Making Emporia’s hospital better is a goal that drew two of Newman Regional Health’s newest employees.
A little more than a month ago, Jodi Heermann took over as Newman Regional Health Foundation manager and Roy Mann began working in medical staff development.
Heermann, who came to the hospital after working more than seven years as the foundation director at Flint Hills Technical College, is responsible for managing all functions of the foundation, which raises money to support the hospital in its mission. One of Heermann’s key roles in her new position is fostering strong communication among the foundation, the hospital and the community.
The foundation holds several events to raise funds to support the organization and the hospital. Some of the items the foundation has purchased for the hospital are a sofa sleeper for families in the women’s center and a non-invasive way of testing infants’ blood before leaving the hospital without having to stick the infant’s heel. Also new is an infant security system.
The foundation also spearheaded an effort to purchase defibrillators to place at different locations throughout the community. There is one at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course and one at the Lee Beran Recreation Center. In addition, the foundation provides nursing scholarships each year and also raises awareness of immunizations throughout the entire lifetime, not just during childhood years.
Heermann was drawn to the hospital position because she saw an opportunity to enhance her job skills and advance her career.
“I saw it as an opportunity I was interested in,” she said. “... It’s exciting. It’s a fresh opportunity. There’s just a lot of things we can do.”
She also saw the job as an opportunity to foster communications at the hospital.
“The key to a strong hospital is a strong foundation,” she said. “... The hospital is the lifeblood of the community.”
The hospital also is part of the economic backbone of the community, Heermann said. The hospital provides jobs, education and quality health care services. Heermann said quality health care services are something a corporation or business looks into before locating in a community.
Recruiting physicians
Mann comes to Newman Regional Health from Emporia State University, where for the past 13 years he served as director of alumni relations. Mann’s responsibilities at the hospital are to recruit and retain physicians for the hospital. Both responsibilities — recruitment and retention — are key. Once a physician is recruited, it’s important to make sure the fit is right so that staff member will be retained, Mann said.
Mann was drawn to the hospital job because it gave him the opportunity to continue working in Emporia and to strengthen the hospital. He said Emporia has two unique aspects to it — ESU and the hospital.
“Those two things make Emporia what it is,” Mann said. “I think we are fortunate to have the medical facilities that we have here.”
Mann’s top priorities right now include recruiting an ear, nose and throat doctor and a pediatrician. There are a host of other positions the hospital would like to have filled including urology, but the ear, nose and throat doctor and a pediatrician are the most critical, Mann said.
Some positions take longer to fill because they are in high demand. One of the drawbacks for Newman Regional Health is that it’s located in a small, rural community and has to compete with larger areas in the United States for physicians. Mann’s job is to find physicians who are willing to come to the area and who like the total package. It’s important, Mann said, that physicians’ families want to live in the area as well.
Mann sees the recruiting challenges as opportunities.
Some physicians who are from larger areas are looking to live in a smaller area. And the fact that Emporia is near Wichita and Kansas City is another asset.
“Our strong point is you can have an excellent quality of life and be near metropolitan areas,” Mann said. “We have the best of both worlds.”
The staff at the hospital is good to work with as well, Mann said.
“We have excellent staff,” he said. “They’re tied into the community as well. We do have staff you can work with together as a team.”
Another opportunity in recruiting physicians is the opportunity to find physicians who haven’t yet completed training or residency but are from the area. Those physicians don’t have to be sold on the area — they already know it.