On Wednesday, members of the community gathered to hear La Porte Hospital CEO Ashley Dickinson and other members of the hospital leadership team provide an update on the exciting developments at La Porte Hospital over the last eight months. The focus of the program – called Here’s to Your Health – And Update with the CEO – was to inform the public about growth initiatives and recruitment efforts, awards and quality accreditations, honors and celebrations, and provide as much information as possible about the new hospital slated to open in 2020.
The goal of the new La Porte Hospital, she said, is to continue fulfilling La Porte Hospital’s mission of improving the health of their patients and communities, while continuing to grow and provide services that are most needed in the community.
“When planning the new hospital, we look at what our community needs. That drives our strategic plan,” said Dickinson. “We want to build the right hospital for the community.’’
The new La Porte facility will cost about $125 million and will be roughly 200,000 square feet. A medical office building is also planned for the campus, and the hospital will be designed to accommodate future growth.
The leadership team emphasized that the new hospital will be easier to navigate, reflecting the changes that have developed in healthcare since the hospital opened in 1972.
“People are anxious coming to a hospital as is, so we want to make our layout easier for patients,” said Dickinson. “For instance, our cardiovascular services in our hospital now are spread out. The services in the new hospital are going to be grouped together as a heart center.”
In other developments, Dickinson mentioned the hospital has launched “In-Quicker” online check-in for urgent care, so people who need to visit urgent care in La Porte and choose their time and bypass the wait line when they arrive.
Another new service that has been launched is MDSave, an independent service that offers discounted cash pricing for services such as colonoscopies, deliveries and gynecology procedures, mammograms, ultrasounds, CT/X-ray/MRI scans, bone density scans, lab tests and some heart and vascular tests.
“We want the community to think of Amazon or Groupon, but for healthcare. As high-deductible insurance plans become more prevalent, healthcare consumers are asking for opportunities to pay cash for services, and we wanted to make sure they have that option.” The community can log on to MDsave.com and search for procedures in La Porte.
One of the most popular topics at the community event was the discussion around hospital growth over the last eight months.
“We are growing, but we are and will continue to be La Porte’s community hospital,” said Dickinson.
Since last May, 52 nurses have been hired and 20 leadership positions have been filled. Five providers specializing in general surgery, gastroenterology, OG/GYN and primary care have also been hired.
The hospital has completed a five-year strategic plan that focused on growth and development of areas such as primary care and internal medicine, women and children’s care, and heart care. The hospital expects to open at least three new clinics this year; one has already opened at Purdue University Northwest Westville Campus, open to students, faculty and the community. New services specific to certain diseases such as heart failure and peripheral arterial disease are also being considered, to ensure the community can get specialized care.
For more information about La Porte Hospital, please visit www.laportehealth.com.
