At the 11th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain-Management Driven ASC Conference in Chicago on June 13, Charles R. Gordon, MD, a neurosurgeon and co-founder of Texas Spine and Joint Hospital in Tyler, Texas, shared his experience in developing a specialty hospital for spine and orthopedic care and helping lead it to continued success.
The three-OR hospital performs 7,000 operations a year and also operates an emergency department and urgency care center.
Dr. Gordon explained that one of the key factors for the hospital's success has been its niche focus on musculoskeletal care. The founders of the hospital were forced to have a narrow focus, in part, because of the facility site they selected: a shuttered Montgomery Ward retail site.
"We were forced to be small and ultimately that proved to be our salvation," he said.
Not only can "thinking small" help control start-up costs, but it also improves the likelihood of full partner engagement.
He likened Texas Spine and Joint's niche focus to a concept discussed by business guru Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great." Collins' Hedgehog Concept argues that long-term success requires finding the intersection between what you're passionate about, what you're really good at and what you can get paid for.
"We were forced to scale down…[which] forced us to really focus on the things we do best," said Dr. Gordon.
To ensure continued success, leaders at Texas Spine and Joint Hospital have established a "wildly important goal," or WIG – a concept popularized by FranklinCovey – of reaching the 95th percentile for all measurable quality benchmarks. This goal guides the hospital's strategy and decision making, and doing so has helped drive volume and patient satisfaction, explained Dr. Gordon.
The three-OR hospital performs 7,000 operations a year and also operates an emergency department and urgency care center.
Dr. Gordon explained that one of the key factors for the hospital's success has been its niche focus on musculoskeletal care. The founders of the hospital were forced to have a narrow focus, in part, because of the facility site they selected: a shuttered Montgomery Ward retail site.
"We were forced to be small and ultimately that proved to be our salvation," he said.
Not only can "thinking small" help control start-up costs, but it also improves the likelihood of full partner engagement.
He likened Texas Spine and Joint's niche focus to a concept discussed by business guru Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great." Collins' Hedgehog Concept argues that long-term success requires finding the intersection between what you're passionate about, what you're really good at and what you can get paid for.
"We were forced to scale down…[which] forced us to really focus on the things we do best," said Dr. Gordon.
To ensure continued success, leaders at Texas Spine and Joint Hospital have established a "wildly important goal," or WIG – a concept popularized by FranklinCovey – of reaching the 95th percentile for all measurable quality benchmarks. This goal guides the hospital's strategy and decision making, and doing so has helped drive volume and patient satisfaction, explained Dr. Gordon.