Being named a top 100 HealthStrong hospital nationwide shows New Hanover Regional Medical Center is competitive and in a strong position for future success, NHRMC president and CEO Jack Barto said.

The recent recognition by iVantage Health Analytics, a privately held health care business intelligence and technology company serving more than 500 hospitals across the U.S., confirms that a focus on performance is a cornerstone to NHRMC’s operating principles, Barto said.

Uncertainties in the ways health care will evolve as elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are rolled out are tempered by a strong operational plan and a clear vision for future hospital operations.

NHRMC was named one of the top 100 HealthStrong Hospitals in the country and in the top 2.5 percent for overall quality by iVantage Health Analytics. More than 4,400 U.S. general acute care hospitals are ranked each year based on quality, outcomes, patient perspective, affordability and efficiency.

Barto said the award is indicative of the work done at NHRMC in the past five years that focuses on five performance pillars: people, finance, service, quality and growth.

Patient satisfaction at NHRMC is high, and the health care system is well positioned financially, Barto said.

“Financially, we have had a solid year,” Barto said, putting the hospital system on solid footing to adjust to changes in health care delivery prompted by the ACA.

With health care systems adjusting to the not-always-smooth introduction of segments of the ACA, additional challenges will arise, Barto said.

“We’re going to have to perform, and we’re going to have to get better. The playing field is going to change,” he said.

He pointed out that insurance premiums have risen as much as 30 percent annually in recent years for health care providers, Barto said. NHRMC has been able to keep rate hikes much lower.

“Our costs are going up 2 percent every year. We know we’re going to see a lot of changes, and insurers are saying, ‘We need more predictability,’” he said.

Through careful management of resources, costs at NHRMC are now about 20 percent lower than they were in recent years, Barto said.

That relates to the concept of value, he said.

“For what we’re reimbursed, we are clearly cost-efficient, which is what the local community and retirees are going to be looking for in the future,” he said.

Medicaid reimbursement is expected to be reduced by $280 million at New Hanover Regional by 2022, Barto said.

“Hospitals across the country are seeing that, and you’re seeing margins deteriorate pretty rapidly,” he said.

NHRMC successfully implemented a “lean process management style” developed by Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota.

“We eliminate waste and maximize our potential,” Barto said. “It’s been very successful for us to save money and at the same time enhance service to our patients.”

Using lean principals has allowed NHRMC to avoid layoffs, Barto said.

Barto said part of the hospital’s success comes from its inclusion of doctors in the local medical community. Doctors continue to affiliate with the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physician Group.

“It helps us be competitive with the changing market,” Barto said. “The key is, we find ways to partner and work with physicians so that the patients and the physicians win.”

Expanding the hospital’s “footprint” allows for changes such as consolidation of the cardiology department in one building and plans to open a freestanding emergency room in the northern section of New Hanover County in 2015.

“We are transitioning our operations using very lean principals to adjust to those changes,” Barto said.

The health care industry – and hospital systems in particular – will be tested by changes in the market and the advent of the ACA, Barto said.

“I think that hospitals are at risk. Some of the small hospitals are at risk. I don’t see any hospital at risk locally,” he said.

Of all New Hanover County residents who go to a hospital, 94 percent go to NHRMC.

“People get good quality here, and they get a good experience,” Barto said. “The depth and breadth of the medical talent here is not what you would see in a community this size.”

iVantage Health Analytics clearly took notice.

When the scores from eight “performance pillars” including factors such as quality, outcomes, patient perspective and financial stability are tallied, NHRMC’s overall rank is in the 99th percentile, meaning that the hospital “offers better care, higher quality and lower costs” that 99 percent of U.S. hospitals. 

Lab receives accreditation renewal from COLA

Wilmington Health Lab, 1202 Medical Center Drive, recently received Laboratory Accreditation by COLA, a national health care accreditation organization.

Accreditation is only given to laboratories that apply rigid standards of quality in day-to-day operations, demonstrate continued accuracy in the performance of proficiency testing and pass a rigorous on-site laboratory survey, said Wilmington Health lab manager Kathie Heath.

The lab has maintained accreditation since 1999, the same year Heath began managing it

“The Wilmington Health laboratory has earned COLA accreditation as a result of a long-term commitment to provide quality service to our patients,” Heath said in a news release.

COLA is approved by the federal government and sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.

Last spring, COLA also accredited the Wilmington Health laboratories at Porters Neck and North Chase.

Glen Meade joins NHRMC group

The Glen Meade Center for Women’s Health joined the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physician Group on Nov. 1.

With locations in Wilmington and Leland, Glen Meade Center for Women’s Health is home to 12 doctors and two advanced clinical practitioners.

Glen Meade Center for Women’s Health practices a comprehensive approach to care, facility administrators said. A variety of medical specialties are available under one roof, including gynecology, obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine, urogynecology and urinary incontinence.

Women can also receive care for osteoporosis, anemia, infertility, menopause and pelvic pain, as well as schedule annual physicals, pap smears and mammograms all at the same practice.

By joining the large network, Glen Meade will benefit from access to business support resources offered by the NHRMC Physician Group, including medical office technology, quality resources, information technology and contract negotiations, Glen Meade’s CEO Paul Snyder said in a news release.

“Providers throughout the network will now be able to collaborate and share up-to-date, real time information about their patient’s medical history and current issues,” Snyder said.

He said that once patients are registered in the network, their information will be available to all necessary providers, “which will allow for expedited check-in and registration for our patients receiving additional care at NHRMC.”

Nursing workshop planned

The Winter Nursing Leadership Series will be 8:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. on Dec. 10, at the South East Area Health Education Center, 2511 Delaney Ave.

The Winter Nursing Leadership Workshop participants will include the N.C. Board of Nursing.

The focus of the year’s workshop will be “Just Culture” and the legal implications and rules and regulations related to drug diversion.

The course will offer case scenarios and the appropriate actions recommended by the Board of Nursing.

Chemical dependency, addictions and the Alternative Monitoring program will also be addressed at the workshop. The workshop is open to all nurses. For more information or to register for the workshop, go to www.seahec.net.