Health Care Reform & The Virtue of Patience.

It’s frustrating. It’s a battlefield of opinions. The health care reform plan is sketchy, riddled with minutiae and subject to interpretation. But the fact is: On Sunday, the House passed H.R. 3590, the Senate version of Obama Care (healthcare bill), along with another bill (H.R. 4872 Reconciliation Act of 2010) to reconcile differences. HR 3590 was signed into law on Tuesday and the reconciliation bill was passed by Senate. Change is coming.

I think of this as it relates to the work we do. Recently, the business correspondence I’ve written has had a running theme about “change”. Trident Health Resources, Inc. is managed based on some hard rock core beliefs that our perfusionist employees and hospital clients can count on. These things never change and shouldn’t change (for example, a “patient-first” approach to clinical care). But it is recognized that just as it is true in this great country, so it is with the proactive movement in our industry… we must be responsive to change in order to succeed and be relevant.

I’m not unlike many avid followers of the news and political happenings in that I can get pretty riled up about some of the policies changing the landscape of America. I consider the impact on my children's and grandchildren's generation and wonder if a healthy and prosperous future is in store for them. But there’s something here to consider amid change…. Patience and faith in a democratic system which works.

To parallel this thought, consider what happens during open heart surgery. The trained hands of the surgeon and the skills of perfusionists and nursing staff are grounded in protocol, education, and experience. Nevertheless, one never knows how a case will come to pass until the seminal moments of surgery when anything can happen. As medical professionals, there is tremendous reliance on the quick responses to any nuance of change to a patient’s condition. Pathways to a successful procedure can vary with no prediction on process until we have passed successfully through the “moments”.

Consider that the enormity of health care reform has within it many elements of “unknowns”. Until faced with implementation of the complex plans, revisions will be necessary over the course of many years until it is ironed out and improved. The point is, we’ve got to find the faith that with change will come improvements, knowing that change is never easy. It is natural human behavior to settle into patterns of thought and actions where comfort resides in the “known”. Yet, we know intuitively that we must experience stages of metamorphosis all through our lives in order to evolve. This is true in all of life, all of business and medical care, all of global worldly matters. It’s uncomfortable to change, but sometimes necessary.

My message is simply this: Some things should never change, like the commitment Trident and we have to quality, compassionate care. However, we must be responsive to evolutionary changes that catapult our work into the future and we must be able to discern what is real and what is delusional.

Be patient. Hold tight onto what is your core belief in what you do, and be resilient and prepared for the flexibility that is required in new and different situations. These are the things that make our country great, that make our perfusionists successful, and offer us optimism as health care reform is implemented, modified, or rejected.

I welcome your thoughts here, or feel free to email me directly at rjordan@tridenthealth.com.

Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.

Case Studies: An Insider's Guide to a Great Perfusion Program

Here is an excerpt from the March Heartbeat E-Newsletter. If you'd like to subscribe to our monthly news, click here and enter your email address.

JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, FL is recognized as Thomas & Reuters Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospitals in America. JFK is one of only four Florida hospitals to earn this benchmark recognition, which is based upon patient outcomes studied within 971 hospitals. JFK's Open Heart Program is a perfusion services contracted facility with Trident Health Resources, Inc. We are proud of this prestigious award and the contributions of our perfusionists which play a role in JFK's success.

What is it that makes YOUR program successful? What things can be learned from what others do to enhance what you are already doing? How do you know when it's time for a change and to consider outsourcing to a professional perfusion services company?

When you're evaluating your perfusion program, you want a frame of reference. Social Proof is what you are looking for; which means you want to find someone else like you who has been in the same position you are in now. You want to know others who made the decision to choose a company to manage staffing. Social Proof is not new, it's a marketing concept that is a sociological phenomenon. It means simply that people's behavioral patterns are highly influenced by the actions of the people or community around them. Some of the most effective social proof for Trident Health Resources, Inc. comes from the penetration of our company name in the marketplace, the number of accounts we have, and our longevity in the industry. But most importantly, it's the number of satisfied clients we have and have retained year after year.

To parallel this concept, consider that in your personal life when you are about to make a significant purchase such as a car or appliance, you might check online for consumer reviews and ratings. This gives you a sense if a product is worth its price and how it compares to the competition. Likewise, in your profession, when you're thinking about outsourcing perfusion services, it only makes sense to find out how others' experiences are with the company they use. Trident's account base is stable with numerous long-term contracts as well as a number of locum tenens accounts. We'd like to share their stories with you if you're interested.

Our industry continues to grow and the need for program changes and enhancements within hospitals is apparent. Quality is important! Patients are more informed than ever and are selective about their surgeon and hospital choices. It's important to ensure your open heart program caters to patient needs, that your perfusionists are aligned in team spirit with the surgical and nursing staff, and that your program offers superior performance in cardiovascular service in outcomes of care. We offer the services that gain you these results and save you money, too.

If you'd like to receive more information and letters from our hospital accounts, please email your request to marketing@tridenthealth.com. If you'd like a comparative analysis of your current perfusion program, complete the form here and we will get back with you right away.