CHRISTUS Schumpert Health System of Shreveport, La., is realigning the services it provides at two of its Shreveport-area facilities, in part to keep pace with population shifts.
Currently both the 601-bed St. Mary Place campus in downtown Shreveport and the 160-bed Highland campus less than 10 miles away function as general acute care facilities. Schumpert's plan is to concentrate on women's, children's and cancer services at St. Mary Place. The system will focus on adult medicine and surgical services at the Highland campus, which is located in an area with a fast-growing population.
The combined bed count for the two campuses will not change, and all services will remain available, albeit in different locations in some cases, said Susan V. Tudor, regional vice president of CHRISTUS Health of Central and Northern Louisiana. She said some reduction in staff count is possible as positions are consolidated. However, at the same time, Schumpert anticipates growth at the Highland campus.
Tudor said that the new strategy will enable Schumpert to use its limited resources in the most efficient way while enhancing access to care. As part of the strategy, Schumpert also is improving the way it partners with community organizations in service to vulnerable people. One such partnership is enabling Schumpert to redirect patients who do not need emergency care, from its emergency department to a Shreveport-area Federally Qualified Health Center.
Much of Schumpert's realignment should be completed within the next six months, although full implementation could take three years.
Tudor said the changes Schumpert is making are in line with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. "Health care reform calls us to be integrated at every point and prepared for ongoing transitions in response to market forces," she said.
With the shift, Schumpert has renamed St. Mary Place CHRISTUS Schumpert, and the Highland campus, CHRISTUS Schumpert Highland.
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