OMHS answers your questions from the 2009 Report to the Community

Q. What is the intended and best utilization of the current hospital?
OMHS will continue to maintain a presence on Parrish Avenue once the new hospital opens. Services that will remain at the current location include outpatient sleep medicine, the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center, Owensboro Cancer Research Program, nursing courses offered through the University of Louisville and offices for University of Kentucky's pharmacy internship. Patients will continue to have access to x-ray and other imaging services at the RDI Breckenridge location. We also have plans to open a primary care center in space currently occupied by the emergency department.

The plans for the remake of the entire campus have not yet been completed; we will continue to share additional services and plans for the Parrish campus as they develop.

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Q. How many physicians were added during 2009?
During the past fiscal year, OMHS added 15 physicians to its medical staff. In the same period, 10 retired, providing us with a net gain of 5.

Q. What incentives does OMHS offer physician candidates?
Most physicians seek to practice at hospitals providing high quality care to patients. With a number of quality initiatives and improvements in place at OMHS, we continue to have success in attracting hard to recruit physician specialties to Owensboro. Over the last 18 months, we have brought doctors to OMHS who practice infectious disease, radiation oncology, rheumatology, pulmonology, cardiology, anesthesiology, pediatrics and pathology, as well as family and internal medicine. Many have become OMHS-employed physicians and others work in private practices.

OMHS has also acquired additional healthcare providers by securing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to provide primary care in several clinics, including MultiCare locations in Tell City Ohio County and Madisonville and The Clinic at Walmart now open in Newburgh, Henderson and Owensboro (Hwy. 54).

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Come to OMHS
OMHS surgeon says the new hospital will be attractive to potential physicians.

Q. Has OMHS surveyed or polled the public to determine the level of support for building a new hospital near Daniels Lane?
We maintain an open forum and dialogue with the community on plans for the new hospital. In addition to soliciting feedback on our website and in print media, we provided three community forums in the fall of 2009 for members of the community to learn more about the need for the new hospital, how we will pay for it and get a glimpse of what consumers can expect the hospital to look like once it opens in 2013. We also launched a new hospital website that includes videos from hospital administrators, employees, physicians and community leaders discussing the benefits of the new hospital and answering frequently asked questions.

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We're listening
Community input is a key building block for the new hospital.

Q. Please explain how OMHS board members are selected?
All members of the OMHS Board of Directors are selected in accordance with Section 3.03 of organizational bylaws developed in conjunction with the City of Owensboro and Daviess County Fiscal Court. The OMHS Board of Directors consists of 14 volunteer members, including four appointees from the community, selected by nominations from local organizations. Additional representation is provided by three physicians—nominated by the hospital’s medical staff—along with seven directors appointed by city and county government.

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A great board
OMHS leadership does things differently, board member says.

Q. Do other hospitals in the area have metal detectors in the emergency departments?
Utilizing metal detectors to screen hospital visitors and patients is relatively new. Patients, staff and visitors have indicated to use that they feel a heightened sense of safety since we installed the metal detector at the entrance to our emergency department on June 1, 2009. We will continue to seek ways to increase the security for the current hospital and the new facility to ensure the safety of patients, visitors and everyone in the organization.

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Something different about this place
Chaplain says the heart of OMHS brought him to Owensboro.

Q. Is a hotel going to be built on the new hospital site?
OMHS plans to continue developing the site with healthcare services to serve Daviess County and the surrounding communities that depend on us for healthcare needs. While we have no plans or intentions to construct a hotel, private developers may choose to do so on adjacent or nearby properties.

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A ripple effect
Chamber chair is excited about the economic potential of the new OMHS.

Q. What new technology does OMHS expect to acquire in the next two or three years?
In 2009, OMHS conducted an extensive assessment of equipment and technology in the present hospital—to see what we can relocate to the new hospital and what will require replacement. With this in mind, we will continue to acquire new equipment and technology to provide the highest quality and safest care while remaining fiscally conservative whenever possible.

Several new technologies can easily move to the new hospital, including the da Vinci surgical system, the Artis zeego—advanced imaging technology now available in only a handful of US hospitals and robotics equipment that helps fill prescriptions.

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High-tech surgery
OMHS surgeon has seen amazing changes in the OR.