Hospital Highlights

As you know, the cost of healthcare has been rising very fast - especially in the last 10 years. Healthcare now consumes 18 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product, a measure of the value of goods and services produced) which is nearly double all other industrialized nations’ spending on healthcare. We all have a role to play in reducing the cost of care, while also improving the experience and quality.

You, as consumers, can reduce the cost of care by doing everything you can to stay healthy including exercise and healthy eating. You also should know the plan for treating your personal health issues, comply with care provider recommendations, seek care only when you are unable to manage on your own and use emergency rooms only for emergencies.

There are ‘five normals’ that could dramatically improve health and reduce healthcare costs. They include:

normal weight

normal blood pressure

normal HgbA(1)c - a measure of blood glucose stability in diabetics

normal cholesterol

not smoking

Only five percent of the Medicare population adheres to all five normals. If we could increase that to 10 percent , the US would save $1 billion per year.

We are doing our part at Whitman Hospital & Medical Center. We have launched a journey to improve our efficiency and effectiveness while maintaining quality and the patient experience. We are working with consultants to learn new ways to evaluate our work and apply specific `lean’ methodologies. This work is based on proven research and has been successfully implemented in healthcare for over 10 years with Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle being the role model.

Our first teams were in Environmental Services and Therapy Services. We are just launching the Radiology and Materials Management teams. The teams involve managers as well as staff who are experts on the work.

We are also doing some additional leadership training for our managers in how to remove barriers and sustain the work over time. This is not a project, but a change in the way we do our work. This will assist us in our continued efforts to meet the needs of our surrounding communities.

Debbie Glass, CEO

Whitman Hospital & Medical Center