When I first entered practice in Abbeville in 1986, all physicians were in private practices and all hospitals were local. Our hospital was known as Abbeville County Memorial. Our neighbor to the east was Self Memorial. There was Anderson Memorial, Greenville Memorial and in Columbia, Richland Memorial. In the intervening years with changes in healthcare and reimbursement, hospitals have become regional or area medical centers and physician practices have been purchased and integrated into hospital systems.
When I came to Abbeville our hospital was governed by a local board (as is still the case) and the Board hired the administrator. I was serving on the Board in the early 1990s when we realized we needed to become a part of a larger affiliation to be able to stay abreast of the changes in healthcare. We contracted with hospital management company Quorum, now QHR, to provide administrative leadership and guidance. That relationship turned our hospital around and brought home health services to our community, up to date radiology testing and in 2006 our new hospital campus.
Several years ago, the medical staff and Board met and discussed finding a more local partner for affiliation as other area hospitals were joining together. The process of seeking a more local affiliation partner began at that time while we continued under contract with QHR . Since those staff/Board meetings Greenville and Richland have joined to form Prisma and MUSC has expanded into the eastern part of the state.
We cannot remain independent to survive in the current climate. Affiliation is imperative. The “who with” is easily answered by looking at history and geography. Historically our referral patterns and patient self-referrals have been toward Greenwood. We have historically had good working relationships with the Greenwood physicians and the Administrators starting with Larry Dozier in 1986, his successor John Hydel, who brought the cardiac program to Greenwood and currently Dr. Matt Logan, a Greenwood “hometown boy”. All have come to us with the invitation “What can we do to help you?” Obviously, that implies a two-way relationship because the message is “We want the business you can’t take care of locally.”
An affiliation with Self Regional will only make formal a mutually beneficial relationship that has existed for decades and will position both hospitals to be more competitive in today’s healthcare market.
C. Allen Kolb, MD
