Michael Patterson, president and CEO of Mississippi Valley Health in Davenport, Iowa, discusses how healthcare is changing and his strategic plans for Mississippi Valley Surgery Center in the future.
Mr. Patterson will speak at the Becker's ASC 25th Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, October 18-20, 2018 in Chicago. Click here to learn more and register.
Q: How do you see the healthcare landscape changing and what is your strategic plan to maintain success?
Michael Patterson: Healthcare is at a very interesting crossroads and has been for some time now. Finding the balance between advancing technology, cost containment, superior clinical and patient experience outcomes and emerging trends in how physicians care for diverse patient populations can be tricky. At Mississippi Valley Surgery Center, we let our mission — excellence in care and service — drive our strategic plan. We are in the midst of a significant facility modernization plan that will ensure our organization has the appropriate facility structures to care for patients over the next couple of decades.
We are combining that with our long history of providing superior total joint replacement, spine and other surgical service lines that will care for more acute patients as the transition from hospital-based healthcare moves into the ambulatory/outpatient space. Ultimately to maintain our success, we are sticking with the basics, those being: giving the surgeons a strong voice in how we care for patients; ensuring our nurses and techs have the tools and resources to do their jobs well; and communicating frequently with our patients.
Q: What do you see your center doing over the next three to five years to promote strength and sustainable growth?
MP: Over the next three to five years we will continue to focus our efforts on physician recruitment, retaining top-tier talent in our facilities and exploring innovative models that will allow us to streamline the process so patients can be evaluated and treated in a timely manner. Working directly with employers to help educate and create a system of care that reduces cost, reduces the time it takes to be seen and increases outcomes will ultimately allow us to treat more patients in the coming years.
We are also working on ways in which we can better educate patients before their procedure so they understand the costs as well as the recovery options that best suit their needs. In addition, educating legislators about the strength that the ASCs in their communities bring to the delivery of healthcare will be key.
Our membership in Ambulatory Surgery Center Association provides us with many resources that allow us the opportunity to educate key decision makers and ultimately makes the ASC community stronger, and I would encourage everyone to be a member of ASCA. That voice allows us to be part of the healthcare solution our country needs.