Staffing Solutions for Community Hospitals

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Bud Warman
Todd Hightower
Susan Ellis

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"Rural healthcare is in need of solutions. If we continue to compete in the traditional healthcare market, we are doomed. We have got to find different ways, different avenues of bringing care into our communities." -Bud Warman

Highlands Health System is a community hospital in eastern Kentucky. Highlands’ cardiovascular program faces challenges with staffing, finances, and regulations that are common to regional healthcare systems throughout the United States.

Challenges facing rural healthcare

A change in direction

The leadership team at Highlands knew they needed to try something different. That’s what led them to engage CardioSolution. CardioSolution specializes in setting up and operating cardiovascular service lines for rural and regional hospitals. This includes finding the right physicians, cath lab staff, and service line directors to staff CVSLs.

“They had a good physician recruiting and staffing model," says Bud Warman, CEO of Highlands Health Systems. "They brought some good people to the table who were true to their word, and we chose to partner with them.”

CardioSolution appealed to Highlands’ leadership for many reasons. Highlands was impressed with the large and diverse network of staffing options that CardioSolution was able to provide. Warman appreciated that CardioSolution was willing to enter a partnership that involved shared financial risk. But the most important factor of all was the ability of the people at CardioSolution to listen and fully appreciate the unique needs of Highlands and their community. It was foundational to their partnership as they set out to achieve ambitious goals.

Key learnings from Highland's leadership team

Highlands Health System was facing a staffing issue that is all too common to community healthcare systems today. They were able to succeed because they were willing to seek new solutions to this problem. For cardiovascular leaders in regional settings, willingness to embrace new solutions is no longer an option—it has become a job requirement.