Hays Medical Center
GREAT BEND — The leaders of Hays Medical Center began noticing more and more patients from the Great Bend area were seeking health services at their facility.
They also discovered that Centura Health’s St. Rose in Great Bend was searching for new avenues to providing more services locally.
The result is the signing of a joint venture, which means Centura Health and HaysMed now co-own St. Rose Health Center; the name had been St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center.
“With so many patients coming to HaysMed from central Kansas, we were looking for ways to place the specialists and services closer to the people who need them,” said John H. Jeter, M.D., HaysMed president and chief executive officer. “At the same time, Centura Health was reviewing options to expand the services that could be provided locally to its patients and the community.
“This joint venture is the natural progression of two forward-thinking facilities combining forces,” agreed Dr. Jeter and Scott Taylor, CEO of St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City and St. Rose.
The mission at HaysMed is to help people be healthy. One way to bring that mission to life, Dr. Jeter said, is providing access to specialists and specialty services.
Similarly, Centura Health’s mission is “to nurture the health of people in our communities; this is a great fit for both of us,” Taylor said.
“HaysMed has been fortunate to recruit a large number of specialists in cardiology, orthopedics, oncology and urology,” Dr. Jeter said. “We also have numerous specialty services including wound healing, hyperbarics and a higher level of nursing. Any time facilities can join together to offer a larger array of services locally, and do it cost effectively, it is good for everyone.”
Taylor added “our joint venture will expand care options for central Kansans. Since no one likes to travel to big cities for health care, access to high-quality services close to home is always the best choice.”
HaysMed has historically provided services beyond its home base of Ellis County. For more than three decades, it has collaborated with regional facilities in western Kansas on a wide array of projects, Dr. Jeter said.
“We have a Critical Access Hospital system with 24 facilities and we send physicians to 30 hospitals to provide specialty clinics,” he explained. “In addition, we formed a relationship with Pawnee Valley Community Hospital in Larned.
“HaysMed always believes in keeping access to health care as local as possible,” Dr. Jeter elaborated. “You need to provide health care to people where and when they need it. When it isn’t possible to provide care locally, we must ensure easy access to the next level of care when necessary. This is what it is all about.”
The joint venture provides an even stronger alliance for St. Rose’s primary-care providers who now have immediate access to more specialists, noted Leanne Irsik, St. Rose administrator.
“HaysMed has specialists in Great Bend, and many patients in this area already are seeing these physicians,” Irsik said. “Patients are reporting a high level of satisfaction with them, as well as when they need a higher level of care at HaysMed.
“This great relationship means our providers are supported and our patients are happy with the quality of care,” she continued. “It is a sound alliance that makes it easier to recruit more doctors and allows patients to feel secure.”
The joint venture extends the work Centura Health is doing in western and central Kansas, Taylor commented. “We now have four affiliate hospitals, St. Catherine Hospital and the partnership in Great Bend,” he said. “We remain committed to serving Barton County and the many rural communities across central and southwest Kansas.”
The changes at St. Rose are a reflection of health-care services nationwide – more outpatient services in local communities with inpatient services at high-quality hospitals such as Centura Health’s facilities and HaysMed where hospitalists practice their specialty, Irsik commented.
“Our focus at St. Rose is the outpatient-care and clinic setting,” she elaborated. “Goals are helping people stay healthy, and teaching those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and heart disease to manage their diseases so they can enjoy life instead of repeatedly going to an emergency room.
“Our solid alliances, wonderful providers and computer system are aligned for this new venture,” Irsik continued. “Taking this journey with HaysMed is a great benefit because we all believe in excellence. Centura Health and HaysMed have received many awards and accolades over the years. The people we care for deserve this same level of excellence.”
Taylor noted the new relationship assures that St. Rose is well positioned to provide a wide range of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic care to central Kansans.
“We are very excited about working together to develop a state-of-the-art center that patients can trust and be proud of,” Taylor said. “Collaboration is the key to success in today’s health-care environment and the partners in this venture are proven leaders in non-profit health care in Kansas.”