ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVES
A Letter from the Chief Executive Officer
In just about any hospital you visit today you can see signs of sweeping change. The technology alone is astounding. Diagnosis that once required invading the body surgically can now be made without even a pinprick, using new diagnostic imaging techniques. Lasers and other new methods of surgery make it possible to perform half of all hospital surgeries without an overnight stay.
Even more than technology, the economics of health care have transformed today's hospital. Medical insurance that pays for anything the doctor orders and long, leisurely hospital stays are luxuries that our society can no longer afford. Patient care must take place in the least expensive setting - and that place is usually outside of a hospital bed.
Hospitals have also expanded their role as broad community resources - and that may be the biggest change of all. Even though people spend less time in hospital beds, they now use hospitals in more ways than ever before. There are joint hospital-sponsored programs such as fitness, nutrition, and smoking cessation classes. They come for specialized outpatient services such as physical therapy and cardiac rehabilitation. They also turn to the hospital for help with a wide range of social problems. Hospitals have redefined traditional missions to include areas once considered outside their realm - areas like substance abuse, family relationships, the needs of the elderly, child abuse, and eating disorders. The contemporary hospital helps people not only when they are acutely ill or injured, but at all stages of life.
What does all this mean for Meadville Medical Center and the region we serve? Like all hospitals in this nation, we are going through a transformation. It's not easy; often it's a struggle to meet shifting needs with shrinking resources. We worry about our financial future, mainly because the government continues to cut back on hospital care for the poor and the elderly. We must constantly strike a balance between the pressure to become ever more efficient and our overriding goal of remaining responsive to patient needs.
Most people don't give much thought to hospitals until they have to get to one. Yet at one time or another most people turn to a hospital for themselves or someone they love. When you need us, we can help you more if you understand us. Knowing how fundamentally hospitals have changed and how they view their role today is a good way to begin.
Anthony J. DeFail, FACHE
President and Chief Executive Officer
A Letter from the Chief Operating Officer
Driven by a mission to serve our community, Meadville Medical Center has provided compassionate quality healthcare to the residents of Crawford County for over one hundred years.
The delivery of healthcare has evolved greatly over the years, but the commitment of Meadville Medical Center to our community remains unchanged. Guided by core principles of customer satisfaction, creating a positive environment, innovation and fiscal responsibility, the medical center has developed a patient-centered approach to healthcare designed specifically for the population we serve.
In recent years, Meadville Medical Center has received national acclaim for providing high-quality low-cost healthcare services. This acclaim is a result of a continuous and systematic approach to process improvement that resonates throughout the organization. The hospital's medical staff and over thirteen-hundred employees go to great lengths to ensure every service offered at Meadville Medical Center is the very best possible.
As health care continues to transform on national and regional levels, Meadville Medical Center is positioned favorably to continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers for many years to come. In partnership with the people of Crawford County, Meadville Medical Center is committed to advancing wellness and improving the overall health of this community.
While certain aspects of health care will surely change in the years to come, the mission of Meadville Medical Center will remain steadfast, as an independent community hospital responding to identified community healthcare needs in the Crawford County region.
Philip Pandolph
Chief Operating Officer