By Dr. Winston Price
Memorial Hospital and Manor – Bainbridge
Dr. Dean Burke was among the many stellar presenters at the Stratus Leadership Retreat at the Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga., on February 20th 2015.
Dr. Burke highlighted some of the major hurdles ahead for the medical community as we navigate through the rapidly changing landscape in healthcare delivery. He stated, “I believe it is crucial for hospitals like ours to align with like-minded hospitals to begin the process of improving patient care and our health care economics at the same time. This can only be done when physicians work together, establish best practices and hold each other accountable. We can’t be afraid to change; we need to embrace it.”
Stratus Healthcare is a collaborative partnership of hospitals, the largest of its kind in the Southeast, in Georgia that has formed to create a network of hospitals, health care systems and physicians who are culturally aligned and wish to maintain their autonomy. Members of the Stratus Healthcare alliance will work together to exchange best practices, combine resources, develop coordinated information systems, reduce costs and manage the health of populations, providing the Federal healthcare reform will require that medical care be reimbursed based on a fee-for-value framework rather than the fee for-service model used in the past.
Currently Stratus comprises 30 Hospitals, 16 Health Systems which includes approximately 2,000 Physicians in the Southeast. The purpose of the 2-day retreat was to bring together key members of the medical community to allow for sharing of ideas surrounding the critical issues in this current phase of health transformation. Among the other attendees from Memorial Hospital and Manor were Drs. Linda Jones, Donald Robinson and Winston Price.
Dr. Price noted, “Each of us recognized the unique role that we play, working along with Stratus Healthcare, in assuring that quality, collaboration and efficiency in healthcare remain a guiding force as we navigate through the 21st century in creating a healthy America.”
“Policies will not work, however, if behaviors that undermine a culture of change go unobserved, unreported and unaddressed,” commented Dr. Jones. It is important to recognize that all major industries have gone through an evolution recently to improve profitability while at the same time responding to consumer demand for better, quality service at the most economical cost.
The explosion in medical tourism where more than a million Americans travel abroad annually in search of quality health care by board certified physicians at bargain prices demonstrates how market forces can further drive change in our medical industry.
Dr. Robinson stated, “The seminar was a chance for physicians from different hospitals to all gather together in the name of patient care working to protect safe and efficient patient-centered healthcare for our patients well into the future.”
Memorial Hospital and Manor is proud to be a member of the Stratus Healthcare initiative. MHM is truly striving to create a healthy future for our community each and every day.
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