Burnside Leading CAH&C Towards Comprehensive Rural Care
If you’ve stepped into CAH&C lately, you certainly noticed that the mood these days is one of confidence and pride. The past three years have been filled with tremendous growth fueled by the progressive leadership of its new CEO, Brian Burnside. The Hospital Team is engaged and proud to provide personalized and high quality clinical care to the patients they serve. The Medical Staff is providing more advanced care locally than ever before. The Board of Directors is pleased with the organization’s strategic progress and anticipates more to come. “It is truly a special and exciting time at CAH&C,” stated Dennis Pickrel, Board Chairman.
Since arriving in 2020, Burnside has had a clear vision of the Hospital’s potential and has led the team towards achieving what was possible. With the Hospital already sitting on a strong foundation which was built over the years, Burnside purposefully generated momentum across the organization with aspirations of CAH&C becoming one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the country. Along the way, CAH&C has emerged as a Comprehensive Rural Health System offering over 30 specialty providers and a multitude of supportive ancillary services available locally.
“This organization is filled with talented and dedicated team members who care deeply about the health of our community and are devoted to providing quality care,” comments Burnside. “In addition, the level of clinical skill that is provided by CAH&C’s primary care providers and contracted specialists is truly advanced.” Burnside is the first to say that none of the Hospital’s success would have been possible without the support of the Board of Directors, the expert care provided by the Medical Staff Members, and the loyalty and dedication of the hospital’s nearly 300 employees.
In his 18 years as a hospital CEO, Burnside has always believed in the importance of employee culture. Under his leadership, the CAH&C employees rated the organization amongst the Top 10% of all hospitals in the entire country for "Overall Employee Engagement" in a survey conducted by an independent, national firm. "We attempt to demonstrate our appreciation to our team on a daily basis and in many different ways. It takes everyone to deliver an excellent patient care experience," comments Burnside. Beyond a positive environment, Burnside has been leading strategies to expand the services that CAH&C offers locally. Burnside explains, "I like to say that we have become a Comprehensive Rural Health System, offering all of the healthcare services that you would expect to find in a progressive rural community." The track record has been very strong as the Hospital has grown significantly and services provided have doubled. In turn, CAH&C is currently the market leader in three key hospital areas - inpatient discharges, emergency department visits and outpatient surgeries.
The organization has already achieved 32 of 40 objectives outlined in the three-year plan created by the Board of Directors and Medical staff in 2021. Some of the accomplishments include: recruiting physicians and providers to relaunch the organization's clinic system; advancing surgery to provide locally a wider array of general surgery procedures and developing a total knee replacement program that has cared for nearly 50 patients; increasing specialties available in the specialty clinic; implementing 24-7 physician coverage of the inpatient unit that now includes the telehealth capability for cardiology and general surgery consults; expanding the locations of the Clinic System to soon include clinics in Virden and Gillespie along with existing clinics in Girard and Carlinville.
Burnside summarizes, "Our goal is to continue creating an exceptional healthcare organization to serve the residents of Macoupin County. We are focusing on expanding access to provider services, advancing the level of local care options, and modernizing the delivery of excellent care with a great team! A comprehensive healthcare organization you can count on right here in Macoupin County.”
Posted in News on Jul 20, 2023
