2008 Dynamic Dozen, No. 6: CoxHealth

More people are coming to Missouri, and they need health care, said Steve Edwards, CoxHealth executive vice president and chief operating officer.

According to U.S. Census data, Greene County had a population of 254,779, up from 240,391 in 2000.

“Obviously, population growth is going to drive revenue for us,” Edwards said.

CoxHealth’s 2007 revenues were $1.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 2006 and $1.4 billion in 2005.

In 2006, CoxHealth landed in the No. 12 spot among Springfield Business Journal’s Dynamic Dozen. The health system, led by CEO Bob Bezanson, also received SBJ’s Economic Impact Award in 2005 and 2001. Bezanson was unavailable to comment for this story.

There likely will be plenty of growth opportunities on the horizon, among older patients in particular, according to the health department’s Gipson.

“We’re expecting our biggest growth, as our population ages and we are living longer, to be in those 80 years old and older,” he said. “Just based on the baby boomers getting older and (people) living longer, we’re going to see a tremendous number of people over 65.”

To meet that demand, Edwards said CoxHealth has focused on the diagnostics and technologies that can keep people coming to southwest Missouri for procedures instead of traveling to St. Louis as they might have in the past.

“Because we are not-for-profit, with the higher revenue growth, it doesn’t leave our community and doesn’t leave our system, so we are able to invest a higher percentage in technology,” Edwards said.

Recent investments include a 64-slice vascular computed tomography scanner, and a $5.1 million MD 902 helicopter, which CoxHealth began using in June to transport patients via its air ambulance service. In December, CoxHealth became the first U.S. hospital to implement Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist, or NAVA, an upgraded mode of ventilation that uses electrical impulses from patients’ brains. The NAVA system is designed to increase respiratory efficiency and reduce adverse side effects, but like many of the additions at CoxHealth, it also plays a role in making southwest Missouri a health care hub, Edwards said.

Tom Babik, executive director of Ferrell-Duncan Clinic, sees CoxHealth’s approach to facilities and technology as a plus when it comes to recruiting.

Ferrell Duncan and CoxHealth entered a partnership in 1996, through which the clinic is part of the Cox insurance network. CoxHealth owns the clinic’s building and employs nonmedical staff, but the physicians are self-employed and have a voice in CoxHealth governance.

“When they see the facility that Cox has and the commitment that Cox has made in technology, we are able to attract physicians from Mayo and Harvard and hundreds of other locations around the country,” Babik said.

Meeting patient demand already is a key challenge for CoxHealth, Edwards noted.

“It’s almost worrisome how we can continue to see the number of patients we are beginning to see,” he said. “The age wave has not quite hit. Springfield has a surprising number of people retiring here.”

Another challenge lies in finding cost savings, according to Laurie Cunningham, CoxHealth vice president of corporate communications.

“The Medicaid program was drastically cut in July of 2005,” she said. “While reimbursement continues to shrink, you have to be leaner ... and look for every opportunity so you can drive revenue (and) continue to provide services for everyone else.”