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FeedIn the Lead
Who’s running your hospital? Only some of the most capable administrators in the business. And they are driving some very exciting changes.
By Bob Yearick Published April 9, 2010 at 09:42 AM
(page 1 of 5)
Steven A. Rose | President and CEO, Nanticoke Health Services, SeafordSteve Rose says that when he took the reins of Nanticoke Health Services in July 2008, it was an organization “in transition.” He pauses a moment, then discards the euphemism and admits, “It was in the red—bright red.”
Rose brought 34 years of experience in healthcare to the job, and during that time, he had created something of a niche in helping hospitals “transition.” In one year he and his team have turned around Nanticoke, which includes Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, Life-Care at Lofland Park and Nanticoke Medical Centers. “We closed the fiscal year [June 30, 2009] with a bit of a profit,” he says, “and so far this year we’re doing well.”
Rose gives credit for the turnaround, first of all, to the hospital staff. “We have good people here who were looking for a plan, and we provided that. We looked at our expenses very hard, and we looked at our growth.”
Under Rose, Nanticoke has added 15 new physicians and new services, including trauma, orthopedics, and interventional cardiology. Also, he says, “We established a new vascular lab with a vascular surgeon, we became the first hospital in Delaware to have a stroke center with advanced certification from The Joint Commission, we started a pediatric practice and, in January, we opened an in-patient pediatric unit.”
Aside from upgrading the hospital staff and its services, Rose knew that he also had to change Nanticoke’s image. Based on the hospital’s surveys, he says, “There was concern in the community we serve that the quality and customer service were not what people were expecting. We worked on our customer service, and we’re doing a good job on it.”
In February 2009 Nanticoke got a big assist from the Delaware Strategic Fund, which provided a $4.5 million loan. The virtually interest-free money enabled Nanticoke to purchase several pieces of equipment and hire nine physicians, 39 employees and a nurse practitioner.
With 115 beds and 770 employees, Nanticoke “in many respects meets the definition of a rural hospital,” Rose says. “The population we serve is a little different from some of the other hospitals in the state because we are in western Sussex County, so we are blessed to have a very diverse community, and we are striving to embrace all of it and understand their cultures.”
Page 2: Dr. Robert J. Laskowski | President and CEO Christiana Care Health System
