Arkansas - Digital Publishing

20 January 28, 2013 Arkansas Business
Imagine Imagine...
Imagine Imagine... ...
...
…a health care
system where
patients
get the right
care at the right
time, every time. Where
providers have the tools
and resources to deliver that
care. And patients and their
families understand their role in
maintaining their own health.
Imagination is the first stop on
the road to change — the kind of
change that goes beyond data
collection and medical review. It’s
more than quality improvement.
It begins in the heart of each health
care facility — the culture of the care
environment and the dedication of each
staff member, from clinical to clerical.
The Arkansas Foundation for Medical
Care is working with health care
providers across the state to make the
most of the talent, commitment and
compassion our state has to offer. Please
share the vision of what health care in
Arkansas can be. Together, we’ll get there.
SPOTLIGHT: The Future of Health Care in Arkansas
Tools and strategies for quality improvement…
We don’t provide health care. We help make it better.
Northwest Medical Center-Springdale is undergoing a $12 million renovation that will give the
landmark facility a like-new sheen.
Springdale Hospital Hopes
$12M Facelift Boosts Brand
By Chris Bahn
CBahn@ABPG.com
Springdale is not getting a new hospital,
but it is getting a hospital that will
look new.
Northwest Health System’s Springdale
facility will remain at the same location
at the southeast corner of Thompson
Avenue and Maple Street it has occupied
for six decades.
The hospital is getting a facelift that
administrators hope will improve perception
with some local residents.
Portions of a $12 million renovation
and expansion, like additional parking,
improved waiting room and lobby areas,
are already complete. All phases of the
project, which adds 30,000 SF and close
to doubles available exam rooms, will be
finished by June.
Chief Operating Officer Michael
Stewart sees the improvements as an
opportunity to advance the hospital’s
brand in northwest Arkansas.
Think of it as improved curb appeal
for the hospital.
“I’ve had business leaders tell me they
heard we’re getting a new hospital in
Springdale,” Stewart said. “No, there’s
been a hospital in Springdale for 60
years, but this increases our visibility
and awareness in the community.”
Increased visibility and awareness
are important with so many health care
options in the area. Northwest Health is
one of three medical systems in north-
west Arkansas, and Stewart points
out there are four other hospitals in
Washington and Benton counties.
Choices are plentiful, but in the future
Stewart wants to be the first choice for
locals.
Making Northwest Health System’s
Springdale hospital a preferred choice
to the city’s 70,000 residents and then in
the surrounding area is among the primary
goals Stewart set when he took over
as COO a year ago. Stewart estimates
— “back of the napkin figures,” he calls
them — that the hospital currently has a
50 percent market share, but he’d like to
see that grow to 85 percent.
While he admits that is a big goal,
Stewart said it gives the staff of 900-plus
employees something to work toward
each day.
Using a sports analogy to describe
his approach to managing the hospital,
Stewart likens himself to a new coach
taking over a football program with
three wins and 10 losses on a 13-game
schedule.
He calls 2012 a seven-win, six-loss
season and says he hopes to take another
leap — in services offered, quality of service
and market share — this year.
“We are still the dominant market
share for Springdale, but we have significant
opportunities left,” Stewart said. “I
think there’s plenty of business for everybody
to have their fair share.”
Springdale’s hospital has a rich history
in the area, employees there note. It
was the site of the area’s first open heart
surgery. It was the only local hospital
to provide 3D mammography. Other
facilities in the area followed Springdale
when it came to chest pain accreditation.
Among what Stewart calls the distinctive
product lines offered at the hospital
are psychiatric and geriatric care. The
hospital is looking to expand its pediatrics.
Stewart has added 15 doctors to
the staff since he began overseeing the
hospital last year.
Local awareness of those services
should increase through the improvements
being made.
While the hospital has had three significant
renovation projects since 2006,
this could be the most meaningful from
a perception standpoint, Stewart said.
“Sometimes people equate quality of
care with the façade,” Stewart said. “We
feel like we do a decent job of taking
care of the patients and by having a new
façade, people will give us the benefit of
the doubt on that.” n