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When Trey Abshier took over the position of CEO at Florida Medical Center in January 2016, he was not unaware of some of the issues with the hospital. "I came from a sister hospital with Tenet, Delray Medical Center," he said, "so I was familiar with the campus. I knew coming into the role that the look of the building was going to be a focus of mine, but I did not know how deep the concerns went; I did not know how major of a focus it was going to be."
Though the task might have seemed daunting, Abshier dug right in and has made amazing strides in slightly more than a year, with renovations touching both the interior and exterior. The interior, he said, is "going through a complete facelift, which means a complete repainting of the interior of the campus, including all lobbies, hallways, the cafeteria, patient rooms, nursing stations, ER – everything." Not long after arriving, he was also able to open up Specialty Surgical Suites, a renovation of the fifth floor unit that offers 31 private rooms with concierge-like service for medical and surgical patients. Abshier stated, "The floor really gives off the feeling of a 5-star hotel, and we feel that the patient care being delivered matches the aesthetics as well."
In addition, Abshier said all of the signage has been updated for both accuracy and aesthetics. "When I first started here, there were directional signs throughout the facility that would point you to departments that either no longer existed or had relocated. It was very frustrating for someone who worked here, so you can imagine even more frustrating if you are a patient or a family that’s trying to navigate during a tough time of your life. So I went through and had the signage changed to (indicate) the location of the different departments, as well as to give a more classy, elegant look."
Additionally, Abshier said all carpeting is being replaced. "Carpeting is tough to clean, it shows wear over time, and there’s an infection-control issue. So we’re in the process of changing all of the carpeting throughout the hospital for a hardwood product, which is more durable and easier to clean."As for the exterior, Abshier commented that when he first started, he received complaints from the physicians that they were having trouble convincing their patients to come to Florida Medical Center to receive care. "It wasn’t because we weren’t providing good quality care. It was because the facility did not look like some of the competition, it needed work. Unfortunately, perception is reality a lot of times."
He and his team set about to change that perception. They created a master plan that included repainting the entire campus – the hospital plus three medical office buildings. The hospital has all new exterior signage with LED lights, and the landscaping is being upgraded across the facility, to give it a more up-to-date look that would be more appealing to physicians and patients.
While the main obstacle to the exterior work is the weather, the interior renovations, of course, must be performed around the patients. Abshier explained that a lot of the work is done during the day because the noise might be disruptive at night. "But it brings an excitement to the facility," he added, "especially from an employee perspective, when they see painters painting walls and they see work being done. It brings a level of excitement to the hospital when you see accomplishments being done to your facility."The renovations are not finished, and the current exterior focus is on the landscaping; as for the interior, Abshier said, "You continue to paint, and continue to replace furniture that’s been worn out, among other things. It’s never-ending, I don’t know that we’ll ever be done."
Being able to accomplish so much in such a short time was quite a challenge, but Abshier said, "The biggest challenge is to tell our story, and what I mean by that is the perception of the hospital. It’s tough to hear from doctors that they can’t refer patients here because of what people perceive as poor quality because of the look of the building. Frankly, it needed some love from that perspective, and we were able to accomplish that. We’re providing higher-quality care each and every day than we did the day before, and we’re providing better service than we ever have.
"We want to make sure that the community is aware that we have great physicians and incredible staff, and that things are changing. It’s not the Florida Medical Center you might remember of old. We’re getting better every day. It’s a great story that’s happening here."
