____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Enloe Health
have access to before. We’ re bringing the university medical center experience to our area,” Mike explains.
For patients managing multiple specialists, often from a distance, that centralization matters.“ Managing several specialties, especially from a distance, can be tough for our patients. More availability means earlier diagnosis and treatment. All they’ ve got to do is make one phone call if they’ re having trouble, and we’ ll be there to support them,” he says.
Enloe is expanding cardiac, imaging, and primary care services, but growing demand is only half the challenge. Workforce supply remains a persistent constraint, particularly across rural communities where recruitment continues to lag demand.“ We hope to have at least 12 to 16 residents at any time. That program should help us keep some graduates and build our primary care network. It’ s not right that people have to wait six to eight weeks for a specialty visit,” Mike highlights.
Leading through change
Mike’ s role spans operations, capital planning, and long-term strategy. Financial performance supports investment, but payer mix shapes decisions.“ About 75 to 80 percent of our patients have government insurance, so we’ re always a bit concerned about covering costs. The fact that we’ re profitable, even with these challenges, is a real asset,” Mike notes.
Technology is also reshaping how care gets coordinated and documented.“ Epic, our electronic health record partner, keeps rolling out new ways for us to work more efficiently,” Mike explains. The system strengthens communication across care teams, helping clinicians stay connected as services expand across multiple locations. Tools like ambient listening let physicians focus on patients rather than paperwork.“ Physicians can talk to their patients, and the computer handles the notes. We’ re focused on keeping the human side of care, even as we leverage AI,” he adds.
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