Bayhealth Fiscal Year 2024 Community Benfits Report
BAYHEALTH
FISCAL YEAR 2024 COMMUNITY BENEFITS REPORT
A Hearty Focus on Community Outreach
At the center of Bayhealth’s strategic plan are people. In FY24, Bayhealth served 21,377 community members through outreach initiatives.
Plus:
Expanding Health Care Beyond Hospital Walls
Our Community Benefits Data 5 Years at Bayhealth Sussex Campus with Sights on Future
Dear Community Members,
I am pleased to share with you Bayhealth’s Fiscal Year 2024
Community Benefit Report, a reflection of our dedication to advancing health and well-being across central and southern Delaware.
At Bayhealth, our commitment runs deep. This year, we have strengthened partnerships that enable us to better serve our community. Our collaboration with Unite Delaware has enhanced our ability to connect individuals to essential resources and services, while our Mobile Care Unit reached more than 30,000 community members, delivering screenings to people throughout Kent and Sussex counties.
Through our Graduate Medical Education (GME) program, we are training the next generation of physicians, who are already making a difference by providing sports physicals, free skin screenings, and more.
We are also proud of our ongoing partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware, which is expanding access to nutritious food for families in need, helping to support overall health and wellness.
Our Bayhealth Cancer Institute has increased breast cancer screenings across Kent and Sussex
counties, making early detection services more accessible to women close to home.
Additionally, our more than 500 dedicated volunteers give their time and energy to support our mission, extending our reach and impact within the community.
Our growth means we’re creating more access to services to meet the needs of our growing community. We are proud of our progress and the difference we continue to make in Sussex County. Across central Delaware, we’ve more recently expanded and added outpatient and walk-in services, and we have our sights on a future expansion of the Kent Campus that will create more private patient rooms for a better experience.
Bayhealth takes our community partnerships to heart, and we are honored by the trust and support you place in us. Together, we are making Delaware a healthier place to live, work, and thrive.
Thank you for your support of our mission to strengthen the health of our community one life at a time.
Warm regards,
Terry M. Murphy, FACHE President and CEO, Bayhealth
Dear Neighbors,
At the heart and forefront of volunteerism at Bayhealth are two organizations with longstanding records of bolstering patient care in our region – the Junior Board of Bayhealth Kent Campus and the Auxiliary of Bayhealth Sussex Campus. Both groups have decades of giving and service to their credit and have provided millions of dollars of philanthropic support for Bayhealth.
Recently, the Junior Board of Bayhealth Kent Campus made a gift of $50,000 to help pay for the new heart catheterization lab. With gifts going back to at least 1948 and totaling nearly $3 million, the Junior Board has been a steadfast source of support for the Kent Campus.
The Auxiliary of Bayhealth Sussex Campus has been active in fundraising to support many programs at our hospital in Milford for numerous years. Their most recent gift, also of $50,000, was directed toward the new Bayhealth Ann L. Burton Center for
Children that is being planned for our Bayhealth Sussex Campus. The Auxiliary has provided approximately $2.2 million to the hospital since the 1997 creation of Bayhealth with the merger of Milford Memorial Hospital and Kent General Hospital.
Both the Auxiliary and Junior Board are to be thanked and applauded for their outstanding efforts to improve health care in our region.
Contact the Bayhealth Foundation by calling 302-744-7015, emailing Foundation@Bayhealth.org or visiting Bayhealth.org/ Foundation to learn more about how your financial contributions can support the mission of Bayhealth.
Sincerely,
Lindsay A. Rhodenbaugh, DMin Bayhealth Foundation President
A Hearty Focus on Community Outreach
At the center of Bayhealth’s strategic plan are people – the patients and community members served both inside and outside our facilities. With people in mind, Bayhealth further invested in community outreach efforts by building a team solely committed to making positive impacts for those in greatest need. In Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), Bayhealth served 21,377 community members through outreach initiatives, up from 5,587 people served in FY23.
Community Outreach and Partnership Manager Carrie Hart says the first-year strategy of the team was driven by data. Both the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) screenings of Bayhealth’s inpatients and outpatients tell us the areas where community members need our support.
A Look at First-Year Successes
• Created an online tool for community organizations to ask for Bayhealth’s attendance or financial sponsorship of events. We carefully consider which sponsorships and partnerships to pursue as they must align with our mission and positively impact our community members’ lives.
• Further expanded existing partnerships with key community partners and established new partnerships, like Free Bikes 4 Kidz Delaware, the Food Bank of Delaware, Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity, Delaware State University Athletics, and others.
• Hit the road in our new Bayhealth Mobile Care Unit, delivering screenings, vaccinations, hygiene and NARCAN ® kits, and more.
• Created a Speakers Bureau, where community members may request attendance of a Bayhealth clinician or leader to provide talks to clubs, places of worship, and other organizations in our community.
• Established partnership and monthly cadence with Springboard Village in Georgetown, Delaware, where we deliver health screenings and health education to their community.
In FY24, Bayhealth served 21,377 community members through outreach initiatives, up from 5,587 people served in FY23.
A Look at Community Health Needs Assessment Results
Using the most recent information available – the 2022 CHNA – teams across the organization including Population Health and Community Outreach implemented programs that targeted the areas of greatest need over the last few years, including mental health and social determinants of health initiatives, among others.
Mental Health Initiatives
• Bayhealth Medical Group primary care practices integrated behavioral health clinicians to allow direct and immediate referrals for patients. Clinicians are already seeing the benefit to their patients.
• Four Bayhealth Medical Group practices now have a behavioral health navigation service that coordinates behavioral health therapy services for hospital patients or those being discharged. In the first seven months of the program, 800 patients were seen.
• Bayhealth improved the physical appearance and layout of its behavioral health rooms in our emergency departments to offer a safe and calming environment.
Social Determinants of Health
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the nonmedical factors that impact a person’s health and longevity. These factors include income, education, employment, housing, environment, social support, and access to health care. Approximately 90% of inpatients are screened for SDOH, with an average of 15% qualifying. The two highest needs are typically food insecurity and transportation.
Food Insecurity Initiatives:
• Partnered with Unite Delaware – a coordinated care network consisting of healthcare, government, nonprofit, and other organizations. Patients are referred to Unite Delaware if they face SDOH challenges.
• Partnered with Food Bank of Delaware and American Heart Association of Delaware on the 302 Food Rescue app. Anyone can download the app and start rescuing food from donors like restaurants and grocery stores and deliver the food to a set location like the Food Bank of Delaware. In just 30 days, the app sees about 110 rescues and about 19,000 pounds of food rescued, which is equal to roughly 16,000 meals.
Transportation Initiatives:
• Purchased a new Cancer Center Patient Transport Van using funds raised from the Auxiliary throughout 2022, as well as funds raised at the Bayhealth Foundation Southern DE Golf Tournaments. The van is used to transport eligible radiation therapy patients to and from daily appointments at Bayhealth’s Kent and Sussex Campuses over several weeks of treatment, helping to relieve the burden of transportation.
Approximately 90% of inpatients are screened for SDOH, with an average of 15% qualifying. The two highest needs are typically food insecurity and transportation.
• Started giving low-sodium, low-sugar food boxes to inpatients in March 2023 and outpatients in September 2023. This program was designed as a stopgap between the time when a patient is identified as food insecure and when the long-term solutions start. About 890 food boxes were given to patients in FY24.
• Established our first annual Hunger Doesn’t Stop campaign to collect over 1,300 pounds of food for the Food Bank.
• Partnered with Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, HELP Initiative, and others on the Energy Resilient and Healthy Homes Initiative (ERH2). Interventions were offered to patients, such as counseling on ways to save energy, installation of energy-saving products, and Healthy and Safe Home Kits.
When the results of the 2025 CHNA are finalized and the implementation plan is created, Hart will lead efforts to create meaningful programs and solutions. Visit Bayhealth.org/CommunityOutreach to learn more.
Bayhealth’s Fight Against Breast Cancer Elevated Through Expanded Go Pink!
Efforts
The Bayhealth Cancer Institute elevated Go Pink! efforts in Fiscal Year 2024 to further support breast cancer awareness, provide free screenings, and educate the community on the importance of getting screened. More information can be found at Bayhealth.org/Classes.
The 18th consecutive year of our T-shirt fundraising efforts yielded $60,000 that was used to assist patients with accessing screening mammograms by reducing financial barriers and to help raise awareness around the importance of early detection and scheduling an annual mammogram.
Bayhealth hosted the first annual Go Pink! at the Rink event – a free community event at Dover Skating Center that offered complimentary clinical breast exams in our Health on the Move mobile unit as well as breast cancer education and a fun evening of skating. Over 200 community members attended, and several screenings were performed.
The Bayhealth Foundation also showed support by coining their longstanding Fall Golf Tournament “Go Pink! at the Links.” Hosted at Heritage Shores Golf Course in Bridgeville, the event raised an additional $54,000 for the fight against breast cancer in our communities.
Visit Bayhealth.org/Foundation to support the Cancer Center and the patients they serve.
Postpartum Bracelet Program
Keeps New Moms Healthy
Bayhealth launched its postpartum bracelet program in FY24 designed to provide enhanced care for new mothers during the critical weeks following childbirth. This program issues bracelets to newly delivered moms to wear for six weeks post-delivery, serving as a crucial alert to emergency room clinicians that health concerns may be obstetric-related.
Newly delivered patients are given a pink bracelet, and patients experiencing pregnancy or infant loss are given a white bracelet. The bracelets are designed to be easily noticeable and contain critical information about the patient’s recent delivery. This visual cue helps emergency medical services personnel and emergency room clinicians quickly assess and prioritize care, minimizing delays that could arise from a lack of immediate context about the patient’s recent obstetric history.
The implementation of the postpartum bracelet program aligns with Bayhealth’s commitment to patient-centered care and its ongoing efforts to enhance maternal health services. Since its inception earlier this year, the program has benefited several women who received the timely and appropriate care needed. Visit Bayhealth.org/Services/Womens-Childrens-Health for more information about Bayhealth’s maternal health services.
Bayhealth and the Food Bank of Delaware
Continue Partnership
New Partnership Initiatives
Bayhealth introduced the “Hunger Doesn’t Stop After the Holidays” food drive initiative aimed at addressing food insecurity within the community. Over the course of two weeks in January 2024, Bayhealth collected over 1,300 pounds of non-perishable food items from the Kent and Sussex Campuses, as well as Bayhealth at Blue Hen. These donations were delivered to the Food Bank of Delaware Milford location.
302 Food Rescue
Bayhealth is continuing the partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware on the 302 Food Rescue initiative to help combat food insecurity.
During the year, the 302 Food Rescue initiative had over 1,000 rescues. This equates to:
• Over 250,000 pounds of food
• Over 200,000 meals
• 1 million pounds of CO2 prevented
Hunger Relief Box Initiative
Bayhealth continues to identify food insecurity as the second highest concern for community members.
To combat this need among patients and team members, Bayhealth, alongside the Food Bank of Delaware, remains committed to providing free boxes of food to those with food insecurity.
A total of 121 inpatients and 68 staff used the free service. In FY24 more than 800 boxes were distributed to food insecure community members.
Bayhealth was awarded the 2024 Lt. Governor’s challenge Wellness Leadership Award for its Hunger Relief Box initiative.
Get Involved
Community members are welcome to join initiatives that Bayhealth has established with the Food Bank of Delaware. Visit 302FoodRescue.org to become a food rescuer today.
Team members across Bayhealth donated 1,300 pounds of food that were delivered to the Food Bank of Delaware on the Bayhealth Mobile
Care Unit.
Free Bikes 4 Kidz Delaware and Bayhealth
Pedal Forward to Benefit Local Youth
In addition to fixing broken bones and healing hearts, Bayhealth also helps bring smiles. One initiative led by Bayhealth’s Chief Wellness Officer, Tom Vaughan, MD, is doing just that for our youngest community members – and encouraging healthy lifestyles – by providing donated bikes to children and youth most in need. In early 2023, Dr. Vaughan and Bayhealth teamed up to launch a new chapter of the national nonprofit organization Free Bikes 4 Kidz (FB4K). With Bayhealth as a premiere and founding sponsor, FB4K Delaware is now almost two years in and has given away more than 400 bikes to low-income and underserved children in central and southern Delaware.
The initiative got a jumpstart when a free shipment of over 300 bicycles was given by Kent International Inc. to the newly established chapter. FB4K Delaware and Bayhealth planned their first volunteer assembly day on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. More than 115 volunteers from Bayhealth, corporate and nonprofit partners including
Delaware State University (DSU), and the greater community gathered at Blue Hen Corporate Center in Dover. With a tremendous turnout and overflowing enthusiasm for the cause, the volunteer group managed to assemble over 300 bikes in under four hours’ time.
FB4K Delaware held its first giveaway day at DSU’s Alumni Stadium in May 2023. At this volunteer-driven event, kids got to pick out their bike and helmet, learn bike safety skills, enjoy outdoor activities with their families, and gather health-related materials, including food boxes provided by the Food Bank of Delaware’s Mobile Food Pantry.
To learn more about volunteering, donating, or applying to be a benefiting partner, visit FB4KDelaware.org and follow Free Bikes 4 Kidz Delaware on Facebook.
to its Community
Bayhealth’s Graduate Medical Education Program is Committed
Just three years ago, Bayhealth made history when it became a teaching hospital and welcomed its first classes of residents. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Bayhealth Family Medicine, Dover, and Bayhealth Internal Medicine, Milford, practices have cared for approximately 15,269 patients.
From Bayhealth’s most recent internal medicine and family medicine graduating class, four members have decided to call Bayhealth and its community home:
Nwando Tony-Onugu, MD, is a hospitalist providing inpatient care at Bayhealth hospitals.
Michael Sabry Daniel, DO, was hired as an Apogee hospitalist working at Bayhealth.
Paulina McCabe, DO, is a new family medicine physician at the Bayhealth Primary Care, Milford practice.
Kendall Barton, MD, is a family medicine physician at the new Bayhealth Primary Care, Blue practice in Dover.
Two additional internal medicine residents, Matt Moorman, DO, and Shereen Salfity, MD, were selected to remain at Bayhealth an additional year as chief residents and academic hospitalists.
Residents have shown their commitment to the well-being of our community through providing free skin screenings and participating in Bayhealth’s Walk with a Doc program.
The Bayhealth Walk with a Doc program aims to encourage community members to get some exercise, learn about current health topics, and meet other members of the community. Each month in FY24, about 15 community members participated in Bayhealth’s Walk with a Doc program.
Visit BayhealthGME.org to learn more about Bayhealth’s Graduate Medical Education. Visit Bayhealth.org/Foundation if you’d like to financially support Bayhealth’s GME programs.
With skin cancer so prevalent in our communities, the Bayhealth Family Medicine team provided free skin screenings.
Bayhealth Family Medicine performed 79 free sports physicals for local athletes in their Dover practice.
Walking the Path of Wellness with Bayhealth’s “Walk with a Doc” Partnership
Walk with a Doc is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire communities through movement and conversation. The Bayhealth Walk with a Doc program aims to encourage community members to get some exercise, learn about current health topics, and meet other members of the community. Through this event, our neighbors, friends and family are able to talk one-on-one with a physician about their health-related interests.
Prior to the walks, a Bayhealth physician gives a brief talk on various health topics. Each walk is open and free to all members of the community. Walk with a Doc is offered on the first Sunday of every month at 11 a.m. at Brecknock County Park, 80 Old Camden Rd., Camden, DE 19934.
Through Bayhealth’s Walk with a Doc program, members of the community are able to enjoy a refreshing and rejuvenating walk with various Bayhealth physicians and other healthcare professionals who will provide support to participants and answer questions during the walk.
In Fiscal Year 2024, the Walk with a Doc program welcomed approximately 15 community members each month.
Visit Bayhealth.org/Classes to learn more.
Helping Older Delawareans Find Balance
Bayhealth offers “A Matter of Balance”, a program specifically designed to reduce the fear of falling and improve activity levels among older adults. This free program includes eight two-hour classes presented to a small group led by trained coaches. Participants learn about the importance of exercise in preventing falls and practice exercises to improve strength, coordination, and balance.
In Fiscal Year 2024, Bayhealth hosted four classes, and more than 30 community members across central and southern Delaware attended the free program. Bayhealth provides the meeting location, materials, and instructor at no cost to participants.
This program is offered to the public thanks to a partnership with Volunteer Delaware 50+ and the State Office of Volunteerism.
For more information about “A Matter of Balance” classes, visit Bayhealth’s Classes and Events page at Bayhealth.org/Classes or call 302-744-7135. Remember, it’s never too late to start improving your balance and overall physical well-being.
The following stats were provided by client, and would be good to include if possible
Breakdown of service type for FY24:
Health on the Move
Bayhealth traveled over 6,000 miles throughout central and southern Delaware to expand healthcare access by meeting community members where they are in Fiscal Year 2024. The 38-foot mobile unit, equipped with a private exam room, brought complimentary health screenings and education to statewide events throughout the year, including the Delaware State Fair, Lewes Women’s Expo, and Dover Pride Festival. New partnerships with the Frederica Senior Center and Springboard Village in Georgetown enhanced healthcare services for vulnerable community members. Services on the mobile unit include physicals, cancer education, blood pressure screenings, clinical breast exams, and assistance with appointment scheduling.
Eye on Elder Care: Age-Friendly Health Systems
Aging can bring wisdom, experience, and often complex medical conditions. Bayhealth understands that our older patients may need extra attention while in the hospital, and offers specialty training as part of the national Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) program.
Both Bayhealth Kent and Sussex campuses achieved recognition as an Age-Friendly Health System – Committed to Care Excellence by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
“More than 50% of the population we serve at Bayhealth is older adults,” said Felicia Cruz, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, RN-BC, geriatric clinical nurse specialist. “NICHE’s specialized training can help us provide the best care for older adult patients and teach our nurses and nursing assistants about various factors that can prevent adverse outcomes.”
The team on 5B at the Sussex Campus began with NICHE training in early 2023 with a focus on hospital-acquired delirium – using a multidisciplinary
approach that includes nurses, physicians, nursing informatics, information technology, and pharmacy. The development of evidencebased practices to prevent and manage delirium is helping keep our patients safe and decreasing their length of stay in the hospital. The goal is to eventually expand the program to all inpatient units at Bayhealth.
“Our nurses are expanding and innovating care. There is a difference in the way they are thinking about things,” said Jennifer Klink, BSN, RN, 5B clinical coordinator. “They recognize a patient’s confusion and consider the best course of action for that person.”
NICHE also provides resources in preventing other hospital-acquired health conditions such as falls, depression, dementia, poly-pharmacy dehydration, poor nutrition, pain, and skin breakdown.
“We are teaching evidence-based, best practices for caring for older adults,” said Cruz. “NICHE’s mission and care model aligns with other organizational initiatives, and the training provides nursing with the tools to appropriately manage geriatric syndromes, which supports better patient outcomes.”
NICHE’s specialized training can help us provide the best care for older adult patients and teach our nurses and nursing assistants about various factors that can prevent adverse outcomes.
Expanding Health Care Beyond Hospital Walls
In August 2023, Bayhealth formed a partnership with Unite Delaware, a technology company that coordinates health and social care services. Together, Bayhealth and Unite Delaware extend care beyond the hospital setting by addressing social determinants of health and making sure patients have resources to maintain their health at home.
Since March 2020, Bayhealth has been screening for social determinants of health in both inpatient and primary care settings. Clinicians assess patients to identify potential vulnerabilities, including access to food and other essential resources. With the addition of this platform, Bayhealth team members can now refer patients to Unite Delaware and connect the patient with organizations that can address these inequities.
In Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), a total of 619 patients benefited from the program. Among Bayhealth Medical Group patients, the need for
Among Bayhealth Medical Group patients, the need for emergency department visits during FY24 decreased 50% thanks to patients’ social determinants of health being addressed appropriately and efficiently.
emergency department visits during FY24 decreased 50% thanks to patients’ social determinants of health being addressed appropriately and efficiently.
For more information about this innovative partnership and its impact on community health, visit Bayhealth.org or Delaware.UniteUs.com.
1 The Student Summer Volunteer Program welcomed 52 young adults in FY24. They volunteered more than 2,300 hours to support team members across Bayhealth. Visit Bayhealth.org/Volunteer to learn more.
2 Bayhealth was awarded the 2024 Lt. Governor’s Challenge Wellness Leadership Award for its Hunger Relief Box initiative that supplies low sodium food boxes to patients in need. See page 8 for details on our Food Bank of Delaware partnerships.
3 We’ve partnered with the Blood Bank of Delmarva for years to host blood drives at our campuses where team members and our community donate to save lives.
4 Bayhealth, the premiere signature sponsor for the 2023 Southern Delaware Heart Walk, led the effort in fundraising for the second year in a row with over $48,000 donated. Bayhealth team members, clinicians, and supporters donned their bright blue shirts and celebrated another successful year of fundraising on behalf of the American Heart Association of Delaware (AHA).
5 The Diagnostic Imaging team at our Sussex Campus collected school supplies for a local elementary school for children to have a great start to the school year.
6 Across Bayhealth there are programs that are supporting healthcare professionals in growing and thriving in their careers. The inaugural Administrative Fellowship program at Bayhealth welcomed Aryssa Prodafikas in July. She is a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) candidate at George Washington University (GWU), Milken Institute School of Public Health. The program is specific to GWU students working toward their MHA.
7 Bayhealth is a proud sponsor of Girls on the Run (GOTR) Delaware. GOTR is an organization that encourages young girls of all abilities to recognize, celebrate and build upon their strengths through working toward the goal of finishing a 5K at the end of the season.
8 Bayhealth and the Capital School District celebrated a decade of partnership at the 10th annual Project SEARCH Graduation ceremony. Project SEARCH is a unique one-year program that helps high school graduates with developmental disabilities gain work experience at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus. Over 10 years, 99 interns have graduated from the Project SEARCH program with an employment rate of 75%.
9 Bayhealth partnered with Schell Brothers and their Adopt-A-Mom initiative to shower new moms with love in celebration of Mother ’s Day. Throughout the month, a total of 45 moms on the Women’s & Children’s units at both campuses received self-care boxes and a sweet reminder to remember to take care of themselves, too.
10 To celebrate Nurses Week and Hospital Week in May, the planning committee crafted events around the theme – “Home Team, Your Team –Celebrating Bayhealth’s MVPs.” Much like a high school’s homecoming festivities, the weeks were filled with pep rallies, pom poms, free food, fun, and a homecoming court.
The Home Team Court was made up of individuals across the organization who were nominated by their peers. They campaigned for votes – for every dollar raised, they received one vote. This group collectively raised $8,787 in just two weeks all to benefit the Team Member Assistance Fund and the new childcare center at the Sussex Campus. Care Management Associate Precious Brown was named Home Team Court MVP and received an overnight stay and dinner courtesy of Bally’s for raising $3,323. Visit Bayhealth.org/Foundation to support the Team Member Assistance Fund.
11 Bayhealth launched the “Scrub In” podcast to explore personal stories, practical lessons, insights into innovation, health education, and more. We talk with the doctors, healthcare professionals, and community members who reflect the hope, healing, and humanity that inspires us all. You can listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, GooglePlay, and YouTube or go to Bayhealth.org/ Scrub-In today. Be sure to leave us a review!
COMMUNITY BENEFITS FY2024
FY2024 BY THE NUMBERS
BAYHEALTH VISITS BAYHEALTH MEDICAL GROUP CLINIC VISITS
Average Daily Visitors: 281
Average Length of Stay (Days): 5.51
Number of Inpatients: 18,601
Births: 2,249
Emergency Department Visits: 126,199 Diagnostic Imaging Procedures: 288,980
Surgical Cases: 21,088 Lab Tests: 1,706,024
Physical Therapy Visits: 51,921
Endocrinology: 9,674
Maternal Fetal Medicine: 4,231
8,883
VOLUNTEER IMPACT IN FY2024
Bayhealth is Committed to the Community
We’re proud to be a strong supporter of local organizations! On top of the work we do to keep the community healthy, we aim to support organizations who are doing great work to better our community in other ways. Here is a list of the community-focused organizations that we showed financial support to in Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024:
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Heart Association
Biggs Museum
Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware Inc
Brain Injury Association of Delaware Inc
Camp Rehoboth Inc
Cancer Support Community Delaware
Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce
Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity
Children’s Beach House
City of Dover
Colonial Rotary Club of Dover
DE Turf Sports Complex
Delaware Academy of Family Physicians
Delaware Academy of Medicine
Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition
Delaware Diabetes Coalition
Delaware End-of-Life Coalition
Delaware Nurses Association
Delaware Organization of Nursing Leadership
Delaware Pride Inc
Delaware Prostate Cancer Coalition
Delaware Quality of Life Coalition
Delaware Resorts Expos
Delaware State Chamber of Commerce
Delaware State News (Thrive 55 event)
Delaware State University
Delaware Tech & Community College
Destination Downtown Dover
Dover Motor Speedway
Downtown Milford Inc
Easter Seals Delaware & Maryland ’s East
Elizabeth W. Murphy School Inc
Food Bank of Delaware
Forever Media of DE LLC - Women’s Expo
Free Bikes 4 Kidz - Delaware
Gals That Give
Girls on the Run Delaware
Harry K Foundation
Hope Medical Clinic
Hope Medical Dental Clinic Inc
Kent Economic Partnership
Kent-Sussex Industries Inc
Leadership Delaware Inc
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Delaware Chapter
Long Neck Sunrise Rotary Club
Main Street Dover
Meals on Wheels Delaware Inc
Medical Society of Delaware
Milford Chamber of Commerce
Milford Rotary Club
Modern Maturity Center Inc
Parkinson’s Education and Support Group
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Rehoboth Beach/Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce
Ronald McDonald House of Delaware
Shell Brothers Foundation
Tabitha Medical Care
The Delaware State Fair
The Healthcare Leadership Network of the Delaware Valley (HLNDV)
The Nanticoke Indian Association Inc
Town of Smyrna
Transformation AME Zion Church
Trinity Foundation
United Way of Delaware Inc
Voice Radio LLC (Maxima Festival)
Westside Family Healthcare Inc
Five Years at Bayhealth Sussex Campus with Sights on Future
On Feb. 5, 2024, Bayhealth marked the five-year anniversary of the opening of Bayhealth Hospital and Outpatient Center, Sussex Campus in Milford. On that date in 2019, we carefully moved patients from Milford Memorial Hospital to the new Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus.
“Ever since, Bayhealth has been on an upward path that is transforming the health and health care of the people we serve in the southern region,” said Bayhealth President and CEO Terry M. Murphy, FACHE. “Our commitment to this community and to each other can be felt the moment you walk through our doors. It’s a commitment to providing leading-edge medicine to a region and meeting the health and social needs of an entire community –now and for generations to come.”
Just one year after opening, in fall 2020, Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus was named a Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group.
Bayhealth was one of only 105 hospitals in the U.S. to receive this designation and the only hospital in the state of Delaware to receive this honor.
Shortly after opening the new facility, construction began on the Nemours Building, Sussex Campus – a shared medical office building with Nemours Children’s Health. It fully opened adjacent to the hospital and outpatient center in 2021. The 35,000-square-foot,
three-story building contains offices for Bayhealth doctors on the second and third floors. Services include primary care, ENT, endocrinology, maternity care, urology, bariatrics, neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and cardiology.
Nemours Children’s Health offers services on the first floor for pediatric and select senior patients.
Changes within the hospital and outpatient center include an additional 24 private patient rooms on the fifth floor and an expansion of our
Women’s and Children’s Services program with an additional five private birthing rooms as well as a planned separate operating room reserved for C-section patients right down the hall.
Bayhealth also partnered with PAM Health to build a rehabilitation hospital on the site which opened in October 2024. The new stand-alone location sits on the Bayhealth Sussex Campus and is equipped with 40 private rooms, an in-house pharmacy and gyms with state-of-theart therapeutic equipment for outpatient and inpatient therapy. Construction also began on
the Bayhealth Ann L. Burton Center for Children meant to support team members and their families and set to open in late 2025.
What’s more, over the next 10 years, the community will see a wide range of Bayhealth facilities and services flourish in the county as part of Bayhealth’s master plan. The Sussex Campus may also feature new doctors’ offices and space for medical education/ research and EMS staging, as well as workforce housing and wellness options.
Not far from the Sussex Campus, Bayhealth’s 24-hour hybrid care center – Total Care –opened in July 2023 to eliminate the need to choose between an urgent care or an emergency room to handle sudden symptoms. Total Care is truly “total” – because patients can also see primary care doctors and specialists there, in addition to getting lab services and imaging.
Bayhealth’s Reinvestment in Kent Campus
To increase access to healthcare services in Kent County, Bayhealth’s Kent Campus in Dover underwent an expansion in 2012 that allowed for an expansive emergency department, cancer center, and parking garage. The Progressive Care Unit and PCOM Simulation Center came years after in the same tower.
Now more than a decade later, the community demand for health services
hasn’t slowed. And Bayhealth is poised to meet the community need with an expansion focused on growing trauma, surgical, and critical care services coming soon.
Growing access to health care across central Delaware however hasn’t been on pause. More recently, Bayhealth opened the Bayhealth at Blue Hen facility in Dover, which is home to several Bayhealth Medical Group practices, outpatient services and Walk-In Medical Care. Other growth includes a new physician practice and outpatient center in Harrington.
Seamless Flow of Care to Remove Delays
A Virtual Operations Center is available for patients needing a room at Bayhealth’s Kent and Sussex campuses.
The team’s “responsibility is to remove all the slowness of moving patients through the system,” said Murphy. “We are very focused on
moving patients appropriately and removing delays,” he said.
Located at the Blue Hen Corporate Center, the hub provides a more efficient flow of patient placement. With one call to its hotline, clinicians throughout the Bayhealth system can easily place patients transitioning to in-house care from the emergency departments, surgical services, clinical observation units or any other area of the hospitals.
The Virtual Operations Center team, available 24/7, is specially trained to find the right care in the right place at the right time with the right care team.
As the region’s largest health system, Bayhealth cared for more than 126,000 patients in its emergency departments in Fiscal Year 2024. Given that volume, the has been leading an ongoing “all-hands-on” effort to drive efficient patient care, while increasing safety and quality.
(Continued on page 22)
Expanding Beyond Buildings
As Bayhealth grows in capacity, expertise and preference, so will the communities we serve continue to benefit. We’re proud that Bayhealth can generate so much good – as our annual Community Report attests, we provide more than $170 million a year in benefits to those in Sussex and Kent counties. Among those benefits are health screenings, nurse-run clinics, communitybased clinical services, charity care, health professions’ education, subsidized health services and community building activities, among others.
Of course, with all the new facilities and plans to get more health care to our neighbors, Bayhealth also needed to plan to have enough health professionals to deliver the care. In recent years, we’ve ramped up our recruitment and retention efforts – take for example our graduate medical education programs and new hematology/oncology fellowship to train more physicians.
“We couldn’t accomplish these milestones for our community without the personal commitments our Bayhealth team members and clinicians make each day to do their jobs at the highest level. To our more than 5,000 team members and clinicians – ‘thank you’ for helping to define the future of medicine
for our community in Kent and Sussex counties,” said Murphy.
And we’re equally as grateful to our community who continues to tell us that we are their preferred choice. We know our patients have options, but they choose us time and time again because of the caliber of doctors and nurses who care for them, the quality care provided, our experience and skill in handling complex medical conditions, the technology we offer and the consistently good experiences they have while in our facilities. To top it off – we know their family and friends
are recommending Bayhealth as the preferred health system of choice.
“We’re excited about all the opportunities ahead all the areas we serve,” commented Murphy. “And I’m confident to say that no matter your health needs, we are committed to you, and we’ll continue to live out our commitment for decades to come.”
Visit Bayhealth.org to learn more about our services throughout Kent and Sussex counties.
Bayhealth’s mission is to strengthen the health of our community, one life at a time.
Visit Bayhealth.org/Foundation to learn how your financial donation can support our mission.
