BBGH Multi-Specialty Clinic a resource that saves time and money
The Multi-Specialty Clinic has three staff members. They are, l-r: Tana Fillis, LPN; Theresa Dykes, LPN-C; and Unit Secretary Louise Dykes. Both Tana and Theresa have been with the Multi-Specialty Clinic since it began just a few years after the hospital opened its doors in 1976. Louise has been Unit Clerk for the past four years.
This month’s introduction of a Box Butte General Hospital service to the community focuses on a resources that may surprise area residents on how much time and money it has saved patients and families over the years.
The Multi-Specialty Clinic (MSC) at BBGH has been in existence for much of the hospital’s history. It has been an integral part of hospital’s mission to lead and innovate in healthcare delivery and community wellness by bringing medical specialists to Alliance so that area residents don’t have to travel for appointments or outpatient services. Here are some interesting figures to provide some context on how well the MSC’s mission has performed over the years.
In fiscal year 2014 (the last year full data was available), 5,284 area residents used the MSC to meet their medical needs. Most of the specialists come from the Scottsbluff area (though others come from as far away as Loveland, CO and Rapid City, SD). Using just the 120 miles round trip to Scottsbluff as a base figure and assuming the 2014 number of visits is representative of previous year visitations, the following can be determined to have occurred over the past 14 years of the department’s operation. The year 2000 was the year the hospital began its expansion project in order to provide more space for the fast growing MSC, as well as a new Emergency Department.
Miles traveled: 5,284 visits each year over 14 years equal 73,976 visits in all. If all those visits had required patients traveling to Scottsbluff instead, they would have traveled 8,877,120 miles over that period. Divide that amount by the circumference of the earth and those miles equal 356 trips around the world.
Hours lost: Assuming two hours per round trip per Scottsbluff visit, the total number of hours over the fourteen year period would total 147,952 hours. That’s around 6,165 days or nearly 17 years. While some patients are retired, and others have employee policies that allow personal time off with pay, if you assume all patients earned a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, that would translate into $1,072,652 in cumulative lost wages.
Vehicle wear and tear/gas costs: While most patients having to travel the 120 miles round trip wouldn’t have qualified for mileage reimbursement from the businesses they work for, that correlation provides an idea of how much out of pocket travel expenses patients would have had over the years. The average mileage reimbursement for gas plus wear and tear on vehicles for business purposes over the past 14 years was 0.50 cents per mile (source Internal Revenue Service). That translates into area residents having out of pocket travel expenses of $4,438,560 over that time frame.
Economic activity: While it can’t be determined how much actual consumer spending outside of the Box Butte County business area would have happened over those years, it can safely be assumed that tens of millions more dollars in lost economic activity would have occurred if there had been no Multi-Specialty Clinic at BBGH.
The Clinic has three staff members: Louise Dykes, Unit Clerk; Tana Fillis, LPN; and Theresa Dykes, LPN-C. Both Ms. Dykes and Fillis have been with the Clinic since it began in 1980 on a small scale, long before the hospital’s 2001 building expansion project that allowed more specialty services to be offered to the community.
Besides being able to help so many patients over the years, both of the nurses said the greatest enjoyment they have in working in the MSC was the variety. “The flexibility you need to have by working with so many different doctors means I never have a dull day,” said Ms. Dykes. Ms. Fillis added she enjoys the hours as well. “When my doctor for the day goes home, I get to go home,” she quipped. Louise commented that she likes the bonding she receives with the patients. “They all have to check in with me as Unit Clerk, so I get to see all of them that are scheduled each day. It’s nice getting to know the patients.”
The bonding with has a down side as well. “We’ve both been doing this for so many years, we’ve gotten to know a lot of patients who require multiple visits,” Ms. Fillis said. “Watching our elderly patients whose health deteriorates over the years is hard to watch. And we’re all going to be there someday. But you still feel good about doing the best you can for them.”
“We started out in 1980 when an eye doctor started coming to the hospital,” said Ms. Dykes. “Over the years the MSC grew to a high of 15 specialties offered, though we’re down to 11 now.”
The specialties currently offered at the MSC are: Behavioral Health; Cardiology; Dermatology; Ear, Nose & Throat; General Surgery; Gynecology; Oncology; Ophthalmology; Oral Surgery; Orthopedic Surgery and Podiatry. There are currently 20 specialists visiting the clinic.
Residents can expect more specialty services in the future. Ms. Fillis said, “Tthe MSC is always looking for new and different specialties to offer. For example, we looked forever for a dermatologist since that’s a service we needed here. We finally found a specialist in that field who wanted to come. We never give up trying.”
Appointments can be made for most of the specialties offered by calling 308.761.3349.
Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
