BUSINESSMile-high ambitions: Divergent success storiesTwo Denver-area hospitals have vastly different patient bases and different ways of serving them. But both are out to prove that location alone doesn't dictate profit or quality.By Markian Hawryluk, AMNews staff. Feb. 23, 2004. The two hospitals couldn't be more different: an inner-city hospital where 40% of the patients are uninsured and a luxurious suburban facility with private amenity-filled suites. But both are thriving. Denver -- The images of safety net and teaching hospitals evoke older, inner-city facilities forced to forgo improvements to stay afloat. Denver Health is an aging, safety-net, academic hospital. But it is not only surviving, it is thriving. "We're a model for the country in how care is provided that is highly efficient, highly integrated and of superb quality," said CEO Patricia Gabow, MD. "When you look at some of these numbers, we match up with anybody in the country." Denver Health's trauma unit has a 94% survival rate. More than 80% of its 1-year-old patients are up to date with immunizations. The percentage of patients with their hypertension under control is twice the national average. And this is despite the fact that 40% of its patients have no health insurance. The hospital has provided $1.7 billion in uncompensated care since 1992. Yet 2003 will mark the first time in a decade the hospital finished the year in the red. In 2003, MBA candidates from the University of Denver Daniels College of Business researched how Denver Health was able to maintain positive margins while other public hospitals faltered. The research suggested that its integrated delivery system kept lower-acuity patients out of the emergency department, treating them in lower-cost community clinics and outpatient facilities. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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