MDNews - Minnesota

+++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ + +++ + +++++++++++++++++++++++ CEO PERSPECTIVE H E N N E P I N H E A L T H C A R E SYSTEM Inc., more commonly referred to as Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), has a special relationship with physicians across Minnesota. More than half of you spent time on our downtown Minneapolis campus, either as a medical student or as a resident in an HCMC program or a joint residency program with the University of Minnesota. Others have come to rely on us to provide trauma and other specialized care for your patients. When I was a urology resident in the mid-1980s, I wanted to do my required two-year general surgery residency at HCMC because as a medical student I felt HCMC had the best teachers. Faculty, the other residents and the nurses at HCMC prepared me well for a career in medicine. Today, I am fortunate to be the CEO of HCMC — Minnesota's first Level l Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center — as we mark 25 years of providing the highest level of trauma care to Minnesota and surrounding states. One of the experiences I remember most from my residency at HCMC was the three months I spent as a "pit boss" in the Emergency Department. After my general surgery rotation at HCMC, I went to the University of Virginia for the rest of my urology residency, and I was able to moonlight in local emergency departments during my research year. For the most part, this involved treating earaches and minor cuts and scrapes. But my time in the stabilization room prepared me well for those nights when only a few nurses and I were on duty as victims of a car crash were wheeled into the emergency room. Minnesota is fortunate to have a strong statewide trauma system. HCMC takes pride in its pioneering role in helping to build this system, and today we continue to stand ready to serve our hospital part- ners across the state with a top trauma team available 24/7 to provide care for every kind of traumatic injury, from burns to broken bones. As a Level l Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, HCMC has 24/7 in-house cover- age by general surgeons, as well as prompt availability of care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, burn, emergency medi- cine, radiology, internal medicine, plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial, pediatric, and critical care. When I was moonlighting in those rural Virginia hospitals, I was able to practice with confidence because of my training at HCMC. Today, our training programs and our specialized care can give physicians and hospitals across the state that same support as we work together to provide care to Minnesotans. The economics of health care continue to change and challenge us all, and mov- ing forward, partnerships will be more important than ever. I want to extend a hand to all physicians and hospitals, both independent hospitals and members of systems across the state, to explore ways we can partner on specialty and critical care or system/hospital operations to provide effective care and services, as effi- ciently as possible, by avoiding expensive duplication of services and technologies. If you have ideas you'd like to explore, call Pryor at 612-873-2343. Hennepin Healthcare System wants to be both a resource and partner with you. ■ Jon Pryor, MD, MBA CEO, Hennepin Healthcare System Inc. M D N E W S . CO M ■ MD NEWS Minnesota | 5

• Cover