BON SECOURS MAKING MOVES AT GOOD SAM HOSPITAL

Hospital announces new Diabetes Center and updated business model that will bring private practices onto hospital campus

Private practices will now be thriving under the umbrella of Bon Secours administration on the site of Good Samaritan Hospital as part of a new trend in the healthcare management.

Some of the top firms in Rockland County such as Rockland Pulmonary, the Center for Breast Health, Ramapo Valley Surgical, Metropolitan Cardiology, and Rockland Neurology will have major offices on site at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern. As part of the new model, the firms will hand over their administrative functions to the Bon Secours Charity Health System.

It is a perfect fit for Good Sam, which had vacancies in the new building which houses the cardiac care center. The new system will increase convenience for patients, who if they need an immediate surgery, can get to the main operating room through a basement tunnel.

“Our practice is now owned by Bon Secours,” pulmonary specialist Stephen Menitove said. “Doctors see patients in their office and then send them to the hospital…well, we’ve opened our office in the hospital. Now, there is more time to be a physician.”

Bill Rice, an administrator with Bon Secours, said, “Right now we’re really focusing on aligning with our physicians. We take care of all back office, billing and computer issues. We’re able to handle that as we have an entire organization that has expertise.”

The trend toward administration being run by a larger group and private practices operating underneath their umbrella is not confined to Good Sam. Not everyone in the health and hospital industry is happy, however. Some say the trend is being created by the government and is leading to new layers of administration.

For now, however, many doctors are relieved, because administration was never their specialty in the first place.

“It’s been a gift,” said Dr. George Cox, a prominent internist who brought his practice on-site to Good Samaritan Hospital. “I have more time to focus on what matters.”

A new administrative team led by 43-year-old CEO Phillip Patterson has helped lead the transition at Bon Secours. Patterson assumed the CEO position in March of 2010.

Bon Secours Charity Health System also announced this week the opening of a Center for Diabetes Education Center, located in the Kohl building, 233 Lafayette Ave suite M2 in Suffern NY. The goal of the Center for Diabetes Education, Bon Secours said, is to enable those with diabetes to achieve blood sugar control and to reduce the possibility of developing diabetes complications.

The Center is available to educate patients on topics such as meal planning and carbohydrate counting, medication and blood glucose management, insulin pump education, and much more. One on one education, as well as group classes and monthly support groups are offered to patients.

A physician referral is required for all patients seen in the outpatient Center for Diabetes Education. Inpatient Diabetes Education is also offered. Inpatients will be educated on topics such as Basic Life Skills which include medications, insulin instructions, glucometer teaching, problem solving, healthy coping, signs and symptoms of Hyper and Hypoglycemia, sick day rules and when to call their health care provider.

The Center for Diabetes Education is now the second site in the Bon Secours Charity Health System that is recognized by the American Diabetes Association. The Center for Diabetes Education offers the most current information and most effective treatment available. “We were able to successfully apply through the American Diabetes Association as an expansion site of Bon Secours Community Hospital’s already accredited establishment. We are so happy we can now offer this wonderful service to our patients,” Program Director Carla Errico stated.

  good samaritan hospital, healthcare, rockland county, Suffern