The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle - Financial Trends

Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital: meeting the needs of patients and insurance companies

When people are facing an upcoming surgery or need medical care, they are looking for a hospital that provides a combination of high-quality, compassionate care in a safe, high-tech environment.

When evaluating hospitals, insurance companies are also looking for positive outcomes in established hospital settings in addition to low hospital-acquired infection rates, short length of stays and overall low-cost patient care. Hospitals also need to demonstrate to insurance companies that they have a complete and comprehensive health care team, that they are proficient and that they can provide a positive patient experience.

Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital, 10720 Nall Ave. in Overland Park, meets the needs and requirements of both patients and insurance companies.

"Throughout Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital's existence, the underlying mission is to put the patient first and still maintain all of the elements insurance carriers are looking for when extending contracts to a provider," said Jeff Van Horn, Chief Financial Officer of Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital. "This is the reason physicians built, oversee, own and practice at Heartland. THeir vision of health care and patient outcomes were key factors leading up to the creation of the hospital."

Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital was founded by leading physicians from multiple practices and specialties located throughout the Kansas City area. Opening in September 2003 with approximately 20 physicians on the medial staff, Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital has expanded the scope of practice to include new specialties and grown the medical staff to more than 80 physicians.

The hospital prides itself on maintaining very high standards of care. Some examples are:

- The infection rates at Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital average .5 to .7 percent versus the average in the industry at 5 percent.

"What this means is that a patient has a much better chance of recovery for their procedure quickly and reduces the risk of secondary infections when the procedure is performed at Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital," Van Horn said. "This also reduces the risk of readmissions due to complications."

- The national average of staff turn over is 15 to 20 percent. At Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital, the turnover rate is at 5 percent and has never been higher than 10 percent.

"When you have a procedure performed at Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital, your health care worker is experienced and has a well-established relationship with all of the physicians, which then leads to better patient outcomes," Van Horn said. "Our nurse-to-patient ratio is currently at three patients to every one nurse that allows the nurse to spend more time at the bedside caring for his or her patient for a quicker recovery."

There are 19 private inpatient rooms at Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital. To replicate the "home away from home" environment, each room has digital cable TV/music, a plasma flat-screen HDTV and also physical therapy equipment. The environment makes patients more comfortable and helps facilitate the rehabilitation process.

Other patient rooms include

• 10 overnight short-stay recovery suites
• 20 pre- and post-procedure full-privacy walled suites
• Five Level-1 post-anesthesia care beds and
• One Level-1 private adolescent recovery suite.

Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital also has seven operating rooms, all of which are over-sized to facilitate patient safety and superior outcomes.

In addition, the all-digital radiological suite contains a 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner with twice the power of other scanners. This improves accuracy and quality and reduces scan time.

"This means the imaging and details are unparalleled and allow for a more comprehensive diagnosis to pinpoint the exact region needing intervention," Van Horn said.

Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital serves patients of all ages in all specialties, including general surgery. The hospital recently acquired the services of two primary care physicians: Dr. Douglas Anderson and Dr. Alan Kessler. This affiliation will further enhance the comprehensive services that Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital provides.

"All of these aspects are the essence and ingredients to have a positive health care experience whenever you need care at Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital," Van Horn said.

For more information, call Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital at (913) 754-5000 or (800) 975-HSSH (4774) or visit the web site at www.hssh.org