Guest Columnist
For the past 14 years, I’ve been honored to work for Bayhealth. Our mission has driven Bayhealth’s continued growth, and I’m proud of the progress we’ve been able to make. While understanding that today’s health-care industry presents many challenges, I look forward to the future with optimism.
Underserved populations
We are continually working to improve access to quality health care for many Delawareans who are uninsured or underserved.
We’ve been able to make some headway on this important work by implementing programs that help patients take a proactive approach to their own health care. Patients have access to free mammograms, prostate screenings, diabetes education, smoking cessation, health fairs, and more. We encourage our aging population to participate in free educational initiatives and screenings designed to keep them strong.
Population changes
Sussex County has seen an influx of retirees in the last decade. In Delaware, adults 65 and older represent 16.4 percent of our population, two points above the national average of 14.5 percent. Across the nation, health-care organizations are gearing up to meet the needs of this aging population. At Bayhealth, we’re addressing this growth in a number of ways.
We are actively recruiting new physicians to meet the needs of the community. In the last year, we’ve added nearly 15 primary and specialty care physicians to the area.
We are actively recruiting top nurses. In 2015, Bayhealth obtained Magnet® designation for excellence in nursing, which assists with drawing top nursing talent from across the nation.
New Health Campus
This spring, we plan to break ground on a new health campus in southern Delaware. Positioned on a 165-acre property just off of Del. 1, the new health campus will allow Bayhealth to provide cutting-edge health care in an accessible and convenient location.
In fall 2015, we announced an agreement had been made with award-winning health care provider Nemours Children’s Health System to provide pediatric and senior care in a separate facility on the new health campus.
The Nemours collaboration is just the beginning in showing the community that the health campus is more than a hospital. It will redefine health care in southern Delaware. Bayhealth’s goal is to provide many different services in one location to maximize the community’s access to the best health care in the region.
Improved patient experience
The new health campus is designed around our patients. Among the many benefits, highlights will include:
- Improved Access and Convenience: Patients will be able to access and navigate the grounds of the new health campus easily and have access to forward thinking expertise from specialists to lab and diagnostic testing on one location.
- Private Rooms: With the friendly care brought by the familiar values of Bayhealth Milford Memorial, patients at the new health campus will also have a modern facility with comfortable common areas, easier internal navigation and all private rooms.
- Advanced Technology: The new health campus will be designed and built with the infrastructure needed to continuously incorporate the latest technology in treatments.
- Advanced Emergency Services: A much larger Emergency Department with all private rooms will decrease wait times and allow patients to be more comfortable. A critical decision unit will also be placed in the Emergency Department to monitor patients who may need to be admitted to the hospital.
We are driven to be a health-care organization that cares for members of our community as if they are family. Our physicians and staff make this their No. 1 goal.
Terry Murphy, a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, is president and CEO of Bayhealth Medical Center.
