B E ST HOS P I TAL S
A H E M I S P H E R E S P R O M O T I O N
for cancer care, and the third-best overall.
Ochsner Medical Center—ranked number
one in Louisiana by
U.S. News
— is another
proponent of effective care. “A few years ago,
we looked at our statistics for patients with
sepsis, and found they only rated as average
for the country,” says Dr. Joseph Bisordi, the
chief medical officer of Ochsner Health
System. “This surprised us, as we knewwe
had the right people and knew the right way
to treat it. We decided to develop new
protocols, improve communications and
provide additional training to our nurses,
and within six months, mortality had fallen
86 percent—that’s 100 lives a year.”
Others have determined that the simplest
way to cut down on operating costs is to
reduce the likelihood of their patients falling
ill. That’s certainly the approach at Inova,
which manages five highly ranked hospitals
in the Washington D.C. area. “Wellness is a
continuum. If we say 50 is healthy, and a
cold puts you on 45, we’re trying to work out
how to get to 60, 70, even 100,” says Dr. Craig
Cheifetz. “Patients at a higher level are more
likely to deal with new ailments and suffer
from a lower disease burden.”
With this in mind, the institute offers “the
ultimate in medical care” through its VIP
360° program, a premium concierge service
promising low doctor-to-patient ratios and
an emphasis on wellness education. “We
take a holistic approach from stress
management to how to exercise during a
busy travel schedule,” says Cheifetz.
The staff at NorthwesternMemorial are
also quick to emphasise the importance of
education. “A fully aware and engaged
patient is our best healthcare partner,” says
Lathan. “At the BluhmCardiovascular
Institute, we make a special effort to deploy
education nurses, to host community
seminars and to engage with our local and
regional media to answer questions and
translate science in palpable and easily
accessible messages. Here’s the test: would
our parents, family members, friends or
significant others understand what’s going
on with our messaging? When that answer
is yes, all is good.”
TRANSPARENCY AND COMPETITION
But it’s not just healthcare legislation that
has administrators and physicians across
the country scratching their heads and
plo ing new strategies. A rise in
transparency and the ability to travel
cross-country for treatment have created an
increasingly competitive market in which
hospitals have to innovate to survive.
To do so, many smaller hospitals are
identifying boutique or niche sectors in
which to establish themselves. One such
facility is the BartonMemorial Hospital,
located in the beautiful surroundings of
Lake Tahoe, which has become the first
hospital in northern California or Nevada
to offer single-site gynaecological surgery
using the advanced da Vinci Si robot.
“It mimics the hand and wrist movements
of the operator while making what is
happening more visible,” says Dr. John
Missanelli, a 515-case veteran of the system.
“We’ve seen patient satisfaction shoot up
since we moved to this new surgery. We can
now control bleeding, reduce pain and limit
the number of incisions, plus the patient can
go home the same day.” BartonMemorial is
one of just 16 hospitals in the U.S. pioneering
this treatment, although this is certain to
rise as more and more hospitals see the
benefit to their bo om line.
For now, the hospital is set to lead from
the front in international robotic medical
tourism. “We may be a small institution in a
remote area, but we offer the future of
medicine,” says Missanelli.
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REGISTERED
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