Porter Hospital

(From our most recent 2009 Annual Report to the Community)

2009 Report to Our Community
James L. Daily, President
Porter Medical Center, Inc.

PORTER HOSPITAL

“...One very clear and consistent theme emerges—we have a remarkable, resilient and dedicated staff.”

Since an Annual Report, by definition, is a record of a complete year of an organization’s past activities, performance, accomplishments and challenges (in our case from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009) we naturally must begin writing it sometime early in the following fiscal year (generally in late October). Thus, as much as I am trying to focus my thoughts on the major topics from the previous 12 months—it is practically impossible to resist the temptation to write about more “current events”….like the H1N1 flu pandemic and the unanticipated closing of the Champlain Bridge resulting in a major disruption for our employees, patients and community. Suffice to say that it has been a extremely busy and extraordinarily challenging month of October!

As I take a moment, however, to reflect on the past year through the prism of these very current events, one very clear and consistent theme emerges—we have a remarkable, resilient and dedicated staff that cares deeply about the work they do.

I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge our volunteer board members for their commitment and leadership, along with the hundreds of other Porter volunteers who donate their time and talent in the hospital, the nursing home and through our PMC Auxiliary projects and programs.

And finally, I wish to express my appreciation to the people of Addison County who support Porter Medical Center in many ways, and who place their trust in us every single day to deliver the services that improve their health and serve their families.

Sincerely,

James L. Daily
President

Through the years, the fundamental mission of Porter Hospital has remained fundamentally unchanged—to delivery the highest quality health care services to our community. Our ultimate goal, as well as our greatest challenge however, is to fulfill this steadfast mission within an economic, regulatory, technological and political environment that is changing constantly.

While our team of outstanding employees and clinical staff work each and every day to apply their training and talents to ensure that we deliver on this commitment to providing effective, efficient and compassionate care—our board of directors and management team works behind the scenes to navigate this complex external environment and endeavor to make good decisions regarding strategic directions and prudent investment of financial and human resources.

Through this annual report to our community, we will attempt to highlight some of these strategic decisions and investments that are focused on ensuring that Porter Hospital continues to accomplish our mission and deliver on our commitments to our patients, staff and community.

Health Information System/
Electronic Medical Record System

A multi-disciplinary group of Porter Hospital staff worked throughout our fiscal year to identify, evaluate and develop a recommendation to our board on a new health information system that will represent one of the most significant investments in time, talent and financial resources in many years. Our goal is to improve operational efficiency, enhance patient care and provide our patients and our clinical staff with timely and accurate information so that we can provide the right care at the right time and in the right setting. As FY 2009 came to a close, this committee was entering the final phase of their investigations and preparing its recommendations to our board. We anticipate entering (and completing) the regulatory approval process in FY 2010 and, if all goes well, initiating the implementation of this new system into the hospital and area physician practices. State-Wide Collaborations

One of the intended practical outcomes of introducing a new Health Information System at Porter or at any Vermont hospital is an improved ability to communicate and collaborate in a more systemic fashion to provide services and improve the health status of our communities. But simply sharing patient data back and forth is not enough—other opportunities exist for Vermont’s community hospitals to work more closely together with a goal of finding operational efficiencies, improving care and reducing expenses. In FY 2009, Porter Hospital joined with Fletcher Allen Health Care, Gifford Medical Center and Copley Hospital in a successful federal grant application to begin the process of developing a “Rural Health Network” to achieve goals directly related to patient care delivery in a more “system” approach. Additionally, Porter, Gifford and Copley formed the new “Vermont Hospital Shared Services Network” to explore financial and operational efficiencies that can be achieved through better collaboration.

Local Collaborations and Investments for the Future

The need for qualified health care workers is growing nation-wide, and the need for creative and innovative approaches to addressing this issue on a local level is a serious concern for hospitals in many rural communities.

Addressing this anticipated need for a variety of clinical professionals inspired the partnership between Porter Hospital and the Hannaford Career Center to “resurrect” the Health Careers Curriculum for HCC students and has resulted in a highly successful and popular program for our Addison County community. Students receive classroom instruction regarding health careers at HCC, and then gain practical hands-on exposure in a variety of clinical settings at Porter. Additionally, the Porter Hospital/Champlain Valley Area Health Education Center’s “Medquest” program provides yet another opportunity for shortterm “shadowing” for high school students interested in health careers. Without a doubt, inspiring local youth to enter the health care field and seek a career in their home community is good for the student and a prudent longterm investment for Porter Hospital.

New Health Care Programs to Serve our Patients

The establishment of our new “Partners in Palliative and Home Care” practice, expanded cardiology services and the creation of the “Champlain Center for Joint Replacement” represent three significant enhancements or expansions of services to better serve our community. Much more information about each of these new initiatives can be found on our “new and improved” web site: www.portermedical.org.