Scott Whalen, president and CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital, a member of the Allegheny Health Network, is overseeing a major redesign of health-care delivery, starting with patients’ primary care.
A NEW MODEL OF CARE Saint Vincent Hospital Takes Coordinated Approach to Improve Quality, Costs
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Scott Whalen, Ph.D., FACHE, president and CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital, has a unique perspective on the changes under way in the health-care industry. As head of Erie’s first hospital, which was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania in 1875 and now a member of the Allegheny Health Network (AHN), Whalen is overseeing a major overhaul as Saint Vincent redesigns its delivery of care to serve changing needs. According to Whalen, over the past five years, Saint Vincent Hospital has been leading the way with its new health-care delivery model, making improvements in how patients receive care from their doctors and specialists. “We’re really truly moving from a healthcare procedure company to a health company,” Whalen states. “That’s why wellness and prevention, all these changes, are so critically important.” In the fiercely competitive health-care industry, passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has placed a new emphasis on payment reform, prevention and
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FEBRUARY 2016 • mbabizmag.com
population health. The shift is transforming the industry from fee-for-service medicine, paid by the number of visits and tests ordered, to value-based care — highquality care at a lower cost. That means rethinking everything, from the scope of services provided to the way in which they’re delivered. Hospitals seeking to improve the quality of care and control cost are embracing new strategies — and bridging the gap between hospital and home. At Saint Vincent Hospital, administrators are actively implementing a coordinated care model focused on prevention and one that reduces readmission rates in chronic diseases. The hospital is also embarking on making its health and wellness services more convenient with the grand opening of its new AHN Health+ Wellness Pavilion Westside in Millcreek Township this spring. “We are really redefining how we deliver health care,” Whalen explains. “The concept is that in the past you would think about care as being segmented with inpatient and outpatient: You come
in, you’re discharged, and somehow we’re done with you. Now, the concept is just continually changing the level of care for the patient. That level of care can be at home. That level of care can be in the Health + Wellness Pavilion. That level of care can be in a hospital. It’s that coordinated movement that’s so important.” Patient Centered Medical Homes In the new ACA era, hospitals, like Saint Vincent, are focusing on what they do best — critical care, emergency visits and labor and delivery — while primary care offices will be the driving force of coordinated care across the network. Saint Vincent’s most progressive move in this direction has been the implementation of patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) in 17 of its 20 primary care physician (PCP) practices prior to the ACA’s required implementation date. The model, which has long been adopted in many pediatric offices, is accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and has five primary functions — compre-