One Year As Sky Lakes

May 20, 2008

After a transitional period that lasted longer than expected, Sky Lakes Medical Center hospital officials say their new addition, name and philosophy, "Life, Healing, Peace," live up to expectations.

It's been nearly a year since the medical center unveiled its 100,000-square-foot addition and a name change from Merle West to Sky Lakes.

The $47 million project spanned six years from initial design to completion. It featured a new front entrance and rooms, more space, and a philosophy that redefined the medical center's role.

Progress was measured by patient satisfaction, staff reaction and in-depth analysis by the support services department.

Part of the transition involved teaching staff new skills - how to do their jobs in a new environment, how to respond to and get along with patients and visitors, and how to deal with stress, according to Tom Hottman, Sky Lakes spokesman.

"An example is, instead of giving directions to someone looking for a department in the hospital", he said, "we take you instead - it's that two - to three-minutes helping them that brings us back to the philosophy: Life:Healing:Peace - you heal better when you are less stressed."

Hottman said the name change from Merle West to Sky Lakes was chosen after exhaustive research. Other than three letters to the editor in the Herald and News, he has not heard any negative reaction.

"Sky Lakes covers the whole region, and you can see the Sky Lakes Wilderness from the hospital. We should be proud of who we are. We are not SLMC; we are Sky Lakes Medical Center", he said.

Hottman also dispelled rumors that said the medical center laid off employees because of the new construction. Some positions were lost through attrition; others were necessary because of economics.

"We have lost 20 positions. It stinks for the 20 people, but we have worked hard to maintain staff. It all goes back to Medicare/Medicaid payments, which have not increased, although costs have", he said.

Medicare/Medicaid covers 80 percent of costs, Hottman said, and the hospital has committed to not raising prices.

"We were posting good margins, 4 to 8 percent a few years ago, and it was possible to subsidize some services", he said. "Now our margin is less than 1 percent, as it is for other hospitals in our region."

An increase in non-surgical, medical admissions instead of surgical admissions also has impacted the bottom line, because Medicare/Medicaid pay more for surgical patients.

He emphasized that the hospital is in no danger of closing its doors or not making payroll, and it is rolling out new kinds of technologies to better serve patients.

With more space and privacy, communication became more problematic. The hospital implemented a robot communication device system, as small as an MP3 player that keeps nurses connected with staff members, like a secure in-house cell phone they wear.

"As we've come to grips with all the new technology, we've thrown a lot at the nurses", said Tom Hottman, spokesman for the medical center.

Tanja Mahoney, Nursing Staff Supervisor, has been with Sky Lakes Medical Center since 1992, when she graduated from the nursing program at OIT. She has worked in both the new and old areas of the medical center.

"The size of the new space has blessings, but it has issues, too", she said. "Nurses said they needed more space, and they got it. It has increased the amount of space they have to cover between patient rooms."

Nurses' stations now have a privacy wall behind the desk that shields patients from the noise of equipment and computers, and provides privacy for staff to look up confidential records.

They also needed - and now have - break rooms. They had been grabbing moments in rooms that were meant for other uses, with open doors and no privacy.


Herald and News
Lee Beach