Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare: Making Big Strides on Their Journey to Value-Based Care

Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare (GVMH), a 56-bed, not-for-profit, health care organization located in Clinton, MO, was one of three organizations selected to participate in the 2020-2021 Rural Health Provider Transition Project.

During their year-long engagement in RHPTP, GVMH worked with RHPTP’s technical assistance (TA) consultants on finance and operations improvements, as well as developing a strategy and infrastructure to improve patient experience and engagement in preparation for participation in alternative payment and care delivery models. 

Below are some of GVMH’s Top Accomplishments and Early Outcomes made possible through their RHPTP participation:

• Began aligning their provider payment structure to VBC initiatives by implementing modifications of their physician compensation methodology. They have recently adopted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare 2023 Part C&D Star Ratings, and have also reduced RVU counts for providers, however, bridging the compensation gap in the first year by providing income protection.
• Utilizing ACO metrics for data analytics
• Created processes to analyze and share HCAHPS data
• Improved walk-in-clinic through-put times
• Implemented a texting service that reminds patients of upcoming appointments
• Implemented daily department huddles
• Utilizing population health RNs for wellness visits
• Increased number of wellness visits
• Implemented leadership training and succession planning
• Recruitment success (nursing, imaging, therapy, etc.) utilizing new stipend program
• Developed a frontline staff preceptor program
• Instituted a new mentor program for transitioning staff to newly assigned leadership roles
• Operating a robust and prescriptive process for onboarding new staf
• Significant decrease in staff turnover
• Implemented “Golden Standard of Care” brand
• Created a Chief Service Officer role to ensure the patient experience has just as high a priority and focus as financial, quality, staff, and growth metrics
• Developed a patient experience organizational plan that demonstrates overall goals in the four areas of patient experience
• Developed a patient experience department that conducts patient rounding, completes validations on must-have behaviors, and provides in-the-moment coaching to patient-facing departments on how to improve the patient’s experience.
• Implemented “purposeful” rounding and whiteboard utilization to enhance inpatient experience
• Established bi-weekly patient experience meetings
• Re-established patient/family advisory committee
• Participation in the RHPTP Health Equity Learning Collaborative
• Increased collaboration between health care and community organizations, agencies, and groups
• Feel more prepared for value-based care and changes in health care as a whole

GVMH’s acute care, cardiology, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, emergency medicine, imaging, intensive care, laboratory, obstetrics, radiology, therapy services, and related outpatient ancillary services span a geographic area of approximately 49,000 people across 17 zip codes in Clinton, MO, and surrounding communities. GVMH is also in the process of building a radiation oncology center so it can provide comprehensive cancer care to patients closer to home. The new facility is scheduled to open in December 2023.

As an independent organization, GVMH maintains strategic partnerships with other health systems such as St. Luke’s Hospital and Research Medical Center in Kansas City, MO. 

In addition to the services listed above, GVMH also operates:

• Home Health and Hospice Services for patients in six counties
• Four rural-health clinics (RHCs) located in Clinton, Osceola, Warsaw and Windsor
• Specialty clinics that include a large array of specialty services

GVMH continues to formalize their staff well-being program, add processes and routes to include patients and families’ perspectives in their experience and engagement plan, continued measurement of new processes and procedures, expanding patient experience initiatives to additional areas within the hospital, implementing a more robust service recovery program and creating a systematic approach to successful change and sustaining improvement.

The GVMH staff were excellent and inspirational models of positivity and teamwork during their time in the project and continue to excel on their path to becoming effective participants in a health care system focused on value!