Page 72 - BusinessWest December 9, 2024

years; we’ve never personalized care or personal- ized care models to each person — it’s ‘here’s our model, and you’re going to fit into it.’”
For this issue’s look at the healthcare outlook for 2025, we talked with these hospital leaders about what’s happening today, and what needs to happen for tomorrow.
Age-old Problems
Nov. 2 at 4 a.m.
“We need to develop more personalized care. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work; someone who’s 85 needs different care than some- one’s who’s 65 or 55 or 25. I’ve been in this industry for 40 years; we’ve never personalized care or personalized care models to each person — it’s ‘here’s our model, and you’re going to fit into it.’”
That’s when Mercy Medical Center flipped
the switch, if you will, and converted to the Epic
EHR electronic health records system. The
conversion comes at a price tag “in the eight fig-
ures,” over the next several years, and has been, in general, both all- consuming and quite necessary, Roose said.
“This has been a journey for us for several years that intensified over the past year — it’s a transformational moment,” he explained, adding that the system will greatly improve coordination of care. “It’s been incredible investment in terms of time — tens of thou- sands of hours — and money.”
Conversion to systems like Epic, taking place across the country, comprise just one of the many challenges — and huge expenses — facing all healthcare systems today.
And those challenges have been, as Roose said, relentless — both since the start of COVID and, on many fronts, since well before that.
One of the larger issues facing all providers today is simply car- ing for a population that is older — the oldest Baby Boomers are approaching 80, and there are a lot of them — and, for reasons both known and unknown, sicker.
“There’s been a spike in things, which everyone is still trying to explain,” Hatiras said. “We’ve seen a spike in cancers, a spike in heart conditions, spikes in cardiovascular and stroke ... people are very, very sick, sicker than in years prior.
“People are still trying to figure out why this is happening,” he
avig
PETER BANKO
said, not wanting to speculate himself but while also listing theories ranging from long COVID to vaccines to people putting off needed care during the pandemic.
“The bottom line is, we’re a lot busier,” he went on, adding that this phrase applies to many constituencies, including employees. Indeed, the hospital, which is self-insured, has seen claims for such conditions as cancers, cardiac disease, and stroke up 30% to 40%, spikes that are certainly not normal.
Banko noted that, in many respects, what hospitals are seeing relates to demographics — a large percentage of the population reaching its 60s and 70s at the same time more people are living well into their 80s, 90s, and beyond — and the resulting conse- quences. Meanwhile, in Western Mass., there is virtually no growth among younger people, leaving an older, sicker population to care
for.“We look at our growth over the next five to 10 years ... there’s a little in the 25-to-44 age range, the 45-64 range is declining, the zero to 25 is declining. The most rapid increase in our population here in Western Mass. and the Northeast is the 65 and older, and the largest increase is 75
and over.
“What that means is
more complex care and
Hospitals
Continued on page 30
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