Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 25, 1994 TAG: 9407070060
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"To me, patient-focused care is a win-win-win situation," Lamb said. He believes the new philosophy will improve conditions for all involved in the health care industry - patients, phyicians and other hospital personnel.
Lamb's commitment to restructuring Radford Community Hospital was a factor in his winning the 1994 Regent's Award presented by the American College of Health Care Executives and the Medical College of Virginia.
The award recognizes the state's health care executive of the year for innovative and creative management, leadership ability and other administrative skills.
Lamb said Radford Community Hospital was leading the movement toward patient-focused care, a management system similar to the Total Quality Management philosophy adopted by many companies in the past few years. While other hospitals are trying patient-focused care on a smaller scale, Lamb says Radford Community Hospital is one of the few to develop a plan for all areas.
"Skip's always been an innovator," said Tom Robertson, president of Carilion Health System, of which Radford Community Hospital is a member.
Robertson said Radford Community is the first Carilion hospital to try patient-focused care. If it's successful, the company's other hospitals might follow Radford.
"Radford has been first on a lot of things in our system," he said.
Archie Cromer, chairman of Carilion Health System's board of directors, praised Lamb, for his leadership and knowledge of the health care industry.
"It makes us extremely proud and confirms our belief that he's one of the top administrators in the country," said Cromer, who has known Lamb for 23 years. "I want to attest to his visionary leadership. Everything we've done at Radford - we've felt we've been ahead of the curve."
Lamb's plans for patient-focused care have been embraced by the board.
"He's sold on it and he's sold us on it," Cromer said. "I've never known anyone to be so enthusiastic about how this can change the delivery of care to our patients."
Lamb credits his entire staff for the Regent's Award.
"I think the award was really more a reflection of what this hospital has done," he said. "You need good people to be involved in a hospital."
"I have a real concern about and interest in the people who work for this facility," Lamb said.
He said he practices participative management - employ the best people in key management spots and allow them to do their jobs without rigid guidelines.
The involvement of more than 100 employees in planning for patient-focused care gives some indication of Lamb's management style.
"We've organized into numerous teams to look at all facets of the hospital's operations."
Radford Community Hospital will be one of the first to consider patient-focused care in the design of a new facility. The hospital will hire an architect by the end of this year to design the new facility, to be built on Virginia 177 between Radford and Interstate 81. The new building should be completed during the last quarter of 1998.
Lamb decided to allow the hospital teams to provide their vision of the new facility before bringing in an architect.
For example, Lamb said the new hospital will probably be one to two stories with multiple entrances so that patients can reach their destinations easily.
Patients won't have to wait for elevators or be rolled down long hallways for tests and procedures. Lamb said most of the patients' needs will be met without them leaving their wing of the hospital.
Once the new facility is running smoothly, Lamb said, he will step down, probably in early 1999 after 29 years at the hospital.
Lamb expects he will remember the change to patient-focused care and the construction of the new hospital as the most exciting part of his tenure.
"While I've had the opportunity to leave over the years, we've always been at a level where there's a new challenge," Lamb said.
by CNB