St. Joseph's, Innovis Health usher in a new spirit of care

By Liz Shaw

It was June 5, 2007, when a shovel brigade of dignitaries broke ground on a dream. That dream brought St. Joseph's Area Health Services and Innovis Health Park Rapids together in a cooperative spirit.

Today a 50,000-square-foot clinic and office building has been attached to the hospital bringing a new approach to how services are delivered to patients. The two entities share not only a lobby and information area, they deliver dual focus when providing quality healthcare the people of the Park Rapids service region have come to expect.

St. Joseph's Area Health and Innovis Health are now housed under the same roof with a shared entrance. Efficiencies in working in such close proximity to one another have proven to be more beneficial than expected.

It was the community that helped to make this $26 million project happen. St. Joseph's Foundation set an initial goal of $2.5 million to be raised locally. Employees, physicians, board members, business owners, organizations and individual donors rallied to raise $1.9 million.

In an effort to reach their ultimate goal of $2.5 million, good news came when the Kresge Foundation awarded St. Joseph's a $250,000 matching grant recently. What this does is give donors the opportunity to, in essence, double their contribution amount. This is especially important as construction comes to a close in the next four to five months. Without it, some projects may not come to fruition.

In the home stretch

The entire project will be complete once hospital renovations are finished. St. Joseph's President/CEO Ben Koppelman says the entire project should wrap up sometime in July.

Response to the new, expanded and upgraded facilities have been positive. For such a long, anticipated project, he says it's been fun for the public to finally "see the vision we've been trying to convey to the public for so long." "We're very happy with the way things are shaping up overall with the project," Koppelman says. "One of the biggest things we're seeing are the built-in efficiencies for patients as well as for physicians and staff given the close proximity of the hospital and clinic."

Planners knew the connection would be advantageous, but in working reality it has proven to be even more of a benefit than initially projected.

A new triage room awaits its next patient. Areas of St. Joseph's Emergency Department are complete, yet construction in this area continues.

"Construction projects such as these are always challenging," Koppelman adds. "We are very thankful and appreciative that the public has been understanding. We've done our best throughout this process to make it as comfortable as possible for people. Now we are looking forward to wrap things up."

Before that can happen, St. Joseph's faces a significant challenge as crews work to complete the Emergency Department (ED) entrance and new ambulance entrance and enclosure area. Once complete, however, it will be a significant upgrade for patients to have an enclosed area when arriving to the ED during an emergency situation.

Project check list

Main hospital projects have included a new lobby area, gift shop, completely renovated patient rooms, renovated hospice rooms, enhanced sleep study department, expanded surgical services, new outpatient ambulatory care area, an ED which will double in size, expanded radiology department, new waiting areas, a renovated chapel, a coffee and sandwich shop, improved patient waiting areas, meeting rooms, private doctor/patient consultation rooms, new medical records department, administrative offices, plus a lot of miscellaneous improvements that allow for greater creature comforts and efficiencies that affect patient care.

A Shoppe On Pleasant greets guests in the medical center lobby. St. Joseph's Auxiliary volunteers operate a newly revitalized gift shop. They have made it their mission to enhance the St. Joseph's patient experience.

Additional staff have been employed as a result of construction in areas including, custodial, housekeeping and the coffee shop.

The potential for increased employment is in place as physicians are recruited. Innovis Health and St. Joseph's have announced the signing of several physicians for services include: Dr. Jared Aelony, DPM, now comes to Park Rapids every Monday to see patients; Dr. Nicholas Yokan, an orthopedic surgeon, will begin seen patients at the end of April on a part-time basis; and Roger Thomas, physician assistant, gave notice he will relocate here to serve patients in the bariatric and orthopedic programs.

In addition, Dr. Scott Maanum, a Park Rapids graduate, will be joining Innovis as a family physician in the summer of 2010, and Dr. Nate Harris, a native of Nevis, will begin practicing in Internal Medicine in the summer of 2011.

Other physician recruitment is currently in the works.

What's not to love?

Innovis Health has its own registration area in the shared lobby with St. Joseph's.

One step into Innovis Clinic offices, and one is greeted with a sense of great pride for the new facilities.

Three levels house offices for family physicians, internists, specialists, administrative and clerical staff. Physicians can move easily from the clinic to hospital departments. Surgeons are mere steps away from the surgical department and ambulatory care unit.

Kim Burghuis, radiology supervisor, RT(R)(M), (far left) and Deb Korsgaden, radiology tech, RTR, use new equipment to run tests on Innovis patients in the radiology department. Jennifer Dunker, MLT, (right) works on Innovis' lab hematology analyzer.

"We love it," says Laurie Albertson, Innovis Health Division Manager. "Both the providers and staff are really enjoying their new spaces." And there's a lot to love.

Direct proximity to the hospital, spacious and functional nursing stations, expanded hallways, 10 additional exam rooms, four minor procedure rooms, adjustable meeting rooms, expanded waiting areas, a private infusion therapy department, a new Dexa scan unit to test for osteopenia and osteoporosis, new computed radiography equipment, and new exam/procedure tables, all of which will contribute to providing the best healthcare possible for this community.

Dr. Shelby Eischens listens to concerns from a patient in a new clinic exam room. Rooms are furnished with computers since Innovis transitioned to an electronic medical records system.

Innovis Health has also recently transitioned to a new electronic medical record system. Even the exam rooms are equipped with computers so physicians and nurses can access updated information and test results immediately after input rather than waiting for the paper copy to be faxed, distributed, or filed.

"Transitioning to an electronic medical record has its challenges," Albertson says, "and it will take time to achieve the proficiency with the system that we're all looking forward to achieving. But, the numerous benefits of having an electronic medical record system are more than worth the immediate challenges we face with initial implementation."

As much as physicians and staff have easily acclimated to the new clinic, she says patients really seem to be enjoying the same new features and comfortable surroundings of their new clinic as well.