Glen Silverman Discusses HMA's Expansion into Madison County

On Sept. 1, Health Management Associates (Nasdaq: HMA) made it official: Glen Silverman, CEO of Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, would take the helm of the new $42 million Madison River Oaks hospital being built off Interstate 55 at Nissan Parkway in Madison County and also serve as CEO of Madison County Medical Center. Interim CEO Davis A. Richards would move to the new post of vice president of community and government relations for HMA's Division 4.

Since the announcement, Silverman, who has lived in Madison since 2004 with his wife and three children, has hit the ground running in his "new" territory. Yet he has been accustomed to a brisk pace as an assistant controller at Riverview Regional Medical Center in Gadsden, Ala., and as CFO at Sandhills Regional Medical Center and Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, both located in North Carolina. He was named COO of CMMC in 2007 and CEO in 2009.

Silverman graciously took time to answer a few questions posed by Mississippi Medical News on the launch of the new facility in the spring, along with plans for expanded services and recruitment of physicians and his goals and vision for the new organization.

With Madison River Oaks replacing Madison County Medical Center when it opens in the spring, there seems to be quite a few moving parts. What changes should the medical community expect and when?

It's true; there are thousands of details in transitioning into a new facility. But, it's very exciting because you know that you're working on a project that will greatly enhance the healthcare resources for a progressive part of our state. The obvious initial change the medical community will notice is that the location of the new facility gives them access to growth opportunities in the Madison market. They will have the ability to expand their practices and create new business that previously might not have been an option because of the old facility's location. Another immediate change is that we'll offer extensive, hospital-based diagnosis and treatment capabilities to support the work of physicians and health professionals who live right here in Madison County, and want to work here as well. I truly believe the medical community as well as the general public will be quite impressed with the new facility. I've been overwhelmed by the excitement in the community that's beginning to build about this new hospital. There is good reason to be excited–Madison River Oaks is going to be an outstanding facility, which will have a positive impact for the community.

What are your plans for recruiting physicians to Madison River Oaks? What type of provider mix are you putting into place? For example, how large of a role will hospitalists and nurse practitioners play in the new organization?

Recruitment for the new hospital is already underway. When it opens next spring, we fully expect to have a full-service hospital with all the medical specialties the citizens of Madison and the surrounding counties have been accustomed to receiving in Hinds and Rankin counties. We believe in the hospitalist model and, just like the other River Oaks hospitals, we'll have 24/7 hospitalist program. I think the hospitalist program already in place at our sister facilities is versatile and meets the needs of all physicians. If you want to admit patients and round on them yourselves, great; if not, we'll have highly trained physicians available to assume that role while the patient is in the hospital. When using the hospitalist program, the community physician receives daily updates of their patients' care and we coordinate timely follow-up with the physician after the patients are discharged. As far as nurse practitioners in the new hospital, I fully support the use of extenders, but we need to remember they aren't physicians, they don't have the same training as physicians, and they shouldn't take the place of physicians. Now with that said, we all know there is a shortage of physicians, especially in the underserved segments of our communities. I fully expect we'll continue to see the use of nurse practitioners to serve these underserved communities and I believe in addition to that, use of their services will continue to grow to support the increasing demand being put on our area physicians.

What are your overall goals and vision for the new organization?

My goal is to be the hospital provider of choice for the counties we serve.

What are the top priorities for the new organization?

Simply put:

a) Provide high quality healthcare services.
b) Recruit the right mix of physicians to support and grow the medical staff while maintaining the strong medical staff already in place.
c) Develop a service culture second to none.
d) Maximize our medical staff members' time and skills; if you can do that, you'll be their preference for where they want to send their patients.
e) Be an employer of choice.

The Mississippi Department of Health recently denied St. Dominic Hospital a certificate-of-need application to relocate 71 existing short-term acute care beds, which St. Dominic strongly contends is permitted under the CON law. Is there an option (or plans) for Madison River Oaks to add more beds later?

Our focus right now is opening the new hospital; with so much to be done, there simply isn't time to devote to respond to St. Dominic's ongoing wish to operate outside the state health plan's guidelines. Our leadership team and associates are committed to making Madison River Oaks a place that provides unprecedented medical care and service, as well as wellness education for this community.

TAGS: Glen Silverman, Health Management Associates Inc., HMA, Madison River Oaks, Madison County Medical Center.

Tags:

Related:

Bookmark:

Digg

Facebook

Technorati

Newsvine

Google