Healthcare Reform Doesn’t Change Bayhealth’s Mission
By Terry Murphy, FACHE
President & CEO
Bayhealth Medical Center
When Joyce Miller had to get a mammogram this year, she had a tough choice: Should she get this lifesaving procedure or put food on the table for her family?
Her husband had lost his job, and the 60-year-old Milford woman was working in retail just to help the family scrape by for groceries, rent and utilities. She didn’t have the $400 she needed to pay for a screening mammogram, let alone the $6,000 she needed for a special biopsy to find out if she had breast cancer.
And, Miller didn’t have health insurance.
Fortunately for Miller, and for hundreds of women like her, there was another option: The Cancer Institute at Bayhealth. The Cancer Institute at Bayhealth provided a mammogram screening for just $15, and expedited a Screening for Life application that paid for Miller’s $6,000 biopsy.
“I just want people to know there are affordable programs out there and, more importantly, there are people who care about you,” she said.
With the temperatures and clamor rising over our country’s healthcare reform debate, it’s sometimes hard to hear voices like that of Joyce Miller.
The daily news headlines are focused on polarizing and, frequently, troubling questions: Should the government mandate health coverage? Who will pay for it? Should there be a “public option” or nonprofit co-ops?
However, no matter what our elected officials ultimately decide about healthcare reform, it doesn’t change our fundamental purpose here at Bayhealth: To continue providing accessible, quality healthcare for you and your family. As the new President & CEO of Bayhealth, I remain committed to this mission and further strengthening our service to the community.
Indeed, Bayhealth has a long legacy of service.
In Fiscal Year 2008, Bayhealth provided nearly $31-million of uncompensated care to underprivileged people in our community. We also provided nearly $252-million in unreimbursed Medicare and Medicaid payments for patients (the government doesn’t fully reimburse us for the Medicare and Medicaid patients that we treat). And, we also picked up the cost of more than $38-million in unreimbursed care from other insurance carriers.
Bayhealth has co-sponsored Go Pink Day, Pedal Away Prostate Cancer, and Relay for Life. We are proud sponsors of the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk, Go Red and the Heart Ball. We’ve sponsored the MS Society’s Bike to the Bay and supported Delaware Hospice with their Festival of Trees. The Bayhealth Education Department manages the Healthy Baby Fair and holds monthly Steps to Healthy Aging Clinics in both Dover and Milford along with various screening programs and support groups. The Bayhealth Materials Management Department has collected linens and other supplies for our troops in Iraq and medical supplies for missions in third world countries.
We also invest in our next generation of healthcare providers. Each year, we offer $60,000 in scholarships for students at the Delaware Tech, and we cover more than $230,000 in housing and meal expenses for medical and allied health students who are completing their clinical rotations at Bayhealth.
Of course, there are also the free screening programs that we offer for people such as Joyce Miller. In just the past year, 159 uninsured or underinsured women have received free or reduced cost screenings. In April of 2009, we received a $67,000 grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure that will enable us to continue providing free breast imaging services and breast biopsies at Kent General Hospital, Milford Memorial Hospital and Middletown Medical Center.
Finally, just one year after its inception, our Bayhealth Cancer Institute received a three-year accreditation with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer, reaffirming the Cancer Institute’s value to the community. Bayhealth’s participation in the Penn Cancer Network gives all of our cancer patients access to Penn’s world-renowned experts in cancer treatment. In just one recent example, one of our Bayhealth patients received a lifesaving lung resection surgery at Penn, and then received follow-up care close to home at Milford Memorial Hospital. Participation in the Penn Cancer Network also keeps our Bayhealth physicians updated on the latest, most effective treatment and technology. In addition, our cancer patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials, treatment, and medication.
No matter what political decisions are made in Washington D.C. or at Legislative Hall, you can rest assured that you will continue to have access to world-class health care close to home here at Bayhealth. That’s my promise to you.
Terry Murphy, FACHE, became President & CEO of Bayhealth Medical Center, Inc., on October 1, 2009. He served for seven years as Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Bayhealth, and has also served as Vice President of Bayhealth’s Southern Region. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and received the 2008 Regent’s Award-Senior Level Healthcare Executive, American College of Healthcare Executives.