11 | Coulee Medical Center
The first six months and beyond
In response to this, Graham has jumpstarted
J. Scott Graham, chief executive officer, said the
employees what the executive team is doing and fa-
first six months after the move were consumed
cilitate communication back to them with ideas the
with becoming acclimated to Coulee’s new sur-
staff has for improving the hospital. Graham said
roundings.
they’ve also started holding open forums with the
“Before, we really had the task of working from
several initiatives to better communicate to the
staff on a quarterly basis and have what they call a
the build-up to the new building and all that was
CEO Roadshow where they go to every department
going to mean,” he explained. “Now, it’s ‘What do
meeting on a rotating basis and essentially conduct
we do with the rest of our lives in the new build-
an open Q&A period.
ing?,’ especially in sustaining a culture of continuous improvement.”
Lately, these sessions have been centering around Coulee’s mission and vision. The team
Since the move, Graham said Coulee has expe-
asks those at the forum to grade how they feel the
rienced a few leadership changes, further refining
executive branch is doing in meeting the vision,
the executive and leadership team. Consultants
mission, and goals of the organization.
have been brought in from Virginia Mason Institute
So far, they haven’t received any Fs or Ds, Gra-
to train the staff in Lean Management. Graham
ham said, adding, “Everybody generally says they’re
noted that this was Virginia Mason’s first experi-
seeing a lot of good improvement, so we feel we’re
ence in training at a critical-access hospital.
going in the direction that we should.”
This training led to the hiring of a Lean consultant from Joan Wellman and Associates, a firm
Bringing IT home
that specializes in applying Lean principles to rural
In May 2011, Coulee took the step of hiring an IT
healthcare environments. Coulee’s goal is to go
director for the facility. It had previously contracted
through the entire facility over the next several
these services out to an organization in Spokane,
years and make sure that everything is being run as
Wash. Graham stated that the hiring was somewhat
efficiently and effectively as possible.
of a departure for Coulee, but the director, Doug
Coulee also conducted a comprehensive employee-engagement survey and received mostly positive feedback.
McLeod, comes with extensive healthcare and management experience. Graham said McLeod’s strategic capacity,
“We were actually quite taken aback by that, es-
maturity, and technical expertise is a real find for
pecially considering all the upheaval we have been
Coulee, and he has been well-received by the hos-
in with the move,” Graham said.
pital’s staff.
Nevertheless, a few areas of improvement were identified, mainly in communication.
Coulee has also been a member of the Critical Access Hospital Network, a group of critical-access
Coulee Medical Center When HCE last covered Coulee Medical Center of Grand Coulee, Wash., (Editor’s Note to Production Staff: Please insert story link http://www.healthcareix. com/2011/04/coulee-medical-center-scott-graham-ceo/ here. Thanks!-Pete), the organization had just moved into its brand-new facility and was looking forward with great optimism. One year later, that optimism is still intact.
hospitals in the region that collaborate on IT needs. As part of this collaboration, Coulee will lend McLeod out to the other hospitals in the network as their CIO. So far, Graham said some innovative measures have been accomplished thanks to this partnership. Coulee also signed on with Clarity Medical Systems in an effort to conduct rural health-clinic case management better. Clarity uses a web portal that streamlines an organization’s ability to refer patients elsewhere, but also to find out what happens to them, keep track of outcomes, and bring them back to the hospital when the time is right.
Working with the community and legislature Graham said it is part of Coulee’s corporate philosophy to help the community not just by providing healthcare services, but also by promoting wellness. To this end, Coulee has been working with its local government to construct a community wellness center. So far, the hospital has secured grant money, signed a consultant with experience in building these facilities around the country, and is actively fundraising for the center. The hospital has also been dealing with legislative issues that affect critical-access care, especially with regards to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. Critical-access hospitals are reimbursed on a cost basis through both programs, the end of 2011 would have eliminated cost-based
Bringing business and healthcare together
reimbursements for critical-access hospitals.
With the healthcare paradigm changing, Graham
and a Washington-state initiative introduced at
Graham said that Coulee has been working with
feels that it is increasingly important for organiza-
legislators to try to reverse that and was grateful
tions to balance business principles with caregiving
that the legislative session came to an end without
values.
any of the cuts being enacted. Coulee continues to
“My impression is that healthcare is rapidly
work on keeping the community informed should
becoming an arena where we have to be solid
this measure ever reenter the discussion and is
business people as well as caregivers,” he stated.
grateful for the added time to prepare for the inevi-
“And the technology, the tools, and the methods
table tightening up of resources in the future.
that make a business viable and well-run need to
Additionally, Coulee has opposed and will
be applied to healthcare. Technology and IT is one
continue to oppose legislative attempts to mandate
of those fundamental tools. We just think you have
nurse-patient ratios.
to be looking forward all the time and positioning
“We’ve seen concerns about breaks and meals for nurses that have gone into the legislature, so
yourself to remain efficient, effective, and competitive.”
we’ve had to be very active and in fact very proactive in making sure that the folks that represent us
by Pete Fernbaugh
understand what’s at stake should these measures
J. Scott Graham, Chief Executive Officer
go into effect,” Graham explained. HCE EXCHANGE MAGAZINE
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