Louisville, Ky.-based Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s CEO Russell F. Cox thinks now is the right time to expand. Many hospitals and health systems are feeling financial strain and transforming their organizations with technology; their leadership might bristle at taking on such big growth projects. But not Mr. Cox.
“If we wait for more calm, predictable times in order to do things that meet the needs of our community and region, we’ll never do it, because healthcare is as dynamic as it’s ever been,” said Mr. Cox. “It’s going to be ever-changing. Some of the change is going to be good; some of it will be not so good. There’s never going to be a perfect time to do anything, but we really do feel like the time is right for us to expand our pediatrics care and Norton Children’s Hospital.”
Mr. Cox, in partnership with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, unveiled plans for a new 150-plus acre children’s healthcare campus June 11 that will be designed to go beyond traditional pediatric care facilities; it will be a community for kids. There will be a standalone dedicated pediatric hospital with academic support from the University of Louisville, School of Medicine. The campus will include dedicated research space as well as family support.
“Our doctors and scientists are going to take research and innovation to a new level,” said Mr. Beshear. “And we are going to build one of — if not the — largest pediatric health campuses in the country, creating 1,000 jobs for this hospital. That makes this the largest jobs announcement in Kentucky this year.”
And then there will be additional space for Norton Children’s to add whole-person services based on community input. The space could be used for a hotel where families can stay while their child is treated at the hospital. They may develop restaurants and a grocery store, or other amenities fulfilling family and caregiver needs.
“We’re recognizing that patients and families are changing, and the models of care and facilities in which we care for them have changed as well,” said Mr. Cox. “We have to understand that how we get better outcomes is directly involved with how the entire family feels about the circumstances and situation for how they’re getting care.”
The next step is a calling campaign, which Norton Children’s has dubbed the “Follow the Balloon” campaign. Norton leadership will travel around the state in a van with a big balloon painted on it in an effort to hear from community members in Indiana and Kentucky. The “Just for Kids” balloon is the mark of their pediatric services. They’ll ask questions such as:
- How would you like to have care delivered?
- What things would family members like to experience?
- How can the health system lighten the burden?
- What can be done to coordinate care more efficiently?
- What amenities are most important to you?
“We want this to be different. It won’t be just a pediatric campus. We wanted to think about being a pediatric village where we could develop our own infrastructure of services that support patients and their families,” said Mr. Cox. “Who knows what that might look like, but we want to hear what people think and then we want to develop it.”
There isn’t a timeline for groundbreaking yet but now the health system can take the first steps toward realizing their vision of driving innovation and research as well as attracting the next generation of great caregivers and becoming a destination for pediatric patients and their families. The extended timeline means planners are thinking far into the future about how the patient journey and experience will change.
“I remind our staff all the time that many of the pediatric patients that will be treated at the new facility, their parents are now 12 and 13 years old in middle school. By the time they age up to being parents, their life experiences and what they want to experience in healthcare – be it technology, how to get things done, how family services are organized – is going to be completely different than what we currently think a hospital or pediatric campus should look like,” said Mr. Cox. “It gives us the opportunity to begin to understand what the future looks like and how to design better circumstances and situations for pediatric patients and their families.”
The modernized facility may have other organizational perks as well; once opened, it may attract more providers to the organization because they want to be part of the movement for more innovative and accessible pediatric care. Norton’s team has had conversations with Epic Systems CEO Judy Faulkner about the next iteration of the EHR and platform technologies, advising on the nuances of clinical care. The technology will be built in to connect with remote relatives about the care process.
“The ability to continually evolve and improve, even from a facility perspective, technologically, is so important,” said Mr. Cox. “We value our relationship with Epic. They’ve been very good to us. We’ve been able to do things that many other organizations have not.”
Norton recently opened the Norton West Louisville Hospital in an underserved neighborhood as an important way to reinvest in the community. Providing that level of access, Mr. Cox said, is the most important way to elevate care.
“We invested over $100 million in a facility in an underserved area and now we’re moving into a place where we want to increase that access for the region’s children,” said Mr. Cox. “It’s great when an organization of 23,000 people can all get a tangible sense of what it’s like to live out our mission.”
Norton’s is expanding at a critical time in healthcare. Many hospitals and systems are faced with financial challenges and leaders must balance serving immediate needs with planning for the future. Mr. Cox said partnerships have been extremely important in Norton’s expansion.
“What we can do singularly is so little compared to what we can do exponentially together,” he said. “Are there organizations that provide food to your community? Are there organizations that knock down some of those barriers that exist? There are organizations like Ronald McDonald that have all of these things and you want to make sure you’re using everyone’s resources to serve the patient. We have a great partnership with Mr. Beshear, who believes in healthcare and who values the pediatric population getting the services they need.”
Mr. Cox also sees healthcare as becoming more close and convenient for patients. Expanding access means adding facilities and telehealth capabilities, as well as ensuring the right payer mix and benefits.
“We are a not for profit healthcare system entrusted to provide access to quality healthcare services for the entire community,” said Mr. Cox. “My advice to other leaders is to start with access and work your way backwards, making certain that you have great partnerships and you don’t have to do it alone. Stay focused on the fact that getting people involved and trusting your organization is the best growth strategy you can have.”
