2024 Profiles HEALTH CARE |
Roane General Hospital |
Location :
200 Hospital Dr . Spencer , WV 25276
Contact Information :
( 304 ) 927-4444
Staff :
Doug Bentz
Chief Executive Officer
Julie Carr
Chief Clinical Officer
Amy Downey
Chief Financial Officer
Brent Watson , M . D .
Hospital Medical Director
Scott P . Duffy , M . D
Chief of Staff
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Roane General Hospital ( RGH ), located in Roane County , WV , is one of the few independent community hospitals left in the state . This means that RGH is not part of a larger health system .
RGH has a strong commitment to remaining a community hospital and has achieved significant growth over the past decade . Doug Bentz , CEO of RGH , says over time the hospital has been fortunate to form many relationships and partnerships with physician specialists in the community .
“ We believe in the idea of having a physician drive to Spencer one day a week to see 25 patients instead of 25 patients having to drive to either Charleston , Parkersburg or Morgantown to see one physician ,” Bentz says . “ It greatly improves access while also improving the communication and coordination of care .”
The hospital primarily serves Roane and southern Calhoun counties , while occasionally seeing patients from other counties that need the specialty care RGH provides .
Roane County is considered part of the bottom 20 % when it comes to well-being in West Virginia , and the state as a whole ranks either last or very low in health in many studies .
“ We needed to make an investment in improving our health and well-being and not just react and treat the underlying illness and disease ,” Bentz says .
RGH contains full-time specialists and services such as cardiology , general surgery and optometry as well as part-time specialists who offer services
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like oncology , pulmonology , orthopedics and podiatry .
Bentz says RGH fosters these specialists by providing competitive wages and a positive environment for both the specialist and their patient , taking pride in their onboarding process .
“ We work with the specialist and their existing team to ensure our processes are consistent with the standard of care and their expectations ,” he says . “ Our biggest success has been our retention of these specialists and the feedback we get from our patients . It truly makes a difference in their lives .”
With RGH ’ s approach of getting the specialists in contact with their patients efficiently , the hospital is providing care to many who would otherwise not have access . For many , transportation options are slim , and without RGH , they would have no way to get themselves to where they need to be for treatment .
“ Over 12 % of our community does not have access to transportation , and finding a ride to drive an hour-plus is often difficult to impossible ,” Bentz says . “ We have little to no public options as well . Without bringing care close to home , many in our community would just go without those services .”
Bentz also mentions that having primary care and specialty physicians under one roof is beneficial to patient care . They share one electronic medical record , not only making information quick and accurate , but also giving the two groups a chance to collaborate and directly communicate .
“ It is a daily occurrence to see primary care providers ask our cardiologist about an EKG or a surgeon ask the patient ’ s primary care provider about a recommended medication ,” Bentz says .
RGH has no plans to change its status of independent community hospital anytime soon . The hospital wants to ensure its community wellness program is prioritized and feels that may not happen with another health system .
“ We have greater control over our own destiny ,” Bentz says . “ Our vision to ‘ Bring Care Close to Home ’ and our commitment to our community wellness program may not be important or prioritized by another health system . We can customize a model of care that best fits the needs of our community .” •
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West Virginia Executive | Profiles | 2024 |