Community support is important for rural hospitals. To maintain long-term profitability and keep patient volumes up, it is important that community believes in the hospital and trusts its quality of care. The main point here is that perception matters; and in the minds of consumers and patients, perception becomes reality. As a result, it is…
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In the restaurant industry, they say, “you eat with your eyes.” When a meal is beautifully presented on a dish, customers believe it will taste better than a meal that is just flung on a plate. This is why plating is a critical element in every cooking competition. What people see matters. The same holds…
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There is an old adage in the retail business, “It’s about Location, Location, Location”. The point is simple. To succeed in retail, you store has to be in a good location for your customers. For rural hospitals, it’s about Services, Services, Services. The point is just as simple. In order to sustain long-term growth and…
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Rural hospital administrators are similar to founders and owners of entrepreneurial companies. They are responsible for overseeing almost every aspect of the business from operations to finance to marketing to staff management. As a result, hospital administrators spend much of their day putting out fires and organizing their staff. This often creates the situation where…
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“Sixty-one rural hospitals have closed; 283 more are on the brink of closure. Since January 2013, more rural hospitals have closed than in the previous 10 years combined … It’s clear continued cuts in hospital payments have taken their toll, forcing closures and leaving many of our nation’s most vulnerable populations without timely access to…
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When an organization is in trouble and a turnaround firm comes in to “fix” things the fear is that their fix will be to fire a bunch of people and decrease salaries. NewLight Healthcare knows that’s not always the case. The knee jerk reaction should not be to let go of people and cut positions.…
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No one likes an emergency. We all like time to think through and fix problems without the pressure of time running out. That often requires preventative action. Most medical emergencies can be avoided in a physical health situation with the set up and following of a preventative care regimen, with the exception of “acts of…
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When a person says they are sick, doctors immediately ask what the symptoms are to assess the situation. Doctors need to be careful analyzing the pain since they know that sometimes the pain or discomfort is only a symptom and may not be the overall cause. My mother-in-law had severe back pain that after months…
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Most people take their cars to a mechanic on a regular basis for routine maintenance and preventative checkups. The oil gets changed, fluid added where needed and filters get changed. The mechanic will then walk around and “kick the tires” so to speak. Hospitals and other health care facilities could use the same treatment. Bring…
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It’s been said that a broken bone heals stronger than it was prior to the injury. Pitchers who receive Tommy John surgery say that their arm has never been stronger. The same can be said for a broken Health Care Facility. Problems help identify where a process, building, the people, the financials or overall organization…
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