David Frum BH President & CEO                                             Staff Departures                    Since Bridgton Hospital announced moving on from three physicians — Dr. Henry Roy (Internal Medicine), Dr. Gene Royer (Family Practice) and Dr. Hans Boedeker (Oncologist) — as part of a “right-sizing” move on June 2017, the following physicians and professional staff members have left the local healthcare facility (this is simply a list of some of the staff members who have moved on to other facilities): Dr. Dena Carty, Hospitalist Samuel Gagnon, Physician Assistant Ann Marie Bell, Nurse Practitioner Brittany (Stillman) Jacques, Podiatrist Dr. Shayna Lemke, Family Practice Dr. Daniel Matta, back to CMMC Dr. Annamarie Pond, Family Practice Dr. Eric Gerchman, Family Practice Denyell Gerchman, Pharmacist Jennifer Cyr, Pharmacist Nancy Wright, Nurse Practitioner Christine Warwick, Nurse Practitioner Sergei Pavlov, Nurse Anesthetist Tom Nolan, Nurse Anesthetist Dr. James Kylie, Surgeon Dr. Deb Eisenberg, OB/GYN Dr. Stuart Eisenberg, Gastroenterology Specialist Dr. Deb Surette, OB/GYN Dr. Mahnee Dinsmore, OB/GYN Dr. Bruce Lastra, OB/GYN Dr. Jen Smith, Family Practice Robert Slattery, BH Vice President Dr. Peter Vandenberg, Surgeon Gretchen Prenata, Physician’s Assistant Kathy Wohlenberg, Social Service Manager Susan Rivet, Outpatient Director, Adm. Supervisor Kathy Hutchinson, Operating Room Manager Lisa Burger, Director, Physician Practices Dr. Craig Smith, Family Practice (notice given)

Editor’s note: Following a front page BN story on July 12, which local resident Ursula Flaherty voiced concerns to Bridgton selectmen regarding the exodus of numerous physicians and what the future holds in terms of healthcare access locally, Bridgton Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer R. David Frum submitted the following piece for publication:

By R. David Frum

BH President & CEO

For 101 years, Bridgton Hospital has served the people of the Lake Region, providing care to generations of local residents and summer people alike. If you live around here, chances are that you and everyone you know has had some care at Bridgton, either in the “old” hospital or in the modern 22-bed facility that we now call home.

Recently, Central Maine Healthcare – the system we are proud to be part of—has begun work to identify areas of growth and impact for Bridgton Hospital so that, as we enter our second century of service, we can best meet the needs of our community. By examining local demographic changes and trends in the way patients consume healthcare, we hope to find avenues for expansion, as well as areas where we must be prudent stewards of this remarkable community institution.

I’d like to note here that the system has no intent to close Bridgton Hospital, which is consistently nationally recognized for its commitment to safety and high-quality care.

As a designated “critical access hospital,” Bridgton has an obligation to meet the healthcare needs of the region it serves, even as those needs evolve. How have they changed, and to what degree? How can we provide these services without sacrificing quality of care, access or affordability? We must find out.

We’ve taken two steps to start this process.

First, we’ve engaged a knowledgeable partner, ERDMAN, whose integrated approach to planning has received national recognition. ERDMAN will help us create a “road map” customized to the unique strengths of Bridgton Hospital and the unique needs of the Lake Region. Our ERDMAN team has already provided us with an excellent briefing on national trends in healthcare that may greatly affect how we provide care in Maine, including competition, payer models, physician employment and clinical innovation.

Our second step will be to reach out to stakeholders, business owners, patients and elected officials, to solicit their thoughts on what the community needs most from its hospital. Whether you have had an injury treated, battled through a tough disease, or welcomed a new family member at Bridgton Hospital – or just always feel confident that Bridgton Hospital is here when you need us — your opinions and experience will help inform our strategy going forward.

As we listen to your experiences, we’ll also be mindful of some national trends in healthcare that are playing out in Maine, as well. Some of the factors affecting hospitals include: clinical innovations that make it easier for patients to receive excellent care on an outpatient or limited-stay basis; changes in payment models that affect consumers’ choices; increased competition from non-hospital facilities, and new employment trends for physicians. All of these trends alter the viability of the old models of care and force us to creatively address the needs of our patients.

We think this is a good problem to have, because Bridgton is more than just “docs in a box.” It is an anchor of the Lake Region, a resource for all who live here, and we know the community is eager to see what the hospital does in its second century. We are too, and look forward to your help in making that success possible.

Note: ERDMAN is a national strategic planning and consulting group with offices located in Texas, Colorado, California, Tennessee and Virginia.

According to the ERDMAN website in regards to operational and experiential planning, “There is tremendous financial pressure placed on healthcare management today with increased risk associated with new and changing reimbursement models and a shift from volume to value. Organizations must reorganize clinical programs, care delivery models, and resource deployment to be efficient in this new environment while simultaneously driving provider and patient engagement and satisfaction.

Through a variety of Lean facilitation tools and events that engage providers and staff as part of the organizational redesign process and supported by data-driven analytics, ERDMAN helps organizations plan for and realize their desired goals. Optimizing return on invested capital through provider-leveraged care models that maximize productivity and utilization of organizational resources.

Partnering with healthcare management seeking to attract and retain new patients in this competitive market environment, we leverage our operational and experiential planning capabilities to define and deliver intentionally crafted patient and staff experiences that are unique, predictable, and repeatable. We accomplish this by reviewing the operational model through a series of influence points that are aligned with local consumer preferences, while simultaneously connecting the operational model to achieve desired organizational results.”