Meet the new hospital's leader, Carol King

Staff file photo West Chester Medical Center’s Senior Vice President Carol King.

Ohio leaders preparing defense of bases amidst closures
10:59 a.m.
Pentagon to allow women to serve near front lines
9:17 a.m.
Franklin may leave joint EMS group
8:24 a.m.
County candidates seek to sway voters at forum
8:19 a.m.
State plane cleared by FAA to fly again
2/10/12
> More headlines

By Tiffany Y. Latta, Staff Writer Updated 11:30 PM Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The West Chester Medical Center’s Senior Vice President Carol King discussed the goals of the hospital and her outlook on the changes in the health care industry.

Q What are your goals for 2009?

A To open the area’s newest hospital in May and provide exceptional care to those we serve.

Q Are you anticipating any changes at the hospital?

A We will continually look for ways to improve how we provide care and will also look to expand/modify the services we offer depending on need and demand.

Q What are some of the challenges facing the Butler County area in terms of health care or hospital care?

A It’s not just in Butler County, but all health care is experiencing a record number of people who need services, but have no way to pay. Co-pays and deductibles have been increased, people are losing jobs and health coverage, and their ability to pay has decreased. This in turn means that bad debt has increased in the hospitals. People can’t help when they get sick and need medical attention.

Q What impact did the sluggish economy have on your hospital in 2008 and how will it impact plans for 2009?

A People are putting off elective surgeries and procedures, so some hospitals have seen a decrease in business.

Q With the number of medical facilities in the area increasing and the number of nurses and doctors dwindling, what are you doing to attract and retain nurses and physicians?

A The environment and culture that we’re creating will hopefully attract and retain not only nurses and physicians, but all the employees that we’ve recruited. We’ve put processes in place so that work can be done safely and efficiently, and we’ve created a place where providing exceptional service is an expectation of every person in our hospital. I’ve never seen so many people so excited about coming to work and building something from the ground up. We’ve received (thousands of) job applications since posting positions in the fall of 2008, and so far have hired more than 300 new associates.

Q Health care was one of the top issues during the presidential election. What do you see as the biggest issues in the health care industry and what would you like to see President Obama do to solve them?

A A common platform for an electronic medical record. All of our systems struggle to keep up with new technology. A consistent platform would (help) patients in particular as they navigate the health care system.

Q Do you think universal health care is a good idea?

A I think the public deserves health care. Universal health care is an interesting concept to provide that access, but I’m not sure of the best way to fund it.

Q Discuss any new technology, partnerships or programs available at your hospital?

A The fortunate thing about building a new hospital is that everything you have is new and usually the latest technology. Some of the systems we’re implementing include Navicare patient tracking system, barcoding for medication administration, infrared tracking tags for patients, “smart” badging for staff, Mosby’s Nursing Skills — a Web-based reference and management tool, Heartsuite integrated cardiology tools, IDX Lastword clinical documentation, Hill-Rom VersaCare AIR mattresses that communicate with Navicare, Hospira smart IV pumps and PCA pumps, Krames electronic patient education system, acuity-adjustable “universal” bed system, eICU capability in every room, bariatric ceiling lifts and negative air-flow rooms available in each unit and many more.

Q Hospitals nationwide are slowly moving toward electronic medical records that would allow medical facilities anywhere access to a patients medical records. Is this happening at your hospital? What are the benefits or problems with online access to medical records?

A We are moving toward an EMR system and will have pieces in place when we open. A common platform is what needs to be in place so that this works most efficiently. An EMR provides medical history in a single record, which would be a tremendous asset to health care providers. Patients move, change physicians, use multiple hospitals and physicians and it can be difficult to make sure you have all of the correct information. This would streamline that process and possibly prevent duplication of services.

Our focus at West Chester Medical Center is on patients and their families. Our goal is to provide outstanding care and anticipate the needs of our patients. Everything we’ve done in building this hospital was designed by physicians and clinicians with forethought and purpose — from fireplaces in the family retreat areas to all-private inpatient and emergency treatment rooms, comfortable accommodations for overnight visitors, bedside registration, room service for meals and even the color-scheme and design of the hospital was designed with the patient’s comfort in mind.

Share this article