STEVE KITCHEN: Healthcare changing, but commitment is not

Healthcare delivery is changing fast, especially in smaller communities like ours.

At Phoebe, our core responsibility is to take care of patients today while planning for our community’s future needs. As Chief Medical Officer (CMO), I focus as much on Phoebe’s long-term preparedness as I do on making sure we deliver the care our community needs now.

Phoebe’s vigilance has cemented our foundational role in the health of our community over the last century. And it’s still what propels us forward today.

I read with great interest the Albany Herald’s recent Outlook 2017 coverage. Healthcare is fundamentally important to each of us, so I was glad The Herald devoted much-needed attention to starting an important conversation. The coverage, however, raised important questions regarding the care we provide.

The article included a claim that many independent physicians are looking to leave our community. Before becoming Phoebe’s CMO, I practiced as an independent physician for 25 years. I watched the size of our medical community grow rapidly. Phoebe has been instrumental in this growth by successfully recruiting physicians in highly sought after advanced specialties – experts coveted even in major metropolitan areas around the country.

I have also seen the Phoebe Family Residency Program dramatically improve access to care over the last 24 years. Phoebe-trained physicians are not only practicing at Phoebe Primary Care Clinics throughout Southwest Georgia, but also at many independent physician offices.

Here is another fact that may surprise you.

Of all the in-patient surgeries performed on Dougherty and Lee County residents in 2016, 81.74 percent were performed at Phoebe. A quote in the Herald’s coverage grossly misstated this fact. This misconception is part of a larger notion that our region’s residents must regularly look to Atlanta to be healed.

That’s simply inaccurate.

The misperception is not surprising. In communities like ours throughout the country, people who need specialized care – like world-class cardiac and cancer treatment – are unfortunately faced with the reality of traveling for hours to big cities for those resources.

But not here.

At Phoebe, we are constantly developing and delivering specialized services that simply don’t exist in small communities. We are the only hospital in Southwest Georgia, and one of only a dozen in the state, to offer Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive procedure that is saving the lives of patients who are not candidates for open heart surgery. Phoebe’s electrophysiologists are among a handful of physicians in the state specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias. Additionally, our neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a Level IV NICU, meaning we provide the highest possible level of acute care to help even the tiniest premature babies survive and thrive. Likewise, the Phoebe Cancer Center provides comprehensive treatment (including a rare combination of medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists) that rivals the country’s top cancer centers.

Making these services a reality in a small community isn’t easy. Unless you or a loved one has needed them, you may not be aware Phoebe offers such world-class treatment. We want to change that.

You may have recently seen new messages from some of your friends and neighbors who are Phoebe heart and vascular patients. They want you to know how the care they received here at home dramatically improved, or even saved, their lives. We’ll soon start sharing stories like these from our cancer survivors and other patients. It’s important for you to know the unique level of care available right here in your backyard.

Another inaccurate statement quoted in The Herald’s article concerns a partnership between Phoebe and Grady, one that has already delivered important benefits to our patients. The quote infers that our partnership with Grady Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was created so we could transport patients to Grady’s facilities.

Again, that’s just not true.

There is no agreement to transport patients to any Grady facility. Our partnership allows better, more efficient critical care and non-emergent transport between Phoebe’s facilities and others, such as extended care facilities. It also allows us to bring at-risk newborns from across our region into Phoebe’s NICU. The purpose of the partnership is not to send patients out. It’s about delivering patients to the most appropriate place for care. It’s another example of how Phoebe is providing world-class services right here at home.

I am grateful the Herald started an important dialogue about Phoebe and broader healthcare issues, including Lee County’s plans for an investor-owned hospital at the former county-operated golf course.

The Herald rightfully characterized Lee County’s plan as possibly the biggest development the county has seen in years. We all agree, it’s a very important issue, but so far there has been no real public discourse about it. That has led to many questions. Will Lee County taxpayers have to take on the $9.2 million in annual indigent care that Phoebe currently provides at no cost to Lee County residents? Would local taxpayers be on the hook for public bond funding should the private investor hospital fail? Why have these plans not been discussed in open meetings? I hope, in the coming weeks, the public – who is being asked to put tax dollars behind this effort – can have a chance to know the facts.

From the day Phoebe opened, we have provided care to anyone who has come through our doors, regardless of their ability to pay. Unlike investor-owned hospitals, we are committed to reinvesting in our community even with the added responsibility of providing hundreds of millions of dollars in charity and uncompensated care each year.

Healthcare in our community is indeed changing fast, but our commitment to you is not. As Phoebe has for the last 100 years, we will continue to embrace change and deliver on our mission of providing the best possible care and exceeding the expectations of all we serve.

Dr. Steven Kitchen is chief medical officer at Phoebe Putney Health System.