FLORENCE – St. Elizabeth Healthcare plans to open a behavioral health facility with 197 beds off the Dolwick Connector in Erlanger in June or July 2017.
“That will be a game-changer because there is such a great need in Northern Kentucky,” St. Elizabeth CEO Garren Colvin said.
Colvin traced several game changers currently in play at St. Elizabeth Healthcare during a presentation to the Florence Rotary Club on Monday, March 28. They range from high-tech diagnostic tools to high-touch systems that enable patients to correspond directly with physicians and physicians to consult with experts at the Mayo Clinic.
Colvin oversees a St. Elizabeth Healthcare network that operates seven facilities in Northern Kentucky that includes four hospitals, three freestanding imaging centers, two ambulatory centers and a drug and alcohol treatment center. Almost 100 primary care and specialty offices also are part of the system.
A native of Ludlow who has worked at St. Elizabeth for more than 30 years, Colvin was named CEO in June 2015. He said his primary objective is to elevate the St. Elizabeth Healthcare System to the highest level possible.
To accomplish that aim, “you have to be a community partner,” he said. “You need to invest in health care in the community.”
Some of that investment is in technology. For example, St. Elizabeth invested in a dual source CT scanner that not only is faster and more powerful than conventional equipment, but also safer because the patient doesn’t have to take beta blockers, according to Colvin.
St. Elizabeth HealthCare also invested in software systems that give patients better access to their records and physicians. MyCare enables patients to request an appointment, view test results, request prescription renewals and e-mail their physicians. GetWellNetwork makes it possible to get health information, view movies, access the Internet or play games through the television in the hospital room.
Some of the partnerships reach well beyond the community. St. Elizabeth is one of about 40 members of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. St. Elizabeth physicians can consult with Mayo Clinic experts on surgical processes and treatment strategies. In addition, patients treated at the Mayo Clinic can receive follow-up care at St. Elizabeth.
“It really helps elevate the quality of our care,” Colvin said. “For example, a neurosurgeon here may see something he’s never seen before. At Mayo, they may have seen hundreds of cases like it.”
And that can be a real game-changer for the patient.
