Moving forward: Access and coordination of children’s health
Yesterday, Toni Ardabell, CEO of Bon Secours Richmond Health System, and I sent this message regarding our next steps in children’s health care:
It has been a few weeks since our announcement to collaboratively advance children’s health care by improving access and coordination of care for all children in our region. We are writing today to re-enforce our commitment and let you know that we are indeed moving forward. Our unprecedented collaboration is born of the effort to explore the proposed independent children’s hospital. Bill and Alice Goodwin’s vision for consolidating all children’s services represents an admirable goal and we commend their passion and caring when it comes to children and so many other causes and organizations throughout the community.
However, after a lengthy and thorough analysis of the feasibility of the independent children’s hospital, we determined that the proposed model posed significant long-term risk for both of our health systems. The estimated cost of the proposed model – about $1 billion over 10 years – was simply not sustainable, particularly given long-term health-care industry challenges, evolving models of care and the size of the Richmond region. While Bon Secours and VCU are in fact two of the region’s largest employers and contributors to the area’s economy, it should be noted that all previous conversations regarding an independent children’s hospital centered only on advancing children’s health, and were not part of potential economic development or real estate deals, as reported by some news organizations.
Over the past few years, we conducted meaningful discussions with physicians and patient families, consulted with national and local health-care industry representatives, and convened several public forums to gather community input. That process taught us a great deal about the needs and desires of all parties, and we now know we must focus our efforts on access, coordination of care, and a more seamless pediatric health system navigation process for patients and families.
With this knowledge in hand, our goal became clear. The solution for Richmond is a cohesive and strategic move towards coordinated-care networks that leverage existing facilities and promote more outpatient and home-based programs. The health-care industry is transforming from a hospital-centric model to one focused on prevention and wellness through greater sharing of information among providers. That is exactly what VCU and Bon Secours intend to do.
Work already is underway to engage health care organizations across the region to address fragmentation of care. Specifically we are working on initiatives that will speed up and simplify the process of access and coordination of care. One of those initiatives is digital mobile technology that will help parents seamlessly connect with all providers to eliminate barriers to navigation among services. Other initiatives focus on childhood obesity, asthma and youth violence – major causes of pediatric hospitalization in the Richmond region.
We realize that we must continue to develop facilities that are uniquely designed for children. Bon Secours and VCU, in the last five years, have significantly increased the breadth and depth of pediatric services. We are absolutely committed to making continued investments to ensure that our in- and out-patient pediatric facilities match the skills of our committed physicians, nurses and other pediatric health-care providers, as well as the needs of children and their families.
For more than 100 years, VCU and Bon Secours have been caring for the children in our community. The recent expansion of services and specialty care for children by both health systems is unparalleled in central Virginia. While we remain individual health systems with our distinct missions and ministry, when it comes to children, we will work together with other partners for the good of the community and the advancement of children’s health care in the region.
We pledge to the parents and children of greater Richmond that we always will strive for excellence and ease of access. Our goals are collaboration, greater accessibility and the creation of an environment in which families can easily navigate the continuum of care. It’s a journey that begins now and we invite you to join us.
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