Leader Profile: Terry Amstutz

Seeing Hospitals into the Future

By Nancy Robertson

Terry Amstutz arrived at McGehee hospital in January 2019 with the mandate to help it improve its financial health and move toward a sustainable future. “We want to move from survivability to sustainability and beyond,” he says. “Today’s rural hospitals have a tough time making it. Those that become sustainable can help their communities grow and prosper.” Helping small hospitals turn around financially and maintain viability is his specialty. “There are four things required to help hospitals of any size become successful,” Amstutz says. “You must have a good staff in place, providers who plan to stay in the community, a board that’s engaged in moving the hospital forward, and a community that’s supportive and enthusiastic about its hospital. Those are the four key elements that can help a hospital move forward.” Since he first came to Arkansas in 1990, Amstutz has served hospitals in the communities of Calico Rock, Magnolia, Hope, Stuttgart, and McGehee. For a time, he also worked out-of-state to help small hospitals in Texas, North Carolina, and Oklahoma increase their financial vigor.

With more than 35 years in senior-level leadership, he is known for bringing hospitals through turnarounds to that realm of sustainability. Arkansas is fortunate to be the beneficiary of his leadership skills, and hospitals that have enjoyed his administrative service have improved in the areas of cashflow, recruiting, capital needs funding, Critical Access Hospital licensure, patient satisfaction, quality improvement, and community involvement.

He has led several successful city-wide sales tax campaigns resulting in annual funding for hospital needs and expansion.

He credits a willingness to learn, and a God-given skill set, for his ability to help lift small hospitals to reach their potential. “Every time I enter a new hospital, I find I learn new skills that will help another organization in the future,” he says. “Small hospitals experience many different setbacks, but a common thread is financial distress. This can result from a history of inconsistent or inexperienced management, an aging medical staff, or even a population that’s leaving the area, making it impossible for the hospital to grow.”

McGehee Hospital receives a $150,000 grant from Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield to begin a Chronic Care Management project.

He says he can identify new models to help a hospital improve its business outlook, but if his four main elements – dedicated staff, committed providers, engaged board members, and an enthusiastic community – aren’t in place, it’s hard to move a hospital beyond subsistence.

RECRUITMENT IS KEY

Amstutz is thrilled with the physician recruitment that began before his move to the community and continues under his leadership. “Before my arrival, the community supported funding for a $10 million hospital expansion and the opening of a $2.5 million rural health clinic,” he explains. These facilities are powerful recruiting tools and have resulted in retaining long-time McGehee family practice physician, James Young, MD, with the addition of both James Renfroe, MD, and Sarah Pearce, APRN, just as the clinic opened in 2017.

“They’re originally from McGehee, and have elected to settle here,” Amstutz says. “McGehee is fortunate to have a growing and extremely supportive young adults’ group. When people in their twenties and thirties move to town, they’re immediately welcomed and engaged by this group, whose members support one another through social and business networks.”

He says the very presence of this group draws young adults to the area, including some who have attended college elsewhere but are returning home to settle down. “We have two more doctors moving to town in the near future – again, these are hometown folks,” Amstutz smiles. “Dr. Austin Beatty will join us in September, and Dr. Tessa Herren will settle here in 2023. This recruitment of young doctors prior to the retirement of our older physicians is truly a blessing. It allows the community to plan for a more medically secure future, and to see its way toward attracting new businesses and organizations.”

It’s easy to see why this is a boon for the McGehee area. Too many times, physicians serve a community until it’s time to retire, and then they feel they must continue into their golden years, because no one younger commits to move in locally. “All of our doctors (and our nurse practitioner) – both present and those coming – are from McGehee and the area,” Amstutz says. “They’re gaining the advantage of truly being wanted and needed, they’re moving to their hometown, and they’ll be supported by friends and family members as their families grow. It’s a win-win for them, and certainly for the community and the hospital.”

LEADING THROUGH A PANDEMIC

Like many hospitals across America, especially in rural venues, McGehee Hospital suffered some financial strain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I arrived here in 2019, we made changes in operations that resulted in improved financial metrics and increased admissions,” Amstutz says. “But in January through March of 2020 as the pandemic took hold, everything stopped. Admissions dropped, and very few people wanted

to come to the hospital and clinics. We knew this was the situation everywhere, but it was still a difficult position in which to be. To combat the downturn, we made ourselves a regional site where patients could be tested, treated, and even rehabilitate after a bout with the virus.”

He says the community really came together during the pandemic. “Though we were less hard-hit than other communities, we found ways to successfully navigate through the pandemic. We had a city-wide plan in place that included the mayor, schools, college, law enforcement, and of course the hospital. We knew how we would react in different situations, should they present themselves. And we communicated with our citizens, so they knew what to expect.”

Amstutz says he is particularly grateful to and proud of McGehee Hospital’s nursing team. “Hospitals all over the country, and all over Arkansas, lost their nurses to other cities that paid exorbitant amounts due to staffing shortages. Though nurses in towns around McGehee left to accept more lucrative contracts, our entire nursing staff stayed right here at home. They are so committed and so diligent in their care – we could not ask for a more devoted team.”

And now, vaccination against the virus has taken top priority.

“Our area is a leader in vaccinating, and it is one of the most vaccinated regions in the state,” he says. “We’re holding a Juneteenth Vaccination Clinic with other area organizations at the Dumas High School June 19. We hope people will come out, enjoy the food trucks and the arts and crafts show, and get vaccinated at the same time.”

I LIKE HELPING HOSPITALS

Terry Amstutz is truly a giver. He says he has the ability to be calm during calamity, and he thinks that is one reason he’s cut out to help small hospitals meet challenges and stay the course.

“Working as a part of the community, tied to the community … it’s what is important,” he says. “It’s wonderful to help a community move from fearing closure of its hospital to the assurance that its hospital is gaining stability and moving to sustainability.” And then, with humility, he shrugs. “I just like helping hospitals,” he smiles.

Terry Amstutz, FACHE, and his wife, Julie, have three grown children and two grandsons. He can be reached at TAmstutz@mcgeheehospital.org.

Nancy Robertson, MAC, is Senior Editor of Arkansas Hospitals magazine. She has worked with the Arkansas Hospital Association for 18 years and in the field of communications for 36 years. You may reach her at nrobertson@arkhospitals.org.

We Asked...

What’s on your music playlist? Classic 70’s What is the best advice you were ever given? Scripture

from Luke 12:48 – “For to whom much is given, from him much will be required.”

Do you have a favorite movie? "The Wizard of OZ"

Why do you like it? Because, “There’s no place like home.”

Who is someone you greatly admire, and why? Frank

Wise, Arkansas hospital executive and an A. Allen Weintraub Awardee, was a great friend and mentor to me.

What would you be doing if you weren’t in health

care? NASCAR driver! (in a perfect world)

What is something people don’t know about you? I

was telling bad “Dad Jokes” before it was a thing!

What do you like to do in your down time? Anything

outdoors – biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, chilling on the back porch.

What’s on your desk right now? Work papers, family

pictures, and duck taxidermy.

What are you reading? (non-work-related material) Erwin Lutzer’s “He Will Be the Preacher” and John M. Barry’s “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America.”

Where would you travel, if you could go anywhere?

Israel’s Holy Land, the Cappadocia Cave Dwellings, and Nepal.

What’s a life-changing lesson COVID-19 has taught

you? We are all capable of working outside our comfort zones and doing extraordinary things, even for extended periods of time, as long as we have the support of those we love and care for.

Duck Hunt - Terry and his son, Samuel, enjoyed their time living in Stuttgart, the Rice and Duck Capital of the World.