OHRH growing its patient care throughout region

4 OUR REGION

REGION

Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022

OHRH growing its patient care throughout region

BY DON WILKINS

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

For nearly a decade, Owensboro Health has been expanding its footprint beyond Daviess County.

And in recent years, the health system has gotten even more aggressive with the purchase of hospitals and the construction of healthplexes in counties across the region.

Philip Smith, OH chief business development officer, said the health system’s reach encompasses western Kentucky and southern Indiana — a total of 18 counties with a combined population of 560,000 people.

“Of the 18, there are about 11 that are the core, and the other seven we are continuing to study,” Smith said.

When OH is looking to have a larger presence in another community outside Daviess County, Smith said it considers population questions such as: Who are they? What do they need? And how do we bring the best possible care to them?

“Everything we do is people focused,” Smith said. “…One of our core philosophies is that whenever we can deliver care locally, we want to. Now, you can’t have open heart surgery everywhere; you can’t always have radiation therapy for cancer everywhere. But even if someone has to come to one of our hospitals for surgery, perhaps they have that pre-surgical care and post-surgical care closer to home.”

It was in 2014 that OH began expanding within the region.

Initially, OH signed a three-year management service contract with the 90-bed Muhlenberg Community Hospital, but a year later it turned into a 20-year property lease and a purchase agreement for the actual hospital service. According to OH, Muhlenberg hospital experienced improvements in quality, patient satisfaction, financial improvement, provider relations and overall growth during the year that led to the acquisition. Once the Muhlenberg Community Hospital board approved the sale, OH renamed it Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital.

In January 2018, OH unveiled healthplexes in Madisonville, Henderson and Powderly in Muhlenberg County. At 41,000 square feet each, the three healthplexes had a combined cost of $65 million.

“Part of the idea is that you can’t have hospitals everywhere,” Smith said. “Yet, how do we serve people? That comes by doing things that aren’t full-blown hospitals. So if we’re going to become the regional center of excellence for this entire

“Part of the idea is that you can’t have hospitals everywhere. Yet, how do we serve people? That comes by doing things that aren’t full-blown hospitals.” — Philip Smith, OH chief business development officer

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6 OUR REGION

REGION

Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022

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18-county area, that would comprise of all of these different locations.”

The strategy for the healthplexes is rotating sub-specialists based on demand. The medical facilities offer a wide range of services, including urgent care, family medicine, pediatrics, orthopedics, cardiology, pain management, urology, occupational medicine and OB/GYN.

The healthplexes provide laboratory services, X-rays, mammography, low-dose CT scans, ultrasounds and more.

OH’s foothold in western Kentucky became even stronger in January of 2021 when it purchased Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center — a 75-bed hospital in Leitchfield.

It added 500 employees to the OH system.

The Twin Lakes facility serves Grayson and surrounding counties, including Breckinridge, Ohio, Butler, Edmonson, Hart and Hardin.

“The leadership there saw an opportunity to become part of something larger, which I think is really key, but to do it from a position of strength,” Smith said. “…They were a very forward-thinking board.”

In January of this year, OH announced that it had purchased the Springs Health Centre.

According to the Daviess County Property Valuation Administrator records, OH paid $18 million for the complex in December.

OH was previously leasing one building in the complex and the OH Outpatient Imaging facility. OH already owned one of the buildings where the OH COVID-19 Testing Center — formerly Physicians Affiliated Care, PSC — is located.

The complex houses 45 tenants of various independent practices, including The Springs Urgent Care.

The purchase provides an opportunity for expansion at OH should any of the current providers at the complex decide to retire or transfer ownership of their practices to OH.

Smith said increasing the number of physicians and advanced-practice providers within the community was the driving force behind the Springs purchase.

“...If we’re going to have more doctors, we have to have a place for them to call home and for them to see patients,” Smith said.

For the foreseeable future, Smith said OH’s objective is “to literally give the people of this region, as 18 counties, the premier small, eventually medium, perhaps someday large, health system in the country.” Currently, within the OH medical group there are 300 providers in 35 physician office locations across the region offering 30 different specialties. And in an effort to further expand OH’s footprint and create a health care worker pool, OH plans to grow its staff with its own medical training facility.

In May, OH announced the Commonwealth West Healthcare Workforce Innovation Center that will be led by Bart Darrell, former Kentucky Wesleyan College president.

The center, at the Owensboro Health business center on Frederica Street, will train nurses, radiologists and professionals in other fields, such as behavioral health and community health.

The course work will be taught by faculty from colleges and universities.

The center will include both classroom space and “simulation labs,” where students will practice being in patient rooms and operating rooms.

It’s expected to be operational by January.

Smith called the Innovation Center “a major strategic initiative” for OH.

“It’s a great opportunity for the people, and it’s also great for us; we’re hoping we can be the best option — the magnet — for people to come here once they have that skill set and training,” he said. “What we’re going to be doing there is not just educating and training people for a job, it’s actually preparing them to come in and provide excellent quality and excellent safety and excellent service right off the bat.”

Currently, within the OH medical group, there are 300 providers in 35 physician office locations across the region offering 30 different specialties.