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Strategic Initiatives and Process for Public Participation
In keeping with the formal organizational values of Relationships and Community-Based Services and our belief in openness, inclusiveness, and transparency, NMC strives to provide multiple opportunities for public input the hospital’s current services and our plans for the future. The goal is to foster discussion with community members in various formats relating to the health of the community, needs in the community, hospital services, and opportunities for improvement within our hospital and our local health care system.
Collaboratively Assessing and Addressing Community Needs & Priorities:
The hospital is a long-standing collaborative partner two formal community assessment and reporting projects (in addition to the work done in 2004 and 2006 through the Act 53 process). The Franklin Grand Isle United Way’s “Who We Are, How We Live, What We Need – Guide for Community Leaders” is a foundational document in planning efforts. Data and insight from that document is typically shared with the NMC Board, Leadership, and Medical Staff leaders during the hospital’s annual planning process – either directly during years of updates or indirectly as reference material associated with other presentations. NMC is also an active participant in the development of the Franklin Grand Isle Community Partnership’s “Bridges to Community Well Being -- Regional Report Card.” The priorities, outcomes, and indicators from this document are similarly incorporated into planning considerations at NMC. Both of these community-based initiatives are developed by using a blend of statistically-valid quantitative community data, input from providers and community leaders, and qualitative/anecdotal data and input from the community at large. Both documents are available to everyone in the community in the Community Resources section of the Franklin Grand Isle United Way’s web site. Naturally, as appropriate and feasible, the hospital is also an active participant in, and supporter of, community-based collaborative efforts to address many of the issues identified in these reports.
Achieving Openness, Inclusiveness, and Meaningful Public Participation:
NMC uses a variety of strategies to formally and informally engage the community in our own strategic planning efforts, decision making, and efforts to improve the health of our community:
- A statistically-valid community perceptions survey, typically administered every three years in keeping with the NMC strategic planning process, to ascertain what the community knows about their local hospital-based healthcare resources, how they feel about those resources, what could be improved, and what is needed;
- A variety of other survey processes for both patients, members of the general public, and community leaders (historically including written surveys, telephone surveys, focus groups, personal interviews, etc);
- Community presentations, events, and discussions on hospital plans and activities, community needs and priorities, and health care topics;
- Personal contact facilitated through direct community involvement by hospital Staff, Board, and Medical Staff as volunteer members of local Boards, initiatives, and organizations;
- Personal contact facilitated through the geographic distribution of NMC Board Members and hospital staff.
NMC also gathers valuable public input through participation in community planning events by representatives of the NMC staff. These public meetings are typically focused on planning what the community can do in areas outside the direct provision of healthcare (such as crime and public safety, Vermont’s energy future, etc). NMC participates as both a major employer and a healthcare provider, maintaining an active ear for opportunities in terms of “what can the hospital do” that may be supportive of the community’s efforts. These ideas are then funneled into the hospital’s short-term and long-term planning, creating a multi-directional planning channel that directly links the hospital to the community’s own efforts.
NMC engages the community through our role in a wide variety of community partnerships and initiatives. We take great pride in the community involvement by our staff as individuals as well as the formal involvement of NMC as an organization. The following is a sampling of the broader groups in which NMC participates within our community as an organization:
- The Franklin Grand Isle Community Partnership;
- The Franklin Grand Isle United Way (as a partner, not a member agency);
- The Center For Health & Wellness;
- The Champlain Valley Area Health Education Center;
- EMS District 1;
- The Franklin Grand Isle Work Force Investment Board;
- The Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation;
- The Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce;
- The Grand Isle County Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, NMC also engages the community in our efforts by welcoming their active participation in the hospital, through:
- Service as an NMC Volunteer (105 active volunteers in 2006, contributing 18,962 hours).
- Service as an NMC Auxilian (338 members in 2007-08);
- Service as an NMC Incorporator (121 members in 2007-08);
- Service as an NMC Staff Member (569 employees in 2007-08);
- Service as an NMC Physician (78 Active/Associate staff in 2007-08).
- Service as an NMC Board Member (12 members in 2007-08).
NMC’s Strategic Plan – Priorities & Updates:
Through NMC’s strategic planning efforts, involving the community appropriately as described above, the following goals have been identified as having significant strategic importance to the future of the hospital and are currently being pursued:
- Recruit and retain a strong involved Medical Staff;
- Increase customer loyalty;
- Improve the Healing Environment;
- Increase visibility within the service area;
- Ensure adequate resources to care for our community; and
- Address emerging issues in the community and at NMC.
Significant effort is now underway as the hospital works to address those priorities, with highlights including:
- Primary Care Clinic: Recruiting and retaining a strong, involved Medical Staff was a priority identified directly by the community in the 2004 Act 53 Community Needs Assessment and reiterated in the 2006 update. This need was particularly apparent among the Medicare, Medicaid, and uninsured populations. As this iteration of the community report is developed in May of 2008, a major initiative is at hand. Dr. John Nicholson has announced the closing of his Internal Medicine practice, which could have increased exacerbated the underserved nature of our community in adult primary care. In response, NMC has worked with NOTCH (Northern Teirs Centers For Health, based in Richford, VT) who operate the Federally Qualified Rural Health Centers to formally expand their scope to allow for a St. Albans-based office. That office will open in July of 2008, preventing a hardship in the community. Active physician recruitment, based on community needs identified in qualitative research, anecdotal requests through the physician referral line, and quantitative provider/population ratios, continues on a daily basis with a current emphasis on Orthopaedics and Primary Care.
- Georgia Campus: Increased convenience of services, reduction of the impact of rural isolation, and the need to increase awareness of available services in the southern portion of our service area, are factors identified in various planning documents that contributed to the plans for a “Georgia Campus.” NMC has rented space in the Georgia Medical Group Building off exit 18 in Georgia, joining Pediatrician Dr. Joe Nasca and Optometrist Dr. Charles Miranda in the new facility. Based on community data and discussions with other providers in the area, initial plans call for NMC to offer Occupational Health services, Convenient Care Services, Physical Therapy, and X-ray on this new “Georgia Campus.” Construction on the interior of the space is slated to begin in June of 2008 with a projected opening in September of 2008.
- Chronic Pain & Narcotic Addiction Services: One of the challenging issues identified in the community assessment processes is the need for increased services for individuals suffering from chronic pain, particularly those who suffer from related narcotic addiction. Dr. Ed Haak, DO, the Medical Director of the NMC Emergency Department has established an ongoing, multi-agency community forum to address this need. This group involves physicians, law enforcement, state agencies, social service agencies, pharmacies, and others from the community. Currently, a sub-group headed up by Dr. Stephen Broer of Northwestern Counseling & Support Services, Nurse Practitioner Anne Bowers of the NMC Emergency Department, and Anesthesiologist Dr. Jan Gellis, are pursuing a major Federal Grant to bring funding to the community to improve the services available to this population. Other initiatives are also in place through this forum to streamline communication and improve care.
For additional information on hospital strategic planning, capital plans, and/or depreciation schedules, please contact NMC’s Director of Planning & Community Services (see below).
Planning & Community Relations Contact Information:
For more information on strategic planning and public participation, please contact:
Jonathan Billings
Director of Planning & Community Services
NMC, 133 Fairfield Street, St. Albans, VT 05478
Telephone: (802) 524-1044
Fax (802) 524-1291
jbillings@nmcinc.org
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