CEO Update: February

The biggest news these days is the opening of our new Campbell County Medical Group Main Clinic. It’s exciting to increase the level of access to primary care and specialty providers in one location. We designed it to be convenient for patients. Even though it’s adjacent to the hospital, there is dedicated parking nearby and a separate entrance. You can step right into the clinic without having to take an elevator or stairs, a bonus especially when you are feeling sick.

In the past several years, CCH has focused on bringing specialty care to the community. We now have a complete list of specialists, some who have moved into the Main Clinic and others who have kept their location on the third floor.

Today, we have a new emphasis—primary care. We’ve recruited four excellent family medicine doctors, including Dr. Ryan Noonan and Dr. Helen Iams, who you’ll hear from on upcoming pages, along with Dr. Vijaya Koduri, our new pediatrician. We plan to add a few more primary care providers throughout 2015.

Family medicine services in Gillette have been somewhat limited. Providing primary care services helps us move toward the ‘medical home’ model of healthcare reform.

What’s especially exciting is that two of our family physicians have special training in sports medicine. Both come to us from the prestigious Cleveland Clinic.

Have you ever needed care for a sports injury? If so, you may have had to wait longer than desired for care. In the past, all sports injuries were referred to area orthopedists—whether surgery was required or not—slowing down access. With our new sports medicine trained family doctors we can diagnose and treat non-surgical injuries much more quickly. They will work hand-in-glove with our rehabilitation department to provide effective care.

This issue also highlights our partnership with Gillette College, of which I’m especially proud. We have a very positive, symbiotic relationship with the college to educate nursing students who then complete their clinical training here at CCH and often come to work for us after graduation. In 2013, we retained 10 of 11 new graduate nurses at the hospital or in our healthcare system. Since 2005, we’ve provided funding for educators and a director of nursing at a total of over a million dollars of support. The hospital board just agreed to continue the funding, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Andy Fitzgerald, CEO