Moving more care out of hospitals is a win

Growth strategies at major health systems are focusing increasingly on moving care outside the walls of the hospital due to consumer preferences and demographic trends as well as advances in technology and reimbursement changes. How do health systems that once banked on growing through mergers and acquisitions and hospital expansion get there? Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett breaks down how the largest health system in New Jersey is making progress.

Can you provide insights on Hackensack Meridian’s growth strategy to deliver more care at home and in the community?

Robert Garrett: It started at the height of the COVID pandemic. We knew we had to work on a recovery and transformation plan while we were battling the worst health crisis in a century. We borrowed $1 billion to help us build the health system of the future by opening nearly two dozen urgent care and ambulatory care centers, expanding hospital-at-home and investing in advanced technology to continue our efforts to make care more convenient, accessible and affordable.

The first half of 2024 has been remarkable! In March, we broke ground for a health and wellness center at one of the busiest travel hubs in the northeast corridor, a first in the nation. The center at Metropark will enhance access to care for thousands of New Jersey and New York residents. With one in four people not having a primary care physician—and for people 30 and under it’s one in two—we need new strategies to fill this void. In June, we opened the largest of our health and wellness centers, a 160,000-square-foot center in our northern region that offers several specialty practices. In fact, we have more shovels in the ground than at any other time in our history.

Providers are continuing to go big on hospital-at-home programs. What’s your approach and where do you see this trend going?

RG: There was no question we would create a hospital-at-home program after CMS launched its waiver-based program in 2020 to help mitigate capacity issues due to the pandemic. This started with a pilot program at our three academic medical centers. We are now collaborating with Medically Home on plans to expand throughout the 18-hospital system. Early results and patient feedback are very encouraging. Research shows that this model reduces costs, improves outcomes and enhances the patient experience. There’s no doubt this model will continue to grow. Up to 25 % of the total cost of care for Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage is shifting from traditional facilities to the home within the next few years, experts estimate.

With all of the investment in care outside the hospital, what is Hackensack Meridian’s strategy for the network’s 18 hospitals?

RG: We are continuing to invest in our hospitals and are developing and enhancing care at each location based on the needs of our communities. In our northern region, we opened the Helena Theurer Pavilion at Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the first smart hospitals in the U.S. The nine-story surgical and intensive care tower includes 24 operating rooms, 50 intensive care units, new operating rooms with intraoperative MRI capabilities, six advanced da Vinci robotic surgical systems and more.

In our central region, we invested $24 million in one of our hospitals to transform it into a behavioral health center of excellence. The 81-bed unit treats patients diagnosed with mental illness and substance use disorder. We also expanded and modernized emergency departments in two community hospitals and plan to do the same in two more.

How do you see these trends playing out in the next decade and beyond?

RG: I think growth in hospitals will be achieved through advances in technology rather than just expanding brick and mortar to reach many more patients. Rather than monitoring illnesses and diseases in a traditional clinical setting, more patient care will be conducted remotely through telehealth and other technology. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technology will help us continue to make quantum leaps to improve care and the patient experience.

But we can never forget this: Technology can never replace the human touch. And we will always depend on our exceptional care teams to be there for patients and to help us build stronger communities.

To learn more visit: hmhn.org