In the first year since its formation, Fletcher Allen Partners - the parent corporation of Fletcher Allen Health Care and Central Vermont Medical Center - has implemented improved quality of care systems and practices and achieved significant cost reductions as the organizations work to fully integrate clinical and administrative operations.
Starting January 1, the number of associated hospitals will double as Upstate New Yorks Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Medical Center and its sister institution, Elizabethtown Community Hospital, join FAP. They had signed a letter of intent last March.
For Fletcher Allen and Central Vermont, coordination of supply chain purchasing, Human Resources programs and other initiatives produced approximately $1.1 million in savings for the two organizations. (see details below and at About Fletcher Allen Partners).
Im pleased with the progress made this year, and I know both organizations are committed to building on this success, said John R Brumsted, MD, president and CEO of Fletcher Allen Health Care and Fletcher Allen Partners. Our partnership is a key driver in developing an integrated delivery system in this region which will enable us to provide the highest quality of care as efficiently as possible.
Brumsted told Vermont Business Magazine that while it is too early to see definitive improvements in clinical outcomes, which could require a few years of data gathering, the shared expertise of staff and access to facilities from Upstate to Central Vermont should not only improve health care but also save money through efficiencies.
Between the four hospitals there will be about 1,000 doctors and more than 2,000 nurses available to patients, he said. CVPH, based in Plattsburgh, is about twice the size of Central Vermont. To emphasize the level of shared services already, Brumsted said that about 20 percent of Fletcher Allens tertiary care patients now come from New York.
Brumsted said there will be savings from human resources, which will develop over time, but there are no plans for layoffs. But already, as he pointed out, when the Chief Technology Officer left Central Vermont, the CTO at Fletcher Allen assumed both roles, thus consolidating the position.
As for facilities, Brumsted said that, too, will be looked at as the partnership continues.
Were not thinking of taking anything off-line now, he said.
The bottom line, Brumsted said, is just that. Across the nation, the mandate is to save money and create efficiencies, and that is just what is happening in Vermont, and now in Upstate New York as well.
Key accomplishments of FAP to date include:
Improving quality of care systems through the adoption of shared best practice guidelines and training in many areas -- from intensive care to infection prevention to stroke.
Sharing human resources knowledge and assets to reduce costs for management training and other employee activities.
Consolidating financial systems to function as a single financial entity.
Coordinating supply chain purchasing of pharmaceuticals, orthopedic implants and other medical supplies.
Pursuing information technology projects, including working to establish a common platform for electronic health records.
Finance
Fletcher Allen and CVMC are working to function as a single financial entity to support a fully functional system of care and strategic goals of the system.
Both organizations have consolidated financial statements that can be used for reporting purposes, including submitting a consolidated budget to the Green Mountain Care Board.
Both organizations are using a common auditing firm and liability insurance carrier, and CVMC is purchasing financial management services from Fletcher Allen.
Human Resources
Fletcher Allen and CVMC are pursuing human resource strategies to maximize shared knowledge and resources and reduce costs for management training and other employee activities.
CVMC has joined Fletcher Allens short term disability plan, which has led to a savings of $131,000.
Fletcher Allens Office of Organizational Development has helped to establish a joint CVMC and Fletcher Allen Manager Bootcamp educational series that previously had been provided by Vermont Technical College. Instruction and support by Fletcher Allen and CVMC has provided a savings of $7,000.
CVMC and Fletcher Allen have co-instructed a performance review class and Fletcher Allen provided support on conflict resolution for a total estimated savings of $12,000.
Together, we are transforming the way health care is delivered as we collaborate in new and innovative ways to provide the best outcomes for patients, said Judy Tarr Tartaglia, president and CEO of Central Vermont Medical Center and senior vice president of Fletcher Allen Partners.
Follwoing the addtion of CVPH on January 1, 2013, Brumsted will continue to serve as CEO of Fletcher Allen Partners (and Fletcher Allen Health Care); Tartaglia will be executive vice president, Vermont Community Hospital Division, and CVPH CEO Stephens Mundy will serve as executive vice president , Northern New York.
About Fletcher Allen Partners
Fletcher Allen Partners (FAP) is the parent organization of Fletcher Allen Health Care and Central Vermont Medical Center. FAP was formed in October 2011 to further the development of an integrated delivery system that will provide high quality care as efficiently as possible. FAP has approval rights over significant matters of each organization such as budgets, strategic plans, and major financial decisions, but they remain separate free-standing hospitals with their own boards, management, workforce, licensure, and medical staff. Fletcher Allen Partners has a 17-member Board of Trustees drawn from the membership of both organizations current boards.
Fletcher Allen Partners Accomplishments For FY 2012
Finance
Fletcher Allen and CVMC are working to function as a single financial entity to support a fully functional system of care and strategic goals of the system.
Both organizations have consolidated financial statements that can be used for reporting purposes, including submitting a consolidated budget to the Green Mountain Care Board.
Both organizations are using a common auditing firm and liability insurance carrier, and CVMC is purchasing financial management services from Fletcher Allen.
Clinical Quality
Fletcher Allens Jeffords Institute for Quality now serves both organizations. Fletcher Allen and CVMC are improving the quality of care and clinical outcomes by establishing best practice guidelines to be shared by both organizations.
Fletcher Allen and CVMC are creating appropriate admission guidelines to the Intensive Care Units at CVMC and Fletcher Allen by establishing admission criteria and providing training to CVMC hospitalists.
Last summer, for the first time, Fletcher Allen transferred a patient to CVMC when Fletcher Allen was near capacity. The patient, who was in the Fletcher Allen ED, did not need tertiary care and was able to be closer to home by being treated in the inpatient care unit at CVMC. Through the affiliation, Fletcher Allen was able to utilize its beds appropriately and free up patient beds at Fletcher Allen by transferring the patient to CVMC.
CVMC hospitalists are being trained for central-line insertion using the Fletcher Allen/UVM Clinical Simulation Laboratory. As a result of previous training at Fletcher Allen, systematic efforts to eradicate central line-associated bloodstream infections have had positive results. Fletcher Allen and CVMC physicians are also participating in joint ICU rounds using telemedicine.
CVMC is establishing an access portal to Fletcher Allens Intranet so that CVMC hospitalists can access medical ICU protocols and articles.
Stroke protocols are now in place at CVMC, and Fletcher Allen is providing 24/7 neurology consult advice to CVMC. A stroke care gap analysis study has been completed for the JCAHO stroke certification, and a survey will take place in October 2014.
Fletcher Allen and CVMC worked together to lobby the Vermont Legislature to build a new state psychiatric hospital near the CVMC campus and to increase the number of beds from 14 to 25.
Human Resources
Fletcher Allen and CVMC are pursuing human resource strategies to maximize shared knowledge and resources and reduce costs for management training and other employee activities.
CVMC has joined Fletcher Allens short term disability plan, which has led to a savings of $131,000.
Fletcher Allens Office of Organizational Development has helped to establish a joint CVMC and Fletcher Allen Manager Bootcamp educational series that previously had been provided by Vermont Technical College. Instruction and support by Fletcher Allen and CVMC has provided a savings of $7,000.
CVMC and Fletcher Allen have co-instructed a performance review class and Fletcher Allen provided support on conflict resolution for a total estimated savings of $12,000.
Supply Chain
In year one of Fletcher Allens affiliation with CVMC, the organizations saved more than $1 million dollars through a coordinated supply chain approach to purchasing pharmaceuticals, orthopedic implants and other medical supplies.
For example, as part of that $1 million savings, the Fletcher Allen Partners contract with Stryker Ortho Implant has created an annualized savings of $400,000 for Fletcher Allen and $100,000 for CVMC.
Information Technology
Fletcher Allen and CVMC are working to establish a common platform for electronic health records to support patients and providers and to facilitate the aggregation of data for population health management.