DELAND--Between capital improvement projects, new innovative programs for local residents, increased employee participation in patient care and community events, plus behind-the-scenes improvements, Florida Hospital DeLand is well on its way to achieving its mission: to continue to increase the number of private rooms for patients, increase the quality of the hospital's critical care program, move outpatient services to offsite locations that are convenient and simple to access for the community, and build a lifelong health system for the community that is seen as a community asset.

 

"We don't want to be the average episodic 'sick care' hospital," said Daryl Tol, president of Florida Hospital DeLand, which has invested more than $30 million in its campus over the last four years.

 

Orlando Medical News spoke with Tol about recently implemented programs, the method for determining and prioritizing needed changes, the hospital staff's beefed up community involvement, and how Florida Hospital DeLand holds itself transparently accountable to the community for its performance. 

 

 

We've opened a 12-bed progressive care unit, are building a new digestive health center in cooperation with our 4-physician GI group, and are beginning construction on a 25,000-square-foot medical park to include outpatient imaging, laboratory, rehabilitation services, and a medical office building.

 

Our Partner and Partner Premium programs are new. The Partner program includes a free Partner Card, allowing people access to discounts at the hospital, newsletters, educational materials, and 10 percent discounts to more than 100 local vendors. The program has nearly 1,000 members.

 

The Partner Premium program is a subscription program designed to be provide holistic wellness services. Membership includes full privileges at two area fitness centers, two comprehensive health screenings at the hospital, an annual session with a hospital nutritionist, exercise programming, web-based medical record and health planning.

 

To maximize the patient experience, all nurses round every hour on every patient to check on personal needs. All nurse managers round every day on every patient. Patients are called after discharge from the hospital to ensure that their discharge instructions were clear and that they are having no difficulties in their after-hospital care. This is all to ensure the service to our patients is exceptional.

 

We've also installed an electronic medical records system, moving the hospital from paper record to fully electronic. We've formed a Quality Committee of the Board and post all quality results publicly, with a heavy quality focus and transparency to ensure we're accountable to our community for our results.

 

And also importantly, we've moved our campus to smoke-free status. 

 

We're driven by our 5-year strategic plan and an annual process that leads us to the critical success factors that will allow us to accomplish the objectives of the strategic plan. Our strategic plan and critical success factors are organized around five pillars—service, quality, market, team, and finance. We recognize that the patient is our only customer and all plans are tested against whether those changes improve our interactions with our patients or whether they don't. That's the ultimate sorting filter we use.

 

Our Digestive Health Center houses a 3-operating suite endoscopy center. Victoria Medical Park is a 25,000-square-foot center and medical office building. We've renovated our BirthCare Center, cafeteria and first floor, and expanded our third floor capacity with the addition of a pediatric care unit. We've added a second CT scanner, digital mammography, a 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner, and have made patient entertainment improvements, and added a Memory Garden. All total, we've invested more than $30 million in our facility over a 4-year period.

 

All managers, directors, and executives are required to have membership on at least one board or civic organization in our community. We're a core part of the community and not just an organization in our community.

 

Our Partner program is a great example of something that has brought the hospital, community business, and individuals together for a stronger community.

 

In addition to this involvement, we sponsor many area organizations and are present at most community festivals and events. I personally serve on the DeLand Area Chamber board, the DeLand Family YMCA board, the Main Street DeLand Association board, and am a member of one of the three Rotary clubs in town. Not only is this involvement fulfilling, but it's important in creating a real community with healthcare at its core.

 

I believe our community appreciates seeing the hospital as part of the team. The response to our Partner programs and increasing reputation, volumes, and market share all indicate that the community involvement is not only the right thing to do and a lot of fun, but also important to creating a vibrant network of local business.