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Robotic surgery system, new health system alliances reshaping health scene

David Stern, dean of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, talks with West Chester Medical Center staff, Haesun Seol, Valerie Asia Lumives and senior vice president Carol King Friday, March 5, during a tour of the hospital. Stern will be taking over as head of the hospital as West Chester Medical Center becomes an asset of UC Medical.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch David Stern, dean of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, talks with West Chester Medical Center staff, Haesun Seol, Valerie Asia Lumives and senior vice president Carol King Friday, March 5, during a tour of the hospital. Stern will be taking over as head of the hospital as West Chester Medical Center becomes an asset of UC Medical.

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Updated 11:20 AM Monday, March 8, 2010

Within the first quarter of 2010 the local medical landscape has changed drastically, but so far the moves appear positive for residents.

Coupled with small signs of improvements in the economy, area hospitals are reporting big things to come this year to improving medical offerings and treatment.

Atrium Medical Center

Coming into the year, Atrium was already having to brace financially for the big expenses associated with the new state franchise fee — which taxes a percentage of each hospital’s operating expenses to help Ohio collect $718 million in the next two years to draw down federal Medicaid dollars. Atrium officials said they would see a net loss of $4 million during the two-year term.

Since part of the formula for the tax includes costs hospitals cover to treat Medicaid and Medicare patients — 16 and 11 cents, respectively, per dollar spent on care — and to care for the uninsured, the hospital is concerned that its increased patient volumes may cost it more financially in more ways than one, said Doug McNeill, Atrium president and CEO.

Last year, Atrium’s patient volumes increased by 5 percent, and are up 22 percent since it opened its new location by the interstate two years ago. But part of that increase includes more bad debt and charity care, he said.

Despite these financial burdens, the hospital said it anticipates staff ratios to remain the same year-over-year, with any changes coming from an increase in patient volumes. McNeill said they may also add a new chief of medicine in the near future.

McNeill said they are also eyeing some new offerings this year.

Available soon will be the new da Vinci robotic surgery system, which “will allow for precise, minimally invasive surgical intervention in select procedures for which robotics are fast becoming the standard of care,” he said.

A first for the hospital, the system will assist surgeons in procedures, allowing for smaller incisions, less pain and shorter recovery times. The da Vinci system should be operational within the next few months, said Wendy Parks, Atrium spokeswoman.

The Fort Hamilton Hospital

With its departure from the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati imminent, officials from The Fort Hamilton Hospital said they are looking ahead at the steps needed to formalize its joining with the Dayton-area based Kettering Health Network.

“... Planning for coordination of our services with those of the Kettering Health Network is already underway so both parties can take advantage of the benefits of affiliation,” said Lynn Oswald, hospital senior vice president.

Coordinating services could take up to a year or more to complete depending on their complexity. In the time between March 31 — when Fort Hamilton finalizes its departure — and joining KHN, the hospital will continue to receive select services, such as billing, from the Health Alliance.

Currently, the hospital is going through the due diligence process, which will take several months. Documents are being draw up so that when final planning and discussion is done, the partnership can quickly be completed, Oswald said.

West Chester Medical Center

West Chester Medical Center has the potential to become more than just a community hospital as one of the remaining assets from the Health Alliance that will join University Hospital in a new system, UC Health.

While about a third of the hospital’s 700 medical staff physicians are from the University of Cincinnati, as the new medical system evolves that number should grow on pace with the hospitals’s growth, said David Stern, dean of the UC College of Medicine.

That would include making West Chester Medical a training site for physicians, bringing more residents into the campus and partnering with community physicians to train more students locally. Stern said he also envisions the partnership allowing for more depth in current offerings, such as cardiovascular, oncology and women’s services.

“We see that campus as something that we would like to brand and see that whole campus work together on different kinds of care,” he said.

With a focus on identifying illnesses earlier, Carol King, senior vice president of West Chester Medical, said she would also hope UC could help with disease management programs.

Discussions are under way about a possible rebranding of the hospital, which would make it more recognizable in the community. Final announcements on any name-changes, including when UC Health will be officially branded, should come sometime after March 31, Stern said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.

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