Case for Support Blue Ridge Regional Hospital

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CASE FOR SUPPORT BLUE RIDGE REGIONAL HOSPITAL

BLUE RIDGE REGIONAL HOSPITAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND MODERNIZATION

When Blue Ridge Regional Hospital (BRRH) was founded in 1955, times were simpler.

Families from Mitchell, Yancey, lower Avery and upper McDowell counties were grateful to have high quality medical care close to home. When a family member came to the hospital, for a birth or an operation, they stayed for days. Today, BRRH continues to stand at the heart of the community, emphasizing high- touch, patient-centered care.

Innovations abound. BRRH has added the new Mauzy-Phillips Center, built in response to changes in health care that emphasized primary care and prevention, and the need to have better access to co-located specialists and services.

We are, of course, always interested in making changes that will improve care in our community. For example, the technologies that we use have transformed healthcare for the better, improving our ability to diagnose illness early. But those systems and technologies that have become so critical to our patients need their own health assessments, because they are in heavy use.

A recent “scan” of the hospital’s infrastructure revealed a critical list of systems, technological and capital needs that are fundamental to our ability to operate the facility efficiently and, as always, with the best interests of our patients in mind. Several pressing needs have been identified that are top priorities for funding. Of course, Mission Health is also invested in these solutions, but we are part of a health system with competing needs and finite resources. All things will be addressed eventually, but not always on the timetable we would prefer. Philanthropy is therefore a critical factor in assuring that Blue Ridge Regional Hospital meets and exceeds the expectations of its community now and in the future, and particularly when someone you know requires care.

A LOOK AT THE PLANNED IMPROVEMENTS AND MODERNIZATION EMERGENCY GENERATORS Cost Estimate: $2,000,000

NEW IMAGING EQUIPMENT

Total Cost: $1,000,000 for the MRI and $126,000 for a new air ventilation system

MEETING THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR PRIMARY CARE

Cost Estimate: $1,000,000 to renovate a building and relocate Specialty Services

EMERGENCY GENERATORS We tend to take for granted that the lights will come on when we flip the switch that machines will steadily monitor our loved one’s progress, and that automatic doors open automatically.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, these systems work as planned. Unfortunately, unpredictable weather, or even a random car accident that hits a power line, can disrupt the power supply to the hospital.

BRRH has two emergency generators that are our back-up system when the power grid is compromised, but those generators are a generation old and have themselves been compromised by new performance expectation. During a recent power outage, the only radiology equipment that we could operate was a mobile x-ray. Surgery had to be shut down for the duration of the outage, because there was not enough power to keep critical air flow regulators working. An engineer has recommended that both generators be replaced, and sized appropriately for the current technological needs of the facility, to keep all critical areas of the hospital running in case of a natural or man-made power outage.

COST ESTIMATE: $2,000,000

NEW IMAGING EQUIPMENT Computed tomography, more commonly known as a CT or CAT scan, is a diagnostic tool that scans the body to create multiple images of what is happening internally. When the technology was adopted, physicians were able to see internal organs, bones, soft tissue and blood vessels in great detail than had ever been seen before. In 1977, diagnostic technology took another major leap forward with the introduction of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI’s. The MRI, which creates a computerized map of “radio signals” emitted by the body, is particularly powerful in detecting soft tissue problems around the spinal column, heart or central nervous system. Unlike a CT scan, and MRI involves no ionizing radiation.

BRRH adopted these technologies when they became available, and patients have benefited from the quick and accurate diagnoses that they afford to medical staff. The constant use that they get has created a problem: the machines age fairly quickly. BRRH recently replaced its CT machine, but the MRI machine that we are using is a good three years past its prime. As evidence of its advancing age, the MRI has been down 22 days over the past 6 months. That means that more than 100 individuals were not only inconvenienced when schedules had to be shifted, but those who would have been best served by MRI imaging were delayed in using that technology.

We have also been told that the modular building in which the MRI is housed has an air ventilation system that is insufficient to the task, and needs to be replaced. When the current system cycles off, it sets off fire alarms! Moving forward with these purchases for the imaging department will support efficiency, which is critical to quick and effective care, and will make false fire alarms a thing of the past.

TOTAL COST: $1,000,000 for the MRI, and $126,000 for a new air ventilation system

MEETING THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR PRIMARY CARE When the 30,000 square foot Mauzy-Phillips Center was opened in 2015, the facility’s quick popularity affirmed our estimate of how important these services would be to the community. In fact, Mauzy-Phillips Center was operating at capacity within two weeks of opening! Many people in our community came to the doctor for the first time, and found a health care home where they could return when needs arose. This response is “just what the doctor ordered!” For at least two decades, the emergency room at the hospital was seeing people coming through the doors with conditions that could have been much more appropriately addressed in a lower-cost setting, such as a physician’s office. Cleary, the number of patients through the doors in those first two weeks underscored that the need for ambulatory and primary care in the community was significant.

Today, that continuing demand is driving the need to put additional resources towards primary care. Statistics support the positive outcomes of this focus: more coordinated care, better overall health outcomes, and lower costs for patients. Part of the success of the Mauzy-Phillips Center was about making primary care visits convenient and easy to navigate.

How can we assure that primary care is the principal way that individuals are introduced to the health system? Currently, the second floor of the Mauzy-Phillips Center is occupied by specialists.

We are proposing to create a new space on campus, in an existing building, for those specialty services, which would keep them conveniently co-located, and would open the second floor of the Mauzy-Phillips Center for additional primary care.

Embedded in this primary care model is care navigation, which continues to direct people to the right services at the right time. Ultimately, this results in an improvement in overall health and wellness, and lower costs over both the short and long term. Health care today is about managing health throughout the lifespan to minimize chronic disease and its consequences. Having a team that helps with follow-up scheduling allows families to access services that will make the most difference in improving health.

As we continue to promote the benefits of primary care, BRRH will hire more primary care physicans, and increase the number of hours that offices are open to include weekend hours and an additional two hours each weekday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. This makes the clinic more accessible to working families.

There is a small building on campus that we would need to renovate for the specialty service providers. The building is on the hospital grounds, but stands apart from the hospital, with its own parking. This move will allow some of these services to expand. Cardiac rehabilitation is another area of need and growth. BRRH needs to create the special practice environment that accommodates this growth and expansion of critical services.

RENOVATE A BUILDING RELOCATE SPECIALTY SERVICES: $1,000,000

IN SUMMARY

In an era of many challenges to the delivery health care, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital is confident in its ability to meet the needs of this community, while continually striving for excellence.

This hospital and its many associated care staff are committed to improving the health of this community, and are making commitments to the expansion of services and access to care.

The modernization and capital investments outlined in this case represent a $4 million dollar need, and are an opportunity for generous donors to significantly improve health care for the people of this region.