THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412150411
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Sentara Leigh runs the tightest ship in the sea of local hospitals.
That's the conclusion of a new report from a state agency that ranks the Norfolk hospital as the most efficient in this region.
But the report doesn't look at the quality of care or the mission of the hospital, and that's a concern to the facility that ranked the lowest, Newport News General Hospital.
The report, from the Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council, also looked at nursing homes. The most efficient: Lancashire Corporation in Kilmarnock, Hillhaven Rehabilitation in Norfolk, Camelot Hall in Chesapeake and Lynn Shores Manor in Virginia Beach. Oakwood of Virginia Beach and Windermere at Virginia Beach were ranked least efficient locally.
The report used 18 criteria to rank the hospitals' efficiency, looking at factors such as patient charges, staffing, bed occupancy, high-tech services and debt. It also considered the amount of free care the hospitals give, and the portion of their patients who are on Medicaid, the government program that finances care for the poor.
Sentara Leigh officials credited their high score to a program that reduced staffing by cutting management positions through attrition. The effort did not cut back on any ``front-line'' workers who handle patient care, said John Steel, the hospital's director of finance.
Steel said that the hospital's doctors have been involved in efforts to look at the way they are treating patients and to try to find the best way to limit costs without cutting care.
Steel also said that the Sentara system, which owns four hospitals in Hampton Roads, achieves economy by sharing equipment and services. For instance, Sentara Bayside doesn't have a magnetic resonance imager - Sentara Leigh sends its mobile unit to Bayside to do scans. That reduces overhead by ensuring that the equipment is used to capacity.
Overall, Sentara did well in the report. The system's latest acquisition - Sentara Bayside - was also its least efficient. Elisabeth McNamara, director of marketing for the Sentara system, said some of those problems were holdovers from the hospital's previous ownership.
Riverside Health Care Association, another large system in the state's eastern region, placed all three of its hospitals in the top 25 percent of the list.
While officials from the Cost Review Council have said they plan to measure quality of care in future reports, the omission concerns the people at Newport News General Hospital.
Newport News General had the lowest ranking of 20 hospitals in the region. It was started almost a century ago to treat blacks who were shut out from white hospitals and still serves a clientele that is primarily African American.
Its clientele also is largely lower-income. The patients tend to put off medical treatment longer than people with insurance, so their treatment tends to be more expensive, says Lisa Hays, chief operating officer. And clients often have trouble paying.
In fact, Newport News General has the region's highest percentage of clients on Medicaid - almost half - a fact reflected in the report.
About a year and a half ago, the hospital contracted with Healthcare Affiliates, a minority-owned Washington company, to make the operation more efficient while continuing to serve the same population, Hays said.
Among other things, the hospital has started a primary care clinic and an education program to encourage their clientele to see a doctor early, she said. They've also made capital improvements to attract more patients.
``We're definitely in turn-around mode,'' said Hays. ILLUSTRATION: Chart
Efficience ratings
For complete information see microfilm
KEYWORDS: MEDICAL COSTS HOSPITALS by CNB