In spite of being in the midst of an industry rife with uncertainty, Bolivar-based Citizens Memorial Healthcare posted 2010 revenues of $248 million, up 26 percent from 2008.
“I think the biggest issue is trying to figure out what health care reform means and how it affects us,” said Donald Babb, the hospital’s CEO and executive director.
The health system’s revenues come from hospital inpatient and outpatient services and reimbursements from managed care plans, patients and Medicare and Medicaid. It also gets funding from its foundation, clinic services, home care services and interest on investments.
According to
www.citizensmemorial.com, CMH’s care network includes a 76-bed hospital in Bolivar, a network of regional clinics, hospice, home care and long-term care facilities.
CMH has about 1,600 employees systemwide, including nearly 80 full-time physicians, says Tamera Heitz-Peek, CMH director of marketing. Recent additions have included an anesthesiologist and an ear, nose and throat doctor who specializes in facial plastic surgery.
“We are always looking for primary care physicians and are looking to expand all the physician areas,” Babb adds. “As an organization, we are here to take care of patients – period – and (with) the best quality that we can do it in.”
Looking for different – and better – ways to serve Bolivar-area patients is nothing new to CMH. In 2008, the hospital opened its Carrie J. Babb Cancer Center to help address an increasing need for breast cancer care.
And in March, CMH announced its partnership with Google Health to give patients better access to their personal health records. At the time, CMH was the first rural hospital to team up with Google Health.
Even with its recent growth, however, the system isn’t planning to rest on its laurels.
“We have plans to add about 50,000 square feet to our surgical center,” Babb says. “Then, we have a new clinic that we are building in Stockton – going from a 5,000-square foot building to a 16,000-square foot building.”
CMH also is still pursuing its goal of opening a standalone mental health center, which might not happen for another couple of years.
“The biggest issue with that is just recruiting psychiatrists,” he says. “We have two that we are working with now and are going through credentialing. Hopefully, we will have that piece completed in the next 60 days.”
CMH, established in 1982, has grown its service area so that it serves a population of about 100,000, Babb says, but its community impact stretches beyond hands-on delivery of health care. It also has welcomed notable guests – actress/comedienne Vicki Lawrence in 2009 and NASCAR driver Kyle Petty in 2010 – to its Burgundy Ball fundraiser, which increases awareness of cancer and raises money to help patients in need.
In February, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder presented the Senior Service Award to Jim Friend, a CMH hospice volunteer, in recognition of his 450 hours of donated time and more than 12,000 miles driven to see patients.
Still, CMH is staying true to its goal of providing quality care for patients of all ages, and its efforts have garnered industry attention.
In November, CMH received the Missouri Quality Award, in recognition of quality leadership and best practices, from the Excellence in Missouri Foundation. CMH is one of six organizations to receive the honor.
“It is not just something that is given to you but is something that you earn,” Babb says. “It was a team effort.”
Click here for the complete 2011 Dynamic Dozen overview.[[In-content Ad]]
