Bassett ranks among nation’s top integrated health systems

COOPERSTOWN — Being named one of the most integrated health networks in the nation means that Bassett Healthcare Network is doing something right at its network of six hospitals and dozens of clinics.

But the job of integration is an ongoing one with direct impact on the organization’s efficiency and the quality of patient care it provides, says Jeffrey Woeppel, vice president of system integration at Bassett.

Bassett was recently ranked 48th among 100 health systems around the country on the SDI Top 100 Integrated Health Networks ranking published in Modern Healthcare magazine. The list recognizes health systems that optimize health-care delivery.

St. Johns Health System in Springfield, Mo., topped the list, which also includes Baylor Health Care System in Dallas and Scripps Health in San Diego.

“The ranking that came out did give us some affirmation that we are going in the right direction,” Woeppel says. It also shows that Bassett has made great strides with initiatives it has undertaken in recent years to improve efficiency, streamline operating costs, and improve care.

Information technology is a huge factor in integration at a health-care network, and Bassett’s launch last year of its new electronic medical record (EMR) system is an example of how Bassett is improving its integration, he says.

Bassett also uses the same platforms across its various locations for functions like patient records, accounting, and even inventory management.

Efforts such as those help Bassett perform at its best, which results in better patient care through consistent processes and practices, Woeppel says. 

“It is hard proof that the work we’ve engaged in to coordinate patient care, improve access, and integrate best practices across the Bassett network is paying off to the benefit of our patients,” Bassett President and CEO William F. Streck said in a news release announcing the ranking.

The SDI 2012 ranking identifies the top 100 integrated health networks from among more than 570 non-specialty local and regional networks across the nation and evaluates them on the ability to operate as a unified organization in eight categories: integrated technology, integration, contractual capabilities, outpatient utilization, financial stability, services and access, hospital utilization, and physicians. To see the full list, visit www.bassett.org.

Bassett Healthcare Network’s system serves people living in a 5,600-square-mile region in upstate New York through six hospitals, nearly two dozen community and school-based health centers, and skilled-nursing facilities. Bassett’s hospitals include Bassett Medical Center (formerly Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital), a 180-bed acute-care teaching hospital in Cooperstown; A.O. Fox Hospital, Oneonta; O’Connor Hospital, Delhi; Tri-Town Regional Hospital, Sidney; Cobleskill Regional Hospital, Cobleskill; and Little Falls Hospital, Little Falls. Bassett reported 2010 revenue of $404.1 million, expenses of $402.9 million, and 3,761 employees according to its Form 990 on file at www.guidestar.org.