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With the re-election of President Barack Obama November 6, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is moving forward. Just as the healthcare debate over the past four years has been filled with claims, counterclaims and controversy, its implementation will present challenges for healthcare providers. But some see the law as creating new opportunities to deliver excellent and compassionate patient care.
 
John D. Couris, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jupiter Medical Center, believes the law will force the healthcare industry to figure out ways to reduce costs and re-engineer its processes to eliminate waste and variability in its systems.
 
“We’re moving as an industry from volume to value, focusing on value and quality of care,” he said. “If hospitals can provide great value at a lower cost, we can win the day. If organizations cannot think outside the box and shift paradigms, they will not succeed.”
 
While he acknowledges that the Affordable Care Act will present challenges, Couris sees changes created by healthcare reform as a positive thing. “We have the opportunity as leaders to rise to the occasion to think and behave differently,” he said. “While there are challenges, there is a great deal of opportunity.”
 
As CEO of Jupiter Medical Center, recipient of the HealthGrades ‘America’s 50 Best’ Award™ for two years in a row (2011-2012) and the Distinguished Hospital Award – Clinical Excellence™ for eight years in a row (2005-2012), Couris believes that innovation holds the key to success for healthcare providers in the new world order.
 
“Medical centers, health centers and hospitals are going to have to create an innovative environment and inspire their teams to be world-class,” he said. “It’s a matter of having a strong culture focused on compassion, teamwork and courage to get through these issues.”
 
For the past year and a half, Jupiter Medical Center has been developing a three-pronged effort to improve patient care and reduce costs. The hospital has implemented a principal called Lean, a process improvement tool to redesign the way it delivers care to patients. Lean is used to find and solve problems in specific work areas.
 
The hospital is also implementing a new patient-centered delivery platform called “System of Care.” This program ties together the ambulatory, acute care and post-acute care environments into one seamless experience for the patient – an innovative, new way of delivering care.
 
“Most healthcare is delivered in an ambulatory environment,” said Couris. “We are developing our ambulatory care systems and expanding our facility around acute care facilities. We are rebuilding post-acute care with outpatient rehabilitation, hospice and home health care services. So, as patients flow through the system, they will get the same level of quality with higher value at a lower cost. All this is predicated on quality, clinical outcomes and patient safety.”
 
Couris believes that as the Affordable Care Act is rolled out, prevention and wellness programs will be critical to keep all but the sickest patients out of hospitals. Today, the nation’s healthcare system devotes almost all of its resources – nearly $2.6 trillion a year in 2010 – to treating patients after they become sick.
 
By the end of the year, Jupiter Medical Center will launch a mobile Outreach Bus called “Wellness in Motion” to reach into the community and provide certain services. “Patients from Palm Beach and southern Martin Counties will have access to services such as mammograms and blood glucose screenings, as well as education on cancer awareness and wellness programs,” Couris said.
 
As costs go up and revenues go down, Couris believes hospitals will have to learn to live with Medicare reimbursement cuts by reducing costs and re-engineering their systems. “You have to stay focused and work your strategic plans – it takes a tremendous amount of discipline,” he said. “The healthcare industry is not for the faint of heart. You have to be good and move really fast.”   
 
Couris feels it is important to embrace the future of healthcare as a positive thing. “We are excited about what the future holds for our organization,” he said. “It’s all about innovation and having a strong culture. We at Jupiter Medical Center see this as an opportunity – not as an insurmountable challenge.”