Feb. 5, 1998

At the recent management team retreat, we heard a discussion of the Medical Center’s performance in comparison with other hospitals in the tri-county area. Those people who heard the presentation and who also read a recent Post and Courier article listing the market share of the area’s major hospitals may have noticed a discrepancy in the numbers reported. The reason for this is that the numbers reported in the paper were obtained from the State Budget and Control Board before an error was discovered. (Some discharges for Roper CareAlliance were inadvertently double-counted during one quarter.)

Following is a breakdown of how market share has changed between 1994 and 1996. This information does not include military and veteran populations.

• Roper and Roper North have lost 1.1 percent, dropping from 29.4 to 28.3 percent.
• Bon Secours-St. Francis Xavier Hospital dropped to 8.3 percent from 13 percent for a loss of 4.7 percent.
• Trident Regional Medical Center’s share of the market grew 3 percent to 26.5 percent.
• East Cooper Regional Medical Center’s share has remained fairly stable.
• MUSC Medical Center’s market share has grown almost 7 percent to 27.9 percent from 21 percent. Part of this growth came from services the Medical Center began providing as Charleston Memorial Hospital scaled down its services. When this business from CMH is taken into account, MUSC’s gain amounts to about 3 percent.

In general, these changes in the market can be attributed to the reduction of services provided at the Charleston Naval Hospital and at Bon Secours-St. Francis Hospital, and to the changes at CMH. As the newspaper article noted, Roper has grown in the last few years as a result of its acquisition of facilities (Roper North), its developments of satellite outpatient operations and its hospital affiliation in Walterboro.

It’s also important to note that a large amount of MUSC’s business comes from our “secondary” market, made up of an area outside of Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. Every other hospital in the area gets 85 percent or more of their business (tracked by total number of discharges) from residents of the tri-county area. Only 60 percent of MUSC’s business is from the tri-county area. MUSC is clearly a regional provider for most services as well as a statewide provider for services such as transplantation.

Announcements

• Sherry Gillespie Miller, director of clinical services in Ambulatory Care Services, introduced two new managers in her department. Dixie Yarges will manage the primary care program, including McClennan-Banks Ambulatory Care Center, University Diagnostic Center and Pediatric Primary Care. June Darby will manage the medical-surgical subspecialties.
• Workshops geared toward managers and directors on different compliance issues will be held from Feb. 16 - 20 at the Medical Center.
• Marilyn Jenkins, manager of Fast Flow and Satellite Laboratories, reminded the management team that new test request cards will go into use on Feb. 18. New cards may be ordered from University Press. Jenkins distributed a listing of the new cards and their order numbers.
• John Franklin, director of Support Services, introduced Bill Herrick, the new general manager of Crothall Healthcare Inc. in Environmental Services. Crothall was awarded the new contract to provide environmental services for the Medical Center.

Recognition

• Nurse manager Effie Amerson and the staff members of 7 West were applauded by a patient and the patient’s family. They received a round of desserts in appreciation of their good work.
• Steve Hopkins, general manager of Dietetic Services, and his staff members were thanked for their efforts in providing food service at Alhambra Hall during the management retreat last week. Hopkins and his employees did a great job in spite of a lack of adequate food services facilities at the hall.

Benefits Update

• Janet Browning, manager of benefits, records and training passed along several benefits reminders.

• Retirement. If you are planning to retire in 1998, you should make an appointment to apply for benefits three to six months prior to your intended retirement date. If your intended retirement is July 1, the most popular retirement date of the year, make an appointment no later than March 1 to avoid possible delay in processing. To schedule an appointment, Medical Center employees should contact Janet Browning at 792-1208. University employees should contact Holly Maben at 792-4674.
• Income tax withholding. Look at the itemized list of deductions on your paycheck stub. Compare what is being withheld for income taxes to your 1997 income tax figures. If not enough money is being withheld, or if it seems that that too much money is being withheld, visit the Medical Center Benefits/Records Office in room 109 of the Children’s Hospital to change your W-4 form. Personal factors, such as a marriage, divorce, birth of a baby, or dependents gaining or losing employment may affect the accuracy of your current withholding. Also, check the mailing address on the paycheck stub to make sure it is correct. If it is not, contact your department’s business office to have it changed.
• Moneyplu$. For those who are enrolled in dependent day care or the out-of-pocket medical spending accounts, March 31, 1998, is the deadline for filing claims with MoneyPlu$ for reimbursement of expenses occurring during 1997. Eligible expenses must be incurred on or before Dec. 31, 1997, in order to qualify for reimbursement. Claim forms are available in room 109 of the Children’s Hospital.
• Health and dental insurance (31-day rule). Changes which can be made throughout the year are:
• Enroll yourself or any eligible dependents in health or dental coverage within 31 days of a special eligibility situation or a change in family status such as marriage, birth, adoption or involuntary loss of coverage. Changes NOT made within 31 days of the date of the special eligibility situation cannot be made until the next open enrollment period in October 1999.
• Drop dependents from health or dental coverage if they become ineligible for coverage. Examples include divorcing a spouse, a child turning age 19 who is not a full-time student, a child who turns age 25 or a child who marries. Complete the necessary paperwork within 31 days of the date of the event.
• Terminate your health or dental coverage or drop dependents within 31 days of gaining other coverage. If this is not done within 31 days of gaining the other coverage, current coverage cannot be dropped until the next open enrollment period in October 1999.
• The Medical Center Benefits Office is located in room 109 of the Children’s Hospital. Hours of operation are 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.