As population grows, CPRMC increases its healthcare services

As population grows, CPRMC increases its healthcare services

By Robert Bell Friday, 19 June 2009

Hospital opens rehab, sleep centers; plans to develop satellite clinics

Eighteen months ago, residents of the Cedar Park and Leander area did not have a local hospital. Nowadays, they do. Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is not only up and running, it’s growing.

One component of the growth is physical: the CPRMC campus is 98 acres and was designed with plenty of room for expansion. As more people move to the region, the center will add beds, specialty clinics and a wider array of medical services. The hospital will also develop satellite clinics in nearby cities such as Leander and Lago Vista, said Elizabeth Nolan, director of marketing and volunteer services.

Another part of the hospital’s growth is intangible, but will nonetheless affect the area’s health and well-being. This includes outreach efforts to businesses and community organizations, as well as affinity programs intended to increase awareness about health issues.

It is no secret that the healthcare industry is facing considerable difficulties, and CPRMC is not immune to those challenges. Medical costs are rising at the same time many people are losing their jobs, and often — as a consequence — their employer-sponsored health insurance.

This has resulted in an increasing number of patients using the emergency room, where treatment is mandatory, in lieu of visiting primary care providers.

Cedar Park Regional is also in the midst of a shift in leadership. David Klein, M.D., resigned as CEO of the hospital in March. Klein had a big hand in developing the hospital and was active in the business community as well, serving as chairman of the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce.

Abe Martinez was appointed interim CEO. He has held the top post at several other medical centers in Texas, including Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo, Alice Regional Hospital and Southeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. Martinez is confident that CPRMC will overcome healthcare challenges through community collaboration.

“It’s always a partnership, and a cooperative situation between all healthcare providers and the community,” he said. “If we all band together, I think we’re going to be successful.”

New services

In mid-June, Cedar Park Regional opened its Center for Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine on Whitestone Boulevard. The clinic is home to the hospital’s outpatient services for physical and speech rehabilitation, as well as recovery from orthopedic injuries and surgeries such as hip replacement, Nolan said.

It gives patients an easy place to be able to pull in and go to rehab without having to go to the hospital, she said.

CPRMC is also opening a two-bed sleep center at its main campus, as well as a wound and hyperbaric care center that will most likely open in July or August. The location of that center has not been determined.

An occupational health center will also open soon at the Whitestone Boulevard clinic. Part of the mission of that center will be outreach, such as visiting businesses to offer ergonomic advice and safety in the workplace training, Nolan said.

Cedar Park Regional has also developed several affinity programs, most of which offer free events and presentations. These are designed to familiarize patients and potential patients with the hospital, while also providing education and health screenings so that problems are caught before they become serious.

Healthy Woman was started in November 2008 and has 1,300 members. It is the hospital’s hallmark program, covering a range of topics, from skin cancer and heart health to self-defense and automotive tips.

The program includes women of all ages, but the real target is women 25 and older. “That’s because women are the healthcare decision makers in the family,” Nolan said.

Senior Circle launched in late April and is geared for those 50 and older, while Tiny Toes is for new and expecting parents. Adventures in Medicine gives teens ages 13-18 an opportunity for hands-on learning about the medical world.

“Most of these events we hold on campus to drive people to the hospital,” Nolan said. “It’s also to give them an impression of the hospital before they’re even sick, so that they see us as a place for wellness and not just sickness.”

Challenges

One of the main challenges facing CPRMC is the number of emergency room visits that are really primary healthcare issues and not true emergencies. This is because of the recession and job losses.

“People are losing jobs and insurance, and then what do you do?” Nolan said. “Because of that, people are putting off medical care and are more sick when they do arrive.”

Though the hospital’s bad debt from unpaid bills is higher than anticipated, it is similar to other Central Texas medical centers, she said.

Another problem is the lack of physicians who accept Medicare patients. A few months ago, out of 15 physicians in the immediate area, only two accepted Medicare patients. Many patients have to travel to Austin for care. So the CPRMC staff is recruiting physicians who take Medicare.

“You want practitioners who are used to working with Medicare, and the whole Medicare system: the billing, the charting, the types of patients,” she said.

Because most Medicare patients are older, their health issues are often more serious.

“You’ve got to find a practitioner who has that internal medicine background, that really is comfortable dealing with more severe things,” she said. “It’s not just the typical family practice where Johnny has a cold or mom’s got an ear infection. It is tough stuff.”

Predictions

Last year, the hospital had a research company conduct a consumer perceptions study to determine how aware residents are of the new hospital.

“We’re higher in some areas than we projected ourselves to be, and we’re lower in others,” Nolan said.

The number of surgeries and average lengths of stay have both been slightly lower than expected, while ER visits have been higher. But making projections for a brand-new hospital is very different than forecasting for an established hospital that has a track record, Nolan said.

“Our awareness was actually very high for a first-year hospital,” she said. “Utilization was where we were really trying to get to next. And [the research firm] really felt like within two to three years, that utilization would really bump up.”

The hospital was designed to handle big increases in use. The fourth floor is not currently in use, but is ready when the need for more space arises.

Over the next 10 years, some likely additions will include cancer and trauma centers, two or three more medical office buildings and another patient tower, Nolan said.

“We’ve got plenty of room for growth,” she said. “When the hospital was built, it was built for growth.”

Cedar Park Regional:

• Joint venture between Community Health Systems and Seton Family of Hospitals
• 330 team members, 414 medical staff in 30 different specialties
• Licensed for 150 beds
• 14 different services, including cardiac, cardiopulmonary, dialysis and intensive care

2008 statistics:

• Total admissions — 2,607
• Emergency room visits — 19,563
• Surgeries — 1,862
• Births — 244
• Average length of ER visit — Two hours, 20 minutes

Source: CPRMC

Q&A with interim CPRMC CEO Abe Martinez

Where did you get your start in hospital administration?

Back in 1989, I was the assistant controller for Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, Texas.

Are you a native of that area?

I’m originally from California, but my parents and I moved down to Laredo back in ‘67, so I call Laredo, Texas, home.

How long were you at Brownsville and where did you go afterward?

I was there a couple years, and through progressive career moves, I became CEO of Alice Regional Hospital in Alice, Texas, then CEO of Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo, then CEO of Southeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio, then back to Laredo Medical Center, and now I’m here.

You’re interim CEO right now, but if you were to become CEO of Cedar Park Regional, what would your vision for the center be?

My vision would be to develop a medical center anchored by our current facility. We have 98 acres there, and if we anchor that development with our hospital, I think it will be a huge impact to our community, not only economically but also health-wise. All the demographics and the growth factors really lend themselves to us becoming that. If we work together with the community and local businesses and agencies, I think that can be accomplished sooner than later.

Do you think there is a competitive aspect among healthcare providers?

I don’t see any competition. All I see in a hospital is patients and customers. If we do a good job with attending to our patients and customers, then there’s enough to go around.