The UNM Health Sciences Committee met on Tuesday and covered a substantial amount of material, including providing updates on the new adult replacement hospital and UNMH patient wait times, as well as highlighting the efforts of UNM health clinics.
New Adult Replacement Hospital
Michael Richards, executive physician-in-chief for the UNM Health System, gave updates on the state of planning for the new adult replacement hospital approved by the Board of Regents in February.
An executive committee of hospital leadership and department chairs meet on a weekly basis to make decisions regarding facilities, size, location, and analysis of programmatic/clinical needs, Richards said.
The 480 members of medical staff and leadership currently involved in decision making and hospital administration have established a web-based “communication mechanism” that allows medical staff members to access planning material, he said.
Richards said the planning phase of the project is supposed to be complete by November.
UNMH Patient Wait Times Addressed
Michael Gomez, physician executive for UNM Health System Clinics, said UNMH is looking to improve patient wait times.
This comes after UNMH scored a one, the lowest score, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid’s star-rating system, he said. The rating is based on readmission rates, high harm score, and wait times.
UNMH is attempting to decrease the primary care wait time of days/weeks to same/next day, Gomez said. While the current wait time to be seen for specialty care is weeks to months, UNMH aims at a 10 percent decrease of that wait time as well.
“UNMH has always had a problem dealing with wait times and access for appointments,” he said.
While there have been improvements to access, patient volume does not improve wait times, Gomez said.
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Patients with acute needs are pushed through the system quicker by bypassing standard protocols, he said.
While measuring improvement is a challenge, Gomez said UNMH is working on scheduling, facility planning, and they are hoping to allow providers more time in the clinic.
“We aren’t only focusing on getting patients through the system faster, but we focus on quality of care as well,” he said.
Gomez said problems such as provider turn-over, network provider coordination, management issues, physician assignments, lack of facility changes, and lack of staff and providers due to budget status present challenges to decreasing wait times.
Richards said UNMH’s low score has to do with the geographic difference between New Mexico and other eastern states.
“There are only 44 acute care hospitals in NM,” he said.
Richards attributed readmission level, a contributor to the low score, to patients needing additional assistance that they may not be able to receive in their own communities.
Richards argued that the scoring method doesn’t take into account unique clinical services provided by academic medical centers.
Advancements in Behavioral Health
Bill Shuttleworth, Director of UNM’s Brain and Behavioral Health Institutes, said BBHI currently coalitions 18 advocacy groups giving presentations on common behavioral health disorders to rural NM communities.
Through these efforts, BBHI focuses on establishing partnerships with communities throughout New Mexico, he said, educating the public on brain and behavioral health disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, anxiety, substance abuse, fetal alcohol syndrome, depression, and schizophrenia.
Caroline Bonham, Chief of the Division of Community and Behavioral Health, said CBH is a medical home for patients with mental illnesses, specializing in PTSD treatment for youth who have experienced neglect, abuse, or other trauma.
Missions include early intervention to support those with first symptoms of psychoses, she said. One of CBH’s many initiatives is training law enforcement and first responders on best practices when working with people with mental health conditions.
Mauricio Tohen, chair of the Department of Psychiatry, said the Addictions and Substance Abuse Program focuses on the most vulnerable populations, those who suffer from a dual diagnosis, meaning an addiction and a psychiatry disorder, and pregnant women.
The vast majority of patients with addiction also suffer from trauma, he said, so ASAP considers it key that patients are treated for both.
“Our goal by next month is that our waiting list is down to zero,” Tohen said. “The day the patient requests an appointment, that patient will be seen.”
