Benjamin Franklin once said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” The new $17 million Sanford Health Clinic in Moorhead appears to be embracing those tenants; envisioning a new health care delivery system built around cutting edge technology. According to Jeff Hoss, vice president for clinical operations of Fargo Sanford, the new facility is all about improving patient satisfaction. “Our goal has been and will be to look at those things patients don’t find valuable and replace them,” he said. “It’s all about providing the best service possible.
The Moorhead Clinic – On the Cutting Edge:
The Moorhead Clinic officially opens on March 3rd, although a number of open houses have been held to introduce the community to the new building located at the interchange of I-94 and 34th Street South. The 49,000 square foot facility is the first building on the twenty-eight acre $20 million Sanford Moorhead Campus. Although the clinic joins a number of facilities already existing within the Sanford family, it stands alone in terms of innovation. “It’s a complete culture change,” Hoss said in regards to the change in patient care. “It might take a bit of getting used to, but it will improve the way patients are cared for.”
The planning process for the new clinic started almost three years ago, when the company began running scenarios that indicated how people would potentially access services. Meetings with Moorhead community leaders, members of the business community, and local neighbors soon followed. “We wanted to find out what people wanted from a local health care facility,” Hoss explained. “We wanted to create a true partnership.” Indeed, it is that partnership that brought the facility to Moorhead in the first place. “Moorhead has been asking for a health care facility for a long time,” Hoss said. “A lot of patients in Clay County and beyond were crossing the river to access health care and we wanted to give them something in their own backyard.” The need for specialized services in Moorhead is well documented. Sanford expects upwards of 50,000 visitors per year.
One of the biggest changes patients will see at the new clinic is a process change in regards to workflow. The facility will be one of the first of its kind to adopt real time location technology from Intelligent InSites, a system that will eventually be adopted in all Sanford facilities. “The new technology will ultimately allow us to drastically improve quality,” Hoss said, “which will then improve customer satisfaction.” Patients will receive an electronic badge upon check in, which will activate the location services technology. Care givers will be able to monitor how long a patient has been waiting, when they finish ordered labs or x-rays, and when their care is completed. In addition, all medical equipment will be tracked to determine location and frequency utilization. “We have come up with a lot of new ideas,” Hoss said. “It’s all about maximizing patient care.”
It is that focus on patient care that largely determined which specialties will be offered, which are: Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Behavior Health. Occupational Medicine services will also be added to the clinic in the very near future. “Our proximity to Moorhead’s Industrial Park makes Occupational Medicine a valued service for the community,” Hoss said. “The demand is significant.” Patients in Moorhead will also have access to radiology services, a full-service pharmacy, and full-service laboratory.
One of the primary changes in building design involves an increased focus on collaboration, part of the culture change that Hoss referred to. Physicians will care for patients in the exam rooms, or “on-stage” areas, and then return to the “off-stage” area, a separate hallway designed to improve workflow efficiency and increase collaboration. Physician office space has drastically reduced. Large individual office spaces have been replaced with shared space, again to improve collaboration. Patients will also notice much smaller waiting rooms, areas Sanford employees refer to as “non-wait waiting rooms.” The goal is to care for the patient as soon as possible, thus reducing the need for such areas.
Who is Sanford Health?
The Sanford vision is “improving the human condition through exceptional care, innovation, and discovery.” It is the largest not-for-profit health care system in the nation, with locations in 126 communities in nine states, and is in the process of developing clinics in Ghana, Israel, and Mexico. It is also the largest employer in both North and South Dakota. The health care system is named for Denny Sanford, whose $400 million gift in 2007 was the largest donation to a health care organization ever recorded. In 2011, Sanford donated an additional $100 to launch the Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Foundation in honor of his mother. The foundation is dedicated to unlocking each woman’s genetic code to advance today’s prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Sanford prides itself on remaining on the cutting edge of the health care industry. The new Moorhead Clinic epitomizes that edge, integrating technology that has not been replicated anywhere in the area. The new clinic will provide area residents with the best quality health care and convenience. Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams said it best at the ribbon cutting ceremony on February 20. “It’s great to be on the cutting edge,” she said, “and we are so glad it’s in Moorhead.”
*Due to unforeseen circumstances, Moorhead Sanford Clinic’s opening will be delayed a few weeks from March 3rd.