Health Care in a Rapidly Changing County

How Beebe is meeting the challenges

BY ANDREW SHARP | PHOTOS BY DICK DUBROFF/FINAL FOCUS

DR. DAVID TAM was looking forward to the cross-country trip, a break between jobs. He was about to become the new president and CEO for Beebe Healthcare in Sussex County. But first, he planned to enjoy a week to himself, unplugging from the news cycle, taking in the scenery, and listening to audiobooks.

David A. Tam, MD, MBA, CPHE, FACHE, President & CEO, Beebe Healthcare

It was March 2020.

Tam was set to take on his new role in April, but his wife, Rebecca, called March 13, partway through his cross-country drive in a U-Haul from California. She had news about the novel coronavirus, which would later become COVID-19, that had been rampaging through China: It had arrived in the U.S.

So much for a relaxing trip. Tam launched into his new job weeks early with a crisis on his hands.

He’s guided Beebe through those turbulent times, which coincided with a number of other challenges downstate: A rapidly growing and increasingly elderly population, pockets of poverty in the community, a nationwide shortage of health care workers, changes in health care technology, and an increasingly diverse population dealing with some language barriers.

Those watching his leadership have been impressed. Veteran physician Ronald Blanck, who in his military career served among other roles as commander of Walter Reed Medical Center, has seen Tam’s career unfold over the past decades. Blanck, who now lives in Fenwick, says Tam brings commitment and dedication to his role.

“He came up at a very difficult, challenging time right at the beginning of COVID,” Blanck says. “And I thought he did a super job in making Beebe visible, in providing information to patients who were hungry for it … I think Beebe has and David has become a trusted source of that information.”

Tam has also done a great job bringing in top medical talent and getting out into the community, Blanck says.

Plunging into immediate conversations about COVID with local and state leaders helped Tam out as he started the job, relying on his Navy training as a retired captain and years as a physician leader and health care administrator.

“It gave me an opportunity to jump right in and accelerate the building of relationships,” he says.

A history of growth and change

Sussex County residents have been able to turn to Beebe since 1916, when Drs. James and Richard Beebe established a small hospital. Those few rooms were the first hospital space in the county. It has been growing ever since.

In the past few years, that growth has exploded. Beebe makes so many major announcements about new facilities or programs these days, it’s almost become a weekly ritual.

In particular, 2022 was a banner year, with the opening of a new Specialty Surgical Hospital in Rehoboth in May and the launch of a mobile health clinic in November, along with primary and specialty care offices throughout Sussex. In October, Beebe announced it has applied to build a new hybrid emergency department near Millsboro that would bring in doctors trained in emergency medicine for children, offer walk-in care and feature other medical offices.

These are not your typical “we’re adding a new doctor” announcements. Although there have been plenty of those, too.

That opportunity is part of what drew Tam to Beebe in the first place.

“The population down here has grown at a much more accelerated rate than even was anticipated four or five years ago. So, I think we need to continue to grow more,” Tam says.

An exploding county

Tam lists the population growth as one of the biggest challenges facing Beebe for a couple of reasons. As retirees flock to the area, they bring with them more medical needs than a younger population would have.

“The older patients will have more emergency room visits, will have more hospitalizations, and more admissions; will need more ancillary services like rehab or home care, physical and occupational therapy,” Tam says. At the same time there’s an increasing shortage of physicians, pharmacists, and nurses, which Beebe is heavily recruiting to coincide with its growth, he notes.

In this environment, Blanck praises Tam for not only bringing in staff, but making Beebe a top destination for talented doctors and specialists.

“(Beebe’s) reputation has been enhanced by his leadership and by his visibility,” Blanck says.

Tam estimates Beebe has recruited about 160 physicians and other health care practitioners during his tenure, but it’s also training its own future health care workers. Beebe is adding a new family medicine residency program. That will start in 2023, and, Tam notes, it gives the doctors three years to learn to love Sussex County and stay on to work here.

Diverse people with unique needs

Young doctors in training will learn to meet the specific needs of the area—specializing not just in family medicine, but in Sussex, Tam says.

It’s an area with growing Hispanic and Haitian populations, he points out. These add a new element to what was already a diverse community. And while the county is increasingly urban in some areas, other parts remain quite rural.

“We’re placing an emphasis on ensuring that we have a diverse faculty,” Tam says, and also focusing on taking health care toward the center of the county.

“It is my personal and professional belief that the best health care is delivered when we are able to be culturally sensitive to people,” Tam says.

Beebe has made big strides in this area, according to Bernice Edwards, executive director of First State Community Action Agency in Georgetown. Edwards is a longtime resident of the area, and both of her children were born at Beebe, so she’s had years to observe the institution’s growth. She sees a real commitment to fairness and diversity from Beebe’s leadership.

Her agency, which serves people dealing with poverty, has been working with Beebe for some time, she says, but the partnership reached a new level during the pandemic.

Sussex County residents have been able to turn to Beebe since 1916, when Drs. James and Richard Beebe established a small hospital. Those few rooms were the first hospital space in the county. It has been growing ever since.

“When everything hit with COVID, Beebe Healthcare stepped up to the plate. They did not flinch. And I know that’s under the leadership of Dr. Tam,” she says.

It’s about building trust and an understanding of how to access health care, Edwards says, in the communities her agency works with. Those are often made up of minorities, but poverty also cuts across race lines in Sussex County. Beebe came out into the community and offered COVID tests and vaccines, Edwards says, and while they were at it helped meet other health care needs.

Heart disease and high blood pressure are an issue, especially in the Black and Brown communities, she says.

That’s where Beebe’s mobile clinic will make a difference.

“If you’re coming in their community, and they’re seeing some people who look like them, who they trust, they’re more inclined to come get on that mobile unit,” Edwards says.

Looking to Beebe’s future

Bringing health care to where it’s needed and treating people in their homes is both a modern shift and a throwback to the way doctors used to make house calls.

“We have an opportunity to get back to our roots in some ways and still provide care of the highest caliber,” Tam says. And he’s upbeat about the nonprofit health system’s financial position despite the challenges of the pandemic.

While some hospitals struggled during the pandemic, Beebe actually continued to be financially strong, Tam says. “We did not cut any salaries; we didn’t lay a single person off. We ensured that everyone had their benefits.”

Now, Beebe is looking to the future with the recent release of its five-year plan, emphasizing “One Beebe.” It focuses on patient service, commitment to both the community and Beebe staff, and more agile decision-making.

“You’ve got to have a goal. And without a plan, that goal is simply a dream,” Tam says.

“At Beebe,” he says, “we have a mission to serve the people who live, work, visit and seek care in Sussex County. It’s not just a tagline. It’s a way for us to try and get the entire health system to focus on doing things.”

He’s hopeful about the path ahead. “What excites me is the fact that there is so much possibility here in Sussex County and at Beebe Healthcare.”