Willamette Valley Medical Center: A Year of Progress & Transition

Peter Hofstetter, CEO

In healthcare, each day is filled with new discoveries and new possibilities. We embrace this spirit at Willamette Valley Medical Center (WVMC). We are inspired every day to deliver amazing care to our community, and we are constantly evolving and striving to find new ways to support the health and wellbeing of all the people we serve in McMinnville and Yamhill County.

This past year was one that included a number of transitions for our hospital. While changes can be difficult and create uncertainty as they are being made, we are confident that what we accomplished as a team in 2018 has laid a foundation of exciting momentum that is continuing forward into 2019.

 ADVANCING QUALITY CARE LOCALLY

Last year, WVMC expanded the services we provide, welcoming several new physicians to our hospital family including hospitalists, primary care providers, general surgeons, anesthesiologists, ophthalmologists, radiologists and a plastic surgeon. With these new additions, our medical staff has grown to more than 120 physicians strong. This vibrant community is one of extraordinary talent and passion for elevating the quality of care available to the region.

As with every business, there comes a time when we must also say goodbye to some of our accomplished providers, as they begin new journeys of their own. We are grateful to these physicians for their many years of service to our community and wish them the best. While we’ve experienced some departures, including the retirement of long-time community physicians in our obstetrics, hospitalist, and emergency departments, we continue to recruit new clinicians in critical areas such as general surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, and primary care.

This growing medical staff has allowed us to expand important services regionally. Our bariatric surgery, plastic surgery and joint replacement programs continue to grow and accept new patients. Looking forward into 2019, we expect WVMC’s cardiology capabilities to further expand as we add new physicians. The Hoover Cancer Center’s oncology and radiation programs will continue to see more patients as well, providing local families access to vital services close to home during difficult illnesses.

In addition to adding new services, we have enhanced our efforts in the areas of safety and quality control for all of our programs. WVMC has instituted ongoing education and training focusing on ensuring a culture of high reliability and safety as a first priority. We are seeing great results from this initiative, and our dedicated team’s hard work has led to a safer hospital for all.

CHANGING WITH OUR COMMUNITY

As part of expanding our services, WVMC evaluated the community’s needs and made some changes to the structure of our hospital beds. We reduced our total number of beds from 88 to 50 acute and 10 geriatric psychiatry beds. This change reflects a national shift from inpatient to outpatient care and allows us to direct more resources to where our patients need them most.

Across the U.S., healthcare is moving away from inpatient care due to better techniques and differentiated strategies for delivering care. At a local level, more than half of WVMC’s revenue comes from outpatient services today, and we see this increasing in the years to come.

GROWING OUR DEDICATED TEAM

As a team, the staff at WVMC is a close group of individuals dedicated to the health and care of the community, as well as each other. At all levels and in all departments, we are united in a commitment to caring for our patients and their families like they are our own.

We welcomed a number of new leaders and innovators to the team in 2018, including a new Chief Quality Officer, ED Nurse Manager, Assistant CFO, Environmental Services Manager, and Marketing/PR Coordinator. We also streamlined our management infrastructure to ensure that we were maximizing our bedside care resources.

ENSURING ACCESS TO CARE

WVMC continues to have contracts with most major insurance carriers so that our patients don’t need to risk their health by traveling long distances to receive care. In fact, we are seeking to expand the kinds of coverage we can accept. We are excited to launch a new product through PacificSource to further expand payor options and enhance our patients’ abilities to receive great care close to home. Also, we have signed an initial contract with Kaiser resulting in many of its patients being able to be seen at WVMC.

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

As a proud member of the region we serve, WVMC is committed to contributing to and having a positive impact on the place we live, work, and play. WVMC currently employs more than 600 individuals, bringing economic vitality the area. As the second largest taxpayer in the city of McMinnville and third largest in Yamhill County, we pay more than $1 million annually in taxes. However, our commitment to community goes beyond the tax base. This past year, we contributed well over $13 million in charity care and community benefits, including health education/training programs and contributions to local organizations. We will continue to seek ways to be a good partner to our community, supporting local causes and initiatives that reflect our own dedication to making the people in our region healthier.

We are proud of our long history of service to McMinnville and Yamhill County and honored to be part of the lives of so many in this region. It is our goal to continue to provide the very best for our patients and their families. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting our work and passion for a healthy community.