With more than 415 rural hospitals on the brink of closure in 2024, Olean General Hospital and Bradford Regional Medical Center turned 2023 into a year of progress, growth, and repositioning to ensure their Twin Tiers communities have access to quality healthcare.
The vision of leadership to create a financially sustainable healthcare system is to improve efficiency, enhance quality, and execute growth opportunity initiatives. Leadership paved the way by creating annual benchmarks to address these initiatives.
Behind every initiative is a workplan that will help drive the twin hospitals in the Upper Allegheny Health System to financial sustainability. Staffing shortages continues to impact many workforces, especially nurses in healthcare. Through various recruitment and retention efforts, UAHS recruited 25 graduate nurses and more than 30 experienced nurses throughout 2023, surpassing the goal created at the beginning of the year. Through recruitment efforts, the nurses displaced costly agency nurses throughout the organization reducing expenses, but also put the lives of our community members back in the hands of nurses who live in the community. The effort was equally focused on retention with UAHS’ turnover rate reaching record lows last year.
“We’re starting to see a cultural shift in our organization. This isn’t by chance, but by choice. We’re creating a work environment where our staff wants to be,” Dr. Jill Owens, president of UAHS, said.
With more invested staff comes better quality. UAHS reported higher consumer assessments of healthcare providers and systems in responsiveness, which was a focus for 2023. Through developing efficiencies, advocacy work, and focusing on areas of growth, UAHS made a $40 million turnaround in a one years’ time.
The financial turnaround is partly attributed to growth at BRMC. The leadership at the Pavilion worked diligently to increase the census, improve quality, retain staff, and create an improved culture for both residents and staff.
“With the additional resources of adding two sleep study rooms within our hospital, we’ve been able to increase testing by over 75%," Owens said. "The team has been able to not only accept more patients for studies but have enhanced the efficiency of processes."
In 2023, UAHS continued to prioritize recruitment of new providers to the healthcare system. New physicians and advanced practice providers have joined service lines that are currently offered, but UAHS has added physicians that will be introducing new services.
This includes new vascular services with the recruitment of Dr. Thomas Langan, vascular surgery, who is practicing in Olean and will be opening up a vascular clinic at BRMC once credentialed in Pennsylvania.
In 2023 other providers that were onboarded include Dr. Robert Jones, general surgery; Dr. Dana Dunleavy, vascular and interventional radiology; Dr. Ian Wilson, vascular and interventional radiology; Dr. Charles Patterson, dentistry: physician assistant McKenzie Kaplan, general surgery; nurse practitioner Phylicia Patterson, oncology; and physician assistant Michael Hickey, orthopedics and sports medicine.
Owens said UAHS continues to out-recruit other rural healthcare systems due to the resources and wide breadth of services available in the region.
Owens herself continues to be a factor in advocating for rural healthcare both in New York and Pennsylvania. A Bradford native, Owens has participated in healthcare summits focusing on the needs of rural healthcare. The advocacy work is important for political leaders to understand the perfect storm that healthcare organizations across the nation are currently facing — three-quarter lower reimbursement rates, higher costs, and staffing shortages. Her work and advocacy, along with other healthcare leaders in rural New York and Pennsylvania, is meant to find solutions to help struggling hospitals — whether with financial relief efforts or improved reimbursements. Without Olean General and BRMC, communities will be isolated in regions without healthcare and having to travel far distances to receive basic care.
As an organization, UAHS has worked to support local neighbors and show that the care provided is not only in the four walls of hospitals, but out in the community as well. Both Olean General and BRMC, along with staff, have contributed to fundraising events and charitable efforts for community causes, while also providing outreach in the communties to promote healthier lifestyles and awareness of proactive testing and procedures to head off more serious medical problems.
“The work that’s been accomplished is only the beginning and there is still more to be done," Owens said. "However, I stand behind the effort that our workforce of 1,300 provide to our region. We’re in this together."