Arkansas. This vision was sparked by Mrs. Evelyn Rife’s generous donation of
land that is now home to the new Mercy Medical Center campus. Yes, philanthropy
has been a vital element of this vision from the outset. We took on the
challenge of building a new $145 million campus and supporting it by raising $40
million in donated funds.
As we carried our message to the community, we
emphasized that it was to involve far more than the mere bricks and mortar of a
new facility. Instead, our vision was to be about:
Being one of the first hospitals in the nation to do so and thereby serving as
a model for institutions in Arkansas and nationwide.
The first milestone in our vision became a
reality on March 16, 2008 when our new Mercy Medical Center opened its doors.
Years of planning, countless hours of hard work and an unparalleled outpouring
of generous donations have helped usher in a new era in healthcare for residents
of Northwest Arkansas and the region. This new facility, advanced technology and
operational systems have positioned Mercy as the healthcare leader in our
community, and in many ways, a leader for healthcare in our nation.
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Continuing the Journey Our journey to world-class healthcare involves a
far‐reaching vision that will unfold over time. It represents a quantum leap –
for us as caregivers, as well as individual professionals serving our community.
We must remain committed to our central theme of transformation. However, we can
already point to several vital early accomplishments, as follows:
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Setting the Vision: providing a new
environment conducive to world‐class healthcare and using technology to bring
access to world class information to the point of decision making in NWA.
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Decentralizing Nursing: instituting a
new way of nursing in Northwest Arkansas
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Going Green: embracing environmentally
sound construction procedures
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Healing Environment:
incorporating core principles into the internal design of the medical center
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Epic Go-Live: the first entity in
Northwest Arkansas to begin using a fully integrated state-of-the art electronic
medical records system. This system is not common across the nation with less
than 10% of hospitals using digital technology in these applications – in our
case, we are leading our health system and the impact applies to both the
hospital and the clinic environment. Epic technical team has indicated that the NWA medical community excelled throughout the implementation phase. We now are
working on the real life application and use of the sophisticated tool.
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Mercy has developed sound work
processes and technology that is supporting patient care and business practices
as we continue our march into the 21
st
century. These processes and technology
are designed with primary outcomes in the following areas:
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Patient Safety
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Physician Decision Support
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Disease Management
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Teaching & Learning Opportunities
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Recruitment & Retention
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Quality Improvement
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Supply Chain Management
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Workplace Simplification
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Cost Benefit
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Medication Process Transformation
Education is a key component in affecting and
sustaining the operational changes that are vital to our vision of world-class
healthcare. This is occurring on two levels:
Developing a new generation of
digitally-oriented healthcare workers.
In order to achieve the full and comprehensive
transformation we have sought from the beginning, additional attention and
resources will need to be devoted to these areas in the coming months and years.
Currently, we are working very hard to
continue serving our patients with the highest levels of safety, quality and
service. It would not be possible for us to provide much needed care to our
underserved population in Northwest Arkansas were it not for the ongoing
generosity and support from so many individuals, families, companies and
foundations throughout the region. As we look back over the past five
years, it is clear that the beginning of our journey toward world‐class
healthcare emerged at a truly extraordinary time for this community. However,
only through our continued ability and willingness to develop partnerships will
we achieve the ultimate goal of making Northwest Arkansas a destination for
world‐class healthcare, improving services for all Arkansans and leading the way
in offering an exceptional model that serves communities nationwide. I want you
to be able to recognize and know the administrative team in the same way I have
enjoyed the relationship with you. This team has committed to continue the open
door access policy and will welcome your insights, contact, and communication.
Thank you for all you have done to help Mercy over the past years.
Thank you, also, for keeping Mercy close to your
hearts and worthy of your support for the future.
Positive Outcomes
Already we are being regarded as a model site in
the application of practical and innovative solutions to fundamental and
longstanding challenges in the healthcare industry. As a result of our
commitment to a clear and compelling vision along with the support of those who
invested in our efforts we are:
Affecting systemic
changes in the business and operational practices of healthcare
organizations.
Among the first to accomplish such an
extensive level of comprehensive automation.
Offering a model site for
the application of a comprehensive series of technological applications that
impact the entire patient and caregiver experience.
When this journey began, our
goal was set to recruit and grow the base of the physician community.
Interestingly, these over‐arching aspects of our
new facility have produced an immediate impact on our operations.
Consider the following:
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We have been “non-stop” since we opened
the doors to the public on March 16, 2008
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Medical admissions have been up 5%
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Emergency Room visits up 12%,
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Newborn deliveries are up 10%
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Patient Satisfaction scores are up 17%
For more information about the Mercy Health System Capital Campaign, please contact
Clark Ellison at (479) 338-2932 or
clark.ellison@roge.mercy.net
