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Marilyn Schock, CEO, McKee Medical Center, and Rick Sutton, CEO, North Colorado Medical Center

“In 2010, you will see NCMC and McKee work together as a team more than ever before. Our efforts will have a regional strategy, offering our customers more services and technology at more efficient costs,” according to Rick Sutton chief executive officer at NCMC. “[With Schock’s appointment] NCMC and McKee will have two like-minded leaders,” he continues. Sutton is referring to the Dec. 7, 2009 announcement promoting Marilyn Schock as McKee’s new chief executive officer.

Schock and Sutton have a long history together. Schock, a 23-year Banner Health veteran who began her career as an occupational therapist, most recently worked as Sutton’s associate administrator at NCMC. Prior to moving into their respective positions at NCMC, they worked together under the same titles at McKee.

“The culture will be the same at McKee and NCMC. Marilyn and I have worked together to implement these strategies at both locations. The days of us competing are over. As a team, if one is successful, then both are successful and that is what is best for the patient and the community. This is huge; it has never been done here before,” says Sutton.

“It’s exciting to be able to leverage our strengths to improve healthcare in our community,” says Schock, “It gives us more opportunities to build a strong workforce, partner with physicians and better coordinate patient care.”

To achieve this agenda, the two hospitals will share physicians, staff, technology and equipment as needed. “This will prevent us from duplicating efforts,” explains Sutton, “We will pool our work together and send staff where needed. People want to stay in their community. It is easier to transfer staff back and forth than shipping patients back and forth.”

Sutton cites the expansion of the CardioVascular Institute as one such successful collaboration. As the Institute (based at NCMC) expanded, it enabled two permanent cardiologist to be based at McKee and one at Sterling Regional MedCenter. “This allows our hospitals to work together, with smoother transitions and smoother hand-offs” of patients.

While collaboration is the key word for 2010, both facilities have made several advances both in technology and quality in 2009. Schock and Sutton recap the year and share with Northern Colorado their vision for 2010 and beyond.

McKee Medical Center

McKee uses five priorities to rate performance through 2009. Those five focus areas are: employees, patient satisfaction, quality and safety, physicians, and financials. Throughout last year, Schock says they were able to consistently hit high marks in each of these areas.

“We are an employer of choice, rated world-class,” says Schock. Their last rating put them in the 77th percentile for employee satisfaction, according to Gallup polls. The ratings are produced for Banner Health every two years.

Patient satisfaction scores allow McKee to monitor how they rate with clients and to continue to build their customer base. In 2009, patients rated the hospital a 91 percent and 86 percent of patients said they would recommend McKee to others. Similar successes have been made in hitting all of their marks in quality and safety departments.

McKee’s physician focus hit a new milestone in 2009 as they transferred their medical records to an electronic platform. Electronic medical records are a boon to doctors, says Schock, who enjoy the convenience and accuracy of having medical records at their fingertips.

For the second consecutive year, McKee has received Banner Health’s Best of the Best Award. The award recognizes outstanding performance in the healthcare system. Other recognitions in 2009 include accreditation by The Joint Commission, with their Gold Seal of Approval, and the Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program designation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

Also on the technology front, McKee has made several exciting advances during 2009:

McKee acquired the newest da Vinci robot, the Si model, to provide patients a minimally invasive alternative to traditional urologic and gynecological surgery. McKee, who shares the robot with NCMC, is one of two hospitals in Colorado to have the da Vinci Si model and the only one on the Front Range.

McKee obtained a 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner in October 2009. The advanced diagnostic medical imaging system can reduce radiation dosage to patients by up to 40 percent.

McKee’s Simulation Center raised enough funds in 2009 to begin construction of Phase 1 which will include two simulation teaching rooms, two driver work stations where staff members control the mannequins, a temporary debriefing room and storage.

After more than $250,000 in contributions, McKee began the upgrade of their chapel in October 2009. The new chapel will accommodate 24 people.

McKee brought the Electronic Intensive Care Unit online in November 2009. The eICU system allows physicians and staff to provide 24-hour monitoring of McKee’s ICU patients from Banner Desert Medical Center’s Mesa, Ariz. campus; an extra set of “eyes and ears” on McKee’s critical care patients.

Moving into 2010, McKee will continue to refine new programs, such as the electronic medical records system, and look for opportunities to keep technology at the cutting edge. The Simulation Center will be one of the few new construction projects completed this year. However, a large portion of funds in 2010 will be spent on needed infrastructure improvements; less flashy, but vital to smooth operations at McKee. “Banner is great at keeping their facilities up-to-date,” says Schock.

Refining their five priorities will be where the bulk of McKee’s energies go in 2010. “What makes McKee a great place are the people. When the employees are happy, patient care goes up, safety and quality increases,” says Schock. “And one of my primary focuses in 2010 will be to continue to grow our market share.”

Maintaining and retaining their physician platform is a large part of that focus in 2010, as well. Financials will also be watched closely as changes come to the overall healthcare arena and McKee continues to work on efficiencies. “We may not be growing a lot, but we are definitely holding our own,” says Schock.

Finally, enhancements are planned for many hospital departments including the Cancer Center, Emergency Care, Women’s Health Services and Orthopedics, which are expected to expand and grow in 2010 and beyond.

North Colorado Medical Center

NCMC also focuses on the five priorities (employees, patient satisfaction, quality and safety, physicians and financials) when rating their overall performance in 2009. Sutton arrived at NCMC in mid-2008 as CEO and immediately began to implement these priorities. In the short year-plus he has been there, Sutton has already seen great improvements made in reaching their goals.

Every year, they focus on Banner’s balanced scorecard approach. “Historically, NCMC has sought to improve on hitting the scorecard goals,” says Sutton. Under Sutton’s direction, 2009’s score is much improved. “In 2009, we hit 12 out of the 14. Hitting all 14 is our goal.” A 2009 Gallup poll showed significant improvement over previous years, says Sutton, with an 89 percent rate for employee engagement and satisfaction. To reach these levels, Sutton set several processes in place that dictate how the hospital runs in each department and as a whole. “We have hit and exceeded our 2009 goals. In 2010, our job will be to hardwire these processes into our system.”

Along with employee satisfaction, physician recruiting has gone very well for NCMC in 2009. “Colorado is a very desirable place to live and we have been able to recruit some highly qualified physicians,” says Sutton.

Patient satisfaction scores continue to be a bit of an enigma at NCMC, ranging from very high to below average. “Some months we do spectacularly; other months are low.” With the continued implementation of system-wide policies, Sutton expects to see these extremes level out.

In 2009, NCMC received a HealthGrades 5-star rating, recognizing quality results in several cardiovascular procedures. NCMC also received recognition for their heart and stroke care by The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association in July 2009. NCMC’s designation as a Bariatric Center of Excellence was renewed after a rigorous on-site survey. Other recognitions in 2009 include accreditation by The Joint Commission, with their Gold Seal of Approval, and the Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program designation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

As for finances, “NCMC has always been very profitable, even in a downturn,” says Sutton. “But we know finances will always be good if we are successful in our four other priorities.”

NCMC has also made some significant enhancements to their services during 2009:

In 2009, NCMC expanded their Western States Burn Center from 2,500 to 12,000 square feet and grew from four to 10 private rooms. The Burn Center supports a vast area, from Colorado and Kansas to the Canadian border.

The Endoscopy Center was moved to a new and expanded area. The Center added eight more recovery rooms, for a grand total of 17 and brought in the latest endoscopy technology.

A new Endovascular Suite was made available in 2009. The suite enables doctors to perform minimally invasive endovascular procedures and open procedures.

Like McKee, NCMC wrapped up most of their large projects in 2009. However, they will still be spending $12 to 16 million on infrastructure and some cosmetic improvements in 2010. Infrastructure improvements will provide important support for future expansion, says Sutton.

That is not to say that NCMC won’t be financing additional technology in 2010. “This community, board and staff really believe in staying on the cutting edge.”

In 2010, NCMC will take the time to do a strategic master facility plan that will shape the hospital in coming years. “We will be drawing out what we need for the next three, five and seven years. This will be our blueprint for how we will grow in the future,” says Sutton. NCMC and McKee plan to continue to grow the Banner medical group across the region, adds Sutton. “We will increase what we offer physicians and expect our recruiting to double or triple in the next three to five years. As a team, we will meet the demands of Northern Colorado via a regional strategy. With this team approach, we will be taking healthcare to the next level.” +