Chenango Memorial Hospital

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by: Michael McGuire

Despite lower-than-expected returns and a struggling economic climate for upstate New York hospitals, Chenango Memorial Hospital has gained industry recognition and is turning the corner in several key areas, says President and CEO Drake Lamen.

The hospital was in the black by $400,000 – only half its goal – of a $40 million budget. But on its overall level of service, based on 1,500 industry standards, the hospital received a rating of “excellent” in a recent audit conducted by a private accrediting agency working for Medicare and Medicaid.

Technology is arguably where CMH improved the most. According to Lamen, it upgraded a number of services and invested in a host of new equipment that has not only cut time and costs, but improved the overall level of care the hospital can provide.

For the staff in the radiology department, a switch from film to digital X-ray imaging in just under a year has been “huge.”

“Immediately, it has saved time by 30 to 40 percent,” says Radiologist Dr. Ronald Prijic. “Now we can just click on an image and see it instantly.”

“It’s the best thing we ever did,” added CT Supervisor Marcus Doller.

Aside from increasing the number of images and diagnoses he can see and make in a day, Prijic says the system also allows his department to view and share any number of X-rays with other institutions in real-time over a computerized network.

“Our efficiency has markedly increased – it’s easier for everyone,” Prijic said. “It’s a different world.”

The hospital also equipped itself with a new picture archive communications system (allowing it to view and send images of tissue samples to other United Health Services hospitals), a new bone density measurement machine to detect osteoporosis, remote cardiac monitoring systems in the intensive care unit, two new computed tomography (CT) scanners, and computerized medication cabinets in its now 24-hour on-call pharmacy.

“Our staff deserves a lot of credit,” said Lamen. “It’s one thing to get new equipment, it’s another to learn how to use it quickly and effectively. They did a great job getting a handle on all these changes.”

Administratively, CMH also implemented electronic office scheduling and medical records software.

The hospital also added 24-hour security personnel and video monitoring systems as a precautionary measure.

“As a society, there are greater instances of security threats and we have a heightened sense of awareness; much more than there used to be,” Lamen said. “We felt it was important to do this because things can happen, even in a small community like this.”

Because CMH does serve a small community, Lamen said it’s often difficult to bring in specialty doctors and surgeons to fill open positions.

“Once we get them here, so they can see what we’re about, we do pretty well,” he said.

To get more candidates here, the hospital hired a full-time recruiter. As a result, last year was one of the best in terms of landing highly skilled talent. In all, eight new doctors are on board, with specialties ranging from internal medicine to dentistry. Four more general practitioners are also expected to be hired in 2008, along with an ear, nose and throat doctor – a position the hospital has needed to fill for several years, the president said.

“We’re really excited to have those services back,” Lamen said.

Norwich native Dr. Tom “Mike” Cruz is one of the recent hires. He has returned to the area to work at CMH as an emergency room doctor.

He didn’t mention the weather, but new inpatient physician Dr. Henry Cook, formerly of South Carolina, is so far happy he relocated here from the Myrtle Beach area last month.

“Everyone from top to bottom has been so nice,” Cook said. “From a occupational standpoint, I’m not sure I’ve experienced anything like it.”

Aside from highly-skilled positions, Lamen admits that overall employee turnover has been a challenge of late. To alleviate the problem, part of the hospital’s 2008 focus will involve training management how to communicate better with lower-level employees.

This year is also scheduled to bring much-needed renovations and be the start of a much-anticipated expansion. Third-floor nursing stations are set to be reconfigured to provide more work space, and initial plans are being developed to add an MRI and imaging center off of the west side of the building.

“That’s still in the early planning stages,” said Lamen.

The hospital, which already has several offices and care centers throughout the county, hopes to expand its reach in the coming months.

As for an overall mission in 2008, Lamen says the patient is still the number one priority.

“It’s as simple as communication – listening and speaking,” he said. “It’s about finding ways to standardize in all our staff consistent methods of interaction with patients that is helpful. It’s the belief that that is something valuable to our patients – it’s called patient-centered care. If we increase the value of our care, we increase their confidence in us, their loyalty and our business.

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