By Pat Baird and Marcia Rogers, May 27, 2010 from Washington DC
If you think we are writing about a golf swing or a new archery technique, we aren’t, of course, but what we want to step forward and share with readers are the perspectives from two community volunteers, who are witnessing something fairly extraordinary and perhaps historic for our community out in Washington, DC.
We’d like to tell about our experiences on the first of a two-day health care summit in Washington D.C., sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Recognized in July 2009 by the Institute of Healthcare Initiatives, Cedar Rapids was named at that time as one of 10 regional models in providing the right formula towards serving its community with better care and better health at a lower cost, otherwise known as The Triple Aim. Our two hospital CEOs, Ted Townsend and Tim Charles, along with Dr. Jim Levett, were present at that tribute last summer.
At the time, Cedar Rapids- and the counties that make up its Hospital Referral Region or HRR (Linn, Jones, Delaware, Benton)- was recognized as having relatively low Medicare costs and above average health care quality, an inspiring grasp on data and trends in its own market and a willingness to drive change through bold leadership and partnerships. The general sense at that meeting was that Cedar Rapids, and the other nine communities were on the right path to The Triple Aim and could be models for regional health delivery for the country.
Cedar Rapids was invited back to the next phase of the discussion on “How Will We Do That? Building Low Cost High Quality Health Care Regions in America” May 26, 27th in Washington, DC. The original group of ten was extended to thirteen, and the original participants were asked to expand their presence to include physician representatives and community leaders.
Come prepared to work hard we were told. In addition to the thirteen working groups, an invited audience of health care experts from government, private sector, and academia were on hand to observe and lend comment to the process. An intensive 2 day schedule began in earnest yesterday morning, well into the evening last night, and will conclude by mid afternoon today.
This morning Cedar Rapids will give its report about our emerging ideas for strengthening the collaborative health care in our region with an impressive set of thoughts compiled by our group.
Pat Baird, will share these remarks this morning in front of the participants and the invited media. Tim Charles from Mercy Medical Center and Ted Townsend from St. Luke’s Hospital have worked tirelessly and together on these processes. Dr. Jim Levett continued to be a strong voice for physician groups and specialists in Cedar Rapids, and Dr. Tim Quinn represented the interests and issues of primary care providers. We were honored to be included and to watch this historic collaboration take place, and we hope we did our part to represent the interests of business and economic development for our region. This discussion is only the beginning, as these leaders return to educate and frame further discussions from within our community in the months to come.
We look forward to hearing more outcomes from our team as this day rolls on, and we anticipate continued interest in Cedar Rapids and our HRR from a National level, as we continue innovative community steps as leaders and role models in health care. Cedar Rapids is indeed a wonderful place to live, and what we have witnessed during this health care forum reinforces our belief in the opportunities that lie ahead for even greater health care in our community, led by these two fine institutions. Make no mistake, these hospitals are still competitors and will continue their objectives to strengthen their own organizations, but the new focus is on doing so within an even stronger community collaboration. The Triple Aim has been a guiding principle in both of our hospitals and is most certainly achievable in our area.
