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When it’s good, it’s magic! Reflections on another year at the Clinic

For most people, healthcare is something you only think about when you actually need it. As you might expect, it’s a little different for me; I guess you could say thinking about healthcare is a key part of my job description.

Every year I have the privilege of attending the Becker’s Annual Meeting, where healthcare executives gather to engage, network and learn about the state of the nation’s healthcare system. We talk about big challenges like the number of doctors retiring each year, while the nation as a whole continues to grow and age. For instance, the Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortfall of up to 139,000 physicians by 2033. Did you know that the number of doctors who work part time is far larger than the new doctors being produced each year? And it’s not just physicians packing it in. Some predict that up to 75 percent of healthcare workers will leave the profession by 2025. Thus, it’s a fairly finite pool of doctors and nurses and all types of providers/technicians/therapists taking care of a larger and aging population. Yikes!

I tell you all of this as a kind of backdrop to sharing my thoughts on the state of healthcare here in Boca Grande, where we, too, are impacted by those big challenges, as well as many other very unique ones. I came to the Clinic in July 2020 and the end of 2023 marks my third year in review. With the pandemic and hurricanes, the years have blurred together into what seems like one very long year of turbulence, with a huge dose of growth thrown into the mix.

At a time when staff shortages are choking the U.S. healthcare system, the Clinic is staffed like never before. Today, we have three full-time primary care physicians board-certified in emergency medicine, family practice and internal medicine. In addition, we have four registered nurses, one licensed practical nurse, three full-time medical assistants, and one radiology technician. That’s a full complement of caregivers available to care for a wider variety of patient needs. Which is good, because a lot more of the care we provide these days is what I would call “progressive,” rather than episodic care. This means patients are seeing us on a routine basis for more continual care. Each patient has a dedicated team of caregivers who really get to know you. We also connect with your off-island doctors frequently so you can get the care you need while you are here.

The Clinic has looked at all facets of operations and we have made many improvements. This last year has again been filled with positive change and growth. There have been improvements in data collection that can be used for benchmarking. This is important because we can compare how the Clinic is performing versus other clinics nationwide. 

The Clinic Quality Committee, comprised of Clinic board members and some community members, monitors the clinical activities of the Clinic and continues to dig deeper, to make sure we provide quality care. The committee takes a comprehensive look at many variables and asks many questions of the Clinic.

Patient satisfaction scores remain very high. And because we want to hear from as many patients as possible on what it takes to provide great care, we randomly select patients visiting the Clinic and ask them how their visit was and “What one thing could we do better?” to improve their experience. In addition, we will be hosting two focus groups with patients this year to dig deeper into how we deliver care.

I truly believe we have the best clinical care and support team in the Clinic’s 76-year history. Our mission drives our everyday focus and motivates us but it’s the PEOPLE of the Clinic that makes this a special place. That’s the kind of culture that makes great things possible. Here are some of our key accomplishments of 2023.

  • We continue to improve our clinical processes and policies. We earned another three-year national accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, confirming we meet nationally recognized standards for the provision of quality healthcare as determined by an independent, external process of evaluation. In fact, the physician reviewer commented that the Boca Grande Health Clinic is one of the best clinics they have ever reviewed. The months leading up to the inspection were a busy time as we reviewed all clinic policies and condensed them to a manageable number, making operations much more efficient. All clinic staff had a hand in revising the policies, so these are now well-ingrained.
  • One of our goals this past year was improving referral management. In a nutshell, how the clinic can help the patient journey to see a specialist or have an imaging study. We made good progress in putting a process in place, but more work needs to be done. We will continue to refine the process in 2024. The ultimate goal is to have each physician and their nurses work with you to get you to the right specialist in a timely manner, which is a significant problem everywhere. Did you know that it now takes an average of 26 days to schedule a new patient physician appointment in 15 of the largest cities in the United States, according to the latest national research? As part of our process, we also perform patient satisfaction testing on your view of the referral. We have started collecting this data and are using it to review which specialists we use and are sharing this data with our Quality Committee.
  • Hospital relationships continue to evolve. Currently, we contract with Sarasota Memorial Hospital for any physician coverage needs if they arise. We also contract with Tampa General for lab oversight and hope to expand that relationship to include imaging. We are also negotiating with Tampa General to use their electronic health record (EHR) system, Epic. Many of you may be familiar with Epic’s MyChart and use it with your providers back home. If things go according to plan, we could have Epic in place by this Fall.
  • The Clinic introduced some new services designed to improve both care outcomes as well as your experience. We brought back onsite X-rays and expanded imaging services to offer limited ultrasound services. And we expanded lab services with limited onsite lab testing, with the goal to increase testing during 2024. These new services provide our physicians with immediate information to help diagnose and treat patients without sacrificing the wait time that comes with offsite lab results or having to send you off-island.
  • Our physicians have completed training in specialty medicines as part of continual education designed to increase their Medical Directorship duties for the Clinic. This will help improve our services and programs, as well as the delivery of care, especially as we move towards the Clinic of the Future.
  • We ended the year on a very high note, having received our Certificate of Appropriateness from the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board, which allows us to move forward with our Clinic of the Future project. We expect to begin construction of a new clinic building in April or May 2025. Construction of the new clinic should be complete by May 2026, at which time renovation of the old clinic building will begin. All construction and renovations should be complete by December 2026. This will be a huge step forward for improving healthcare on the Island.

Across the Island, 2023 was a year of rebuilding, restoration and looking to the future. It was also a year of reflecting on what matters most. There’s this phenomenon that researchers call “behavioral contagion” to describe what happens when people come together and begin acting alike. They soak up each other’s behavior and can really get things accomplished. I see it happening all the time on Boca Grande. And I see it up close every day at the Clinic.

When you have a group of like-minded people with a singular purpose, like we do here at the Clinic – when it’s good, it’s magic! It must be working. We were astounded by and humbled that more than 70 patients took the time to send us letters of appreciation last year. These tributes mean a great deal to us and motivate us to be and do our best. Thank you.

As we dive into 2024, I want you to know that we are as committed as ever to providing the very best care. Thank you for allowing us to help you live your best life.

Mark Driscoll

CEO, Boca Grande Health Clinic

About the Author

Mark Driscoll

Chief Executive Officer
Mark Driscoll, CEO

Mark began leading the Clinic’s operations in July 2020. He brings with him more than 30 years of healthcare experience in service line administration, practice management, managed care, and business development. His strengths as an entrepreneurial-minded, financially grounded executive with strong performance and achievement drive and exceptional team-building skills are invaluable in his role as […]

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