A look inside Southwest General Hospital

This is the first in a series of articles that will introduce you to your IASIS colleagues around the country.

During a recent survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), inspectors noticed something special about Southwest General Hospital. After spending dozens of hours talking with employees, patients and community members, they summed it up in one simple sentence – “The mission here is real.”

“That was a very proud moment for everyone,” says Keith Swinney, the hospital’s chief executive officer.

Located in San Antonio’s South Side, a small, densely-populated section of the city, the 286-bed hospital was founded in 1979 by a group of predominantly Hispanic physicians who were concerned that people in the surrounding area did not have access to healthcare.

Today, the majority of its patients – and employees – are Hispanic. Swinney estimates that more than 70 percent of the hospital’s employees are bilingual, so communicating with patients is seldom an issue. Similarly, the hospital conducts its marketing campaigns and prints all patient materials in both English and Spanish.

In recent years, Southwest General has added a number of special services, including a diabetes wound care center and a hyperbaric medicine center, which use a holistic approach to address reasons for a wound’s resistance to healing. The new services help meet the health needs of the growing Hispanic community, which has a higher incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“Looking around in our community, we realized that there are so many needs that weren’t being met,” says Swinney. “I remember going to funerals of friends who had died from heart disease or stroke and seeing other friends who were confined to a wheelchair or had lost a limb because of complications of diabetes. If we can help someone keep a limb or improve their quality of life, even for a few years, then we are fulfilling our mission.”

Turning Point
While Southwest General has found success by tailoring its programs and services to its unique patient base, this hasn’t always been the case. Five years ago, the hospital suffered from low employee morale and a sagging reputation in the community. While Southwest General is the only hospital in the South Side, many people were traveling downtown for healthcare or skipping routine medical checkups altogether.

“People in the community didn’t know about all of the services that we offered. Part of our mission was to inform them,” remembers Molly Gofron, the hospital’s director of marketing.

“Employees didn’t have the pride that they have today,” agrees Swinney. “Since most of us spend more time here than we do with our families, that was an attitude that we simply couldn’t accept.”

Today things are different. Swinney led the charge to change the hospital’s reputation and restore pride among employees. The hospital re-wrote its mission statement because many employees felt the old one sounded too “corporate.” “Today, the mission statement is a straightforward description of what we live by,” says Swinney.

The hospital also introduced a “re-orientation” program, which gives employees who have been with the hospital more than five years the opportunity to go through a refresher orientation course.

“It’s a very open, collaborative environment now,” says Paul McNamara, a registered nurse in the rehab department and a three-year employee at Southwest General. “The hospital has really worked hard to change the community’s perception over the past few years. It takes time, but people are taking notice.”

Reaching Out
After looking within, Southwest General turned its attention to the community. Recognizing that many South Side residents skip routine medical checkups and avoid treatment because they do not have reliable transportation, the hospital purchased five vans and started a free transportation service.

Patients can call to schedule pickup and dropoff for doctor’s appointments and treatments at the hospital, such as kidney dialysis, wound care or physical therapy. As many as 1,000 patients take advantage of this service each month.

The hospital also set out to help residents of its South Side community with another growing problem – teen pregnancy. San Antonio has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country, and the South Side has the highest birth rate in the city. In an effort to encourage expectant mothers to seek pre-natal care, Southwest General opened three freestanding pregnancy testing centers.

More than 2,000 women visit the centers each month for free pregnancy testing. If the test is positive, on-site counselors are available to help the women make wise and healthy choices. Once the woman selects a physician, the staff schedules appointments, arranges for transportation and helps her apply for Medicaid assistance if necessary.

“We really guide them through the testing and the scheduling of medical appointments. The goal is to make it easy for them,” says Gofron, who oversees the centers. “We’ve found that if they do not immediately seek care, many will not see a doctor until they deliver the baby.”

The centers, which were among the first in San Antonio, are now becoming models for similar programs. Gofron is enthusiastic about the success of the program, noting that San Antonio has an improved ranking for women seeking pre-natal care.

Also in response to the high birth rate, Southwest General opened The BirthPlace in 1994, which provides care to laboring mothers-to-be and their families during the birth and recovery process. More than 7,000 babies have been delivered there since its inception. As a result of the high volume, the facility is undergoing an expansion that will double its size.

Spreading the Word
In addition to helping patients find quality healthcare, the hospital staff participates in up to 25 health fairs each year, often going out into the community to offer educational materials and conduct diabetes and blood pressure screenings. The hospital also offers classes, seminars and support groups on topics ranging from breastfeeding and parenting to diabetes management.

“We feel it’s so important to reach out to the low-income portion of the population that would otherwise not see a physician or keep an appointment,” Gofron says. “We also go into the schools and teach kids the importance of good health habits early in life.”

These efforts have raised awareness of the hospital and its services among members of the South Side community and earned Southwest General respect. While Swinney says this hasn’t been an easy task, it is one he feels is worthwhile.

“We really took a hard look at our community and the needs that existed and made a conscious decision to give back to them,” Swinney says. “They support us, and we support them.”

That rededication has paid off. Many of the hospital’s 700 employees have been with Southwest General for a number of years and cite the warm, family-like atmosphere as one of the primary reasons they stay there.

“We all love what we do and take it to heart, and that’s projected to our patients and to the community,” Swinney says. “This really is like a family, so it’s very important to have good communication and an open and honest environment.”

“There really is an environment of openness and mutual respect,” agrees McNamara. “I’ve found that everyone is very approachable and receptive to new ideas. It’s almost like a teaching hospital at times, since doctors, nurses and administrators work well together and share ideas – and that ultimately benefits the patient.”

Gofron sums it up this way, “You can have the best services and state-of-the-art medical equipment, but if you don’t have the right people and the right spirit, then you don’t have anything.”

Bridging the Language Gap

Thanks to the volunteer efforts of two associates at Jordan Valley Medical Center in West Jordan, Utah, Spanish-speaking employees are now learning English.
Rebecca Chase, a contract employee for Medical Capital Recovery who has an office at Jordan Valley Medical Center, volunteered to teach English to a number of employees in the hospital’s housekeeping department, as well as several patients.
Chase recruited Annie Alba, a native Spanish speaker and employee in the hospital’s business office, and set up the 10-week class. Chase and Alba volunteered their time every Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon to teach the class in a room at the hospital. Chase even purchased notebooks and pencils to give to all students so they could take notes.

A quick look at what’s happening
at IASIS hospitals around the country

Hospital sponsors Safe Kids Week
Davis Hospital – Layton, Utah

Davis Hospital recently partnered with the Utah chapter of the National Safe Kids Coalition campaign to observe National Safe Kids Week. Founded in 1987, the Safe Kids campaign focuses on preventing injuries in children ages 14 and under by raising awareness among adults. This year, the hospital joined with other community agencies to distribute bicycle helmets and car seats, hold car seat safety checks and teach pedestrian safety.

Second graders donate quilts, learn lesson of giving
Jordan Valley Medical Center – West Jordan, Utah

Second grade students at a local elementary school recently learned the importance of giving when their class donated 12 quilts to Jordan Valley Medical Center. The hospital, which receives as many as 80 quilts each year from various community organizations, uses them to care for needy children and elderly patients. The second graders, who made the quilts in their geometry class to study angles, showed deep concern for the patients who needed them.

New cars make hospital visits less scary for kids
Mid-Jefferson Hospital – Nederland, Texas
Park Place Medical Center – Port Arthur, Texas

Two southeast Texas hospitals have teamed up with MultiPlan, one of the nation’s largest preferred provider organizations (PPOs), to make time in the hospital a little less scary – and a lot more fun – for pediatric patients. The pediatric units at both hospitals were recently the recipients of battery-powered toy cars. The cars, which made their debut in a welcoming ceremony on April 2, will be used to transport pediatric patients around the hospitals. MultiPlan has offered the program to participating institutions since 1998 and has awarded more than 80 cars nationwide.

Hospital opens new wound care center
St. Luke’s Medical Center – Phoenix, Arizona

Renovation is under way at St. Luke’s Medical Center to prepare for the June opening of the new St. Luke’s Wound Care Center. The center will specialize in wounds relating to diabetes, venous stasis, radiation therapy and acute traumatic injuries. Orthopedic surgeon Howard Johnston, M.D., who has an extensive background in wound care, will serve as the center’s medical director. Patricia Mann, R.N., L.N.P., who specializes in geriatric and family medicine, is the clinical director.
“We will have the capacity to see as many as 70 patients per day in both inpatient and outpatient situations,” says Larry Bonno, St. Luke’s director of ancillary & support services. “Wound care and management is a particularly necessary medical need within the community surrounding St. Luke’s, which has a high percentage of individuals with diabetes.”

Employee committee launches new programs
Salt Lake Regional Hospital & Medical Center –
Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake Regional Hospital recently established an employee council. Comprised of members from each hospital department, the council meets on a bimonthly basis. The projects that the council is working on include creating an employee suggestion program, a patient care committee that will help streamline processes and procedures, an employee newsletter, and a booklet to define standards of performance for all staff.
Also, the hospital’s women’s services department will be receiving a new computerized central monitoring system to allow caregivers to monitor fetal activity from multiple locations in the department as well as from the physician’s office.

Women’s conference a success
Mesa General Hospital – Mesa, Arizona

Mesa General Hospital, in conjunction with Health Net, Wyeth-Ayerst and the Mesa Senior Center, hosted its third annual Women’s Health Conference, “A Time For Ourselves” on March 31. The event, which drew more than 130 women, focused on health issues of importance to women over the age of 50. Topics included cardiovascular health, incontinence, depression and cosmetic surgery.

Hospital gets new imaging system,
reinstates home health program
Southwest General Hospital - San Antonio, Texas

Southwest General Hospital recently installed a new interventional monoplane imaging system. This system allows the hospital to offer rotational angiography that provides real-time, 3-D impressions of complex vascular systems. When compared with traditional angiography, rotational angiography can save considerable time and provide greater image detail.
Also, Southwest General will offer its patients home health services once again. Before its suspension in 1999, Southwest General had 12 home health locations stretching from Schulenberg, Texas, which is near Houston, to Laredo. The hospital will now focus on creating a smaller agency that can fulfill the needs of its immediate community.

Program educates future caregivers
Tempe St. Luke’s – Tempe, Arizona

Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, Mesa Community College and Tempe High School have formed a partnership to prepare local high school students for careers in healthcare after graduation. The partnership, which is known as Health Occupations Preparatory Education (HOPE), is unique in that is exposes students to a variety of healthcare work experiences while still in high school. Upon completion of the program and graduation, students will be eligible to take the Certified Nursing Assistant test. To promote the program, Tempe St. Luke’s recently held a community health fair, which offered information on healthcare careers and free health screenings to the general public.

New ER opens with special Kids’ Safety Fair
Town & Country Hospital – Tampa, Florida

In keeping with its commitment to child health and safety, Town & Country Hospital presented a Kids’ Safety Fair on May 19. The free event offered children and their parents hands-on instruction in fire safety, poison prevention, disaster weather preparedness and emergency telephone training. There was also a bicycle safety inspection and a drive-through car seat inspection. The event helped celebrate the opening of the hospital’s new emergency department, which recently doubled in size and now includes Express Care, a fast-track area that allows patients with minor injuries to be seen more quickly. Also added in the renovation was a dedicated pediatric room, an ENT/eye room and a radiology center, which allows quicker access to test results when seconds count. Participants in the safety fair had the opportunity to tour the new Express Care facility.